I picked up RoTF Leader Prime and little Soundwave on my birthday not long ago. Having been an enthusiast for 25 years now, I found their transformations complicated, but manageable...well, maybe not Soundwave so much since the alt modes are limp as best.
Fast forward to yesterday (June 10)...decided on a whim to add Wheelie and Stratosphere to the domicile......had the devil's own time getting Stratosphere started from cargo plane and found fiddling with Wheelie's multitude of ball joints and swivel joints to be an exercise in massage therapy.
I remember feeling a sense of accomplishment when I figured out how to transform Sixshot and Quickswitch into all six of their modes without instructions. Aside from Grimlock, none of the Alternators gave me many problems...
But Wheelie?
Or am I just old???

 

Probably not. Not sure about Alternators, don't own any, but I heared they are complicated...movie bots can be complicated or unorthodox, too. They have to be bent into unexpected shapes to go from one robot mode to the other..so I'd say it's not your age.  

 

Yeah I'm right there with you. I remember transforming G1 Prime for the first time; simple as can be! But some of these Movie figures blow my mind . . .

 

Yeah. Alternator are complicated and can take a while sometimes to get through. Just ask anybody about the Mustang Grimlock transformation. I was trying to finally put together my Nexus Maximus last night and boy did I have a hell of a time to make him look the way I think he should look. Five years was a long time coming for a figure that is weebly wobbly.

 

yah the ROTF figures deluxe and up (not counting Breakaway or Soundwave) have been tricky, Voyagers has been slightly better perhaps due to there size, IronHidewas challenging but Desert Tracker Ratchet was quite easy after a couple of tries, don't have any legends or leader classes yet soi can't evaluate them

 

I'll admit I find both deluxe-and-up movie toys and certain Alts confusing (Trying to transform Alt. Skids for the first time was overly confusing as his hood and head can lock together in three different positions!), but try some of the ROTF scouts. Take Dirt Boss for example, to turn into a forlift all he really does is fold up into a square with wheels that looks like a nice forklift with a working arm.

 

I'm usually pretty awesome at getting them going, but some of them get me a bit frustrated. I'm 32, but the ones that hate my hands with an unbridled passion would be snapped off plastic in a 10 year old version of me.

For RoTF, nothing so far as beat me up. Masterpiece Megatron was just nerve destroying. Universe Galvatron was just a mess. But the pisser in my collection has to be Ironhide from the first movie line. I just hate transforming him with all of his floppy panels. Looks awesome, but it's build like a cheap deck of cards.

 

Some of the Movie stuff really does make me look back at stuff like RID Sideburn and Cybertron Smokescreen and think "what were we complaining about, again?"

 

i dont own any alternators but ive heard they are a bit more difficult to transform. the look very cool though.

 

I had a bit of a problem with ROTF Prime. When I took a bunch of TFs out of my garage, I still knew how to transform them without instructions from years ago!

 

yea, ROTF is getting hard. For the second time in my life, i had to use directions for a transformer. first time was on TM@ megs when i was 5. the fallen was just akward and i didnt really have a good basis of what he looks like in vehicle mode, anyway, i broke my 10 year streak. i remember how to Transform them all too. you guys may not think its that cool but i consider it an accomplishment to have gone 10 years directionless

 

Though I really do enjoy the Movie figures, I've had issues with their transformations too. Like many others, Ironhide was such a bitch to get right. That one took me 90 minutes...pathetic. I bought some of the G1 reissues and, after not having touched a Transformer figure for almost 15 years, and those transformations still came back as second nature. More complicated figures (with actual articulation) like Classics and Animated handled just fine. MP Skywarp and Thundercracker weren't much a problem, despite me being petrified of transforming a fragile looking, $90+ toy. The movie figures though? Not fun at all.

After buying the RotF figures, I still keep the stance that I wouldn't want to buy them for kids unless 1. they really wanted them (inevitable with many kids, I know), 2. I don't like the kid and buy them something that will frustrate them (petty, I know) or 3. I don't like the kid's parents and buy their kid something that the frustrated kid will bring to the parents for help only to frustrate the hell out of them too (also very petty). If I were a kid myself buying/receiving these toys, I'd transform them to 'bot mode and just leave them there out of frustration and defiance that my big battle is postponed indefinetly as I try to transform everyone...and that kind of takes the fun out of 'transforming' toys.

 

I have not yet had this problem, although that might just be because I haven't bought that many RotF toys yet. I did, however, get thoroughly confused about Breakaway's arms before realizing that they were supposed to stay under the flap on top. I kept trying to put them through the hole in the center of it. Skids does seem to be a bit of an origami-former, though.

 

ah yes the days TFs long gone by I long for the days of G1 when you rarely needed instructions, save on the city formers

 

The transformations affect my buying choices more than aesthetic now.
I liked Breakaway's alt mode, but he was easy to transform, too. that helped.
I am getting a 2nd Ransack ASAP, getting some Turbo-Revving Punk to transform him to Alt and so i won't ever have to transform him again. I adore the mold and everything, but he is a pop-off-parts former and i ain't got the patience like i used to.

I just got a TFU Prowl and knowing how I had trouble with SilverStreak, I handed him off to someone, they spent 40 minutes with instructions and Youtube to get it right.
(almost, she forgot the missiles, lol.)

I may keep Ldr Jetfire in Alt mode.

all i know is i look at my TFU Starsscream and "perfection" always comes to mind.

You're not old, you are like Kup- hardwired for a different way of doing things and the movie figures are so alien to it that it gives you fits.

now if Bay had to design these things, we'd have a true G1 movie, lol.

 

These days, Basics/Scouts and Deluxes are probably my favorite because I mostly only like to transform them if I do not have to look at the instructions. I have gotten rid of almost all of my Alts.

 

id suggest that some toys are a better blend of complexity and intuitive or fun transformation schemes. how nice a toy is to transform i suppose is more down to luck than design.

eg from what ive seen of the delux twins on youtube reviews those things are awkward to transform, i didnt get the impression that there was any fun whatsoever. 2007 leader prime is still complex but everything moves into place easily, no bits popping off, and to my mind more satisfying than what ive zsseen from rotf primes extensive rearrangement of parts, which is clever for sure but somehow im not drawn to. i dont know why but im less into TF's that turn into a big spidery thing on hinges, eg rotf prime, MP megatron during transformation, seem a bit fragile.

other fiddly toys include the universe prowl mould with those wings, there is such a narrow margin for error before those things pop off that its a bit annoying to transform.binaltech, i had a few of those but never found myself actually wanting to transform them, sold on aside from sideswip whos Tf is relatively simple.

toys i simply cannot stop TF'ing through simplicity and satisfaction: powermaster prime/2007 leader prime/animted voyager prime/star convoy/classics seekers/animated lugnut/g1 snap dragon + apeface

then again there are simple toys that i dont find especially satisfying, animated leader megatron for eg, strangely enough i fiddle around with the cybertronian voyager more!

im finding myself drawn to some of the rotf FAB's, they are a bit goofy but have some charm to them, maybe it is an age thing, great for 5 year olds and oldies!

 

id agree that the universe seeker mould is close to a perfect TF, it looks graet in both modes, has a nice g1 homage and importantly the transformation scheme is simple but ingenious. a great all round toy.

 

I kinda have to agree that some are just getting silly.

I also own most of the MP's and Alts and looking at ROTF prime wow that thing looks like it has more parts the MP megs.

Still with ROTF their trying to copy some rather complex CGI models so their bound to be a little tricky while say Cybertron they had time to balance all the factors needed to make a cool toy.