|
Post by Bogatan on Mar 20, 2014 12:17:41 GMT
We've done armada haven't we? So I'm stumped.
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Mar 20, 2014 12:33:35 GMT
Don't forget That Bloody Horse*! -Nick *Beast Wars Neo Mach Kick. A standout avatar of fustration among a whole line of nightmarish messes. Mach Kick had some really clever stuff. The way his tail became a ponytail, the way the transformation involved breaking it apart but being able to keep it together all the time. Just... uh... yeah. Wow. More of a punishment than a toy.
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 20, 2014 12:56:50 GMT
Famous figures of pain within TMUK - RiD Magnus, 2008 Movie Ultimate Bumblbee, ROTF Optimus Prime. Hrmmm. I do enjoy these hints, Phil Good! Thank you :-) Don't forget That Bloody Horse*! -Nick *Beast Wars Neo Mach Kick. A standout avatar of fustration among a whole line of nightmarish messes. Somewhere I have a photo showing me how the insides of Mach Kick are meant to line up when transformed into horse mode.... Neo is a work of genius! One of my fave TF lines! But it's some way off yet in the voting list We've done armada haven't we? So I'm stumped. Yes, back in Week 11
|
|
Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,100
|
Post by Stomski on Mar 20, 2014 15:09:41 GMT
Somewhere I have a photo showing me how the insides of Mach Kick are meant to line up when transformed into horse mode.... Yeah, I remember you posting it last time he came up. I think it was in a "most difficult/frustrating tfs" thread or some such *goes to search*. edit: Hrm - thought it would be this thread- The most difficult Transformer-evar but no pic, just mentioned.
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 20, 2014 16:17:04 GMT
|
|
kayevcee
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
The Weather Wizard
Posts: 5,527
|
Post by kayevcee on Mar 20, 2014 19:36:24 GMT
Easy as that, eh?
I do love Neo, mostly for the weird and distinctive animal modes, but those same animals created some... challenges. Longrack and Dead End are tricky, and Big Convoy and Magnaboss can be arduous if you don't know what you're doing, but they're still superb toys with loads of great features. Mach Kick crosses the line. He's the only TF I've ever full-on given up on in mid-transformation.
-Nick
|
|
|
Post by legios on Mar 20, 2014 19:47:21 GMT
MP-01 Convoy and Magnatron held that honour to themselves with me (Convoy because a) it was someone elses insanely expensive toy and b) It stopped being any fun at all halfway through). Alternity Starscream did join them a one stage, but was finally finished, boxed and marked to go so technically no longer counts.
Karl
|
|
|
Post by Shockprowl on Mar 20, 2014 20:36:51 GMT
Mack-kick defeated me also, the little twat. I actually (and accidentally- honest) broke mine. I then sealed it in concrete and dumped it in the North Sea. Teams of armed mercenaries now patrol the area 24 hours a day 7 days a week, to make sure he hasn't returned.
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 21, 2014 7:33:42 GMT
Week 46: Revenge of the Fallen DaveYour top 5 ROTF toys please. See www.tfu.info/series/rotf.htm but don't blame me if the nightmares come flooding back!
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Mar 21, 2014 9:10:17 GMT
How dare you sir! ROTF had some absolutely amazing toys. In fact I think the main line was one of the most consistently creative lines Hasbro have ever done. It's not perfect, a lot of the toys are overly complexed and worst not remotely intuitive and theres a scary number of Bumblebees. And if you aren't a fan of the movie look theres no hope of convincing, but theres a lot of really good stuff.
In no particular order and without including repaints from other lines.
Optimus Prime - The definition of unintuitive, requiring at least one action that would lead to a broken Transformer in any other case. But get past that it's an utterly amazing toy. Rock solid in both modes and about as screen accurate as I can imagine it's possible to be.
Scalpel - Microscope to weird insectish thing with one of the best tech specs of recent years.
Brawn - Oddly horse legged Transformer and owner of the finest pair of guns of any Transformer.
Bludgeon - Samurai, check. Tank, check. Skeletal, check. A brilliant classic and movie homage.
Skids and Mudflap - Finally Hasbro make a pink and white transforming car and it's not Arcee. Another thats a bit too complicated for it's own good. But the ice-cream truck is so good and the individual robots are fun little guys.
The other deluxe versions are a bit to complicated for their own good but are nice designs and I was shocked to find that the simplified DOTM versions are great.
Constructicon Devastator Legends and giant thing - The legends are a brilliant Transformers set, but the Supreme set is surprisingly fun. It's main drawback is that at the price point it was probably too much for the kids it was aimed at and too simple for the adult collectors who will spend in that range.
Ejector - It's an insane toaster and it has the face to prove it. Look at that face.
Lockdown - They took the Animated design and made it better and thats to it we now have Circuit too.
Mindwipe and Skystalker- A great pair not too complex, fun in both modes and a small combiner feature.
Wheelie - Ignore the movie characterisation if it bothers you. Wheelie is actually a lot of fun.Has one of those robot modes thats kind of customisable. Stretched out its one of the tallest deluxes ever.
Fallen Dave - Okay like Megatron he doesnt really have an alt mode, he just sits in a yoga position. Still he has a lot of personality. Kind of wish he'd gotten a leader class mould instead of Jetfire.
Without going into detail most of the Human Alliance are great, the scouts have the widest range of alt mode of any range I can think of, the deluxes are generally solid fun toys, Sideswipe Ratchet and Ironhide all good. Oh and Leader Class Megatron is another surprisingly good toy. If DOTM Megatron had gotten a leader class toy of the same standard it would have been one of the best Megatrons ever.
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 21, 2014 9:24:55 GMT
Despite my ravings there are some very good ROTF toys. And then there's Leader Op & Jetfire and far too many BBs. Honourable mentions to Stratosphere and the repaints Bludgeon and Hoist. Especially Hoist who was for a long while my Classics Hoist. 5) BrakedownFab Scout, decent car mode and a nice shifting of the Stunticon design into the Movie mode. 4) MindwipeIt's a stealth fighter. Robot was a bit odd but ok. It's real joy was when combined with #1 3) ScattorshotWorked for me. Another great Scout which for me was the strong size point for ROTF. 2) BrawnBrawn's not had much love over the years and this is a very decent update. Clip & bar weapon him to tool him up. 1) SkystalkerSuperb scout in both modes. My first clip & bar toy. Colours are just right. Superb value.
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Mar 21, 2014 9:25:33 GMT
How dare you sir! ROTF had some absolutely amazing toys. In fact I think the main line was one of the most consistently creative lines Hasbro have ever done. Someone's been drinking! I find the ROTF figures way way too complex, fragile, spindly, and perhaps worst of all, ugly. Armada was the most creative line hands-down. C'mon that line was mad!
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Mar 21, 2014 10:08:26 GMT
It didn't have toasters, microscopes, Biplanes, Ice-cream trucks, various vintage types and other vehicles that Transformers generally don't touch. The non combining constructicons had the least traditional robot modes of any group I can think of.
Rotf, too complex? Yes and no. On the whole the line was probably to complex to make really fun toys to play with because they took to long, but the scout class and many of the deluxe are simple. Most of the voyagers (megatron and Dave aside) are straight forward. Leader class, Prime complex, yes, but no worse than most Masterpiece toys, but does take a long time. Jetfire, not really complex it's just no fun at all. Megatron, really easy.
Fragile, not in my experience and a lot of my ROTF has come via car boot sales. Spindly, not sure about that. Compared to what came only a few years later they were huge and plenty, those that are meant to be, were bulky.
|
|
Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,100
|
Post by Stomski on Mar 21, 2014 10:11:47 GMT
I'm assuming this includes the Hunt For The Decepticons line. My ROTF collection as for the most part the movie and toyline didn't resonate with me. A lot of the figures I had from the first movie filled the need for representations of the on screen characters. Leader Optimus Prime - haha, a lot of frustration, but it's required to make the most screen accurate Bay Prime. Legends Devastator - Needs the new paint apps of the upcoming Japanese release, but still succeeds in many ways the large £100 set failed. Leader Starscream - Amazing, loads of features. Legends Ravage - Don't care about the alt-mode, but Ravage is diddy like he should be. Voyager Bludgeon - OK, should probably be a generations toy, but who cares! Scary skeleton samurai with dual swords and menacing tank homaging a G1 pretender. What's not to like?
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 21, 2014 10:45:34 GMT
|
|
Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,100
|
Post by Stomski on Mar 21, 2014 11:37:32 GMT
Oh, well I guess take Leader Starscream off the list then and replace with the Ice Cream Van twins. 2 figures in one alt mode, crazy!
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 21, 2014 11:56:10 GMT
And Phil's five WORST ROTF toys 5) ScalpelClever. I'll give you that. But I don't like the non human robot mode and those legs are as fragile and loose as anything. 4) Constructicons DemolishorLonghaulMixmasterRampageSo here's an idea: we'll make toys of the famous combining robots that are major feature of the film. Except we won't complete the set (did they in HFTD?) And they won't combine to form the big robot seen in the major battles. How can we top that? 3) Devastator We'll make a massively overpriced version of the combined robot where the individual vehicles won't transform! 2) JetfireFor a giggle we'll do a toy of one of the sleekest aircraft ever and have it transform into an old man robot. With a stick. Oh and we'll throw a combination feature in with ..... 1) Leader Op7 grown men. 2 hours. and we still couldn't transform the F***er right. I paid between £10 & £20 for this and still felt conned. A Transformers toy should be able to Transform!
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2014 14:12:14 GMT
This was my peek 'buy one every time I'm in Tesco's' period so I've actually got quite a few from this line. I see no correlation between the ROTF prefix and the figures - that's just a convenient way of mapping their release date... I agree, there were lots of wierd and wonderful releases and I was consistently surprised to see them work so well. Compare this line to the Prime toys I see every week in Tesco's and it's clear this had more character and variety in every way. I don't stop and look down the whole line nowadays but when these toys were out I had a definite excitement seeing what crazy alt modes were waiting for me and wondering how on earth they were going to maske good robots. Breakaway - Has a really enjoyable and posable robot mode and nicely compact alt mode. The 'pilot' head is also unusual and has a certain melancholy to it. Superion - An absolute plane crash of a combined robot but the Air Raid / Airazor mould, as well as Silverbolt were actually quite fun. Picking it up impulsively in Debenhams for £4.99, I had no expectations... and they were exceeded. Depthcharge - A really chunky little figure with good posability and character. Again, bought off the cuff and surprisingly fun.Just looked back at an earlier post by bogatan... Ransack - So much fn in his biplane mode with his little machineguns. Due to the alt mode, it's one of the toys I can forgive a spindly robot mode. And as for that crazy skeletal face... It's like a T-800 with a miner's hat on! Mad as a bag of frogs. Deadlift - Only really mentioned because I've just recently purchased him as a side-effect of wanting Beachcomber. It turns out he's quite fun and will now form the basis of my pre-war Guzzle custom. Optimus Prime - Balls to you all. My missus bought me this for my birthday (and Jetfire weeks later for Christmas) and it still sits on display in the living room. Yes, he's complicated. Yes, he makes you work for it. But he's extremely photogenic and, when not combined is fun to play with. Up until he arrived I didn't think I'd really got my wife onside with the new hobby I was getting into but this toy represented an acceptance that I'm in it for the long term and real money - not just a few quid on the weekly shop - will likely be spent. Looking at the bland Beast Hunter Prime and the new movie Prime, I think this toy is the best thing to come out of that movie. There are so many more that could go in here but they fell short for various reasons. In Bludgeon's case, it was because I've got two versions of the mould now and they both have warped swords and limp 12.7mm AA guns. Scalpel just creeps me out and looks like Johnny Five has come back from 80's Hell with a chip on his shoulder. Insecticon creeped my wife out (when I blu-tacced it to the ceiling in the bathroom) so was banished from sight. To name but a few.
|
|
|
Post by legios on Mar 21, 2014 16:54:55 GMT
Ah Tracks, the last hurrah of the Diaclone cars in the original line, and I think they saved something great for the final dash for the line. 5) Turbo Tracks - It is a decent stab at a redesign and updating of the original concept, but I have to admit that it feels slight and thin-walled to me. Ironically making it more like an actual high-performance car... But that costs it some points with me. 4) Alternators Autobot Tracks - Cracking reinvention, love the look of the newer vehicle mode, and I think that the humanoid mode does a fantastic job of capturing the sense of the original. Clever places to put the various weapons in humanoid mode and, seriously, Autobot Tracks is packing some serious heat. 3) 1984 Blue Tracks - I really like this toy, breaks away from the "standard format" of his Diaclone neighbours, and comes up with a very different way of engineering the transformation - leading to an impressively sleek-looking humanoid mode. The flying car mode is an enjoyable addition and looks surprisingly good considering it is pretty much a "bonus" mode. 2) Black Tracks (Diaclone or Contest Prize, pick your poison) - fast cars look good in black, and Tracks is no exception 1) Red Tracks - But if black is good then red is better. Simply a much more striking colour scheme on the mould. Looks absolutely top notch.
|
|
|
Post by legios on Mar 21, 2014 17:35:59 GMT
Week 46: Revenge of the Fallen Dave The Fallen Dave will rise. But probably not to the top of my list... I really want to be able to put N.E.S.T Bludgeon on here, just because it was so nice to have a fighting vehicle alt-mode which wasn't of US origin, but the fact that he sword is self warping to the extent that mine isn't even straight when used as the muzzle brake on the 120mm, heeees outa here! But Bludgeon, he's a sneaky sort and we might see him again before the day is out... 5) Superion: Five aircraft autobots, in one convenient (and cheap) package. They saw me coming with this one. I'd been regreting getting rid of the Energon versions of these toys, so this was a nice way to reaquirre them. (Also led to my first and only Third-Party purchase - picked up the upgrade set which gives him proper feet and hands - the components of which, in the way they attach to the aircraft modes are not in any way shape or form drawing any inspiration from two other transforming mecha franchises at all, guvnor) 4) Decepticon Bludgeon - Not the Type 90 version, but the Stryker version from the Masters of Metalikato set. I loved this mould as Wreckage, and I like it just as much painted green. Nice combat rendition of the basic Stryker in vehicle mode, and a lot of fun to play with in humanoid mode. Literally the only thing that annoys me with this toy is that the arm-blades can't be locked in place so they always point down under gravity. Other than that it is a cracker. 3) Breakaway: About time Transformers gave the F-35 some spotlight time. Much prefer the looks of this as an alt-mode to the -22 for some reason. Breakaway also has a great humanoid mode - yes, he looks almost like he is strapped into a Cobra F.A.N.G, and the way that the canopy opens to reveal the head is somehow slightly absurdist, but I think that this may be why I love this mould so much. He is also quite fun to transform, which was becoming something quite important in my thinking at this point 2) Mindwipe - "Dear Mindwipe, I am unclear if you are attempting to disguise yourself as an F-117 Nighthawk. If so, why are you green? Also, anywhere other than Groom Lake AFB or above an active warzone an F-117 is a somewhat counterproductive disguise" :-) All that said, Mindwipe is a cracking toy. The fighter mode does a creditable job of capturing the faceted look of the Nighthawk, but with enough sci-fi greeblies to give him a very different feel to the other jet Decepticons in the line. The transformation is unusual, and the resulting humanoid form is a nice compromise between the skeletal aspects of movie design aesthetic and a proper "Worky bits going on the insides". I love his built in knives/short swords as well. The first time I saw the toy I had the Wu Xia genre on my mind for one reason and another and my first thought was "Mindwipe fights like a girl" (Reverse grip is very common in female characters in the genre - not exclusively so but it amused me). Fantastic humanoid mode, great aircraft mode, and his bio tops it off by implying he has his "The Transformers" namesake's Evil Magic Spell. Sorted 1) Skystalker - A great little toy, the UAV mode has amazing amounts of wooshability - small size meaning it balances properly for one hand and you can zoom it through pretty much any routine without stirring from your seat. The humanoid mode is great fun as well - If a toy is going to have lots of joints then it should get the most out of them, and Skystalker really does. With the two hatchet weapons he can either wield them like some berserk henchman from a Wu Xia or Kung Fu film. or you can snap them into arm mounts so that he can assume Shaolin Mantis style poses. For such a little toy he really does radiate a lot of "come over here so I can kick your aft!". Karl
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Mar 21, 2014 22:30:52 GMT
I tried narrowing it down to an actual 5.
1. Optimus Prime - The definition of unintuitive, requiring at least one action that would lead to a broken Transformer in any other case. But get past that it's an utterly amazing toy. Rock solid in both modes and about as screen accurate as I can imagine it's possible to be. Panel alignment can be a real pain even when you know where it's all meant to go. In that respect it reminds me of BW Neo a lot.
The Jetwing version is even better.
2. Ejector - It's an insane toaster and it has the face to prove it. Look at that face.
3. Skids and Mudflap - Finally Hasbro make a pink and white transforming car and it's not Arcee. Another thats a bit too complicated for it's own good. But the ice-cream truck is so good and the individual robots are fun little guys.
4. Bludgeon - Samurai, check. Tank, check. Skeletal, check. A brilliant classic and movie homage.
5. Lockdown - They took the Animated design and made it better and thats to it we now have Circuit too.
Bubbling under: Mindwipe and Skystalker, missed out because I prefer the other redecos. Brawn, as good as it is if I put it in the top 5 I would have to admit it was mainly due to the guns. Scalpel, Phils right the legs do come of too easily. It gets annoying.
|
|
|
Post by Pinwig on Mar 22, 2014 11:53:29 GMT
Quick catch-up:
Week 45: Tracks
Not a character I have a huge fondness for or memories of, but his original robot mode and excellent car made him a G1 original still in my collection from the 80s. Think mine’s missing a missile though.
3. Botcon 2012. Never seen one in the flesh, but the mixture of blues and reds works well 2. Binaltech blue. Glad they corrected the colour from yellow. This one I do have. 1. G1, great car, unique robot, and the added bonus of the flight mode gimmick.
Week 46: RotF
Ugh. These and the first film toys almost took me out of TF collecting. They are so far removed from what I see Transformers as that wanted to cry every time I walked into toyshops and saw them polluting the shelves. I have just one concession with these:
1. Jetfire. I liked the character in the film because he actually had a character, and there’s no reason why an ancient robot can’t be bent and grumpy. Kup did that well. His toy was big, well proportioned and looked imposing. He’s the only toy from any of the movie lines I own. I think.
|
|
|
Post by Shockprowl on Mar 22, 2014 20:25:12 GMT
Return of the Fallen, when I read the week title I though, "huh, rubbish". But then I listened to my Cyber-chumbs, and then I remembered. There were, indeed, some very good figures in this line!
1. Bludgeon. The voyager Type 90(?). Ever since Stormbringer, I've been into the concept of Pretenderised Alt and robot modes, even though I really like the original Pretenders concept n'all. This Bludgeon figure is pretty near perfect as a blended Pretender. I do find his arms and legs a bit skinny, but the look and feel of him is fantastic, augmented as mine is with the 'Blood' head set. Superb.
2. Mixmaster. There is something about his weird robot mode that I really like. I'm a big fan of Bonecrusher from the first film, and Mixmaster is in a similar style. For the amount I generally dislike the Bayformer style, a really interesting weird looking robot mode is always welcome.
3. Starscream. The voyager figure. If one is going to buy a Bayformer Starscream, this is the one to buy! Just a great toy, with the Mechalive feature, good articulation, nice head sculpt. Far superior to the the Starscream from the first movie line.
4. Voyager Megatron. I'm generally not a fan of the Bayformer style, but Megatron as a bonkers Cybertronian tank ship thing is always a good thing. I find the voyager version superior to the leader class version (although I've never owned the leader class), mainly because his arms aren't skinny and withered looking.
5. Brawn. I think Big Phil sums him up nicely. He's a fab fun toy.
I want to mention the non-individually transforming Devastator. Hasbro didn't get it right, as other have said, too expensive etc. But it looked like it would be a fun toy to play with.
I don't still own most if not all of the figures I got from ROTF (I went alittle mad buying them at the time to, but don't tell Mrs Shockprowl!), with the exception of Bludgeon, who is proudly part of my 'C.H.U.G.' collection. But yes, Movie-verse figures took a step up in this line, giving us some good toys. Shame the film was arse.
|
|
|
Post by Bogatan on Mar 22, 2014 21:51:45 GMT
3. Starscream. The voyager figure. If one is going to buy a Bayformer Starscream, this is the one to buy! Just a great toy, with the Mechalive feature, good articulation, nice head sculpt. Far superior to the the Starscream from the first movie line. Forgot there was a new mould for ROTF. 4. Voyager Megatron. I'm generally not a fan of the Bayformer style, but Megatron as a bonkers Cybertronian tank ship thing is always a good thing. I find the voyager version superior to the leader class version (although I've never owned the leader class), mainly because his arms aren't skinny and withered looking. The voyager is nice, but I find it a bit flimsy compared to the leader one. Also the colour seems funny to me. I want to mention the non-individually transforming Devastator. Hasbro didn't get it right, as other have said, too expensive etc. But it looked like it would be a fun toy to play with. Considering its a big chunky simple toy it also looks great alongside the rest of the line. But yes great fun.
|
|
|
Post by blueshift on Mar 22, 2014 22:00:14 GMT
I want to mention the non-individually transforming Devastator. Hasbro didn't get it right, as other have said, too expensive etc. But it looked like it would be a fun toy to play with. Considering its a big chunky simple toy it also looks great alongside the rest of the line. But yes great fun. Actually having it in hand it is a lot of fun. But not £100 fun. Feels way way too simple for that, despite the size
|
|
Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
Now in glorious Ultra HD 4K
Posts: 4,864
|
Post by Jim on Mar 22, 2014 23:11:57 GMT
Week 46: Revenge of the Fallen DaveYour top 5 ROTF toys please. See www.tfu.info/series/rotf.htm but don't blame me if the nightmares come flooding back! But there were so many good toys in that line! It gave us some really unique vehicles, an abundance of scouts, c-clips... and then led into the "yellow box" HFTD/RTS lines which had some amazing stuff! 5. Ransack - great little biplane, characterful robot mode. 4. Deadlift - Neat little forklift that looks better in orange and doubles as a Gobots homage. Pure win. 3. Bludgeon - an awesome Bludgeon at a good scale, hampered a bit by poor articulation. 2. Lockdown - great Animated character translated to the movie aesthetic in the best way. Icing on the cake is the cross-compatibility with deluxe Ratchet's weapon. 1. Skystalker - incredibly neat little figure, one of the best moulds in recent years. Bubbling under: Knock-out, Mind-wipe, Brawn, deluxe Ratchet. Honourable mention to Sideswipe who is a transformation nightmare and has some stability issues but still looks cool enough to just about get away with it. -Jim
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 27, 2014 7:26:14 GMT
Thursday Tease: The record for number of votes in one week stands at 12 (Week 1: 1984 Toys) I think there's a real chance we'll get close to or even pass that this week given some of the subjects have come up in recent weeks here. I think I know what the number one choice for at least some people will be. In fact I think I know all FIVE toys Ralph will vote for. And it's a Martin voting friendly week too!
|
|
|
Post by The Doctor on Mar 27, 2014 8:18:14 GMT
Pretenders?
-Ralph
|
|
|
Post by Philip Ayres on Mar 27, 2014 8:22:47 GMT
That was Week 8. Only 6 people voted and you weren't one of them. Actually I've no idea who your fave Pretender is. I just know who it ISN'T! Hmmmm. One of the classics ones maybe
|
|
|
Post by Shockprowl on Mar 27, 2014 12:29:24 GMT
Is it 'Top 5 Masterpiece Transformers you like to be made'?
|
|