A blast from the past - MADNESS - IN THE CITY!  

 

I guess I'm waiting for FansToys or maybe Transform Element.  

 

Glad for everyone who want’s it, but Skids was always ugly as sin and this mold is a huge step backwards. I get some people prefer they toy aesthetic to the cartoon, but this is an easy pass for me.

 

Just had a sneak peek at the magazine. It has a few additional images.

Poseability seems limited with only 90 degree knee bend. Elbows might bend a bit deeper but not clear from pictures.

Hood and trunk of the car open. Engine details similar to MP Tracks.

No seats or interior. There is room in the back for a scooter.

Robot mode doesn't appear to be mistransformed judging by the picture of his back. Don't think the windscreen can sit lower in robot mode.

The article calls out the fact that it is G1 toy inspired.

 

I feel kinda torn on this. G1 Skids was my first ever carbot back in the day so I have a special nostalgia for the original toy. I have no problem with the line experimenting with 'hybrid' styles or easing off the toon-to-a-fault direction, but what's not working for me is this design doesn't quite seem to nail the toy character either. The feet are too big, but more importantly the rear of the car is riding above his heel rather than forming the 'footprint' itself (this was also a thing with MP-44). I'd've liked those rear side doors to be on an extra slider to lower them down a bit. Then there's the oddly-shaped chunky thighs, and the tiny forearms where the toy famously has big and slightly too long arms, as does the toon (just imagine this dude without those gun parts: his arms are almost non-existent! Side thought - I wonder if the gun bits are actually molded on?). And the head just looks like they plonked a toon head on him.

I'm only saying all this because I do love the G1 toy so much, and the idea of a modern updated version is very appealing (heck give me a whole sub-line of G1 toy MPs!). I'm just not 100% sure this is what it should look like. There's a little too much liberty taken.

I know what you mean. Proportions are definitely closer to BT than the tall, slim G1 figure. I think it goes back to the arms - if they were more substantial and maybe the shoulders weren't so far out from the torso if wouldn't feel so much like the Alts fig.

Indeed. I hope there's a way to transform the arms at a lower point on the body, just for that extra toony vibe. And like some have theorised* maybe Hybrid even means they could include extra parts to give both Toy and Toon options for certain parts.

(*G1 tech specs pun intended)

 

They're bloody showing up now! How strange  

 

Tracks?

 

I have all the time for this. Skids is one of my favourite G1 Autobots and I’ve always leant into the toy accurate side of MP, despite buying all G1 MP’s regardless.

Crosscut is pretty much guaranteed, but I hope we get Burn-Out, Screech and red Skids as well.

 

I'm sooo glad they ditched the uber toon aesthetic on this one. I hope this means they're going back to their roots with MP and having a balance between toon and toy.

 

Doesn’t look as busy in prototype form as the line art made it seem (as expected). Still doesn’t really make toy or toon people completely satisfied (as expected). Mainly a celebration of the Honda City and a chance for the original designer to play. It is what it is. Interested to see if he has a few more face options, and what if any accessories are included (hopefully extra faces and the scooter and maybe some blast effects or something?). A bit disappointed in the apparent lack of articulation...

Well I’m interested to see what the final paint will look like, and if it will be more mp18 or more mp18+ like...

Oh also have to laugh at people complaining about the windshield on his back...it’s literally one of the only details shared by all G1 incarnations of Skids. Would be strange if it wasn’t there!

 

Doesn't have to be by any means, but Skids and Tracks were always sort of a pair in my mind. Similar names. Both blue and red. Skids and Tracks got reissued back to back in the Transformers Collection reissue series they were doing for a while. But anyway my main point was just that I don't think this will look as unlike other recent MPs as people think it will once we see it in color. Protos never look like the final product does in terms of how it "feels" visually. We've all been through this a thousand times by now. Faces that look off to people when revealed, proportions that look off to people, etc. Then people see them in color and are wowed (or not, depending on taste.) For all we know there could even be Inferno style separate parts to change the look. So I will reserve judgment. I just don't see them veering away from the unified aesthetic they've been sticking to or at least aiming for for ages now. We'll see, though.

 

Me too. When they did that it really turned me off. Fine for robot mode but the alt mode was hideous.

 

My digi

 

What make you think there will be a face swap? I don't see any obvious seams to allow it.

 

Looks more like a Binaltech than a Masterpiece. Very strange aesthetic choice.

 

Do we have any guesses as to his price point?

 

Isn't the diaclone version of Skids very popular in Japan? Might be the reason for this aesthetic?

 

I think you're all giving the BT line too much credit. I mean, I loved it as much as anyone but the proportions were never as good as on this Skids - even on the line's best figures (Meister, the Subaru's, Hound).

 

Tracks matches up perfectly with the Floro Dery design in terms of details. He's just a "real life" version of the toon design, as opposed to looking like a literal drawing like modern MPs.

Skids, on the other hand, goes back to the pre-Magnus style. Look at MP Tracks next to his Floro Dery designs, and then look at MP Skids next to his Floro Dery design. Every detail on MP Tracks is drawn straight from the Flory Dery design, while MP Skids is covered head to toe in details that the MP designers came up with on their own.


(Personally, I'm perfectly fine with MP Tracks and there are a million other MPs I'd rather get a redo first...starting with Prowl...but that's just me).

 

The body and alt mode look good, but the face is still the animation style elongated banana face of recent MPs. Hasui era bots had such nice faces. Such a shame.