Unpopular opinion:

I love the Earthrise seekers. All of them.

And even though I can't put my finger on exactly why, something about the chunkiness of their feet and the way they're incorporated into the jet modes just tickles my fancy.

 

Is it unpopular to say MP Thundercracker wears the mold better than Starscream? Or just, like, in general? Starscream is usually my least favorite seeker, he doesnt look as cohesive as the other two major ones and the likes of Redwing blow them all out of the water.

 

I agree. Starscream always seems to has the weakest paint scheme. Never really liked it.

 

Studio series 86 grimlock’s arms are way too long and his elbows way to low. He’s so close to being completely excellent, but the proportions really hurt him in my eyes.

 

When it comes to this site, most of the time I'm rather selective about where I post and to some degree even where I lurk. For instance, I pretty much stay out of the cartoon forum, as I have certain opinions that would draw the ire of certain members, and I come here to have fun and keep up with toy releases & sales, not to get into big protracted arguments with people. Discussion is one thing, but when it gets heated, it's just a headache. I know some people enjoy that sort of thing, but I'm not one them. So yeah, focus on the parts you enjoy, and just scroll right on past the rest.

Oh, and since I'm TFW's #1 source for unpopular toy opinions, I suppose I'd better give one while I'm here: the blue on Kingdom Cheetor is fine. Sure, a darker shade would have been nice, but it's not a big deal to me. Certainly not enough to deal with the hassle of trying to get some Walmart exclusive or something.

 

Fall of Cybertron Bruticus has better engineering than almost every other Combiner.

It's self-contained, no partforming required, even the guns combine (in multiple ways if wanted).

Not only that, but that all the 4 "members" can flip between being legs or arms as they all have the hidden hands or "foot" built-in is simply amazing if you think about it.

I really prefer that sort of approach than being stuck with the hands and feet that needs to be carried around like luggage.

It's sad that the only other such design approach figures that I can think about are Centuritron (mini-assault team) which is another very underrated figure, the Gobots Puzzler, and the 3rd party Calculation King (Computron).

It sucks hard that this FOC Bruticus was make with crap plastic, and they didn't "push" a bit more to make it a bit better, and while I think it's interesting that they did the all 5 are the same size, hey should have make Onslaught a bit larger or even added a new member to make it a 6-team, which would have added a new dynamic.

But still, they should have looked at such a self-contained approach with the Prime wars (CW/TR/POTP) combiners.

 

I don't get how people can say this when the Siege one has the massive ugly unpainted transparent blue grill. Sure, the cab on the Kingdom one isn't perfect, but at least it's sufficiently painted for the amount of detail it was sculpted with.

 

The only differences I see between the artwork and the toy is the artwork gives the character more articulation (which is a standard embellishment, dating back to the G1 boxart) and the toy has the car hood "boxing gloves" deployed. Other than that, the artwork is a pretty accurate interpretation of the toy.

Not that I'd turn down an improved figure for Armada `Swipe. Or any Armada character, actually.

The blue grill can be fixed with a silver Sharpie or paint marker. ER Magnus has a total mismatch between the very front of the cab and the rest. BAsically the part you flip down to access the head, and the bumper has been changed. And it just doesn't match the rest of the truck very well. Instead of a convincing terrestrial truck mode, it's a Freightliner/space truck Fusor.

 

I don’t get the vitriol against wanting show accuracy tbh , well besides Takara switching mid-way.

There’s just as much of a group who wants toy accurate version figures or the mix between.
Animation errors aside due to how things were back then , there’s always the basic character models and outlines eh .

 

Mainly its that show accuracy, at least when taken to the extreme we see in MP, usually makes the figures look bad. The animation models are simplified for ease/cheapness of animation, so a LOT of the cool detail from the toys is omitted. And then there's the extreme hoops needed to go from a "show accurate" vehicle to a "show accurate" robot. Mostly to swap parts to emulate shape changes that only occurred in the cartoon, or to hide details that magically disappeared (Prime's tires disappearing, something I never liked - why hide the cool truck kibble?) Increased complexity (and greater chance of design flaws and part breakage) coupled with decreased detail. Using the basic outline and the character model as inspiration is one thing, making the vehicle less authentic-looking and the toy overall less interesting and nice-looking to slavishly copy said model is another. The more detailed, animation-inspired ER Optimus looks so much nice to me than the animation slavish, poorly-detailed MP44. Heck, even just better color choices on MP44 - silver face and waist stripe rather than grey (the cartoon coloring was meant to look silver!), the truck mode stripe, and the more detailed trailer stripes of the toy all would have made the figure look as premium as the engineering tried to be.

It isn't so much vitriol against wanting show accuracy, by the way - it's a reaction, at least in my case, to being called crazy/stupid/outright wrong at not wanting it. As I've asked in the past, why is a cheaply-made, error-laden cartoon held as the gold standard that everyone "should" want? I don't dispute others preferring show accuracy, but a lot of those who want it act as if that's what everyone should want if they're serious collectors.

 

Do you mean this Wei Jiang Computron? If so, none of the examples you listed allow for the swapping of arm bots and limb bots. That Computron splits Strafe into the arms, combines two bots into the torso, and uses the other 2 as legs. Centuritron stacks 3 bots. The yellow and orange Go-Bots could only form Puzzler's arms; the black and blue bots could only form the legs.

I think the FoC combiner showed that doing integrated hands/feet and swap-able limbs in the same figures was too much. One arm was longer than the others and, like you said, the plastic quality wasn't great and they needed to push a little harder. Plus, they weren't limited by trying to match the G1 designs.

For CW/PotP, the amount of retools meant limb swapping had high priority. If you're going to turn Groove into Afterburner, you need the base mold to work as both leg and arm. Plus, it's easier to convince people to buy retools like Hound and Ironhide if you can grab any 4 you like to make a combiner, instead of having to select two legs and two arms.

That said, I do agree with you about wanting to see different ways of doing combiners. If that means sacrificing swap-ability to gain integrated hands and feet, that's fine with me. Maybe we'll get a Rail Racer update someday.

 

I'm gonna have to look that one up, doesn't ring a bell.

I'm referring more about the integration of the hands and feet thing as opposed to the partforming. And yes I would rather have unique and individual combiners instead of universal swapping figures.

And yes, it is the Weijang Computron that I was referring to. But again I was referring to the non-partforming aspect, not the swapable thing.

 

I have zero connection to this character (first time I've ever seen him in animated or toy form), but I think he's got potential. The car mode is nice (I'm getting some Skyline R32 vibes, which is never a bad thing), the color scheme is great, and the head sculpt is solid. All he needs is-- like you suggest-- updated engineering to help his proportions and articulation.

Not knowing anything about him, but taking a hint from your coments-- I assume people hate this guy?

 

Yes I can agree on your point for their pretty “fantastic” choice when it came to making things overly complex recently.
I’m beyond my depth to suggest otherwise for engineering , but as for Optimus and their Mirage at least TE has shown it’s possible to stay within the lines of animation accuracy, without having accordion like joints and tiny panels all over . It’s certainly a feel bad regarding some of TT recent figures to say the least.

As for paint application wise and how it’s perceived as premium, I want to believe that’s subjective tbh. I don’t care for Metallic paints and chrome personally, but I think a properly applied gloss white and red is incredible. But I do hate that mps are covered nay slobbered in paints instead of colour plastic separation.

As for my comment on the vitriol , maybe it’s just different over here haven’t been too active . But personally I’ve seen more of the opposite end of the spectrum on my other platform.

 

Exactly. I only care about total screen accuracy with regards to the complete replication of onscreen models as plastic collectibles if the TV or movie series from which the final models originate were consistent with the animation, shaping, proportions, and details of the models. For example, I love how accurate MPM-10 Masterpiece Movie Starscream is to his final ILM CGI model as seen in Transformers 2007, especially after you fix the assembly error with regards to which leg the feet were pinned.

 

Not sure I've ever so completely agreed with a post before. This is exactly my opinion on the subject, as well. Even that part about ER OP vs MP-44.

I think much of people's MP preferences are derived from their original interest in the genre to begin with. For me, I started collecting the G1 toys before the cartoon debuted, and it was my interest in the toys that kept me connected to the franchise. I liked the cartoon, but found the toy box art far more appealing than the detail-deprived and inconsistent art from the animators. My interest in the toys is still the driving factor for me, because it's the physical aspects that I enjoy. I appreciate the engineering that showcases the connection between the robot and alt modes. TT's current engineering is clever in its complexity, but I find it hard to appreciate designs that involve "fake" parts and the hiding of details so as to mimic the simplified shapes of the G1 animation. Honestly, give me the original toys with slightly better proportions and greatly expanded articulation, and I'd be thrilled.

What I don't understand is the bickering between factions. I have no interest whatsoever in MP-44 or MP-52, but I don't begrudge the animation lovers the availability of those figures. They're not garbage-- in fact, they're fantastically engineered-- but they simply don't appeal to me. If TT chooses to focus in on that particular type of customer, then I'm sure some 3P will pick up the slack if the toy-focused collectors demand some attention. It's arguing IPAs vs. stouts or Chevy vs. Ford or NY pizza vs. Chicago style. One doesn't have to be inferior. Just like what you like, and let others do the same.

 

Ball joints> universals.

 

Looked it up, placed it (remembered it now), hadn't looked much into it due to prices. And yup, very nice.

I'm actually in the process of ordering a Jinbao version, looking forward to getting it.

 

Please explain why, I’m not saying you’re wrong. I just want to know the reason why.

 

I know for me it has a lot to do with keeping the figure tight and sturdy in the future. Figures are bound to have loose joints over time, and for me it’s much easier to tighten a ball joint than it is to tighten a Universal. That and fixing a figure with ball joints is easier than fixing one with universals. I can pop the ballpoint back on and a universal, well depending on how it broke could be a bit more difficult.