Oh they are but the building materials, pilots, and if the price is cheap could make useful raw materials for dioramas.

 

I haven't seen it publicly acknowledged yet but, from everything seen thus far , they actually *are* cheap ko's of the more expensive RIHIO Multiabysss. It wasn't long ago that articulated mecha pilots were teased by Rihio and soon after this line appears with virtually the same pilots with added articulation. I'm always interested in more fodder in "Diaclone" scale though. I don't care which company makes it (Bandai's Gundam Micro Wars for example).

 

I'm not sure they're "cheap KOs", it seems like Rihio might have licensed their models to this company for release as Pocket Titans.

 

The same company makes unlicenced "hotwheels" mega blocks sets.

 

That's actually what i believe personally but despite repeated inquiries from multiple people regarding this ...we still haven't received an answer. Until we do i'm fine with calling them KO's despite some using the description to demean product.

I like knock offs (and mass market product).


A LOT.

 

Me too, just trying to draw the distinction for those folks who are vehemently opposed to any sort of KO.

All of that said, I'm grabbing a case of Pocket Titans if I see them, and will add them to my pile of RIHIO kits and Diaclone KO stuff from MFT!

 

so here is a question would SAT (police guys) series stuff be a KO of Diaclones? I mean they don’t have a police option (which I love).

 

Yes, as they use most of the Diaclone mech suit in the design. It's still a (insert % here - 80%, 90%, ?%) Takara toy KO. But I love how they use those designs as a springboard for really cool, new stuff.

 

^ This. And this is why I love KO's (especially when an agreement between manufacturing parties that compensates the original IP owner / product creator for said mold tooling isn't made public which happens WAY more than people know. It's not as straight forward as "X company stole the designs / mold tooling!" . I deal / have dealt with this first hand). You get far more variety and creativity in a shorter amount of time which, if you enjoy universe building and collecting , is fantastic .

 

Yeah me too. My favorite part about these figures is building my head cannon and that involves the Transformers working together with not just the military, but other government elements such as law enforcement. I just can’t do that with Diaclones alone as the line is limited to their designs. With MFT there are options.

 

I finally was able to find a an MFT MS-16 bonus power suit sold individually. That suit has quite a unique look.

Regarding head canon and fiction.... Takaras official back story has a LOT of potential that has gone untapped. I'm actually surprised it hasn't been discussed here more often. The official and ko toys are wonderful but the potential stories are what really make these designs stand out. I'm...curious as to what people collect for if not for world building.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...Diaclone , IMO , is what the Transformers franchise should be and should have been from the beginning . At the very least a fusion of the 2. The missing human element from the TF franchise for me has always been what's stopped me from fully embracing it. Diaclone + TF allows me to have the best both.

TF's = A.I. for all intents and purpose in the modern age.

 

I don't mind Human associates - heck it's the logical consequence of such technology on Earth - especially if you head canon it as being the case since the 1980's to now - or into the near future - humans would be running around in mech suits or have their own AI side kicks like the E-Boxes.

But I don't think I want Transformers to be yet another Human driven Mech series toyline those are a dime-a-dozen especially out of Japan.

MFT's way of doing it with the main robot and a human driven mini-mech side kick works a treat for me and is a similar appeal to the Human Alliance Basics which I also liked a lot.

 

Are you referencing the MFT power suit TF combinations like MS-16 and MS-17 (or...the Springer with green power suit combination)? If so , yes, i can see the appeal. I wouldn't buy Springer on his own (or any TF) but i'd buy a combo in some cases.

As far as Human Mech series toylines being common ("dime a dozen") coming out of Japan ...i'd agree but i would love a western take on that concept. I've never bought into Gundam. I've never understood the hype surrounding the franchise. I finally gave it a chance and watched the original series and , although i watched it all and found it entertaining enough, i was left unimpressed. I thoroughly enjoyed Armored Trooper Votoms but , although mecha rich, it isn't in the same vein as Diaclone as it really tells the tale of 1 singular character (bad ass though he may be lol). What else is there that comes some what close? Robotech? Pacific Rim? Voltron? Power Rangers (c'mon man)? I don;t feel as though any of those are really that similar. I had hopes that Pacific Rim would fill the void.

Ultimately i'd like to see the sci fi military mecha genre receive a push in the West. Give me the simplistic classic of "Starship Troopers" with a Diaclone skin at the very least.

Hell you can't even find the genre in western comic books generally speaking. It really hasn't been given a chance.

 

The idea of Mech suits exists in plenty of places in fiction of various kinds ; Starship Troopers,
Mech Warrior, Acid Rain World Series, Rihio, Armoured Core, Dougram, Z-Knights, Exo-Squad, Titan Fall, Starcraft, Ripley's Powered Cargo Loader in Aliens and appearances of such things in the F.E.A.R. Gi Joe, and Halo series. I'm sure there are dozens more i've forgotten too.
There is also some puppet shows that used Giant mechs too such as Star Fleet. Heck even Japanese Spider-Man has a giant Mech of his own.

I think a fiction a bit like MFT's Swat concept would be kinda interesting to see though. The cool thing about Diaclone and it's copy by MFT is that it's a premise that also draws in some elements of Transformation and sci fi in vehicle concepts too the sort of thing you see in Terrahawks, MASK, or many other things.

There was a toyline Kenner made Many years ago (called Mega Force) which might appeal to Gundam and Giant Robo fans as it has that kinda crazy scale too it where human scale is miniscule and instead of human figures and then vehicle you have tiny micromachine like vehicles that fit in bigger vehicles that would in some cases be 100's of feet long to scale. That sort of thing is something i'd like to see explored more too as a sci fi concept.

 

Sina Visitor System

 

^ The driver needs a well groomed mustache  

 

Ok I like some of those

 

Absolutely agree with the bold statement. An MFT swat fiction would be a nice place holder until something a bit larger in scale / vision was created. Police using standard issue mech units vs street criminals seems like overkill but ...i'd take what i could get for now lol. TeccoToys uses a some what similar back story.

It's not so much mech suits in fiction that i'm referencing as much as mech suits being the focus of the fiction within a sci fi military theme. Diaclone Reboot / MFT makes the power suit the focus of their lines. Takaras Diaclone Reboot fiction makes the power suit the focus within a recognized earth defense force (military) that battles the Waruders throughout the solar system. Of all of the I.P.'s you referenced i think Exo -Squad is the closest media backed fiction the west has received when compared to what Diaclone could be in media. Exo Squad literally had mech vs mech combat on a large scale .

Wait...Starcraft has comic books and games and the factions have actual armies fighting across space as opposed to a "small rag tag group of fighters against overwhelming odds" like you see in most mech themed fiction. That's probably why i jumped all over MFT's VS-S01 power suits.



Thanks for the Dougram reminder. That's on my "to watch " list. After Gundam, Robotech and Southern Cross i'm still looking for something to top Votoms.

 

HH...Metal Gear?!