The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Scyla]

1 hour ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Those Junkions do look good. I'm not at all into the 3P releases for Transformers (or even Takara for that matter), so can anyone make any recommendations on a really good 3P Hot Rod release - old, new or upcoming?

-b.

Hot Rod or Rodimus?

Good ones are DX9 Carry (G1 Rodimus) and MMCs Caledus (MTMTE Rodimus)

The FT Hoodlum is soso (in other ways than the MP one is soso)

For Bayverse there is DX9 La Hire and another one. From the reports I read the La Hire is the better option.

Others I‘m not aware of.

Flame Toys announced a MTMTE Rodimus kit and Kuro Kara Kuri toy both are licensed and non transformable.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Scyla

[Kuma Style]

Alright got the article and gallery up for the Master Made Gin Hero EX Deluxe set: https://kumastyledesigns.com/master-made-gin-hero-review/

 

Article breaks it down but in the end I gave it an 8.5/10. Another solid piece from the company but hoping that at some point they push things a bit more creatively.

A few pics from the gallery which is towards 30 images:

 

 

[mikeszekely]

3 hours ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Those Junkions do look good. I'm not at all into the 3P releases for Transformers (or even Takara for that matter), so can anyone make any recommendations on a really good 3P Hot Rod release - old, new or upcoming?

-b.

G1, or something else?  MP, CHUG, or Legends?

[mikeszekely]

So far we've looked at two of the 3 Mighty Warriors, one that was good but not good enough to replace what I already had, and one that was just ok and still not good enough to replace what I had.  But the Warrior I was most interested in was War Machine, Final Victory's Warpath.  So did I waste my money, or will War Machine be the one to redeem my purchase?

Well, let me start off right away by not only comparing him with BadCube's version, but the Hasbro Generations Deluxe version.  He's a head, maybe slightly more, shorter than BadCube's, and roughly the same size as the other Mighty Warriors.  When I reviewed BadCube's I mentioned that I couldn't find an official scale chart with Warpath, but he was often shown to be around the same size as the Autobot cars, but I've heard it argued that as a minibot toy he should be the same size as the other minibots.  If you prefer a slightly smaller Warpath, then War Machine fits that bill for an MP shelf.  However, you'll also notice that he's just a little taller than Generations Warpath.  When I wrote about finding minibots for use with Siege/Earthrise I used the same "Warpath was often the size of an Autobot car" argument to suggest that Generations Warpath fit with Siege.  Well, if you can accept Warpath a little taller still, maybe Ironhide-sized (a head shorter than Siege/Earthrise Optimus) then a case can also be made that War Machine could also be your Siege/ER Warpath.

Aesthetically I think he looks really good, too.  He's a nice, glossy red, with silver paint on his treads, around his eyes, and on some smaller details.  Weirdly, FV didn't paint his nose, but that's a petty easy fix.  The overall sculpt and proportions are much more similar to the cartoon than BadCube's version, which I like.  My biggest complaints are the lack of silver on his lats and the fact that his hands are black instead of red.  Even the shin flaps don't really bother me.

You might also point out that the animation model had some silver on the shoulders.  War Machine actually does, too, but they're hidden behind covers.  The hinges on the covers weren't molded properly, I think, so they resist opening.  Fortunately there's no pin, so the covers can be popped right off.

I'll note that the cannon on War Machine's chest can collapse like the Generations toy, which I'm a big fan of, and he has a much cleaner back than Badcube's.  After seeing what it takes to get Wardog from robot to tank and back you'd almost expect sorcery to be involved for War Machine to come out so clean.

Well, War Machine doesn't come with sorcery, but he does come with this gun, two screw hole covers, and a plug for his cannon barrel.

War Machine's head is on a ball joint.  He can look up a little, down a little less, and tilt his head sideways more than you'd ever need.  His shoulders can rotate, and they can hinge out about 60 degrees laterally before his shoulders start banging into his head.  Unfortunately, the hinge is inside the rotation joint like a lot of Warbotron stuff was, so he can rotate his shoulders or move them laterally but not really both.  His biceps swivel.  His elbows bend around 120 degrees on a single hinge.  Due to his transformation his wrists don't swivel, but they can bend inward.  His waist can swivel.  His hips can move forward a little under 90 degrees and backward 45 degrees on a soft ratchet.  They can also move laterally 90 degrees.  There are points where I can hear a clicking, but if there's a ratchet there it's extremely soft and he's relying more on the perfectly adequate friction.  His thighs swivel around his hips, and his knees bend a little under 90 degrees an another soft ratchet.  His feet can bend up slightly, down 90 degrees, plus a hinge allows his ankles to pivot 90 degrees.

As with the other Warriors War Machine's hands are molded in the shape of a 5mm port, and his gun uses a 5mm peg for a handle.

For the rest of his accessories, the screw hole covers fit into the sides of his feet.  And the barrel plug fits into the end of the cannon barrel on his chest.  I think it looks slightly more cartoon accurate without it, but the barrel can retract so far into his chest that you have to open up his back to push it back out.  the plug effectively stops the barrel from retracting too far.

Wardog's transformation was fairly complex and made him somehow get bigger, becoming a more realistic Sherman tank.  War Machine is the total opposite.  His transformation is actually very simple, and he shrinks up in the process.

All things considered, though, I like this tank mode.  The more bulbous turret isn't real-world accurate, but it's kind of cartoon accurate.  I think he's got enough molded detail to pass for the cartoon tank, too.  He's just missing the view port on the front, between the lights.  Oh, and the silver section on the rear of the tank is red here.  The part that would be silver is basically a flap on a pinned hinge, and the pin is easily removed.  If you want it silver it should be easy enough to paint it, then.

The turret, which is mostly diecast, can rotate, and the barrel can be aimed up or down.  There's a 5mm peg on one side that you can plug his gun into.  Were they going for something like a machine gun?  I mean, I've seen them on tanks, but it seems out-of-scale here.  I almost think it'd look better with their Brawn, so maybe I'll switch their weapons.  Unlike Wardog, War Machine does have little wheels under his treads that allow him to roll, and again you can lift those little covers up to reveal the silver details on the rear.

So I actually like War Machine a lot, and I'm pretty satisfied with him as my MP Warpath.  Sure, BadCube's tank is bigger and far more realistic, but Final Victory's seems more cartoony in both modes.  And sure, Fans Toys' probably looks the best, but I can transform War Machine without worrying that his legs are going to fall apart at the knees.  And then there's the matter of price.  I bought the set of three figures for $90.  If I throw Brawn and Huffer in the trash and consider the entire price to be for War Machine he's still cheaper than Fans Toys' and his joint tolerances are better than BadCube's, and I'd give him a recommend.  But if you're interested in the other figures, you can find someone else who wants the other figures, or you can find a seller offering just War Machine he becomes even cheaper, making him a bargain to use for MP, CHUG, customizing, or just to fiddle with, and my recommend is that much stronger.

[Kanedas Bike]

19 hours ago, Scyla said:

Hot Rod or Rodimus?

Good ones are DX9 Carry (G1 Rodimus) and MMCs Caledus (MTMTE Rodimus)

The FT Hoodlum is soso (in other ways than the MP one is soso)

For Bayverse there is DX9 La Hire and another one. From the reports I read the La Hire is the better option.

Others I‘m not aware of.

Flame Toys announced a MTMTE Rodimus kit and Kuro Kara Kuri toy both are licensed and non transformable.

 

16 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

G1, or something else?  MP, CHUG, or Legends?

Thank you both - I guess I didn't realize that I was asking such a loaded question, sorry for tossing that out there without more details. That said, I was thinking G1/ 86 Movie Hot Rod in the "style" of Masterpiece line.

I've been impressed with the Flame Toys Optimus so I'll probably look to pick up their Kuro Kara Kuri iteration if/when that's available for preorder. 

-b.

Edited June 4, 2020 by Kanedas Bike

[Kuma Style]

[Kuma Style]

[mikeszekely]

10 hours ago, Kanedas Bike said:

I was thinking G1/ 86 Movie Hot Rod in the "style" of Masterpiece line.

Well, then you really only have two options.  There's the official MP-28 (re-released in slightly modified colors with his Targetmaster buddy as MP-40).  It's... ok.  I think his arms are a little long and/or his shoulders too broad, and his torso is too flat, but his articulation is decent and the transformation isn't difficult.  I think the car mode is pretty good. 

The alternative is Fans Toys Hoodlum.  Personally, I think Hoodlum looks a little better in robot mode, but the transformation is more of a pain and several people reported scratches in the paint on its chest.  Ultimately I think I would have bought Hoodlum if I needed a Hot Rod, but I didn't think it was enough of an upgrade over MP-28 that I was willing to shell out for a replacement.  Also, for whatever reason, Fans Toys stuff has been selling out super quick and short of them reissuing Hoodlum you might have a hard time finding one at a reasonable price (the original retail was a little over $100, I want to say).  

Between the two, I think Hoodlum is a little taller, but they're both shorter than MP Ironhide and taller than the other MP cars.

Now, if Hot Rod is your jam you might also consider MMC's Calidus, which is based on his IDW appearance and of similar size as MP-28 despite not being a part of their MP line.

There's also DX9's Ancestrod, which is based on a doujinshi called "T-Beasts" that reimagined a lot of G1 characters (and some Beast Wars ones) with robotic beast modes.  He's around a head and a half taller than MP-28.

You have a few options for Rodimus Prime, too.  For starters, there's the official MP-09

Technically I guess he counts as a Hot Rod, too.  See, he has two faces, one younger and one older, and on his own he can transform into a car.  He's as tall as MP-10, though, and transforms into a very big car, so he's not exactly in-scale as Hot Rod.  He comes with at trailer, though, so he can also turn into a space winnebago, and he's in scale as Rodimus Prime.

There's also DX9's Carry.  Carry takes some flack in some circles because he's based on Studio OX and not Sunbow, but I like that he looks like an older, tougher character capable of leading the Autobots instead of being a taller, angstier Hot Rod with added lines on his face.  He also takes some flack because his alt mode is much smaller than MP-09's, but that's because he doesn't have a trailer.  This robot turns into the entire space winnebago, and its pretty clever and fun how it works.  If you can find one I recommend it; Carry's still one of my all-time favorite figures.

[Kanedas Bike]

Thanks very much @mikeszekely!

I actually have an MP-28 boxed up somewhere (never got around to opening him) and once upon a time I had MP-09 but sold all of my copies years ago.

One thing I noticed looking at the iterations styled after the '86 movie is that all by MP-28/40 have shoulders that sit too high. Kind of a silly nitpick but something that immediately stands-out about Hoodlum.

You've given me a lot to think about with the 3rd party options which was exactly what I was hoping for, so again thank you kindly.

-b.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Kanedas Bike said:

Thanks very much @mikeszekely!

I actually have an MP-28 boxed up somewhere (never got around to opening him) and once upon a time I had MP-09 but sold all of my copies years ago.

One thing I noticed looking at the iterations styled after the '86 movie is that all by MP-28/40 have shoulders that sit too high. Kind of a silly nitpick but something that immediately stands-out about Hoodlum.

You've given me a lot to think about with the 3rd party options which was exactly what I was hoping for, so again thank you kindly.

-b.

Glad to help!

[Kuma Style]

 

[Kuma Style]

[Kuma Style]

The full article and gallery for Generation Toys' GT-11 Red Bull is up on Kuma Style: https://kumastyledesigns.com/generation-red-bull-review/

 

Article breaks it down but overall I gave it an 8.0/10. Not without flaws but definitely a solid and fun piece that I highly recommend. A big step up from Gorilla.

Here are some pics from the gallery portion:

 

 

[Kuma Style]

 

[mikeszekely]

Picked up a few more 3D-printed Matrix Workshop kits at TF Safari.

Up first we have this one for Siege/Earthrise Astrotrain.  It comes in two pieces in the box, but it's a simple matter to push the fin into place on the other part.  Both pieces are painted gray (which has scratched off in a few small spots on mine), and the larger one has some red, too.  There's quite a bit of molded detail, plus we have the addition of two more 5mm ports.

The kit is designed, first and foremost, to fix Astrotrain's horribly hollow, gappy shuttle mode.  To use it you'll have to fold the original tail back up into his chest as you would for his other modes, then you just push the new tail into place.  Despite not really having any obvious clips or places to grab onto it'll sort of click when it's lined up right, and it won't fall off.

The paint isn't an exact color match, and while Matrix Workshop's printer certainly does a better job than my own it's not as nice as whatever GX Studio (or Go Better Studio, as they're now calling themselves) is using, so it's not a perfect match.  That said, I think it does what it set out to do, since it definitely looks much better with than without.  Astrotrain's shuttle mode here is fairly good now.

I can't help but be disappointed that there's no fix for the train mode.  To be fair, it doesn't advertise to, but if a big partsforming chunk of tail section can fix the shuttle I'd think a big partsforming chunk of locomotive front end would do wonders for the train mode.  Alas...

You can kind of store the tail inside the tender, but doing so will require you you to remove the guns from the inside.  Fortunately both Astrotrain and his tender have some 5mm ports you can plug the weapons into (assuming you didn't give them to some other under-armed figures, since it's not like Astrotrain needed four guns and a missile launcher in the first place).  Oh, and while I had one gun off to the side because I had that little missile launcher on top you could just as easily plug the gun into that port, and the missile launcher is small enough to fit in the tender with the tail section.

The tail does have one 5mm peg on it, allowing Astrotrain to hold it like a weapon in robot mode (hence the molded and painted missiles on the front).  The fin can hinge to either side, even, and the 5mm ports on the sides allow you to attach some of his other weapons (although I found the fit to be a bit loose).  Alas, the peg is too short and the part to narrow, otherwise you could stow it on his back.  A fin on his back is actually cartoon-accurate, even.  As it stands, you can at least still stuff it in the tender.

End of the day, I think $15 is a bit much for this kit.  It does improve the shuttle mode, which is what it set out to do, but doesn't integrate as well with the robot or train modes.  And the train mode is still crap- if you were passing on Astrotrain because two out of three modes were crap I don't think a partforming chunk to fix one of those modes is going to change your mind.

The other kit I picked up is for Earthrise Hoist.  You get three similar guns.  One of them is a bit longer and has a 5mm peg for a handle.  The other two (which are identical) have tabs instead of pegs, and they're a bit shorter with rectangular mushroom pegs on the back.  They're all painted silver.

The gist of this kit is to give Hoist a more cartoon-accurate look by replacing that big orange cone that was his sole accessory with a more proper gun-hand.  To install you'll have to first remove one (or both) of his hands by sliding it off the mushroom peg (which is a bit of a bear), then slide one (or both) of the tabbed guns into its place.

The end result isn't quite as good as I'd hoped.  The gun-hands look too big or too long.  And while the silver color is comparable to the G1 toy's chrome missiles, the toy also had chrome thighs and forearms that matched.  Earthrise Hoist has white thighs and foreams, so the gun-hand would probably be better in white.  It's a real letdown, because Nonnef also has a kit that gives Hoist his gun hand, and as far as I know it is smaller, white, and cheaper to boot.

The other gun I don't have any issues with, except that the peg is a little tight in his hand.

So, you can't actually transform him with the gun-hand attached (which is true for the Nonnef kit, too).  I mean, you can, but the gun-hand is going to prop one side of the vehicle up in the air.  You'll have to remove it if you want the truck to sit on all four wheels, which is fortunately easier to do than pulling off his original hands.  The one advantage this kit has over Nonnef's, and the reason I bought it, are the tabs on the gun hands.  They allow you to fit them onto the sides of the truck, where he's got 5mm peg holes on the orange parts.  And the 5mm peg holes on top of the orange parts allow you to plug in the third gun, so however you decide to use this kit you should have some alt mode storage.

This kit is also priced more competitively, as the $11 and free shipping I paid for it is close to the $5 I'd pay for Nonnef's kit and $5 to ship it.  That said, while I love that this kit has alt mode storage Nonnef's works better in bot mode, which is probably why you want it in the first place.

[Kuma Style]

Nice write up @mikeszekely. Your ears must've been ringing because I was just thinking about you when I posted in this thread earlier wondering what you'd gotten in lately.

[mikeszekely]

11 minutes ago, Kuma Style said:

Nice write up @mikeszekely. Your ears must've been ringing because I was just thinking about you when I posted in this thread earlier wondering what you'd gotten in lately.

It's another lull for me, honestly.  I do have Zeta/Studio-1's Unicron on the way, but it's on the slow boat from China and I'm not expecting it until August.  I have some other stuff on preorder that might be in before the month is out, but I'm just playing the waiting game for now.

[sh9000]

[Convectuoso]

I'm having so much fun with this one

[sh9000]

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

I'm having so much fun with this one

Yeah, this mold is brilliant. Wish they'd upsize it to voyager scale to fill the gap in my CHUG collection. After handling NA's Seekers, the Earthrise figure is a bit lacking.

[Kuma Style]

On 6/17/2020 at 10:45 PM, mikeszekely said:

It's another lull for me, honestly.  I do have Zeta/Studio-1's Unicron on the way, but it's on the slow boat from China and I'm not expecting it until August.  I have some other stuff on preorder that might be in before the month is out, but I'm just playing the waiting game for now.

Nothing wrong with that. Nice to give the wallet a breather I'm sure. REALLY looking forward to your thoughts on Zeta Unicron though. 

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Nothing wrong with that. Nice to give the wallet a breather I'm sure. REALLY looking forward to your thoughts on Zeta Unicron though. 

+1   

[Convectuoso]

How do the New Age figures scale to the Magic Square ones? I'm deciding on what Megatron I should get

[derex3592]

See....I was allll set to pull the trigger on NewAge's Megatron as it looks great and is basically a scaled down MP-36 looks like....then I saw THIS up for pre-order yesterday. Decisions, decisions! 

https://tfsource.com/magic-square/msb36-ragnar-doomsday/

[tekering]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

How do the New Age figures scale to the Magic Square ones?

NewAge figures are definitely a little smaller, on average, than their Magic Square, Iron Factory or DX9 "War in Pocket" contemporaries.  

[Convectuoso]

59 minutes ago, derex3592 said:

See....I was allll set to pull the trigger on NewAge's Megatron as it looks great and is basically a scaled down MP-36 looks like....then I saw THIS up for pre-order yesterday. Decisions, decisions! 

https://tfsource.com/magic-square/msb36-ragnar-doomsday/

I know, that's what I was referring to. The only thing that stopped me from getting NewAge's was it's back. I don't like how it looks. Then I saw Magic Square's....

44 minutes ago, tekering said:

NewAge figures are definitely a little smaller, on average, than their Magic Square, Iron Factory or DX9 "War in Pocket" contemporaries.  

Thanks.

[Scyla]

40 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

I know, that's what I was referring to. The only thing that stopped me from getting NewAge's was it's back. I don't like how it looks. Then I saw Magic Square's....

Thanks.

What is the deal with the back of the New Age Seekers? I think the back of the robot mode looks super clean.

[mikeszekely]

13 minutes ago, Scyla said:

What is the deal with the back of the New Age Seekers? I think the back of the robot mode looks super clean.

I think he's talking about the back of NA Megatron.

[Convectuoso]

Yes, I was never referring to the Seekers.

This is what I was talking about

[mikeszekely]

4 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Yes, I was never referring to the Seekers.

This is what I was talking about

 

And for comparison, Magic Square's.

[Scyla]

Sorry, my bad. 
 

BTW. Does anyone know what the deal is with FansToys preorders? They feel more and more like Metal Builds or DX Chogokin Valkyries and I‘m neck deep in two combiner sets from them.
On top of that my Iceman from ShowZStore has shown no movement in the tracking for over a month.

I don’t know if I want to deal with a third collection with impossible to get releases. 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Scyla said:

BTW. Does anyone know what the deal is with FansToys preorders? They feel more and more like Metal Builds or DX Chogokin Valkyries and I‘m neck deep in two combiner sets from them.

I've heard all sorts of conflicting stuff.  I've heard that they do smaller runs, which creates scarcity.  I've heard that they actually do larger runs than most other 3Ps, and they're just selling that well.  I've heard that certain groups are driving the scarcity they they can scalp FT figures for double or triple later.  I don't know what's actually true.

What I do know is that collecting 3P Transformers didn't used to be this stressful.  I've got US-based preorders locked in for Magnum, Smokey, and Thomas (while many Chinese sellers put up and sold out of preorders on Bandit and the last two Aerialbots I don't think FT has actually solicited them and US stores aren't take preorders yet).  I'll keep the preorders I have, and I'll do my best to finish Menasor and Superion, but that's it.  Whether or it's Fans Toys or the community buying FT figures is just too expensive and too stressful now.

[Convectuoso]

Any thoughts on this one?

[mikeszekely]

18 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Any thoughts on this one?

If it's the Newage one, yes, I reviewed it back here.  His hands are permanently angled, which means that he always holds his gun at an angle, and his wheels don't roll, but he's an adorably tiny figure that seems to scale ok with other 3P Legends figures.

If it's the KBB one, it's a bit bigger and they fixed the wheels so they actually roll (but not the hands).  The larger size means he won't scale with Magic Square or New Age Legends, but he scales great with Hasbro Legends... that is, he's about the same size as figures like Titans Return Seaspray, Brawl, and Windcharger or Power of the Primes Beachcomber, and he scales well with main line Siege and Earthrise figures.

Both are inexpensive and look better than both versions of Takara's MP Bumblebee, IMHO, so you can't go wrong with either.