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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 7, 2013 19:07:07 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 7, 2013 19:09:25 GMT
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Post by Shockprowl on Dec 9, 2013 19:58:58 GMT
I have the Defensor, due to the Prowl conection. Excellent fun set. I did have the Devastator, which was also excellent, but sold him on a few years ago during a very harsh cull.
Defensor is a great little team... Prowl leading a team of obvious G1 renames.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Dec 18, 2013 9:37:58 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 17, 2014 6:45:29 GMT
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
Posts: 4,930
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Post by Jim on Apr 17, 2014 22:28:55 GMT
Lovely. Shame ehobby didn't do a Metrotitan around the time of Encore Metroplex.
-Jim
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 18, 2014 19:08:10 GMT
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Post by blueshift on Apr 18, 2014 19:19:24 GMT
That's a lot of MISB Skyhypers! Are they KOs (I couldn't imagine something so obscure getting KOed) or was it a warehouse find?
EDIT: Okay, I just saw the 'ATTACK SKY FIGHTER' logo on the box
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 18, 2014 20:12:16 GMT
The toy itself is decent enough, if you just wanted one for your Autobot city, and weren't bothered about the Micromaster, it'd do the trick nicely.
It's a very odd KO. And an accurate one!
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kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
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Post by kayevcee on Apr 19, 2014 8:37:49 GMT
It is odd, not to mention expensive for a KO. I've already got the micromaster from a Yahoo Japan mixed lot so all I need is the chopper and other accessories to show up and I'm there.
I do appreciate you keeping an eye out for me though, uncle Phil! I'll get one someday. That and the red Sonic Bomber from Might Gaine.
-Nick
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Post by Philip Ayres on Oct 20, 2015 8:49:29 GMT
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Feb 12, 2016 16:50:34 GMT
Micromaster Combiner Cannon Transport is here, courtesy of G! 1 down, 2 to go! The combining Micromasters were the best Micromasters. I love how in the late '80s Hasbro and Takara would really push their concepts as far as possible - "hey let's make Transformers that look like Micro Machines but able to transform!" - "OK, now what?" - "let's make them combine!" |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 12, 2016 21:30:06 GMT
I'm not 100% sure but I think there was a line of cut n shut cars at around this time who's gimmick Hasbro may have pilfered for the Combiners bit.
The MM Combiners never really worked for me. I wanted my combined vehicles to make sense and, beyond the intended combination, these don't. I think they could have done better. Painting all the Constructor Squad Constructicon green wouldn't have hurt either!
The Combiner Transports themselves are odd beasts, a cross between the first whole year's transports and bases. As vehicles by themselves they're OK but the split versions or the combined version with half a MM combiner in front and the other half behind just look odd. I'd dismissed the base modes before now as "a road for a MM to drive through" but I've discovered there's a bit more to them than that with connections for side ramps which should prove useful. Unfortunately all 3 bases modes are essentially the same thing with different bits hanging off them.
I'm liking the Cannon transport more than I thought but if I'd paid what's being asked for some on eBay I might be less impressed if this was my first one. However now I do need the other two to complete my UK MM collection!
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Post by blueshift on Feb 13, 2016 1:41:54 GMT
I'm not 100% sure but I think there was a line of cut n shut cars at around this time who's gimmick Hasbro may have pilfered for the Combiners bit. Connectables! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2016 8:15:52 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2016 8:23:33 GMT
If I were Hasbro in the 80s: - I'd have given Micromasters some connection to the older characters like Action Masters did, recycling the older cast.
- I'd have given Micromasters some larger robots that turn into bases like the Japanese did. There's not a single new larger TF robot in 1990 and it looks like all the older ones had gone off shelf at that time too.
MM Combiners feels like a step in the wrong direction, especially alongside Action Masters. It's interesting that those two together kill the US line but Classics, returning to the basic ideas of the line and the original toys, keeps the UK line going. |
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Post by The Doctor on Feb 13, 2016 9:36:16 GMT
It was a different market back then. It was generally about 'new characters'. In rare times when an old character got a new toy there was a big thing made about it in the supporting media and the new toy would be quite different from the original ie Powermaster Prime, Pretender Jazz and chums. This was long before Transformers changed into (for better or worse) mostly continual remakes of older toys/characters. By 1990 the main market for Transformers was kids. Kids wanted new things. I was 'growing out' of toys at the time but what kept my interest going for a bit longer were that Micromasters and co were new characters. Later when I first saw G2 I had no interest in buying any of them as it just looked like old toys/characters reheated so I bought video games instead. I only bought G2 toys years later when I was an adult going to conventions and had feelings of nostalgia.
Had Micromasters just been remakes of old characters at the time I wouldn't have bought any of them.
-Ralph
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
Posts: 4,930
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Post by Jim on Feb 13, 2016 15:45:29 GMT
Exactly what Ralph says! The new characters kept me interested, through both Micromasters and Action Masters. In the latter case I quite enjoyed having posable action figures of classic characters, but could tell that more effort went into the new designs and tended to favour them. I think you could say the same about the Pretenders, the classic ones were okay but they didn't have the same visual interest as the new ones.
To this day, the idea of iconic G1 characters forming a combiner (for example, or being re-cast as Headmasters) interests me significantly less than getting new characters.
-Jim
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Post by Benn on Feb 13, 2016 22:22:46 GMT
I'm in agreement with the two gents above.
I liked that there was so many new characters that kept coming out. It kept TF's fresh for me. And the Action Masters that I wanted most as a kid were the new guys and the ones who'd never come out in the UK, like Blaster and Shockwave.
I have no interest in a Dinobot combiner, or an Optimus Prime combiner. It does nothing for me, I'm afraid!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Feb 13, 2016 22:45:19 GMT
Do any of the Micromasters have any memorable personality and character?
(serious question!)
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Post by Benn on Feb 14, 2016 9:18:28 GMT
Countdown, Roadhandler, the bickering Air Strike Patrol...
Plus any personality my imagination gave them back in the day!
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
Posts: 4,930
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Post by Jim on Feb 14, 2016 10:46:46 GMT
Exactly! It's not so much that they were given much personality in their Tech Specs (though the slightly expanded AtoZs in the 1990 annual helped a bit) but that the new designs let you project whatever you wanted on to them something that would be more difficult with classic characters. That said, it amused me that the Race Car Patrol profiles in the MTMTE books matched quite closely with what I'd come up with for them as a kid.
If we hadn't had new designs for characters coming through all the time, I think it would have had a big impact on the overall brand; imagine if Furman hadn't had so much cannon fodder but instead had had to work around whatever contrived way had been invented for Bumblebee to be now a Targetmaster, now a Pretender, now a Micromaster... I don't think it would have led to the richness of fiction that kept many of us around and directly through to the current output of IDW (and Lord knows, Roberts needs that cannon fodder!).
-Jim
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 14, 2016 8:18:45 GMT
I'm not 100% sure but I think there was a line of cut n shut cars at around this time who's gimmick Hasbro may have pilfered for the Combiners bit. Connectables! Hot Wheels have resurrected the concept with Split speeders! Only this time it's down the middle end to end! I could see that working on Transformers with limited articulation.... |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 14, 2016 8:51:02 GMT
"The evil Decepticon scientist Shockwave has salvaged parts from the dead and dying Decepticons and reanimated them using Ore XYZ to form all powerful zombie techno warriors. But the Heroic Autobots medics have revived their injured warriors and given the power to combine their damaged forms on the battlefield to defeat this new evil Decepitcon menace!"
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Post by Benn on Mar 19, 2016 23:41:40 GMT
Animated Safeguard says hello!
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Post by blueshift on Mar 20, 2016 0:27:55 GMT
It's a shame Safeguard was such a horrible toy! I'd like to have at least seen those G2 Decepticons out of him!
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Post by Pinwig on Mar 20, 2016 11:02:49 GMT
Great for sword fights though. He could be attacked and split right down the middle.
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Post by blueshift on Mar 20, 2016 11:13:47 GMT
I'd really like Hasbro to try that sort of style again. Now that combiners are popular again, who knows!!!
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Post by Pinwig on Mar 20, 2016 12:39:34 GMT
Hmm. I think top and bottom is a little more robust than halves like that. Safeguard was a bugger to get to stay together. At least the other way round gravity is with you.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 20, 2016 12:53:01 GMT
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