The line has already changed size, and completely changed it's aesthetic (as well as letting every Tom, Dick, and Huffer have a sponsored Convoy). It doesn't have any integrity.

 

I think anything else tops out at UW Devastator/ Predaking height . Depending on the translation there's only two Autobots or 2 Cybertronians bigger than him. I would love a Metroplex tapped out with that height but with more gimmicks and minifigures. Maybe omega at 15 1/2-16 inches, I would expect gimmicks for him, maybe even bringing back the electronics, bonus if diaclone stuff can connect to him.

I do thing Raiden is the outlier at 12inches but I would expect more 15-17 inches for scrambled city combiners or back to whatever altmode gives.

 

If Takara made a poll with the question:
Given the choice between having MPs of the Aerialbots, Protectobots, Stunticons, and Constructicons that can combine but they are a smaller scale or having them not combine but being in scale with other MPs, which would you choose if either option was the only way we would get these bots?

 

Bot mode would be in scale, the fact that it would be minimal to no partsforming with pretty much insure smaller combiners. The only real question is if they are totally faithful to established alt mode sizes or would they tinker with them on the MPGs. The Aerielbots would be huge. Cars and trucks are one thing but how big do you make the jets and helicopters in altmode.

 

I would go for in scale but don't combine, easily, but I don't think it will come to that. I hate that they went with HO scale for Raiden, it has really messed with people's heads and given them the complete opposite impression of their intentions for combiners.

 

I would buy MPs of the Aerialbots, Stunticons and Protectobots but not the Constructicons. I'm happy with UW Devy, and I'm not as invested in the Constructicons as I am with the others.
I know this is an unpopular opinion but I'd prefer individual non-combining MPs of the Aerials, Protectobots, and Stunticons. Again, just my own preference.

In the meantime, I'm hoping we hear something on MP CJ soon.

 

I mean this is the chicken little of fandoms.
We're now 17 releases from Hound, and the minute somebody breaks something ..:reminds me of Hound, hope this isn't a Hound situation" are echoed.

 

I’m reticent to bring 3P into the discussion about combiners, but for the sake of hypotheticals and cost issues let’s do it.

3P combiners are typically scaled to robot mode, and combine. Most look decent, but not nearly as good as the official TT versions of characters. I think they’re priced pretty competitively considering they’re probably made in smaller numbers than TT, so I don’t know why we would have to suffer any sort of compromise from TT on anything other than Alt mode scale for a group like the Airelbots. I would be fine with robot mode scaled to other established autobots, combining ability, but jet mode is smaller. I’m not fussed about that.

My point is, if 3P can do it well enough, TT can knock it out of the park.

 

Give me combining technobots!

 

I'll answer you but it's a general answer.
H0 trains, actually are big alt modes for 18 cm robots, and combiners are all about alt modes that combine.
Excluding (maybe? Can count as it?) Legacy Menasor, Takara has never going in external partforming route. On top of that, 3p components are basically oversized.
So the real question is: could Devastator, for example, be composed with Grapple-sized (the biggest carbot for a 20 cm robot i can think) alt modes? Considering the Constructicons transformation, i think an Ironhide size is more probably. (Going with the Constructicons to have a starting point of discussion).
Then, we must consider size, space and price of combiner_size characters they maybe want to make. I really can't imagine a 350$ robot that hasn't Convoy in the name and don't transform in a truck.

 

I said that, for the integrity of the MP line, better not to do a Toy Convoy as the new MP Convoy 4.0 in the sense that it would be the nail in the coffin for the integrity of the MP line that, indeed, it is already lacking

 

I see lots of people on this site and other sites expecting MPG combiners to be taller after Raiden. I would keep expectations very low for that. I find it very hard to believe that TT would scale combined modes that differently. I believe they decided on no excessive fake combiner parts so that dictates a shorter height. And they also wanted smaller combiners to save shelf space and increase handling fun. I hope to be wrong because I really want a taller Devastator. But it makes no sense to me to have a new MPG line where the combiners are all very different heights. My opinion.

 

They would have to scale every altmode forward mainline size for that to happen and I dont think that's going to happen. We won't see 20 inch ones either, maybe a 16-17 inch omega?

 

Yup. I fully expect the Aerialbots to have alt modes smaller than the MP seekers. This is why they started a new subline. They are also more like the Hasui style hybrid MPs and I fully expect all the MPG bots to have that same hybrid style. And no extra faces either. Unfortunately this is the path TT have chosen. I really hope I'm super wrong on this and it is just Raiden that is that height and style. I'm a huge TT fanboy but I do not agree with how they handled Raiden and I'm hoping for a change in the next combiner team.

But I think the stunticons could still easily be MP carbot scale in altmode and still be only around 30cm high in combined mode. Not sure yet, of course. But we shall see. I'm more anxious to see details on the second MPG combiner than finishing Raiden. That would answer a lot of these questions.

 

Keywords are the same: Mass (amount of plastic) derived from g1 scale (rodimus /ironhide height for limbs, soundwave height for leaders), and no external partforming.
Physics is physics, unfortunately.
Don't be fooled by that scale:

I could say "Hound".
Subline is not for a new scale, but for a new trasversal gimmic between more releases. Scale depends from robot mode, i mean, think about Groove... or Megatron /Soundwave.
For the hybrid style, i think it's about the third mode. Combiner will be eventually in hybrid mode, they can't hide real world detail. And in robot/component mode, the hiding could be very expensive at this point. I would expect an anime color + style all the line.

 

There whole shtick is realistic altmodes, they aren't sacrificing that, if mp-52 is ( i dont know) 8x11 they may scale the Aerielbots down to 7× 10 but they arent going to risk losing out on the people who are buying these on love of the realistic detailed altmode. Raiden whole shtick is realistic HO scale trains, thats not happening again till they possibly do another train.

Also was thinking, maybe to differentiate Sunbow from JPG1 that those combiners could scale at 12-13 inches. That way the collectors with UW combiners still keep their stuff in play and the former 11 inch UW get upgraded in size for MP. Hasbro is probably going to revisit a closer to scale Devastator, at some point, allowing Takara to do a 16-17 inch one again without competing against each other.

 

I expect future combiners to prioritize robot scale for individual components, just like Raiden. These are five/six individual releases that combine into one, not one big release split into parts.

 

First of the month has rolled around, so we get to play "will we get a reveal". A reveal this month puts us in July/ August, feasible with the trains in June/ September. We know the usual suspects, but I think seeing Jetfire I need something to break up the heights, maybe another minibot or going the other way a Dinobot. So that means they are going Blaster, mp58-Blaster, you can thank me later 

 

I'm figuring the probably Devastator combining mode, and i found it very similar to the Raiden one, but with Kaen and Shouki swapped:
Legs components will have thighs included.
Long Haul will form the most of body, similar to Shouki but in lower part, and Hook the upper part (pectoral and shoulder).
Arms robot will form the arms with an inside-out transformation of the tracks, and will have some fake supertiny tracks like the settei.

 

Why doesn't Takara make Masterpiece Blaster? It seems like a easy figure to repaint, is an an early season 2 Autobot (since they prefer over Decepticons) and has not copyright issues or controversy.