Old aesthetic too. It's just inevitably more common as engineering has become more intricate.

I'm honestly still baffled as to why someone would criticize mmc's combaticons so very harshly for visible engineering, seams etc when countless mps are no different or are in fact so much worse in these regards and have been for many years now. Yet those very same toys have gone on to sell insanely well and be massively beloved by many people. Greeble, hinges, screw holes, part gaps, all those kinds of things are not at all rare to mp design.





Like if an MP has a very upsetting visual flaw to me I don't buy it. But even my most beloved mps are not perfect. Sovereign and Roadking are not perfect. Takara's beast wars mps are not perfect. All these figures have their visual imperfections. It's just how tf toy designing goes though. You get a wide range of results depending on what's being designed and who's designing it.

 

It’s par for the course. If you’re gonna be ambitious, it’s not surprising there’ll be some hinges and what not.

 

For me, everything @David Hingtgen said, but also like @mikeszekely a question of impact.

The cartoon consisted of 20-25 minute episodes, that aired once a week where I live. In contrast, the toys I played with every single day. I thus had more exposure to the toys than to the cartoon. (I also read the comics and read the newest issue several times per month, giving them a bigger impact than the cartoon as well -- plus I liked the Marvel stories a lot more than the cartoon.)

And sometimes/often the toys just had nicer colours. In case of Vortex, the greenish parts are nicer than the the blue used in the cartoon, and same for the use of purple for his chest (instead of just grey).

Doesn't mean I want perfect recreations of the toys. Absolutely not. Choosing one influence over the other (as TT is doing now with MP) just means to me that other important representations are ignored. Best to take something from everything, like MP used to do. And the colours used in the cartoon are very often a failed attempt to mimick the toy colours.

 

I think arguing over whether it's MP is a bit moot, MP may mean different things to different people. When I think MP I think exceptional engineering and good looking modes, and less about the build. As such for menit is MP, but it may not fit other people's idea of MP

 

My Pony...
My Puppy...
Must Purchase...

 

Thread is too long to scroll back through, have we seen any updates since tfcon? Thanks in advance!

Ms. Piggy.

 

there is live stream review by Paik4life together with the toy designer on this weekend for Fraudo. I think that's pretty much it as far as I know. Others might be able to add more.

 

I will ask them: Why don't you use more ratchets? Lol

 

Maybe it's because I've watched a lot of reviews over the years but I know how to "interpret" TF reviewers and read between the lines. I can see when Ben (who people say "likes everyrhing') dislikes a figure or is lukewarm about it. Understanding BSF is easy plus he has made videos about just that. The guy collects statues. So he likes pretty looking statues. Of course he won't love Impetus. The figure is to be handled and posed and enjoyed being transformed for it's great engineering; It's basically the opposite of his collecting style. If your figure isn't covered in paint he'll definetly nitpick that as a negative (unless you are Gigapower, in which case he'll find something else to undermine that their figures are fully painted   )

Now with that said, he does sound impressed with the figure and recognizes that it's worth it to those that like what it is set to do. It just doesn't check the specific boxes he cares about to slap "MP" on a piece of plastic (again, think of shiny statues).

I don't take reviewers opinions personally nor do I base a purchase in just what one says. A couple of them can be very useful if you understand what they like and don't like compared to what you like and dislike.

 

If this isn't "Masterpiece" then it's about as close as we're ever sure to get of this character, imo

Great alt mode, some sense of toon accuracy in the bot mode and I think the build/plastic quality and feel holds up with the best of em. Idk what more youd want. Paint? Maybe. But idk how much paint this character design really warrants

Good enough for me, is all I'm saying!

 

Because the toys came first in my experience. I was given some toys as presents before the toon was out. The toon was just a commercial for the toys in my mind, even back then as a ten year old, so they were the authentic “real deal,” for which the toon was just loose copy. Plus I hated the look of the toon even then. I hated how much cheating there was going on with the transformations, so much of the kibble from the toys just disappearing so that you could hardly tell some of them were made of car (or jet, or whatever) parts. I wanted to see the wheels and whatnot, like you did on the toys.

So for me, the ideal MPs would hew more towards more realistic versions of the toys. I want Bumblebee and the rest of the minibots with toy-inspired masks (though less chibi figures in both modes). I prefer the MT Hoind with his thunder FEEEET similar to the toy’s. I want more cues from the toys rather than the over simplified Sunbow character models.

But I seem to be very much in the minority, and so my MP(ish) collection remains small. I suppose my wallet is grateful for my tastes  

 

CHOGOKING

Looks like @Lejamonster is working on a printed poster for Assaultus.

 

And this person works with color!

 

The only thing I don't like about this set is how it uses the same gun for combined mode and Onslaught. I know it's accurate to the source, the thing just looks rinky-dink in comparison with the combined mode.

 

Oh hell yeah. And that Fraudo art looks cool.

I get that, but to me it always seemed weird that combiners have handheld guns. Like with Bruticus he has back cannons, but if you wanted to shoot something, just get a drone or a gun tower. Combiners have so much power, why waste it on a good trigger finger?

 

Meaty Palms

 

This. So much this. An BSF is up front with it.

 

All things equal and 3P continues to produce G1 MPs, you can pretty much bet someone will do a better masterpiece Vortex eventually, especially considering two of the top producers of G1 MPs haven't even revealed their take on the character yet.

 

This is a really good analysis of their styles. I know BSF likes pretty statues and that my priorities are pretty much the opposite of his, so I'm rarely surprised by what he says. Although I am surprised how annoyed I still get when he shits on a figure for not being painted head to toe. I think of that amount of paint on a figure as a huge minus. I would be transforming my Masterpiece Megatron every day but it's covered in paint and I don't want to ruin it. I expect I will feel the same about MP-44 when it comes in.

It's the reason why I enjoy figures from DX9, Maketoys, and MMC at least as much, if not more, than ones from Fanstoys. They always put a focus on the engineering and the fun, and that's equally as important to me as the looks. While I like to occasionally pick up an FT figure and appreciate the good looks, the paint and the heft, it's the better engineered, fun figure I grab off the shelf and mess with at least seven or eight times out of ten.