The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[M'Kyuun]

I ended up getting Magic Square's Soundwave, as I prefer their take on the cassettes and I wanted a Soundwave in which they'd fit. While MS's is a solid representation, there's something about the more rounded attributes of NA's sculpt that appeals to me over the MS. MS delivered a cleaner bot mode, though, and their cassettes have far better articulation, and being a big TF cassette fan, MS was the clear winner for my preferences.

Both MS and NA did a better job than HasTak for keeping their transformation mechanics close to the G1 toy, unlike the recent Netfix Generations Soundwave fig.

[sh9000]

 

[JB0]

That is pretty dang sexy.

...

And my heart has already retconned it into a modernized Phantom Striker remake, which makes it much cooler. (Us Captain Power fans have to take our joy where we can find it.)

[Mechapilot77]

9 hours ago, sh9000 said:

 

i cancelled mine when i heard frist batch fitment issues, will have to reorder.  its just cool and unique.  wish it had a waist swivel but hey most of my valks don't either.  haha.

[Hikuro]

K....so this might be a tall order. Saturday I'm going out to a little toy shop in Austin that specializes in Transformers, but also namely in 3rd party goods. Is there anything I should take a particular look at getting? Most of my collection ranges in the generations-seige lineup, but I do dabble once in a bluemoon in MP like figures. Mainly looking for stuff that HasTak hasn't released character wise or even seem to be going in that direction. 

[mikeszekely]

Just now, Hikuro said:

K....so this might be a tall order. Saturday I'm going out to a little toy shop in Austin that specializes in Transformers, but also namely in 3rd party goods. Is there anything I should take a particular look at getting? Most of my collection ranges in the generations-seige lineup, but I do dabble once in a bluemoon in MP like figures. Mainly looking for stuff that HasTak hasn't released character wise or even seem to be going in that direction. 

Toy Dojo?  Asking because a little hole in the wall might have some stuff that a popular store like Toy Dojo sold out of a long time ago.

If you're looking for stuff that works with WfC (Siege, ER, Kingdom, and Studio Series 86) there isn't really a ton of stuff, partly because between WfC and some gaps filled with Prime Wars most of the major Season 1-3 characters are done, and mostly because even non-MP 3P stuff is just too big.  

That said, if you just want cool robots, I see they have Optus Pexus in stock.  Now, I'm sure you probably have an Optimus Prime or 12, but the incredible amount of articulation MMC built into the figure makes him one of the most fun toys I've owned, and one I'd highly recommend.

Honestly, almost anything MMC is good.  Reformatted is their CHUG-ish, IDW-ish line, although as I noted it's a bit big for WfC (Pexus and their Megatron, Tyrantron, are taller than Siege Magnus and almost as tall as SS86 Grimlock).  Ocular Max is their MP-style stuff.  I'm also pretty fond of Fans Hobby, who've tackled stuff like Overlord, Laser Optimus, and the Monsterbots (but avoid their Armada Optimus for now) and DX9 (MP-style stuff you can actually play with).  Planet X is good if you like the old War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron games.  If you're cool with Bayverse designs that don't look like they should transform but somehow do Unique Toys has done some interesting stuff.

If you're specifically looking for MPs that HasTak hasn't bothered with, they can't seem to get he license from Porsche so Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz, if you can actually find it) and either Ocular Max's Hellion or X-Transbots' Toro (Cliffjumper) are good buys.  You could also check out Transform Element's Phantom (Mirage), to help close out the season 1 cars.  Oh, and DX9 makes a figure called Richthofen that's a fantastic Powerglide.

One figure I'd recommend, dunno if they have it or not, is DX9's Carry.  He's an MP Rodimus Prime.  Now, sure, Takara already did Rodimus with MP-09.  Carry's different, though.  For one, he's based on the Studio OX style, so he looks a bit tougher, a bit older, and he's got massive wings.  For two, he doesn't do the Hot Rod thing.  There's no car, no young face, etc.  Because, three, there's no trailer.  Or rather, the entire space camper turns into the robot.  The cab doesn't detach, and there is no battle platform.  And, four, they pull it off with some interesting, fun engineering that makes transforming him something you'll actually want to do.  Those reasons make Carry one of my favorite 3P figures to this day.

[Hikuro]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Toy Dojo?  Asking because a little hole in the wall might have some stuff that a popular store like Toy Dojo sold out of a long time ago.

If you're looking for stuff that works with WfC (Siege, ER, Kingdom, and Studio Series 86) there isn't really a ton of stuff, partly because between WfC and some gaps filled with Prime Wars most of the major Season 1-3 characters are done, and mostly because even non-MP 3P stuff is just too big.  

That said, if you just want cool robots, I see they have Optus Pexus in stock.  Now, I'm sure you probably have an Optimus Prime or 12, but the incredible amount of articulation MMC built into the figure makes him one of the most fun toys I've owned, and one I'd highly recommend.

Honestly, almost anything MMC is good.  Reformatted is their CHUG-ish, IDW-ish line, although as I noted it's a bit big for WfC (Pexus and their Megatron, Tyrantron, are taller than Siege Magnus and almost as tall as SS86 Grimlock).  Ocular Max is their MP-style stuff.  I'm also pretty fond of Fans Hobby, who've tackled stuff like Overlord, Laser Optimus, and the Monsterbots (but avoid their Armada Optimus for now) and DX9 (MP-style stuff you can actually play with).  Planet X is good if you like the old War for Cybertron/Fall of Cybertron games.  If you're cool with Bayverse designs that don't look like they should transform but somehow do Unique Toys has done some interesting stuff.

If you're specifically looking for MPs that HasTak hasn't bothered with, they can't seem to get he license from Porsche so Maketoys Downbeat (Jazz, if you can actually find it) and either Ocular Max's Hellion or X-Transbots' Toro (Cliffjumper) are good buys.  You could also check out Transform Element's Phantom (Mirage), to help close out the season 1 cars.  Oh, and DX9 makes a figure called Richthofen that's a fantastic Powerglide.

One figure I'd recommend, dunno if they have it or not, is DX9's Carry.  He's an MP Rodimus Prime.  Now, sure, Takara already did Rodimus with MP-09.  Carry's different, though.  For one, he's based on the Studio OX style, so he looks a bit tougher, a bit older, and he's got massive wings.  For two, he doesn't do the Hot Rod thing.  There's no car, no young face, etc.  Because, three, there's no trailer.  Or rather, the entire space camper turns into the robot.  The cab doesn't detach, and there is no battle platform.  And, four, they pull it off with some interesting, fun engineering that makes transforming him something you'll actually want to do.  Those reasons make Carry one of my favorite 3P figures to this day.

yeah it's toy dojo. Last time I was in there they had a few interesting things, I think some Fans Hobby stuff and some MMC's but it's been a month or two since I last went there....it's quite the drive.

But this has given me some ideas on what to look for so I appreciate it. 

[Scyla]

Funny enough, Optus Pexus was the first one that came to my mind too.

Other recent releases I can recommend are Planet X Coeus (Shockwave) and MMC Mnemo and Morif (MtmtE Chromedome and Rewind) two pack.

Coeus has the same quirks that all Planet X figures share like a lack in fit and finish but it is nicely sculpted and painted figure.

Mnemo and Morif are high tier MMC releases. Fun to transform and play with, even if I wished that Motif had a more involved transformation, like expanding the chest so he has a more defined torso. 

[Kuma Style]

[Convectuoso]

Great pic, @Kuma Style

I just got NewAge's Galvatron

Bot mode looks fine, but I'm not happy with his cannon mode

[technoblue]

Thank you for the mini-review, @Convectuoso!

Darius does look like a stubby space cannon in alt mode, and I wish Newage had figured out a better way to stow Galvatron’s feet in that mode, but I’m hoping that I’m too fussed by these compromises when my copy arrives. 

[Convectuoso]

6 minutes ago, technoblue said:

Thank you for the mini-review, @Convectuoso!

Darius does look like a stubby space cannon in alt mode, and I wish Newage had figured out a better way to stow Galvatron’s feet in that mode, but I’m hoping that I’m too fussed by these compromises when my copy arrives. 

My main complaints are:

1. the way the Cannon's wheels connect to the elbows. Looks too gappy on both modes.

2. That you can't stow the feet in alt mode

3. That you need to remove some pieces for the transformation.

As usual with NewAge, the transformation process is clever, and bot mode looks great, with awesome poseability, but the main thing I like about these toys compared to HMR, for instance, is that I can go and transform them anytime I want, without having to look for a box of swappable parts. This is not the case, since you need to remove the hands for the transformation.

[Hikuro]

I was able to go to Toy Dojo but I had a really hard time trying to gauge what was there and of course they don't price tag anything so I wasn't gonna be like grabbing every box and asking the price and working my way around on what I wanted lol.

I did however manage to score MP Sunstreaker which was a must, and I grabbed Optus, they had a few of them left so I figured for sure. I actually really like him, I'm not sure where I'm gonna put him since he doesn't exactly fit into anything, but I thought he was really neat. I'm glad though he came with an extra pair of digits cause one of them was already missing when I was transforming him into bot mode so fixed that. Sad that I can't get him to revert back into vehicle form...his legs won't collapse and it has already gotten signs of stressing the plastic at the knees behind the leg. I'm not sure if I'm missing something or there's some kind of a trick cause you can see the tracks inside the legs where it should slide down in...but some reason when it starts to collapse it just stops like there's an obstruction in both legs.

[Scyla]

@Hikuro I think one part that can prevent the legs from collapsing are the blue plates in the back of the legs. If they are not aligned just right the can jam up the sliding joint.

Bobby Skullface shows this in his review I think.

[sh9000]

 

[mikeszekely]

Feels like it's been awhile since I've written.  Perhaps it's the calm before the storm- official stuff is between waves, but the third wave of Kingdom is due very soon, and 3P had their Chinese New Year break but the factories are back up and running and I'm expecting a few things to release soon.  In the meantime, though, we can always spruce up some of the stuff we have with a few upgrade kits.

First up we have this one from Juqi Toys.  I'm not familiar with them, although the model number indicates that this is there second kit.  Like many of these smaller Chinese groups it's 3D-printed, but the quality seems reasonable.  It's a filler kit for Studio Series 86 Grimlock.

The two smaller parts are for the inside of the dino-mode mouth, and they add the missing front teeth to his jaws.  The bottom one fits fine, the upper one is a little loose.  For the most part, though, the color is a reasonable match and they do the job, addressing one of my biggest complaints about this figure.

The other four parts are foot filler.  Although I didn't have a huge problem with Grimmy's sole-less feet there's no denying that the fillers make a huge difference, and I like that the designer left a cutout in the heel parts for the 5mm peg holes.  Again, the fit seems fine and I'd rate the color match as "adequate."

All that said... I'm not recommending this kit right now.  While it does address one major complaint I have it fails to address the other big ones.  There's no sword is this kit, no screw hole covers for his neck, and no replacement chest part.  Meanwhile, since ordering this kit Nonnef has come out with his own kit that does address all those things plus the teeth (but I don't think he has foot fillers).  I'd probably look at that first, and then either get this kit or look for another that's just filler if you really need the foot filler.

BTW, I did order Nonnef's stuff, in both colors, so we'll be taking a look at that whenever it comes in.

We also have this kit, from BDT Studio.  Like Juqi I've never heard of BDT.  Despite the "BDT-09" model number TF Safari describes them as a new studio.  This kit is also 3D printed, and this one's for Kingdom Cheetor.  It's basically some guns, one of which has a removable handle.  The one gun is based on the gut-gun he's more known for.  The other seems to be molded to look like the actual gun portion of his tail gun, sans the cat kibble.  I'm not sure how much of it is actually paint or just colored plastic, but BDT didn't do a bad job making the guts pink and putting the spots on the yellow plastic on the gut gun.

The gut gun just slides into a fist.  For the other, though, you have options.  You can stick the peg into it and use it as a gun on its own.  Or, you can plug his tail into it using the same port that plugs the tail in for cat mode, then plug the peg into the tail itself for a combined pseudo tail gun.  Unfortunately, the tail wasn't designed to fold like the original so the combined weapon is a bit unwieldy.  Also, and this could be the rookie showing, but the tolerances are way off.  The loose peg doesn't attach firmly to either the tail or the gun.  It's also a bit too small for Cheetor's hand. The handle on the gut gun is nearly as loose.  Meanwhile, the hole on the tail gun is too small for the tail to plug in; I had to file it out first.

I think a lot of us would have been content with a gut gun and BDT could have left it at that.  But no, they worked out how to store it in alt mode.  The guts flip up, revealing a pair of holes.  Meanwhile, a peg that was on the back is now facing sort of forward.  This peg plugs into the hole where Cheetor's tail would attach, then Cheetor's tail can plug into the upper hole on the back of the gut gun.  The yellow plastic is actually a pretty good match, and the spots look about the same.  The tail itself isn't back so far that the whole setup looks off, either.

Meanwhile, on the underside, you can undo Cheetor's arms a bit, then tuck the barrel of the gun between them and close everything back up.  BDT definitely did a great job designing the gut gun to work so seamlessly with Cheetor it could be mistaken for an included accessory.

The only minor complaint I have is the handle.  If this were an included, official accessory I'd imagine Hasbro would have designed the handle to fold up a bit or something.  As it stands... well, Cheetor is a boy cat.  Or, you could plug the handle into the port on the tail gun and give him a crotch gun; just stick the removable peg into the lower hole on the gut gun.  Because sticking a plug into his butthole and increasing the size of the dangly crotch bits isn't making things worse at all...

As is often the case these days getting even a 3D-printed kit from China is a bit pricey for what you get.  This one's $17 shipped to the US.  That said, despite the too-small handles I do think I recommend it.  I could do without the tail gun, but the gut gun is pretty iconic for Cheetor.  And BDT didn't just provide us with that iconic weapon, they did an excellent job of integrating it into the cat mode.

[mikeszekely]

While we wait for new figures I got a few more upgrade kits.  This time we're looking at kits for Earthrise Sunstreaker and repaints; my biggest complaints with them was the lack of a spoiler and the lack of a real weapon.  Let's see what some options are for fixing that.

First up we have a kit from Nonnef Productions, who has a reputation for making relatively inexpensive molded and cast plastic parts but whose tendency to keep things relatively simple has worked against him.  This kit runs a very reasonable $8, and comes with two halves of a spoiler (available in metallic silver, white, red, black, or gray), black spoiler mounts, a sprue of 6 5mm-to-3mm pegs (available in white, gray, or red), and a sprue with the parts to make a rifle and a hand cannon reminiscent of sticking the missiles into the wrists of the G1 toy.  Well, a spoiler and a gun checks my two requisites.

There's two ways to use the spoiler, and either way you have a little prep work.  First, you can plug the black mounts into and over the 5mm ports on the back of the vehicle.  Or, you can plonk a pair of the 5mm-to-3mm pegs in instead.  Then you attach the spoiler itself using 3mm peg holes on the underside.  Note, though, that the pegs are far apart on the mounts, but close together if you use the adapters.

The method you choose will yield some pretty different results.  If you use the mounts, the spoiler will have something of an arrowhead shape, and it's elevated so it's above the intakes and slightly behind the car.  As near as I can tell, that's pretty accurate to the G1 toy, and presumably to a real Countach with these mods, but it looks a tad off to me.  Now, if you're using the adapters, the spoiler is positioned more like Sideswipe's, right above the back of the car, but slightly lower than the intakes, which is in-line with MP Sunstreaker.  From many angles I think it looks better, but the thing is if you go this route you have to swap the spoilers (the side on the right if you use the mounts goes on the left and vice versa).  That gives the spoiler a shape that looks off from above.

There's nowhere really to store the guns in this mode, as we've occupied the only available 5mm ports with the spoiler.  That said, if you use the black mounts to lift the spoiler up and backward, you'll have the clearance to turn the intakes 180 degrees.  There are molded ridges on the roof underneath (probably a plastic-saving measure on Hasbro's part).  It's definitely not designed for it, but the handle of Nonnef's rifle can be wedged into one of the ridges.  Then, the rifle has tabs on the sides and a 3mm peg on top that the parts of the hand cannon can attach to.

But what about robot mode?  Well, whichever way you mount the spoilers simply leaving them alone is an option if you hate partsforming, but it's probably not the best option.  The spoiler halves look out of place and stick off their arms pretty far regardless of mounting preference.  Technically, if you're using the black mounts, you could simply find another place for them and just put the spoilers directly on the arms.  It's a bit more flush, but still looks like a colored plank on the outside of a black forearm.

Sticking them on the backs of the legs is a cleaner option, but not without its own disadvantages.  Putting just the spoilers back there has them lying very flat against the legs, which is nice, but it'll leave the adapter pegs in the forearms- honestly, unless you use a tool every time you transform the pegs are going to stay due to a fit that's much more snug between the 5mm end and the ports on the toy than the 3mm end and the ports on the spoilers.  If you use a glue or epoxy to hold the spoiler and the adapter pegs together then perhaps they'd come out with the spoiler, and you could plug the entire thing into the back of the leg.  The look is passable; it sticks off much more noticeably, but perhaps not as egregiously as sticking the entire black mounts on there with the spoiler.

If you're going the black mount route, though, you can remove them from the spoiler.  Then, if you're careful and have tiny fingers, you can store them inside his legs by plugging them into the other side of the same peg hole.  Doing this causes the mount the stick out a bit, but not so much that I think it looks noticeably bad.  That said, Nonnef suggests that you can use this bit of 3mm peg sticking out from his legs to store parts of the hand cannon.  While technically true, I think that's a bit too much, especially when there's nowhere to store the third part of the cannon that I can find.  Also, if you store the mounts there and still plan to store the spoiler on his calves you can't push either in too far, as they're trying to occupy the same peg hole.

However, there's one final place you can stick the spoiler, and that's into the peg holes on the bottom of his feet.  This method expands his heel spurs, but limits his toe tilt.

Of course, the other requirement I had was guns.  The rifle plugs into his hands, no problems.  The hand cannon is assembled from three parts around his hand, and must be disassembled whenever you want to take it off.  The rifle is good, I like it!  The hand cannon, though... I can see what Nonnef was going for, but I'm not a fan.

Oh, and recall that the kit comes with 6 of those 5mm-to-3mm adapters?  You can take two more of them and stick them into the 5mm pegs on the tops of the shoulders.  It's not exact, due to the peg being a bit short and lacking ridges, but it creates a look that's overall more similar to the animation and G1 toy's shoulders.  However, as I mentioned the pegs only come in white, black, and red.  Fine for Cordon and Spinout, but if you want some for Sunstreaker you'll have to paint them yellow yourself.

Another option is from Go Better.  Like Nonnef's kit, this will get you a spoiler and a gun, but instead of a hand cannon you get gap fillers.  As is the case with Go Better this kit is 3D-printed, which can be a drawback for some, and it's quite a bit more expensive.  In fact, at $23 shipped to the US, it's more expensive than the figure it's meant to fix.  That said, it's a bit more intricate and, in many ways, superior to Nonnef's.

The spoiler is pretty interesting.  It attaches by fitting over the lip of the peg holes on the back of the car, but it wraps over to the back of the car as well.  The molded detail on it is a bit more accurate, and it doesn't leave Sunstreaker with a black rear.  The spoiler itself is painted silver and has the correct shape without the need for black risers.  My only complaint is that it has a bit of a noticeable texture from the printing.  There also isn't really anywhere to store is gun in this mode.

For robot mode, we'll start by installing the gap fillers for the legs.  The ones for the lower legs fit around the lip of the peg holes on his calves, then close over to cover the gap.  The ones for the thighs just shove into the gap.  The fillers on the lower legs open up for transformation, then close back around the thighs, and there's enough clearance between his legs that they don't need to be removed for alt mode.  Plus, since the back of his legs are the top of the car instead of the bottom like Wheeljack there's no ground clearance issues.

No, the yellow isn't really a match for the yellow plastic Hasbro used... but then again, the yellow paint Hasbro used isn't a match for the yellow plastic Hasbro used, so Sunstreaker was already two-toned, and the kit isn't making it any worse.

Not only do the arm spoilers stay on in robot mode, they're hinged.  So, instead of sticking awkwardly off his forearms like Nonnef's they fold around and tuck under his wrist to cover the gap on the inside of his forearms.  Now, I wish the fit was a little better, as there's nothing for them to really lock into and they're just relying on friction to stay closed against the gap, but the idea is an A+ even if the execution is only a B, and it beats the heck out of partsforming.

What's more, since both the spoiler parts and the lower leg covers attach by fitting around the peg holes instead of in them, those four peg holes are still available for use with Weaponizers, Micromasters, or other accessories that use 5mm ports.

That just leaves the rifle.  Like the spoiler, it's got silver paint and a bit of a noticeable texture.  He holds it just fine.  What I find interesting, though, is that Go Better designed it to fold up.  Once folded, it can store inside the hollow spot in either of his lower legs, then the cover folds over it to hide it.  It's kind of neat robot mode storage.  Unfortunately, since his thighs go into that hollow for alt mode, it doesn't help with alt mode storage.

While it's on the expensive side, I prefer and recommend the Go Better kit.  It looks better in car mode, it cleans up better in robot mode, and Sunstreaker gets his gun.  However, so far I've only been able to find it in yellow, for Sunstreaker.  Nonnef's kit is cheaper and does provide a spoiler, but the spoiler practically requires partsforming that doesn't integrate well in bot mode, eats up most of the available 5mm ports, looks off to me no matter how you mount it in alt mode, and doesn't do anything for gap fillers.  That said, with no Go Better kit for them Nonnef's pretty much your only option for Cordon and Spinout.

[Convectuoso]

Those are some nice upgrade kits, @mikeszekely

Coming from Magic Square:

[tekering]

Can this market really support another Legion-sized third-party G1-style Shockwave figure? 

I can hardly keep track of how many I own, much less how many have been released... 

[Scyla]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Can this market really support another Legion-sized third-party G1-style Shockwave figure? 

I can hardly keep track of how many I own, much less how many have been released... 

I think this is the third one. You had the Porsche Shockblast from NewAge and the Iron Factory one. Additionally NewAge is planning to release a G1 Shockwave but they only released renders I think.

[tekering]

1 hour ago, Scyla said:

I think this is the third one.

I think you're forgetting the Warbotron, and the MechFansToys, and the Custom Robots...

It's a pretty old pic, but you get the idea. 

[Scyla]

57 minutes ago, tekering said:

I think you're forgetting the Warbotron, and the MechFansToys, and the Custom Robots...

It's a pretty old pic, but you get the idea. 

To be technically correct the Warbotron one was a kit and not a toy. 

[edit:] I need to get me one of those Alternators Shockblasts

Edited March 25, 2021 by Scyla

[Convectuoso]

Coming from NewAge:

[Convectuoso]

Also coming from NewAge, new Bumblebee version:

[M'Kyuun]

OH, those look awesome!

I wish NA's scale was closer to CHUG legends. For their size, though, they look great. Old Skool alts FTW!

Edited March 25, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[Wolf-1]

16 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

 

While it's on the expensive side, I prefer and recommend the Go Better kit.  It looks better in car mode, it cleans up better in robot mode, and Sunstreaker gets his gun.  However, so far I've only been able to find it in yellow, for Sunstreaker.  Nonnef's kit is cheaper and does provide a spoiler, but the spoiler practically requires partsforming that doesn't integrate well in bot mode, eats up most of the available 5mm ports, looks off to me no matter how you mount it in alt mode, and doesn't do anything for gap fillers.  That said, with no Go Better kit for them Nonnef's pretty much your only option for Cordon and Spinout.

I ended up going with a combo different from that for my Sunstreaker trio.  I went with Matrix Workshops set for Cordon and Spinout with the addition of Shockwave Labs thigh fillers.  The kits do not work with each other w/o modification; the calf covers are black and have a nub on them that would need filed/sanded off that goes into the thigh hole when in Alt mode, with the thigh fillers in as well that nub must be removed for the leg-covers to close completely; no issues in Robot mode between the two.  The rifles are more a flat gray than silver as with most other kits while the spoiler is still more a silver.  The Matrix Workshop kits are $15 each or $35 for a full trio set.  Thigh fillers were $8 and also came bundled with Runamuck/Runabout thigh fillers as well.

For Sunstreaker himself, I opted for the ZX Studios kit, $20.  It is a complete kit in that you get leg-covers, thigh fillers, spoiler, rifle, pistol, and "pile-drivers/laser" covers that were G1 toy included, 1 at least.  The whole kit is painted yellow except for the spoiler and weapons, which are more a silver than gray.  The yellow is once again close but no match for either the plastic or paint on Sunstreaker.  Unlike the Matrix leg-covers no modding is needed to make everything work in both modes.  

[mikeszekely]

The chests on those Newage minibots looks awful. I'm not sure how many options you have you Cliffjumper, but I'm not sure why you'd but this new Bee over their first Bee or Magic Square's.

20 minutes ago, Wolf-1 said:

I ended up going with a combo different from that for my Sunstreaker trio. 

Feel like posting some pics? I really like what Go Better did for Sunstreaker, but I'm open to replacing Nonnef's kits.

[Convectuoso]

3 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

The chests on those Newage minibots looks awful. I'm not sure how many options you have you Cliffjumper, but I'm not sure why you'd but this new Bee over their first Bee

My thoughts exactly

[Dobber]

I received my Lemon tree Purple Potato the other day. It’s a really nice figure with a cool transformation except 1 thing. The arms swivel joint inside the chest has to be raised or lowered depending on which mode you want. To have the shoulders/arms back the internal joint needs to be raised and for starship mode lowered. It is nigh impossible to raise and lower this bar. IY’s so hard to get the proper leverage to get this bar to move so you end up using a LOT of force to get it to move which places a ton of torque on the shoulder joint or the internal plastic bar that this internal joint is attached to. It’s so difficult to move it that it makes me not want to transform it now. Maybe some WD40 will make it slide easier. 
 

Chris

[technoblue]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

OH, those look awesome!

I wish NA's scale was closer to CHUG legends. For their size, though, they look great. Old Skool alts FTW!

I'm with you on this one, @M'Kyuun. I love the look of NA Bee and Cliffy.

The bot-mode chests don't bother me one bit since these guys are going to be tiny in hand. I'm just amazed by the clever engineering at this scale—articulation that mimics Bee 2.0.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, technoblue said:

I'm with you on this one, @M'Kyuun. I love the look of NA Bee and Cliffy.

The bot-mode chests don't bother me one bit since these guys are going to be tiny in hand. I'm just amazed by the clever engineering at this scale—articulation that mimics Bee 2.0.

Yep- the broken -up chests aren't lost on me, but like you say, on such a tiny fig, I think it'll be less noticeable. Like you, the engineering grabs my attention; it's incredible what both NA and MS are accomplishing engineering-wise at these small scales. Heck, I'll throw Iron Factory in there too. They have their own style apart from slavish G1, but they strike a good balance between license and likeness that sets them apart and makes their figs interesting. I don't own any (yet, but I've got a few of their upcoming figs PO'd), but I've been looking at Kuma's pics and reviews for years with admiration for what they do. Kuma's talent for bringing the best out of these things doesn't hurt.

[technoblue]

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Yep- the broken -up chests aren't lost on me, but like you say, on such a tiny fig, I think it'll be less noticeable. Like you, the engineering grabs my attention; it's incredible what both NA and MS are accomplishing engineering-wise at these small scales. Heck, I'll throw Iron Factory in there too. They have their own style apart from slavish G1, but they strike a good balance between license and likeness that sets them apart and makes their figs interesting. I don't own any (yet, but I've got a few of their upcoming figs PO'd), but I've been looking at Kuma's pics and reviews for years with admiration for what they do. Kuma's talent for bringing the best out of these things doesn't hurt.

I have Iron Factory's all-in-one Ultra Magnus. That's the figure that got me started with these Legends scale Transformers. Since Magnus, I've picked up their version of Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, Hound, and Exhaust.  I am keen on the way they lean into IDW. It reminds me of MMC's Reformatted line at times (also a favorite).

I was thinking that one of the recently announced Legends Devastators would go well face-to-face with IF Magnus. 

Anyway, I'm just getting started with a G1 Legends collection from Magic Square and NewAge. So far I have Optimus and Megatron from both companies, a couple NA seekers, and NA Ironhide and Ratchet. Going by the out-of-the box experience, I do think that MS has a slight edge with fewer visible gaps in bot mode. That said, NA releases have nifty add-on parts, similar to the Hasbro mainline WFC figures, which solve the nitpicks that I have with them.

I'm waiting on a number of preorders, including G1 Magnus from NA and MS. That will be a fun comparison.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by technoblue

[mikeszekely]

Newage and Magic Square both do different things really well.  I tend to prefer the sculpts of Magic Square, but Newage usually has better materials.

That said, as I don't really want to start a Legends collection on top of MP and WfC, I really wish they (or someone like KBB, who upscaled Newage's first Bumblebee) would upscale some of Newage, Magic Square, and Mech Fans Toys stuff to scale with WfC.  Not only would it help fill out the roster, but it'd be a great opportunity to replace some of the less-good figures like Astrotrain and the Vanettes with much better versions.

[Convectuoso]

What do you think about Iron Factory's Wheeljack and Hound, @technoblue?

I'm considering those two for my collection

 I started not long ago and I already have NA's Starscream, Soundwave, Galvatron, Bumblebee and Ratchet, and Magic Square's Megatron. NA's Prowl is on the way, too. I've also pre-ordered NA's Ultra Magnus and Shockwave and MS's Devastator.

I'm tempted to get MS Optimus Prime, but seems to be sold out everywhere.

Edited March 26, 2021 by Convectuoso

[technoblue]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

What do you think about Iron Factory's Wheeljack and Hound, @technoblue?

I'm considering those two for my collection

Wheeljack has a few clever transformation sequences, albeit some parts can be finicky. The partsforming hands, for instance, finish the side of the car in alt mode but only one set of hands really fits well for this (the gun holding hands) and even those hands will show gaps if the legs aren't sitting right. Speaking of the legs, they have a nice sliding mechanism that folds up but the first couple of times I transformed my copy the movement was stiff and I would accidentally pop a leg off the ball joint. Limbs popping off is a small nitpick for me since they pop right back on.

I like that we get two different heads (one with the blue 'ears') and the smaller sidearm can stow away. Articulation in bot mode is excellent. In alt mode my copy of Wheeljack rolls nicely on all four tires. The paint apps are nice too. No smudging. I do have one random spot of green on mine but it's on the back of the leg and isn't obvious. All said, I can recommend it.

I'll post some pictures tomorrow if things aren't too busy here. Otherwise, I'll get them up over the weekend.

Hound/Optics Hunter is on its way from The Chosen Prime so I'm still waiting for that one to arrive. Hopefully, it'll be here next week.

Edited March 26, 2021 by technoblue