Just wanted to hear peoples views about why they dislike fake parts on transformers? Im fine with them if they help achieve a more accurate robot mode, so I find it strange that people have an issue with it as it seems like they care more about the transformation process rather than what the actual bot mode looks like? Unsure. Just want to hear peoples opinions though
That's exactly it. Plenty of franchises have cool-looking robot designs, but Transformers makes them out of cars and shit, which is signifcantly difficult. I don't mind some fake parts like on movie figures, but I certainly do miss when TFs actually had a transformation scheme that was plausible and could be replicated in real life. IDW still does this. Animated did it, too. Transformation is important. I got so sick of the Prime line because of how pointless the designs were when it came to fake parts and the way kibble ended up. (in large part to blame on the show designs themselves)
I have absolutely no problem with it and, like many things this fandom gets wound up about, I don't understand the widespread butthurt over it.
TFs shouldn't have "impossible" designs to begin with. I know transformations can be tough to figure out, but it shouldn't be that hard to work out at least a basic plan. Some of these recent designs feel like they've just stuck a few wheels on a robot and called it a day. It's especially maddening now since Hasbro's going for a simpler route with the actual toys.
I'm not particularly fond of of the fake parts (I'm assuming you're talking about the toys) Classics does a good job at minimizing the fake parts, or course in regards to the movieverse, some of that can't be helped. But I don't hate it, I'm maybe just a little annoyed.
I actually prefer how AOE has gone for almost total implausibility. At least it means they're going full-in. Prime's designs just made my head spin. In the movies the fake parts and deisgns come down to the obscenely complex nature. Prime's designs, however, were complex, but then on top of that morphed the parts around between modes so that even if you could get the parts to line up, you couldn't even replicate it. Compare Bumblebee's chests between the movie and Prime. In the movie the front pieces are the same shape, just split up and angled. In Prime, however, the entire front of the car shifts from an angular design to rounded. Same thing happens on characters like Smokescreen and Knockout. Or how Optimus' windows change shape. Faux parts don't bother me, it's faux parts plus part morphing that bugs me. Meanwhile Animated, by the very nature of the animation, had "morphing" parts, yet all the toys were incredibly accurate.
Yes, fake parts definitely bug me. The Prime line was the worst offender, followed by the movie lines, but even Masterpiece's are doing it now. It's annoying, stop it. There are some things that can't be helped if you want to accurately represent the screen design such as Jolts tyre thighs, or AoE Hounds tyre feet, you'll never get wheels to do that. DOTM Prime and Soundwaves fake chests actually covering their vehicle mode parts that should form their chests, Any moulded wheel feet where the real wheel is right there just above it and other stuff like that annoys me.
the jets from the 2013 botcon set drive me nuts...the fake cockpit part is just mind boggling...makes the robot look like its got a tumor in its arm.
I don't mind fake part if the help make the figure look better (like Animated Bumblebee) but making blatantly untransformable designs, slapping wheels on them and the bullshit the transformation into the truck is annoying as shit (looking at you TF4) I am a mecha fan. I like a lot of giant robot franchises, and there are a lot of giant robots franchises that have a million times cooler designs, better writing and more awesome stories. The reason as to WHY I like Transformers is just the fact that they TRANSFORM. That the robots has CLEARLY been formed from the vehicle and vise versa. That's what makes them different and fun. Without that we end up with just another giant robot franichise, and an insanely shitty one at that compared to other mecha franchises.
I have no problem with them whatsoever. Heck, I don't even mind partsformers as long as all the parts are used in both robot and alt-mode.
I think they are the worst part of the line right now, if you can't make a toy transformer like the animation model change the damn animation model.
Out of sheer curiosity, which are your favorite mecha franchises, that in your opinion has cooler designs and better stories than Transformers?
Transformation is my priority, and maybe that's strange but I make no apologies for it. If I just wanted cool looking designs I'd collect something else. An inventive original transformation with attention to the last detail, trumps a cool botmode for me everytime. I can undedrstand that not everyone has the same priorities, but that's how it is for me. I don't blame Hasbro for having to fake things a certain amount, I blame lazy designers for creating stuff that simply isn't possible. The problem is they approach it like any other robot design, and then just throw on a few wheels and headlights and stuff when they have the basic shape. They really need to approach it as a puzzle. How do you rearrange a vehicle into a robot? How do you fold a robot into a vehicle? Come up with an involved transformation that's actually been fully thought out, and it doesn't just lead to better toys, it's infinitely more satisfying to watch it on the screen. So yeah, faking it is a major turn off. The way things have gone, there's been so much faking-it that vehiclemodes have basically become collapsible shells that have to fold up into massive backpacks because they were unable to successfully integrate vehicle parts into the botmode. Not only does that suck from a transformation point of view, it also results in lousy botmodes. Designing good transformers is not an easy job, it's a major challege, and a lot of artist just aren't up to it. It takes serious talent and commitment, and there's no shortcuts. Some of the people who've done some of the better work on the franchise by my estimation are pretty close to genius-level talents.
This. Kibble makes an integral part of Transformers. They have to be present as they make Transformers unique. Most transforming robots do it too simply with nanotech or just changing a few bits around - Transformers has the whole robot change modes but keeps parts from either mode still around. And that IMO forms parts of its magic and appeal.
I have nothing to add to this you summed up my thoughts. I liked the Prime designs but damn it always felt to me like they didn't put any thought into how they would Transform which you know should be a big deal in Transformers.
I don't like it, but I can live with it if it's kept to a minimum. I only collect MPs, so it's definitely minimal with these figures, MP-10's grill, MP-14's shoulder wheels, and MP-22 foot wheels being the only instances I can think of.