The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[mikeszekely]

In which mode? I covered how in cruiser mode the the handle and the white piece clip together and are placed in the hollow spot under the the nosecone-cannon. In robot mode the handle still goes on the nosecone-cannon. Fold the handle back all the way, then look under the scope and the tabs that slot into Metalstorm's rifles. See those shallow vertical slits, one on each side? Look at the underside of the nosecone-cannon. On the gray part at the base you'll notice a gap between the halves with little notches and cuts so those notches can flex. Slide the handle into the gap and the notches will grab the slits. When you put the nosecone-cannon onto Metalstorm's back, the space between the scope and the fin on the handle will accommodate the bump from the joint on the L-shaped part.

[Scyla]

That is interesting. I never noticed that. I have to check when I get home. Thank you, very helpful advice.

[Tking22]

I can't believe how badly Spinout turned out. I was reading on TFW2005 that Toydojo busted their stock open, then a couple of other pieces, then immediately discounted the figure by $30, they said they felt it wasn't the quality one would expect out of a $100 third party masterpiece figure. I think he looked god awful anyway, even the earlier mold that everyone liked so much before it was apparently changed, but this has gotta suck for those that somehow don't like the BadCube version and were waiting on this guy. At least he's dirt cheap now, maybe he can fixed and tweaked into a decent figure, either way, Toydojo and several other sites are taking a big hit on this turd day one, ouch. In other news, when in the ever merciful frakk is Backdraft coming out? I literally NEED him, Takara's version looks super meh, maybe I'll check out their Grapple so I can have two different molds to mix it up a bit.

[Dangard Ace]

Can't wait for Backdraft either. TTs Inferno looks similar to Hellfire that I'm not getting the urge to PO. Speaking of MT they're selling a select number of Hellfires and donating the proceeds to the Red Cross to help with the fire fighting. Pretty damn cool of them and I'd get one if I didn't already have one. http://maketoys.jp/shop/products/hellfire-emergency-relief-edition/

[slaginpit]

Can't wait for Backdraft either. TTs Inferno looks similar to Hellfire that I'm not getting the urge to PO. Speaking of MT they're selling a select number of Hellfires and donating the proceeds to the Red Cross to help with the fire fighting. Pretty damn cool of them and I'd get one if I didn't already have one. http://maketoys.jp/shop/products/hellfire-emergency-relief-edition/

Red Cross sucks. They are a fraudster company that siphons money to pay for their own existence. Most of the millions given for Haiti hasnt been even spent. Its better if it goes to the local volunteers. EVEN cbc the national broadcaster advised the same.

[Scyla]

Preview of MMCs Carnifex:

Freaking awesome. Love the underside of the jet but I'm disappointed he doesn't have double jointed elbows and more articulation in the knees. The tank doesn't have to do a bunch so I think there would be enough room for a MG Gundam style knee joint. Maybe it was sacrificed for the base-mode.

I'm super hyped though. If they include the two Godmasters I will be more than happy even if the default IDW Overloard is enough to make me happy. Maybe they could to some IDW styled Dreadwind and Darkwing. I know Maketoys are doing them but I'm not convince they will deliver a great toy if they decide to use a real F-16 for Dreadwind.

[Dangard Ace]

Red Cross sucks. They are a fraudster company that siphons money to pay for their own existence. Most of the millions given for Haiti hasnt been even spent. Its better if it goes to the local volunteers. EVEN cbc the national broadcaster advised the same.

If you feel that way then by all means donate to local disaster efforts. I googled up what you said and you're right. I'm just pointing out that even though they don't have to a 3P is trying to help out too.

Oh and I picked up a Boost/Windcharger and Forager/Kickback. Boost is staying in bot mode. The clearance for folding out the hands and the legs are scary. Forager is still in box. Will check that out later.

[anime52k8]

I can't believe how badly Spinout turned out. I was reading on TFW2005 that Toydojo busted their stock open, then a couple of other pieces, then immediately discounted the figure by $30, they said they felt it wasn't the quality one would expect out of a $100 third party masterpiece figure. I think he looked god awful anyway, even the earlier mold that everyone liked so much before it was apparently changed, but this has gotta suck for those that somehow don't like the BadCube version and were waiting on this guy. At least he's dirt cheap now, maybe he can fixed and tweaked into a decent figure, either way, Toydojo and several other sites are taking a big hit on this turd day one, ouch. In other news, when in the ever merciful frakk is Backdraft coming out? I literally NEED him, Takara's version looks super meh, maybe I'll check out their Grapple so I can have two different molds to mix it up a bit.

spinout does have a more realistic countach rear end...

[Tking22]

spinout does have a more realistic countach rear end...

It does, which is totally odd because the rest of it looks pretty bad, seam lines, painted vents and head lights. Funny enough, I prefer Sunsurge's back end, it may look weird and off, but it IS more cartoon/G1 accurate.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Tking22

[anime52k8]

I'm super hyped though. If they include the two Godmasters I will be more than happy even if the default IDW Overloard is enough to make me happy. Maybe they could to some IDW styled Dreadwind and Darkwing. I know Maketoys are doing them but I'm not convince they will deliver a great toy if they decide to use a real F-16 for Dreadwind.

call me crazy but not having the two godmasters would be a total deal breaker for me. I love Late Japanese G1 characters for their funky gimmicks and OTT super robot designs.

[David Hingtgen]

G1 Scattershot carried his nosecone/cannon on his back, and so can Metalstorm. Difference is, Metalstorm's is almost comically huge- nearly as tall as Metalstorm himself.

*ALMOST* comically huge? IMHO it pretty much ruins the entire team. It's too huge for Computron, much less Scattershot. They could have made it half as big, and it'd STILL make a ginormous bow for combined mode. Computron was never seen as an archer, he doesn't need/no one expects a longbow as big as he is. Half as big would still be the biggest ranged combiner weapon on the market I think. And it'd look SO much better for Scattershot's jet mode. And he could actually look ok with it in robot mode.

My biggest issues with TFC have always been their colour choices/paint apps and their plastic finish. Paint apps/colours seems to have improved but I'm not sure about the plastic finish. I had Perseus and Uranos and the way they finsih their plastic was, to me, very cheap. It always reminded me of those cheap dollar store toys.

Read/watch reviews of their Hades/Liokaiser figures, to get a sense of current TFC plastic quality.

[mikeszekely]

That is interesting. I never noticed that. I have to check when I get home. Thank you, very helpful advice.

No problem, let me know how it works out for you. And with that segue back to Quantron, here's Overheat, Maketoys' Afterburner.

Let's just say that, aesthetically, I'm not a fan. The white torso with the orange strip down the middle is pretty G1-accurate, as is his mostly toy-orange color and gray thighs, but that's about it. The white shoulders, gray feet, and gray forearms are all Maketoy's inventions. The silver under the clear parts on his lower legs also undermine the fact that they are (and should be) orange. The headsculpt is awful and bears no resemblance to either the G1 toy nor the cartoon Afterburner. And he's very busy. There's molded details that he doesn't really need, a tire that splits in half and hangs out as massive shoulder pads instead of resting on his back, bike panels on his biceps, armatures with with orange flaps just chilling off the sides of his waist, and a piston hanging off of his butt like a tail.

Articulation is what we've come to expect from the smaller Maketoys figures. His head is on a ball joint, his shoulders are on ball joints with hinges for lateral movement, and there's a joint for transformation that gives him some butterfly motion forward. His biceps and wrists swivel, elbows are hinges with 90 degrees of range, his waist swivels as long as you don't try to peg the piston onto his back. Hips and ankles are on ball joints, and his knees are hinges that should have good range but bike parts prevent his knees from getting much bend.

His gun is odd, but I think it's ok.

In addition to his guns he comes with this pair of missile launchers. They can either peg onto his shoulder tires or he can hold them in his hands. I'm not really a fan of either, or the fact that they're hollow on one side.

Alternatively, the missile launchers can peg onto the end of Overheat's gun, forming a hammer. I think that's a better use of the launchers, and the transformation joints that let his arms butterfly forward aid in posing him with the hammer, but I don't really like that the hammer is at the expense of a gun. I prefer to leave them off of him entirely.

Things improve a bit when you get Overheat into alt mode. It's not particularly G1-accurate, but Overheat totally turns into a Tron lightcycle. And since he is almost entirely orange with silver under his transparent windows, I can buy into this as a color-accurate modern take on Afterburner. One problem, though, is that there's a noticeable gap on the back of the bike.

The gap is filled by attaching his weapons. His gun actually grips onto the lip of the gap, and the launchers peg onto the rear tire. The launchers, though, kind of ruin the sleek lightcycle look.

You can, IMHO, get a better effect by clipping the gun on and leaving the launchers off. At this point, as I don't like the launchers in bot mode and I don't like them in lightcycle mode, I'm ready to stuff them back in the box and forget about them. But...

...the launchers are necessary to keep Overheat's gun on him in arm mode. At least it allows the gun to rotate, so it can either be stashed back or flipped forward and used by the combined robot. And the launchers do sort of fill in for the kibble that was on G1 Afterburner in arm mode. In any case, if there's one trait about Computron that really stood out in my mind since watching Grimlock's New Brain almost 30 years ago it was the pair of wheels on his shoulder. Overheat nails that, even if it's with one wheel split in half instead of two wheels.

Oh, and that piston I mentioned way back in bot mode? Well, Overheat has the ol' thighs-for-an-elbow problem that plagues the Combiner Wars line and Fansproject's M3, but the piston is an interesting solution. The one end is on a hinge, and the other end pegs between the knees. The piston extends and collapses as necessary, and it fills in the gap between Overheat's thighs.

One thing worth noting is that, in both the cartoon and the G1 toy packaging, Afterburner was Computron's right arm. For unknown reasons, Maketoys decided that Overheat is Quantron's left arm. The connectors on the hands are not the same; one fits only Overheat and the other fits only Blindfire. Fortunately, it's not hard to swap them. Just unscrew the hands, swap the wrist connectors, then close the hands back up.

So, do I recommend Overheat? Sorry, we're back to no. While the lightcycle mode is kind of cool, the Combiner Wars Legends-class Wreck-Gar looks about as much like G1 Afterburner as Overheat does, and I'm really not feeling his accessories.

Edited May 14, 2016 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

I'm just going to go ahead and wrap up the individual bots tonight with a look at Blindfire, Maketoys' answer to Strafe.

So he's a little fella, but aesthetically he's a pretty good Strafe. The head is toy-accurate. The colors are almost entirely spot-on; he's missing some red on his torso, gained new red feet instead of just walking on his tail fins, he's got a new red stripe on the aforementioned tail fins and the G1-accurate winglets on his shoulders, his hands are gray now, and Maketoys added some gray to his hips, elbows, and abs, but for the most part he's red where he needs to be and white where he needs to be.

Blindfire's got a pair of translucent orange guns, and unlike Celeritas it kind of works for Blindfire, since Strafe's guns were orange. Articulation is again what you'd expect; ball-jointed head, ball-jointed shoulders with an extra hinge for lateral movement, soft-ratcheted single elbow joints, bicep and wrist swivels, soft-ratcheted waist swivel and soft-ratcheted knees, thigh swivels just below the hips, and ball-jointed hips and ankles. His ankle articulation isn't hot, but on the flip side those fins on the back of his arms are pegged in with hinged posts. They don't inhibit articulation much at all, as they can usually be moved out of the way.

As long as we're talking about those fins, they can unpeg and Blindfire can hold them like swords. The hinge on the peg is a soft ratchet. It's a little wiggly, but it'll stay up.

Ok, so I love Blindfire's alt mode. The fins that were on backs his shoulders partsform onto the tops, and the result is like half G1-Strafe, half Vic Viper, and and a much a sleeker, deadlier-looking starfighter than a straight-up G1 copy. The only thing I'd have preferred Maketoys did differently is to make the cockpit piece white, and put that red back onto Blindfire's torso.

You can see in this picture that tabs on his guns fit into grooves on either the top or the bottom side of the fins, if you still want the guns forward.

Alternatively, and my preference for a cleaner look, you can peg the guns onto posts on the back of Blindfire's legs.

If the fins really aren't your thing and you want a total G1 look, you can do that! Just leave the fins off, and peg Blindfire's guns on top of his shoulders instead. The only downside (aside from looking less cool) is that there really isn't any other place to store the fins, and like Overheat's missile launchers you kind of need them for arm mode.

With or without the fins, arm mode is still Blindfire's weakest mode, and it's because of how very little transforming he does to get there. The cockpit flips up over his head, sure, and his feet fold back into their starfigher configuration... but otherwise he's just squeezing his legs together while holding a pair of fins. His arms seriously don't do anything to transform. Now, the fins have slots that nestle around the canards on his cockpit to kind of hold everything in place, but it's not a firm connection and he's still got lots of wiggle room and very visible hands. On the plus side, he's got the same piston thigh-filler gimmick, and you've still got options for the guns. You can clip them to the fins, as in the picture, or you can go G1 and put them on top of his shoulders (which is my preference).

I recommend Blindfire, or if he's not the Strafe you're looking for, maybe at least the Cutthroat-colored repaint of Blindfire. Arm mode aside, there's really not a lot to complain about here. He's a nice little bot with a pretty cool starfighter mode. I'd change a few colors (and may still break out the paints yet and do just that), but nothing else that really needs "fixing" for bot or alt mode. It's just too bad Maketoys blew all their engineering on Sonic Drill, otherwise they'd have been able to make Blindfire's transformation a little less basic so he could make for a better arm.

[Scyla]

Have you tried making Blindfire into his bird fan-mode?

Now that I saw that Carnifex video I really hope for an MMC IDW Megatron and Black Shadow to have them altogether on a shelf.

[slaginpit]

[slaginpit]

[anime52k8]

Constructicon time:

I got (Not)Scrapper and (Not)Mixmaster this week, which means I now have 2/3 of a compete devastator.

For better or worse Toyworld's constructicons are HELLA G1 toy styled. Scrapper (and bonecrusher) have the G1 not-really-a-cab thing going on, and Mixmaster is apparently the worlds largest cement mixer with a proportionally tiny drum, but hey, that's how they were back in the day. Scrapper is exactly as you'd expect; moving bucket, rolling rubber tires etc. Mixmaster has the amusing feature of a wind-up motor in his drum that allows it to spin on it's own (in comically noisy fashion) and because of the ankle tilt for foot mode he's got an articulated cab section. (which doesn't actually make sense for a cement mixer, but whatever.)

Sticking with the G1 toy theme, both Scrapper and Mixmaster can pull off their classic battle modes using their respective included combined mode parts. Scrapper comes with devastators chest plate, which thanks to a pair of 5mm pegs behind the cab can be attached to the vehicle mode to create the awesomely stupid flying wheel-loader mode. Meanwhile Mixmaster comes packaged with Devastators massive gun. You can totally mount the giant gun onto Mixmasters truck mode, if you're in to that sort of thing. Also, thanks to a long 5mm post and two 5mm ports on the giant gun, you can totally give other toys a massive purple rifle, if you're in to that sort of thing. of course once you get the gun in Devastators giant mitts, it starts looking a lot smaller.

so moving on to robot mode. I absolutely love these guys, they're big, heavy, super chunky robots that totally nail the Constructicon look.my only real complaint with both figures is that from the side, they both have increadibly thick lower legs. I think it looks worse in photos than it does in person, and I quickly got over it either way because the complete package on both bots is so nice. Of note, Mixmaster has a translucent purple plastic insert on his chest that can be removed to reveal some nice G1 style details. Bonecrusher had the same thing going on with his chest, as does the devestator chestplate. Personally I pulled took them all off because I like seeing the extra paint and sculpt detail. (there's also molded locations for faction symbols under those translucent pieces as well, so if you're gonna sticker them up. you know). Mixmaster also has working spring launched missiles for his missile hat. They launch with quite a lot of force and are just plain awesome.

and then we have the entire team so far. they all end up a similar height, but you can still tell that Mixmaster and scrapper are a lot bulkier than the limb guys. One thing I really love about Toyworld is how good their head sculpts look. Mixmasters particularly is just amazing with that super a-hole grin. I'm also kind of in love with bonecrushers ridiculous 80's goggles look.

ok, one other complaint, I don't like how the purple shield where the decepticon symbol goes ends up upside down on mixmasters leg. Anyways, COMPARISON PHOTOS!

[mikeszekely]

Time to wrap up my Quantron review so I can go back to ogling Mike's Constructicon photos. So, yeah, Quantron- Maketoy's Computron.

After the some good, some not-so-good reimaginings of the individual bots, Quantron's actually pretty G1. The head looks like Computron, moving parts cover Metalstorm's hips to put red on Quantron's hips, Metalstorm's shoulders and rotating panels on his arms cover the torso and cleverly stand in for Computron's chest plate. He's just got a little gap where some gray comes through, some new molded pistons that match the working ones on his elbows, and maroon thighs instead of white. Oh, and yeah, he's got Metalstorm's problem with the giant nosecone-cannon.

If you want a classic G1 Computron vs. Abominus matchup, Quantron's a little short against Ordin.

As long as you're cool with any old Autobot combiner fighting any old Decepticon combiner, Quantron scales perfectly with M3.

Quantron's articulation is the sum of his joints, mostly. His head is on a ball joint. He's got ratcheting shoulder rotation and some ratcheting lateral shoulder movement on the combiner peg that's part of Metalstorm. The connectors inside Overheat and Blindfire are also on ratchets to further Quantron's lateral shoulder movement. His elbows are just friction joints at Blindfire and Overheat's waists, and soft ratchets at their knees. Practically, that gives him a little over 90 degrees of bend, and the piston fillers do work. His wrists scan swivel, and his hands are very similar to M3's with a ball jointed thumb that has one hinged knuckle, and individually articulated fingers hinged at the hand with one additional hinged knuckle and a molded half-bend at the other knuckle. His waist swivel, universal hips, and thigh swivels are all Metalstorm's and all ratcheted, with the hips having especially strong ratchets. The combiner pegs on Metalstorm provide a 90 degree ratcheted knee bend. All of his ankle articulation comes from huge ball joints, but the bottoms of the feet have rubber bits on them to keep them from sliding. You can mostly get Quantron into some good poses, but as with Metalstorm the nosecone-cannon is connected below the waist, which can present a challenge.

Quantron's rifle is formed by tabbing Metalstorm's rifles together with the white piece that was stuck under one rifle and that other part that serves seriously no other purpose. It's a good rifle, I suppose.

If you like, you can remove the hand that's on Blindfire (doesn't matter if it's the left or right hand, but it has to be Blindfire's side), then attach the nosecone-cannon like an oversized Mega Buster. But don't, because it looks stupid.

Speaking of stupid, you can also clip one end onto a hand, then telescope the nose-cone cannon. There are metal rods inside (that remind me a lot of old TV antennas). It gives Quantron a giant bow... which is the stupidest thing yet. I mean, Computron isn't known for being an archer in any fiction I can imagine, and all I can think about is how much this gimmick added to the overall cost of the toy and the size of the nosecone-cannon. And since a smaller nosecone-cannon would have fixed like 99% of what's wrong with Metalstorm, you can see where I'm going with this.

Anyway, judging Quantron as a set is a lot tricker than calling the individual bots. I mean, I gave 3 out of 5 no's, and in that light if you're looking for a good technobot team you might want to look at the Warbotron ones instead. But, I do recommend Quantron if a good-looking Computron for your display is all you're after, and individual bots don't matter as much.

[M'Kyuun]

Ocular Max Sphinx arrived today- just two days after I ordered it from BBTS - and he's pretty cool. The only two nitpicks I have are that the Citanes shoulder plates don't slide high enough to clear his elbows, although they do rotate, so they can be made to clear that way, and the shoulder missile mount doesn't allow for the missile to move up and down due to how short it is and where it attaches. Otherwise, they did a great job on him. I get a chuckle looking at all the slightly misspelled sponsor logos (gotta avoid those lawsuits). Handling a toy like this makes me wish TT would step up their materials and overall polish on the MP line. This thing is gorgeous, and the die cast is evident, but not overused. Rubber tires complete the feel. This is what the MP line should have been throughout.

[Scyla]

Constructicon time:

I got (Not)Scrapper and (Not)Mixmaster this week, which means I now have 2/3 of a compete devastator.

For better or worse Toyworld's constructicons are HELLA G1 toy styled. Scrapper (and bonecrusher) have the G1 not-really-a-cab thing going on, and Mixmaster is apparently the worlds largest cement mixer with a proportionally tiny drum, but hey, that's how they were back in the day. Scrapper is exactly as you'd expect; moving bucket, rolling rubber tires etc. Mixmaster has the amusing feature of a wind-up motor in his drum that allows it to spin on it's own (in comically noisy fashion) and because of the ankle tilt for foot mode he's got an articulated cab section. (which doesn't actually make sense for a cement mixer, but whatever.)

Sticking with the G1 toy theme, both Scrapper and Mixmaster can pull off their classic battle modes using their respective included combined mode parts. Scrapper comes with devastators chest plate, which thanks to a pair of 5mm pegs behind the cab can be attached to the vehicle mode to create the awesomely stupid flying wheel-loader mode. Meanwhile Mixmaster comes packaged with Devastators massive gun. You can totally mount the giant gun onto Mixmasters truck mode, if you're in to that sort of thing. Also, thanks to a long 5mm post and two 5mm ports on the giant gun, you can totally give other toys a massive purple rifle, if you're in to that sort of thing. of course once you get the gun in Devastators giant mitts, it starts looking a lot smaller.

so moving on to robot mode. I absolutely love these guys, they're big, heavy, super chunky robots that totally nail the Constructicon look.my only real complaint with both figures is that from the side, they both have increadibly thick lower legs. I think it looks worse in photos than it does in person, and I quickly got over it either way because the complete package on both bots is so nice. Of note, Mixmaster has a translucent purple plastic insert on his chest that can be removed to reveal some nice G1 style details. Bonecrusher had the same thing going on with his chest, as does the devestator chestplate. Personally I pulled took them all off because I like seeing the extra paint and sculpt detail. (there's also molded locations for faction symbols under those translucent pieces as well, so if you're gonna sticker them up. you know). Mixmaster also has working spring launched missiles for his missile hat. They launch with quite a lot of force and are just plain awesome.

and then we have the entire team so far. they all end up a similar height, but you can still tell that Mixmaster and scrapper are a lot bulkier than the limb guys. One thing I really love about Toyworld is how good their head sculpts look. Mixmasters particularly is just amazing with that super a-hole grin. I'm also kind of in love with bonecrushers ridiculous 80's goggles look.

ok, one other complaint, I don't like how the purple shield where the decepticon symbol goes ends up upside down on mixmasters leg. Anyways, COMPARISON PHOTOS!

Can you rotate the purple inlay for the faction symbol? If it is just pegged into a similar hole than on the other leg it should be doable no?

Ocular Max Sphinx arrived today- just two days after I ordered it from BBTS - and he's pretty cool. The only two nitpicks I have are that the Citanes shoulder plates don't slide high enough to clear his elbows, although they do rotate, so they can be made to clear that way, and the shoulder missile mount doesn't allow for the missile to move up and down due to how short it is and where it attaches. Otherwise, they did a great job on him. I get a chuckle looking at all the slightly misspelled sponsor logos (gotta avoid those lawsuits). Handling a toy like this makes me wish TT would step up their materials and overall polish on the MP line. This thing is gorgeous, and the die cast is evident, but not overused. Rubber tires complete the feel. This is what the MP line should have been throughout.

I think Sphinx is two hip ratchets away from being an almost perfect rendition of what I imagine a Masterpiece Transformers line should be.

[spanner]

*trimmed*

hehe! reminds me of Spike trying to manhandle & fire Primes rifle at Megatron's energon filled starship!

[anime52k8]

Can you rotate the purple inlay for the faction symbol? If it is just pegged into a similar hole than on the other leg it should be doable no?

I'm pretty sure it's glued in place because I've tried to twist it and couldn't get it to budge.

[Silverstreak]

I'm pretty sure it's glued in place because I've tried to twist it and couldn't get it to budge.

I thought I read on TFW that it was pegged on.

[Smut Peddler]

Does anyone have the black and purple version of Feral Rex? I was really interested in it even though I don't remember anything like that color scheme in the cartoon or comics. I was just curious what everyone's opinions are on it compared to the more traditional color scheme.

[anime52k8]

I thought I read on TFW that it was pegged on.

I checked again, I got it to rotate but it's super tight. I needed a tool for leverage.

[mikeszekely]

Does anyone have the black and purple version of Feral Rex? I was really interested in it even though I don't remember anything like that color scheme in the cartoon or comics. I was just curious what everyone's opinions are on it compared to the more traditional color scheme.

I don't have it, because the color scheme wasn't ever in the cartoon or comics. It's a VERY slick-looking color scheme, but to me 3P toys are the character they're "inspired" by, not whatever name and biography the company came up with, so I had to have the regular colors and can't justify $500 on a black and purple repaint.

That said, if you're just into cool robot toys and don't care if it's an accurate Predaking, go for it. It's actually slightly cheaper and the colors are better, they're just not accurate.

Changing gears now... I REALLY can't wait for Maketoys' Vulcan.

[JB0]

Oh, wow. Nemesis Predaking DOES look pretty hot.

I think the flame colors of the original make it look more "beastly". But the black+purple is still a really good look(though in fairness, it is very rarely a bad look on a Transformer)

[slaginpit]

[Scyla]

Oh man, I just got the notification that my BBTS PoL must be shipped soon (around 1st of June) I hope MMCs Backdraft is available till then. Does anyone know how the due date of the PoL works exactly. Is is exactly 180 days or 6 months?

So for example if my PoL was created on the first of January 2016 is the due date the first of July or the 28th of June 2016?

[slaginpit]

Oh man, I just got the notification that my BBTS PoL must be shipped soon (around 1st of June) I hope MMCs Backdraft is available till then. Does anyone know how the due date of the PoL works exactly. Is is exactly 180 days or 6 months?

So for example if my PoL was created on the first of January 2016 is the due date the first of July or the 28th of June 2016?

I think its 6months. I never got that message but I shipped my POL last week and it hit the 5 month mark. They are pretty good. Just send them an email and ask them to wait until your BackDraft Order gets fulfilled.

[Scyla]

BBTS has MMCs Carnifex for preorder. $185 is not a bad price. It is actually quite excellent.

[mikeszekely]

BBTS has MMCs Carnifex for preorder. $185 is not a bad price. It is actually quite excellent.

Given his size, I'd say it's a lot more reasonable than Seraphicus Prominon + trailer. But, I'm not sure how an Overlord that big fits into my collection, so it's still too much for me.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, today I received Foxhound, Machine Boy's KO of WuKong's Swindle, which was already a KO of Warbotron's Sly Strike. (Machine Boy's on the left, WuKong on the right with Decepticon Reprolabels). And again, since as far as I know the WuKong one is identical to the Warbotron one, assume when I'm talking about the WuKong Swindle that it applies to Warbotron's as well.

I'm not going to go into a ton of details here, as I've covered the mold already just a few days ago when I reviewed the WuKong one. I'm just going to focus on the differences, and the biggest difference is color. The WuKong one, which I believe is identical to the Warbotron one it KOed, is mostly a sand color with purple biceps, purple stripes on his forearms, purple chest and abdomen, and translucent light-piped purple eyes. The WuKong one is mostly a bright yellow. The purple chest and abdomen has been replaced with a dark blue. The painted purple stripes on his forearms are a dark gray, and the translucent plastic for the light-piped eyes is red. Interestingly, the painted details on his shoulders, chest, hips, and shins are the same across both toys, as are the black plastic parts.

I find the color choice interesting, because while the sand color of the WuKong/Warbotron version is close to the original toy, if you asked me what color Swindle is I'd probably just say yellow. And the yellow used by Machine Boy actually reminds me a lot of the Generations Fall of Cybertron Swindle.

The plastic used by Machine Boy does have a different feel to it. When handling both together, I'll probably say that the Machine Boy plastic does feel a little cheaper, but it's definitely not that really cheap plastic you usually get with KO toys. Without the WuKong or Warbotron one to directly compare it to, it feels fine in the hand.

So, what do I say that this is an Inception-level KO of a KO instead of simply another KO of the Warbotron mold? Because Machine Boy KOed the extra Gundam weapons WuKong included with their Swindle that the original Warbotron toy didn't have. As with the light piping, Machine Boy used red translucent plastic instead of purple, and the GM shield is entirely translucent instead of just the back and handle. The big cannon lacks the silver paint at the end of the barrel, but otherwise it and the smaller gun are the same as the WuKong one. Foxhound also comes with the little piece to mount the cannon on his shoulder, and an instruction sheet. Unlike the WuKong toy, Foxhound came with a card for "God of War," which features a picture of Warbotron Bruticus (in Warbotron colors, not Machine Boy's), and a little crappy KO of what I assume is Legends-class ROTF Demolisher. What Foxhound didn't come with is a box; he and his accessories were wrapped in plastic and bubble wrap and stuffed in a plain shipping box.

In alt mode the difference again boils down to color, but this time it's pretty much the yellow plastic vs the sand-colored plastic. The paint apps are almost entirely the same between them, right down to the little orange lights above the windshield. The only really noticeable difference is the windows; Machine Boy used a dark gray that looks black in photos but a lot better in person, while WuKong/Warbotron used a bluish-silver.

Seriously, I scoured the toys looking for spots where Machine Boy might have cheaped out, and pretty much if it's painted on the WuKong it's painted on the Machine Boy. The only spots I found on Foxhound that Machine Boy missed were the molded shocks at the back tires.

Well, color me impressed. I mean, I was already pretty happy with Swindle, which WuKong managed to do at around 2/3rds the price of the original Warbotron one. And if you really want a Swindle or a Bruticus that is more properly colored out of the box, WuKong and Warbotron is the way to go. But if you don't mind a little odd color, especially if you're interested in doing a repaint, I was able to get Machine Boy's Foxhound for $24.99 shipped. I can forgive an awful lot when the toy is only $25. I mean, I certainly didn't need another Swindle, but at that price I was curious and figured that, if nothing else, I could paint and mod his cannon to use on Swindle's arm without jacking up the cannon that came with Swindle.

Machine Boy doesn't have a KO Onslaught available yet, but looking the price of Fierce Attack and the PO price for WuKong's Onslaught, I'm thinking you could probably get a whole KO Bruticus for $150, or like I said the limbs can be had for around $25 shipped. At that price I kind of have to recommend them, even with the goofy colors. I'll probably get the rest of the Machine Boy set, and I'm personally pretty tempted to repaint them as Ruination/Baldigus.

[mikeszekely]

I don't often buy whole Reprolabel sets, as a lot of them tend to be too busy for my tastes ("Here's a flat surface, lets make a sticker for it!"). It drives me nuts, though, when rescue vehicles don't have enough markings, so I bought the sets for Maketoys' Axle, Rover, and Katana (aka Groove, Streetwise, and Blades). It got me thinking about how, when I reviewed them, I went and figured out that Axle's a Honda VFR800P, Rover's a Carbon E7, and Katana's an AgustaWestland CH-149 Cormorant, but I never bothered to identify Himed as anything more than "an ambulance." I figured if Maketoys selected real alts for the other 3, they'd have done so for Himed, too, right? So if anyone is curious, yeah, he's a 5th-gen Toyota HiAce HiMedic.

EDIT: And I wish Reprolabels would make set for him, dang it!

EDIT 2: I have no idea what kind of truck Vulcan (Hotspot) is supposed to be. There aren't a ton of 8-wheeled fire trucks, and I can't find any that match other details like the shape of the cab, the shape of the grill, the protruding front bumper, or the arrangement of the lights around the grill. If anyone can identify Vulcan's alt mode, please let me know.

Edited May 18, 2016 by mikeszekely

[technoblue]

I'm pretty happy with Seraphicus. MMC did well providing an option to get the core bot by its lonesome. I would say that the core bot is enriched by the armor, but doesn't really require it. Looking at just the core, it scales in size very close to Spartan. I might post a more detailed review of the core and armor later this weekend.

Carnifex is drool worthy, and I agree that the price is quite decent for a toy that looks to have quality while transforming into a bot that is about the same size as a Maketoys' combiner. I am not usually fond of larger releases, especially since Takara has whiffed easy home runs (IMO) with MP Magnus and Star Saber, but I'm thinking of making another exception. It helps that I have MMC's Hexatron too, which is another Reformatted bot that stands tall and was executed wonderfully.

Edited May 18, 2016 by technoblue

[Scyla]

Somehow (with MMC posing Carnifex together with Star Saber) I got the idea in my head that Carnifex could be re-molded into an IDW Star Saber. The general shape is there but they would have to redesign certain parts. I think one thing that needs to be done is making sure that the legs transform in one go from the sides of the plane without the need of being detached. The rest could be done by a re-shelling like Hasbro did with CW Rook into CW Swindle.

There are a bunch of problems like IDW Star Saber doesn't have a base mode but I think that could be easily abandoned since the base mode of Carnifex is not really thought out based on the prototype pictures. I also might be giving 3rd Party companies too much credit of what they are able to do. The cost breakdown of a complete re-shelling is probably different between HasTak and a small toy producer.