OK,OK. I was looking at a repro. The point is,neither one is sturdier or anything like that,they're both mainly made of plastic. And how is the classics version the definitive version of the character? It turns from some vague non-bug sportscar into a floppy pile of shit.
Go over to the boxart site,take a look at BB's G1 boxart,then take a look at the grinning,dorky yellow turd in the cartoon. Really I could say that about almost everyone. Off the top of my head,only Ratchet and Ironhide look better on the show than they do as toys.
Seriously, who cared about poses back then? That only came out of the 'collector' culture. Imagination is the greatest tool in a child's arsenal. I'm sure you remember that from your own childhood. It didn't matter what something looked like or could do, you played with it and used imagination. They were cars and they transformed into robots, they delivered thier promise and it didn't matter if the Optimus figure was more poseable than the Protectobot's 'First Aid' figure. Don't get me wrong, I love the new 'Universe' figures especially, but maybe you are taking their advanced designs for granted? Back then, they were produced on a budget too, they didn't have th huge capital and R&D of today. That capital and R&D is only possible, by the way, as a result of the success of the G1 toys. The combiners were especially impressive. As a kid, I wanted them all!
So basically you just said that their engineering was okay for their time, which is true, but they're still nothing compared to what we have today, I guarantee you if you were a kid nowadays and could choose between the G1 Optimus reissue and the ultra articulated, with sounds, and all that jazz Movie Optimus you'd go for him. Plus it's not even just the articulation that I'm talking about, many of 'em look flat-out ugly, even the TF-line originals such as Rodimus and Kup look horrible, and they actualy had time to plan stuff out, hell the problem isn't even engineering-wise the sculpt itself is extremely ugly! p.s. articulation was a big part of my childhood, it mattered, the whole coolness of the pew-pew battles came from makin' 'em squat, jump, and wrestle against each other, if we use nothing but imagination might as well use rocks instead of toys
...I hope you realise that I refer to 'imagination' within reason. I don't mean playing with a blue teddy and pretending its the Mach 5, or indeed a rock and pretending its a TF. I'm saying that you can use imagination to make a TF toy more like a 'real moving' TF in the show. The most you can do is probably tap a TF across the floor like a chess piece, but in the context of playing, it is walking like in the show. They stand around and shoot, you can make the old toys do that too. Imagine sound effects and knock a TF over if it gets shot, etc, etc. My nephews still play with today's TFs the same way as I did with G1 toys despite the modernity and look of the new toys - its inconsequential. Just today you can have lights and sounds. BUT, from a collector's 'cool posing' POV, the new toys are better, granted.
I can't imagine that. Also, to the G1 pundits saying the G1 engineering is the best: Put a G1 toy out in retail now. Try it. No one will buy it. Look at Optimus Prime at Wal-Mart, still clogging clearance shelves everywhere. And he's the main char of the franchise! The toys HAVE improved. The engineering is, FACTUALLY, considerably better than what we had. Preference to one era or another is okay if you're expressing opinions. But opinions are not facts. You might like the G1 toys better because you grew up with them. Fine. Say so. Be honest and admit it's because of the good memories you had from childhood. I grew up with the G1 toys too, but I can at least agree that the new toys are definitely better MADE than the old ones were.
im out of my element here,because g1 and its children(classics,masterpiece)are the only series i know anything about,but i could throw out an idea,upon reading the wikipedia article,i find kiss players to be a pretty good plot,but then again,kiss players begins where the 1986 movie ends,so i guess we are back to g1 again.animated is like the alternative to the movie storyline/toyline,and live action ANIMATED just doesnt sound right.like i said i dont know much about the unicron trilogy,but what ive seen seems to be again,an extension of g1.
I think it depends on the change. If you have really good change then it's not hard to jump on board like say with how Beast Wars managed to shake things up. Not just turning into animals but how things were not neatly divided into just two factions as the spiders had their own agenda and Tigatron has his own agenda. If the movies had been really good change then I think more people would have been willing to jump on board. But the films were not very good change so given the choice I'll take something G1 related because at least I know my Decepticons will be tough there and have some chance at something other than just getting killed. Sort of like I played with my GI Joe and Cobra action figures for hours and hours as a kid, but that doesn't stop me from going wow they really improved so much with the 25th figures, or from being excited about the Universe figures because they are still the characters I knew back then, but wow have things ever improved from the old days.
I agree they are better engineered these days than G1 (articulation,etc). Like I said, Hasbro makes the TFs today in a way that allows them to 'come apart' when excessive force is used rather than break. A good innovation. G1 toys didn't have that feature, but didn't need it either for the most part. In my experience G1s were more sturdy, simply because they lacked the articulation - the multiple joints, hinges and so forth.
Being a stickler for tradition, I'm still rooting for the G1. They aren't as practical as toys though.
Not to mention better engineering and design all-around (as i said i really don't understand why most of the toys are flat out ugly, specially the sculpt faces), safer too! (trust me, I know the difference between getting a Bruticus to the head and getting a Voyager Movie Starscream, both came out with no broken parts, but the first almost made me black-out! And they're nearly the same size!)
G1's transformations > any line since as you could actually transform them in 3-5 seconds mostly and not sit there for an age "wait, wait, don't shoot I'm transforming... wait... ok... oh shit, wait... gotta go back to being a robot..." click, click, click DONE. Made for much better play than the robots of today
Do you remember that G1 episode when Prime couldnt Transform after being pummeled by a cave and had that Prime orgy? Prime Transform "ugghh, UGUQWHQWEH! Ugggggggghhhh!"
That was one of the things I liked about Animated. Ok, the transformations weren't G1 simple, but for such articulated robots they were pretty simple.
Optimus was priced as an expensive collector's item,even though most collectors who wanted him allready had him. If you price a G1 toy at a normal price point and put it next to current toys,it sells just as well. The Combaticons and spychangers didn't have a problem selling during RiD. Current TFs are good for putting on your desk as an adult,but are shitty toys. They take 20 minutes to transform.
I think the movies get compared to G1 the most often because G1 was based on earth, "now" just like the movies and therefore they are directly analogous. Most of the other series take place in a different timeframe or continuity.
