Interesting. TIL

 

What is TIL?

 

Today I learned

 

Well now I learned something, now we're even.  

 

I've never been a fan of the "sit the Transformer down, makes thier arms turrets and legs some sort of parking bay" base modes a lot of Transformers have. I find a lot of bases modes a bit lazy and unconvincing. however I'm all for well conceived proper city-formers/base-formers. Tbh it's all about play value with those modes, I imagine my they are way more appealing to kids.

 

Fun.

Next?

 

Yeah, I guess that's where our opinions differ.
While I agree the TM's are underpainted (especially those after wave 1, thankfully some of the more recent ones have a lick of paint on their faces) I still think they're fun. I just enjoy posing them in the cockpit of the larger figs or interacting with each other.

 

'Baseless'. Good pun.

Also.





Gawd I need to set up Autobot City again soon.

 

Armada Optimus was something of a brick, but I deliberately got two different coloured versions, one for full combined mode with Overload, and the other for a base mode populated by Mini-Cons.

Base modes are interesting, but you really do need more space for them, which is one of the reasons I keep most of my base mode Transformers in robot mode.

 

I totally get You. Some Base modes are ok, i kinda like Super Ginrais in combination with jinrai prime as it looks like a fast to Setup - makeshift defense Station. G1 Fort max will always be the one who works the best tho imo

 

So I can do this  

 

@tikgnat thank you, for the first time I almost regretted meme-ing and had an existential crisis when I got thoroughly schooled by @SaberPrime . My comment was in jest, and I'm sorry if it felt I was trying to undermine the value of your discussion with memez

but hey, everything is a learning experience, and I turned my ignorance into a search! I too never really had much appeal with bases (hence why I treated my, you guessed it, Takara DOTM Trailer like a locker instead of a base), and I always thought they took up too much space. Not to mention the pressure of deciding whether to pose it in base mode or robot mode. I did some more looking around on base modes, and I have a new appreciation for them, especially with this mouthwatering custom from @Grimlock75 .

Some of them straight from retail just don't excite me. A base should feel alive, coursing with personality, a living breathing thing (even if it's not) to grab my interest. And this custom certainly embodies that ideal

 

My little guy just hasn't been that into my tfs. That is until I brought trypticon home and did this. We literally played all weekend

 

For some of us, they were status symbols....

 

It's understandable that someone would look down at most base modes. Unless they were Titan-class sized, most figures with base modes are no more than parking areas for Transformers. You couldn't open them up and have them actually do things inside...meaning you'd have to use a HEAVY amount of imagination. Grandus is probably the best exception to that rule...but he was Japan only and if you didn't like Micromasters, you were out of luck. Fortress Maximus was the only other Transformer with the girth to feel like he at least consisted of a city block made for Transformers. Brave Maximus was one of my favorites as Hasbro went out of their way to make extra Spychangers for interactions with him (and then never released him, boo! At least I got one from Japan at the time!).

So, here's my personal ratings list for city-bots (not counting ones I've never had the pleasure of interacting with or Micro/Actionmaster bases with no robot mode):

G1 Optimus Prime trailer - okay for an open air repair bay and not much else; 2/10
G1 Omega Supreme - not really a base as much as a rocket platform with a defense tank; 4/10
G1 Metroplex/Metrotitan - too small but, if you load him up with modern Legends bots, he really begins to shine; 6/10 with an updated 7/10 in later years
G1 Trypticon/BW2 Gigastorm - 2 platforms and a large ramp makes a "city"? Even Legends figures don't help much here; 5/10
G1 Scorponok - worst offender. One main ramp and legs sticking out the sides; 1/10
G1 Fortress/Grand/Brave Maximus - hands down, the best city bot...works great with Legends-class figures and smaller; 10/10
G1 Overlord - not many think about his base mode but it was probably THE best Decepticon base mode we got back then, works great with Legends; 8/10
G1 Powermaster Optimus Prime - two ramps and a "room"; 3/10
G1 Star Convoy - it's a weird thing but tries its hardest to give us something close to a "city" with a command center and a "highway"; 5/10
G1 Skygarry - he's a tower...requires more MM bases to really make it seem like something; 2/10
G1 Dai Atlas - a platform with a few ramps, not impressive so much on his own but requires more MM bases to be more impressive; 4/10
G1 Grandus - A big box...but a big box that opens up for actual play INSIDE the base, one of the better bases overall; 9/10
G2 Laser Prime/RiD Scourge trailer - becomes a one-sided fortification, not too shabby if you're defending against Gobots, any larger Transformer could probably step over the "walls"; 4/10
Car Robots Fire Convoy/RiD Optimus Prime - yeah, not really a base; 1/10
Armada Optimus Prime trailer - it's an open-air platform, similar to G1 Prime's trailer but with two levels and larger and just as "not very" fun; 3/10
Armada Tidal Wave - not really official but you can do a thing with it similar to Titans Return Overlord...only no one is small enough to really use it; 2/10
Energon Optimus Trailer - it's a Super Sentai Zord carrier, different but not very functional as a base; 2/10
Generations Metroplex - takes G1 Metro oversizes him, still only really interactive with Legends figures and smaller; 8/10
Titans Return Fortress Maximus - sames size as G1 version but less dense and less interactive, actually a "downgrade" if still big and impressive looking; 8/10
Titans Return Trypticon - takes G1 Trypticon and oversizes him, adds in a walkthrough area and a cockpit for a ship mode plus an internal room/belly, still has the useless spindles; 7/10
Titans Return Powermaster Optimus - about the same as the original; 3/10
Titans Return Blaster/Soundwave - highly interactive for Titanmasters and Legends-class figures but not very large; 7/10
Titans Return Sky Shadow/Overlord - a tower and a couple platforms, not very Legends class friendly; 4/10

 

My sons and I LOVE putting everyone we can in base mode and using all of the Titan Master and legion Class toys n a gigantic scaled city/ playset.
Why are trees goo, why is air good, why are tits good?
I don't even really understand the question I guess, Base modes are one of the most fun things about the small scall stuff, especially if the adventure / story progressed to all that shit transforming into their bot modes in the course of play because once you have been playing Titan Master and legion scale all evening A Voyager class Figure becomes a spectacle of scale, a leader class becomes Gigantic reaching to the sky, the combiners have to combine to meet the challenge and you have these ginormous monstrosities stomping a city ( which the remaining base modes provide btw) and when a Fort max finally STANDS UP AND TRANSFORMS! OMG It is the definition of epic toy time and kids get SO excited after the build up

 

I love them as long as they don’t hinder the other modes because we get fun stuff like this...

 

Base modes and the subsequent battles that take place on them help me make up for the lack of more gruesome deaths at Autobot City in the '86 movie.

 

Totally agree with some of the opinions here. Most bases tend to be open air. I prefer bases that characters can go inside like G1 Metroplex or Titans Return Trypticon.

That said, I was fond of Greasepit and Countdown's bases growing up. Powermaster Prime's base would have been better with a roof.

I've never been fond of tiny Transformers. I loved G1 Metroplex but wished he could at least have fitted one of the Diaclone cars in his chest compartment. He does work nicely with the World's Smallest toys.

I know Generations Metroplex probably can but besides being expensive, I just prefer the cleaner look of his G1 self.

 

I think I like the idea of Fortress Maximus and Metroplex the best because they have dedicated base/city modes. However they kinda look more like single buildings with some roads rather than full cities.

It seems like a nice concept, I mean they exist on a planet where the population are mostly vehicles that turn into robots so I've always liked to imagine that everything is a robot. Hell even the planet itself is a robot. But in execution I don't think transforming into a city is really practicle.