I want the rest now!

 

Me too!

 

Couldn't agree more

 

I read a lot of conflicting opinions and thoughts here on the first two figures but it's only a bit more extreme then with GT's J4zz. I was about to purchase J4zz because a lot of people seem to love him but when I finally got him in hand he just felt too light to me and that's not what I want (and expect) from a masterpiece figure. And when you compare that to for instance MT's Downbeat (to use a Jazz as a reference point) the heft issue becomes even more apparent. But heft (and/or diecast!) is not important for everyone; it is for me.

I think I'm going to wait and see how their Dead End turns out to see whether I am going for this set.

 

J4zz is no lighter than the official carbots, maybe a smidge heavier actually, if anything downbeat is overly heavy by comparison to the rest of his peers.
I also thought the 1st 2 of this set felt too light but again they are not much different to the TT carbots so in fact about right. You wouldn't want diecast in spades in the limbs anyway as that's only going to ruin the combined form.

I know what you mean tho, the weight feels good in hand, even if that's your brain playing tricks on you.

 

Sorry, I should stated this maybe but I was never into the official carbots; in fact, they were partly 'responsible' for my decision to just disregard Takara's masterpiece line.

But I understand that they shouldn't be too heavy (though I think strong engineering could perhaps deal with that). But my brain only plays tricks with me when it comes to my visual sense. Heft is about tangibility and is very real to me (as far as matter is real  ).

 

To add weight just for "reasons" is not a good engineering practice... I know you like to feel the "heft" in your figures, but in a combiner, weight must be kept under control!

Fanstoys is famous for adding a lot of diecast for no apparent reason. Maybe you should give them a try!  

KFC also uses a "lot" of diecast (they use it more wisely) Try their new Horrorcons!

 

Good point. Make your partner suspect you have a meth habit, and then when she finds out it's transformers, she'll be thrilled.  

 

Semi-related: If anyone wants a closer look at a Ferrari 599XX (pretty much Disorder's alt mode in real life with a few tweaks), there's some close-up footage of one around 4m 30s and again around the 12-minute mark into this video that was posted today:

 

I've seen it a couple of times on this board but honestly I have no idea what "for reasons" refers to  . I think my (and many other collector's) preference for the use of diecast is pretty damn clear and likewise companies' decision to use it in their products. Obviously there is engineering insight required so there is a synergy in the interaction and integration of the different materials, (which may still need more research).

So up to FT I guess  

 

You will enjoy Sovereign A LOT! That thing was made of a block of metal!

Try KFC Horrorcons too! They are pretty hefty!

 

Diecast should be used for structural integrity, such as pieces that couldn't handle the stress if made of plastic, or to help with a figure's ability to balance and pose.

Using diecast just to add heft is pretty pointless, except to make a figure feel more high quality simply because it's heavy. Those are the "reasons."

Sovereign uses tons of diecast in areas that don't need it. It doesn't add anything to the figure, and my guess is that it probably costs more than if they used plastic on those areas.

 

For the $90-$100 + shipping that most US retailers have the TFM limb bots for - I think it's a bit much for the money, especially when you compare it to other similar 3P car bots.

The cool 3P transformations are all there in the TFM bots (Revolt being the best so far with Carnage & Disorder having some really cool aspects as well), but I think when it comes to the materials used - it's not that it's weak or poor or whatever, it's more that the lack of die-cast makes them lighter and perhaps perceived to be 'cheaper' than their other 3P counterparts.

I've got them for cheaper than US retail and include free shipping via my rubadubspawn deals if anyone is interested, plus some promo deals on Revolt (which I think is the best figure anyways). I think it helps with the pricing - but I definitely understand where others are coming from.

If I only had $80 - and I could get say MT Jazz or a TFM bot - I'd probably go for MT Jazz cause of the quality of the materials. However that doesn't discount the TFM bots from being cool bots. I'm still in for all of them - but it does help to set your expectations a little lower materials wise, even if price wise, you'd going to be paying about the same...

Peace TF bros...

 

In addition to the lack of diecast, I feel like the plastic is a little lighter too. That doesn't mean it's lower quality plastic, though. It was probably a conscious choice to reduce the combined weight like others have said.

But all the stress marks, loose bits (like Disorder's chest sections...), tight bits (Carnage's shoulders) certainly lead to the lower quality feel :/

 

Diecast has it's functional aspect. But I have always liked the feel of diecast (as long as I can remember). And I dislike light plastic (so far). So...it's all preference, as I wrote. Hence using pointless in that argument is pointless itself. 

We have different standards in the materials we like and prefer and I am pretty sure we'd be having similar discussions on the materials we use for our daily needs.

This is also subjective because there are plenty of collectors who feel the plastic on these guys is perfectly fine AND worthy of being masterpiece. But these guys look really nice (as does the Menasor teaser). I will await to see if the sum is greater then the parts.

 

This whole hobby comes down to subjective...ness. I was just trying to explain why others don't like too much diecast since you said you didn't understand people not liking it being used "for reasons." That's all. Wasn't saying your opinion is wrong.

 

I didn't understand people actually using "for reasons", as it referred to nothing that contributed to the discussion at hand.

I am all in for discussions where we seek out the objective (amidst purely subjective matters), but I like us to remain sharp in our reasoning. And this/a hobby does not necessarily come down to being subjective I think. Plenty of issues but also a lot of greatness were we all want to reach agreement on right?

I think it's high time for some good academic research into the phenomenon of Transformers.

 

You and OstOgBajer are a very reasonable people, I like that!

I am glad that we can discuss the topic of diecast from the two sides (subjective and objective) and respect others opinions but also accepting the decisions taken by the engenniers when it comes to what kind of material is the best for a given situation!

 

I misunderstood your post then. So nevermind  

This kind of discussion is much better than "brand-X is the best and your reason for not liking them is not valid and you're stupid! Stupid group-of-people-Y ruining everything!"