The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[M'Kyuun]

26 minutes ago, nightmareB4macross said:

Amazing!

+1   

The legends scaling helps a lot for reducing weight, so those joints will likely hold up over time. They obviously went the Toy World direction, with a big separate waist and thigh section, which is fine, as it gives the combined form the requisite strength and articulation one would expect from a modern fig, and that likely wouldn't be possible if trying to use Long Haul, who appears to have his G1 transformation.  I'm trying not to delve too deep into the legends Pit of No return, but if the individual Constructicons are all as good as Scavenger and Bonecrusher, I'm likely in for a set.

A notable exception from New Age's usual design MO is the extensive use of pinned joints in lieu of their usual ball joints. That'll make @mikeszekely happy.

Edited May 29, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[technoblue]

These are so tiny.  Looking at the group shot, without the turntable, I'm thinking the combined gestalt may end up being around the same height as WFC Ultra Magnus. Newage has packed in some clever features, although I think the cannon's pew-pew sound could be improved a bit. The backside kibble works such as it is for me. 

[Scyla]

Got my New Age Herbie V2 and Vanishing Point two pack. And while I was upset that I had to buy a Bumblebee to get a Cliffjumper it is nice to have a version of the toy to fiddle with, while the other is in the display case.

Other than that they are great. The hinges on their chest don’t bother me in hand. Because they are so tiny they are barely noticeable.

Articulation, paint, material, sculpt, everything is on point and NA again made a tiny version of a character that is so much better than the official MP version. Herbies head sculpt is amazing and oozes with Bumblebees character.

I absolutely adore the Micromachine feel I get from them in alt-mode. Transformation is fun, albeit a bit fiddly, and refreshing. I highly recommend them.

Words can’t describe how tiny they are:

[M'Kyuun]

10 hours ago, Scyla said:

Got my New Age Herbie V2 and Vanishing Point two pack. And while I was upset that I had to buy a Bumblebee to get a Cliffjumper it is nice to have a version of the toy to fiddle with, while the other is in the display case.

Other than that they are great. The hinges on their chest don’t bother me in hand. Because they are so tiny they are barely noticeable.

Articulation, paint, material, sculpt, everything is on point and NA again made a tiny version of a character that is so much better than the official MP version. Herbies head sculpt is amazing and oozes with Bumblebees character.

I absolutely adore the Micromachine feel I get from them in alt-mode. Transformation is fun, albeit a bit fiddly, and refreshing. I highly recommend them.

Words can’t describe how tiny they are:

The Choro-Q  based G1 alt modes are really the draw for me to want these guys. The price is a bit high for such small figs, and it does suck that they're being released in a two-pack rather than individually.  As small as they are, though, like you say, the seamed chest piece doesn't really look bad at all from any kind of distance. Both it and Magic Square's Cliffjumpers look good- very similar and appropriate silhouettes.

[sh9000]

 

[mikeszekely]

On 5/29/2021 at 12:44 PM, M'Kyuun said:

A notable exception from New Age's usual design MO is the extensive use of pinned joints in lieu of their usual ball joints. That'll make @mikeszekely happy.

It does.  And it looks really good.  Actually, I think both NA and Magic Square have Devastators that look better than any of the larger options.

I wonder how they scale with Iron Factory's Bruticus?  Or maybe I'm obligated to get both because-

EDIT: Dang, these 3P Legends figures are getting expensive.  $100 for two Constructicons... that's like half the price of two of ToyWorld's, for figures a tenth the size.

Edited May 31, 2021 by mikeszekely

[technoblue]

43 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

EDIT: Dang, these 3P Legends figures are getting expensive.  $100 for two Constructicons... that's like half the price of two of ToyWorld's, for figures a tenth the size.

I'm waiting for shops like Show.Z and TF-Direct to list their prices.

With any luck, the NA Constructicons will still have an overseas discount like the other Legends releases.

[M'Kyuun]

42 minutes ago, technoblue said:

I'm waiting for shops like Show.Z and TF-Direct to list their prices.

With any luck, the NA Constructicons will still have an overseas discount like the other Legends releases.

Hopefully. Looking at Showz's entries right now, they show Scavenger and Bonecrusher for sale as a team with actual product pics, and then listings for the other two teams with only the combined Devy render. Judging by the render, NA's Devastator uses a pretty extensive frame to form and give shape to the upper torso including the shoulders, as well as the waist, thighs, and knees.  The combined form is a bit too lanky looking to my eyes. looking at Magic square's take, I like the stockier proportions of their Devastator better. Too, looking at the arms, the vehicle modes hide the bot joints better and just, to my eyes, seem better designed. I also like how Long Haul's truck grill is unobscured by an add-on as the NA's appears to be, and Long Haul also appears to attach to the separate waist piece (which seems to be the common trend following Toy World's example). MS' combiner knee mechanics are much better implemented and complimentary without the additional extension of the NA. About the only thing I don't like is the little toe on Mixmaster, but that's how he was drawn in the toon, so it's canon. If they make it so it can fold away, that'd be fantastic- toon  or toy look depending on your preference. One thing I don't like is that MS' Scrapper has faux wheels on his shoulder; the real ones likely fold into his chest. Ah, Cartoon accuracy Sigh.

I hope both of these get early show and tell vids; if I get a legends Devy, I only want one, so I want to make the most informed decision I can, but for right now, I'm leaning hard towards MS.  

[Dobber]

ShowZ has updated photo’s of TFC’s next in the real world CS line the Z-10 attack helicopter. Looks like they are nearing the final prototype phase as this looks like a full transformable sample. Impressive.
More here: https://showzstore.com/tfc-toys-cs-02-zhi-10_p2780.html

 

Chris
 

Edited May 31, 2021 by Dobber

[M'Kyuun]

4 hours ago, Dobber said:

ShowZ has updated photo’s of TFC’s next in the real world CS line the Z-10 attack helicopter. Looks like they are nearing the final prototype phase as this looks like a full transformable sample. Impressive.
More here: https://showzstore.com/tfc-toys-cs-02-zhi-10_p2780.html

 

Chris
 

I thought the proto looked good, but the amount of detail they've added since is impressive. PO'd it some time back, and now my anticipation is building. For some reason, the head gives me a feminine Optimus vibe.

Still eagerly waiting for a proto of this:

[Dobber]

51 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I thought the proto looked good, but the amount of detail they've added since is impressive. PO'd it some time back, and now my anticipation is building. For some reason, the head gives me a feminine Optimus vibe.

Still eagerly waiting for a proto of this:

Agreed, I too PO’d it a while back and am impressed with how it’s turning out. I’m also eagerly awaiting to see how the Flanker turns out! 

Chris

Edited May 31, 2021 by Dobber

[Mechapilot77]

skipping that copter, hope the flanker comes out well. 

[Convectuoso]

NewAge Constructicons

[mikeszekely]

I might still get Magic Square's, but I pre-ordered the first two New Age Constructions.

In other 3P news... what kind of crack is FT smoking? $120 for Huffer, $250 for Skullcruncher, and if the rumors are to be believed over $300 for Blitzwing.

[Convectuoso]

Magic Square's Light of Justice 2.0

[mikeszekely]

Eh. Articulation looks good, but aesthetically I like the original better.

[technoblue]

24 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Magic Square's Light of Justice 2.0

Very interesting. I like the upgrades, although now I'm curious if this means the incoming Ultra Magnus armour will work with MS Prime v1, v2, or both. The plot thickens!

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

In other 3P news... what kind of crack is FT smoking? $120 for Huffer, $250 for Skullcruncher, and if the rumors are to be believed over $300 for Blitzwing.

 I wish I could say I'm surprised, but FT's prices have been steadily increasing to take advantage of G1 nostalgia. I was avoiding the larger bots and sticking with FT minibots after Rouge. Alas, Spindrift turned me off to all that after the v2 release. It's ridiculous that v1 originally cost $60 locally and v2 now costs $100.

[Mechapilot77]

its sad to me as an mp collector who is trying not to buy legends size that those legends devies look better than constructor....i still like gravity builder's combined look better than those (its a bit updated though not really g1) but the individual bots modes look great on the new age.  way better than toyworld's g1ish bots and of course GT's aren't G1 so....yeah.

[mikeszekely]

10 minutes ago, technoblue said:

It's ridiculous that v1 originally cost $60 locally and v2 now costs $100.

I don't disagree. It's why I skipped Brawn and Beachcomber, and I'm skipping Huffer. I actually did get Spindrift 2, but he's still in my pile waiting to ship. At this point, I'll still probably get Dead End, and I might do Cliffjumper. But then I'm probably done with FT. I'm not getting Chomp, so I'll almost definitely sell Dracula and Lupus. I'm thinking about bailing on the Aerialbots, too.

[anime52k8]

I'm getting some strong MP-44 vibes from light of justice 2.0. I wonder how that's gonna work out in small scale?

Edited June 2, 2021 by anime52k8

[slaginpit]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

Magic Square's Light of Justice 2.0

I like it. Nice changes 

[mikeszekely]

While you can't throw a rock these days without finding some kind of 3D-printed add-on kit for official Transformers these days, but they mostly seem to be coming from China.  And with the pandemic affecting shipping prices the kits can often cost as much or more than the figure itself, if you're in the US.  And unless it's coming from Go Better it might not even be worth it.

Well, it turns out there is a cheaper alternative... get your 3D-printed kits from a US-based source.  New kid on the block JRC Design recently opened up an e-shop (jrcdesignstore.com), and I decided to give him a look.  I wound up grabbing four small kits.

First up we have this little orange bit.  It's for the Gen Selects G2 Megatron.

What you do is fit that notched end into the groove on Megatron's right shoulder.  This puts a 5mm peg on the top, that you can then plug his fusion cannon into.  Not quite as good as having an actual tank barrel, but it's closer to G2 than simply G1 Megatron in green and purple camo.

Despite the abundance of sculpted detail the only place I could find to stick it in tank mode is under the partsforming back end.  All-in-all, it's a simple thing that doesn't totally fix G2 Megatron, but it helps.

Next up we have another small, simple part for a tank.  This one's for Kingdom Warpath.

You take his partsforming shield/tank front and plug the part onto it like this.

The idea here is that if you don't want Warpath using it as a shield, and you don't want the shield sticking up so far behind his head, this part lowers how it sits on his back.

You don't even need to remove it for transformation, as it sits in the hollow void between his legs.  As with the G2 Megatron kit, this kit isn't going to blow you away but it does provide a simple solution to a minor irritant.

Next we have a part for Kindgom Ultra Magnus (sorry, doesn't work with Siege).  This one is less about fixing a problem and more about adding utility.

See the peg in the middle?  It works with the Matrix that came with Earthrise Optimus, Studio Series Hot Rod, and presumably Kingdom Rodimus Prime.

If you open Magnus up you'll find two raised posts where the clear windows are screwed into the white plastic.  The holes in the part grab onto those posts, Matrix side down.  You should be able to fold the white Optimus head in behind it, so it can stay in for all three modes.  Emphasis on should.  The peg on my copy was a little too thick for the Matrix, so I couldn't get one to sit low enough for the Optimus head to get the necessary clearance.  I'll work on filing it down later.  If everything fits properly, you should be able to see the Matrix through the truck's windshield in truck or white Optimus mode.  It's kind of a novelty, though, because you won't really see it in Magnus mode, and the entire part has to be removed to take the Matrix back out.  Still, it's something.

Lastly, we have a small pack with guns and spoilers for Spinout and Cordon.

You'll recall I already picked up Nonnef's kits for those two, and yeah, the 3D-printed guns are looking a lot less polished than Nonnef's rifles.  They'll do in a pinch, though, when you consider that JRC's kit supplies both figures for slightly less than a Nonnef kit with guns and spoilers for just one of them.

Of course, we have to consider the spoilers, too, and that's were JRC fares a bit better.  The color match seems to be about the same as Nonnef's, and in bot mode you can store them on the back of the leg, same as Nonnef's.  Because the holes run the whole way through the calf you can push them in flush.

They pull ahead in alt mode, though.  Recall that Nonnef's spoilers didn't plug directly into the car.  You either had to use some obtrusive black riser pieces, or some included 5mm to 3mm pegs.  If you went with the risers you didn't really have a good place to store them in bot mode.  If you went with the peg adapters they were extremely difficult to remove from the arms in robot mode, and the sides of the spoilers were switched so that it was wider at the ends than in the middle.  JRC's have none of those complications, just simple 5mm posts in the right spots so that the spoiler looks correct.  Now, I'll still say that the Go Better kit for Sunstreaker is the best way to add a spoiler and gun to him.  However, Go Better hasn't made that kit available in Spinout and Cordon's colors, and even if they had it's a pretty expensive kit.  You might be cool splurging on a main character like Sunstreaker, but a cheaper option for the repaints is definitely welcome.  Of course, if you don't want to splurge at all JRC does have a version of this kit with a gray spoiler for Sunstreaker.

Ultimately, I think that comparison with Go Better doesn't just apply to spoiler kits.  JRC's stuff is still a bit rough and lacks the paint and polish you'd find in one of Go Better's kits.  If there's a figure you really want to improve and money is no object then you might want to take a look to see what Go Better is offering.  JRC's biggest advantage, though, is price.  I paid $23 for my Go Better Sunstreaker kit.  I paid under $20 before shipping for everything in this review.  The majority of his kits are under $5.  So give him a look, you might find a cheap solution that fixes a minor issue you have with a figure.

[nightmareB4macross]

This is a great homage to the G1 figure.

[sh9000]

Looks cool and nice packaging.

[mikeszekely]

I still wish Newage, Magic Square, and MFT would consider doing WfC-scaled figures...

Edited June 4, 2021 by mikeszekely

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

I still wish Newage, Magic Square, and MFT would consider doing WfC-scanned figures...

Do you mean legends sized copies of the WfC toys?  Honestly, I think the Newage Seekers are far superior to the WfC designs; if anything, I wish they'd upscale their designs to fit with CHUG, as the WfC figs were essentially upscaled copies of the Classics Seeker, albeit with the CW leg mechanism instead of sliders.  It's a poor dated design, and I'd eagerly welcome voyager scaled versions of NA's Seekers.

That Magic Square Prime looks good. I didn't bite for their V1, but having their Megs, it's almost obligatory to have a comparable OP. I have their Light of Freedom as my MP Prime, so having his little brother in my slowly growing legends collection seems apropos.

[mikeszekely]

1 minute ago, M'Kyuun said:

Do you mean legends sized copies of the WfC toys?

No, the opposite.  Sorry it was confusing, because of my phone's stupid autocorrect.  Should be "WFC-scaled," not "scanned."  As in, I wish NA, MS, and MFT took some of their Legends-scaled figures and upsized them to work with WFC.  While I think Hasbro's done a pretty great job with a lot of them, there are some definite missing and misses that I would be easily covered with some upscaled 3P Legends.  Heck, there are a even a few, like the Seeker mold, that I think are fine in the official line but would still replace just because I think the Legends ones are better.

[M'Kyuun]

1 minute ago, mikeszekely said:

No, the opposite.  Sorry it was confusing, because of my phone's stupid autocorrect.  Should be "WFC-scaled," not "scanned."  As in, I wish NA, MS, and MFT took some of their Legends-scaled figures and upsized them to work with WFC.  While I think Hasbro's done a pretty great job with a lot of them, there are some definite missing and misses that I would be easily covered with some upscaled 3P Legends.  Heck, there are a even a few, like the Seeker mold, that I think are fine in the official line but would still replace just because I think the Legends ones are better.

Hate it when smart phones aren't. Totally onboard with your thinking. And yeah,  WfC has been a treasure trove of G1 goodness with some notable figs, like Cyclonus, Skyfire, and ER Prime to name just a few. Some disappointments too, like Astrotrain and the Seekers. In the case of the latter, it'd be wonderful if a fourth party, or the third party companies themselves, would make CHUG appropriate scaled versions of some of their figs corresponding to those official figs that were stinkers. It'd truly be a step closer to a perfect world.

 

[Convectuoso]

More pictures of NewAge's Shockwave

[M'Kyuun]

It really is impressive what these guys are doing at legends scale.

[Convectuoso]

 

 

 

[technoblue]

Ha! The opening montage is terrific on this one.  Bumblebee wants to be everyone's friend.  

I like the line-up around 02:12 with the Decepticon leaders too.

[sh9000]

Peolesdru makes cool transformation videos.

[M'Kyuun]

Magic Square's Long Haul, and Scavenger.

Long Haul is always the main make or break Constructicon for me when choosing a team of Constructicon toys to go with. Back when it seemed that every third party had a version of Devastator coming out, I went with Toy World's Constructor because of how well their LH compared to both the G1 toy and the toon incarnation.  Now that the two heavy hitters of G1 legends figs are simultaneously revealing their takes on the Constructicons, I find myself in the same position once again- which one skews closest? Gotta say, I think MS' has the bulk down better, although part of me wishes that the angled bit of his bed by the ankles was part of the foot, as it looks weird to me as it is. Too, I love it when realistic functionality is incorporated into an alt mode, and construction machinery just lends itself to that effect. That said, I have yet to see a Long Haul figure with a functional dumping bed, and I hope MS and NA incorporate it into their respective takes. Not holding my breath, mind you, but I hope.

Edited June 7, 2021 by M'Kyuun

[Convectuoso]

The rest of NewAge's Constructicons:

And here's what does the trick:

I wonder if Magic Square is going with the same approach