The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[mikeszekely]

I've found DNA's stuff to be kind of a mixed bag. Some of their stuff has been trash, some of their stuff has been been almost essential. I'll roll the dice and preorder that Ark kit; their Scorponok kits were some of the last stuff I bought from them, and they fall squarely in that essential category.

[Scyla]

1 hour ago, Convectuoso said:

 

 

I’m always amazed that so many Primes haven an issue with hiding the feet. They often just hang out in the back of the truck

[no3Ljm]

^That's so cool!  

Can I ask what Bumbleebee figure was featured in that video? Thanks!

[Scyla]

1 hour ago, no3Ljm said:

^That's so cool!  

Can I ask what Bumbleebee figure was featured in that video? Thanks!

I think that is the New Age Herbie 2.0 https://showzstore.com/newage-h25-herbie-bumblebee_p2777.html

[no3Ljm]

7 minutes ago, Scyla said:

I think that is the New Age Herbie 2.0 https://showzstore.com/newage-h25-herbie-bumblebee_p2777.html

Thanks @Scyla. Didn't know it's just a 2" figure. Even smaller than the original MicroRobot Car figure. It's a good (Choro-Q) size to play with on your workstation.  

[Scyla]

17 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

Thanks @Scyla. Didn't know it's just a 2" figure. Even smaller than the original MicroRobot Car figure. It's a good (Choro-Q) size to play with on your workstation.  

Yeah, he is tiny but awesome. I bought the set for Cliffjumper. Now Bumblebee lives on my desk:

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Some pics:

[no3Ljm]

 

[mikeszekely]

Ah, I sometimes wish there was a bigger collecting community around where I live, or I had the network of fans that guys like Bobby Skullface do.  There's a lot of figures I'd love to look at and review here but I can't get everything I'd like to.  This is one of those cases; DS's Starscream looks great and if I was still rocking MP-03 or MP-11 I'd surely upgrade, but I just can't commit to replacing all of the Maketoys Seekers.

[Scyla]

15 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ah, I sometimes wish there was a bigger collecting community around where I live, or I had the network of fans that guys like Bobby Skullface do.  There's a lot of figures I'd love to look at and review here but I can't get everything I'd like to.  This is one of those cases; DS's Starscream looks great and if I was still rocking MP-03 or MP-11 I'd surely upgrade, but I just can't commit to replacing all of the Maketoys Seekers.

Sadly toy collecting is a very lonely hobby*. I don’t know anyone that collects in my area. Some of my friends have a friendly interest but I can’t have a deep discussion about toys with them.

That said. I would totally lend you some of my toys for review if I could.  

*I think I picked up the notion that it is a lonely hobby from @tekering. 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

9 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Sadly toy collecting is a very lonely hobby. I don’t know anyone that collects in my area. Some of my friends have a friendly interest but I can’t have a deep discussion about toys with them.

That said. I would totally lend you some of my toys for review if I could. 

Yeah, that's basically where I'm at.  One of my buddies is passingly interested, one of them enjoys the handful of G1 toys I have (which is interesting, because he was little during the UT), and that's about it.  Stuff goes fast at stores, though, but based on my experiences working retail I'd imagine that a lot of it is going to scalpers.

Europe to the US is probably not the most economical route for sharing toys, but I appreciate the thought.😉

[M'Kyuun]

11 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ah, I sometimes wish there was a bigger collecting community around where I live, or I had the network of fans that guys like Bobby Skullface do.  There's a lot of figures I'd love to look at and review here but I can't get everything I'd like to.  

Likewise, at least in the Macross and Transformers arena. I have a buddy here who's into LEGO, and we attend LEGO conventions together and encourage each other with our MOCs. But on the robot front, yeah, I have no-one local, so these forums and the TFW forums, tentatively, are my outlets.  I've often wished we lived closer, as like Scyla, I'd love to throw some of my stuff at ya for review, not to mention just to have a local bud to share the hobby with. Between the cost of shipping and the fear that my package will get lost in transit, I've been reluctant to make the offer. I've thought about sending my FT Dinobots your way, but Good God, if those were ever lost I'd be an emotional wreck.  I love those guys, and as much as I'd love to hear your in-hand observations, it's just not worth the risk.

Skullface is a supremely fortunate dude for all the stuff he gets to handle.  I'd love an in-person opportunity to see a great deal of that stuff, but I don't know of anybody around here that's into it. I'm sure there are nerds here- Spokane's a decent sized city, we have a vintage toy show a couple times a year, there's a vintage toy store (lots of second-hand 80s stuff), and TFs generally, especially Generations figs, don't usually warm the pegs for too long. So, I'm fairly certain there are more like me out there, but there doesn't seem to be a community, at least that I'm aware of, so we're all pretty much just doing our thing solo. AFAIK, I'm the only one from Spokane on here and on the TFW boards. Seattle enjoys a much more robust and enthusiastic following, but Spokane's just a wasteland.

[Scyla]

Ups wrong thread.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Scyla

[Dobber]

18 hours ago, Ignacio Ocamica said:

Some pics:

That thing looks SO good I just wish a little more effort went into alt mode too. Bot mode is nigh perfect. 
 

[mikeszekely]

20 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I've thought about sending my FT Dinobots your way, but Good God, if those were ever lost I'd be an emotional wreck.  I love those guys, and as much as I'd love to hear your in-hand observations, it's just not worth the risk.

I definitely understand, and I'm sure I'd feel the same way were I in your shoes.

Not gonna lie, though, as someone who went with Gigapower I'd still love to have a good look at the FT Dibots, to the point where I'd considered picking up the reissues.  But that was before I found out that the reissues were something like $300 a pop and they didn't seem to be including either Scoria or Cesium.  Oh well.  Perhaps someday I'll take a vacation in Spokane...

[twich]

22 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Likewise, at least in the Macross and Transformers arena. I have a buddy here who's into LEGO, and we attend LEGO conventions together and encourage each other with our MOCs. But on the robot front, yeah, I have no-one local, so these forums and the TFW forums, tentatively, are my outlets.  I've often wished we lived closer, as like Scyla, I'd love to throw some of my stuff at ya for review, not to mention just to have a local bud to share the hobby with. Between the cost of shipping and the fear that my package will get lost in transit, I've been reluctant to make the offer. I've thought about sending my FT Dinobots your way, but Good God, if those were ever lost I'd be an emotional wreck.  I love those guys, and as much as I'd love to hear your in-hand observations, it's just not worth the risk.

Skullface is a supremely fortunate dude for all the stuff he gets to handle.  I'd love an in-person opportunity to see a great deal of that stuff, but I don't know of anybody around here that's into it. I'm sure there are nerds here- Spokane's a decent sized city, we have a vintage toy show a couple times a year, there's a vintage toy store (lots of second-hand 80s stuff), and TFs generally, especially Generations figs, don't usually warm the pegs for too long. So, I'm fairly certain there are more like me out there, but there doesn't seem to be a community, at least that I'm aware of, so we're all pretty much just doing our thing solo. AFAIK, I'm the only one from Spokane on here and on the TFW boards. Seattle enjoys a much more robust and enthusiastic following, but Spokane's just a wasteland.

So M'Kyuun, where is the toy shop that you acquire your transformers from?  I have an interest in Transformers, but my son is truly a fanatic when it comes to transformers and maybe taking him to a shop in Spokane so that he could have a selection, other than looking on the interwebs.  

Thanks in advance!

Twich

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I definitely understand, and I'm sure I'd feel the same way were I in your shoes.

Not gonna lie, though, as someone who went with Gigapower I'd still love to have a good look at the FT Dibots, to the point where I'd considered picking up the reissues.  But that was before I found out that the reissues were something like $300 a pop and they didn't seem to be including either Scoria or Cesium.  Oh well.  Perhaps someday I'll take a vacation in Spokane...

If you ever find yourself coming to the area, definitely give me a lookup. 

1 hour ago, twich said:

So M'Kyuun, where is the toy shop that you acquire your transformers from?  I have an interest in Transformers, but my son is truly a fanatic when it comes to transformers and maybe taking him to a shop in Spokane so that he could have a selection, other than looking on the interwebs.  

Thanks in advance!

Twich

These days I get the lion's share of Transformers online, mostly from Hasbro Pulse. But I do check the TF section of my local Walmart here in Airway Heights every week, and on infrequent occasions, I'll venture over to the Shadle Walmart, which generally has a better selection and more product in stock than my local store. Even more infrequently, I'll run up to either the South Hill or the North Spokane Targets, which also generally maintain a better selection and stock than my local store.  My local store is a Super Store, but it maintains a pretty small toy section comparative to the other Walmarts in Spokane/Spokane Valley, but they just doubled the size of the alcoholic beverage section, b/c that's what we need in a hickish town full of already abysmally poor and discourteous drivers, many of whom are likely high on some form of legal marijuana.     In short, pretty much any of the Walmarts or Targets in Spokane except the Airway Heights store. Too, if you're in the Valley, Fred Meyers is worth checking, although, I think you're better off looking at either the Target on Sprague or Walmart off of Sullivan/E. Broadway out there, too. 

As for the vintage toy store I mentioned, it's called Time Bomb and is located on West Garland Ave near the Shadle area. It's a neat store to visit for all the 70s & 80s toys.

[mantisfists]

On 12/10/2021 at 11:38 AM, mikeszekely said:

Ah, I sometimes wish there was a bigger collecting community around where I live, or I had the network of fans that guys like Bobby Skullface do.  There's a lot of figures I'd love to look at and review here but I can't get everything I'd like to.  This is one of those cases; DS's Starscream looks great and if I was still rocking MP-03 or MP-11 I'd surely upgrade, but I just can't commit to replacing all of the Maketoys Seekers.

Hey, man.  I've got the DS Starscream just sitting in a closet and would be more than willing to ship him out to you if shipping isn't too expensive. I'm warning you, though.  Once you get him in hand, it might end up costing you $450 or so in (pre)orders.  Everything about this guy is quality and if he didn't scratch so easily, he'd be damned near perfect.

I'd send Stomp your way, as well, but I think shipping would be too expensive, especially with how much money I've bled over these holidays.  I'll echo what M'kyuun says in that, it's too bad you weren't closer as if I could hand you some of these figures, you could review them to your heart's content.  The hand off would just be an excuse for me to be able to talk toy robots with somebody other than my 10 year old daughter, of course, so you'd have had to bear with that.  

Maybe you're actually lucky you live so far away.

[M'Kyuun]

18 minutes ago, mantisfists said:

Hey, man.  I've got the DS Starscream just sitting in a closet and would be more than willing to ship him out to you if shipping isn't too expensive. I'm warning you, though.  Once you get him in hand, it might end up costing you $450 or so in (pre)orders.  Everything about this guy is quality and if he didn't scratch so easily, he'd be damned near perfect.

I'd send Stomp your way, as well, but I think shipping would be too expensive, especially with how much money I've bled over these holidays.  I'll echo what M'kyuun says in that, it's too bad you weren't closer as if I could hand you some of these figures, you could review them to your heart's content.  The hand off would just be an excuse for me to be able to talk toy robots with somebody other than my 10 year old daughter, of course, so you'd have had to bear with that.  

Maybe you're actually lucky you live so far away.

It's a shame we're all not closer, as we have a ready-made community here, with geography being the hindering factor. Like you, I'd be happy to share my toys with a good reviewer, but AFAIK, none of the better-known reviewers live anywhere near me.

IDK about other folks, but I think it's pretty cool that your daughter's into robots at such a young age. She's off to a good start in life. 👍

I love it when Skullface includes his girls in his reviews- he seems to have a great relationship with them, and the fact that they're not only accepting of his hobby but willing to participate on his behalf says volumes. I don't think my wife would do that for me, although she has gone to a number of LEGO conventions with me, and deals, albeit with a little exasperation, with 1/3 our house being full of LEGO and toy robots. I hope your daughter continues to embrace it, for both your sakes, as it'll always be something you can bond over. 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, mantisfists said:

Hey, man.  I've got the DS Starscream just sitting in a closet and would be more than willing to ship him out to you if shipping isn't too expensive. I'm warning you, though.  Once you get him in hand, it might end up costing you $450 or so in (pre)orders.

Those preorders are what's holding me back!  As I've said, I've got the three Maketoys Seekers, and while I do think DS's looks better (at least in bot mode) I can't bring myself to commit to replacing all three.

If you'd really like me to take a look at it, my ZIP is 15642 if you want to check the shipping.  I would gladly cover the return shipping.

[mantisfists]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Those preorders are what's holding me back!  As I've said, I've got the three Maketoys Seekers, and while I do think DS's looks better (at least in bot mode) I can't bring myself to commit to replacing all three.

If you'd really like me to take a look at it, my ZIP is 15642 if you want to check the shipping.  I would gladly cover the return shipping.

No problem.  I'll swing by the PO tomorrow and see what the cost'll be.

I've already paid off my preorders for both DS01S and DS01R (Skywarp and Thundercracker) from Show.z, so I'm already all in.  I've heard that Show.z is including the upgrade parts forming kits on both the S and the R figures, so that'd be a big bonus for me.  While I adore the matte finish on him, I hope they do something about the paint scratching, as it is a problem.  

I've never owned, nor handled, the Maketoys Seekers, but seeing comp pics and handling this figure, it's extremely hard for me to imagine not making the change.  This DS is Fanstoys level quality (and transformation complexity....sheesh) at a bootleg price point.  I have both the Takara and the Robot Paradise Soundwaves and I could totally see sticking with the Takara even though the RP's does offer higher quality and slight (in my opinion) improvements.  

I think (again, I've never owned or handled the Maketoys versions) I'd compare them more to Fanstoys Stomp and Gigapower Graviter.  Like you, I went in on the GP dinos.  When FT reissued Stomp and Soar, I picked them up since they were a great price on certain sites figuring I could just sell them off if I didn't like them.  When Stomp came in, he was so nice I actually preferred him to Graviter.....that is, until I took Graviter out to compare the two, at which point...again, in my opinion...there really was no comparison.  On his own, Stomp is an absolute stud and if I'd have bought him first, I don't think I'd have felt a need to replace him.  I think, even if I'd have seen and handled Graviter somewhere else where I couldn't compare them directly, I still wouldn't feel the need to switch.  It's when they're in hand that Stomp just seems less than Graviter in almost every way. That's in contrast to the RP/Takara Soundwave comparison where, even with them in hand, I still wouldn't/don't feel the RP version is that much better than the original.  

Anyway, I'm excited and geeking out to see what you think.  I'll let you know tomorrow if the shipping's reasonable.  I may wait till a couple days after Xmas to send it out as well to avoid it getting lost in the gift frenzy Bermuda Triangle that many sent packages get sacrificed to this time of year, if you're cool with that. 

Edited December 12, 2021 by mantisfists

[sh9000]

 

[no3Ljm]

[M'Kyuun]

From a toy standpoint, that thing's pretty neat. Too bad it's wasted on one of the dumber looking Bayverse designs.

[Scyla]

Got my New Age Prime today (the black and teal version that is). What an awesome little transformation. It is what the Masterpiece one was aiming for. Complex but not illogical and confusing. And it has a couple of those Masterpiece moments. Especially in the legs.

He has a bit of a fat torso and the truck bed is not flat but he doesn’t habe the feet just hanging out back there. Feels great in hand too.

What i don’t like are the missing gun supporting hands. If you put in extra hands (he has splayed and pointing hands) add some so that Prime can hold his gun with two hands.

Recommend!

The only thing missing is NA Cyclonus and my Legends collection will be complete.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

Just a shade over two years ago I got my hands on Siege Rung, and my takeaway was that he was little, lacking paint and articulation, but I was mostly excited to even have a toy of a major IDW-only character.  But what if we could have a bigger Run, with better paint and articulation?  Enter MMC's Mentis, their Reformatted take on Rung.

I think, due to minor stylistic differences in colors over the course of More Than Meets the Eye and Lost Light that it's next to impossible to be 100% accurate to any give depiction of Rung as he appeared int he comics.  In broad strokes, he's extremely accurate with thin limbs, the molded lines on his forearms, hips, shins, thighs, and shoulders, and a very Milne-esque head sculpt.  His primary colors, orange and white with a blue circle in his chest, that checks out.  Discrepancies come up in the minor details.  The stripes on his chest are yellow here, but often depicted as either white or glowing red.  There's some extra gold on his shoulders and shins, and some extra red on his head and shoulders that I won't say he never had in the comics but that he didn't seem to often have.  Likewise, the top of his head is sort of a grayish color, which I've seen in some of Milne's art, but more often matched the white color of his limbs, abdomen, and feet.

Still, he's looking a lot better than the Siege toy...

I'm guessing that most of the people who pick up Mentis are heavily invested in the Reformatted line.  Unfortunately, I sold off most of my Reformatted stuff when I quit CHUG (prior to getting heavily back into CHUG with Siege *shrug*), but here's how Mentis looks with MMC's MTMTE Megatron.  Me, I actually bought him because I want a Rung to go with my mainline stuff, so you can see here how he stacks up with SS86 Hot Rod and Kingdom Rodimus Prime.  Basically, he's a tall Deluxe/short Voyager.

He comes with a number of accessories.  You get his scooter (as his alt mode wasn't revealed until very late in Lost Light's run).  You get a tablet, and a mount for the tablet.  You get his glasses (which are really tiny, don't lose them!).  You get one of his model starships.  And you get eleven alternate hands.

You also get seven alternate heads.  Including the installed head, it works out to four expressions- stoic, whistling, worried, and angry/yelling, in both the with glasses and without varieties.  Somewhat disappointingly, the glasses accessory does not attach to any of the faces without glasses, nor are the glasses removable from the faces that have them.

I'll also point out here that you can see the antenna on most of the heads is pretty bent.  It was bent on the default head, too, but I was able to straighten it by pointing a hair dryer at it for a few minutes.

Being a major character whose alt mode wasn't even revealed until very late in IDW version 1, it makes sense that MMC didn't just focus on his appearance but also his articulation.  His head is on a hinged ball joint so he can look up quite a bit, down until his chin gets into his chest, plus he's get the usual swivel and some sideways tilt.  His shoulders rotate and extend laterally 90 degrees, plus he's got some forward and plenty of backward butterfly motion.  His biceps swivel, and his double-jointed elbow bends just shy of 180 degrees (it's really only his hands bumping into his bulbous shoulders that stops him from getting the full 180).  His wrists are ball joints, which provide not just a swivel but a little in/out/up/down wiggle.  His waist swivels, plus there's what seems to be a pair of hinges mid-torso.  One allows him a bit of ab crunch, the other some sideways teapot lean.  His hips can move forward 90 degrees, backward 90 degrees, and laterally just over 90 degrees.  His thighs swivel, and he's got double-jointed knees that bend a little short of 180 degrees, basically until is calves meet the back of his thighs.  The white part of his foot his on a hinged ball joint, so you can get some upward tilt and plenty of downward tilt, plus the whole foot has a hinge for over 90 degrees of ankle pivot.

That said, one problem I run into posing him is that both his backpack and the orange sides of his chest like to come untabbed when you're manipulating him.  It's not the end of the world, but it's an annoyance that's worth pointing out.

Now, as far as accessories go, Mentis can ride his scooter...

Or you can transform it and store it on his back.  I don't think it's ideal, though.  For one, transforming the scooter requires partsforming, as the upright section is pulled off, folded up, and then tabbed onto the base.  For two, Mentis doesn't have much in the way of heels, and the scooter a bit of weight to his back, forcing you to pose him leaning forward to keep him from tipping backward.

Rung's hands can be swapped simply by popping the ball joints out of his wrist socket and popping a different one in.  Some hands are expressive, others are meant to hold things, including his model starship and even his glasses.  However, he doesn't hold them securely, and you're very likely to drop and lose the glasses.  One set of hands seems to be primarily for holding the handlebars of his scooter.  They're not exactly 5mm grips, but if you want to try giving him some kind of weapon (like, for instance, the Siege version in alt mode) those would be the ones to try.  Swapping heads isn't as easy as the hands; you need to undo a screw on the back of his head.  Finally, the tablet (which is more like a medical chart; Rung is a psychiatrist, for those unfamiliar with him) plugs into the mount, which has two swivels and a ball joint, and plugs into a port on his side.

All-in-all, I feel like MMC wanted you to be able to recreate almost any scene that featured Rung in the comics, but truthfully most of his accessories are just going to wind up in storage, and I'd have been happy enough with MP carbot-style minimally articulated hands than having to keep a supply of hands "handy" for every time I want to change his pose.

While playing a lot like an action figure in hand, MMC did give Mentis an alt mode.  Again, can't really get into it without major spoilers- Mentis' instructions simply refer to it as "artifact mode"- but between the two modes this is definitely where the sacrifices were made.  Don't get me wrong, it's a lot closer than the Siege toy, and MMC even included the handles that appeared on Lost Light #22 but nowhere else.  But his toes aren't really hiding, the stripes from his chest should be closer to his pelvis, there's a gap between his legs, and his arms are literally just folded behind him.  But I suppose it's hard to match the comics exactly, especially when Rung's alt mode appeared in maybe three or four total panels plus one cover, and was drawn inconsistently between them.  I guess my point is, for something whose purpose is deliberately unclear, Mentis is close enough.

 Mentis can't really do much with his accessories in alt mode, which is again why most of them are just going to end up in storage.  I'll note, though, that it doesn't matter much which hands are installed, as they don't fold or tuck in any way.  The hands that came installed do lay sort of flatter against his butt, but this isn't necessarily an object hat should be lying flat anyway.

Mentis is sort of a tough call.  On the one hand, if you're a fan of MTMTE/Lost Light (as the folks at MMC seem to be) then this is a very accurate robot with great articulation and plenty of accessories that pays homage to a very important character.  On the other hand, if you're not so into the comics, this is a pretty light figure in a gray area between a WfC Deluxe and Voyager with a simple transformation and questionable alt mode that runs around $130, making him one of the smallest MMC figures I have (I think only their Cliffjumper and the Remix tapes are smaller in my collection, with the Insecticons being similar in size) but one of the more expensive MMC figures I own (I paid more for Onslaught and Springer, and I think Star Convoy was close).  That makes him kind of  a hard sell.  I think, ultimately, if you're a fan of the comics you're going to want him.  But if you haven't read the comics the value just isn't there, and you should probably pass.  Just hope that if you do ever read the comics that Mentis will still be available.

[Convectuoso]

Just two more to go!

[mikeszekely]

48 minutes ago, Convectuoso said:

Just two more to go!

Funny you should mention them...

And in case it wasn't clear, this would be Excavator Master (left) and Bulldozer Master (right), Magic Square's Legends-scale Scavenger and Bonecrusher.

I'm finding the direct comparison with Newage's to be quite fascinating (although at this point it's kind of amazing we ever thought poor DX9's were acceptable).  Both Magic Square and Newage are very cartoon-accurate and therefore very similar- purple pants with blocky feet, a chest that cuts in toward his waist, bump outs near the shoulders, the ironing board over the torso with the rectangles near the waist, and the bar over it that cuts into the pelvis with a narrow tip that angles into a circle on the chest.  Both have the red visor, the blocky mouth plate, and flat head with little square on the forehead.  Yet, for all the similarities there are subtle differences, and these subtle differences are likely what will form your opinions.  Excavator Master's visor is thinner, giving him an angrier appearance.  He's got a bit more bulk, which I feel gives him a bit more of a physical presence.  He's got the nylon plastic with it's paler green and pinker purples, and the lack of extra linework like the horizontal lines on NA's chest.  While I like the colors and maybe the head better on NA, on the whole Excavator Master just looks more "right" to me.

They clean up similarly from the back (although NA's doesn't have the forearm covers for where his hands fold in), and both offer the option of tucking the shovel against their backs or leaving them hanging down like tails, as the cartoon did.  Excavator Master has a touch more mechanical detail molded into his legs, though.

While the small differences in Scavengers are interesting, I think it's the comparative lack of such differences that are interesting when comparing Bonecrushers.  I mean, obviously Bulldozer Master is a bit bigger, and the different materials do leave him a bit paler, and he's got the slightly open hands to NA's slightly articulated ones.  But at just a cursory glance you could be forgiven for thinking that one was a size-adjusted KO of the other.  Both have the shovel chest, with extremely similar (and cartoon-accurate) red and purple markings.  Both have the arms of the shovel tucking into his torso, with the molded vent abs.  Both have pointier feet, a bit of separation between the forearm and bicep, and bicep armor that rises up slightly above the shoulder on the outside edge.  Both have flat heads and visored eyes on gray faces.

Even their backs are quite similar, with the roof of their alt mode folded into thin backpack.  Magic Square seems more keen on getting Bonecrusher's cartoon colors down than Devastator's, though, so there's no purple on the outside of his legs (plus the extra molded detail).  Between that, and the extra black on the sides of his head, I'd probably give a very slight edge to Bulldozer Master.

If you were thinking that these Legends figures are getting kind of expensive, well, you're probably not wrong.  But, at least in Magic Square's case, some of the cost seems to be the cost of the combiner parts spread out across the three sets, as unlike NA there isn't going to be a fourth set.  So with this set you'll get pistols for each of them (Excavator Master gets the one with the Gundam-esque second grip or magazine, Bulldozer Master gets the one with the rounder butt), but you'll also get Devastator's forearms.  The arms have a door that opens so the fist can tuck inside, leaving a peg on the wrist.  The peg allows you to attach one of the included drills.

The articulation on these guys is quite good.  Excavator Master's head is on a ball joint, and he can look up a lot and tilt his head sideways a taste, but he can't really look down.  His a shoulders ball joints that swivel and move laterally 90 degrees.  He's got bicep swivels, and double-jointed elbows that get 180 degrees of bend.  His wrists can swivel, as can his waist, plus his top is attached to his bottom on a double hinge so he has both a forward ab crunch and a backward back bend.  His hips are a double ball joint.  While his hip skirts can't quite get out of the way and seem to limit his forward/backward range, you can use the second ball joint to shift the entire hip up and outward (a necessary step for transformation) to clear his hip skirts and effectively giving him over 90 degrees of range forward and backward plus 90 degree laterally.  The lower ball joint also acts as his thigh swivel.  His knees are double-jointed, like his elbows, and bend 180 degrees.  His toes have a slight upward bend and plenty of downward, and his ankles are ball joints so he can rotate them and pivot 90 degrees.

Bulldozer Master's got a ball joint at the head but greater range than his partner.  He can tilt sideways a bit more, actually look down a little, and he can look straight up.  His shoulders are ball joints for rotation and 90 degrees of lateral movement.  His biceps swivel, but he's only got a single elbow hinge that still gets you over 90 degrees.  His wrists and waist have swivels, and he's also got he double hinge in the waist for all the ab crunch and back bend you could want.  He's got the same hinderances with his hip skirts, but the engineering in his legs is identical to his partner's.  So he's got the same double ball-joint shifting hips, double-jointed knees, hinged toes, and ball jointed ankles with the same range.

Both figures hold their weapons without issue.

As with the robot modes, the Magic Square and Newage Constructicons are fairly similar and cartoon-accurate, but there are a few telling differences.  For Excavator Master, the upper deck is a bit more cohesive, forming a block with 90 degree corners compared to the more rounded NA, plus I like how his robot feet actually come together so there's no gap at the front, making him the winner in my eyes.  Once again it's a bit closer when comparing Bulldozer Master and NA's Bonecrusher.  NA's got the seat for the driver under his canopy, his shovel isn't broken up as much by hinges.  On the other hand, Bulldozer Master doesn't have the exposed arm hinge on the side, no purple on the treads, and he's got an actual purple grill on the front instead of the suggestion of one that's actually visible robot hands.  Slight edge to Magic Square, then.

What's really interesting, and something you can't really convey in pictures, is just how different their engineering is, as both of Magic Square's Constructicons use their double waist hinges to unfurl and spin around, giving them much more involved transformations even though they ultimately end up with the same parts in more or less the same places.  Yet, for all this complexity, you actually have to do some partsforming when transforming Excavator Master.  The shovel is attached via a T-shaped peg, and you need to pull it off, turn it around, then plug it back in.

I'll note that, while much more complex than their Newage counterparts, I found them to be less complicated than their Set 1 buddies, and I actually prefer the way their legs transform to the way that Newage's Bonecrusher's does.

Neither of MS's Constructicons have wheels or working treads, but I don't really expect or need them at this scale.  Bulldozer Master has a little bit of shovel articulation, and that's about it.  You can store his gun by using a round hole on the side and fitting it over a small peg next to his lump of a smokestack.  Excavator Master's upper deck can rotate, and the boom has a hinge at the base, in the middle, and at the bucket.  There's no swivel at the base of the boom; it's true that a real excavator doesn't, either, but it's baffling to me why MS thought it was a better idea to make the shovel a partsforming element rather than use a mushroom peg instead of the T-peg.  In any case, there's a hole next to the shovel on the opposite side of the cabin, and you can plug his gun in there.

Unlike the first set, this set doesn't come with combined mode instructions.  One assumes that's because their combined modes are largely their alt modes.  That said, you'll notice that they both have a slit on their butt.  The arms that they come with have corresponding T-pegs that slide into those slots.  For Bulldozer Master that's enough; as you tab his upper body back in that'll help secure it.  For Excavator Master you have to spin the upper deck 180 degrees and a second notch just in front of the shovel will grab over the rest of the T-tab.  From there it's up to you if want to leave the shovel in on in excavator mode (toy/OX style), take it off and put it on in robot mode so it can curl over the top of Devastator's shoulder for a still-attached-but-compacted look, or remove it entirely (which seems to be the most cartoon-accurate option).  On the underside of both vehicles you'll find a hinge on a swivel with a T-tab, and that's going to be the connections to Hook.

Comparing Magic Square to Newage is turning out to be a very interesting experience.  Magic Square definitely has the more complex, interesting engineering and a slight aesthetic edge in my book, but Newage has better materials and tolerances.  And I think that brings to me a thought I had earlier, one I'll reiterate now- Magic Square probably has the better Constructicons overall, but Newage's probably work better as Legends.  Newage's are small and easy to fiddle with, where the more advanced engineering paired with the sometimes wonky tolerances of the nylon plastic they use makes me think they'd be a lot more fun at a Voyager or even Masterpiece (with some modifications) size, and that only further highlights to me how much better they both are than the so-called MP offerings like Constructor.  Regardless, I'll wait for the third set and combined mode before giving an ultimate recommendation.  For now, though, it's really looking like you can't go wrong with either offering.

[Kuma Style]

[Convectuoso]

New Legends designs were shown:

Magic Square:

New Age:

Iron Factory:

[JB0]

Are those... seeker-girls that Iron Factory's turning out? That's really weird... and I'm in.

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, there's some kind of convention or trade show going on. I'm a little dispatched disappointed that everything shown seems to be Legends stuff, though. Despite my recent forays into both NA and MS Devastators Legends aren't really my primary focus.

[M'Kyuun]

Magic Square's Ratchet looks leagues better than Takara's MP.  Actually, they're knocking it out of the park with all these G1 figs. Really impressive at this scale, especially after so many years of mediocre to just plain bad legends scaled figs from Hasbro.

I like a lot of what New Age has done, and are doing, but, Magic Square generally has more refined sculpts, better integration of joints, and generally better overall proportions. If I had to choose only one company, I'd have to go with MS on most of these figs.

I guess the girl Seekers hits a niche market for the folks that like the girl wearing mecha/plane/tank/machine-of-choice as armor trope. Not really my thing. 

@Convectuoso Is there a site where these guys are being exhibited? Please share a link if you have one. Thanks!

 

[Convectuoso]

@M'Kyuun I don't know if there's a site showing this. I get my updates from this Facebook group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/321017341931140/?ref=share

[anime52k8]

7 hours ago, JB0 said:

Are those... seeker-girls that Iron Factory's turning out? That's really weird... and I'm in.

honestly I feel the same way about shogun Grimlock.