The Great Transformers Poll

[The Doctor]

Still counts.

I voted RHINOX as it is the only one I have handled and his minicon is fab.

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

Jul 5, 2024 11:33:08 GMT The Doctor said:

I voted RHINOX as it is the only one I have handled

We can change that! I have all four and their big brother

[The Huff]

Jul 5, 2024 9:43:12 GMT Philip Ayres said:

Jul 5, 2024 7:46:07 GMT The Huff said:

Rhinox, but only really because he actually appears in the cartoon.

VERY Briefly, and not in those colours

He still got paid as an extra.

[Philip Ayres]

The Huff you've not commented on this week's 1984 toy which I find surprising.....

tmukhub.proboards.com/post/524213/thread

[The Huff]

Jul 5, 2024 12:40:57 GMT Philip Ayres said:

The Huff you've not commented on this week's 1984 toy which I find surprising.....

tmukhub.proboards.com/post/524213/thread

Been very busy - so no time yet to create a post that is sufficiently worthy enough.
It will happen.

[Jim]

I got Airazor back around 15 years ago on eBay at a normal retail kind of price, and continue to kick myself because I could so easily have picked the others up from the same seller. Did not anticipate the kind of prices they go for now!

Airazor is great - it was already a nice toy, the new colour scheme works well and the mini-con is good.

The only one of the other moulds I haven't handled is Rhinox. I quite like the other two as toys, and love Cheetor's colours in Armada, but I still think Airazor takes it.

[Llama God]

I first stumbled upon this in... the Entertainer? I think? Or was it somewhere else. I think it might have been somewhere else, deep in the bowels of Southampton's Eastgate Shopping Centre, which was slowly shutting down as everything had moved to the bigger, shinier West Quay. As such I assumed originally that these were cheap knock-offs, or something - the shop had that kind of an air to it. But no...

As for which to vote for, I think it'll be Airazor. Rhinox is a lot of fun as a mold, but that's my least favourite colour scheme, and Airazor just looks great. And she comes with a mean mini muscle car. So the bird, this week, is the word.

[Philip Ayres]

Jul 5, 2024 18:30:10 GMT Llama God said:

Rhinox is a lot of fun as a mold, but that's my least favourite colour scheme

You prefer the awful blue Fox Kids version to this?

[The Doctor]

I would get the Fox Kids one if I had the chance. It's mad.

-Ralph

[Llama God]

I'm fraid I'm going to have to go with the Doctor on this one. (Although I wouldn't actually buy one - I still have the original, and that more than suffices.)

[that_bluestreak]

Rhinox looks best in beast mode so Rhinox. I find all these unremarkable tbh.

[Philip Ayres]

Finishes tomorrow...

This coming week, for real this time: 6 toys, 5 characters one of whom we've not seen yet in Armada

I'm suspecting this week will be a runover for a toy most of us have never owned

[Pinwig]

Nemesis Prime?

[Philip Ayres]

Which would make this week's poll what ?

[The Doctor]

...ILLEGAL!!!

-Ralph

[Philip Ayres]

No it isn't

[Pinwig]

Supercon repaints?

And six toys, five characters because there are two Thrusts?

[Philip Ayres]

Rhinox & Armorhide wins!

[Philip Ayres]

Week 334: What is the best Armada Supercon Repaint?

Powerlinx Cyclonus tfwiki.net/wiki/Cyclonus_(Armada)#Powerlinx
Powerlinx Crumplezone tfwiki.net/wiki/Crumplezone_(Armada)#Powerlinx

Powerlinx Hot Shot tfwiki.net/wiki/Hot_Shot_(Armada)/toys#ArDxPx
Powerlinx Jolt tfwiki.net/wiki/Jolt_(Armada)#Powerlinx

Powerlinx Brown & Blue Thrust tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxBrown
Powerlinx Inferno tfwiki.net/wiki/Inferno_(Armada)#PowerlinxBrown

Powerlinx Red Thrust tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxRed
Powerlinx Inferno tfwiki.net/wiki/Inferno_(Armada)#PowerlinxRed

Powerlinx Demolishor tfwiki.net/wiki/Demolishor_(Armada)#Powerlinx
Powerlinx Blackout tfwiki.net/wiki/Blackout_(Armada)#Powerlinx

Nemesis Prime tfwiki.net/wiki/Nemesis_Prime_(Armada)#Armada
Run-Over tfwiki.net/wiki/Run-Over_(Armada)#Armada

[Philip Ayres]

These toys all use their colour schemes as homages to previous toys

Powerlinx Hot Shot tfwiki.net/wiki/Hot_Shot_(Armada)/toys#ArDxPx
1986 Hot Rod tfwiki.net/wiki/Hot_Rod_(G1)/toys#The_Transformers

Powerlinx Cyclonus tfwiki.net/wiki/Cyclonus_(Armada)#Powerlinx
1986 Springer tfwiki.net/wiki/Springer_(G1)/toys#The_Transformers

Thrust was planned as a homage to his 1985 self

Powerlinx Red Thrust tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxRed
1985 Thrust tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(G1)/toys#Generation_1

However due to some fun with Demolishor this was changed to Dirge's colours.

Powerlinx Brown & Blue Thrust tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxBrown
1985 Dirge tfwiki.net/wiki/Dirge_(G1)/toys#The_Transformers

Fan Outcry made Hasbro reconsider and the red Thrust eventually emerged at non US retail

Demolishor was intended to be a homage to Six Shot, presumably via his Tank Mode.

Powerlinx Demolishor tfwiki.net/wiki/Demolishor_(Armada)#Powerlinx
1987 Sixshot tfwiki.net/wiki/Sixshot_(G1)#Toys

Conventional fan wisdom claims the aniators changed the colours forcing Hasbro to change Demolishor and then change Thrust too to reduce the number of red toys.

My suspicion is that what actually happened was some confusion between Six Shot, the 1987 six changer, and Six Gun, the 1985 Metroplex companion.

Powerlinx Demolishor tfwiki.net/wiki/Demolishor_(Armada)#Powerlinx
1986 Sixgun tfwiki.net/wiki/Sixgun#The_Transformers

Nemesis Prime tfwiki.net/wiki/Nemesis_Prime_(Armada)#Armada
RID Scourge tfwiki.net/wiki/Scourge_(RID)#Robots_in_Disguise_.282001.29

[Philip Ayres]

There's two additional Armada Deluxe repaints that look like they were meant for this stage of procedings but delayed into later lines

Energon Rapid Run tfwiki.net/wiki/Rapid_Run_(Energon)#Toys
RID Sideways tfwiki.net/wiki/Sideways_(RID)#Toys

Universe Swerve could be a homage to his 1986 namesake

Universe Swerve tfwiki.net/wiki/Swerve_(Universe)#Universe_.282003.29
1986 Swerve tfwiki.net/wiki/Swerve_(G1)#The_Transformers

But I suspect one of the 1984 cars is a more likely source:

[Fortmax2020]

Going for Nemesis Prime. Not only does he look good, but he doesn't rely on 'Fan Wisdom' to explain away his existence.

[Philip Ayres]

Jul 12, 2024 7:04:06 GMT Fortmax2020 said:

he doesn't rely on 'Fan Wisdom' to explain away his existence.

How do you mean?

[Philip Ayres]

Here's what the wiki says on the related Demolishor & Sixshot / Sixgun and Thrust & Dirge situation:

Powerlinx Demolishor with Powerlinx Blackout

tfwiki.net/wiki/Demolishor_(Armada)#Toys

Part of the final wave of Armada product, this redeco of the original Demolishor gives him in a new red and off-white color scheme, roughly homaging Ironhide. According to Aaron Archer, he was originally intended to be colored like Sixshot, because Demolishor's gun-hands reminded him of Sixshot (we don't get it either—maybe he meant Six-Gun?), but the red color scheme was decided upon and used in the animated series first, so the toy had to follow suit. Reflecting the late nature of this change, his packaging depicts a normal-colored Demolishor toy, as the colors had not been decided upon by the time cardback photography was required.

Powerlinx Thrust with Powerlinx Inferno (Super-Con Class, 2003)

"Dirge" version tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxBrown

Part of the later-series "Powerlinx" line of redecos, Powerlinx Thrust got a new color scheme that was a "reversal" of the Generation 1 "conehead" Dirge, primarily light brown with dark blue and black accents. The packaging for this release, however, showed him in a color scheme more like his G1 namesake, burgundy with black (and some bone-white accents). His coloration was changed to the brown-and-blue too late to change the packaging photography.

The change was made due to Takara choosing a mostly red color scheme for Demolishor (Demolishor's was called "Ironhide" in Japan, and the color scheme was based on the Generation 1 version of said character). Originally Hasbro had different plans for their redeco of Demolishor, but those plans were dropped to match the animation, which was already based on Takara's products. Hasbro then thought there would be too much red on the shelves at the time, so Powerlinx Thrust's coloration was modified, as the figure would not appear on the cartoon. There are some similar colors used between the two versions of the toy, likely due to the quick change in scheme.

Powerlinx Thrust was not released in the normal Takara Legend of the Microns line, but did get a "USA Edition" release in Hasbro packaging through LaOX stores.

This toy was also repurposed as Dirge via Ask Vector Prime.

"Thrust" version tfwiki.net/wiki/Thrust_(Armada)#PowerlinxRed

Although Hasbro at one point expressed interest in releasing a running change variant of Powerlinx Thrust that reflected the originally intended color scheme,[2] they never went through with it, at least not in the North American market. However, in December 2003 Takara released red Powerlinx Thrust as a "USA Edition" in Japan, exclusively available at the Toy's Dream Project members' store Toycard, in Hasbro packaging with a Toy's Dream Project sticker on the bubble.

Curiously enough, Hasbro actually did produce a small run of red Powerlinx Thrust, but never released it in the North American market. Instead, the toy, in European packaging, popped up in Israel in mid-2004, later followed by sightings in Italy, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom. The toy was even found in Australia, but only in stores that also occasionally sell toys imported from other countries, and again in European packaging. Furthermore, some European countries saw the toy being sold at instant discount prices, which suggests it was old Hasbro warehouse stock which had never seen a shelf release that was now being cleared out.

[The Huff]

Nah! Thrust looks like TFOne Sentinal Prime now.

[Philip Ayres]

It's interesting comparing the different directions from Dirge that Armada Thrust and TFOne Sentinel Prime went

The Armada version could use some more blue on the jet body but was limited by the body and wings being on the same sprue as they're always the same on each use of the mould

[legios]

Now, see...if amusing mini-con names were the clinching factor then I'd go with conventional wisdom for probably unique reasons. "Over-Run" being swapped over the "Run-Over" always makes me laugh. It is just just such a good stupid joke. But I'm honestly not that fussed about Nemesis Prime. I don't think he is anywhere near as interesting a redeco of the Optimus as BC was of the Laser Rod, or as interesting as other black redecos of Optimus will be in the future flood of them. I think there are other redecos here that are more visually interesting. I'm just not sure which one gets the nod...

Karl

[Pinwig]

I will have that Nemesis Prime one day...

[The Doctor]

Toy-Fu had one last year. It didn't sell so I bought it.

-Ralph

[Llama God]

Not a load of great choices here for me. Prime would be the obvious choice, but I'm not a fan of the black repaints, and as the Kaptain says this one is particularly uninspiring. I would go for Hot Shot because of nostalgia, but I'm not a fan of his robot mode, and somehow this colour scheme makes it look even worse. So... I'll probably go for Sentinel Prime.