Toys you've never Transformed

[Philip Ayres]

Now we all know here that Certain People here have issues with not getting round to taking toys out of boxes.

But recently another problem has become evident, as witnessed by the Saturday Zoom Call.

Every week we log in and every week the same transformer is sitting there behind Andu in Alt mode.

"Have you transformed it yet?" we ask him and the answer is no. He keeps promising us he will and yet.....

But Andu is not the only one with this problem. I have a number of toys here I've not transformed. I tried to TF Kingdom Blackarachnia and gave up and that's put me off TFing any of the Kingdom beasts, bar Airazor.

There's numerous repaints I've never TF'd: Kingdom Magnus & Inferno, most of the many Siege Sideswipe, Any Earthrise Datsun other than Bluestreak, all the Earthrise jets that came after Starscream. Numerous recent Generations Op repaints......

Is anyone else similarly afflicted? And if so which toys that they own and have opened have they never Transformed?

[The Doctor]

I am SHOCKED by Phil.

-Ralph

[Benn]

I've got a couple of 3P but no official Tf's that have never been transformiumed.

[Pinwig]

I make sure I TF every Hasbro figure I buy at least once, but for most Generations figures it usually is just once to alt mode and back to robot. It's patchy with more expensive stuff. I don't think I've transformed a Fans Toys figure ever for fear of breaking something, but as they come in robot mode it hasn't worried me. I like to know they *can* transform, but I don't have to do it to enjoy the figures.

The simpler the figure, the more likely it'll get fiddled with. These Spychangers have been back and forth loads of times.

[The Huff]

A few!

ROTF Optimus Prime (although I did transform another that my mum found at a boot fair)
ROTF Ravage (because there is no point)
Masterpiece Megatron (never seem to have the time)
Fanstoys Blurr (I heard it breaks)

I'm sure there are others.

What these toys all have in common is that they are packaged as robots. If they were all in alt mode, then they certainly would have been transformed.

With masterpiece, sometimes it's more the case that I know it can transform and that is enough if I have a similar alt mode version already.

[Pinwig]

Yes! Masterpiece figures that come in robot mode - no transform. The ones that come in alt mode have to be done to see the robot. Mostly in that case it's the cars. They all come as cars, I think all the other MPs have come as robots.

[The Doctor]

I transform all the TF's that can transform.

-Ralph

[Pinwig]

Which is the point really with these toys.

The thing is, there is something about a robot mode that you know can turn into something else. Particularly going back ten years or beyond when the streamlined aesthetic that Generations has adopted was less prevalent. Robots that look like they're made from bits of something else look better than ones that don't. Er, by which I mean compare a RED figure to an equivalent TF. The RED figures are dull, not because they're Sunbow styled necessarily but because there's nothing unusual about the robot, they look too humanoid. I think this is why I'm enjoying revisiting RID at the moment, the massive variety in shape and size is fascinating.

So what I mean is that you could argue that if you don't transform Transformers, then why buy them, but there is something to be said for the fact that transforming robots have much more interesting robot modes than ones that don't.

[Jim]

Never summed up the courage with MP-9 after all the horror stories, in fact although the box is opened he's still tied into the plastic tray. Been wondering if I should just sell him for years now!

I also haven't gotten round to transforming the TFC reissue Megatron, which means I've never transformed a G1 Megatron.

[Toph]

I don't think i have one I've never transformed, but there are a few I transformed once and declared "never again!"

RotF Leader Optimus
Kingdom Beast Megs
MP Dinobot

There are others, but they escape me atm.

[The Doctor]

Yes, a few that I only did once, usually because they were horrendously complicated!!!

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

I'm limited in my transforming ambitions.

[Stomski]

Jun 7, 2021 19:01:16 GMT Toph said:

I don't think i have one I've never transformed, but there are a few I transformed once and declared "never again!"

MP Dinobot

The thought of going back to Velicoraptor scares me.

Never TF'd MP Megatron v2 after reports of easy paint damage. That's about it.

[Llama God]

I am also in the "transform everything at least once" camp, because transforconverting them is what they're all about. This also applies to repaints, because even though the transformationconversion scheme might be the same, the repaint could make all the difference in alt-mode, and that's worth taking a look at.

That said, there are plenty of toys that have been converted once, and will never be converted again. MP-36+ Megatron is a prime example of that - he was too flimsy and his chrome plating seemed way too delicate to survive repeated attempts. Alternators Grimlock is another one, because just getting everything to line up in robot mode was just too much of a pain in the arse. Likewise getting Dark of the Moon Leader Sentinel Prime into vehicle mode is something I'll never be attempting again, just because of trying to get all the panels to line up.

There is one Transformer in my collection I've never successfully gotten into alt-mode without cheating, and that is Trans-Scanning Optimus Prime. You're supposed to be able to get it into truck mode with all the vehicle pieces attached, but the way the skeleton folds up and the difficult with getting the panels to meet up means it just doesn't happen. So I just removed all the truck mode pieces and put them together into truck mode, leaving the inner skeleton with all the robot mode pieces on. It just wasn't worth my time otherwise.

But this is one of the reasons I'll still collect simpler toys, like the Cyberverse lines or Botbots - because they are just fun to have sitting on your desk and being able to fiddle with and shift them back and forwards between modes. Which is really the point in the end.

[The Huff]

Jun 7, 2021 12:54:25 GMT Pinwig said:

Which is the point really with these toys.

The thing is, there is something about a robot mode that you know can turn into something else. Particularly going back ten years or beyond when the streamlined aesthetic that Generations has adopted was less prevalent. Robots that look like they're made from bits of something else look better than ones that don't. Er, by which I mean compare a RED figure to an equivalent TF. The RED figures are dull, not because they're Sunbow styled necessarily but because there's nothing unusual about the robot, they look too humanoid. I think this is why I'm enjoying revisiting RID at the moment, the massive variety in shape and size is fascinating.

So what I mean is that you could argue that if you don't transform Transformers, then why buy them, but there is something to be said for the fact that transforming robots have much more interesting robot modes than ones that don't.

Quoting this because it is my thoughts exactly and it deserves to be repeated.

[Benn]

True dat.

[Dezzeh]

I have quite a few, mostly MP / 3p ones. I make a point of transforming every main line figure I get at least once though.

[Bogatan]

If Ive opened it, Ive transformed it.

With the exception of Unicron and thats just a matter of time and space.

Thanks to Toy-Fu Ive also transformed many, many, many Transformers that I dont own.

[Benn]

Oh, yeah, the original MP Megatron. Never transformed it. Never will.

[Jim]

There are also people who take pleasure in complex transformations, taking their time over the process, or treating it as a puzzle to solve without instructions first time round, which can be disappointing if too simple. So I wouldn't say it's an objective truth that transformations have to be quick and easy. It's good if there's a variety!

My own preference these days is for relatively quick, without too much lining up panels and all that, but with clever little touches that might not be immediately obvious first time through. SS86 Jazz springs to mind from what I've got this year, along with Warpath.

I also like it when the designers decide the style of transformation is important rather than it just being functional. Hot Rod tends to get this treatment for his iconic transformations in the movie - I haven't had a go with the SS86 version, but I love what they did with the MP.

[The Doctor]

Jun 8, 2021 12:40:25 GMT Bogatan said:

If Ive opened it, Ive transformed it.

With the exception of Unicron and thats just a matter of time and space.

We need to get you and Andu on a live stream to see who can transform it quickest for charity.

-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

Jun 8, 2021 12:43:01 GMT Benn said:

Oh, yeah, the original MP Megatron. Never transformed it. Never will.

Aye, same 'ere. 'Specially as I sold the bugger five year since.

[Bogatan]

Jun 8, 2021 14:07:06 GMT Jim said:

There are also people who take pleasure in complex transformations, taking their time over the process, or treating it as a puzzle to solve without instructions first time round, which can be disappointing if too simple. So I wouldn't say it's an objective truth that transformations have to be quick and easy. It's good if there's a variety!

My own preference these days is for relatively quick, without too much lining up panels and all that, but with clever little touches that might not be immediately obvious first time through. SS86 Jazz springs to mind from what I've got this year, along with Warpath.

I also like it when the designers decide the style of transformation is important rather than it just being functional. Hot Rod tends to get this treatment for his iconic transformations in the movie - I haven't had a go with the SS86 version, but I love what they did with the MP.

No instructions for me. I think the only time Ive used them is because the chest on my Wreck Gar (original) was so tight that I had to check the instructions to make sure I was right because it really felt like I was going to break something.

I love having easier toys that I can fiddle with, but I also enjoy the puzzle value of the likes of MP Megatron. Both the G1 versions each took hours to work out, that level of involvment kind of justifies the extra cost too me. If I've worked it out in 10 minutes I might as well have just bought a £10-20 toy. Probably the reason Ive always felt MP Starsaber is a bit disappointing.