Lots of people still like Beast Wars! The Generations line has new versions of Rhinox and Waspinator due out any day now (and they look great!)
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Hasbro is completely changing the way Transformers toys transform
- Thread starter Harlock
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Lots of people still like Beast Wars! The Generations line has new versions of Rhinox and Waspinator due out any day now (and they look great!)
Mrs. Manky
Banned
So
less than meets the eye?
Unrelated, but for me it's Zoid.
My dad got me this. I was so happy after I assembled it myself. Played with it day and night. Then I learned that I got a fucking fish.
Dad, there are tigers, gorillas, bears, dinosaurs... You got me a fish. WTF, dad.
edit: quote wrong dude.
That's true, one of the surest signs of a subpar TF line is when the vehicle modes seem to have little effort put into their appearance. I can forgive a lot of robot mode weirdness if the vehicle mode is convincing. One of the coolest things back in the G1 days was having these cars and planes that didn't necessarily look like they were anything more than a run of the mill toy vehicle.
Yep.
Ghastly robot mode, but my favourite rally car of all time, so I love it
I always wanted that
that or Mirage
Not my a long shot. Dragon Megatron and Optimal Optimus were my faves.,
XANDER CAGE
Member
Man, the beast wars line was such shit. Even as a kid I was completely confused by the random ass looking robots.
efyu_lemonardo
May I have a cookie?
No? Just sharing a sad moment from my youth.
you're right, I should have aimed that at some of the other comments saying transforming the robots was difficult.
and I'm sorry about your Megatron
TheMan
Member
that may have been one of the transformers alternators line. I bought the subaru wrx sti back in the mid 2000s cause im a fan of both the car and transformers, and yes it was pretty complicated to transform. I always figured I'd like that, but they took it a bit too far.
Bran Ketra
Banned
This could be good.
Random Painted HIghway
Member
you're right, I should have aimed that at some of the other comments saying transforming the robots was difficult.
and I'm sorry about your Megatron
Hah! No worries. It was the headliner toy for me that Christmas and I blew it. Argh.
Correctomundo
Member
Sunstreaker.
...
What? It was making me crazy that no one was giving the name. Fine, I'll go back to my corner.
ETA: Oh, for his kids when they were 6. Well, I retract my post and commit seppuku.
Your photo reminded me of the Bruticus I had when I was younger.
I mean, god damn does he look a bit lame now, but I would spend hours a day playing with them. Transforming them back and forth, putting them together, fighting other Transformers and whatever other toys I had around. I remember going through a number of the main long body one whose name escapes me now, his arm connection were really iffy and would snap off. He might look a bit naff now, but part of me wants to go to go up to my parents and go through their attic to find all my old transformer toys and set them out in my games room.
Sunstreaker.
...
What? It was making me crazy that no one was giving the name. Fine, I'll go back to my corner.
ETA: Oh, for his kids when they were 6. Well, I retract my post and commit seppuku.
It probably was Sunstreaker, just that it was likely one of these two:
Leader Class Optimus from TF4:
Looks like he's got an extra pair of arms crossed on his chest.
No, it's still awesome.
Demoncarnotaur
Member
Yeah, I really hope the balance out the level of simplicity and complexity with these.. I really don't want to see the really interesting transformations and designs lost due to the need for 'instant gratification'. The new leader class Optimus looks too..action figure like? Obviously not as bad as the one in the OP, but still.
Maybe we can see the small toys remain sleeker and easier to transform, with the larger classes such as leader reverting the the past level of complexity.
Maybe we can see the small toys remain sleeker and easier to transform, with the larger classes such as leader reverting the the past level of complexity.
I always wanted that
that or Mirage
They are making a Masterpiece Wheeljack!
Yep.
Ghastly robot mode, but my favourite rally car of all time, so I love it
A Masterpiece Wheeljack is coming later this year, with fully licensed vehicle mode.
He does look a bit lame now, but there are other options now. This is Warbotron. (Colors are photoshopped)
A Masterpiece Wheeljack is coming later this year, with fully licensed vehicle mode.
UNF
bryanee
Member
A Masterpiece Wheeljack is coming later this year, with fully licensed vehicle mode.
Will buy.
boiled goose
good with gravy
they should make both kinds...
It probably was Sunstreaker, just that it was likely one of these two:
Yea, that was the one. Looks cool, but it annoyed them how long it took to transform.
Takara and Hasbro are essentially the same company when it comes to TFs. They share product lines almost entirely, outside of a few things that don't make it to US shores.
Again, the article in the OP doesn't know what it's talking about. The new movie has several simplified sublines that are targeted at younger kids. The Generations and Masterpiece sublines are continuing as always, and not being reduced in complexity, as that is the collector-targeted subline.
It's a non-story.
Funfact: The fandom widely considers MP Megatron to be the worst of the Masterpiece line.
Assuming people actually want these anyway. There is literally no reason to make these if kids aren't receptive, just as there's no reason to make Transformers that don't transform (though that should be self evident by the damn name.)
Ah, okay, gotcha. The Generations/Classics and Masterpiece lines were really all that I collected anyway. But aren't stuff like the Masterpiece and Alternity lines designed by Takera in Japan?
TheSadRanger
Banned
Only giant bot I had as a kid was Superion, the autobot version of Devastator. TBH the jets looked cooler on their own than merged to form Superion :/
If you lost either of the plastic pieces for the feet though you were screwed.
Changing the style seems lame, but whatever.
If you lost either of the plastic pieces for the feet though you were screwed.
Changing the style seems lame, but whatever.
flyinpiranha
Member
They just need to make both. The transforming ones that as an adult I look back on with fond memories and the quick ones which would be fucking awesome if I was a kid.
I remember getting irritated because I'd make the sound and then still have like 2-3 minutes of 'transforming'.
Shit that instantly popped up, popped out, turned on, turned off, shot, flew, raced, zinged ... that's what was awesome. Like crash ups (or whatever those cars were) and other things. This is not just a "younger kids are dumb" ... shit, takes me 5 minutes to figure out somebody else's phone while any 7 year old is already downloading the games they want and resetting the password. And I work with tech in general!
Certain toys were fun to build with, Lego's, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc ... the creation was part of the fun. But I'll admit, after a few times transforming stuff ... I just wanted Ultra Magnus to be fully transformed while I did the other ones that were in his car carrier because you know what? The GI Joe hovercraft they were going up against had already shot out the raft and depth charges.
I remember getting irritated because I'd make the sound and then still have like 2-3 minutes of 'transforming'.
Shit that instantly popped up, popped out, turned on, turned off, shot, flew, raced, zinged ... that's what was awesome. Like crash ups (or whatever those cars were) and other things. This is not just a "younger kids are dumb" ... shit, takes me 5 minutes to figure out somebody else's phone while any 7 year old is already downloading the games they want and resetting the password. And I work with tech in general!
Certain toys were fun to build with, Lego's, Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, etc ... the creation was part of the fun. But I'll admit, after a few times transforming stuff ... I just wanted Ultra Magnus to be fully transformed while I did the other ones that were in his car carrier because you know what? The GI Joe hovercraft they were going up against had already shot out the raft and depth charges.
Me too! I started collecting with Robots in Disguise, and when Armada came out it was like WTF. But they improved on the figures for Energon, and then again for Cybertron. It's probably my all-time favorite line.
Largely, yes, but I don't think you'll find too many people who would consider Alternity the pinnacle of the brand. Unfortunately one of the key Alternity guys has taken over as director of the Masterpiece line as of this month, so we'll see how that goes.
Oh bby
PhantomZone
Member
Part of the fun was learning how to transform them without snapping them in half
The Silver
Member
oh man I remember spending ages trying to transform this big Unicron toy I had, so frustrating and so gratifying
D
Diggeh
Unconfirmed Member
I love the false eulogy going on in this thread. Apparently cheaper, easy-to-transform figures for children that cost less to make means the end of the toyline for you guys.
They're already making upscaled Cyberverse figures for this year's deluxe Beast Hunters figures, so naturally they're making easier toys for AoE.
I mean, c'mon, we're still getting Masterpiece figures and even Beast Wars figures that are accurate yet complex.
All the official "good" movie toys will be released under the Generations label, while the cheaper gimmicks will be under AoE.
They're already making upscaled Cyberverse figures for this year's deluxe Beast Hunters figures, so naturally they're making easier toys for AoE.
I mean, c'mon, we're still getting Masterpiece figures and even Beast Wars figures that are accurate yet complex.
All the official "good" movie toys will be released under the Generations label, while the cheaper gimmicks will be under AoE.
Edvardelis
Member
I had Devastator. Biggest thing I remember is just how fragile he was when put together. Really, you could move his arms a little, and that was it. So many pieces that snapped on and would go flying if you bumped him a little too hard.
Most obnoxious Transformer I owned had to be Omega Supreme. "Transforming" him basically involved taking him apart and then putting all the pieces back together. The terrible battery powered walk probably made things worse.
Most obnoxious Transformer I owned had to be Omega Supreme. "Transforming" him basically involved taking him apart and then putting all the pieces back together. The terrible battery powered walk probably made things worse.
Its a damned children toy
- Life.
I don't care really if that is what kids what fine. Who am i to judge, and if it isn't it will do poorly. I don't see the point in getting up in arms over this sort of thing.
The article is very misguided. That Optimus is part of the "Smash 'N' Change" subline, which is similar to the Gravity Bots and Fast Action Battler sublines in the previous movies' toylines. There are plenty of regular, more complex toys in the line; the one pictured is a super basic one intended for very young kids.
Hasbro is trying to stay away from super-complex transformations like the large Revenge of the Fallen Optimus that took about 10 minutes for even an adult to transform, but using that Smash 'N' Change as the example of the brand's direction is pure nonsense. The TF4 toys are going to be simpler than the TF2 and TF3 toys, but they're not going to be spring-loaded one-step transformations. The complexity is closer to the level of the Armada/Energon/Cybertron toys from the early 2000s.
And Hasbro has explicitly stated that more complex adult-collector focused toys like the Generations line and the Masterpieces will continue to be produced. They're just refocusing the main thrust of the brand to target kids more effectively, which is how it should be.
Leader Class Optimus from TF4:
Leader Class Optimus from TF2/TF3:
As you can see, the difference is notable, but the TF4 one isn't as simple as the one shown in the article.
Quoted because alot of people seem to be missing this post. The io9 article is not entirely correct. Let's move on.
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