Ahh the Toy vs Toon discussion. I thought there was an open thread for this from like the inception of the forums.

I’m sure we can hammer this out.   

 

Even though there are animation errors throughout the show, there is still a set consistency based on how often a version appears. Hastak themselves have said that the stripe-less red cab is show accurate, and as the owners of the brand, what they say goes. Also, when talking about accuracy to the Sunbow cartoon, it doesn't matter if it looks good or not, looking as close as possible is what matters. If it's a clown car, then you'd better make it look as goofy as possible.

Except this isn't a toy vs toon debate, its a toon vs toon one.

 

I believe the gray stripe came from the toy, since that came before the toon.

 

Read the past posts, the discussion is whether the gray stripe is a toy or a show reference.

 

You mean like toy vs show  

 

Just because the toy is brought up, doesn't mean it was the topic of the conversation.

 

Well, I regret bringing up the stripe now. Sorry, folks.

 

The Sunbow animation model didn't have it. This is how the character is supposed to look in the show.

 

One problem is characters had multiple iterations with subtle changes over time. AKOM often used unrevised color models so we got silver stripe and gray backpack Optimus. Toei alone sub contracted nearly a dozen different animation studios to work on the G1 cartoon.



If you want to know more about how this happened, Toei Executive Producer Kozo Morishita has an autobiography about this subject. It's also believe he was the "true" director for Transformers: The Movie whereas Nelson Shin was simply the face for Western audiences who were reluctant to see largely Japanese credits in their cartoons.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/-/en/森下-孝三/dp/4758011869/

 

Well then what do you strive for? A combination of everything? There needs to be an aesthetic focus in any project, unless you want all toys to look like Quakewave lol

 

I couldn’t agree more. What there doesn’t need to be, however, is an unaesthetic focus - which is what any Sunbow-adherent toy is saddled with.

What I want is for toys to look interesting, and even its most ardent devotees would admit that the designs of The Transformers lack visual interest. They’d admit it proudly, in fact, while berating other styles for being ‘too detailed’.

I don’t get it, but then I don’t have to. I’m not buying that stuff.

 

I'm of two minds on that. Like I would kneejerk agree but when I saw MP-44 for the first time, it kinda' flipped a switch for me. I like TE-01 but MP-44 just manages to be the blocky G1 character without actually looking blocky. The way they beveled off all of the edges just really works - makes it more faithful to the hand-drawn cartoon while also making it more visually interesting and even detailed (sort of). I contrast him with TE-01, rather than MS-02, because TE Prime pretty much perfectly captures the look of Optimus but just doesn't look as "alive" as 44 or MS-02 due to his blockiness.

Still, I only want so much of the toon accuracy thing. I love MS-02 and the legends counterpart but the worst part, in my mind, is the toon accuracy on the alt mode. I can live with the lack of stripe even though I prefer having it (I still think he looks boring without it and looks more "Optimus" with it) but those thumbtack headlights make me crazy. Ultimately, I want to look at MP Transformers and believe that they could exist in the real world, which means I want them to look like real earth vehicles (or as much as possible - you're never going to have the back of Optimus' truck look like a real truck).

 

I don't think so. I think the Sunbow models are gorgeous.

 

White version just shipped from Bombusbee

 

People, and who really knows why MS stopped the release of Optimus

 

Looks like a premium version of this figure has been announced! Fully painted with new accessories, and appears to have diecast.  

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Not gonna lie, the paint does make him look good. That said, I heard the last premium paint version of their first Prime doesn't factor the paint into the tolerance, so it's harder to transform. I'm happy with what I have, but I'm sure this new version will also make a lot of people happy.

 

This will probably put some of the naysayers to rest. I have the first one and I like it, got Nemesis and waiting for SG while skipping Magnus. I think I might indeed go with this one but I'll wait on some reviews first to see what's been added/improved for this version if it does indeed have diecast.

 

Could be wrong, but it does look like at least the grey/silver parts of the toes are Diecast. With any luck, the other chromed parts might be diecast