It would definitely be cool to see some new alts. I remember the hunt for alternators and discovering a new one in the stores. That started me on the road to collecting seriously.
Alt Hound is what got me back into Transformers. I often referred to them as "Mini Masterpieces" Yeah, the Alt line got overlooked by some, as stated, it was more "collector' driven, so that may have helped lead to its demise, but Hasbro didn't help either....they got REALLY lazy at the end there....Rollbar anyone?....hardly any paint apps on the dude, & a swindle head with a different colored visor, but I still bought him anyways....loved the line Then the re-releasing of molds that were already a year old (Jazz and Tracks) to help make up a case assortment....yep, even though I already owned them, I bought some of these too!!....what can I say? It was "plastic crack" and I was hooked. Now that was cool for the folks that missed out on them the first time around, but Hasbro saturated the market with them, and soon, retailers realized they had a bunch of Tracks and Jazz Alts sitting on the shelves....I'm sure this led to retailers cutting back on case assortment orders for them. I remember Meijer's having them [Alts] for $10 a pop....just trying to clear their shelves of them. The Human Alliance line is cool, I often refer to them as my Movie Alternators, and just as with the Alt line, I got them all, and while I enjoy them....they aren't quite up to the standard that the Alt line put out....rubber tires anyone? Bring back the Alt line? Sure why not....DO IT HASBRO!! I'd welcome them with open arms. Back then they were at the $20 price point, so I'm sure now they'd be around the HA price point, $30 - 35, even at that price, as long as they are 1/24th scale, I'd bite....hard. Caddy XLR Megs!!....Where you at?!! Hasbro told us a long time ago that the Alternator line was going on a hiatus, but they would try and bring it back at some point, even if they had to mix it in with a current line....satisfy the fandom....happy customers....in the meantime, enjoy this new "Classics" line of toys we got.... hmmm....that last part sound familiar to you FE Prime fans? Where's my Alternators?!! Hasbro?.... Hasbro?!... how long is a "hiatus" supposed to be anyways...?
Alternators are the only line I have a complete collection of. Some were great, some were meh, but even the meh ones were worth getting.
Oh man I luv my Alt/Binaltech/Alternity collection! Comparing them to more recent figures, they still hold up incredibly well. Sweet-ass vehicles, complex (but not too complex) transformations & beautiful botmodes. They fit in perfectly with my MPs & honestly - What's not to luv? Sure HasTak went a little over-the-top with the repaints (especially in the Alternity line) but you don't have to buy them all if you don't want to . The last figure I added to this sub-collection of mine was Binaltech Red Alert & now I've got an inkling to add another one...
hmm how much do I like alternators... I have acomplete set, Ive made 40+ customs, and have about 20 extras right now waiting to be customized. So yeah Ive got a thing for the line
I would love to see new Alternators revisited as long as it's kept the same scale. Of course, many characters I'd want to see done, such as Grapple and Ironhide, would be too large in this scale if done as their original vehicles. Since the Alternators line ended, I only buy MPs and various other figures I feel can fit with them. But with the MPs going to a smaller scale I'll be less interested in them now. I don't collect the Alternity line because of the smaller scale, although I did get Bumblebee. I'm still undecided on getting the Hasbro MP Hot Rod. I already have the Alternator and KP versions of him. How does the MP compare in size with Alternators? Can anyone post any pics comparing robot and car forms for me?
I remember the winter when both mp prime and bt smokscreen were announced. it was like pure heaven...
Despite my affinity for the line and even admitting that I engage in customs/kitbashing to extend my interest, I'll be in the minority to say that I actually enjoy the line ended. Alt Rodimus (despite my personal gripes with it) serves as a nice bookend to the line. It's a tragedy we didn't get the Megatron, and I'd certainly welcome that one figure being made as a stand-alone piece. However, I can't see the line being viable or handled in the ways that I'd want it. Being an enthusiast that has been with the line ever since the first photo of the prototype BT Smokescreen was revealed, distribution was a horrible nightmare trying to track down figures. Having the line finished on an official level gives me a great sense of comfort and enjoyment even. It feels "complete" to me, and that is fun for me. Also, that being said, the line is quire remarkable for simply being what it is. It was originally planned as six (6) Autobots only. Think about that and then think about what we've actually gotten. The line has no indicative media to back itself up - it relied mostly upon nostalgia itself for its success. The ongoing toylines at the time helped back the line, but the line itself wasn't directly connected to any one piece of media, not even G1. The most the line has is the BT fiction found within the BT packaging, and the tiny bit of BT* stories and Kiss Players media (and don't start on how "horrendous" it is - there are other threads for it). It's one of the only lines to pull that off successfully. It's one of the longest running lines in Transformers history (2003 - 2006). This is especially remarkable considering the above points.
No pics I'm afraid, but MP Hot Rod's car mode really sits extremely well amongst BT/Alt cars. Of course he's not an actual licensed vehicle, but that doesn't bother me. Because of his transformation though he does tower over the other Alts in bot mode. On the whole I prefer him to represent MP Hot Rod for me (put him next to MP-01 and he does that nicely!). If you like screen accuracy MP-09 is a far better deco than the Hasbro version.
I only place MP Prime and Magnus with my Alts/BTs since the vehicles are really close in scale. KP Rodimus is one of the greatest TFs ever, and I'd think that MP Rodimus would be paled by him.
I've got KP Rodimus, he's great (gotta love a TF who has a fishing rod accessory lol). But I prefer my BT/Alt characters to have unique molds, so I'm afraid the GT is taken by Mirage!
Oh goodness, that's a bad hangup to have with this line! Jokes aside, while the lack of completely new molds is one of the things that killed the line, that's part of the appeal for me as well. I really enjoy something like this having a set of parameters that it has to fit into. It's very much akin to an algebraic equation (which is really the essence of artwork anyways, but I digress). Also, despite that point, even though the line has a finite number of toys, I have always really enjoyed the openness of the line as well. The lack of a set fiction really helps that appeal as well. This gives the line a sense of versatility for the enthusiast
I also have KP Rodimus, and MP Hot Rod. In my opinion, KP knocks MP out of the park, and I think that the GT figure is the most over-rated of the line (not bad, just over-rated). But then, I like the Alts because of their grounding in reality, so I will be biased on this.
Tell me about it haha! It's not that I didn't collect most of the repaints etc... just a question of display space really. It was made slightly easier by me deciding not to get Cons who were just straight-up repaints. A good pecentage of the Autobots had unique molds. And some were acceptable duplicates (Subaru brothers for example).
I like this post As far as "this TF succeeds in every single area a TF toy could ever succeed", yeah, I'd have to agree with you that the mold is overrated. However, there is just something about the KP Rodimus that strikes a "coolness" chord with me. I like that it's not slavish to the G1 deco (Alt Rodimus, I'm still leering at you), and as you said it's very grounded in reality (red Ford GT40 with white racing stripes is how you do it!) AND it just looks gorgeous in alt mode. The fishing pole accessory is a load of fun. I'll make another point out of that - the "coolness" factor. There is just something hip and nostalgic that this line pulls off so well that so many other lines do not. Classics can't even do this for me. For me, G1 has it, G2 has it, and RiD has it. I really enjoy most other TF toylines, but there is just this quality here that this line has.
I have most of them and to be honest I don't particularly like any of them except Alternity Bumblebee. For me, he is classics Bumblebee.
haha, that must have been awesome. I remember the first time I saw an alt, I was at work and a co-worker brought his alt smokescreen in (I think smokescreen, silverstreak, hound and sideswipe were the first ones out?). It was like love at first sight and immediately re-kindled that interest I had as a kid some 20 years before then. I had to have one that same day and came home with silverstreak. It's roughly 7 years later now but I finally got around to completing my alts last year and they proudly sit on their own designated shelf. One of my favorite things in my collection.
