Yeah they seem to struggle with the thigh cut. I think it was on early Cyclonus tenders but is now missing. It’s here and really shouldn’t be. You can get away with it on a cylindrical thigh, but not on the square thigh.

 

Noticing that with a lot of FT stuff. Quietus has the swivel at the hip so why can't they make that a standard look instead of the mid-thigh cut? Having just received XTB's Crackup I have to say I much prefer that way of doing the thigh swivel.

 

What are the holes in his arms for? That’s more distracting than his crotch.

 

They appear to be for assembly purposes. If you look at the prototype pics in the first post they are filled with a grey circle. Then in the color pics some look empty while others have a silver piece that looks like a pin to hold pieces together to me. Ideally it would be painted on the final figure.

 

The more i look at this, the more i want this... from zero to hero, i love the paint and the face

Damn, maybe i have to redo my priorities

1) Silverbolt
2) Beachcomber and Warpath (but these 2 might release later...)
3) Blurr
4) Other members of Aerialbots.

Since no colored testshot of the minibots really, maybe i should bring this one to number 2 after silverbolt.

 

MP Rodimus.

 

i still think the waist is set too far back

 

Man oh man I wish more people realized this before we got started down the 110% toon accuracy path.

 

+1

I'm going to quote this too. I like things to be "mostly" correct, with details mostly right and the character likeness captured, with very slight improvements so that the figure is also "good."

 

Unfortunately I can't honestly say I had that type of foresight. I used to argue for toon accurate, until Takara took it to the extreme.

 

Looks great. I can't wait to see a release date. I have seen complaints about the thigh cut joint, but in this pic you can see why it is necessary. If the swivel was put at the top of the leg, then it wouldn't be able to turn due to the way the legs sit in the body. Takara MP Sideswipe solved this issue but cutting out a portion of the top of the thigh to allow some swivel, (more if the legs are in a wider stance), but of course you lose accuracy in the sculpt. If toon accuracy was sacrificed for better articulation, then that would be the new complaint. Just can't win with critics.

You can see UT Buzzing did about the same with their version. I wonder if XTB or MMC will announce their version of Blurr soon.

 

Heh, I'm the opposite. I used to rave about the old "Hasui" style and bemoan the lack of detail in figures like Magnus and Inferno. But I'm all about the toon accuracy look now. So much cleaner and smoother. It feels like a nice modern MP look while the excess surface detailing seems almost out-dated to me.
I compare this guy to UT's over detailed surface, or MT Meteor to the kibble on MP-11. I think Ironhide, Shockwave and most of all Megatron is what turned me around. That and MT Meteor.
I still want to pick up XTB's Inferno for the awesome looking firetruck mode, but I'm pretty sure I'm gonna pick up the official Inferno for bot mode now.
(I've been closely following the workof @TigerBlade as he "toons" up his collection and honestly his work is as good as or better than the official anime "+" editions for toon accuracy.)
It's good though that companies are still mixing and matching and evolvong their styles, and for me I think FT tends to get a nice middle ground. with the best mix of smooth toon and added details - they seem to be trying to solowly evolve their style rather than just "line in the sand" change the look as Takara did.

 

@dalianjj can't wait for you triple changers. The season 3 characters look so good and are pretty sturdy. Hoping for an amazing astrotrain o tane and blitzwing.

 

Broadside? Anyone ever gonna loook at Broadside? I mean, I'm not really that happy with any of the triple changing Decpticons out there, or that one wonky Sandstorm... but no one seems to want to touch the king of mass-shifting?
I guess I can understand why. 

 

Totally agree. Things that are the more advanced tend to look more simple in design. This is one reason why the designs for the bayformers look backwards to me. According to how they designed their bots, an early 2000s black berry phone is more advanced than a current iphone, because it has more buttons, and moving parts. Backwards. They could have started off looking more like the scrap metal structures they are, then evolved to look like G1 as they are more advanced.

Back to topic, FT is killing it with their latest showings. If QC and Transformations are good, I may get their aerial bots (full set) and maybe their stunticons.

 

This looks pretty close to perfect to me. I’m pretty happy I waited for this release.

 

colors look fun. Just make the transformation fun, too.

 

I'd like to see their version of that, Sandstorm, and Octane (sorry KFC) but first we need Berserk and Astrotrain from FT.

 

XTB also announced an Astrotrain, or at least teased one, a while ago. I like my KFC Blitzwing but I think FT's will be better. KFC Octane was a disappointment, and UT Sandstorm was worth every one of the $60 I paid for him... and not a cent more. Multiple Springers (mine will be XTB's I think) ... but no Broadside... the poor big lug.

 

If XTB's Astrotrain is anything like their (KFC) Stratotanker/Octane then it'll be for an easy pass for me. UT Sandstorm was an easy pass just on aesthetic alone.