Transformers Toy of the Week

[legios]

Sept 5, 2008 19:36:57 GMT dyrl said:

I sort of agree with your assesment of Magnus Karl - at least on the face of it, but...

Notice that Magnus' articulation is really no worse off than any of the other Diaclone inspired Autobots; Prowl, Jazz etc - all of them are bricks with semi-articulate arms.

Absolutely, that was kind of what I meant by "late Diaclone roots" - it is something that is very much a common feature of those toys. Probably because they had the same group of concept designers beavering away on the original designs, they inevitably came out with a lot of similarities in approach due to having the same brains working on them.

The reason why Magnus makes this deficiency stick out is because of his sheer size. I have always felt that the G1 TF articulation is was actually not very problematic on the smaller toys. But with the bigger ones (G2 Megatron has the same problem) - it suddenly becomes more glaring and annoying.

This is probably because the larger size makes it less excusable to have shoddy articulation.

Pete

I'd agree with you there. A big toy, in my opinion, needs to do more to justify its size. Even when I was younger it was never as simple as "big toys are good", it was "big toys are good because they can do this, this, this and this". That is why I feel that Magnus suffers in comparison to Galvatron, who is of similar stature but far more capable in a number of areas.

Karl

[dyrl]

Quote: That is why I feel that Magnus suffers in comparison to Galvatron, who is of similar stature but far more capable in a number of areas.

Is this a veiled reference to the fac that Galvatron has a bigger gun than Ultra Magnus? Because, of course, he does - though he rarely takes it out.

Pete

[The Doctor]

Tomy, please re-issue Magnus in diaclone colours. Just for me. Please.

-Ralph

[legios]

Sept 5, 2008 20:46:50 GMT dyrl said:

Quote: That is why I feel that Magnus suffers in comparison to Galvatron, who is of similar stature but far more capable in a number of areas.

Is this a veiled reference to the fac that Galvatron has a bigger gun than Ultra Magnus? Because, of course, he does - though he rarely takes it out.

Pete

Actually it wasn't innuendo -I tend to leave that to folk on the Hub who are far better at it than myself. I was refering to the fact that Galvatron was more articulated and had an actual action featur....You know, I'm just going to quite while I'm ahead.

Karl

[Bogatan]

Sept 5, 2008 20:13:33 GMT legios said:

I'd agree with you there. A big toy, in my opinion, needs to do more to justify its size. Even when I was younger it was never as simple as "big toys are good", it was "big toys are good because they can do this, this, this and this". That is why I feel that Magnus suffers in comparison to Galvatron, who is of similar stature but far more capable in a number of areas.

Karl

I Take the same view on size and articulation, which is the existence of deluxe version of Armada Prime makes me hate the larger version so much, but view the Magnus/Galvatron differently to you. I view Magnus as a small robot with reasonable articulation (actually very good except for the hips) that has a great gimmick and play value thanks to its trailer.

If you think of a human stepping into a suit of armour of course movement is restricted so the larger forms lack or articulation never bothered me.

Galvatron I enjoyed as a kid, being the first Decepticon leader we owned( it was my brothers) but dislike its size now (see my comments on G2 Megatron).

Andy

[dyrl]

Well, since we're on the subject of restricted movement - I would like to point out one thing in defense of the Diaclone line designers:

Notice that all of the Autobots - well - except Sideswipe - in the Diaclone line have wheels next to their feet, or a hover sled on tank treads (Ironhide/Ratchet)> If you think about it - these were designed to be simple, brick like standing robots who rolled on their wheeled feet and had great arm articulation.

These were not meant to be fully poseable anthropomorphic Cybertronians. Think of them as your standard robot on wheels with flashy lights from the 70s and add arm articulation.

Looked at this way - Ultra Magnus is just a BIGGER robot on wheels - he zooms around on those 4 wheels (instead of two).

If we consider them this way - which makes them seem very much more robotic and less "sentient humanoid being" - then the design starts to make sense.

Pete

[The Huff]

Very true - I remember being disappointed that they gave Warpath and Seaspray proper feet in the comics/cartoon as I always envisaged them rolling/hovering as toys.

Trailbreaker is the other exception, or wasn't he a Diaclone toy originally?

[legios]

Sept 6, 2008 9:28:00 GMT The Huff said:

Trailbreaker is the other exception, or wasn't he a Diaclone toy originally?

Nope, Trailbreake was indeed one of the Diaclone Car Robots.

Karl

[Philip Ayres]

As was Hoist.

I'm extremely fond of G1 Magnus. Yes it might be a brick, but it stands up ok unlike certain modern toys we can mention. It's the first "robot combines with it's stuff" TF - PM Prime springs to mind, it's got decent arm articulation for the time and it does it al based on an unaltered existing mold.

[The Doctor]

This week, the original toy that was...

IRONHIDE/RATCHET

Here is Diaclone Ironhide saving the world:



-Ralph

[Shockprowl]

Guess what my TF of the week is?

[The Doctor]

Fallen Dave.

-Ralph

[dyrl]

Oh my sweet Jeranium Chrystals!

That Diaclone commercial is AAAAWWWWEEESSSOOOMMMMEEEE!!!

And that Japanese kid is SOOO way cooler than the creepy flashing eyes kid from Hasbro adds!!

And that chase scene - FORGET the Michael Bay movie with the 80 mph Optimus Prime transformation... THAT Sunstreaker transforming in the tunnel was just the BOMB!!!!

Dude - Diaclone Car Robots ruuullleee!!

As for Ironhide:

I have both him and Ratchet in Encore glory. They are CUTE. I remember how, in the early episodes of the Marvel comics, they were portrayed in their toy forms - and it all made sense to me - because Ratchet, being a repair bot - had a more "dronish" look. Ironhide was meant to be (in my mind) a sort of armored warrior - hence his chariot and the missiles and all that).

Besides - the actual robot didn't look all that bad and was actually pretty logical in terms of proportions and composition. And Warwithin Ironhide and Kup just go to show that this aesthetic DOES work.

Actually - it's far preferable to being a bloody Teletubby, as G1 Ironhide and Ratchet were in the cartoon

The toys got fairly good poseability to - your standard main poseability in the arms as with all the diaclone Autobots, and some toe movement for good measure.

And as usual the vehicle mode is really cool.

Hard to say anything bad about this toy except "it doesn't look like Ironhide" - but you can't fault the toy for that. That's like saying the chicken doesn't look like the egg.... err...assuming that the egg comes...you know...before the...err...chicken.

Pete

[The Doctor]

I think they are marvelous toys. I've always been amused by the two main complaints regarding them being:
-They have no heads/faces (they do)
-They don't look like Ratchet/Ironhide (they are from a previous toy-line and designed when the Marvel comic/Sunbow cartoon wasn't even thought of never mind existed).

-Ralph

[legios]

I have a great fondness for Ironhide and Ratchet. Even when I was younger they were one of the molds amongst the Autobot cars that most caught my attention. I think part of the reason for that was the fact that they were distinctly non-humanoid. They really looked the part of _alien_ robots. I liked the idea that they were semi-modular - with a legged component for some situation, and a combat/utility platform to carry additional equipment and to provide transportation and a firing platform. They seem quite good fits for the support roles that they were given in Transformers, they also have quite good play value because of the two component parts.

Aesthetically I have never felt that they were lacking heads. After all, they had what looks like a likely place to mount a cluster of sensors behind those large, transparent "shields" at the top of their humanoid components, covering the main use they would have for a head. (Also they are robots and don't absolutely require a head as such anyway).

The argument that they "don't look like Ratchet and Ironhide" has always genuinely confused me. The toys were the first incarnation of Ratchet and Ironhide to exist, and the comic and cartoon models were the ones that deviated from the existing designs. Surely the comic and cartoon models are the ones that are inaccurate? (As you can probably guess, the aftermarket heads for the reissues are something I find more than a little amusing).

As an aside, the Diaclone release of the Vanette mold fascinates me. Most of the rest of the Diaclone mecha are very much in the "Super Robot" line aesthetically. With very human seeming proportions and features. The Vanette design is much more akin to the "real robot" trend, feeling much more like a large-end Power Armour than a Getter style super-robot. Very much feels like an experiment in pushing out the boundaries of what would be acceptable within the Diaclone line. (I'd love to know who did the majority of the design work on it. I have a hunch based on the design aesthetic but hard data on exactly who did what isn't readily available).

Karl

[Andy Turnbull]

I love the Ratchet/Ironhide toys. Ironhide less so as there was no real colour variation on him which bugged me. I love the fact they look so alien as toys and I wish we'd seen more of that in the comics. I wish Marvel had let artists use the toys as the basis a bit longer as it would have meant for some interesting looking stories.

Andy

[grahamthomson]

This week;

Beast Machines Spystreak! (Or, if you prefer, Robots in Disguise Night Cruz.)

[Stomski]

An interesting choice there. Was one of the last Beast Machines I picked up. I remember him being a pain to find.

[Philip Ayres]

or even Universe Fireflight

My abiding memoiry of this toy is being so disapointed when it came out that it didn't have the black and bright red colours of the promo pictures. as it is none of the 3 are quite right.

[grahamthomson]

I quite liked the RiD colourscheme, but never felt like wasting money on the other two repaints it came with.

[legios]

I can't speak to Universe Fireflight as I have never owned one, but I have owned both Nightcruz and Spystreak over the years and I am rather fond of the mold.

Whilst it doesn't really turn into anything in particular (it has wings that seem to vaguely be getting at SR-71, but a fuselage that looks like it wandered off from some of the Boeing Hypersonic bomber/airliner concept designs) it does look quite nice in both modes. The aircraft mode has a nice blended-wing aesthetic to it and looks rather nicely futuristic. The transformation is quite clever as well - I like the way it spilts so that the dorsal and ventral surfaces of the fuselage become arms, I don't think we'd seen that before.

The humanoid mode isn't bad either. It looks somewhat unbalanced, with the squat missile launcher for one arm and the giant pick-n-mix tongs on the other. It makes it look less humanoid, which actually works quite well alongside the rest of the Beast Machines toys as a lot of the Vehicons seemed to be going for that "not quite humanoid" sensibility.

I actually like Spystreak slightly more than Nightcruz for some reason. Although I would admit that Nightcruz has the more interesting colour scheme - the marbled black effect is quite eye catching. I think that Spystreak's colours suit my mental image of him as the leader of a flock of recon drones, acting as the tireless eyes of Megatron's new regime.

Karl
(Tangentially - I suspect I am the only person who actually likes the "Fantastic Four" look that Scavenger ended up getting in the RiD three pack....)

[dyrl]

Bleh!!!

I used to own the Beast Machines version.

Yucky!!

Lumbering!

Without personality...

Um....

I don't have nor want him...

A Throw away TF...

Pete

[legios]

we've not had one of these so far this week, so may I propose as our starter for ten:-

Skyquake/Machine Wars Starscream/Universe King Atlas?

(I shall return in a day or so with my own thoughts on the topic).

Karl

[The Doctor]

A most splendid toy. Not very articulated but with loads of character and impressive size. Carpet bombing feature is great fun! I actually just today got shot of my Skyquake. I thought I'd never get rid of it but I could not justify keeping it due to owning Universe King Atlas which has a much superior paint job which brings out the mould more (Skyquake does suffer from a rather drab shade of gren, alas). Also, I can pretend that Skyquake lives in his mind, like Megatron/Straxus!

Never seen the Machine Wars Starscream incarnation of the mould in the plastic, though it looks nice in pictures.

-Ralph

[grahamthomson]

Sadly Skyquake is one Transformers toy I've long sought after but never owned. When he was "out" in 1992 I'd saved up some money to get him but changed my mind and instead bought Thunder Clash! One day, though...

[legios]

Skyquake is one of those toys I have owned, but have no longer - due to limited space. Although it is one of the more obscure toys, coming as it does from the latter years of the original "The Transformers" line when distribution was patchy to say the least, I do think it deserves to be more widely appreciated.

The vehicle mode is certainly a nice chunky size. It isn't immediately clear what it is supposed to be - some sort of generic jet-powered bomber seems to be as close as it gets to reality - but it is a nicely designed kind of generic plane which feels like it makes some sort of sense. It has some nice gimmicks in aircraft mode. Although the Supersight feature, where one of the small Predators could attach to the top of the rear fuselage, and then you looked through a viewer at the rear of Skyquake in order to see a somewhat indistinct picture of... something or other isn't terribly exciting it is reasonably well executed and I have to give them the points for at least trying it.

Rather better are the rotating bomb-bays mounted mid-wing on either side. We'd seen projectiles on Transformer toys before, but we'd never seen one set up for area-bombing. The rotating bomb-bays give Skyquake the ability to do a creditable approximation of a ripple-bombing run, and if I had owned Skyquake as a child would have been exactly the sort of action-feature I was looking for in a senior "bad-guy" toy.

The humanoid mode is where the Skyquake mold really shines for me though. True, it has extremely limited articulation - no head movement, no leg articulation to speak of, and only very limited movement of the arms - but it the sculpt and the design makes up for it for me (And for that matter, his articulation isn't that bad by comparison to some of the late Masters -era toys in all honesty). It is a very imposing looking toy, tall and built in a way that gives it a sense of strength and solidity, and with a fantastic face-sculpt that is full of character.

Colour scheme wise I have to say that the original release got the short end of the stick really. The very flat, plasticy looking green colour scheme doesn't really flatter the mold. It is a bit too drab and utilitarian to really do it any favours in humanoid mode. Not that it looks bad as such, but that is more a case of a toy looking good despite its colour scheme. I've only seen the black/silver Machine Wars Starscream version in pictures as yet, but I do think that it is a much more flattering colour scheme on the mold - works better in aircraft mode as well.

The real winner for this mold however is the Universe version - King Atlas. Originally I wasn't sure what to make of the idea of repainting it in a generally white colour scheme - however, when I actually saw it in the plastic it fully won me over. The white scheme actually works really well for it - very striking indeed. Not only that, but for a relatively cheap line of repaints, someone decided that they were going to put a bit of effort into the Skyquake repaint. Not only did they come up with an eyecatching colour scheme for it, but they went the extra mile and applied a weathering effect to it. Some black washing and highlighting makes it seem as if King Atlas has accumulated a few miles on the clock and that the elements and the strains of combat have taken their toll on his paint job. It isn't the finest job I have seen of applying weathering effects to a toy, but given the low-cost aspirations of Universe it is a creditable effort, and one of the few times I can recall seeing a Transformers toy being approached in that way.

For me the mold is a little bit of a hidden gem - one of those later toys that displays surprisingly well (all of the Predators and Turbomasters actually look quite good on a display shelf I think). He didn't do to badly in terms of comebacks either really, for a toy only distributed in Europe in the fallow years of the brand.

Karl

[Bogatan]

This must have been one of the first Transformers I got back when I first started going to a local carboot sale back in 95 because by the time I went to Canada in 97 I passed on MW Starscream because I had the mold. I regret that now. I can't justify picking up another version of the toy though (ditto Soundwave and Whirl?). I do like the toy a lot tough. Lots of character.

In regards to the green plastic. I have noticed recently that for a line everyone considers to be "neon" coloured, a lot of the toys are quite dull. Or at least have only a small percentage of "neon". It's almost disappointing.

Andy

[grahamthomson]

This week; SWERVE (the original 1986 version)

[Philip Ayres]

I do love the 86 repaints. Minor mods give you new toys.

[The Doctor]

Had one back in the day. Great little toy, with character. Damn it, I need one now!

-Ralph