The general aesthetic isn't going to change. A person can judge how it looks by how it looks. For those of us who don't think this fits the MP aesthetic, that isn't going to suddenly change just because it gets officially released.

 

Exactly. This is "old school" MP, my preferred MP. Not fanatical devotion to the toon and its errors, nor "just taking the original toy but adding joints", but trying to blend together a real-world alt-mode, with the best elements of the toy AND the toon robot, to create "the best possible representation of the character". The toon was based on the toys, the toys were based on vehicles popular in the 80's. All 3 of those things should be referenced.

 

I actually disagree strongly that this is old-school MP. When I look at a carbot in car mode, it looks like a model car with a few seam lines. These things are covered in visible hinges, flaps, and other random chunks of plastic.

I think these will be good, fun toys. To me though, they don't fit the MP standard at all.

 

So... Going by your logic, Roadking and MP-36 don't fit the MP aesthetics either because they have visible hinges too...

 

You must have a very different MP Sideswipe than I do. It's like a pile of seams, connected by red bits...

 

good eye, the test shots have a lighter grey on the head, hands and thighs. the finals will match the promo pics with darker greys and black tires.

 

See, this is good to know. I'm aware of what the abbreviation stands for, but maybe I'm using the term CHUG incorrectly. To me, CHUG means the old 3P stuff we got before the G1 MPs became a thing. Stuff like MTCombiner series or Battle Tanker series or Causality series or TFC's stuff. Is that stuff not considered CHUG? That aesthetic, whatever the label for it, is what this set evokes, and Swindle in particular exhibits it the most. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Given the under-sized scaling in combined mode vs Zeta's established MP combiner scale, and the all-in-one gimmick, it's primarily the botmodes that interest me, and they still do. They just seem to be less of a definitive replacement for UT's set, given they aren't fully in with the current G1 MP aesthetic carried by 1P and other 3P products in that series, even other Ocular Max ones imho.

 

CHUG has a (derogatory) term for anything that doesn't meet the poster's (often nebulous and sometimes shifting) definition of MP. Don't let anyone try to argue otherwise. People have been arguing over whether figures are or are not MP since I first created an account here. To quote a certain YouTube personality, "If you like it you win."

Me personally, I see where @edgecrusher and @Hoffman are coming from. I'm reserving my final judgement, but so far I think I prefer UT's Swindle. But at the same time, I think they're MP enough, and I don't actually think Fraudo looks bad. I'm curious to see how it all shakes out, and as a big Bruticus/Combaticon fan I'm almost definitely in for the whole set (once toy-style Onslaught is released, anyway).

 

Agree with the rest of your post, but that's silly. You're trying to force everyone into your definition of CHUG while simultaneously saying no one is allowed to argue otherwise. Well, just I defined what the term means to me and provided examples to help clarify what I'm seeing in this set that evokes a particular aesthetic from older pre G1MP third-party products. If you can see where I'm coming from with that sentiment, then there's no need to claim that no one can argue otherwise than your perspective that the term is only ever a nebulous catchall for "things people don't like".

 

Yeah that’s what I meant.

Agreed. Although I wouldn’t say it’s like the old style, but the freedom is similar. MMC try to fit in with new standards of design and toon. But infuse any other different aspects that they also like.

Lol, new MPs have even more seam lines. And to me, seam lines don’t change how much something belongs to a line. If it meant that much nothing would make sense.

 

And it's one of the things I dislike most about (what we've seen so far of) MP-44. They did a terrible job making it look smooth and cohesive like a cartoon figure, yet are supposedly trying to provide a more toon-authentic version of Optimus compared to MP-10. The toon OP never had a messy jumble of panels on his shoulders/backpack like that afaik. Given the asking price, we should expect better.

 

Ahh. I get you now. A Takara fan boy like myself, we got different thoughts.

 

Yeah... You've got a point. What kind of mp is this?

 

The point is that it’s an amazing figure and it’s not gonna be perfectly devoid of seams. It’s capable of transforming! I kinda like the panel lines because they are something to look at. If you get what I mean lol....................certain figs could be cleaner of course.....but that doesn’t take away from the figures! Eh...................I don’t know....................now if it’s kibble, (DX9 Mightron) then I’d understand.....

 

Garbage in that mode, imho. Mine's never been in that mode as a result. I have MP-05 for the gun altmode display. MP-36 stays in botmode.
We're getting way off topic though.

 

Are the fingers on ball joints or hinges?

 

Individual limb figures all have tilt joint at the base of solid individual fingers for the initial four, ball joint for the thumb.

Onslaught has all his knuckle joints on tilts with the thumb on a ball.

 

Anyone know the official height of the combined Not-Bruticus bot?

Anyone measure him at TF Con?

 

Rumored to be 45cm or right around the 18" mark. Basically in line with UT's Bruticus, CW Devastator/Predaking, oversized KO Warbotron etc. Also nothing is confirmed but if they do feet add-ons like how @LazyAza did a mock rough of, that'd potentially add additional height.