CHUG Appreciation Thread

Thatsjustkreo67 · Nov 11, 2019

Lazerwave said: ↑

Working out a Chug team right now. IT's a matter of is they can make updated versions of Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker and Bumblebee and if the WFC line will make Brawn, Gears, Huffer and Windcharger.
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What’s wrong with Legends Brawn and POTP Windcharger?

Lazerwave · Nov 11, 2019

Thatsjustkreo67 said: ↑

What’s wrong with Legends Brawn and POTP Windcharger?
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They may not scale right.

Driskull98 · Nov 11, 2019

Lazerwave said: ↑

Working out a Chug team right now. IT's a matter of is they can make updated versions of Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker and Bumblebee and if the WFC line will make Brawn, Gears, Huffer and Windcharger.
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I think Trailbreaker's a shoe-in for Earthrise or the third year with Hoist coming out. They've been moldmates since the original toyline. Sunstreaker's also probably happening due to the Sidewipe blacklight easter egg.

TR Brawn and POTP Windcharger are probably your best bet as I don't see either of them getting a redo. Gears and Huffer are far more likely as their past figures were both difficult to find and hardly acceptable respectively.

Decepticreeps100 · Nov 11, 2019

Imperator said: ↑

Chaps, we ought to talk about the forgotten. The ones left behind. Those Transformers who made their name not as part of one of the kerzillions of G1 permutations, but from other lines. Those that can stand their ground as part of a CHUG collection, but have no significant presence within G1. Last week's Barricade had started from the Bayverse and been officially imported via Siege. This week we'll look at a few more Decepticons with varying amounts of canonicity.

I mean, I absolutely hate the idea of using canon as a rigidly defined gospel anyway (ugh, mixing my theological metaphors). Do what you like, you don't need the word of a Hasbro employee to make your collection choices more or less legitimate. Case in point: Sky-Byte. Sure, he was brought into the IDW universe partway through, which technically makes him canon, but come on. His comic appearances mostly coincided with his Thrilling 30 toy's presence on shop shelves, and the moment they vanished, so did he, outside of a few scant cameos.

Far more importantly, Sky-Byte was pretty much the most memorable of the 2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon, mostly by virtue of being one of only a few genuinely original characters in the whole thing. Sideburn was Cheetor, X-Brawn was Ironhide, you know the drill. But an insecure warrior poet on the villain team was something new, so older fans who were finding the show otherwise snoozeworthy in how utterly bland and familiar it all was could perk up whenever Sky-Byte came on screen.

Let's be honest, RID was not a good show. Most of the criticisms of the following year's Armada cartoon could be laid at RID's feet as well. It's usually more fondly remembered though, which is probably due to the way that Armada's huge launch (a massive reboot of the franchise as a whole) was heavily hyped, and the resulting dreary mess of an anime was a huge letdown. Conversely, RID had relatively little hype, and with expectations still low after the poor reception of Beast Machines, RID could just sail through on a cloud of indifference.

Still, Sky-Byte just about earns his place as breakout character, being a huge pileup of weirdness wrapped in a suspiciously fishy shell. His original toy was a redeco of the Beast Wars Transmetal 2 character Cybershark, and by all accounts it's a toy which still more or less stands up these days. But simply rereleasing an old toy would look suspiciously lazy, so a new T30 toy was designed. All well and good, and all they had to do was find a way to improve on that 15 year-old design. And...

...and that's the problem. While T30 Sky-Byte is a decent enough toy, it needed to blow its predecessor clean out of the water to make it's own mark, but it really struggles in that regard. There's just too many ways to criticise it, most notably the utterly lacklustre robot limbs. It's easy to see the problem, and how the design tried to solve it. Like with a number of Prime toys, Sky-Byte tries to minimise his shellformer nature by folding kibble up into the limbs... but it never really works. The right bicep and both shins reveal an absolute lack of substance within, the kibble forming armour plating on top of nothing whatsoever. The right hand is particularly poor, unable to properly hold any 5mm accessories and showing up the fact that the elbow is orientated wrong, curving inward rather than upward. Great for shaking your fist at the sky or calling Scourge a wanker, but rubbish for everything else.

He makes much more sense in shark mode, but best of luck getting him there. The transformation is a right faff, not quite to the level of Straxus, but not far off. Unsurprisingly it essentially involves wrapping the shark bits around the remaining shards of robot skeleton, but the finished effect is something of a looker. But the problem here is that Sky-Byte's permanently fused into an arcing pose, as if leaping out of the water to grab some poor sod out of the air or something. Put him flat on a surface then, and it looses all that dynamism, and just looks a bit naff. What you need is a 3mm figure stand to plug up the tiny shark bumhole and show off his mighty leap. So I did, only to have the end of the stand break off inside said bumhole and become permanently lodged in there. With no way of pushing it out from the other side it got stuck in a vaccuum, which is a problem I know the designers are aware of because every other joint on every other toy since 1995 has had slits and holes to let air through when disconnecting them.

So to recap: the one and only Transformer to specifically require a flight stand does not come with one, and is in serious danger of breaking such a stand if you try and use it. That really isn't okay.

Again, this is not an upgrade from the 2001 toy. It is at beast a side-step, replacing one fun but flawed toy with an entirely different fun and flawed toy. But at least the old one didn't have a bumhole that ate everything it came into contact with.

Note: the stand you can see in that picture is holding on with blu-tack, because I am a very resourceful little engine.
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smf2045 · Nov 12, 2019

"Megatron! Let him go and surrender!"
"Not until you die, Prime!"

"Argh! So be it... "

"Primus help me..."

"Optimus....you saved my life...your shoulder..."
"Get back to base now, Hot Rod. That's an order!"

"Yes, sir."

DocSeth81 · Nov 12, 2019

barry · Nov 12, 2019

"...It is the year 1988..."

Matty · Nov 12, 2019

Lazerwave said: ↑

Working out a Chug team right now. IT's a matter of is they can make updated versions of Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker and Bumblebee and if the WFC line will make Brawn, Gears, Huffer and Windcharger.
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Crazy to see we can more or less complete two full Ark crew teams from different toy lines.

Dachande · Nov 12, 2019

Scarlet knight · Nov 12, 2019

Lazerwave said: ↑

Working out a Chug team right now. IT's a matter of is they can make updated versions of Trailbreaker, Sunstreaker and Bumblebee and if the WFC line will make Brawn, Gears, Huffer and Windcharger.
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We're getting there

Bountyhunter3232 · Nov 12, 2019

You need a hero...one that doesn't care about being paid or profit...one that will give his life to save a citizen...one that will help your cat when it's stuck in a tree out of the kindness of his heart...one that would give it all...shanix home and heart for you...a true hero that will not abandon you when things get rough...one that won't do evil no matter the money or torture...

You need SuperSwindle!

Scarlet knight · Nov 12, 2019

Bountyhunter3232 said: ↑

You need a hero...one that doesn't care about being paid or profit...one that will give his life to save a citizen...one that will help your cat when it's stuck in a tree out of the kindness of his heart...one that would give it all...shanix home and heart for you...a true hero that will not abandon you when things get rough...one that won't do evil no matter the money or torture...

You need SuperSwindle!
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Don't forget the blue text

barry · Nov 13, 2019

Meanwhile, back on Cybertron...

DocSeth81 · Nov 13, 2019

smf2045 · Nov 13, 2019

The cameramen like to record their bullying...

Prime77 · Nov 13, 2019

Spotlight on Overlord

trence5 · Nov 13, 2019

Bountyhunter3232 said: ↑

You need a hero...one that doesn't care about being paid or profit...one that will give his life to save a citizen...one that will help your cat when it's stuck in a tree out of the kindness of his heart...one that would give it all...shanix home and heart for you...a true hero that will not abandon you when things get rough...one that won't do evil no matter the money or torture...

You need SuperSwindle!
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Seriously does this look a face that would lie to you?

Scarlet knight · Nov 13, 2019

trence5 said: ↑

Seriously does this look a face that would lie to you?

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Absolutely not

Bountyhunter3232 · Nov 13, 2019

trence5 said: ↑

Seriously does this look a face that would lie to you?

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Definitely not...I got a kick out of writing that though XD

barry · Nov 14, 2019

The responsible ones.

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CHUG Appreciation Thread

Thatsjustkreo67 Well-Known Member

Lazerwave My Most Prized Treasure

Driskull98 Evil is as evil do.

Decepticreeps100 Covered in Scorpions, all covered in Scorpions

smf2045 Aficionado of Combiners

DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

barry Well worn member

Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

Dachande MULTI-QUOTE- USE IT. Super Mod

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

Bountyhunter3232 “This is a good idea!”

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

barry Well worn member

DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

smf2045 Aficionado of Combiners

Prime77 Until next time…

trence5 Well-Known Member

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

Bountyhunter3232 “This is a good idea!”

barry Well worn member

Log in or Sign up

CHUG Appreciation Thread

Thatsjustkreo67 Well-Known Member

Lazerwave My Most Prized Treasure

Driskull98 Evil is as evil do.

Decepticreeps100 Covered in Scorpions, all covered in Scorpions

smf2045 Aficionado of Combiners

DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

barry Well worn member

Matty @StayingInTheBox Veteran

Dachande MULTI-QUOTE- USE IT. Super Mod

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

Bountyhunter3232 “This is a good idea!”

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

barry Well worn member

DocSeth81 Well-Known Member

smf2045 Aficionado of Combiners

Prime77 Until next time…

trence5 Well-Known Member

Scarlet knight Emergency Food Connoisseur

Bountyhunter3232 “This is a good idea!”

barry Well worn member

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