I don't have all the automorph toys but I'd like to hear about them! Can we start a list of the Automorph Technologies and give them a rating! 1. BumbleBee Classic Camaro Deluxe, Front chestplate snaps down. 2. Voyager OP, Back of Cab crumples(?) to form lower legs. Sides with flames twist and movie in place. Ratings: 1. B+, Good, but the button protrudes a bit too high. 2. B+, Really cool, but there's no morph button, you just pull What else is out there folks?
Voyager Ironhide's entire lower legs + feet are one of the first and best Automorph engineering jobs I got to mess around with. They transform from two large blocks into two multipanelled legs just by pulling down the feet, pretty much. Concept Camaro Bumblebee also has some impressive interlocky stuff in his chest/shoulders and lower legs, too.
Voyager Blackout - legs come down, front of chopper flips to reveal chest and head. Rating: -37 x 10^428u9472974557925742. It's total rubbish, doesn't line up correctly in helicopter mode.
I would rate it a B. When you transform him back into vehicle mode, the front end often won't lock into place. Its as if the spring inside is either too stiff or worn out.
I would rate both BB's automorphs as solid A-. Classic 'Bee's hood and leg automorphs rock, same with CC BB. Leader Meg's automorph gets an A+. (Wings, chest, legs) Prime's chest gets a B. Yoyager Ratchet's legs get a B, and IH legs and chest together get a B+. Jazz's chest gets a C+. I like Starscream's chest automorph as simple as it is, so it gets a B-. Blackout, C- as is, B+ once corrected. Leader Brawl's chest, gun and legs altogether get a B+ from me. Dropkick gets a C for his head popping out. Awesome figure, but lame automorph. And those are all the figures with Automorph I've got. Barricade has none and I don't really count BC's automorph since it's just on his claw arm. AFAIK, Scorps has none, as well.
My nephew broke his Classic BB on the first transformation. Springloaded automorph sucks, especially for kids who don't read the instructions first. I think I may have broke mine. He's pretty unstable and unaligned in robot mode.
Classic Camaro Bumblebee has automorph with his roof/rear windshield and his ankles, too. Ratchet's feet are connected to his kneecaps and the inside of his legs which bulge a little. Starscream's whole chest is one big automorphin'... uhh... thing. Leader Prime's head pops up and his chest windows separate at the push of a button. His gun swivels onto his hand as you slide a lever forward. Jazz's roof, when clicked into place in robot mode makes his head pop up. Dropkick's doors open when you lift his front wheels and sides of the truck hood during transformation. Deluxe Brawl's tank treads rotate up around his head.
Woo, I'd like to see pics of that! Maybe I'll look on youtube! I think automorph is one of the best gimmicks I've seen so far! (I've seen some bad ones, ugh who can forget "pretenders"... freaky)
it really isn't much, honestly, I don't even know if it's something that can be shown on youtube cuz you'd have an extreme close up, but its alright. At least it doesn't have any real way to break. Wreckage's gut/torso shift to pop up his head and his chest gun reveals itself, but I give it a D for whenever you try to move his arms, the morph moves instead. Fab Ramjet/Starscream, the whole body folds over and into itself in one swift move to make the jet and/or reveal the body. I give it an A for ease of use and speed, plus turning into 'bot mode is super fast. Has big legs hangin out in the breeze, but oh well. Fab Megatron, his entire upper body snaps backwards into jet mode, very smooth and fast transformation, and if you leave the legs down and flip up his jet nosecone, you've got a 3rd mode: Gerwalk! Grade: B+ FAB BB/Jazz/Smokescreen: when you pull the roof down the head pops up. Grade: C, average, but given that it's really designed for simplicity for little kids I'd give it a B, but then again,all my brothers kids have broken the ratchety parts that make it work in the ones they have, cuz they're kids, so in reality it gets an F. Basically IMO, automorph+kids=Lose. IE: One of my nephews has broken, to date, because of automorphs: voy Blackout & Ironhide, dlx Brawl & classic BB, FAB BB SS & Brawl, and last but not least, Ldr Prime is looking for Hot Rod right now to pass the Matrix, as he's seen better days with all the little kibble that has to be worked with. Did I mention that this nephew is 9? And he's not stupid, he's a strong kid and has a hard time being smooth with it all and that is a major requirement on the automorphing technology.
Hey that sounds like whole new line for Hasbro!!!! Forget Battle-damaged how about: Baby-Damaged Megatron: Oatmeal splats. dents. Toddler-Damaged Jazz: Missing limbs, crayon marks, dents Sister-Damaged Prime: Missing limbs, make-up, barbie accessories. Parent-Damaged Bumblebee: "Stepped on" dents and paint damage. Pet-Damaged? (They could do a legends class Sister-Damaged series with polly pocket clothes on!)
In your opinion. I my opinion, spring loaded Automorphs are the best. The only problem with BB is that there's the two versions with slightly altered spring mechanisms. (There's still debatE over wether this is a defective version or if the change means nothing) Half the time, people think they've broken theirs, and it usually turns out they're not doing it properly. Though reading the instructios helps. (you know, 'cuz you're supposed to) Classic Camaro Bumblebee is one of those figures that demands you follow the instructions to a T. My Bumblebee has gone through hell and back and still works as good as the day I got him. You didn't break it, they come that way. It also prevents the helicopter mode from lining up properly. The gears were mis-aligned whichcauses these problems and, as far as I know, all Blackout's have the same problem. Sucks...
Mine is too. The problem is trying to hold back a 10 year old that's absolutely excited about the toy, and can't wait to rip the package open. His lasted only one transformation. If it sucks or not surely is a matter of opinion, but fact is that for such a zealous company as Hasbro, there's a flaw in that mechanism. Such a fact that it *has* been addressed, but I'm not sure if entirely fixed. I remember the discussion, and people trying to look for the new mechanism through the plastic bubble before buying the toy. That I didn't know, I'll look it up. I had to realign my Botcon '06 Waspinator, and still have to fix my TM2 BW Megatron, so it's just another one in the line. Thanks for the heads up.
