Toplessrobot.com has "Top 10 TF toys that looked nothing like their cartoon counterpart."

Some of them are way off others I don't agree with... (plus they use a picture of Tarantulus when discussing BW BA)

#1 is spot on...

 

Err... I thought that was the original blackarachnia recolor from Tarantulas? Though, I've got the 10th Anny Tarantulas so I'm not entirely sure at this point...

On a side note... I actually do agree with just about everything he said there. Not a darned one of those original series toys looked like their on screen counterparts. Some less so than others, but with engineering being what it was it's not hard to understand why.

 

Yeah, the first release of the minibots set in the 'book box' reissue line (which actually had the original colored versions of most of those minibots) had BB's face resculpted and they just reissued it, so to speak, in the Encore line.

 

That list made me kind of sick.
we've all known this stuff, now stilted and repeated meaninglessly.

The toys are just something you go along with as a g1 collector. And I think their all pretty fun.
most of the arguments come down to faces. Its 1984, you have die cast metal a4nd plastic converting robot toys with rubber wheels. But the kids are going to blitz out over ramjet and bumblebee having inaccurate faces? That is a pretty elitist view of things. As well as inaccurate sense the toys sold well.

More. Much More Than meets the eye.

 

So it is. I was remembering the Japan version with gold arms and such.

 

I agree with most of those (except Rumble/Frenzy because thats just a name issue, and Minerva/Nightbeat). Should have guessed what would be number 1

 

I love that list, was a fun read and definately they know what they are talking about, ultimately, it needs more beast machines.

 

Yeah, I had to go check myself after posting that. Takara got the paint right again, but she really needs an upadated toy of her original design.

Yeah, for a modern toyline... BM was scary!

Welcome!  

 

Agreed. The number 1 was pretty self explanatory. R&F and Nightbeat weren't really much of an issue as far as I'm concerned. I think though that Skywarp, Starscream and Thundercracker were bigger errors than the coneheads seeing as how they had the nosecone's sticking out the back of there heads like a huge eye sore.

 

It's not engineering problems, for cryin' out loud, it's inaccurate animation designs!

With the exceptions of Galvatron and Wheelie, every one of these characters was a toy first. The cartoon messed up making Rumble purple. The cartoon gave Ramjet and co. those ridiculous dunce's caps. And it was the cartoon that threw away Ratchet and Ironhide's toy designs almost entirely and redrew them as fully humanoid bots. I'm not doubting that some of these redesigns may be considered improvements, but seriously, when will people get it through their skulls that the TOYS CAME FIRST?

 

Yeah, but none of the modern toys have really come up with a good idea of where to put the darned nosecones either IMO. Classics has it sticking out of the back of their head and than turning down. Robot Masters had them in a very weird position as well sticking down from the back. The Masterpiece ones are the only ones that don't look a little weird, but even then I'm not sure I actually like the way it's put away...

 

Never said that they didn't (in the case of the 84-85 toys). All I was really saying is that the engineering on those toys was not that great. Doesn't matter if they came first or not... there's a reason those designs were thrown out the window by the animators. Sure, the toys were great for when they were made, but they would not have looked good animated like that. Perhaps I should have extrapolated more as so not to offend some people's obvious sensitivities to this subject?

 

I would agree with everything past Galvatron (4-1) but everything else they have listed is a complete miss, and comparing Nightbeat to Minerva I don't know what they were thinking on that one.

 

Yeah - the Minerva/Nightbeat comparison is a bit of a WTF indeed.

 

The whole BM maximal line should have taken up #2, not just Silverbolt

 

I knew Ironhide and Ratchet would be in there, I look at that toy and go "what is it?"

 

Ratchet/Ironhide are understandable, as is Galvatron to some extent. But Minvera/Nightbeat? That's like saying Starscream's animation model looked nothing like Thundercracker's toy...

 

Heh. Sorry, I'm not usually that... heated. Frankly, I think the toy designs could have been quite easily worked into decent animation designs, but for whatever reasons, they decided not to try and just did what they did.