They are legacy designs for the most part. The original citybots had dedicated features like the prison cell and the elevator in Fort Max, or all the different partners which enabled and supported the play pattern in Metroplex. Even the weaker base modes, like Motormaster or Silverbolt, originally came with gimmicks dedicated to their third mode. Even later in G1, Overlord had a massive, evocative base mode with dedicated features and accessories.
All those extras compensated for simpler transformations. Cost cutting left us with big bots with simple transformations and very little to show beyond their intentions.
The thing is - ramps and connectors alone don't make a base. Sky Lynx doesn't cut it.

I think that Titans Return Trypticon, connected to Soundwave and Sky Shadow/Overlord, is the one great modern basebot we got.

 

Interestingly, if Hasbro did indeed use 3P as market research, most folks who bought XTB's MP Menasor hated the base mode and felt it really overcomplicated the design and overall transformation. Habro's research, if it happened, must've missed that!

In fairness, MP is inherently more complicated anyway, so further complications for something the target audience weren't bothered about (you can't play with most of these in the same way as mainline figures) aren't going to be welcomed.

Given the fact that the OG base modes on scramble city combiners were a toy only feature, and that Hasbro have gone all in recently on play patterns, I'm not surprised that they'd do this, even it it was ignoring the 3P feedback (if that happened).

Did I caveat that enough to make it clear I'm not saying Hasbro definitely used 3P as the inspiration?  

 

I think there are three aspects to that:
1) the user was asked to spend a substantial amount of effort to get to the base mode
2) the base mode's value for the user was too low compared to the effort required
3) there was a perceived feeling that the last and essential component in a set of 5 had a high price, and the complexity of the trailer was used as scapegoat - with a lot of that complexity used for the low-value basemode. At some point the producer claimed that they had the only trailer which turned into a base.

There's a lot to hate in that. I think that in the end, overengineering some panels to take a different shape is not the point - there must be dedicated, valuable features, which are only available in base mode.

 

It’s always subjective but I tend to prefer transforming figures and then leaving them in alt mode for storage, so a base mode in most cases to me is something I might try once eg TR Overlord, then basically never bother with. I did find messing with Airwaves to make Micromaster bases was fun, but it’s a smaller layout. I lack the desk space to display anything for long, so a interesting bot and alt is always more likely to keep my attention. But it’s a great thing about transformers, multiple forms and options to enjoy

 

Totally agree. It does sound great. I’m curious to know what height Menasor will be. Somewhere close to CW Devy? In between the regular Combiners heights and devy...Near to 18 or 15/16 inches tall?

I know this way of doing Combiners doesn’t appeal to a number of collectors and some are contributors to this thread but IMO it gives better aesthetics, combiner stability and combiner articulation whilst preserving the limbs longevity rather than having them become load bearing parts on the rest of the set as seen below with my UW Superion:




If we get something a little like this


From:



I’m going to be happy with the end result. A base as well being put into the mix by Hasbro will be nice. I didn’t like it so much on XTB Monolith/trailer but won’t complain at more modes on the mainline figures.

It might be possible to do the same as XTB where you can get away with having Menasor from just the trailer so you can display the rest of the team in individual bots or alt modes with Menasor. Will certainly help those on tighter budgets.

 

The cars are still deluxes so I'm expecting it to be about the same size as the CW/UW one.

 

Same. They never look good, they always look like an afterthought. I've never seen a trailer that was on any real use aside from Ultra Magnus' or that 3P Civil War Optimus. If they're not extra battle armour, they're a waste.

I hope he'll be more like large voyager/smallish leader size as one of the main issues with CW Menasor was that his torso was virtually nonexistent.

 

That's really interesting (though not wholly unexpected). So we're looking at Voyager scaled figure, that hopefully will scale coherently with yer Voyager OP of choice? Good call. I still think I'm out, but that sounds like it'll be a big success.

I actually think that'd be something of a missed opportunity. I feel like there'd be so much more play value in re-doing all the Legacy Stunticons as as the car Turbomasters, and thus keeping the Motormaster Trailer functionality. Combiner Hyperdrive, anyone?

"To the shuttles!"
From Transformers: The Movie#2 'Judgement Day!'

 

Huh, it might be the head but he kind of looks like he'd work as a non Dino Grimlock too. Have they ever recoloured a Brawl into a Dynobot Grimlock?

But yeah, he looks like a fun limbbot   if I wasn't put off by the colours of the Combaticons in general - not really a fan of more muted browns and greens and such - I'd seriously consider picking him up...

Though, didn't they do a G2 Combaticon box set at some point? Maybe something to consider if I ever see it for a good price somewhere  

Good point about the safety tests  

'course I just remembered there's the rather entertaining thing that a few tie in media things have seemingly used 3P designs over Hasbro products. I know Earth Wars is apparently guilty of this for a few of their bot designs though in fairness many of them are not 1:1 to any particular toy, especially the BW characters who have a look honestly I'd love to see done in toy form of basically G1 style robotic beast modes but yet not just using the Transmetal designs. Well ok they are NOW as they've introduced some Transmetal skins/bots but you get my point  

Thanks  
Though... I'm gonna be a pedant and point out Trypticon and Sky Lynx do both have robot modes they're just non-humanoid robot modes but I get what you were getting at  

Good point on the general lack of play features in base mode. Like the handful of bots with base modes I have they only really serve as another way of displaying the bot, they can't really DO anything. I mean I've had Sky Lynx in his launch pad mode a few times, though even that could be implemented better as it can be hard to get the shuttle part to actually stay attached securely and could have done with some kind of gantry rather than attached purely by the blast FX sockets in it's engines.
It's like a triple changer but less fun for me. Which is a weird thing to say as most vehicle alt modes are basically just static, maybe with some wheels, so I suspect there's some psychology going on here too, like a brick which is recognisably a car or a plane can be swooshed about but a base just sits there?

That said, I'm happy for the base builders that they got their time to shine in recent and semi recent lines  

Well, I wasn't suggesting 3p was Hasbro's ONLY market research  

I have a similar setup. I imagine if you have the space to have a base setup and leave it out for an extended period it could be quite fun to do and I have seen some truly impressive ones on here. But as you say, one of the great things about Transformers is that it can appeal to a lot of people in a lot of ways  

I genuinely feel like a combination of design aesthetics from CW, PotP and WFC Trilogy could really help with combiners and their stability. Like, my Volcanicus has two of the 3P upgrade kits and is beastly and the most stable of my combiners. Now granted Grimlock could have been engineered better as a torso and I'm not saying the upgrade kits weren't fixing those issues but they did iterate on what Hasbro were doing with Combiner Kibble in CW and PotP by making it all have uses for the individual bots when not in combined mode.
So my suggestion would be an evolution of WFC style modular figures and you could have a new modular bot who is formed of the Combiner kibble but can also be weapons and/or armour for component bots or indeed other bots, as well as letting them bulk up the combined mode if wanted. And by having it all together as a modular bot it provides a nice way of storing it all when not being used with the combiner  

I know what you mean. Like I have Corpseimus Prime and got ER Prime cheap for parts, and to use his trailer with other Optimi but if the trailer can't really DO anything much I'm not that fussed about it. My only complaint about Siege Ultra Magnus and Galaxy Upgrade Prime's implementation of the trailer is they can't really DO anything much cohesive when not attached to the core bot, unlike Shockwave who's extra bits can be a flying drone for example. I think my ideal Siege leader would be one with the level of armour up of the Magnus/GUPrime figures and also having a cohesive 'altmode' for the kibble of Shockwave when not attached.

 

Ravage is 8 stops away.


Woot.



Personally, I like combiner limbs to be formed from the bots, makes them essential components, but I have that with cw so I'm glad hasbro are going the skeleton route this time, give folks something different for those that want the other style.

 

Ravage arrived this morning. He's nice. I'd sill do silly things for a Metals reissue but this'll do.

 

The mainline CW combiners weren't the best proportioned as the legs ended up being quite squat with chunky boots.

That's one thing G1 dialed perfectly. That refined aesthetic due to the realistic hotwheels/corgi scaled vehicles and styling.

A more refined aesthetic in Legacy would see Menasor between the CW version and Devastator in height I suspect. No doubt they are pushing for the current unified scale so in combined mode expect close to sunbow scale.

 

Bw Neo was peak shellformer and no lie.

Wow. Never seen it before. Nice.

Can't help but think how thunderclash-y the base mode might look  

 

Zartan just arrived, he is very cool and very blue after 10 mins in the freezer...plus the new Snake Eyes heads looks great

 

Just over heard a student describe themselves as a "total crumpet shagger". I'm unsure how literally to take this.

 

Yer, I mean humanoidesq modes but doesn't have to be a biped eg ROTF Scavenger etc along with the movie Devastator will do.

Everytime hasbro goes down the base/city mode I always think of this movie scene from Big and the "well whats fun about that" line.



Anyone still on the fence about the ark at £108 the various YT reviews sell it imo.

 

I would expect 1) feet and 2) leg thighs to change proportions, bringing Menasor to be a head taller than CW combiners, maybe 5-6cm taller.
On the other hand, we still live in the dangerous times of Earthrise Prime's designers, with an inexplicable number of figures having grossly disproportioned torsos and legs. I would not be surprised if Legacy Menasor had longer legs but a shorter torso, and ended up at CW-height or shorter.

 

Funny you should say that...



Narrator: It didn't work, he got hype!

 

Well crumpet used to be a term for a pretty girl, havent heard it used for years but maybe its making a comeback

 

Does someone make another colour of face for this thing, as I am so not feeling the grey face - it make him look really plain to me Silver or a lighter grey might help ?