Every Transformer’s alt mode is useless, they’re just toys to mess around with.

You do know you can’t actually get in and drive Optimus Prime, right?

 

Marvel comics scale ftw......

Proving once again that marvel comics scale is the BEST scale.

 

I can't?! Then why am I paying $500 for him???

 

I assume he comes to life at night while you’re sleeping and does the washing up.

 

wait? these are toys? I'm not getting a robot lion friend? I guess I shouldn't care about anything

Come man, if you find yourself in a forum thread discussing an unlicensed version of a D list character from a cartoon that end over 30 years ago, than you might care about this a little bit.

And I get it, most members who don't like these cassettes probably popped in saw the initial photos, said it wasn't for them, and never came back. I have a negative opinion on these guys and if you are watching this thread you probably like them.
I keep coming back because I'm interested in discussing the hobby, what is important to people, and what they'd rather see or not see.

 

I am more interested in transforming toys than non-transforming toys (that's not just the Transformers franchise, it goes across the board). Not saying that non-transforming toys are bad (I have plenty of them), just that transforming toys are more exciting for me.

I don't care at all about scale or size; I get why other folks do, but it just never mattered to me.

I don't collect in the traditional sense of trying to complete a set of characters, nor do I restrict myself to only one representation of a character; I'm in this for cool action figures and imaginative transformation design & engineering. I'll happily buy multiple versions of a character if the transformations are sufficiently different, and something about them catches my interest. I'll buy characters I like, but only if I also like the toy (meaning, I won't go "Ugh, I need a set of S1 Decepticons so I HAVE TO buy this one toy I don't like in order to complete the set"). I'll buy characters I don't care about if the toy seems cool.

I think G1-accuracy is really cool, and a worthwhile goal, but I am equally happy to see artistic interpretations of characters that are inspired by G1, but don't necessarily look exactly like G1. Frankly, I think the current trend of strict-adherence-to-G1 is a bit of a bummer, in that it kinda removes variety - everyone and their grandmother is trying to match the G1 aesthetic. I think it's rad that folks who prefer it have so many options, but I hope that in the future, 3rd parties are (financially) able to flex and experiment a little more again. Secretly, I even hope that 3rd parties can someday make entirely-original characters that are as well-done as their current output. I know that this happened a few times in the past (like some of FansProject's toys), but I think that's kinda fallen off (I'm guessing it's not financially viable).

For the above reason, I think it's totally fine for a character to transform not into their "traditional" alt mode (in this case, a mini-cassette) but something else (in this case, a regular-sized cassette). Doesn't mean I'll always love it, but it's not an instant disqualification for me. Goes hand-in-hand with my not requiring G1-accuracy, and being excited about experimentation. (And frankly, I don't think a change from mini-cassette to cassette is such a huge change.)

I think toys that transform into familiar everyday objects are awesome. It's so much more challenging to make a convincing - or even approximately-convincing - cassette or stand mixer or fork or console controller than it is to make a "futuristic alien spaceship, I guess, whatever, don't you know that all spaceships have obvious arms hanging off, use your imagination". Corollary: I think that toys that transform into familiar everyday objects and are the same size as those objects are double-awesome (note: this category doesn't really have many items in it...)

So, combine all of these together, and I think you can see why I like these toys. I don't care that they don't fit into Soundwave's chest, I don't care if they do or don't scale correctly in bot mode, I don't care that they don't turn into mini-cassettes. I do care that they've got a cool look in bot mode, they have some neat bits in the transformation, they look very convincing in alt mode, and man, they even come with cassette cases that they fit into! And, frankly, we already have some mini-cassette-sized versions (the Takara ones), will eventually have some more (the Fans Toys ones), and will soon have some tiny-sized legends-scaled ones (from Magic Square AND Newage). So, having an option for larger cassettes seems like it could only be a good thing.

Does that seem reasonable, nobody1898?

 

So what I think you are saying is that "you like what you like because you like it". Yeah I find that to be reasonable, but it gives me nothing to engage with.

There could be 1000 reasons to buy this figure. Maybe you love cassette tapes, maybe you exclusively buy Steeljaw figures, maybe you just like things that are yellow, etc,.

My opinion is based on it being a Masterpiece figure and I am factoring in scale. I think that is a fair because clearly it was intention of MMC when they created it. I know I'm not going to convince somebody that likes something to not like it but this is the internet and damn it I'm going to give my opinion anyways.

 

That's completely fair. My criteria are very loose compared to those of a dedicated G1-at-a-certain-scale collector (well, maybe not "loose", but more like "orthogonal").

I guess as the conversation evolved, I lost track of your original question, and thought it was a more general "Why does anybody want these?". But I'm wrong! Your original question was a more specific:

Apologies!

I can't pretend to speak for the G1-Masterpiece collectors, so my contribution to this is irrelevant, but hey-ho, irrelevant junk is what the Internet is built on. I guess I feel like a mini-cassette doesn't have to fit into a Soundwave to be interesting/worthwhile. It's definitely cool if it does, as an added play/display feature, but I would rather sacrifice that element of it than, for example, the transformation. I'm sure that there are folks for whom scale is more important than transformation. For me, there's no way it could ever be. I suspect that even if I was more strict about sticking to specific size categories/characters/seasons/whatever, I would still value transformation above all else - I've always loved transforming toys more than non-transforming ones, and that's why I'm still buying them years after I lost interest in non-transforming ones.

Now that I think about it, I guess I do have a criterion for collecting: toy's gotta transform.

 

I think for me I like them bigger purely because I find them less interesting when they’re small. I’m the kinda guy who probably calls targetmasters accessories. But having a bigger figure that can pose makes me like it more. And when it’s a guy who’s relatively formed as a character like Ratbat or Rewind, I’d probably like it to be bigger just cause I don’t want it to be a tiny and forget about it.

 

I love the for Voltron one...a lot!!! This needs to happen.

 

Then you should definitely like these, as they are much better scale and more of a masterpiece version of the character than the tiny little accessory-style Takara ones.  

 

You are right, I should and I really want to. I’m not sure if it is possible for an mp cassette to check all my boxes, maybe some day. I can dream

 

I hope you get something close to your dream. For your sake.

 

Oh my god, that photo has made my weekend!

 

Can we please get an update on these guys? ETAs? Pre-orders soon?

 

Who is the MMC rep on TFW2005 now? I know it used to be @jesslynMMC

 

Lazyaza and RVDA are usually onto it. But I’m not @ing anyone since there’s probably a good reason there’s no new updates.

 

@Delduwath, your philosophies regarding the hobby, and transforming toys in general, are uncannily similar to my own, as well as your views on the Ocular Max cassettes. Is it a slight bummer that they can't fit in MP Soundwave's chest? Sure, but the compromise is well worth it for what OM brings to the table with their larger versions, and ultimately, the bot modes scale better with their compatriots, and bring a level of engineering, detail, and articulation that's difficult to achieve with the smaller versions. I also like everyday objects that transform, especially at 1:1 scale, and think that that was a huge part of the charm of the Microman/Microchange series in Japan in the 80's that gave us characters like Soundwave, the cassettes, Megatron, and Perceptor. Incidentally, as a kid, I got my hands on a Microchange bot that turned into a working set of binoculars at an auction. For whatever reason, Hasbro never appropriated the design in their TF series, but it was neat toy nonetheless, despite parts-forming fists. Speaking of every day objects, the Real Gear line that accompanied the release of the '07 Bayverse line were a wonderful, if too brief, return to the concept, and it's sad that they've never really done anything like it since. The upside is that Alex Kubalsky, who designed the Real Gear toys, now designs for MMC/Ocular Max, and I believe he's the brains behind their upscaled cassette line. Really hope there's at least one of those releasing this year.

 

It's been quite some time since we heard about this design. I'm hoping it's still going to happen. Can you say if it's likely to happen or more likely to not happen?