The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[tekering]

On 8/6/2021 at 3:40 AM, mikeszekely said:

A theme that comes up with these smaller-scale figures is how great they are for their size.  Like, we know that these things aren't MP-level, but they're cheaper and tinier so we don't really expect them to be.

Cheaper?  You never mentioned the cost in your "Overlord" review, but I was shocked to discover that Magic Square charges as much for their Legends-scale Motormaster as X-Transbots is charging for their Masterpiece-scaled "Graveyard!"

I mean sure, the XTB trailer was a separate $200, but still...

Did you actually pay $130 for a 3P Legends?

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

Cheaper?  You never mentioned the cost in your "Overlord" review, but I was shocked to discover that Magic Square charges as much for their Legends-scale Motormaster as X-Transbots is charging for their Masterpiece-scaled "Graveyard!"

I mean sure, the XTB trailer was a separate $200, but still...

Did you actually pay $130 for a 3P Legends?

Yeah, Overlord is a bit pricey, but like you said that price for Gravestone was just the tractor that turned into Motormaster, then the trailer that turned into Menasor was another $200. Overlord is both, so still way cheaper.

Another way of looking at it is that I spent around $110-130 (I think) for Magic Square and Transform Element's MP-scale Primes. If $130 is reasonable for a transforming robot that size, well, MS's Menasor is a head taller than that, plus he comes with a tiny Motormaster, plus all the parts to switch between Sunbow and toy Menasor.  

So yeah, there's definitely a bit of price creep going on in the Legends game right now, but I think the value is still there. I don't think the complete set of MS Stunticons ran me too much more than Iron Factory's Bruticus, and Magic Square's figures are a lot more intricate and refined.

[sqidd]

I'm not that much into TF's.............................but this one is awesome. Did any of you get one?

[mikeszekely]

21 minutes ago, sqidd said:

I'm not that much into TF's.............................but this one is awesome. Did any of you get one?

Not that particular repaint, no. But I have the original first run set.

[tekering]

8 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I have the original first run set.

And I bought the first box set release with the upgrades...

...then a yellow set...

...and then I gave up trying to keep track of all the goddamn repaints they put out.

[sqidd]

3 hours ago, tekering said:

And I bought the first box set release with the upgrades...

...then a yellow set...

...and then I gave up trying to keep track of all the goddamn repaints they put out.

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Not that particular repaint, no. But I have the original first run set.

As do I.  Still the best MP scaled set of Constructicons, IMHO. 

As to that particular version, I'm generally indifferent to cell shaded paint jobs, but when they're done well, you can't help but think, "Wow!".

I didn't realize how much mileage TW got out of their Constructor set; even in Communist China, the spirit of capitalism is alive and well.

[Ignacio Ocamica]

20 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I didn't realize how much mileage TW got out of their Constructor set; even in Communist China, the spirit of capitalism is alive and well.

Lol!!! 😄😄😄

[mikeszekely]

I've got some better stuff on the way, but for now I'm just going to post one some upgrade kits I nabbed.

First up, we have this weapon kit from Matrix Workshop for Studio Series 86 Wreck-Gar.  As far as 3D printed stuff goes, I've seen much rougher prints.  You get a rifle based on the G1 toy's, and a pipe with a 5mm hole on the end and a peg in the middle.

The rifle works just like you'd expect.  You plug the 5mm handle into his hand, and you're done.  Now, what you're supposed to do with the pipe is stick Wreck-Gar's pinwheel of death into the hole on the end, and then stick the narrower end of the pipe into his hand, effectively lengthening his weapon.  Here's where we run into trouble (that I'm told is fairly common for Matrix Workshop); the pipe is too narrow, so it's super loose in Wreck-Gar's hand.  Meanwhile, the hole on the end is super tight, and I'm worried it'll at best rub paint from the inside and at worst wear down the handle of Wreck-Gar's pinwheel.

I guess you can say that you can store both of the new accessories on Wreck-Gar in bike mode.  The pipe is meant to be like an exhaust.  The peg fits into the hole on Wreck-Gar's leg, with the kink allowing the wider end to fit under the spike.  And sure, that's fine, but not really cartoon accurate and not really necessary, IMHO.  As for the gun, well, you've really only got the 5mm peg holes on Wreck-Gar's legs, and the magazine sticks out too far to plug the gun in parallel to his leg.  You can peg it in, but you'll have to turn it a way that gives the magazine clearance, such as straight up.  Not ideal, but not necessarily worse then the pinwheel on the back of the bike.  Also not exactly Matrix Workshop's fault.  They're just going for G1 accuracy.  It would have been better if Wreck-Gar had more 5mm ports in the first place, like maybe under his saddlebags.

So here's the verdict- the exhaust pipe doesn't work well in robot mode, but honestly wasn't really necessary in the first place since the animation model doesn't have an exhaust and the pinwheel axe was already the correct cartoon proportions.  Taking the exhaust is just the price you pay to get the rifle, which is what I really wanted.  And fortunately the rifle works fine, exactly what I wanted.  So if you're thinking about getting this kit for the exhaust don't bother, but if you want a rifle for Wreck-Gar this kit will take care of that.

Next up we have a filler kit from Go Better Studios for Kingdom Warpath.  Go Better has been one of my more favorite of these little Chinese groups doing 3D-printed upgrade kits because of the quality of their prints and the painting they do to color match, but lately they've really been pushing the boundaries of what's being done with 3D-printed stuff with clever, hinged designs like the backpack they did for Earthrise Optimus or the spoilers that turn into arm fillers for Sunstreaker.  This kit is one of their more ambitious ones, as it sets out to not only fill some hollow spots but to improve on the tank mode while simultaneously ditching that weird shield.

We'll start off easy.  There's two bicep fillers and two thigh fillers.  The bicep fillers are going to be pretty obvious, but take not of how the thigh fillers fit.

OK, now for the hinged parts.  One's a forearm filler.  Make sure the hinge is folded such that the you get a rectangle near the wrist.  The other goes into his foot.  Line up the big part with his toes, then wrap the rest along his sole.

OK, bot mode is looking good.  Only thing you really need to be aware of is that the part of the filler that runs along his soles does inhibit his ankle pivot a little, but you should still be able to get 45 degrees no problem.  "Does it transform without partsforming?" is the question you really want to ask.  And the answer is yes!  But there's some things to keep in mind.

First you need to transform the foot fillers.  You do this by taking the part that runs along the sole and folding it toward the toe.  Now, the trick here is that you still have to transform the rest of his foot.  The trouble is the part I've circled, which is on the original mold, not the upgrade part.  It needs to move up to the top of the foot, but you see the hinge on the foot filler?  That hinge is going to get in the way.  You can work around this by manipulating his ankle pivot, tilting the foot, then straightening his ankle and moving the filler after that flap is in place.

As for the arm filler, you're using the hinge to open it up.  That re-exposes the white underneath, which has the slot that goes into the tab and helps hold the arm in place in tank mode.  The flap itself doesn't really do anything else, it'll just chill out under the tank.

The results speak for themselves.  Stock, even with the shield, the feet parts with the treads come out farther than the front of the tank and there's hollow gaps on the insides.  Without the shield the gap goes straight across the front.  With the Go Better filler, though, the front of the tank is now even right across the front, from tread to tread.  All the gaps are plugged.  It's 100% an improvement, and there's no partsforming at all this way.  You can toss that stupid shield in a drawer somewhere.  So while Go Better's stuff tends to be a little pricey this kit is absolutely worth the cost of admission.  It's a highly recommended, borderline essential upgrade for Warpath.

[Convectuoso]

 

 

 

[Convectuoso]

From TFCON, NewAge announcements:

[mikeszekely]

Haven't been following TFCon too closely, been a busy day.  I guess Fans Toys revealed a ton of stuff, but I can't bring myself to care about any of it because they charge $50-$100 more than most other 3P's with similar-sized figures yet securing a preorder is like trying to buy a PS5.  Shame, if they weren't so insane with them I'd have probably gone for their Scourge.  I think people are also upset with what they didn't show, namely Dead End, Fireflight, Slingshot, or the combined modes.

I guess the big news from Planet X is that their IDW Grimlock isn't a one-off, and they're working on Sludge.

MMC's got a black repaint of their excellent Optus Pexus coming.  I'm pretty content with just the regular one, but I have a feeling @Scyla might be interested.  They also had Mentis, their version of Rung from IDW's More Than Meets the Eye. I want it, to have a good Rung, but it seems like he's not getting a wide release and the PSX price seems kind of high.  Then they had a lighter, cartoon-colored repaint of their Sky Lynx.  I passed originally, but if there's nothing else coming around that time that I'm into I kind of regret missing it the first time.

Under their Ocular Max brand they also showed off their G2 Combaticons (hard pass, but we'll talk if they do Ruination/Baldigus), and their Protectobots.  I'm all about their Protectobots.  I mean, the Protectobots are probably my least favorite combiner team, but they look really good to me and I really liked their Combaticons.  They're hinting that a third combiner is coming after Defensor.  They're not saying who until next year, but I'm feeling like it might be Devastator.

Fans Hobby has some pretty interesting reveals.  Hasbro wants to do a Titan Cybertron Metroplex when everyone wants them to do Tidal Wave?  Fans Hobby is doing Tidal Wave.  And Tidal Wave looks like he's going to combine with their upcoming Armada Megatron, so they decided to make Overload to combine with their Prime.  There's some new test shots of their Energon Prime, too.  But it's not all UT, they're still doing Masterforce with test shots of their Doubledealer, and a Siren repaint of Goshooter.

[Convectuoso]

 

[Scyla]

19 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Haven't been following TFCon too closely, been a busy day.  I guess Fans Toys revealed a ton of stuff, but I can't bring myself to care about any of it because they charge $50-$100 more than most other 3P's with similar-sized figures yet securing a preorder is like trying to buy a PS5.  Shame, if they weren't so insane with them I'd have probably gone for their Scourge.  I think people are also upset with what they didn't show, namely Dead End, Fireflight, Slingshot, or the combined modes.

I guess the big news from Planet X is that their IDW Grimlock isn't a one-off, and they're working on Sludge.

MMC's got a black repaint of their excellent Optus Pexus coming.  I'm pretty content with just the regular one, but I have a feeling @Scyla might be interested.  They also had Mentis, their version of Rung from IDW's More Than Meets the Eye. I want it, to have a good Rung, but it seems like he's not getting a wide release and the PSX price seems kind of high.  Then they had a lighter, cartoon-colored repaint of their Sky Lynx.  I passed originally, but if there's nothing else coming around that time that I'm into I kind of regret missing it the first time.

Under their Ocular Max brand they also showed off their G2 Combaticons (hard pass, but we'll talk if they do Ruination/Baldigus), and their Protectobots.  I'm all about their Protectobots.  I mean, the Protectobots are probably my least favorite combiner team, but they look really good to me and I really liked their Combaticons.  They're hinting that a third combiner is coming after Defensor.  They're not saying who until next year, but I'm feeling like it might be Devastator.

Fans Hobby has some pretty interesting reveals.  Hasbro wants to do a Titan Cybertron Metroplex when everyone wants them to do Tidal Wave?  Fans Hobby is doing Tidal Wave.  And Tidal Wave looks like he's going to combine with their upcoming Armada Megatron, so they decided to make Overload to combine with their Prime.  There's some new test shots of their Energon Prime, too.  But it's not all UT, they're still doing Masterforce with test shots of their Doubledealer, and a Siren repaint of Goshooter.

Preordered the MMC black Optus Pexus as soon as it was announced. I’m a bit sad I spent the money on the red and blue one since I don’t really like the traditional Optimus Prime colors. Oh well, it is probably a cool piece to have to celebrate 10 years of Reformatted.

I‘m super interested in all the new FT releases. The Makestoys Head Masters never did it for me so I’m glad FT is doing them.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, Scyla said:

I‘m super interested in all the new FT releases. The Makestoys Head Masters never did it for me so I’m glad FT is doing them.

I'm sure they'll be good, but when FT decided to charge $250 for freaking Skullcruncher and preorders still sold out in like 15 minutes that was the last straw for me.  I'm going to do what I can to finish Menasor and then I'm just done with them.  I've been too lazy to package them up, but I fully intend to sell Lupus, Dracula, and the three Aerialbots.  FT's just not worth the prices or the headaches.

[Scyla]

20 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm sure they'll be good, but when FT decided to charge $250 for freaking Skullcruncher and preorders still sold out in like 15 minutes that was the last straw for me.  I'm going to do what I can to finish Menasor and then I'm just done with them.  I've been too lazy to package them up, but I fully intend to sell Lupus, Dracula, and the three Aerialbots.  FT's just not worth the prices or the headaches.

Totally understandable. However my TF collecting is now limited to MMC, FT and a few selected Takara releases so I’m good.

Also all the Metal Build and DX Chogokin preorders have increased my tolerance for BS I’m willing to cope with quite a bit.

[M'Kyuun]

FT's Powerglide looks amazing.  I want it, but I dread the Macross Madness levels of difficulty these days in scoring a PO. 

[technoblue]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

FT's Powerglide looks amazing.  I want it, but I dread the Macross Madness levels of difficulty these days in scoring a PO. 

Same. 

[sh9000]

 

[Convectuoso]

Pictures of MFT's Hot Rod:

 

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

It took a while, but it looks like X-Transbots will be making the MP Ultra Magnus I've been waiting for:

Edited October 29, 2021 by Valkyrie Hunter D

[mikeszekely]

I'm say the same thing here that I did there- it looks like an improvement over MP-22, but unless it's a cab that turns into a white Optimus and he wears his trailer I'm not switching.

[sh9000]

 

XTB.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm say the same thing here that I did there- it looks like an improvement over MP-22, but unless it's a cab that turns into a white Optimus and he wears his trailer I'm not switching.

While that would be ideal, I think that would mean missing out on the articulation displayed.  I'm willing to give up the white Optimus for a UM that can make great poses.

And I totally dig the racer Omnibots!

Edited October 29, 2021 by Valkyrie Hunter D

[mikeszekely]

3 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

While that would be ideal, I think that would mean missing out on the articulation displayed.  I'm willing to give up the white Optimus for a UM that can make great poses.

I get that's probably the draw, but the way I see it I've made due with MP-22 and his lack of articulation for how long now.  I had Magnus as a kid- I still have a G1 Magnus.  To me, that white Optimus was integral to the experience (especially because I didn't have an actual Optimus until Power Master Op, so to me that white Optimus really was Prime come back as a ghost), and a company doing that at the MP scale is really the only thing that's going to motivate me to swap out MP-22.

Honestly, I don't know why Magic Square doesn't do it already.  They already made an MP version of their Legends Prime, in white and regular colors, and a trailer that turns into armor for the white Legends-sized one.  They just need to upscale it for the bigger one.

[technoblue]

This Ultra Magnus reveal is tempting but some things give me pause: 1) It's XTB and my experience with their price:quality ratio has been up and down. 2) There are announced electronics and things like light and sound effects haven't blown me away on any Transformers release to date. They range from fiddly and frustrating to okay but nothing special. The other downside is that if the electronics are poorly implemented and require chunky storage, they can complicate the design. 3) I'm not really into how XTB is including "Only Human" accessories. 

I do like the profile of XTB Magnus in bot mode--not as stocky or thick as MP-22. I'm also happy to see that XTB retained the matrix chamber, but I miss the transparent red windows in armored mode. Looking closer at the prototype images, my guess is that this will be using an all-in-one transformation rather than Prime in armor but if this can transform into a Prime bot, there must be some impressive origami going on. 

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, technoblue said:

I do like the profile of XTB Magnus in bot mode--not as stocky or thick as MP-22. I'm also happy to see that XTB retained the matrix chamber, but I miss the transparent red windows in armored mode. Looking closer at the prototype images, my guess is that this will be using an all-in-one transformation rather than Prime in armor but if this can transform into a Prime bot, there must be some impressive origami going on. 

Likewise. Great looking UM, but definitely does not give the impression of a bot wearing armor. Sorry Mike.

Not really crazy about the racing livery on those Omnis, except the yellow version of Overdrive; that one looks sweet. I'll be happy to just get all three, FINALLY, in their original colors. Fingers crossed that XTB do a good job on them. I have their Apollyon and Eligos, both of which have their pluses and minuses. I hope the transformation systems for their Omnis are a bit less frustrating.

I'd so hoped, with their going full bore G1 and making some more obscure characters in the recent Generations line, that Hasbro would give us some Omnibots, especially when they made Reflector (I know they're calling him Refraktor, but he'll always be Reflector to me), who was also an 80s mail-in figure (which I got as a kid along with Downshift). maybe we'll get them in the Legacy line. I can only hope.

So, I got notification from Chosen Prime that FT's Robot Paradise cassette pack is likely going to be available to ship within a day or so. Very, very happy and thankful that I was able to get a PO in for that set. I also got notification from BBTS that my Maketoys Meteor is finally available- been waiting for that one for quite some time. Anyway, thought I'd let folks know in the event they're waiting for the same.

[sh9000]

I think I'll buy the XTB Racer Dragstrip at The Chosen Prime.  It would be cool if XTB considered releasing some of the other Stunticons in Racer style.

[danth]

19 hours ago, sh9000 said:

 

XTB.

Just wanted to say that these look amazing. I prefer the non-racing versions of each.

[Convectuoso]

More pics of NewAge's Ultra Magnus

[mikeszekely]

Magic Square and Newage are pulling it off. Why can't XTB?

[danth]

Nice! Now do Delta Magnus!

[Convectuoso]

And a repaint:

 

Edited November 1, 2021 by Convectuoso

[technoblue]

NA Delta Magnus looks terrific, and do I spy a bonus Shattered Glass face and sword? LoL, it looks like I'll be double dipping again. 

[Mechapilot77]

6 hours ago, Convectuoso said:

And a repaint:

 

man if this was ever oversized into WFC/chug scale i'd be all over it.  it has a way too short trailer and other issues but at legends scale or even mainline scale i'd overlook it for sure.  at mp scale it'd be no sale unless lots of improvements are made but i love the white prime with armor thing...something XTB's awesome looking all in one MP scale guy will never give us.