The next revolution in Transformers engineering?

@l3x · 07-04-2009, 09:28 PM

I was just thinking today about the possibilities of making a transformer largely out of silicone. Imagine a new era of Beast wars where the animal skin literally wrapped around the robot parts, or even a vehicle Transformer where the car panels could seamlessly fold over themselves, movie style. It could all be reinforced with gooseneck wiring and internal hinges so it could maintain a rigid structure.

Does this sound possible or desirable to anyone? And could it be affordable to produce? What do you guys think HasTak could do to keep advancing in Transformer engineering?

Sportimus · 07-04-2009, 09:48 PM

Sounds interesting, but too expenive to produce still.

Kaymac · 07-04-2009, 09:55 PM

That sounds expensive. I was thinking the next advance could be more TFs that can turn their kibble into chairs.

firehawc_69 · 07-04-2009, 09:56 PM

The biggest problem with that for collectors would be that silicone has a shelf-life. It'd dry-rot over time. If you think GPS is a problem, wait till that stuff starts to break down.

Cool idea though.

Sportimus · 07-04-2009, 10:04 PM

I'm less interested in "the next step" now more than ever before, anyway. I would rather see some things actually come back to TF toys like:

-Rubber tires instead of plastic ones.
-Chromed parts like Takara does for their Henkei TF's.
-Better quality plastics.
-Better paint apps.
-At least some die-cast parts.
-The extinction of shoddy gimmicks that get in the way of good solid transformations (i.e. no more automorph, cyber planet keys, mech-alive, etc).
-A better kind of ball joint, maybe something similar to what Revoltech uses?

And last, but certainly not least:

-Instructions that are actually USEFUL and MAKE SENSE!

Kaymac · 07-04-2009, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sportimus

I'm less interested in "the next step" now more than ever before, anyway. I would rather see some things actually come back to TF toys like:

-Rubber tires instead of plastic ones.
-Chromed parts like Takara does for their Henkei TF's.
-Better quality plastics.
-Better paint apps.
-At least some die-cast parts.
-The extinction of shoddy gimmicks that get in the way of good solid transformations (i.e. no more automorph, cyber planet keys, mech-alive, etc).
-A better kind of ball joint, maybe something similar to what Revoltech uses?

And last, but certainly not least:

-Instructions that are actually USEFUL and MAKE SENSE!

Mech-alive isn't as intrusive as Automorph is, but I see what you're getting at. The idea of the better ball joints is good too. It always pisses me off when I get really weak ball joints on my toys, and someone else gets really strong ones.

ronin0510 · 07-04-2009, 10:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sportimus

I'm less interested in "the next step" now more than ever before, anyway. I would rather see some things actually come back to TF toys like:

-Rubber tires instead of plastic ones.
-Chromed parts like Takara does for their Henkei TF's.
-Better quality plastics.
-Better paint apps.
-At least some die-cast parts.
-The extinction of shoddy gimmicks that get in the way of good solid transformations (i.e. no more automorph, cyber planet keys, mech-alive, etc).
-A better kind of ball joint, maybe something similar to what Revoltech uses?

And last, but certainly not least:

-Instructions that are actually USEFUL and MAKE SENSE!

Yes sir, I second those.....then lets talk about advancing!

Aernaroth · 07-04-2009, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sportimus

I'm less interested in "the next step" now more than ever before, anyway. I would rather see some things actually come back to TF toys like:

-Rubber tires instead of plastic ones.
-Chromed parts like Takara does for their Henkei TF's.
-Better quality plastics.
-Better paint apps.
-At least some die-cast parts.
-The extinction of shoddy gimmicks that get in the way of good solid transformations (i.e. no more automorph, cyber planet keys, mech-alive, etc).
-A better kind of ball joint, maybe something similar to what Revoltech uses?

And last, but certainly not least:

-Instructions that are actually USEFUL and MAKE SENSE!

Definite agreement on the instructions, especially since they could put such things online. The rest become an issue of cost, however, and may simply not be feasible for general release transformers. For the high-end collectors stuff, who knows though?

As for silicone, there's a lot of issues that would come into play. Things such as the thickness of the silicone, as well as its resulting durability while deformed during transformation, as well as cost, and potential issues of bonding to other materials.

It makes me think of the kaiju microman figures that were made a few years ago, though. Silicone as new pretender shells? Could turn out pretty cool.

mrclean08 · 07-04-2009, 11:13 PM

Silicone gets kinda pricey. Especially when you're into the casting hobby. A very cool idea indeed, but economics wise, it would be a hard sell.

That being said, if anyone could ever pull it off, I would love to see it. It would be a very cool idea for another run at Beast Wars or even human like Pretenders.

jonatron26 · 07-04-2009, 11:44 PM

missiles that light up.
deluxe/voyager w/ lights, maybe sounds
no backpacks or kibble. unless of course if it looks cool
remote control deluxe/voyager w/o compromising posability and sleakness
......just to mention a few wild ideas