The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[mikeszekely]

XTB's Springer is definitely looking good, but at some point XTB got it into their heads that their stuff is super premium and they can charge Takara prices for it.  Looking at preorders XTB wants more than either MMC's or even Fans Toys' went for, and with the shoulders cracking on their Dragstrip, the paint flaking off the legs of Dead End, and the nightmare transformation that is the super overpriced trailer I'm sorry I waited for it because there is no way I'm dropping $200 on their Springer.  Gonna see if I can still get an MMC one, or maybe I'll get lucky and they'll reissue.

[Bobby]

3 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Looks good.  Your Gerwalk mode is cool.  That will be perfect for my HMR collection as an enemy mecha.  Now I need to find a store that has it for the cheapest price.

Thanks ... gerwalk's been fun with this guy

 

2 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

It's crazy that this and lumitent are the two things I'm most excited for coming in in terms of things that are transformers-related. 

I'd love to see more companies do stuff like this because to me it honestly shows off their engineering and design skill more than being held to pre existing characters/templates on top of plain being "fresh." 

Agreed ... fresh is so refreshing right now with all endless constant remakes it seems ... have a lumitent pre-ordered as well and really looking forward to it!

[Convectuoso]

I got this one today. I haven't transformed it yet, but he looks great in bot mode

[tekering]

Yeah, Soundwave looks terrific! 

And Laserbeak looks... okay, I guess. 

But that ugly chunk of pinned hinges in the chest compartment... Is that supposed to be Ravage?

[Knight26]

On 1/23/2021 at 10:34 AM, Bobby said:

Thanks ... gerwalk's been fun with this guy

 

Agreed ... fresh is so refreshing right now with all endless constant remakes it seems ... have a lumitent pre-ordered as well and really looking forward to it!

Looks like Zone of Enders LEV and a Macross YF-21/VF-22 had a drunken night together.  What scale does it come out to be?  With some refinement it could, almost, fit in the Macross-verse.

 

[Knight26]

On 12/21/2020 at 11:27 AM, no3Ljm said:

Hey @Dobber. If it's possible, once you get it, can you post a pic of it alongside a 1/60 VF-1 (if you have it) in Fighter and Battroid modes. I'm just curious because one of the customer comments on the item page says "fits perfectly with 1/60, 1/72 airplane models." It might fit with a 1/72 VF-1 which I screenshot from a Youtube video but I'm definitely sure not with a 1/60. Thanks!

TFC J-20 with KitzConcept 1/72 VF-1J

 

Late to the party on this one, I don't check this thread often, but that is not even close to 1:60 scale.  The J-20 is a beast of an airplane at 20m in length.  The VF-1 is roughly 14.25m.  Since that is it next to a 1:72 VF-1, it should be almost 25% longer, which it is clearly not.  I would hazard that if that VF-1 is 20cm long, then that toy is maybe 22-23cm long, which would make it about 1:90 scale, if it were the same length of the VF-1, it would work out to 1:100 scale.  To be 1:72 scale the toy would have to be about 28cm long, and 1:60, 34cm, somewhere between the VF-0 and SV-51 in size.

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

Yeah, Soundwave looks terrific! 

And Laserbeak looks... okay, I guess. 

But that ugly chunk of pinned hinges in the chest compartment... Is that supposed to be Ravage?

I agree that NA's Soundwave looks great, but their cassettes pale in comparison to MS's, which themselves aren't the greatest at pulling off the cassettes modes, but do a far more respectable job in their bot modes, especially their Rumble/Frenzy. It's a shame that MS and NA build their not-Transformers to different scales; I would have been tempted to get NA's Soundwave with MS' tapes. I'm still slightly tempted just to go ahead and get MS' Soundwave and cassettes, and their Megatron, which makes NA's , which I already have, look not so great, even if it is a fun little Megs toy. I'm trying to swear off buying more legends figs, as I've practically no room left for the figs I collect regularly (mostly Generations and MP), but it's hard to steer clear when they're done this well. Too, I've got Haslab's Unicron coming, possibly releasing next week, and I've procrastinated on getting a shelf installed for him, so that's one more huge lump of plastic for which I have no space. Oy vey...

What I really wish is that MS would upscale their Megatron to voyager scale, as he'd be a perfect G1 Megatron to fit in with CHUG. We all know that, unless US gun laws change radically back to pre-1980's standards, we'll never again see a G1 Megatron on US shelves, so it'll take a third party effort to provide it for us. IMHO, MS' take would do the job nicely.

 

The Kalavinka's an interesting design, but ultimately I passed on it, and the Lumitent J-20, which appeals to me more, honestly. I'm waiting to see if they bust out a toy of the Flanker, or a close approximation thereof, as concept art has already been shown, and it looks amazing in bot mode. I'm also flirting with getting the Apache-look-alike, for which grey-scale protos have been shown. I've always liked helos, so it's tempting.

Edit: so tempting, I PO'd it. Gawd, I'm such a sucker for this stuff. 

Edit2: broke down and ordered MS' Comic Color Soundwave, Cassette pack, and Metallic Megatron, as well as POing Iron Factory's  take on Huffer and Kagami-Shishimaru Lio Convoy. I've never bought any Iron Factory stuff before, but I've admired pics of their stuff courtesy of Kuma and others for years. Guess it was time to finally take the plunge.  I so don't know where I'm going to put all this stuff, but it all looks too amazing to pass up. As a fan of transforming robots, there's so much more I'd like to buy, and the options available to us are well beyond what I could have ever hoped or dreamed as a kid, but I need to exercise a modicum of restraint, even if I did crack a bit today. There were still more things I would have liked to pick up, but as I said earlier, space has become my greatest hindrance in this toy collecting habit of mine. 

 

Edited January 28, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[Bobby]

2 hours ago, Knight26 said:

Looks like Zone of Enders LEV and a Macross YF-21/VF-22 had a drunken night together.  What scale does it come out to be?  With some refinement it could, almost, fit in the Macross-verse.

 

Yeah a little bit for everyone in this creation ... in addition to Z.O.E. it's got a strong Frame Arms vibe to it and even a little exosuit from District 9. Scale wise it feels 1/115ish

[mikeszekely]

Good news- my copy of FT's Dragstrip is in the stash, waiting to be shipped.

Bad news- waiting on at least one of two other figures I know have been released from the factory but haven't hit my stash yet.

[Convectuoso]

7 hours ago, tekering said:

Yeah, Soundwave looks terrific! 

And Laserbeak looks... okay, I guess. 

But that ugly chunk of pinned hinges in the chest compartment... Is that supposed to be Ravage?

Yes, the cassettes look terrible. I need to find a compatible battery for the light up thing that can be placed inside his chest.

 

More pics:

[Convectuoso]

I took more pics of my Magic Square Doomsday

[Convectuoso]

Does anyone here have the DX9 Dinobots?

How well do they scale with NewAge or Magic Square figures?

How are they in terms of Quality?

 

Thanks

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

Does anyone here have the DX9 Dinobots?

How well do they scale with NewAge or Magic Square figures?

How are they in terms of Quality?

 

Thanks

I don't have the original DX9 ones, but I did get the MFT KOs.  I think the DX9 ones scale better with Newage, but they're a bit small for Magic Square.  Quality was fine for all but Sludge; his dino head busted off first time I transformed him.  But again, that was the MFT version.

[Chronocidal]

Darn all these good pics, I just caved and pre-ordered a Kalavinka.   I need more cool transforming jet designs in my life.

[sh9000]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Darn all these good pics, I just caved and pre-ordered a Kalavinka.   I need more cool transforming jet designs in my life.

I still need to order Kalavinka.  Where did you order it and how much was it shipped?

[Chronocidal]

Can't estimate shipping, but I have a couple items waiting to ship at BBTS, so I threw it in my lootpile there.  Was $85 there, which might not be the best price, but I figure it should pack in nicely with the other items I have waiting for me there.

I'm also not in a huge rush or anything, since I know from the Legioss discussion that they might take a while to deliver.

Edited January 30, 2021 by Chronocidal

[M'Kyuun]

On 1/29/2021 at 2:24 PM, Convectuoso said:

I took more pics of my Magic Square Doomsday

I just ordered the metallic version of this guy. I have the New Age Megatron, but this just smokes it as far as aesthetics; I daresay, this looks better to my eye than MP-36, especially the chest, which is actually the gun slide rather than a bunch of origamied panels. It also has the removable front chest panel to simulate the battle damaged look from the Movie. It's just better executed than  MP-36 IMHO. I so, so wish they'd blow this up to voyager scale.

I also went in on MS' Soundwave and four cassette pack. I prefer the look of NA's Soundwave, but MS' version is still well done, and their cassettes are far better than NA's, IMHO. Since MS' cassettes are larger than NA's, there's no cross compatibility, and Ocular Max cassette argument aside, where's the fun in having cassettes that won't fit in Soundwave's chest?

I wasn't going to buy any more legends figs, but man, these things are done so well that I know I'd regret not getting them down the road. 

[Convectuoso]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKyp1_4AkIJ/?igshid=pa0efg84eni1

Custom transformers. Too bad IG links are no longer embedding here

[sh9000]

 

 

[Kuma Style]

Got Pandinus back  and I **think** Utopia is being delviered tomorrow. Glad to have them back and once I get Guardia I think my retro collecting is pretty much done:

[Chronocidal]

I hope someone at Takara/Hasbro has seen that Lumitent video.. holy cow.  Every bit of that transformation puts the new Starscream to shame.  

[sh9000]

Yeah that Lumitent transformation video is cool.  I like this one too and still need to buy Assaultus.

 

[Kuma Style]

7 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

I hope someone at Takara/Hasbro has seen that Lumitent video.. holy cow.  Every bit of that transformation puts the new Starscream to shame.  

It's not really a fair comparison since lumitent is completely original and not hindered by having to fit pre existing designs in both modes. 

--------

[sh9000]

Another cool video.

 

[Convectuoso]

Awesome video, @sh9000!

[Dobber]

I love their videos

Chris

[Chronocidal]

5 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

It's not really a fair comparison since lumitent is completely original and not hindered by having to fit pre existing designs in both modes. 

Maybe not a fair comparison in terms of existing designs, but I'm mostly referring to the complexity and creativity of the mechanisms they used in the design to hide so much of the robot inside the jet. 

Mostly I just love the way they unfold the entire foot from inside such an otherwise clean leg.  I'm really looking forward to how they make the Su-27.  

 

Edited February 6, 2021 by Chronocidal

[Kuma Style]

7 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Snip

That's exactly what I'm referring to; it's a lot easier to add cool, intricate engineering to something you're creating from scratch vs. doing a preset design. The same way it'd be easier to add whatever engine you want to a vehicle you make from the ground up than trying to stick a v8 in a Honda Civic.

[Firefox]

13 hours ago, Chronocidal said:

Maybe not a fair comparison in terms of existing designs, but I'm mostly referring to the complexity and creativity of the mechanisms they used in the design to hide so much of the robot inside the jet. 

Mostly I just love the way they unfold the entire foot from inside such an otherwise clean leg.  I'm really looking forward to how they make the Su-27.  

 

I too looking forward for their  Su-27 and the J-10

[Mechapilot77]

i think technically its gonna be a J-11..china's version of the an Su-27.  but yeah looking forward to those.  i must say though, although the j-20 looks great is both modes and has a cool transformation - theres something missing from the design.  maybe its ths generic head or face but its got no "soul".  the kavalinka for isntance...while looking both original and generic at the same time in bot mode....has that extra something to it.  can't put my finger on it.  at least for me.  that being said i have teh j-20 but held off on the kavalinka because people were whispering issues about tolerances/paint etc. for the first run.

[mikeszekely]

There seemed to be some curiosity about this set, and it was cheap enough, so I went ahead and bought the TT Hongli Apocalypse Battle Armor set.  The set consists of two figures, HF01 White Patrol and HF02 Red Speed.

White Patrol is an homage to Prowl.  

And Red Speed is Smokescreen.  Both are obviously quite stylized with anime-esque proportions that make their Earthrise counterparts look a bit frumpy, at least in a stoic pose.  That said, they're definitely not G1, and if that's what you're after you might be a bit disappointed.  Actually, the designs appear to be totally new; I've read the entire pre-reboot run of IDW Transformers comic books, and this isn't IDW.

Stylized or not, their height to the head is pretty close to their Earthrise counterparts.  So if you're looking for an alternative to go with your WfC figures these guys will do.

I'm mostly good with White Patrol, but Smokescreen's always been my least favorite of the Datsuns, and I think it's a bit lazy that they used the same head for Red Speed that they did for White Patrol.  Even Hasbro remolded that part.

You get a few accessories in the box.  There are two rifles, and they're identical.  There's two sets of different shoulder cannons; the ones on the left, with the barrels, are for Red Speed.  The black ones with silver missiles (that can be removed) are meant for White Patrol.  That said, they use the same connectors to sit in their shoulders, so they're interchangeable.  Finally, you get a pair of clips.  They don't seem to have any purpose in robot mode, but they do have a use in alt mode.  They work in a similar fashion, but they're not identical; the thicker one is for for Red Speed specifically, and the other is for White Patrol.

Now for the bad news... the articulation on these guys is terrible. Their heads are on ball joints that can't look up; in fact, with the transformation hinge they're on being angled a bit they're practically forced to look down slightly.  They can tilt their heads down a bit more, and their sideways tilt is more than adequate.  Their shoulders can rotate, by they can only extend laterally on a transformation hinge that gives them slightly under 45 degrees due to the car kibble on their shoulders, and then only if their arms are at their sides.  If they raise their arms their lateral movement doesn't work, like SS86 Hot Rod.  I'll also note that their wings aren't connected to their backs.  They're instead attached to the kibble on their shoulders, so they move with the shoulder rotation.  Their biceps swivel, and their elbows bend a little under 90 degrees.  No wrist swivel, and no waist swivel.  Hips are ball joints that can go forward or backward only about 45 degrees because of back kibble and non-moving hip skirts, and even less than 45 degrees laterally just because they didn't cut the ball sockets to allow for more.  They did cut the ball sockets to allow for an adequate amount of thigh swivel, I suppose.  The knees bend 90 degrees.  The feet are on ball joints, so they can swivel, tilt down a bit, tilt up a lot due to a transformation hinge, and pivot a little under 45 degrees (but I guess you don't need a ton of ankle pivot if you can't spread your legs too much).

They hold the rifles using your bog standard 5mm pegs.  As mentioned, the cannons clip into the shoulders.  The clips have hinges and ball joints so they can aim up and down or even swivel a little.

Transformation is fairly basic and not at all unlike what Hasbro themselves might use.  The cars are about the same size as the Earthrise versions and look pretty good with them.  Maybe too good, as the paint on Red Speed especially is more vibrant and cleaner, with fewer scuffs, than Earthrise Smokescreen.  Smokescreen has the correct number, and while I'd prefer a bit more detailed police deco it's the same black and white pattern with the simple white "POLICE" on the side that Earthrise Prowl used.

Interestingly enough, despite the similarities in robot mode and their traditional sharing of alt modes, White Patrol and Red Speed don't have the same alt modes.  What's more, while the Earthrise figures get up close to the Datsun line but don't cross it to avoid paying licensing fees, TT Hongli gave these guys real world alt modes.  White Patrol is one of my personal favorites, a Nissan GTR, while Red Speed appears to be an Audi TT with a body kit.  Aside from a little paint drip on White Patrol's rear bumper both cars look extremely good.  It makes me wonder if TT Hongli would decide to do Bluestreak and Barricade if they'd change the alt modes again.  Maybe a 370Z and, dare I hope, a Mustang?

The clean alt modes lack 5mm ports, and this is were the clips come in.  They grab onto the spoilers (Red Speed has a thicker spoiler, hence the thicker clip) and have a port on top that you can plug in their rifles.  As for the cannons, Red Speed's have rails that slide onto the ends of his spoilers, while White Patrol has a pair of smaller holes behind his rear fenders.  Small pegs on the sides of his cannons plug into them.  Interestingly, Red Speed's cannons also have the pegs, despite Red Speed not having any holes, so Red Speed's cannons can plug into White Patrol.  White Patrol's cannons have rails, and although the fit is much looser they can also slot over the ends of Red Speed's spoiler, so interchangeability is maintained.

Let me be perfectly clear about this- both Hasbro's Siege and Earthrise versions of Prowl and Smokescreen are better figures than TT Hongli's.  White Patrol and Red Speed look great in alt mode or just standing casually, but their articulation is far to limiting for action poses.  Worse, I feel like some of their issues could have been avoided.  Universals could have been used instead of ball joints for the hips, and that would have greatly improved their range.  The shoulders could have been fixed if they didn't split off parts for the hood onto the shoulders and instead opted for a transformation closer to what Hasbro used.  That also would have kept their wings on their backs.  And there's no structural reason they couldn't have had waist swivels; it seems the only reason they didn't was to keep the parts count down.  Even if it drove up the price of the figures, heck, even if it doubled the price, I'd have gladly paid it to have better articulation that put these guys more on par with Hasbro's offerings.  As it stands, though, they're actually pretty cheap.  The set can be had for a mere $40, which prices them evenly with Hasbro's $20 Deluxes.  And something to remember is that while Prowl and Barricade had regular retail releases with Siege and Smokescreen got one in Earthrise, Earthrise Prowl and Barricade plus both versions of Bluestreak were store-exclusives.  Assuming you missed one of them (and assuming TT Hongli does release a second set with Bluestreak and Barricade) the scale used here does make TT Hongli's figures viable alternatives.  So no, I don't recommend these guys and I'd still encourage you to get the Siege and/or Earthrise figures instead.  But they're not totally terrible, especially for the price, and they could be worth picking up if you missed your chance at Earthrise Prowl, if you're a fan of the characters, or a fan of the alt modes.

[Kuma Style]

 

[Kuma Style]

[CoryHolmes]

 

 

 

OMFG!!!    This is awesome, who put that out?

 

Also, gibs doggo moar treats pls.  Doggos need all the treats.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, CoryHolmes said:

OMFG!!!    This is awesome, who put that out?

Assuming you mean the Metroplex and not the dog, that's Maketoys Utopia.  Your chances of finding a new copy are slim, but complete used ones pop up for sale from time to time.  I love my copy.  Transforming him is a bit of work, but he's probably the only Metroplex you can buy that looks like a carrier in that mode instead of a robot sitting down with his arms behind his back.  City mode similarly looks like a base and not a robot doing the splits.  He's a lot smaller than Hasbro's Titans, but he's a lot better.