Any chance for the other combiners in the MPG line to not scale with this? It seems crazy they could make an MP Devastator smaller than their mainline Devastator.

 

You know with all the talk of takara's priorities when it came to designing this thing, it really made me think about how fascinating this figure is. It's like a self contained microcosm that showcases how different markets can affect a figure. Like, yeah he may not be what the transformers community has envisioned an MP combiner to be ever since Constructor came onto the scene, but takara clearly chose to prioritize the train crowd, and the luxury robot crowd over us. It seems to be working too, which is really cool to watch.

 

Raiden height is a honest bummer, but aspected, after seen the train scale.
To keep correct component height they engineered the trains with a lot of mass shifting, i think the strong point for this combiner is the transformation ( i also espect a really articulated robot, they can do it at that size)
For future combiner, i think that Devastator's height will be the standard, there is no need to shrink down alt modes for other collectors purpouses

 

Be interesting to see how that works out. The individual Constructicons should wind up at a similar robot-mode size. But then so do the Combiner Wars versions. Devastator's combination methods are a bit more set in stone, whereas it seems like they're playing a bit with Raiden in order to satisfy the alt-mode needs first and foremost. Devastator's vehicles aren't licensed, though, so he's easier to optimize in favour of the robot and combined modes.

 

Really a bummer after @chchchch digibash making chicken salad out of chicken scratch, made me more comfortable about combine mode, my only real concern were the leg cannons.

 

I appreciate the info, but I'm taking it with a grain of salt since it come from customer service and not directly from the designers or marketing. Worst case scenario I end up with six great train robots that have a fun combining gimmick.

 

Hm, if they actually took time to talk to the TF team that gives it more weight. Hoping they got outdated info or something and Raiden isn't actually that short. I don't need him to be huge, but under 12" would be disappointing.

 

>1200 for a combiner shorter than Jetfire
Oh god please say sike

 

Well, I think they're really making a mistake here. Not just for people who want a large Raiden, but what about future combiners? I'd like a Devastator that faces off against Raiden, but... I don't want a small Devastator either. I'd really like to hear some justification for this.

 

Dang, that really is quite short. Thanks for getting in touch with TT customer support, @Gamerlingual.

 

For me who has a fetish for combiners, I will get it. Ill take it with a grain of salt aswell for the height. Worst case they gets displayed individually as a lovely train groupe bots.

 

Considering how many Raiden(s) they made in all this years, i think they don't give a cent about the size and the combiner rivals of that robot. Devastator is totally another beast.

 

I think they cared more about attracting attention from model train collectors than they did from their own fans. It's great that the trains will run on HO tracks, but when that compatibility comes at the cost of a good-sized combiner, it loses its appeal real fast. Mostly they give the appearance of being out of touch with their own fans and very behind the times. And they're just asking to be laughed at, using the word "giant" in their own promotional material.

 

Raiden caters imo to the train collectors first in Japan. We are secondary on this because ....train in japan > transformers.

Now the rest of possible combiners...that is as some have said a diffrent take.

 

Western fans are not "their fans".

And still, they miraculously managed to hit 2/3 "proper" scales: the most popular model train scale in Japan, combined with accurate robot mode heights. Combiner mode scale is impossible without massive cheating, when even the official scale charts show Raiden's components being ~3x bigger than the individual units.

I'm sure there'll be a 3P upgrade at the end that extends the thighs and gives you bigger hands for a larger, slightly more proportional Raiden. If TT doesn't decide to go and do that themselves, anyways.

 

Well, the answer Gamerlingual got is consistent with the previous statement about "UW size" and the height estimates made here. At this point, I'd say the evidence is overwhelming.
I want to support official combiners, but it's really hard to justify spending so much money for a figure that size. I'll have to think a lot...

 

Thank you @Gamerlingual for your service.

I did some measurements and calculations:

- Shouki is HO scale, which is 1:87.
- The actual 0 Series Shinkansen is 25150mm long.
- Assuming accurate scale and proportions we have 289mm long for Shouki.
- The distance between the train nose (minus end bit) up to the train windows is about 20mm
- This gives a possible total height of the combined mode at 260-270mm.

Now that image is a bit skewed, so the 290mm quoted height seems possible. So in combined mode he is roughly as tall as the length of Shouki in train mode.