Challenge accepted!

 

The 'armor up' alternative has been going around for a while now. I think that could have been interesting. Accuracy would have taken a hit ofcourse (since you’d not be able to fully realize the organic shapes of the Pretender shells).

 

I think the big problem is that standards for an action figure these days are much higher than they were in the 80s. Back then, 2 POA on the shell was fine. These days we'd look at any humanoid shell with anything less than 10 POA as the absolute bare minimum. If you wanted deluxe size inner-bots you'd need big chunky shells to house them and those are going to be expensive and a hard sell to casual buyers.

That said, a set of Deluxe class Monstructor bots with 3-5 POA shells is a Haslab I would absolutely get behind.

 

I get that. But it isn't exactly on collectable level.

 

They had certain design elements for Dinoking but didn't go through with it.
The alternate head on cutthroat and the gun piece on Snarls neck. Yet nothing was released after potp.
I doubt we get anything soon from beyond G1 in combiner form. Especially since they are experimenting with the new Menasor conbiner.

 

Well, Grimlock, yeah. Or any monsters, but for car and jetformers, it definitely holds.

Lol at thought of Jazz opening up and having bumper car pop out of him. Well, I guess since mass shifting is a thing in the TF universe, it would apply here.

 

I liked it too, and still do.. like it or not thats were the US story went... and Im not bothered by it in the slightest.

 

Jazz, Grimlock and Starscream were lame for sure, but Bumblebee was an improvement for me, they could have used minibots to update their designs, and small bots like Reflector or insecticons for the cons.

Since the old 3P times, when the trailers for Hot Rod and White Optimus that exploded into pieces to form armors that turned them into Rodimus and Ultramagnus (just like the modern Newage Octavian/Magnus), I have thought about that idea of pretender exploding armors that can combine into bigger alt modes, forming extensions for the different vehicles, so they don't compromise the look, articulation or size of the pretender.

Fliers like Thunderwing, Cloudburst, Bomburst or Bugly, as inner bots that turn into spaceships while the armor forms the back half of the bigger spaceship, just like the original Thunderwing. A back extension or trailer for Skullgrin and Landmine tank modes. Iguanus' inner bot that turns into the motorbike while the lizard armor forms a sidecar and some armor for the bike, etc. I'd love to see something like that someday.