The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[Scyla]

Mike I'm hoping you enjoy Sigfried. Ordin is just not for me.

Regarding the FP/MT combiners (as far as I know they are designed by the same guy) goes you have to have very specific fetishes to like them. Every piece has some kind of flaw that makes them unbearable for some. They are by no means better or worse than other combiners. Howerver I think they represent better what an independent toy company can bring to the table compared to companies like TFC, Warbotron or UT. They offer a unique style that is very super robot inspired. They pull of some engineering tricks that you can't have with retail toys and they have a high quality feel to them when holding them in hands or moving the joints. They also pose all extremely well. And the limbs are great little toys that are mostly unaffected by fact that they are triple changers. In addition they pull it off in a very small scale. For example their Nosecone is super fun to transform and awesome to play with the underslung guns, the drill bit you can attach as a weapon and he looks great with the combination of dense, matte plastic and the translucent bits. Also that monocle! He is super posable with double jointed knees and elbows.

Since most of the pros match up with my own preferences in transforming robots I'm happy with them and I prefer them over other offerings. As I said they also have massive flaws. Stuff like the fact that Quantrons head just hangs on the back of Metal Storm or the weird hip panels on Diesel or the fact that Ryu-Ohs head doesn't lock into place are major cons.

Just be aware of what your getting into.

I really have to make a strong case for the PlanetX Dinobots. I thought that Dinobots should combine since I was a kid (they are five color coded robots they have to right?) so I like the idea of a Dino combiner. However since I saw peaughs reviews I'm turned off by Toyworlds offering. Especially the combined mode and their Grimlocks torso-mode are off-putting to me. Sadly my Dinobot budget is locked up in FTs offerings but I'm regretting it partly because the PlanetX stuff caters more to my preferences. But since I'm 3/5 in I feel that I can't back out. They are no bad toys and I'm a massive fan of the G1 Dinobots but the PlanetX stuff is just something different. Especially since I played FoC in my Christmas holiday.

[mikeszekely]

I REALLY like what I see of MT Guardian, but I'm also holding out for MMC's Defensor.

With just the handful of Feralcons I have, yeah, it's obvious that MMC makes some quality stuff (I don't know why, but I get a kick out of the comic book in the instruction books). But if I wait for MMC-versions of every combiner I want (let alone non-combiner characters) my six month old will graduate from college before I get them.

I'm waiting for some reviews of the two newly-released limbs, but Axle seems pretty decent and I really like Rover. My only concern is that it looks like they don't form the entire limb but attach to a skeleton like M3. I'm concerned that when Vulcan comes out he'll be overly-large.

Ordin is just not for me.

And I think that's fair. Everyone has different ideas about how a character should look (or, perhaps, how to modernize a character's look). What's more, people have certain preference and peeves that are different for some than others. For example, Alberich's arms not have a peg to lock them in place in arm mode isn't great, but it bothers me less than the forearm gaps in Bovis and Fortis. And, while I don't like partsforming when going from a robot to an alt mode, partsforming to complete a combiner doesn't bother me. In fact, I prefer it to the hamfisted ways that some companies try to integrate the combiner parts into the individual modes. I mean, Leo Dux could have had a better chest cover if it didn't have to become part of Rex's sword. Similarly, if they'd made a jointless handle for the sword instead of using Dux's tail you wouldn't have to worry about the sword flopping when you re-pose Rex. But in any case, I respect that you and David don't like Ordin, but he's pretty appealing to me. I suppose that one of the great thing about having a ton of 3P companies is that you have a lot of options (especially for Dinobots and Devastator).

Regarding Quantron, yeah, I mean I get how he and his components can be pretty awesome toys in their own right. I just don't feel like they capture enough of the Technobots aesthetic for my tastes. Based on Diesel alone I wouldn't be interested in M3, either, but the combined mode looks pretty good, and I absolutely LOVE their not-Breakdown. Seriously, I love him so much that if there was a way to modify him to work with CW Devastator I'd buy him right now.

I'm sure that the PlanetX Dinobots are good, but again it comes down to us each of us having different preferences when it comes to the overall aesthetic. I'm just not up for FoC Dinobots. Ironically, the same Peaugh reviews that turned you off of the Toyworld Dinobots are what sold me on them. I actually dig the torso mode, but the thing is everyone but their Swoop seems like solid G1-ish Dinobots in their own rights. Their Swoop is pretty disappointing, and it looks like some joints might need to be tightened for the combined mode (and that Spear's wings are too tiny for the combined mode), but I can live with that.

[David Hingtgen]

Axel and Rover form legs EXACTLY like Diesel/M3 do. They are shin-armor, nothing more. They just do it in a better-looking way.

[Scyla]

I think the problem with the 3rd party toys is that there are so many releases that it is hard not to go on a buying frenzy. In the beginning it was fairly easy to buy a majority of what was released. So you could buy anything you had an interest in. Now a massive amount of cash would be needed to keep up with all the toys that getting released. Especially if there are like three or four versions to choose from like Ironhide. I tried to keep up with the Masterpiece releases as it started with FTs Quakewave because who don't want a complete G1 shelf of that stuff but I quickly learned that this is not financially viable if you have other interests like food and shelter (and DX Macross toys) so I started to be highly decisive with what to order. First my interest in other masterpiece-ish lines from companies other than FansToys where gone than after they started to release a bigillion toys I said I only complete their Dinobots and nothing else. Now I'm basically down to buy stuff that MMC releases and I pick and choose toys from FP/MT that I like and sometimes single toys from other companies. Especially if they release a toy inspired by either Shockwave, Nemesis Prime, Cliffjumber, Skywarp, Galvatron or Cyclonus.

What I'm trying to say is that I slipped fairly easy into a mindset to buy anything that looks remotely cool. When the first images of Ordin showed up I was all hyped especially since he looked so similar in style to Feral Rex. After the review of Troll I was certain that I have to have him but after seeing reviews of the other members I realized that this is not for me. Now I'm only ordering stuff that have to fit my collector collection habits. That doesn't mean that the toy has to be perfect but it has to tickle my fancy. Feral Rex does, Ordin doesn't. Collector habits be damned.

[sh9000]

As cool as some 3rd party figures are, I stopped collecting them a long time ago because of their price, because I'd rather collect more Macross toys, and because I realize with scale and everything else that "MP" will never reach as close as a G1 complete line as CHUG has tried to do.

[Scyla]

Video review of MMCs OX REmix Jaguar:

He looks awesome. I love that they are packaging him as an actual cassette. Witch paper inlay and all. What I don't like is the missing printing that MP Jaguar has. I understand that they would detract from jaguar-mode but the cassette alone looks a tad plain.

[Dangard Ace]

I'm sure repro label will have you covered there. Still waiting for mine to arrive.

[mikeszekely]

I hope those of you who get him love, but I think I'm done with MP-scale toys.

[M'Kyuun]

Looks awesome; Ravage has always been my favorite cassette. I really wish they could have put this kind of engineering into MP ravage, but at that small size, it'd be horribly fragile. I wouldn't mind owning this, but it's a bit pricey.

[dizman]

Looks awesome; Ravage has always been my favorite cassette. I really wish they could have put this kind of engineering into MP ravage, but at that small size, it'd be horribly fragile. I wouldn't mind owning this, but it's a bit pricey.

Yeah I'm gonna wait for a sale too (if one ever comes).

[Dangard Ace]

Ravage arrived today. It's nice. Since I've pretty much given up on most of the CHUG lines to concentrate on MP I find this Ravage looks great alongside Soundwave and Apollyon. Micro cassette Ravage just didn't cut it as he was too small. This one's got some faults too, head isn't as articulated as I wanted cause of the two ball jointed neck and the feet are on t-connectors instead of balljoints but he now big enough to take on the carbots and prime.

[David Hingtgen]

Official Hasbro press release:

Look closely at "Devastator" in the upper left.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Priceless

[danth]

No toys for the black family? During black history month? They sly hatin'.

[JB0]

No toys for the black family? During black history month? They sly hatin'.

They just be chillin' with they cartoons, that's all. Cain't play with toys ALL day.

(Though perhaps showing the cartoon on the TV may've been a good idea. )

[anime52k8]

Official Hasbro press release:

Look closely at "Devastator" in the upper left.

Giant is now officially MP devastator.

[Scyla]

I wonder how that got in there. I hope the shareholders don't notice.

[CoryHolmes]

This is the wrong thread, but I can't think of another to put it in. I'm looking at getting a Play Arts Kai FemShep toy, but I don't like the default head sculpt they provided. Has anyone made a 3rd Party helmeted head that I can just pop on?

[mikeszekely]

Siegfried arrived today. Scyla, I think I know why you were kinda hard on the Ordin team's weapons; after watching Peaugh's reviews, it looks like only Alberich came with guns. Fenrir and Troll only seem to come with whatever you can make the feet into, and I'm not exactly sure what Hagen comes with. Beyond that, Fenrir's tails become... hooks? Whips? I dunno.

Siegfried sort of fixes that. He comes with all this (excluding his chest and pelvis armor)-

Even after you give some weapons to Siegfried, there's plenty to go around to his pals. I mean, there's four pretty good-looking rifles, two dual-barrel guns that could be mounted on arms or shoulders or something, and a pair of swords.

The four rifles combine to make a pretty solid gun for Ordin.

You can attach the dual-barrel guns to the rear, although they rightly belong in Ordin's waist. Still, if you fold the big handle back, you'll have a 5mm peg, so you could have Siegfried carrying a big gun.

Alternatively, there are peg holes on the front of the gun, too. If you peg the swords into them, Ordin's gun becomes a crossbow.

More to follow...

Edited February 18, 2016 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

Ok, so this is Siegfried, Unique Toys' take on Hun-Gurrr.

As I mentioned before, I had the original Hun-Gurrr way back when I was 7 or 8-ish. While I didn't have any fictional attachment, since most of my time with the Marvel comic book was a few TPBs and a random issue here and there and as a kid I didn't care for the third season of the cartoon because Rodimus sucked and Optimus was dead, I loved the toy. I think part of it was that I got it at a time when the toyline seemed to be shifting toward Pretenders or Micromasters or something stupid, but partly because Hun-Gurrr was pretty freaking articulated by '80s Transformers standards. Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get Siegfried. For the most part, I think UT nailed Hun-Gurrr's look. Purple head with a white face, mostly white body with dark thighs and the dragon heads forming his legs and dragon legs forming his arms. He's a little beefier, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the only major departures are that he has blue eyes instead of yellow (toy) or red (cartoon), and he's got light gray forearms instead of a dark gray (toy) or black (cartoon) and black hands instead of white (toy and cartoon). You can also see alt-mode paws on his shoulders... well, better there than on his butt like the original toy. Instead, those legs fold up neatly onto his back, along with his tail (and the original also had the tail on the back).

As you can see, his back really isn't that bad with the dragon legs. It's mostly the tail.

He's got all the articulation you've come to expect from a 3rd-party release in this price range: head's on a ball joint, shoulders rotate and can swing out from the body (although not the same degree that the Feralcons can), bicep swivel, wrist swivel, double-jointed elbows, waist swivel, hips that can swing forward and backward or out to the sides, thighs swivel above the knee, knees bend, the feet are on ball joints. One thing to note here, Siegfried comes packaged in torso mode. At first, I thought I got a bad one because his waist extends for transformation and mine was so loose that when I picked him up the weight of his lower body would pull slide the extension the whole way out. There's actually a small tab on a panel on his back and a slot in the extension piece. If you tab it it correctly, everything stays together quite nicely.

Of course, you can arm him with some guns.

Now his chest plate... I know a lot of you guys hate partsformers. I don't like it on robot-to-alt or vice versa, but it doesn't bother me having extra bits that go on the combined mode. So, his chest plate wouldn't bother me if it really didn't do anything; I don't see it as being that much different than Feral Rex's pelvis armor (which all the MMC fans don't seem to mind), the G1 toy's chest plate just stuck on Hun-Gurrr's arm and made a shield, and I think it'd be difficult to integrate Abominus' iconic chest plate into the robot itself. But, if it really bothers you, I'm happy to tell you that the chest plate breaks apart and can be used in his other modes. Here, I have it as chest armor, back armor, and shields.

In terms of scale, I'd say Siegfried is a tall Voyager, making him a good fit with CHUGs. As you can see, he's a little shorter than Leo Dux.

In overall terms of quality, I'd say he's quite good. He's got a good feel to him; not quite as hefty as Leo Dux, but heftier than your average HasTak Voyager. His joints are mostly just the right amount of tight, he's got enough detail without being too busy, and there are plenty of tabbing flaps and hatches that he avoids the hollow look common to HasTak. Plastic quality is good. You should be able to play with him without feeling like you're going to break anything of have stuff pop off.

He's not perfect, though. I do have a few gripes, but I'll remind the MMC fans that I don't think Leo Dux is perfect either, and none of the flaws are really deal breakers for me (although YMMV).

For starters, there's the balljointed feet. UT obviously did it so the dragon heads would be on balljoints, but they're just a tad too loose. Not floppy, but with the dragon legs and tail on his back he's backheavy enough that they have trouble supporting him. Still, nothing a little Future can't fix, eh? There's the matter of his light gray forearms and black hands. I think this has to do with the fact that the dragon's forelegs were entirely white, and due to his transformation his arms actually become the forelegs, not the back legs. Then maybe they went with black hands to break up the white/light gray? Either way, I can live with it. There's his blue eyes... I've heard people say it gives him an almost heroic look, but the molded scowl mitigates that. I'm sure some yellow/gold/red paint would be an easy fix if you want. Lastly, while his dragon legs fold up neatly on his back with his paws draping over his shoulders, they don't actually peg in place. That's a shame, considering that said paws are hollow underneath.

Based on bot mode, I'd recommend him.

[mikeszekely]

This is Siegfried's alt mode. Articulation in this mode is just great! His necks have the benefits of using the robots knees and hips, plus an additional joint used in torso mode. The heads, as discussed, are on ball joints, and the balljoint can swivel a little up and down. His jaws open and close. His front legs have his arm joints: rotating shoulders than can swing out to the side a bit, bicep swivel, double-ointed knee, and his paws are on ball joints. For his rear legs, his hips can rotate and wiggle a little, but they can't really swing out like the front. He doesn't have thigh swivels there, but he's got digitgrade knees that bend where they connect to the hips and where they connect to the lower leg. The back paws aren't on ball joints, but they can swivel. Finally, he's got an up-down swivel on his final tail joint, his tail can swivel where it connects to his body, and the two joints in between can swivel up and down and side-to-side.

You can mount weapons onto peg holes on the rear hips

Or, using parts of that chest plate, make some interesting back weapons.

Some of the chest pieces and his pelvis armor can make little wings for him.

Siegfriend is longer than Leo Dux, but much leaner.

So... I seriously have almost nothing to complain about in this mode. Deviations from the original toy/cartoon are, for the most parts, improvements. His tail is longer, his body leaner, and his forelegs aren't the little stubs they once were, but that gives him a more dangerous, predatory look more in-line with current ideas of dinosaurs and the dragons inspired by them, vs the flat, slow reptiles they were envisioned as back in the '80s. The detailing on his back legs and his claws are fantastic. Looking at him, I actually prefer that his hind legs are white like the front legs, with black thighs/elbows. It gives him a nice, uniform look. And I prefer the cartoon-style red eyes to the wraparound visor (that was a sticker) on the G1 toy). My one and only complaint is that the part of the dragon necks made by the robot lower legs are sort of chunky. Well, you could rightly argue that the robot mode didn't need to have such beefy shins, but if you look at the G1 Abominus toy you'll notice that his thighs are comically scrawny, so I guess this is just part of the sacrifice to make a good-looking combined mode. For some it's a deal-breaker, and while I can understand and respect that opinion all I can tell you that it's not as bad in hand as it is in a lot of pictures. You definitely get used to it.

Based on alt-mode, I highly recommend Siegfried.

[mikeszekely]

Last one... torso mode.

Honestly, I think he's pretty spot on here. David, Scyla, you guys are of course entitled to your own opinions but I frankly don't get the hate here. Would it be nice if his head were purple with a white face, like the cartoon? Sure, if you're into that, but the head is spot-on for the original toy. The chest plate could be a little different (silver on and around those two bumps in the middle, silver squares to the left and right of center, etc) but it's unmistakably Abominus' chest. And by keeping the pelvis armor as a separate piece from the chest, Ordin retains a waist swivel. And I frankly don't get the hate for the dragon neck thighs in this mode. They're thick enough that they don't look super skinny like the original toy, but they're not too thick. Feral Rex fans might like 'em thicker, but even if you go back to the cartoon Abominus doesn't have chunky thighs.

Without the chest and pelvis armor, you can see that Siegfried makes a solid torso. His forearms peg into his biceps, and then to his side, and the chest plate pegs into the the two holes on his abs as well as the now-exposed holes in his elbows, so everything's locked in tight. As for his legs, sliding the lower legs up reveals the combiner ports, and once you fold out the ports the legs can't slide back down, so they're locked into place. You can also see how the dual-barrel cannons fit in and fill out his abdomen. The pelvis armor attaches just to the center hole there, and the the sides of the armor are ball-jointed so they won't interfere with posing Ordin.

Once more, for funsies, a comparison with Feral Rex's torso. I have Rex's thighs in the middle position; if you collapse them all the way they look too chunky, but if you extend them all the way too much of Leo Dux's thighs show. In this position, Looks like Ordin's torso is slightly taller from the knee combiner ports to the tops of the antenna, but Rex is taller if you go to the tips of his back guns. (Sorry for the blurry pic; Dux can't stand on his own in torso mode like Siegfried, so I had to hold him with one hand and take a crappy cell phone pic with the other).

The flaws in torso mode are carry-overs from robot mode, which is that he's still got the alt-mode tail just hanging off his back, and while they're still folded up neatly the dragon's hind paws are still just resting atop his shoulders instead of pegging in. I'd still say those are pretty minor flaws, though, and probably won't even create as much backheaviness in the combined mode.

Based on torso mode... well, I can't really say it's fair to recommend him. Ordin can only be as good as the complete gestalt, and I don't have the other four members. Siegfried does seem to be a very good torso, though, and based on the strength of his bot and alt modes I think Siegfried's definitely worth adding to your collection.

[Scyla]

I'm glad you like him. I think what kills Ordin for me are the lackluster limbs especially after a very strong Troll. Siegfried benefits from not being a limbs so I can see why you are happy with it but for me it would be all-in or nothing on Abominus. I guess he looks good from the front but I imagine the folded up hips of Siegfried aren't hidden from the side or the back. I myself display all my robots with their backsides facing me.

Different topic. Has anyone found out if Perfect Effects Warden is compatible with the Titans Return Fort Max? I personally don't own a Fort Max and never will but I thought it would be interesting to have a Warden head on Fort Max.

Got a notice from the mailman so that probably means my MMC Jaguar has arrived. I'm excited to check him out. Even if the toy sucks (doubt it) I still have the awesome audio cassette packaging with liner notes and all.

[mikeszekely]

I think what kills Ordin for me are the lackluster limbs especially after a very strong Troll. Siegfried benefits from not being a limbs so I can see why you are happy with it but for me it would be all-in or nothing on Abominus.

That's probably fair, and when I get them I'll definitely call out their flaws. I'll also say that what someone thinks is a minor dlaw could be a dealbreaker for someone else. Given how much I like Siegfeied, I'm hoping that I can live with the limb-bots' flaws.

I guess he looks good from the front but I imagine the folded up hips of Siegfried aren't hidden from the side or the back.

When I have the complete set, I'll be sure to check for this. I will say that, due to the way his legs collapse and bend with a dedicated joint instead of bending at Hun-Gurrr's knee it's not as bad as the original toy... not that we should be comparing $130 toys aimed at adult collectors to kid's toys from the '80s.

[Scyla]

As suspected the MMC Jaguar was in the mail today. I'm of two minds about the toy. First the cons. I really think the toy could have benefited from more paint applications. I'm a fan of the silver cassette markings om the Masterpiece one. The paint applications are not as crisp as I'm used to. An MMC official once said that they now have two factories where they produce items at. I think Jaguar and Sphinx where produced in the same factory because of the paint applications. I have noticed on many Jaguars a splotch of paint around the mouth and mine has that as well. Also the solver circles on the forelegs are a bit edgy. Due to the way this ravager transforms it doesn't really lock together that well in cassette mode.

Now on to the good parts. Due to the way it transforms it has a really dynamic and organic feel when you pose him. Basically the whole torso is made up of the two halves of the cassette and it is not connected together. That means the parts can slide and move around during poses which really looks like the muscles of the torso. It is a very unique take on transforming toys and I haven't seen something like this before. Hopefully all the ball joints hold up over time. the general posability is good but but I think some of the joints need a bit more movement. It is leaps and bounds above the Masterpiece one. The overall sculpt is great and since the paint applications are sparse it looks like the cartoon. I'm not a super fan of that approach since it makes the toys look monotone (I'm looking at you Ultra Magnus).

Due to a good amount of die-cast (basically the lower legs, the rockets and the hinges that connect the two main parts of the body) it has a great heft when having him in hand and it feels significant which is something the MP line from Takara is missing sometimes.

I have to stress how joyful it is to pose this toy. I'm looking at jaguar pictures on the Internet and try to get Jaguar into the poses and he succeeds looking sleek, stealthy and deadly in almost every pose. The toy can also do a "oh you" pose but who wants to do that.

Since this toy has the size of a standard audio cassette it fit very well into a Masterpiece display. Jaguar covers the animal mode out of Soundwave chest and the MP version has the right size of a micro cassette and fits into the chest compartment of his master. I'm looking forward to the other cassette bots MMC announced recently especially if they have that great engineering tricks to offer.

Awesome packaging is still awesome!

[mikeszekely]

Siegfried is Awesome: a Story in Four Pictures

Felisaber: "Hey, a sleeping dragon! Maybe he will play with me!"

Felisaber: "Wake up, sleepy head. Er, sleepy heads."

Siegfried: "QUIT POKING ME, YOU LAME EXCUSE FOR TIGRIS!"

Siegfried: "Yeah, you better run, you penguin-toting remold only an MMC fan could love!"

In all seriousness, Siegfried is the most fun I've had with a transforming toy in forever and is totally worth picking up even if you don't get the rest of the Ordin team.

Disclaimer: I actually do love Felisaber. I don't have Tigris or Talon yet, but he's my favorite of the Feralcons I do have.

[M'Kyuun]

Glad you're having fun with Hun-gurr, Mike. I remember messing with my friend's G1 version many moons ago. They did a great job of capturing the G1 look while bringing the engineering and articulation into the present. That pic of him sleeping is awesome.

Slight derail: For Fall of Cybertron fans, a new Optimus fig is coming. http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/02/17/planet-x-fall-cybertron-inspired-optimus-prime-grey-prototypes-310142

I generally don't care for the WFC and FoC aesthetic, but Game Informer featured FoC Prime on their cover a few years back, and I was totally sold. I'm usually not a fan of Cybertronian alt modes, but this particular design just strikes a high chord with me. The game designers imagined him in his truck mode as a fist on wheels, and I find it an apt description. I bought the little Hasbro version (fun figure), but it's quite simplified and lacking. Planet X's take seems much more faithful to the game art. I'm curious to see the final painted version. Anyway, thought I'd share.

[Dio]

Planet X has knocked their previous figures out of the park thus far, and though I own the Hasbro version of Optimus I find this one highly interesting. If it's too big though, I might pass since he shouldn't stand even with say, Grimlock (Vulcun).

I'm eagerly awaiting their Aesclepius (Perceptor) next, and hope they can get back to figures that don't already have a toy out there, like the other Insecticons or the Stunticons. Heck, they could make a mint if they'd make the generic troopers with a few swappable detail pieces to distinguish one another.

[mikeszekely]

Planet X has knocked their previous figures out of the park thus far, and though I own the Hasbro version of Optimus I find this one highly interesting. If it's too big though, I might pass since he shouldn't stand even with say, Grimlock (Vulcun).

I'm eagerly awaiting their Aesclepius (Perceptor) next, and hope they can get back to figures that don't already have a toy out there, like the other Insecticons or the Stunticons. Heck, they could make a mint if they'd make the generic troopers with a few swappable detail pieces to distinguish one another.

The Stunticons? Don't get me wrong, I'm cool with more choices, but there's already official Stunticons and 1.2 going on 3 3P Stunticons.

Unless you mean WfC/FoC style, then... wasn't Breakdown the only one in the games?

I liked the Cybertron games and the character designs in the game (especially the moving bits that really gave the sense that yes, the Transformers are robots, but they're living beings). I just have a personal preference for G1-style.

[Dio]

Unless you mean WfC/FoC style, then... wasn't Breakdown the only one in the games?

I liked the Cybertron games and the character designs in the game (especially the moving bits that really gave the sense that yes, the Transformers are robots, but they're living beings). I just have a personal preference for G1-style.

Yep, definitely the WfC/FoC style I'm looking for. At least 3 of the Stunticons had official game designs, if you factor in the DS games, but PX wouldn't need to hold too closely to them. I collect Cybertronian style primarily, so they cater directly to my interest, and another combiner in that theme to go alongside Bruticus would be awesome.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Is anyone else torn on what 3rd party Inferno to get? I initially wanted Maketoys' Hellfire, but MMC's Backdraft, despite being lankier, seems to be more similar to its G1 counterpart. MMC's early bird pricing is also quite tempting.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm not getting either, but I just searched them both for comparison. That's a tough choice; they both look really good. I think it boils down to which G1 influence do you want your figure to emulate: toon or toy? Personally, I favor Hellfire due to the crotch piece shaping and the black kneecaps-closer to the toy. But I have to say, I love that smiling face and overall head sculpt of MMC's Backdraft. They totally nailed it, and it gives the figure alot of personality. MMC overall, made the more G1 animation accurate version. Both look like comparable figures in most other aspects, although I'll give MMC bonus points for that chrome grill, which is most fitting for an older model firetruck.

Sorry I didn't make the choice easier for you...I'd have to mull it over a bit myself if I were picking just one. Whichever you finally settle on, I hope he's an excellent compliment to your collection.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Yeah, tough choice indeed. I'm leaning more towards MMC for now. As you pointed out, Backdraft has a much better face sculpt. The ladder in bot mode doesn't protrude as much as Hellfire's, and the overall proportions for Backdraft pretty much are spot on. His "wings" could be a little smaller, but that's just a minor niggle.

[Scyla]

My money will go to Backdraft. The way the ladder collapsed, the way the alt-mode looks and the fit and finish of MMCs Sphinx convinced me that this will be the better Inferno. Also MakeToys version looks wrong with no lower abdomen, which makes him fit in very well with the latest MP releases (oh that irony). The way Hellfire transforms with one long strut keeping the whole toy together is not for me I hope Backdraft does this better. From the Hellfire reviews so far I got the impression that their plastic is not as sharply molded than on the MMC toys. What I like about backfire is that they have a panel that covers the hose and support pillars.

Other 3P news. The replacement parts for Celeritas Blindfire showed up from TFSource today. Now he has a fully functional shoulder joint.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Scyla

[Valkyrie2008]

Is anyone else torn on what 3rd party Inferno to get? I initially wanted Maketoys' Hellfire, but MMC's Backdraft, despite being lankier, seems to be more similar to its G1 counterpart. MMC's early bird pricing is also quite tempting.

MT version is slightly too small, it's shorter than MP Ironhide and the tip of the wings "ears" on MMC version is too small. Both version just seems off. XTB had just showed there proto version, just a tad shorter than MP-10 and taller than MP Ironhide, this is how I imagine Inferno would be. The only thing that bug me is that ugly hinge that connect the head/ladder. Hopefully XTB improve the QC, otherwise, I'll wait for another offer. Inferno is not one of my strong character, but I do like fire trucks.