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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 8, 2019 18:46:55 GMT
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Post by Benn on Apr 8, 2019 19:09:17 GMT
We need to bring back the triangle logo.
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 8, 2019 19:16:38 GMT
THE TRIANGLE LOGO.
-Ralph
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Post by Llama God on Apr 9, 2019 6:25:07 GMT
We need to bring back Pretenders. PROPERLY.
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Dezzeh
Thunderjet
Wait, what?
Posts: 4,886
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Post by Dezzeh on Apr 9, 2019 7:25:46 GMT
I have a Japanese Dowlos on the way, I am EXCITE.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 9, 2019 8:18:19 GMT
We need to bring back Pretenders. PROPERLY. Define Properly. (I know I've done this before, forgive me) Pretenders are probably one of the hardest things in Transformers to update. Even by the standards of 1988 their articulation was sub par - just the arms on most of them, a little side to side on some heads - and I'm pretty sure that for a toy buying public today that wouldn't be enough on a figure the size of a Pretender. So you beef up the articulation. Not hard on the arms but the legs is a big big problem. As soon as the legs get articulated, you loose the hips to a joint. That then means the Transformer has to fit into the body cavity. So you're now looking at a toy which has a large TF shell - probably no smaller than a Voyager size toy - with a much smaller Transformer inside - Legion or Legend - and I'm not sure that size difference would work either as you're now paying for a lot more plastic that isn't a Transforming toy. The other option is the one taken by POTP: reduce the shell down to a size where the lack of articulation becomes acceptable. And generally the POTP Pretenders all worked. The problem now is the size is too small to do meaningful vehicles inside at which point they stumble across The Primes idea which severs the connection between shell and inner robot. I've said several times I thought this could have been done better and making the inner robot a Titanmaster for what would have been the larger robot might have been a better route to go, possibly bundling the Primemaster Pretender shell with a larger toy that formed the vehicle and needed it's head attaching. POTP also falls down but backhandidly promising a certain amount of Pretenders and not delivering. The lack of Waverider in particular is REALLY annoying - all the other 88 Pretenders were done. The other problem with Pretenders is they are another step down the ladder from the really famous big names. Only FOUR really have any following: Bludgeon, Thunderwing, Metalhawk (because of his rarity) and Skullgrin (to a lesser extent than the other three) Maybe Sky Shadow too, more thanks to his continued reuse rather than the character's popularity. |
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 9, 2019 9:52:10 GMT
Ah but if you look at kids action figures on shelves today we have mostly regressed to 5 points of articulation. I don't think Pretenders would seem as out of place on shelves now as, say, five years ago. We've also had 1 and 3 step changes with very little artication in robot mode for several years now. Someone must be buying them!
Adult collectors care about articulation. Do children?
-Ralph
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Post by blueshift on Apr 9, 2019 10:48:06 GMT
Adult collectors care about articulation. Do children? Children are all different. As a child, yes, absolutely. Toys were relegated as being good or bad depending on whether they could sit down or turn their heads and bend their elbows |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Apr 9, 2019 11:15:28 GMT
It always bothered me that my Star Wars figures could't turn at the waist or bend at the elbows.... and then when I got Action Force figures, it bothered me they wouldn't turn at the wrists!
I've said before that certain older TFs really wind me up because it would be so easy to throw and extra joint in. Ginrai's elbows. G2 Megatron's hips & knees.
Star Wars certainly feels like it's doing less well since it reduced the articulation on it's standard figures to 6POA
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Post by Benn on Apr 9, 2019 11:19:14 GMT
I found it frustrating when they had leg articulation, but were joined at the knee. I did also value the ability to sit down.
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 9, 2019 11:38:11 GMT
Interesting, hence why I asked the question and also because I am not a parent so don't really know today what kids want from toys!
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 9, 2019 12:05:03 GMT
I think if you go back to Hasbro's age brackets it's more apparent. One steps are aimed at five year olds, who in my experience don't care about articulation, but Generations is the ten plus bracket where displaying toys might become more relevant. Hasbro must care about that kind of thing because of the recent addition of ankle rockers to Deluxes.
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 9, 2019 12:14:35 GMT
Even as very young ones, my two valued articulation in most of their toys (especially as they'd like sitting them to go to school etc). But could also easily get by using their imaginations on toys that had little or no articulation, like Ponies. And that's still the case now they're a bit bigger. Articulation is preferable, but if it's not there then imagination can handle it.
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Post by blueshift on Apr 9, 2019 12:44:38 GMT
I always imagined my Star Wars characters had legs with no knees and had to hobble everywhere, clearly my imagination is faulty  |
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 9, 2019 15:47:19 GMT
Errr... ok...
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 9, 2019 16:36:38 GMT
NO KNEES...
-Ralph
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Post by Pinwig on Apr 9, 2019 16:40:47 GMT
Muddy Knees.
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Post by The Doctor on Apr 9, 2019 16:43:28 GMT
Perhaps if the figures had come out only 4 years earlier than when Star Wars was released in 1977 then they might have had knees.
-Ralph
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Post by Shockprowl on Apr 9, 2019 21:15:00 GMT
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Post by Llama God on Apr 10, 2019 6:35:44 GMT
We need to bring back Pretenders. PROPERLY. Define Properly. Oh, I get all your points. I think out of all of them my preferred option would've been smaller shells with Titanmasters inside... if they'd planned ahead and made it so that the Pretender shells could fit in and drive the vehicles - that'd be an interesting play pattern. But in terms of larger figures, sure if you articulate the legs then you lose some space for the robot (although you could use hollow legs to store accessories, or something), but I'd still like to see it. Don't forget also that the Pretender Beasts fit completely within the body of the animal - there was plenty of scope to add leg and neck articulation there. And with today's engineering you could get more interesting robots out of toys even that size. |
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Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,120
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Post by Stomski on Apr 11, 2019 9:44:46 GMT
We need to bring back Pretenders. PROPERLY. T-shirt! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on May 24, 2019 23:10:28 GMT
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Post by The Doctor on May 24, 2019 23:56:46 GMT
WTF.
-Ralph
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Dezzeh
Thunderjet
Wait, what?
Posts: 4,886
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Post by Dezzeh on May 25, 2019 7:18:55 GMT
Pretenders! I used to think these were bare shite back in the day, but now, love ‘em!
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Post by Andy Turnbull on Jun 1, 2019 10:23:43 GMT
Love Pretenders.
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Post by The Doctor on Jun 2, 2019 17:22:09 GMT
They hide the Transformers inside!
-Ralph
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 29, 2019 6:46:17 GMT
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Dezzeh
Thunderjet
Wait, what?
Posts: 4,886
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Post by Dezzeh on Jun 29, 2019 6:57:00 GMT
Ooof that Blue Baachus is some CASH
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Post by Philip Ayres on Sept 26, 2019 22:20:17 GMT
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Post by Benn on Sept 27, 2019 5:34:16 GMT
Have these guys (or the Dinoforce, for that matter) ever transformed into their animal/monster modes in fiction? I can't remember a single time.
Monstructor, yes, hid inside the pretender shells yes, but actually transformed?
Also it's pretty funny the tiniest combiner to date being called Titanus.
Tight Anus.
I am so so sorry.
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