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Post by Philip Ayres on May 6, 2015 7:05:36 GMT
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primenova
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
Posts: 6,057
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Post by primenova on May 6, 2015 11:36:31 GMT
Punch A-Z, it would be nice to see the UK one we got that was better for the character. But at the time did seem weird with it printed when we never saw the charater apart from in Headmasters cartoon.
I'd buy a profiles book - I got the DW ones. But would be nice to see a IDW one. (Don't show James Roberts this post, he's bound to state it'll be a knightmare starting doing profiles for all IDW stuff with all the "in the past" stuff we keep getting for the characters)
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 13, 2015 6:37:40 GMT
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Post by Fortmax2020 on May 13, 2015 8:47:24 GMT
My paper copy arrived the other day. While the quality is noticeably poor on several of the profiles it still looks like a good collection overall. Numerous profiles in there I have never seen before for one thing. Reading through a couple of them the other night it just reminded me of how good a universe filled with interesting characters Bob B. created. And such an amazing effort given how he must have known there would be hardly any time to explore many of his creations given the continual renewal of a toy range with new characters year on year.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on May 14, 2015 6:28:06 GMT
Yeah, you're right Gavin, the content is outstanding. Our criticisms shouldn't detract from the awesomeness of this stuff actually being collected at last.
Martin
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Post by Andy Turnbull on May 14, 2015 22:32:46 GMT
Indeed.
Andy
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Post by inflatabledalek on May 18, 2015 15:36:59 GMT
I've got this in my grubby hands now.
Agreed about the recolouring/scanning smothering a lot of detail. Not all characters are badly affected (suggesting poor quality control, it was probably done by an intern) but Snap Trap in particular looks like something from a kids colouring book that's been filled in.
Also, whilst I've read and seen examples of the recolouring decision oddities before I've never owned one of these books before as my Marvel US trade needs are still served perfectly well by the Titan hardbacks. Blue Soundwave deeply annoys me as that was never a mistake, it was a choice! You can't change that to be more "Accurate" and then leave the blue-for-black bits on Prowl blue.
I can see the logic in being extremely faithful to the original colours. I can see the logic in a complete top to tail modern style revamp (especially as Yomtov was so bloody awful). Trying to do both at once is a mess.
One thing that seems to have annoyed a few people that didn't bother me is leaving the Movie characters in their own section. They were intended to be outside the regular series- probably because they're the first characters Bob didn't create so he saw them as bastard step children- and they actually read a bit differently so that works for me.
It's the sticking of Weirdwolf in the middle of the film boys that baffles me (that was just flicking through without even trying to spot mistakes! By the sound of it, ordering is off in more than one place elsewhere).
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 18, 2015 16:04:08 GMT
Not just Weirdwolf, but Windrazor and Wideload too.
It's worth noting that all three are around the point at which the original entries ended with Windcharger..... but all three should be in the main character section.
It made sense keeping the movie characters seperate in86 but not now, especially as some went on to appear in the main Marvel title. They could have fixed some of the errors too like Steeljaw's misplacement and Ramhorn's Decepticon badge.
Then there's separating Punch/Counterpunch....
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 18, 2015 16:06:09 GMT
I'd have also inserted entries for the characters who's profiles have been discovered recently with newly commissioned art in the original style
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Post by The Doctor on May 22, 2015 9:24:52 GMT
An agent of Burns holds a physical copy for me. In the meantime I have bought the digital copy. I was always going to be as it is currently £4 (!) so I coughed up straightaway. I agree with the comments. While some aspects of the presentation do irk the source material is so strong it over-rides any niggles easily. I have the old TF Universe trade which I will keep (I agree with Martin) but I like that this also includes the profiles in later TF US issues as I have only seen some of them before meaning that a few of the profiles here are the only remaining Marvel TF materials I haven't previously read!
Digital version is worth having as it looks good on a phone or tablet and unlike the Marvel profile books is properly formatted as one page/profile on screen at a time*. Profile books are ideal for the digital format in my opinion.
-Ralph
*The Marvel Universe ones are formatted as double page spreads so very difficult to read on digital devices!!!
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Post by inflatabledalek on May 22, 2015 11:24:49 GMT
Oh yes, though this is something I very much wanted physically to "Complete the set" of trades as it were (the Classics UK stuff better get to completion!) it's a format incredibly well suited to having on your computer/tablet/phone/brain download.
For those of you that were worried, the link to my video should be working fine now I've taken it off Private. Like a boss.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 7, 2015 17:56:22 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 13, 2019 14:01:35 GMT
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 13, 2019 14:07:44 GMT
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Post by blueshift on Jan 13, 2019 14:09:15 GMT
?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 13, 2019 14:10:39 GMT
Who's Who was DC's version of the Marvel Universe handbooks!
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:25:39 GMT
Who's Who was DC's version of the Marvel Universe handbooks! Which I have managed to complete my set of in the last week, by grabbing issues #24-26 that suddenly appeared individually available from a UK seller. Haven't bothered with the Update series that followed, mind. Back to Transformers, your list matches my understanding. Of course, 1987 wasn't the first year to have omissions - Hubcap, Swerve, Roadbuster, Whirl and the Deluxe Insecticons' entries never having been published, though they have emerged online. I asked Bob in London Film & Comic Con a few years ago whether he had any more unpublished ones hidden away, but he said no - what was published is what there is. Phil - if you want to tempt madness, you may also wish to catalogue which TFs had A-Z entries in the UK, because most of them had different text from the US entries. Didn't Rodimus Prime and Powermaster OP have special UK A-Z entries when they first appeared? I have a feeling it was only in the last year of the comic that the UK A-Z's became straight reprints of the US entries. And we had A-Zs of the first six Micromaster Patrols in the 1990 annual and A-Z updates of the Classic Heroes in the 1991 annual, and in earlier annuals the basic Headmasters and Seacons got done, probably ahead of the US. And there were the Fact-file Interface features in the early UK comics, and those wonderful bios of the two leaders in the 1987 annual, which had their origin stories - and Ultra Magnus and Galvatron's T:2006 profiles, which were much better then their TFU entries. Martin |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:29:47 GMT
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 13, 2019 14:33:03 GMT
Phil - if you want to tempt madness, you may also wish to catalogue which TFs had A-Z entries in the UK, because most of them had different text from the US entries. Didn't Rodimus Prime and Powermaster OP have special UK A-Z entries when they first appeared? I've been doing this on my re-read through, although I've not been comparing the texts to the originals. Only in the case of obviously different ones like Magnus, Galvatron PMOP and Megatron. I'm also obviously only up to #201. The fact files in the early comics I'm sure are just the tech spec bios. |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:36:48 GMT
Kup got an A-Z entry in TFUK #322, which seems odd as most of the other entries around this time were taken from the main US comic, not the original TFU mini-series.
Can anyone with this issue confirm if it's just a lift of the text from TFU #4, or whether new text was produced?
I was right, Rodimus Prime had a special entry in TFUK #150 (recycling Geoff Senior cover art?) and Optimus Prime was brought forward to #177 when he returned as a Powermaster. I remember it used the PM Prime artwork from the annual text story 'Prime Bomb'.
I think the wiki list is incomplete. I think Apeface got an A-Z entry in one of the Collected Comics specials (I remember because half his his motto was cut off by mistake), and some of the other Headmasters got done a second time - with TFU art rather than box art - in Collected Comics.
Martin
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 13, 2019 14:40:20 GMT
Megatron's in #196 is expanded from the original to take account of his story arc.
I don't have #322 to hand, it's still in the archive awaiting re-reading in a few years.
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:40:21 GMT
The fact files in the early comics I'm sure are just the tech spec bios. The very early fact-files, yes, but not the Fact-file Interface features, which were far more extensive than the tech-specs: tfwiki.net/wiki/Fact_FileThankfully, they've all been reprinted in IDW's TF UK Classics books. Martin |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:43:11 GMT
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 13, 2019 14:47:17 GMT
I did what Phil's done a few years ago when I had the foolish ambition of trying to draw some of the missing art. My focus though was on correlating existing material that could be used to make pages, basically which characters had animation models but no bios (given the illustrations in Universe are adapted from those models). Also comparing the Japanese models to the US ones to see what could feasibly be used to make an approximation of what the actual page would have looked like if married with the tech spec. Sort of like putting together all the existing official material into a mockup of a proper page. That I could do no problem, then I got ambitious and thought about drawing missing art, which is where I stalled. Transformers Universe Index.xlsx (73.96 KB) |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:47:49 GMT
Interesting that the Fact-file Interface favoured TFs unavailable as toys in the UK. By my count, 7 out of 21 were US-only.
Martin
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Jan 13, 2019 14:49:59 GMT
Megatron's in #196 is expanded from the original to take account of his story arc. So it's a profile of the Straxus imposter then, I'd imagine? Martin |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 13, 2019 14:59:31 GMT
Back to Transformers, your list matches my understanding. Of course, 1987 wasn't the first year to have omissions - Hubcap, Swerve, Roadbuster, Whirl and the Deluxe Insecticons' entries never having been published, though they have emerged online. Whirl & Roadbuster boltax.blogspot.com/2011/01/extended-bio-whirl.htmlWhirl
Profile: Whirl is one Autobot who really loves his job. As a helicopter, he doesn't just fly, he careens across the sky in what appears to be a wild, joyful dance. But the crazy patterns he spins and weaves in flight only disguise the method to his madness. He calculates that an enemy would be far more terrified by someone who appears to be insane than by a purely rational opponent. Indeed, he is right. One single, lunatic dive of Whirl's will often send Decepticons scurrying for cover even before he starts firing at them. "An attack of insanity can be just as effective as an attack by a proton bomb," says Whirl.
Abilities: As a helicopter, Whirl can fly at a speed of 400 mph. He has a range of 16000 miles. His manoeuvrability is amazing -- he can fly at virtually any angle except upside down, and even that he can achieve while doing loops. He packs four incendiary-shell cannons and a high-energy photon beam rifle. He has enormous strength in robot mode and carries a hand-mounted null-ray module that shields him from any energy beam directed at him, and a leg-mounted paralyzo-box that injects a powerful, disabling fluid when bought into contact with other robotic life.
Weaknesses: Being reckless, Whirl is prone to disabling himself by damaging his rotor blades.
Roadbuster
Profile: 'Demolishing Decepticons' is the way Roadbuster prefers to pass the time. If he's not fighting, he's just not happy. This isn't because he's particularly hot-tempered -- he just bores easily. When not in battle he's usually the most quiet of all the Autobots. But give him an enemy and he reverts to rough no-nonsense form and attacks with a zest unsurpassed by any of his comrades. It is in combat situations that his charisma surfaces, inspiring his fellow warriors and making him a natural leader. "With Roadbuster leading us, no one worries about consequences," says Tracks. "We just want to scrap some steel!"
Abilities: In jeep mode, Roadbuster can cross all but the most extreme terrains. He can traverse swamps, rocky hillsides, ice and mud without any problems. He has a range of 600 miles. He carries a turret-mounted linear blaster gun which can blow a hole through two feet of concrete. In robot mode he has a laser rifle as well as a shoulder-mounted shrapnel-missile launcher.
Weaknesses: As a result of his tendency to tune out non-combat situations, Roadbuster is sometimes unaware of impending danger. It is only when he is directly confronted by it that he will react, and by then he is often in more trouble than he can handle. Swerve & Hubcap boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/extended-bios.htmlSwerve
Profile: If Autobots needed driver's licenses, Swerve's would have long been revoked. He's a definite menace on the highways. He doesn't mean to be, but he is so easily distracted that he rarely pays attention to where he's going for more than a half-minute at a time. Usually, he's too busy reading roadside billboards, changing his internal radio from the inter-Autobot frequency to a disco station, or looking for vanity license plates. It takes the frenzied honking of a nearby car's horn or the sudden approach of a telephone pole toward his front end to rouse Swerve from his stupor and save him from wrecking himself -- and, often, others as well. Although a loyal and brave Autobot, Swerve exhibits the same lack of concentration when being given orders by a superior. Invariably, his mind wanders and he only hears part of his instructions. It is not uncommon to hear Optimus Prime advising Swerve to "Keep your optical sensors on the road -- and your cerebro-circuitry on the plan!"
Abilities: Sensors in Swerve's hands allow him to determine a multitude of chemical and physical properties of metals: electrical and heat conductivity, melting point, tensile strength, coefficient of elasticity, ductility, brittleness, magnetism, and others. Miniature acetylene torches and lasers in his fingers allow him to fuse metals together into new alloys. Swerve is constantly trying to create stronger and lighter metals for use by the Autobots. In vehicle mode, Swerve can reach speeds of 120 mph and has a range of 500 miles. Considering his careless driving habits, he luckily is extremely resistant to damage.
Weaknesses: Swerve's frequent lapses of concentration result in many accidents no one of which is usually severe. But the accrued effect of all of them often leaves him a walking (or driving) wreck.
Hubcap
Profile: Hub Cap has everybody's friendship but nobody's trust. He is affable, witty, generous, even charming -- it is no wonder that his fellow Autobots find him such pleasant company. But he's also a con artist. He is likely to enthusiastically accept some work detail one moment and then try to sucker someone else into doing it the next. Or he might try to smooth talk a comrade into trading his weapon for an inferior one. Hub Cap is surprisingly effective at his scams. Perhaps it's the smiling, sincere way he talks or perhaps it's because he looks small and unthreatening. Whatever the case, Hub Cap is living proof of the old Cybertronian adage, "You can't tell an Autobot by it's finish."
Abilities: Not only is Hub Cap adept at speaking, he's even better at listening. Equipment within his head module allows him to receive a broad spectrum of electromagnetic signals -- AM and FM radio, shortwave, UHF and VHF television broadcasts. He uses his phosphorescent windshield as a television screen when receiving TV signals. Amplifying circuits allow him to detect signals as weak as .000001 watts. His audio circuitry can hear a pin drop 500 yards away, and has a frequency range of 5 to 50,000 Hertz. In car mode, he can travel up to 90 mph and has a range of 1000 miles.
Weaknesses: Hub Cap is physically among the weakest of the Autobots. Even low-speed crashes can result in severe damage to his body. Barrage, Chopshop, Ransack and Venom boltax.blogspot.com/2010/12/extended-bios.htmlBarrage
Profile: Only when the ground is scorched and leveled does Barrage cease his onslaught in a battle; merely winning is not enough to satisfy this Insecticon. He wallows joyously in the misery and ruin he causes. Merciless and cruel, he believes kindness only stirs hope in the hearts of the vanquished. So thoroughly rotten is Barrage's mechanical soul that even his fellow Decepticons consider him, on a personal level, very unpleasant company. On performing his function, however, they have nothing but praise and envy: Barrage encompasses all the worst qualities that symbolize the Decepticons.
Abilities: In insect mode, Barrage can unleash a nearly non-stop torrent of explosive charges from the gun-mounts in his eyes. His antenna module can shoot discreet packets of high-energy photons; each packet can blanket a 100 sq. ft. area with a temperature of 3000 degrees for 30 seconds. He can fly 15 mph with a range of 400 miles. In robot mode he uses a sonic rifle, which can flatten a small brick building at a distance of 600 yards with the vibrations it produces.
Weaknesses: Being virtually totally offensive-minded, Barrage often leaves himself exposed to counterattacks.
Chop Shop
Profile: Nothing that isn't bolted to the ground is safe from Chopshop's greedy grasp. He can carve up a moving bus and haul away its engine block before it rolls to a stop. And he can do all this while at his small insect size. Easily the sneakiest of the Insecticons, Chopshop prides himself on his subtle talents. No challenge is too great for him: the more difficult it is to steal something, the more he wants to steal it. Once he targets an object, it's as good as gone. And once he has it he will disassemble and reshape it with the consummate skill of a brain surgeon to fit it to Decepticon needs. Chopshop sums up his philosophy this way: "I take no prisoners, just spare parts."
Abilities: In insect mode, Chopshop has two small jets on his back that allow him to fly in near silence at 30 mph. His range is 250 miles. His pincer-like antennae can slice through two-inch thick vanadium-steel plate. He can also use twin pinpoint lasers that protrude from his mouth assembly to carve up objects that require more precision. He can lift up to 30 tons with his six clawed legs, even while insect-size. He can operate as an insect at either insect or normal size. As a robot he carries a high-powered photon cannon which can blind as well as blast opponents.
Weaknesses: His tremendous ego sometimes leads him to taking on a challenge that is too great for him, resulting in his eventual defeat. Frequent mechanical breakdowns in his legs are a result of his carrying off heavy objects during his burglary operations.
Ransack
Profile: With a fury unchecked by concern for the safety of innocents, Ransack enters into a battle like a howling tornado. If necessary, he will level an entire town to hunt down an enemy. The destruction and misery he leaves in his wake only serve to spur his manic cravings for more. Truly, he is one Insecticon whose mechanical heart is as cold as his metal hide. Among his fellow Decepticons he is known as a tough-talking, straight-to-the-point soldier who is always looking forward to the next conflagration. His comrades have the utmost confidence in his abilities to wage war--but they know enough to let him lead the way since Ransack won't take the time to shoot around them.
Abilities: Ransack can operate at normal size or shrink down to insect size when he's in his insect mode. His abilities are the same either way except he can leap 200 feet at insect size and 1.5 miles at normal size. A kick from his rear legs packs enough power to knock over a bulldozer and shatter a foot-thick steel vault. The vibrations produced by rubbing these legs against his tail assembly can crumble a brick wall. His antennae can shoot 80 Kilovolt electrical charges. In robot mode he carries a high-intensity concussion blaster gun. Each of his arms has two razor-sharp talons mounted on it which he can spin at 300 rpm and use as a buzzsaw.
Weaknesses: Ransack's rear legs are susceptible to complete mechanical failure if any foreign matter gets into their joints.
Venom
Profile: Venom will use his poisonous talents even on his fellow Decepticons at times. This is because Venom trusts no one. least of all his fellow Insecticons, any of whom, he feels, might be tempted to usurp his role as Insecticon Leader. What little self-esteem Venom has he draws from this title. So nervous is he about losing it that his behavior borders on paranoia: he would rather try to eliminate a comrade he barely suspects of coveting his position than risk letting him live. Some Decepticons say disparagingly that Venom would be better off if he were captured by the Autobots -- at least he would no longer have his fellow Decepticons to worry about.
Abilities: The stinger mounted on Venom's head can discharge a variety of fluids harmful to both mechanical and organic life: acids that break down metal alloys, catalysts that alter molecular structures, toxins that paralyze human nervous systems, and several others. The stinger itself can penetrate ¼-inch steel. In insect form, Venom can fly 15 mph with a range of 300 miles. In robot form, he carries an electric-blaster gun, powerful enough to short-circuit a tank.
Weaknesses: Being as suspicious as he is, Venom has few friends, and fewer still who will come to his aid in times of trouble. His stinger often gets stuck, in his target, which sometimes leads, to it breaking off. |
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 13, 2019 15:00:56 GMT
It's a sort of mish-mash to avoid talking about Megatron's pre-Earth stuff in the original:  |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jan 13, 2019 15:01:02 GMT
I did what Phil's done a few years ago when I had the foolish ambition of trying to draw some of the missing art. My focus though was on correlating existing material that could be used to make pages, basically which characters had animation models but no bios (given the illustrations in Universe are adapted from those models). Also comparing the Japanese models to the US ones to see what could feasibly be used to make an approximation of what the actual page would have looked like if married with the tech spec. Sort of like putting together all the existing official material into a mockup of a proper page. That I could do no problem, then I got ambitious and thought about drawing missing art, which is where I stalled. We had a go here: |
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Post by Pinwig on Jan 13, 2019 15:03:06 GMT
Yeah, I got very excited about that but then stalled trying to draw Hubcap, and then Ralph said, "I know, let's watch the G1 cartoon and talk about it each Sunday"...
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