The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[RavenHawk]

On 4/30/2020 at 7:10 PM, Kuma Style said:

I have all three of these, and they're still on display and still some of my absolute favorites. The core figures aren't really parts-forming, except for the lower fairing/backpack and exhaust becoming a weapon. The parts-forming is mostly storage of weapons and accessories, which I am totally ok with.

These are great figures and what got me into 3p.

[slaginpit]

lol talk about cognitive dissonance. 230 plus dollars yeah easy pass 

[slaginpit]

really sucks that TungMung was shut down as it was the superior movie SW...New Age increased its price point knowing this 

[slaginpit]

yeah I now know what bugs me about New Ages SW...Its got to goddam waist 

 

[derex3592]

Thinking about picking up my 1st Newage little G1 Transformer.....any suggestions between Thundercracker or Jazz? Or should I wait for Starscream/Skywarp or even their Megatron? 

[Scyla]

I think the Seeker mold is the better mold compared to Jazz and has an innovative transformation. 

Their Megatron is a Mini-Masterpiece so you can’t go wrong with that.

The Jazz mold is ok, but nothing innovative.

[Kuma Style]

1 hour ago, derex3592 said:

Thinking about picking up my 1st Newage little G1 Transformer.....any suggestions between Thundercracker or Jazz? Or should I wait for Starscream/Skywarp or even their Megatron? 

I seem to agree with @Scyla so much that it's scary but I agree on the seeker mode. I may be half blind but I swear everytime I scroll past a pic of them I think that they're the MakeToys Seekers until looking back. Just damned good sculpts.

[derex3592]

Thanks! I went with Thundercracker. Only one of the seekers I could find in stock at the moment. Which is kind of ironic since the original Thundercracker was my first G1 transformer back in the 80s! 

 

I have a feeling these little guys may become a new addiction as Macross HM-R is maybe not dead, but surely could be considered on life support....

 

Also I happened to see Magic Square's new Soundwave with mini bots pre-order - - Man that's tempting too! 

Edited May 7, 2020 by derex3592

[M'Kyuun]

I just got my New Age Megatron today; I bought the three-Seeker pack and it shipped at the same time, but for some reason didn't come today. Fed Ex says tomorrow, so hopefully, I'll have 'em in hand then. But Megatron is really an ingenious little figure, with a transformation that's very reminiscent of the G1 toy, just more complex (many more moving parts, and a very G1 animation accurate bot mode). To compare it to MP is rather apt, especially at legends scale. I find myself wishing it were voyager scale instead, as it'd make for a great G1 Megs for the CHUG shelf. We all know we're never going to get another pistol alt here in the States unless the gun laws as they apply to toys are greatly eased. History indicates the opposite is more likely.

As for the Seekers, I watched vids of both New Age's and Magic Square's Seekers, and ultimately went with the NA. TBH, I think the intakes are more real world F-15 accurate on the MS, but as a total package, the New Age design cinched it. I do have to say that MS's Megatron looks pretty sweet from the proto pics, cleaner in bot mode than NA's, and I may snag one of those, too, if reviews are positive. 

According to ShowZ, there are two options for MS' Soundwave, as a cheaper option comes with one cassette, and the slightly more expensive version comes with two (about a $4 difference), although the promo pic shows Rumble, Frenzy, Laserbeak, Ravage, Ratbat, and that weird repair droid cassette that one of the third parties came up with years ago (KFC, I think). ShowZ says they don't know which cassette(s) is/are coming with either version, so that gives me pause. I'd be pissed if I got that stupid repair droid thing instead of one of the canon cassettes. I want that Ravage, so I'm hoping they'll sell these things separately or in two-packs- something like that.

[Kuma Style]

3 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Thanks! I went with Thundercracker. Only one of the seekers I could find in stock at the moment. Which is kind of ironic since the original Thundercracker was my first G1 transformer back in the 80s! 

 

I have a feeling these little guys may become a new addiction as Macross HM-R is maybe not dead, but surely could be considered on life support....

 

Also I happened to see Magic Square's new Soundwave with mini bots pre-order - - Man that's tempting too! 

Honestly I'm an Iron Factory guy (have every release) but Legends in general are definitely a rabit hole. Between the cost and real estate taken up it's hard not to keep buying and buying.

----------------

On another note, just got the invoice for that MMA Slaughter Laird and BAttlebike. Can't wait to get it.

[mikeszekely]

3 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

I seem to agree with @Scyla so much that it's scary but I agree on the seeker mode. I may be half blind but I swear everytime I scroll past a pic of them I think that they're the MakeToys Seekers until looking back. Just damned good sculpts.

Yeah, I tend to prefer Magic Square's stuff over New Age's, but it seems like MS dropped the ball on theirs while NA knocked theirs out of the park.

[nightmareB4macross]

9 hours ago, derex3592 said:

Thinking about picking up my 1st Newage little G1 Transformer.....any suggestions between Thundercracker or Jazz? Or should I wait for Starscream/Skywarp or even their Megatron? 

Either Jazz and Skywarp are an excellent choice. Instead of buying the single Skywarp, it might be best to consider finding a trio set. It works out cheaper with shipping.

These are all available now. There have repainted versions from various episodes and movie.

My first choice because he is so iconic was Agamenmnon. My son transformed it first with the help or a YT  video. Once I saw how easy a 9 year old can transform this without breaking, I was hooked. Both modes look great and the build quality is definitely abundant.

[derex3592]

The only place I found was TFSource that had anything in stock. I went with Thundercracker, I'll wait on Jazz and the others. It's easier to sneak little $50 stuff around the wife than some $300+ purchase for all the ones I really want AND the preorders...haha. 

SO....I'm gonna need a place for some in scale Decepticon/Autobot 3rd party stickers....anybody have a place or know a guy???

[M'Kyuun]

Toyhax is probably the best known third party sticker producer. 

[Sildani]

Just got billed for Protoform Azalea. 

[M'Kyuun]

If you don't already have the regular version, I can attest she's a good figure. With more pics of the official MP circulating, I think MMC did a better job overall. Just my $.02. I'm not too crazy about the proto colors, but if you like it, then good for you. Hope she's issue free and you get a lot of enjoyment from her.

Out of context, that sounds all kinds of wrong. 

[Scyla]

5 hours ago, derex3592 said:

The only place I found was TFSource that had anything in stock. I went with Thundercracker, I'll wait on Jazz and the others. It's easier to sneak little $50 stuff around the wife than some $300+ purchase for all the ones I really want AND the preorders...haha. 

SO....I'm gonna need a place for some in scale Decepticon/Autobot 3rd party stickers....anybody have a place or know a guy???

I would advice against the Toyhax labels, at least for the Deception ones. If they are still the same as when I bought them they are not cut out the spires on the insignia properly which makes them look horrible. Especially on the white outlined one which are my favorite.

I tried the Ocean design dry rub ones but you have only one change to get those right. They also do waterslide ones which seem the way to go but I have not tried them myself.

[Kuma Style]

Am I weird for not liking stickers at all? To the point where if I see a listing with them I'll only agree to purchasing the item if the person can completely and cleanly remove them before shipping? Even when products come with stickers I leave them in the box.

I'd be ok with dry transfers or maybe even water slides but something about stickers... I just cannot.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Am I weird for not liking stickers at all? To the point where if I see a listing with them I'll only agree to purchasing the item if the person can completely and cleanly remove them before shipping? Even when products come with stickers I leave them in the box.

I'd be ok with dry transfers or maybe even water slides but something about stickers... I just cannot.

Third party TFs and LEGO, my other hobby, both oft require stickers to complete the look. Even after all these years, I'm still hit & miss on the application- some days I'm dead on, and some days I can't put one on straight to save my life. But at all times, I find having to affix them to be a major PITA. So I strongly empathize with you, Kuma. It's one of the reasons I'm so glad that Bandai is liberal with their tampo, sometimes to excess. But it beats having a completely plain Jane look like Arcadia- looking at you, YF-19. They didn't even print the intake warnings, which should be a minimal print.

Got my New Age Seekers today, and they are glorious.  I wish Skywarp, my fave of the three, had come with a neutral expression head as well as his yelling face. He's perpetually locked in a scream, and I'm not crazy about that. All three come with a mini Megatron in gun mode, two sets of fixed pose hands (pointing, and palm up, fingers splayed), their shoulder weapons, two bomb looking weapons for fighter mode, two sets of blast effect parts, and a stand. Instead of the Megatron gun, a secondary head for each with a different expression would have been cool, but whatever. On to the good stuff. The transformation is nothing short of ingenious. It's amazing to me that folks keep finding new ways to transform the old F-15 into the G1 Seekers, and New Age created a novel system that delivers an interesting, fun, and effective transformation that results in an extremely well-articulated bot mode that looks like it stepped out of the cartoon. It's a brilliant design, an observation only amplified by it's size (about 4" to the tops of the intake ramps in bot mode). For those unaware, or curious, the jet exhaust augmenters, which form the heels, are die-cast. The metal on mine is very shiny, so it's either highly polished or painted in a gloss coat of some sort. Realistically, it should look ashy and carbon streaked, but on such a tiny figure, I kinda dig the shininess. Other than screws/pins, that's the only metal I detect. The paint, where applied, on mine is done well. The only negative I have, which can be remedied with a screwdriver, is the tightness of the calf blocks, which need to rotate 180 degrees to position the tail stabilizers during transformation. The stabs are on a ball joint, and I had to pop them off in order to rotate those blocks on each of them. Handling these guys only drives home the inadequacies of the voyager scaled Earthrise Starscream figure, and makes me wish third party would start doing CHUG scale again, especially where the official toys beggar a superior replacement. Whether you're a legends collector or not, I'd recommend these guys; they look fantastic, they're just plain fun to pose or transform, and their small size makes them convenient for display.

I'm no Kuma, but I did a quick and dirty little setup to show these guys off.

Edited May 9, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Kuma Style]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Third party TFs and LEGO, my other hobby, both oft require stickers to complete the look. Even after all these years, I'm still hit & miss on the application- some days I'm dead on, and some days I can't put one on straight to save my life. But at all times, I find having to affix them to be a major PITA. So I strongly empathize with you, Kuma. It's one of the reasons I'm so glad that Bandai is liberal with their tampo, sometimes to excess. But it beats having a completely plain Jane look like Arcadia- looking at you, YF-19. They didn't even print the intake warnings, which should be a minimal print.

 

Honestly with 3PTFs in particular I just plain prefer the clean look and traditional "sticky" stickers like the toyhax, reprolabels, or whatever... I just think they look tacky. I actually like the application part on even tougher labels like Bandai waterslides and the like but in the end post-finish stuff like that is very clean and not raised from the finish of the figure like stickers are. 

And nice NewAge pic btw.

Edited May 9, 2020 by Kuma Style

[mikeszekely]

I mostly agree with @Kuma Style, with a few caveats.  I don't really buy stickers for MP or 3P figures.  The only regular exceptions is faction labels, and even then I don't put them everywhere you'd see them on the cartoon model or the G1 toy.  I usually pick one prominent placement for them in robot mode, and I'll leave the alt modes clean.

That being said, the more expensive the figure the higher the standards I'm going to hold it to.  For the prices typical MPs and 3P figures go for I expect, at minimum, adequately color-matched plastics and prefer details, if not most of the figure, to be painted.  At that point I don't know that "tacky" is the word I'd use, but there's something about the stickers that does cheapen the more premium feeling those sorts of figures give you.

On the other hand, though, a well-done Toyhax set can work wonders for official, mainline figures where Hasbro cuts budgets on the paint.  For a recent example I showed off what the Toyhax set and a little Tamiya blue spray paint did for Earthrise Prime.

[mikeszekely]

This has been going on for awhile, I guess, but I just found out about it now.  If you don't have a good Omega Supreme yet BBTS is taking preorders for reissue of DX9's Gabriel, plus they've marked it down to a measly $180.  That's something like $100 off the original price, less than Fans Toys or Wei Jiang's, and only like $20 more than Hasbro was charging for Siege Omega Supreme.

[Scyla]

So I wouldn’t put stickers on any collectible toy because the would „cheapen“ the experience. 
 

However I feel like Transformer are an exception since the usually lack intricate paint applications, or broadly painted surfaces if they are painted at all.

The faction logo is the only detail that is usually painted on. Especially the Takara Masterpiece line is an offender in that regard (especially MP Star Saber ans Laserwave which I loath).

So even if a figure is well painted a faction symbol makes it more visually  interesting.

That said I haven’t found a solution that works for me. The dry rub decals come pretty close to a paint application bit are difficult too apply and I have terrible experience with model kit waterslides flaking off so I don’t want them on my toys that I’m handling on a regular basis.

Maybe the new waterslides are better so I wan to try them on a regular Transformer.

[M'Kyuun]

My thinking is about the same regarding high end figures; I'd rather not use stickers, and quite honestly, when I'm shelling $100 or more for a figure, I expect paint and/or  tampo to complete the deco. On 3P TFs, I'll put a faction sticker on, but that's about it. Even as I say that, the majority of my 3P TFs don't have them. I simply don't like applying them.

I wish I was a better painter, as I'd probably add details like tail lights and such that Hasbro often ignores on mainline figures. I seldom buy Toyhax labels unless there's a figure that can really benefit from them. MMC's Jaguar comes to mind. The thing about Toyhax is they often come with a lot of what I consider superfluous labels on a sheet, and I'd just rather not pay for them. I haven't done waterslides in years; they have the benefit of being really thin and more forgiving in their application, but like Skyla said, they become brittle and flake over time. I've never messed with dry rub.

I wish I knew somebody in my area that was skilled with painting and decaling. I'd toss a few ducats their way from time to time to spruce up some of the more needy figures. Looking at Mike's paint and decal job on Earthrise Prime, I'm definitely feeling inspired to do something similar. I wish Hasbro had done a better job of it right out of the box. 

[derex3592]

All I want is the faction logos. I'm not talking about a milion "NO STEP" stickers and intake warning triangles on the seekers LOL.  For my Valks, sure, it that's your thing, cool,  for TFer's. no.

[Kuma Style]

Yea I'm talking about even a single faction logo and like I have no problem stating that I may be weird, ha. 

Got Generation Toy OP EX in my posession again but it's a bit awkward now with Slaughter Laird en route. Hopefully there's enough of a difference between the two to where I don't feel the need to get rid of this one.

[David Hingtgen]

My complaint (for years!) has been how many figures seem to actively try to make it impossible to put a decent-looking faction sticker on.  They usually do one of two things:

A. Have the shoulders and chest (the prime location for insignias) absolutely covered with 3D details---lumps and bumps, or chasms and grooves, that make it pretty much impossible to apply a sticker----they leave no "smooth, or mostly smooth" areas where you'd want to put a stick. 

B.  They do leave a molded-in smooth area, clearly intended for an insignia sticker---but get all the angles/proportions wrong, so that only a teeny-tiny one, half of the "intended" size, actually fits.   You end up having to put a micro-master-sized logo on a leader-class figure.  And it still looks weird, because there's an oddly-shaped gap/border between the sticker, and the area it's sitting in.     (this seems to affect 'cons more than 'bots----it's like nobody can actually get the jawline-angle right for the 'con symbol, way too narrow at the bottom usually, so you have to put a much smaller sticker on, for the "mouth" to fit) 

TLDR: Don't "mold-in" a dedicated area for a sticker.  It NEVER works.  But also, don't mold in a ton of detail in the 2 places 90% of TF's have their insignias (chest, shoulders).   Please leave at least a decent-sized area, in one of those two places, "fairly smooth/blank".   Smooth enough to allow a sticker, but not so utterly barren that it looks odd compared to other, more detailed areas of the figure.   (really, just having thin panel lines and small depressed rivets will do wonders, vs chasms and cylinders)  

[Kuma Style]

[nhyone]

On 5/8/2020 at 6:25 AM, M'Kyuun said:

As for the Seekers, I watched vids of both New Age's and Magic Square's Seekers, and ultimately went with the NA. TBH, I think the intakes are more real world F-15 accurate on the MS, but as a total package, the New Age design cinched it. I do have to say that MS's Megatron looks pretty sweet from the proto pics, cleaner in bot mode than NA's, and I may snag one of those, too, if reviews are positive. 

According to ShowZ, there are two options for MS' Soundwave, as a cheaper option comes with one cassette, and the slightly more expensive version comes with two (about a $4 difference)...

I like the NA seekers until it comes to the lower legs. I don't like the look of the two-step thruster shin vent, and that the rear wing is folded onto the side of the leg and makes the leg multi-color.

For Soundwave, one is blue, one is black. Make sure you order the right one! (Blue one comes with two tapes.)

[M'Kyuun]

7 hours ago, nhyone said:

I like the NA seekers until it comes to the lower legs. I don't like the look of the two-step thruster shin vent, and that the rear wing is folded onto the side of the leg and makes the leg multi-color.

For Soundwave, one is blue, one is black. Make sure you order the right one! (Blue one comes with two tapes.)

Not sure if I'm going to bite on the NA Soundwave, but I appreciate the info. I prob would go for two cassettes, anyways, as they're the main reason I'd buy Soundwave. Love me some TF cassettes. I really want that Ravage.

As far as the stabs tucking into the legs on NA's Seekers, I prefer that to their hanging off the ankles. I think it's absolutely brilliant how they fold and fill that space nigh seamlessly. It's just good engineering for which I think the bit of colored panel is a negligible price to pay. Of course, YMMV.  I'm not sure I understand what you're referring to concerning the shin vents. They're a little too wide, IMO, and they're broken up to accommodate the main landing gear (a worthy sacrifice, IMO), but otherwise they have the approximate shaping correct. If anything, they're missing the actual vent detail on the bottom. But I'm glad they're at least sculpted three dimensionally like the original toys, rather just being flat trapezoids painted on. That was one of my few complaints with the Maketoys Seeker. Those vents, along with detail in general, have become the legacy of Sunbow.

Kuma- thanks for the compliment on my photos above! Hopefully the humor outshone my lack of talent.

[Kuma Style]

@M'Kyuun Stop comparing and apologizing for pics. It honestly makes it hard to just enjoy them. Think about it like being out to eat with someone and they randomly keep apologizing and stating that it's not this other restaurant while you're getting served and eating. There's no stated or implied contest and we're all just collectors sharing what we have. You're awesome, man and don't treat yourself or your contributions as anything less.

--------------------------------

[M'Kyuun]

Thanks, Kuma. I appreciate the encouragement.

Good pose with Prime.

[mikeszekely]

Although Siege and Earthrise have been big upgrades in quality and articulation over older Generations stuff (especially Prime Wars) it's clear with limited accessories and the hollow gaps that still plague many figures that they're still cutting costs by skimping on plastic.  This has led to a surge of small Chinese groups releasing 3D-printed upgrade kits.  In fact, I looked at some gap fillers for Siege Ratchet and Ironhide from a group called Ratchet Studio not long ago.  And while I don't think I'll invest in gap fillers for every Siege and Earthrise figure to come down the pike I do think they can improve some of the more egregious examples of hollowness, especially if they come with other accessories.  And so, since I was pretty pleased with the kits I got for Ratchet and Ironhide, I decided to give Ratchet Studio's kit for Siege Impactor a go.

As with the other Ratchet Studio kits I looked at, these are 3D-printed and unpainted parts.  All of the parts that will be visible have some molded details and are made of a silvery gray material.  The yellowish pieces are filler.

What you do with the yellow ones is stuff them into the cavities in Impactor's lower legs, one each for the upper gap  and one for the lower gap.  I was a bit concerned that the pieces that go into the lower legs don't exactly fit snugly; at first I thought they might rattle around.  But they're just to keep the gray parts from sinking too deeply into the leg, and once the gray parts are in everything was snug and secure.

The other pieces fit into the hollows on his thighs, biceps, the edge of his forearms, and his back.  All of the parts fit snugly.

The elephant in the room is that the parts aren't painted.  I wish they'd have painted the forearm parts, or at least used purple plastic to make them, but honestly the other parts don't bother me that much.  The biceps are so small, and you don't often look at the inner thighs or at his back.  And truthfully I think the silvery color actually makes for some nice color breakup on the lower legs, kind of like the red instead of black or gray you find on the inside of some Megatron's legs.  And it's not an expensive kit; you could get it for $12.99 shipped before the pandemic.  I don't really recommend this one, though.  You might remember that I have both this, the regular retail release of Impactor, and the more IDW-ish one that came in that Amazon box set.  For that one, I decided to go with a different kit.

This kit is from a company called GX Studio.  And right away you'll notice that, first off, these parts are all painted.  And second, whether it's because they're painted or whether GX Studio has a better printer or better print settings, the lines you get from the layering of 3D printers is much less noticeable on this kit.

Many of the parts fill the same gaps that Ratchet Studio's did.  You have parts to fill the gaps in the lower legs and thighs, again with some nice molded details.  The lower leg fillers have arms on them that top the parts from going in too far, no extra fillers are necessary.  The thigh fillers didn't seem to fit as well as Ratchet Studio's; the one I put in his left leg in particular kept popping back out and I had to glue it.

GX Studio included another leg part here that Ratchet Studio didn't; small gray parts with some molded tread detail that fit the gap around the rivet behind the big main gap.

Moving on to the arms, you again get a bicep filler (although my kit was missing the filler for the other bicep), and the gap in the edge under his fists.  In another difference from the Ratchet Studio parts they don't just fill that bit shaped like a chef's knife at the front.  It fills the whole gap, wrapping over the edge and filling into the circular part under his arm.

GX Studio does it again with their back filler.  Rather than two separate parts that fit into the hollows and sit flush with the existing plastic GX's is a single part that goes over the edges in the middle and covers the slot for the mushroom peg in his waist.

Not content to stop with those hollows, GX Studio also includes two rounded plugs that fit into the large rivet holes on his back.

Then, more to bulk up the tank mode than for any robot-mode reasons, you get these large purple panels that fit onto the outside of his legs by pegging into the 5mm ports on the outside.  Note that they new panels don't have other 5mm ports, so if you're into the Siege play pattern of ripping up Weaponizers and jamming guns into every available port you're going to be short those ones.

Lastly, GX Studio made a whole new shoulder gun.  Although it's painted it's not quite perfect; there should be more purple on the barrel and silver on the sides.  However, the sculpt is very good and much closer to what he has in the IDW comics.  To swap the shoulder guns you just have to pull the existing one off its hinge and push the new one into its place.  As with the extra leg armor, though, the new gun doesn't have the 5mm ports that the original one did.

Due to the fact that they're painted (and the color is a fair match) and the fact that the print lines are much less noticeable the GX kit comes across as less noticeable because the parts seem better integrated.  And I like how the extra leg parts and new cannon help make the "Decepticon" Impactor a more visually distinct IDW Impactor next to the "Autobot" Marvel version.

Impactor's transformation is unaffected by either kit.  I was a little concerned that the extra overhanging plastic on the forearm parts an back of the GX kit might make a difference, but nope.  All good.

That being said, what does make a difference is the new leg panels.  You'll notice that they stick up a bit on the sides, effectively blocking the turret from rotating.  If I had to guess, though, I think it might be an intentional choice.  Impactor uses his waist for the turret swivel, which means it's set at the very back of the tank instead of closer to the middle.  Swiveling the turret never really looked right, breaking the sculpt of the tank and exposing his robot thighs.  I think GX Studio designed the leg armor to stop you from doing just that.  Of course, if you really prefer to have the swivel then popping the leg armor off isn't a big deal since they're just attached via 5mm pegs.  On the flip side, GX Studio added some other tank articulation.  The new cannon has an additional hinge that allows it to aim upward instead of permanently lying flat on the top of the tank.

The GX kit is more expensive, coming it at $17.99.  However, for the extra $5 you're getting a higher quality, painted product that does a better job filling the gaps and provides a few other extra upgrades to boot.  The only complaint I really have is that using all of the parts means loosing some 5mm ports for extra Siege weapons, but you retain enough to store the accessories that he actually comes with so I think it's a relatively minor complaint.  My recommendation is that if you're looking to fill the gaps on Siege Impactor you should pass on Ratchet Studio in favor of GX.

 

[Kuma Style]

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Thanks, Kuma. I appreciate the encouragement.

Good pose with Prime.

NP bro and thank you.

[nhyone]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Not sure if I'm going to bite on the NA Soundwave, but I appreciate the info. I prob would go for two cassettes, anyways, as they're the main reason I'd buy Soundwave. Love me some TF cassettes. I really want that Ravage.

I don't think MST has mentioned what tapes come with Soundwave.

I think the bundled tapes will be Buzzsaw + drone (for blue one). The others will be in a separate tape set.