MMC OX Assaultus

Discussion in 'Transformers 3rd Party Discussion' started by Devastator21, Sep 30, 2017.

  1. hardreturn

    hardreturn Ian Reid

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  2. Gopherman

    Gopherman Has better things to do tonite then die.

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    Just a quick question, Are there any differences between the first and 2nd batch of Incursus and the upgrade set?
    Thanks in advance.
     
  3. User_96283

    User_96283 Banned

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  4. BIOMEC

    BIOMEC Terrorcon, aka "Ratchetman"

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  5. Digger

    Digger Banned

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  6. MetroSupreme

    MetroSupreme Well-Known Member

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    And this is the legitimate counter reply to partsforming. Objectively every mode looks superior. But that assumes aesthetics are your primary objective, which mine are. I do think the engineering of the all-in-one is very interesting, but engineering prowess is a tertiary priority for me. I understand if people are the opposite. But at least we can all agree, there are objective sacrifices on either path.
     
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  7. hardreturn

    hardreturn Ian Reid

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    I don't think that's true for armageddon/bruticon. the combined mode is larger, but it's not more accurate to any source. and the individuals are less accurate in most. what objective criteria are you using to say all modes are superior, since we can only compare these at the moment?
     
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  8. Delduwath

    Delduwath Well-Known Member

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    I would make a (very pedantic!) tweak to what MetroSupreme said: Objectively every mode could look superior. There's always an opportunity for sub-par design/implementation!

    Here's how I think about it: a toy is a physical object that is constrained by its physical dimensions and materials. Let's take a simpler example of just plain ol' articulation. Imagine a toy that has an elbow joint vs. a toy that doesn't have an elbow joint. A toy that doesn't have an elbow joint has more freedom in how the arm looks - it can have any degree of detailing, it can be very thin, it can have any sort of paint scheme. Including an elbow joint means
    - the arm has to be thick enough to securely support an elbow joint
    - you have to decide if the mechanism for the joint will be just completely undisguised (easier) or if it will try to blend into the sculp (harder) and into the paint job (mostly impossible for anything more complex than one solid color)
    - you have to decide how much mechanism you put in (90-degree hinge vs 180-degree double-hinge; are there any swivels above/below the elbow?), and the more mechanisms you put in, the more work you have to do to make sure there's enough material to support it, and the more work you have to do to blend the joint into the sculpt.

    A figure with more articulation (at least, one made of hard plastic! It's different if there's a flexible outer "skin", I guess) will necessarily have to make sacrifices in terms of material, size, appearance, weak points, etc. Most of us have a bare minimum of articulation that we aren't willing to sacrifice, even if that means sacrificing aesthetics. Some people are willing to take a double-hinge elbow that makes the arm look wonky if it means you can get more dynamic poses; other folks are willing to sacrifice some articulation in order to keep a bare minimum of sculpt quality.

    A transformer has an even harder job with appearance, because it has even more joints, and has to pack even more parts into the same space. You can't just have a solid torso with a swivel and an ab crunch, you need to have a torso with a swivel and an ab crunch and a hidden half a helicopter. That means the torso can't be smaller than X * Y * Z or it won't have enough space to fit the helicopter parts; it can't have an extra joint here or there because the stuff hidden inside it can't bend; so on and so forth.

    An all-in-one combiner component has an eeeeven harder job, because now you've got to find space to accommodate half a helicopter, a giant hand, and a connector. Not to mention all the extra articulation that the combined form will need. By necessity, there are more constraints on what you can do with the sculpt, articulation, and stability of the bot and alt mode.

    Just like articulation, I'm willing to sacrifice some elements of appearance to pack in all the combiner pieces. Fortunately, the sacrifices that MMC made for this set are a non-issue for me. The combiner mode hands are pretty visible in robot modes (and frankly, I think they could have hidden them better), but they're not completely in-your-face, and it doesn't bother me. Incursus's proportions aren't ideal, but again: it doesn't bother me. I think he has presence, which makes up for the proportions (for me!) On the flip side, the all-in-one aspect makes me really excited! I'm so glad that they went down this path, because there are already multiple different Bruticuses that cater to other preferences. I think it's amazing that folks have these different options, now.

    I'm really excited to see what they learn from doing Bruticus, and how that factors into their Defensor.
     
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  9. DarkRed401

    DarkRed401 Well-Known Member

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  10. Soundwave3k

    Soundwave3k TFW2005 Supporter

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    Totally agreed with everything you said, but especially what you bolded. I get why some people aren't cool with this set, but I love it for these reasons, while Zeta never stood a chance with me. What I definitely don't get is saying that Zeta's Bruticus looks superior in every mode. The combined mode is great, as is Onslaught's bot mode, but otherwise it simply doesn't, especially the limb bots in robot mode.
     
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  11. Autobot Hound

    Autobot Hound Combaticon

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    Agreed. I didn't get Zeta because a lot of the 'bot modes just didn't do it for me. Of the three pictures above, Brawl looks good but BO and Tex are clunky, kibbly messes in my eye. Didn't even get the eye color right on BO. I did wind up buying Zeta BO eventually since he's a favorite and I really liked the Zeta shuttle mode, but he is my only Zeta and he stays in shuttle mode. (Onslaught looked pretty good too, but his price was a bit more than I could justify for a set I wasn't going to complete anyway). I am glad Assaultus came along and gave me the MP Combaticons WITH cartoon accuracy I'd always wanted.
     
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  12. mikeszekely

    mikeszekely Not Pessimus Prime

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    If looks are what you care about, you could really get good-looking robots that turn into vehicles and make the entire combined mode a cartoon-accurate, super posable and super stable non-transforming separate robot, which is the pro-pantsforming argument taken to it's logical conclusion.
     
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  13. Duke spino

    Duke spino Well-Known Member

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    The problem with that is zeta really fails to pull that off. Depending on where you stand, okay to good combined, alright veichles, bad robots, and mediocre engineering. I mean, fanstoys is doing alright, and so is dx9 and xtransbots. But none of them have finished their combiners. And even then, I personally feel they push the cartoon envelope too far. So we either have mediocre combiners and bots, or good bots, with unfinished teams. I mean assaultus ain't done, but they're pushing for the finish in June, and moving to defensor in the fall. So in theory, not a bad arguement, but in practice, well, it doesnt really work. But maybe I'm biased. I really just buy what feels cool and modernized to me, as I have no personal connection to combiners.
     
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  14. Digger

    Digger Banned

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    Just got him in this morning. Loving him so much. The proportional weirdness just fades completely. He’s so large and intimidating and I just feel like I’ve met with the real Onslaught. The articulation is pretty dang great if not a bit intrusive with specifically the biceps. There’s too many panels there that kinda tab when he’s station but gotta furl out when in motion. My fingers also have some odd tolerances but it’s hardly an issue that I can’t push through to get them posed. But this man can absolutely command and he looks like a complete boss.

    The transformation is definitely the best so far. It’s very creative but the order is much more clear and the ideas for the parts moving make much more sense. Unlike Impetus’ backpack to arms and Fraudo’s hood sliders respectively. I found it super hard to activate the bed swing mechanism though. That button is super small and far away to get good pressure on it.

    But I love him and I’m so glad he’s here and that he’s so inspiring even after I’ve seen all the tricks online. Gonna get some photos with the bros later and potentially combine it.
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  15. Zherneboh

    Zherneboh BRAVE BOMBER

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    Thanks for the great pics and writeup! I'm a late-getter as well (first one lost in China!) but finally mine is waiting for me at the post office on my way home today:) 
     
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  16. xcorpeo

    xcorpeo Well-Known Member

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    Just got the add-on last week and the toy chest lends much more character for me. Adding the folded feet to Onslaught's shoulders adds bulk like an armoured up look, but the shoulders can only articulate outward a little.
    Pew pew!
    PSX_20200418_130112.jpg
     
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  17. Digger

    Digger Banned

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    Man I really thought the gun was so small. Feels weird that it’s like as big as a small pipe. The fact that the upgrade cannon is bigger puts it in perspective how oversized it is for ‘Slaught.
     
  18. TigerBlade

    TigerBlade Prepare for extermination

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    Bruticon yes, totally agreed. Very much a hodge podge of styles. Armageddon? I'd argue Swindle, Brawl and Onslaught are heavily influenced by the toy, as is the combined mode. Blast Off can be made to look very toy like in robot mode too, it's just Vortex that's the complete head scratcher. I have no idea what the designer was thinking there.

    I still maintain the best team won't be any full set of one company, especially from a pure cartoon aesthetic standpoint.
     
  19. Zherneboh

    Zherneboh BRAVE BOMBER

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    I love this brute, I sat for an hour or so applying some stickers I had lying around to make my own "inspired by a toy" version. PicsArt_04-18-09.43.15.jpg PicsArt_04-18-10.16.48.jpg PicsArt_04-18-09.53.04.jpg PicsArt_04-18-09.45.21.jpg PicsArt_04-18-09.35.24.jpg PicsArt_04-18-09.44.19.jpg
     
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  20. Digger

    Digger Banned

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