The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Convectuoso]

Magic Square Constructicons test shots:

[M'Kyuun]

50 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

The rest of NewAge's Constructicons:

And here's what does the trick:

I wonder if Magic Square is going with the same approach

 

I don't think so, at least not as extensively. I think MS took a page from Toy World's Constructor, as the method of attaching the limbs looks similar. With NA, the frame handles the heavy lifting, pun intended, for the gestalt's articulation. Looking at MS' Devy, there appear to be only separate waist and arms, much like the G1 toy and Toy World's Constructor. The knees appear to hinge at the conjunction of the leg bots and the thighs, which means the knee hinge attaches directly to the leg bots, the waist attaches directly to Long Haul, who in turn attaches directly to Hook, and either the arm bots or Hook contain the shoulder hinges. NA's solution may potentially impart greater stability, but to my eyes, the MS Devastator looks better to me- closer to source, I guess you could say. Too, the MS figs appear to have more complex transformations. That's not  always necessarily a good thing, but I think it shows a level of investment. 

So I wonder if Dinobots are next after these guys finish their Devastators.?

[Convectuoso]

4 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

So I wonder if Dinobots are next after these guys finish their Devastators

I'd love that

[technoblue]

I'm liking how both sets of Constructicons look in these shots, but I do agree that MS has the edge for gestalt mode.

If both NA and MS revisit the Dinobots, then I hope we see something more than an iterative upgrade from the DX9/MFT design. 

[mikeszekely]

Despite Newage's rising prices I think I'm in for both Devastators. Birth look much better than anything in a larger scale, and I've got all the other Devastator's, so it'd be weird if I didn't get these.

Besides, with UT, GT, Maketoys, Badcube, and DX9 ghosts of their former selves, Fanshobby focusing on Masterpiece, XTB pricing their stuff higher than their QC really allows, and FT's prices gone straight to crazy town, my collecting has really slowed. At least this is something.

[Mechapilot77]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Despite Newage's rising prices I think I'm in for both Devastators. Birth look much better than anything in a larger scale, and I've got all the other Devastator's, so it'd be weird if I didn't get these.

Besides, with UT, GT, Maketoys, Badcube, and DX9 ghosts of their former selves, Fanshobby focusing on Masterpiece, XTB pricing their stuff higher than their QC really allows, and FT's prices gone straight to crazy town, my collecting has really slowed. At least this is something.

these days it seems all the innovation and energy in 3P is in the legends scale which i refuse to start a collection of.  i do thnk these devys are beter than the mp versions so i might bite.  i'll leave it to you to show us which is better. lol

[M'Kyuun]

15 minutes ago, Mechapilot77 said:

these days it seems all the innovation and energy in 3P is in the legends scale which i refuse to start a collection of.  i do thnk these devys are beter than the mp versions so i might bite.  i'll leave it to you to show us which is better. lol

I have to agree, and despite not wanting to delve into yet another collection for which I have no room, I'm drawn to these things for how well they're executed. I constantly wish they'd upscale these things to fit in with CHUG, as they'd fill any number of holes left by missing or subpar official toys.

TW's Constructor is the only complete set of Constructicons in my collection, and I wouldn't be opposed to another. While I tend to like NA's individual Constructicons more, the Magic Square Devastator is more appealing. The Magic Square bots are seriously channeling Sunbow, down to the tire shaped bumps on the arms of Mixmaster, Hook, and Scrapper. I'm not the biggest fan of that level of toon faithfulness, but I'm not shelling for both companies, and right now I like MS' Devastator more than NA's, so that's likely the direction I'll go if I decide to get a set of wee Constructicons. I sure wish a fourth party would upscale these (either company) to CHUG scale.

[technoblue]

Myself, I've been struggling with the idea of giving up mainline CHUG completely in light of these third-party Legends. I finally decided to cut down the CHUG collection I have to a few personal favorites over the weekend. I also cancelled all future pre-orders, so I guess I'm officially out again unless Hasbro gives us another surprise Transformers Prime set.

[Convectuoso]

I got this upgrade part for NewAge's Soundwave:

It can be placed on his back when in Robot mode:

The backpack keeps it in place:

it allows for the scope to be positioned further back, so it doesn't cover the face too much. 

With it the angle of the scope can also be changed:

The part can be used in alt mode too, but I haven't tried it yet. I found this video, though:

 

[Convectuoso]

I definitely like this one better than NA's

[mikeszekely]

And according to Bubbeh MS is using less of that mushy nylon plastic. I might check out their Menasor, too.

[technoblue]

This Devastator certainly looks more like the imposing chunky combiner that went toe to toe with the Dinobots in the animated movie. 

NA's version reminds me of the lanky TV Devastator.

[slaginpit]

just got payment request for my preorder of UT megatron 

[Mechapilot77]

7 hours ago, slaginpit said:

just got payment request for my preorder of UT megatron 

galvatron right?  if it doesn't disassemble into 10,000 indistinct cubes and reassemble to form the alt mode than its not movie accurate.  lol

[mikeszekely]

7 hours ago, slaginpit said:

just got payment request for my preorder of UT megatron 

I'll pay mine tonight when I get home.

Man, when it rains it pours. I only bought maybe one 3P toy in April and nothing in May. Now I bought Mista on same, have to pay for this, want to get Magic Square's Stunticons, plus I'm expecting some stuff that's been out in China to hit my domestic store any day.

[sh9000]

[Negotiator]

ooh I like that upgrade set

[mikeszekely]

I'm fairly content with the Grimlock upgrades I already got, but I think I like that Wheelie better than TR.

[technoblue]

DNA is here showing us the Wheelie that should've been in the box at retail. 

[Negotiator]

i would happily have no wheelie in exchange for some front teeth and panels to cover gaps.

[mikeszekely]

I think I'm going to get this kit, for Wheelie, the dino arms, and the forearm covers.  Maybe the feet fillers.  But if anyone else wants the sword, neck, or teeth lemme know.

[slaginpit]

I actually wanted to give this three and a half stars but i do not have this option. So here its 3.5 stars.

Mold: Its nice. Very very Nice. Based off the IDW Transformers comic Menasor and transformission captured it spot on So mold wise its true to the line art. And even tho Fansproject did the same line-art mold which i sold off, its much more accurate. It carries the details from the car-bots over to the gestalt mode pretty well. So for that its a solid 4 stars. I have not seen the individual bot modes so i cant compare accuracy to the comic.

Individual car modes: Got to say these are some of the best car bots to date. Especially Disorder and Overturn, followed by Revolt and then Carnage. Carnage really needs FEET!.(voiced in Bobby Skullfaces sound) Transformations are a bit involved but then again so are most modern transformers collectibles. The weakest for me is Revolt, i just dont like that spoiler hanging in the back but that may be due to its line art? Again I do not know havent seen them in their comic bot modes.

Transformation, already talked about the car to bot transformations now to the gestalt. Its involved And its cool that its all fairly intergrated outside of the parts forming, it doesn't need the hip or forearm or even the thigh pieces to make it look cool.

Paint Job and over all Gestalt mode Thoughts: Ok so I got the chromed version so ill speak to that since most people have seen the reviews for this mold because it is old. The chrome looks amazing! I love the Silver mat finish on Powertrain the dark blueish grey chrome. It accents the mat silver so well. Even in combined mode. its a great color pallet. Only thing that could top that is if Revolt was a Mat Shiny Yellow. I dont think the Chrome silver on him looks that good. Also the sword and gun could have been a mat shiny paint job.

The Chrome really makes some moving joints very very stiff. Also expect some nicks and scratches because you know its chrome lol
I have it compared to that TFC autobot combiner (sorry forgot its name) Got to say that old TFC combined mode is a lot more posable than Menasor. The old issues from TFM carries over to the chromed version, from the reviews it has all the balance issues it cant even raise the arms to 70 degrees the side with Over turn cant lift at the shoulders because the front end hits Powertrains missle bay. Posability is a solid 1. Just 1. I have never seen anything this bad.

I do recommend it for one reason alone. And for the chromed version only. 1. Shelf Presence and 2 PRICE.  The original 5 was 499. The CHROMED version was 319US. Thats just 63 bucks per vehicle. Not bad actually. And to me this menasor is the best design. Sure the others are cartoon accurate but the cartoon did look goofy.

So rating is kind low just because of the known issues and i would have liked a mat finish on Revolt and the weapons and that the chroming did interfere with the fitment tolerance.

 

[slaginpit]

 

 

yeesh the paint apps are really lacking. Those hoses that lead to chest (fusion??)the couplers should be paint in blue 

the fusion? hole could have used a brighter gold or yellow 

[slaginpit]

 

 

still i think its their best premium movie transforming figure yet

 

[mikeszekely]

So the new MP Starscream is right around the corner, and while I know some MWers are in, I also know some of you aren't fans.  May I offer you an alternative... one that isn't Maketoys will-it-or-won't-it reissue Meteor?

No jet mode pics yet.  It's being listed as the first product from a new company, Deformation Space.  However, given some similarities with the Newage Seekers, and the web of connections between DX9, Newage, and Transform Element, there's some speculation that Deformation Space is TE or at least producing a design from the same people that brought us some TE's Optimus and Mirage.  With pandemic shipping and what not I have no idea what the final cost will be where you live, but the Chinese price is expected to be between 600 and 700 yuan ($95-$110 USD).

I'm not sure I feel a need to replace Meteor, but I hope this thing sells like crazy.  Not so much because I want Takara to fail (honestly, I'm thinking DS could sell a reasonable run on these and Takara will still sell out of MP-52), but because competition in the 3P MP space is dwindling, and someone needs to offer an alternative to all the BS that goes along with Fans Toys these days.

[Dobber]

I was never able to get Meteor so this one is looking nice! Do want to see Alt mode though. Thanks for the heads up.

Chris

[technoblue]

I do like the added waist articulation and the cleaner backpack, but if this team can also deliver a sleek alt then we could have another TE-01 vs MP-44 situation and that’s all good IMO.

One thing I’m really curious about is how this 3P Screamer tucks away the horizontal and vertical stabs. It looks like they took a little from the MP and a little from Maketoys to get where they are in bot mode. Things that make you go, hm.

[nightmareB4macross]

NewAge Cyclops and Galactic Man.

 

[slaginpit]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

So the new MP Starscream is right around the corner, and while I know some MWers are in, I also know some of you aren't fans.  May I offer you an alternative... one that isn't Maketoys will-it-or-won't-it reissue Meteor?

No jet mode pics yet.  It's being listed as the first product from a new company, Deformation Space.  However, given some similarities with the Newage Seekers, and the web of connections between DX9, Newage, and Transform Element, there's some speculation that Deformation Space is TE or at least producing a design from the same people that brought us some TE's Optimus and Mirage.  With pandemic shipping and what not I have no idea what the final cost will be where you live, but the Chinese price is expected to be between 600 and 700 yuan ($95-$110 USD).

I'm not sure I feel a need to replace Meteor, but I hope this thing sells like crazy.  Not so much because I want Takara to fail (honestly, I'm thinking DS could sell a reasonable run on these and Takara will still sell out of MP-52), but because competition in the 3P MP space is dwindling, and someone needs to offer an alternative to all the BS that goes along with Fans Toys these days.

im screamed out

[Chronocidal]

Literally all I want from a new MP Starscream is for them to put in even half as much effort hiding the robot as the movie-styled Blitzwings have done.  Just give the thing a flat bottom, I don't even care if I can see folded chest or arms or whatever from underneath so long as I'm not looking at an F-15 carrying its half-formed Siamese twin on its belly.

[slaginpit]

1 hour ago, Chronocidal said:

Literally all I want from a new MP Starscream is for them to put in even half as much effort hiding the robot as the movie-styled Blitzwings have done.  Just give the thing a flat bottom, I don't even care if I can see folded chest or arms or whatever from underneath so long as I'm not looking at an F-15 carrying its half-formed Siamese twin on its belly.

THIS!

[Ignacio Ocamica]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

So the new MP Starscream is right around the corner, and while I know some MWers are in, I also know some of you aren't fans.  May I offer you an alternative... one that isn't Maketoys will-it-or-won't-it reissue Meteor?

No jet mode pics yet.  It's being listed as the first product from a new company, Deformation Space.  However, given some similarities with the Newage Seekers, and the web of connections between DX9, Newage, and Transform Element, there's some speculation that Deformation Space is TE or at least producing a design from the same people that brought us some TE's Optimus and Mirage.  With pandemic shipping and what not I have no idea what the final cost will be where you live, but the Chinese price is expected to be between 600 and 700 yuan ($95-$110 USD).

I'm not sure I feel a need to replace Meteor, but I hope this thing sells like crazy.  Not so much because I want Takara to fail (honestly, I'm thinking DS could sell a reasonable run on these and Takara will still sell out of MP-52), but because competition in the 3P MP space is dwindling, and someone needs to offer an alternative to all the BS that goes along with Fans Toys these days.

Wow they took a lot from the design from the Takara. But I like this one better from the front.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

More pics from TFW2005:

[slaginpit]

 

[derex3592]

16 hours ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

More pics from TFW2005:

Yeh, I'm 95% in if it's from the guys who did TE01. Once I see jet mode. I think this blows the new MP away.