2021 Titan The Ark

[Nigel]

I'm underwhelmed by the Ark. My favourite bit from the pictures is the dinky Optimus! (I wonder if that's in scale with the Microverse mini figures.) The transforming Teletraan is fun, mind. Now that others have pointed it out, it does rather look like a Star Wars crossover.

I find myself more inclined to spend all that money on a repaint of a mould I already own (Black Zarak/Scorponok). I'd rather have had a nice playset than this. I assume the Ark as a robot plays a part in the Kingdom cartoon to justify this figure.

[Slack]

I definitely would prefer a playset/base mode to this, however it should have all three

[Pinwig]

Interesting how Teletraan turns into Mainframe. Can't remember different modes having different names before aside from the Punch/Counterpunch type.

[Philip Ayres]

[Toph]

If we get a properly colored Selects repaint of Mainframe, that may tip me in favor of passing on this.

The robot mode has zero appeal to me. It's so wrong for The Last Autobot. The spaceship mode has massive appeal, but I'd rather a much smaller and cheaper version from Eaglemoss.
So Mainframe and tge Golden Disks are literally the primary draw for me.

[The Doctor]

The more I think about it and look at it the more The Ark seems like a massive mistake in execution. In media it's generally been a base of operations, not a crap robot. What were they thinking?

Mainframe is neat though not £150 worth of neat to come with a crap giant robot accessory.

-Ralph

[Pinwig]

I don't think it looks crap, I think it's great. I couldn't see Hasbro releasing a Titan that doesn't have a robot mode. The lack of an open up base mode is disappointing, but when you think about how toys that have that work, the inside of the Ark would have to be hollow to have a bridge set and it's probably not possible to do that and a robot.

[Dezzeh]

Im going to downsize appropriately and buy this.

[The Huff]

I guess I think of the Ark as a base more than a spaceship. It flew once and was sticking out of a volcano ever since. I think I'd have preferred a toy/playset of that.
Like Boulder Hill.

[Pinwig]

I'd love a proper playset. Playsets are where it's at. I'm not sure Hasbro would chance it though.

[The Doctor]

The Core class size is ideal for playsets. It's a no-brainer.

-Ralph

[Nigel]

Indeed. Core are similar to Cyberverse/DOTM, which had a playset play pattern to some extent. But perhaps that didn't really work for Hasbro.

[Pinwig]

I wonder now where Core is going G1-wise. All the figures so far have been roughly the same height. If they do the cars in scale they'll be well overpriced in comparison, if they do them the same height they'll look odd being the same as Prime. Will these figures continue after Kingdom? Will the current ones get repaints in a boxed set to offset the mould costs? If we're moving on to 85 because we've run out of figures the right size then Shockwave, Grimlock and Blaster would be nice additions.

[The Doctor]

That would be lovely.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

I struggle to think of any story scenarios people could satisfactorily re-enact with this Ark. It's too small to be a base for Autobots, but too big to strike Unicron on the chin.

How compatible is it size-wise with the various Omega Supremes and Trypticons on the market, given it's Omega's job to protect the Ark when it's embedded in the volcano and Trypticon's job to attack and destroy it?

Martin

[Stomski]

Apr 9, 2021 20:33:37 GMT Pinwig said:

I'd love a proper playset. Playsets are where it's at. I'm not sure Hasbro would chance it though.

Maybe they're looking at how DotM Ark did... Which can't have done well given the discounts it went for.

Having said that, it was never portrayed in media filling the role the play pattern was, this on the other hand... The ark is a base and all other titans have had a base mode, so...

[Llama God]

Apr 9, 2021 20:46:29 GMT The Doctor said:

The Core class size is ideal for playsets. It's a no-brainer.

In which case it would seem that Hasbro have less than no brains, which is impressive. The fact that Core Class was brought in for Kingdom implied that they had some sort of play pattern in mind that was going to include base modes - the fact that the Ark is thus completely missing a base mode seems all the more bizarre as a result, and is indeed something of a disappointment.

However, I will be getting it anyway, because I do like the Last Autobot homage, and I do want a big Ark, so... here we are.

[Philip Ayres]

[The Doctor]

Apr 10, 2021 5:16:41 GMT Grand Moff Muffin said:

I struggle to think of any story scenarios people could satisfactorily re-enact with this Ark.
Martin

Loads of stuff in the cartoon*. In the comic you can have Grimlock torture people, "HELP US" and so on.

-Ralph

*Where it is called Autobot Headquarters. Not referred to on screen as The Ark until Beast Wars.

[Benn]

I forget how skinny Metroplex is.

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Apr 10, 2021 10:17:12 GMT The Doctor said:

Loads of stuff in the cartoon*. In the comic you can have Grimlock torture people, "HELP US" and so on.

-Ralph

*Where it is called Autobot Headquarters. Not referred to on screen as The Ark until Beast Wars.

But most of the good stuff involves characters inside the ship, which this Ark toy doesn't appear to accommodate. Unless I've got the wrong end of the stick, it doesn't appear you can even have an Autobot stand in front of Teletran-1 inside the ship itself?

Martin

[Benn]

Yeah, Teletran is scaled to deluxe toys.

[Toph]

It was barely ever even seen in the cartoon. Grimlock had it pulled out of the ground and repaired in the comic (which gave it it's name), though it had a different design.
Beast Wars and Marvel used and showed the Ark way more than sunbow ever did.
I'd even say that this version is far more important to Beast Wars than G1.

And given that it's robot mode is The Last Autobot, there is almost nothing this takes from Sunbow.

[The Doctor]

The more I look at the Ark robot the more I dislike it. Fine child bearing hips though.

Mainframe is fab though.

-Ralph

[Grand Moff Muffin]

Apr 10, 2021 11:02:01 GMT Toph said:

the comic (which gave it it's name)

The Ark was mentioned in the 1984 character bios Bob Budiansky wrote which got condensed/abridged to make the tech-specs, but I'm not aware if the name made it onto any of the 1984 tech-specs. It definitely made it onto the 1985-6 ones, e.g. Omega Supreme and Pipes.

Martin

[Philip Ayres]

www.amazon.com.au/Hasbro-Transformers-Generations-War-Cybertron/dp/B08XBS2S33

m.media-amazon.com/images/I/B14efFchALS.mp4



alternately www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=3304346359667940&id=239925686110038

[The Doctor]

Now looks even more pump than before.

I can't wait to own it.

*sobs*

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

I don't like it at all. Goofy robot mode, no base. Looks... cheap. Ark mode looks decent but look at the gappy tower on the top, hollow at the back. And the big gappy bits on the side of the ship which obviously house the upper legs. Since when did Teletran transform? Good on 'em for doing something different, but I worry it'll feel insubstantial in hand.

[Toph]

So Mainframe had a weird third mode that made no sense to me. Now we finally get a good shot of it:


It's the bridge!
So I think this actually inserts into the ark from below, and goes under the windows we see on the top, that phil theorized might open up and seat a core class figure.

[Pinwig]

That makes sense and fits with the original rumours that said this piece fits into the ark. The robot mode pose in that video isn't doing it any favours. I'm still excited.