MP figures are REALLY HARD to fit into a display that isn't composed of MPs bc of the time they're so aesthetically and proportionally different to mainline figures. They just like... stand out super hard

 

Apologies. That was an inappropriate term to use on a fan forum. I personally just don’t like them at all— I find them aesthetically unappealing and not fun— and the word slipped out because subjectively-speaking, they hold no value to me.
To each their own. Fossilizers just aren’t my thing, and I keep looking hoping I find a TF of interest on the shelf, only to see the same skeletal toys hanging there, week after week.

 

Speaking of fossilizers I gotta say I absolutely LOVE this little freak. He's suck a weird guy like... there are no other transformers built like him his torso is literally upside down thats so good. and im sad that this is an "unpopular opinion' bc most ppl I see rag on ths dude so hard but i love him dearly like one would an apprentice love u Wingfinger <3

 

Wingfinger is a weird stick-bug ninja and he's awesome.

I view the Fossilizers as the Beast Wars counterpart of the Vehicons. If the CG animation at the time were advanced enough at the time to allow for more intense action sequences, we might have seen something like these guys for the Maximals to beat up on the regular. A horde of shambling, reconfiguring bio-technic mecha drones to pound on.

Maybe Wingfinger's opposing faction insignia denotes that he was a Maximal attempt to co-opt the system for themselves, developing a warrior that could control and command the fossilizer system to their own advantage.

 

Wingfinger looks like he's been scrunkly'd and I love that for him.

 

Don't know how controversial this is, but I find Siege Soundwave to be a far better toy than Netflix Soundwave. The ship mode is your standard made-up "cybertronian" vehicle that just looks like a folded up robot, and I question some of the deco choices (that shattered screen decal in particular), but I think his transformation and overall look in robot mode far outstrips the Netflix figure. He may not be as accurate, but he's more interesting visually, be it the backpack of thrusters or the vents and indentations in his faceplate.

 

I think he's beautiful.

 

I also like him better than Netflix SW. he’s the one that I fiddle with while Netflix SW remains on display. It does have a couple of things that would make him even better:
- a more secure mechanism to attach Laserbeak to his forearm. Mine pops right off.
- remove knob behind shoulder cannon. The interference with the thrusters is bad design.
-ports to attach additional tapes to alt mode.

The alt mode I can live with. It is too elaborate a transformation for such a mediocre result. Not as bad a BB SW, though.

 

Corollary to these Soundwave thoughts: Kingdom Soundwave is IMO the weakest of the core class figures. Another in a long line of Soundwaves that only had to turn into a rectangle and couldn't quite manage.

I don't want to overstate it, it's a fine little legends toy I guess, but in the same line as core Starscream and Rattrap? He does not compare well.

 

Kingdom Cyclonus has a neat chest trick but is criminally overhyped. Hopefully the rumored "Cyclonus' Armada" toy repaint will breathe more life into it for me but it's just not worth the excitement in my eyes.

 

I recently made the tough decision to cancel both of my Legacy pre-orders. I'm not done with official stuff entirely, I'll be snapping up the BW figures as they come out, but I'm just not impressed. It's a mixture of reasons: prominent gaps on figures irritate me, QC has been abysmal for me lately, and a lack of space in my collection is causing me to be more selective. I'll still be getting a few G1 designs like Star Saber, and the UT stuff is getting bought as long as it's good, but for the most part I think I'm done with G1 main line figures. I recently put most of my G1 WFC collection into storage and made my IDW display more prominent and am much happier with a neater, more selective collection.

 

Yeah I'm not really down for the legacy line. Well, maybe Prime Arcee, she is one of my favorite bots. However I'm not sure, I didn't buy the RED figure of her either.

 

Ironhide is a terrible choice for a straight Diaclone homage. Possibly the worst choice. It's hilariously insane that because Botcon never gave this deco a name and personality blurb, and Hasbro of 2022 is actually allergic to coming up with new characters, they've decided, "whatever, it's just the Diaclone guy." Okay then, cut his head off you cowards. Retool his face into a chair.

 

Considering the every version of this mold as been an exclusive, I'll take whatever I can find just to at least have one of them because I gave up completely on getting the previous ones. At least this one I've been able to pre-order as I should have been with the other ones but never was able to nor cared enough to hunt them down.

 

At least the SS86 Ironhide should be easier to get and is supposed to be an improvement

 

It's really peculiar Hasbro goes to all the trouble of making that new (and pretty good) major retool of Siege Ironhide, and every release of it has been an exclusive.

Heck a lot of the ER Autobot major retools and new molds that got Siege releases were these narrow-window exclusives. I mean, it's appreciated they've done it, but also it's very very collector centric. The brand probably didn't need Shadow Panther on the shelf, but it would have benefited from tossing ER Ratchet there instead.

I feel that a few years out and we'll look back at the availability of Earth modes in WFC having been majorly reduced from what was possible because the pandemic's shutdown and backlogs badly damaged ER's shelflife compared to the expansive Siege and Kingdom. I also wouldn't be surprised if many of the core ER characters get a re-release via one means or another.

 

Agreed, though I understand it from their perspective. At first blush, it seems excessive and redundant, but it makes more sense to me when "behind the scenes" are considered.

With few exceptions they've been limiting their redecos to Selects or an exclusive line, so either Ironhide or Ratchet is going to get suffled off. I also figure a late 70's Vanette probably isn't going to be on the top of kids' "most fun alt modes" list. So I totally get why these were set up the way they were for Siege and Earthrise.

After release, they were caught by surprise by just how popular WFC turned out, especially when everyone in their 40s and up seemed to start collecting during the lockdown. The demand skyrocketed but it was too late to do anything about the supply (which, due to the pandemic, seemed to be shorted).

We know SS86 wasn't part of the original plan, so my guess is when they cooked up ER Ironhide/Ratchet, they probably weren't anticipating doing another for a few years. But then SS86 became a thing, became a huge (often misunderstood) success, and the ER molds became impossible to find for a reasonable price, so there is some logic to revisiting them again.

 

Yup, agreeing on all you just said there.

For me, I should have mentioned that the ER version do look nice (except that they should fixed the feet sticky out thing that looks FREAKING STUPID when a rotating "toes" part that 3rd parties have showed to be a simple and elegant solution) but I was NOT going to replace my Siege versions....

So I'm very glad to see an alternative colour version coming, and that I was able to see it available fairly easily right now in pre-orders (that I have to wonder how fast they might dry up).

I agree with your post, but for one thing: I don't think doing re-issues would be that much of a challenge, and considering the demand for so many figures has been very high, it would be like printing money, but I have to gather that their analysts did the math and came up with reports that just dishing out new figures is more profitable in the overall picture. Considering that newer figures appear to be cutting even more corners, they profit margin is probably higher with these new figures. With yet another price increase being put in affect, how many are going to just quit...? At some point, I have to wonder when the sales are going to be affected enough for them to start reconsidering their pricing approaches.

I just wish that if they really want to cut corners, it's easy... stop the fancy boxes, put the figures in alt mode to make the packaging much smaller (for almost all figures), allowing shipments to have 3-4 times the number per space.

I think that we are in an age that most care about what's inside the packaging than a fancy shaped box.

 

I’ve gathered that the majority of people hate Universe Ironhide, but I personally believe he’s the best update of G1 Ironhide we’ve gotten.

The figure manages to have a good robot and alt mode without the need of partsforming, and overall is much more of a solid figure quality-wise compared to the likes of CW and ER Ironhide.

I’ve personally never been an Ironhide fan, but I had to get Universe Ironhide for how good he looks.

 

Also my probably unpopular opinion: Siege Soundwave is good, but it has too much of battle damage, it feels overdetalized and "overcomplicated" to look at. Also, Soundwave is kinda type of guy that imo will do his job clean, he is not character appropriate to heavy BD like Megs.