So several groups have thrown their hats into the ring regarding making 3rd party cassette minions. Perfect Effect and BTS come to mind. (I feel like I'm forgetting someone.) What boggles my mind is that there hasn't been a badass execution of any of these figures. Nothing that makes me go "BOOM, nailed it!". At least not in my opinion. The newest figure from BTS, Nightfang, looks like it'll come the closest to being a solid representation of a G1 character updated while retaining his original alt mode. Perfect Effect have made fantastic representations of Rewind, Eject, Rumble, Frenzy and Rosanna. All five of those sit happy on my shelves, but they lack the tape mode. PE's attempts at Laserbeak, Ratbat, and Buzzsaw aren't very good representations of either mode. Both of the Transformer tape players have been given updated figures (Blaster from Device Label and Sonicron from BTS) that can hold G1 sized cassettes in their chests, but no one has taken advantage of that fun feature for Device Label Blaster? Where's Ramhorn and Steeljaw? No update for those two yet, and if perfect effect is working on them, you can almost guarantee they'll turn into some goofy weapon or a funky shaped square that doesn't serve a purpose. Why is it so difficult to make a cassette bot? Is it trying to fit all those pieces into a tiny rectangle? Or should the characters have updated alt modes that aren't outdated? Like I said, Nightfang is looking to be a great 3rd Party cassette figure that represents both his original alt mode and robot/bat mode. But you know what I'm surprised the most at? Hasbro's Ravage figure that came with Hound is probably the best updated version of a cassette bot.
agreed, i love cassettes, between nostalgia and them being forced to work with that little alt mode that ravage is crap imo, updated by removing articulation, detail, and diecast? good thing it was a freebie accessory
I'm super bummed PE seems to have moved on from the proto-cassettes..... Cassette mode doesn't do anything fore anyway and I like the targetmaster/minicon update. We still need a PE ravage(and repaints) plus ramhorn/steeljaw and the combiners!
While I understand that many people enjoy the original cassette alts, I myself LOVE the 'targetmaster' modes of Perfect Effect (Well, i found Kingbat and the 'birds' meh and passed, but the humaniods? AWESOME I'm hoping PE will do a good Ravage and Steeljaw comparable to Rumble/Frenzy (and maybe Ramhorn) Ravage and Steeljaw would also allow for recolers into Nightstalker and Stripes *shrugs* but that's just me^_^ I'll take a gun former (maybe the cats form energy blades instead...) over a rectangle former any day
Agreed to the fact that Hound's "Ravage" is the best updated cassette to date. If it's not a "cassette" mode, than it's crap. IMO.
I think there's a few reasons at play here. First is the lack of a definitive Blaster and Soundwave other than the G1 versions that would use them, and the G1 versions already have tapes. The availability of Device Label blaster is pretty sketchy and his alt mode isn't something that would naturally use tapes, nor is it There is no modern Soundwave that would take advantage of it. So what we're talking about is essentially an upgrade set for a toy that doesn't really exist yet. Certainly Fanstoys seems interested in solving that problem, but they seem interested in solving the cassette problem, too. All that's required there is patience assuming Acoustic Wave and his pals are as cool as they seem. You can say "well they're bots on their own, they aren't really an upgrade set" but honestly if they're their own bots, I want them to have their own alt modes a la United Rumble/Frenzy. In general I think alt mode is a big controversy with people. Some people want tapes, some people want something else. Soundwave and his minions are the most frequently pointed to when discussing the problems of updating G1 since their alt modes are hugely outdated now. Another reason I think is just because they're typically quite small, and it's pretty tough to work at that scale and come up with creative new transformations out of a rectangle with two holes in it. So in short with all of these factors I think the cassettes are frequently overlooked because there are easier and more profitable problems to solve.
Despite the Targetmaster alt modes I like the PerfectEffect Rumble & Frenzy and have also considered getting Rewind & Eject but haven't been impressed with any of the others. I'm intrested to see how the Fans Toys ones turn out though as Laserbeak looks great!
I'd have to go with the limited display options you get from a transforming cassette. The grief Steeljaw, Ramhorn, Slugfest, and the like must get for only having half a face. That being said, updating them to a modern device form runs the risk of turning off some people too, even if it's played up as being consistent with them being minions to Soundwave/Blaster.
I thought it was common knowledge that the new not MP Soundwave was coming with his minions? Laserbeak looks fuckin fantastic and I'm dying to see Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy now.
As far as a definitive Blaster and Soundwave. I overlooked that (and forgot to include in my first post) with Hasbro's Ravage, they made it G1 compatible. Same with BTS' tapes. So there are figures out there, not just BTS Sonicron or DL Blaster. You've got reissues and the originals too. Agree on the rest of your post You're correct and that's the one I was forgetting about. With Acoustic Wave, he's in scale with Masterpiece right? So, for a classics update, he's a little tall in my book. Wondering about his cassettes though. Have we seen how big those are going to be?
I would assume a little larger than g1 tapes. But I really wish someone would do them justice hopefully soon
IIRC that MP Soundwave will be able to hold G1 tapes, if that does end up being true then the MP tapes will most likely be a similar size.
Np! So far we know Laserbeak is coming with SW, Ravage, Rumble and Frenzy are coming together at an expected $50 set. We just need pics now instead of shadows.
I agree with Billzilla, the big problem is there isn't a proper updated Soundwave for the tapes to interact with. I'm using WFC Soundwave on my Classics shelf, and there's no way you'll get a decent bot out of what can fit in his chest. So that leaves two options- slavish faithfulness to the G1 cassette dimensions, which then imposes strict limits on the mass of the figure (as BTS has done), or completely independent modes (Perfect Effect). With the tape-bots, I prefer PE's approach- in part because the alt mode was largely irrelevant with the G1 versions. It's not a mode I would ever have displayed on my shelf. I was hoping PE would go on to do pretty much all the remaining cassettes after Arcee, but now I'm just hoping they come back for Steeljaw and Ramhorn to round out the on-screen cast. I was really hoping for the two US-released combining pairs too.
The Thuggers care to differ with that. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/389941-thugger-twins.html Oh and http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/515623-purrdator-shapeways.html
