The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[mikeszekely]

and the fact that is is 40 bucks more than a hasbro licensed thing xD

I looked at Captured Prey, and Stack is $180, MP-22 is $182.

You mentioned that you ordered from HLJ, and yeah, 14,440 yen for preorders, that's about $141. But the preorders are cutoff, and if they have extra, it goes back up 18,000 yen ($170-ish).

And what's the shipping? Pretty sure either qualifies for free shipping from Captured Prey. I've always assumed the prices at US-based stores like CP reflect the added cost of importing to the US. I'd only ever ordered from HLJ once, but I remember the shipping being a good portion of the total.

[David Hingtgen]

MP UM has a red bumper, red chassis/frame, and red back-of-cab. Only the front/sides/roof of the cab is white. If he had a "white Prime" mode it'd have red legs and feet.

Anyways----I passed on UT's Mania King almost solely because of its coloring. And now, they're doing "version 2":

Will almost certainly pick it up. Those who have v1 are not happy though.

[Valkyrie2008]

The choice of colors make the V2 Mania King look a lot better, than the V1, but I'm not gonna pick one up. If they make this in MP scale, I'll be all over it.

[mikeszekely]

The color choice of the V2 Mania King looks a lot better... but not enough to make me upset I already ordered the first one.

[RD Blade]

The choice of colors make the V2 Mania King look a lot better, than the V1. If they make this in MP scale, I'll be all over it.

This!

The size is the only thing keeping me from pulling the trigger now.

[anime52k8]

As long as it has those body builder arms, there's nothing they could do to make me want it.

Edited June 24, 2014 by anime52k8

[Gakken85]

Mania king still looks too... tubular for me. You have like.. no restrictions on alt mode as it's a made up space canon... why?

Anyway... More utopia fap material.

Dat clear red plastic.

[Mechapilot77]

yeah mania king needs a wrist swivel and a bicep swivel and to grow to orion height. as is he does look great with RTS cylonus an scourge though.

[Gakken85]

So I heard an interesting piece of gossip that's a bit on the 3rd party topic.

Apparently, takara staff leaked the Snarl design out to 3rd party because they were pissed they weren't getting paid enough.

Looking at the mold it seems legit. Look at the legs.. they basically look like grimlocks, and it has a polish that even the scoria release doesn't have.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Gakken85

[valhary]

compatibility with the mp10

[Hikuro]

I'm not terribly upset anymore about Mania King....I can paint him up and he'll look almost as good imo. However that Unique Toys Metroplex head is ASS ugly.

[areaseven]

Granted, the Seekers are much cooler as F-15 Eagles, but this version of the F-22 Raptor Seeker beats every Bayformer Starscream toy ever made.

[Gakken85]

I like those better than the MP versions. Looks more fun and interesting.

[Scyla]

I don't know. The underside is straight up terrible. Why can't any 3rd party company make a cool transforming jet that looks like a plain. I don't want them to rip off Macross but something new and original that isn't a robot hanging on the underside of a plane shell.

[Mechapilot77]

I don't know. The underside is straight up terrible. Why can't any 3rd party company make a cool transforming jet that looks like a plain. I don't want them to rip off Macross but something new and original that isn't a robot hanging on the underside of a plane shell.

there has NEVER been any TF jetformer that wasn't like that. maybe rotf mindwipe? that was a pretty awesome fig but they let the gimmicks kill that one. the mp seekers even have robot pieces quite obvious...these are a little more so becuas the chest pieces are sculpted to be organic looking instead of blocky. that being said, if this thing had thicker arms and a more G1 chest area i'd like it better. i'm getting at least one though. its articualtion is great...but it needs better hands.

Edited June 27, 2014 by Mechapilot77

[eriku]

I think Generations Scourge (and his later repaint/remold as Ratbat) is the best Hasbro has ever done with an aircraft.

It's slim, sleek and very minimal chunky bottom.

Astrotrain is pretty good too, and could have been even better if they had made the undersides of the wings a smooth surface.

But yes, by and large Hasbro transforming aircraft rarely even try to get a sleek underside.

Edited June 27, 2014 by eriku

[Chronocidal]

They only ever seem to pull it off on things with F-15-like blocky bodies, if at all. Really, the original G1 Seekers weren't bad in that regard, because they kept the arms inside the fuselage, and had no actual limbs to fold out otherwise.

They just need more blocky bodied aircraft.. I would probably kill for a good RA-5 Vigilante-style seeker. And I dunno why no one seems to want to do an XB-70 mold.

[David Hingtgen]

ROTF Dirge is the best deluxe jet in a while.

And yes, the best thing to do is use blocky alt-modes! X1000! The F-15 works for a reason. The F-16 doesn't...

[Silverstreak]

there has NEVER been any TF jetformer that wasn't like that. maybe rotf mindwipe?

RTS and Animated Lugnut say hi.

[CoreyD]

There's a video review up of Daca Toys Kronos.

After watching the review, I changed my mind and am actually ok with the backpack coming off. Looking forward to receiving my copy in the mail.

[Scyla]

There's a video review up of Daca Toys Kronos.

*snip*

After watching the review, I changed my mind and am actually ok with the backpack coming off. Looking forward to receiving my copy in the mail.

It is quite terrible at least for my tastes. I always wanted a transforming MP Jetfire from the show so I'm hoping for FT to make one. I think he is to huge for Takara for justifying it.

Maybe I don't like it because the design of Jetfire is just terrible and is not suited for a good Transformer.

On the other hand I think the problem I have with Kronos is the fact that he doesn't transform. I mean sure he can do spaceship to robot but none of the parts transforms. They just hang in big junks on a frame and change position. Nothing is concealed in alt-mode.

Hm I don't know if I can get my point across it is hard to describe why I don't like Kronos as a transforming robot and why I think MP-10 is pretty awesome.

Maybe I have to watch the video a few more times to examine this one a bit further.

[areaseven]

I feel bad for anyone who paid retail for that parts-former.

[Mechapilot77]

it looks great but that transformation is a bit far from clever. i think DC has some work to do yet before they are on the same level as lots of other companies in terms of design. That being said, i haven't sat down and dreamed up a transformation for a skyfire ever so....i may be talking out of my butt here. This will be a very good looking bot mode stand in for me. if anyone makes a better one, i'd probably dump this one before that one came out. haha

[eriku]

I still plan to get Kronos but that transformation looks like a buzzkill to me. A big part of the reason I like these things in the first place is because I enjoy transforming them, and this one just made me cringe watching it. Hopefully it wont be as bad in hand as it looks in the video. Honestly it looks like the transformation was engineered by someone who has no business engineering transformations. It looks like something I would come up with. That is not a compliment.

[anime52k8]

Meh, the partsforming doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that it looks horrendously ugly in fighter AND robot mode.

[Mechapilot77]

Meh, the partsforming doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that it looks horrendously ugly in fighter AND robot mode.

to be fair that is the source material's fault. the robot mode is pretty much spot on. the alt mode....is fairly close too. skyfire was a flying space clunky brick that the animators must have come up with at the last second. thanks harmony gold! if they had let hasbro use the animation model in the toy's commercial...skyfire would never had existed and we'd be talking jetfire. haha

[Gakken85]

Welp. Grabbed my first 3rd party today.

Threw Heavy Noisey on my stack at TF source with Silverstreak.

He's really G1 accurate and looks fun as hell. Plus soundwave is lonely even with his tapes

[anime52k8]

I like brawl, but I don't know if I $90-for-a-voyager like him.

:edit:

which I realize is kind of a stupid argument when I've payed as much for actual voyagers in the past.

Edited June 30, 2014 by anime52k8

[Gakken85]

he's a bit taller than MP sideswipe and looks decent next to the cars.

I paid $100 for a MP alert haha, so why not.

[renegadeleader1]

to be fair that is the source material's fault. the robot mode is pretty much spot on. the alt mode....is fairly close too. skyfire was a flying space clunky brick that the animators must have come up with at the last second. thanks harmony gold! if they had let hasbro use the animation model in the toy's commercial...skyfire would never had existed and we'd be talking jetfire. haha

Harmony Gold had nothing to do with that. Hasbro licensed the VF-1 mold from Takatoku, and commissioned the commercial. Takatoku went out of business soon after, and Bandai got the Macross toy rights. When Transformers hit it big in the states Takara the company who's toy lines most of the original transformers came from decided to import the cartoon back to Japan, but didn't want to promote a design or toy from rival Bandai, and had the design altered for the cartoon.

[David Hingtgen]

Meh, the partsforming doesn't bother me nearly as much as the fact that it looks horrendously ugly in fighter AND robot mode.

But that's pretty much what the fandom wants at this point. They want a spot-on plastic figure of the *TV show* Skyfire. Not Jetfire, not a VF-1, not a "classics Skyfire". There's already plenty of those out there. They want THIS:

And that's what it is. So those who want it, are probably happy with it.

[Gakken85]

It has it's appeal. I just think the robot mode could have some more flash.

I mean if you look at Prowl or Sideswipe... in the cartoon, obviously they lack details and distinguishing factors, but in the original G1 toy (Stolen from diaclone) and in the MP line they have detail. Like the raised bits under the leg glass, ect.

Jetfire just lacks any real detai in robot mode that makes him stand out.

It needs something to break up all that white imo

Edited July 1, 2014 by Gakken85

[anime52k8]

I get that some people like and want G1 cartoon Skyfire. Some people are stupid.

[Gakken85]

Hahaha.

I'd like to see something truly innovative... like a mix between this in robot mode and a 1/55 valk, with hommages to G1.

Something fun haha

[anime52k8]

I want someone to make a Jetfire/skyfire that's evocative of G1 while still being legitimately good looking in both modes. Oh wait, Hasbro is actually doing that already.