Too soon to tell if this was a good idea, but so far, the response is good, so Trypticon might be coming up
why wouldn't it be??? I mean ... yeah I lack the cash right now... but eventually this is gonna be bought!!!
Nice set! Have you tried putting the yellow window lights on a different background color besides black? From the pics it looks like his arms have too much black, I think a lighter color would work much better.
It's awesome and all (X11), but ludicrously expensive for stickers. Consider keeping them in the $10 range, and I would buy in a heartbeat.
Pardon the slight necro of this topic, but I bought all the Metroplex / Scamper & Slammer / Sixgun upgrade labels last week: received them early this week, and had time yesterday to apply them all to my second hand, very slightly off color and badly-stickered (but complete) Metroplex! And... I was just left speechless in how good they all look, and especially how good they make Metroplex look! Even my wife, who doesn't really like TF's really liked the way he looks now. As usual, design of the stickers is awesome: very much G1 styled, and their coloring and fit is just perfect. My favorite single sticker is probably the red / white tower on Slammer: it just adds a great sense of scale to Metroplex which it really does miss with the original stickers. It's funny, I did start with Scamper and Slammer, I didn't pay much attention to the labels on the upgrade set and while labelling, I did get slightly worried that after already having removed Slammer's tracks stickers, I'd be unable to replace them. So I was very glad to see them on the X11 sheet! I'm just loving Metroplex's new look: I have the Takara reissue and it's stickered up with the regular stickers, and while he used to be the shiniest Metroplex I had, now he looks plain in comparison. I'd HIGHLY recommend the upgrades, all three, and as for people complaining about the price: considering the amount of effort designing all of these stickers (three large sheets!) and the relatively small, niche market these are marketed at, the price is spot on! Removing all of Metroplex's original stickers was a real b***h though. As advised, I did soak Metroplex for a night in water (as stated, no ill effects on Metroplex at all!), but that original sticker glue sure doesn't like to disolve in water much!
alldarker, this sort of thing is totally welcomed here Do you have any photos of your Metroplex set after the upgrade?
Not yet (I finished him up late last night, around 11 pm), but I'll be glad to make some this weekend and post them here!
A little earlier than this weekend: the whole 'G1 Metroplex with Reprolabels upgrades' gallery on Flickr.com. And a few choice shots:
Man, city mode looks so busy with all that stuff on it. I am feeling the matchy red in the bot mode, but with the classics and everything else moving away from stickers it gets harder and harder to want them on any bots anymore, even G1
Metroplex looks fantastic! For me it depends on the kind of stickers. I don't care as much for the ones that are "decorations," like car stripes. But I LOVE the ones that add details, like lights and car brands...
City mode looks great! Bot mode is a bit more busy than I personally care for. Still, very very cool.
I couldn't disagree more. Labels for G1 figures is one of the things I always loved about the original toyline. Granted, I was no expert at 5 and 6 years old in regards to applying them, but I did enjoy that I felt like I was getting a model kit toy - it felt more "grown up" to me than most of my other toys did. Nostalgically speaking, I still feel much the same way in regards to G1. No, I don't think it works well for other toys, even some of the newer TFs, but I don't think labels need to be completely dispensed with, either, for newer toys. I do agree about certain labels on this set, but overall, I think the effect is very nice.
Stickers are quite easy to remove with a drop or two of lighter fluid. It shouldn't damage or discolor the plastic, particularly if you just use a little bit of it. Of course, cleaning the surface with a bit of soapy water afterwards and drying it thoroughly wouldn't hurt, either, particularly if you're planning to put stickers on there PDQ.
I know it's nitpicking, but I think two of the labels that are getting to me are the vents in robot mode (two on the arms, and the one on the chest). It's not the design, because I REALLY like the vent design - it's the gradient on them. I think it's particularly jarring on a G1 figure, as G1 figures didn't sport that kind of detail. I've had some KOs that do, and it's equally as jarring on them. I think I'd like to see those label designs sans gradient. I think if I were to get this set, there may be a few labels I'd leave off, but I'd rather have that option as opposed to wanting a label that's not on the sheet. I guess the reason I'm nitpicking is that I REALLY like this set. A LOT. I think it really makes Metroplex feel more like a city, and his buddies feel more like they have personality. I can see myself someday getting an Encore Metroplex to totally do this with.
I'll be honest, if I didn't already have another perfectly nice stickered up Encore Metroplex, I would most certainly have re-stickered this Metroplex with repro's of the original stickersheet, and not the upgrades. But it was nice to be able to have a 're-imagining' of Metroplex's labels. I did go all out with the labels on this sheet: anything that COULD be stuck on, WAS stuck on, which in hindsight, did lead to a bit of overkill. A couple of the stickers might indeed be a bit superfluous: and I have to say that Sixgun, most of all, has a couple of labels which don't suit him. The 'ears' just look silly (they aren't even in Reprolabels' own pictures) and the black/red stripes on chrome on his torso don't really suit him. I do like the extra windows on him, though, and his 'hands' are unobtrusive, but fun, additions. @Superquad: I do see your point about the vents on Metroplex's torso. Its styling doesn't match up with original G1 stickers, or other stickers in this set. It's not as obvious with the ones on his arms, although the gradient is there too. I myself am not a big fan of the new airport stickers: although they fit in with the scale of the 'towerblocks' slightly better, they do make Metroplex look like a Micromachines airport, without adding much in the way of realism. The original helipad stickers do look better. I also actually sort of dislike the sticker of the 'premature evacuation'; it's out of scale, unnecessarily gimmicky and the placement (inner right leg) is actually pretty poor, due to its visibility in city mode. Then again, all this is indeed nitpicking about an excellent upgrade. Most of all I really do like the addition of so many windowed stickers on the towerblocks, on Slammer and Sixgun, which really do add a lot of believability to the city mode. I really do appreciate the way in which the new stickers break up the white surfaces and add depth and detail to the city of Metroplex. Metroplex's robot mode also looks excellent with the new uniform red details. And here too, the new windows add a lot to the idea of a 'walking city'. All in all this is a great set and it provides a very nice alternative to Metroplex's original stickersheet, especially if like me, you have more than one version of him. I guess if anything, I hope my pictures give people some more insight into which ones stickers look good and which stickers might just as well be left on the sheet.
Really? Um... my most expensive machine cost 62 grand. I worked on X11 for 5 straight weeks. It costs $750 to fill my machine with ink. I have 6 grand in media just for stickers. This description doesn't even scratch the surface of the time and money I've dropped. Basically, Reprolabels.com is my life's work, and cost me my life's savings and a lot more. I'm still very much in debt for what most people consider a valuable service. Fine if you don't appreciate it, but please don't tell people it takes 5 minutes and $1. And if you think I'm lying, I invite any TF collector to join my facebook group, message me there, and arrange for a tour. I'll show you our equipment, stock, and facilities, and I'll personally introduce you to the people who make this all work.
