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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 5:22:32 GMT
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 24, 2018 5:26:04 GMT
Justice prevails! Despite the handicap of appearing in the catalogue without his hat.
Which is arguably better than appearing without his pants, like Superion.
Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 5:28:06 GMT
Week 27: What is the best Autobot Mini on the 1986 UK catalogue?New catalogue, as we move into 1986 proper! And it's the one there appear to be the most of out there! From 1984 only Bumblebee survives the great cull of 1986, but all five of the 1985 Autobot Minis continue to be sold alongside one brand new toy and five that look a little familiar....
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 24, 2018 6:16:38 GMT
I've been looking forward to this one. The question had my worried, as it didn't include the word 'new', but the options are as they should be, i.e. just the new minis.
Wheelie sticks out as an anomaly. Apart from being by far the worst TF toy to date, he is the only one that is completely new. I think I've seen a Japanese catalogue where he wasn't even grouped with the other minis, but rather appeared in the same box as Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr, as if he originated from the department of Takara responsible for them rather than the department responsible for Hubcap, Outback, Pipes, Swerve and Tailgate.
The best toy this week is Pipes. The differences between Hubcap, Outback, Swerve and Tailgate and Cliffjumper, Brawn, Gears and Windcharger are just skin deep, but Pipes, although looking the same as Huffer in vehicle mode, has a different (improved) upper body transformation so that he actually faces the other way from Huffer is robot mode. As a result he has a solid backpack rather than a hoodie, and his wonderful arms are positioned more comfortably than those of Huffer, who always appears to be trying to do a ghost impression or cast a magic spell.
With his expressionless face, pipe arms and backpack, Pipes is wonderfully non-humanoid.
Wheelie, on the other hand, has a smiling face where his chest should be and looks like a happy rhyming experiment gone wrong. The comics and cartoons were very kind to the Wheelie toy.
Tech-specs analysis later this afternoon.
Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 6:20:01 GMT
I've been looking forward to this one. The question had my worried, as it didn't include the word 'new', but the options are as they should be, i.e. just the new minis. Ooops on my part. Yes the NEW should be in there, as per previous years. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 6:35:56 GMT
Let's get this out the way now: WHY IS HUBCAP YELLOW SO HE LOOKS LIKE BUMBLEBEE? I get that it's a change made late in the day, as this toyfair 86 catalogue pic shows: But even then surely someone should have said "Hang on, that looks really REALLY like Bumblebee?" even if they didn't go "Didn't we accidentally do a yellow Cliffjumper in 1984?" and make a change to something like green or black say (colours not used elsewhere in this set) Hubcap will not be winning my vote this week. Not sure I've ever owned one. The other four repaints are fab and I do have a soft spot for Wheelie too. Reembe walking into the Zodiac toys in Kingston and seeing all these, plus the rest of the 86 range, sitting on the shelves early in 1986! |
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 24, 2018 6:54:17 GMT
YES! BRUTICUS TAKES IT AT THE POST!
To celebrate I shall play with my new old one.
Except, wait, where's Blast Off?
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 24, 2018 7:09:15 GMT
Justice prevails! Despite the handicap of appearing in the catalogue without his hat. Which is arguably better than appearing without his pants, like Superion. Martin Superion lacks his pants??? -Ralph |
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 24, 2018 7:10:17 GMT
Let's get this out the way now: WHY IS HUBCAP YELLOW SO HE LOOKS LIKE BUMBLEBEE? BAD PHIL!!! -Ralph |
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Post by Pinwig on Aug 24, 2018 7:17:03 GMT
Oh yes! I'd never noticed that. No pants on Superion! How rude.
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Post by Shockprowl on Aug 24, 2018 7:35:41 GMT
I loved these guys as a kid. Had Hubcap, Swerve and Tailgate, and my brother had Wheelie. Wheelie is a terrible toy, Chest-face! The others were cool, but Phil is right, Hubcap should have been a different colour. Sorry to have missed out on Pipies. He sounds very intetesting! Looking forward to a Martin's Techspec Rundown later!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 7:42:54 GMT
Wheelie sticks out as an anomaly. Apart from being by far the worst TF toy to date, <COUGH> Runamuck & Runabout <COUGH> he is the only one that is completely new. I think I've seen a Japanese catalogue where he wasn't even grouped with the other minis, but rather appeared in the same box as Hot Rod, Kup and Blurr, as if he originated from the department of Takara responsible for them rather than the department responsible for Hubcap, Outback, Pipes, Swerve and Tailgate. Have you got a copy of that? I've only got an image of the combiners side of the 1986 Japan catalogue and I've not really bothered hunting for the other side before because, uiquely, there's nothing out in Japan in 1986 that isn't in the US & UK. And while we're on the subject of "catalogue leaflets Phil is missing"..... Does anyone have a 1987 Japan with the combining Dino cassettes and/or Stepper & Artfire on? My 1987 Japan has Raiden/The Trainbots, numbered after those, but the combining Dino Tapes and Stepper & Artfire aren't on it. I also could do with a better, flat, square on scan of the rareish 1988 UK catalogue leaflet. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 7:44:48 GMT
Justice prevails! Despite the handicap of appearing in the catalogue without his hat. Which is arguably better than appearing without his pants, like Superion. Martin Superion lacks his pants??? -Ralph Are the toy photos on the 1986 Special Team catalogue the same as the ones on the 1986 UK general catalogue leaflet ? |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 24, 2018 7:57:55 GMT
Yes, Superion has little red speedos that he's not wearing in the poster.
Sorry, Phil, that Japanese leaflet only exists in my memory. I couldn't find it on Google. Anyone else seen the one I mean?
Martin
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Post by Benn on Aug 24, 2018 8:04:25 GMT
Wheelie sticks out as an anomaly. Apart from being by far the worst TF toy to date, <COUGH> Runamuck & Runabout <COUGH> But we've not done them in the poll yet have we? Easy win for Pipes this week. Outback is my favorite (and I don't know why I didn't grab the new one at TFN) but Pipes is the best looking toy. I had Wheelie as a child, but someone stole him from me at school, so he does have a fan somewhere. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:12:34 GMT
Week 27: What is the best Autobot Mini on the 1986 UK catalogue?New catalogue, as we move into 1986 proper! And it's the one there appear to be the most of out there! From 1984 only Bumblebee survives the great cull of 1986, but all five of the 1985 Autobot Minis continue to be sold alongside one brand new toy and five that look a little familiar.... This catalogue represents one of the traumatic events of my youth. Growing up I'd bought Star Wars toys and for most of the duration of the line it had seemed to me that most of the toys, especially the figures, were available all the time, even if some were somewhat harder to obtain, unless they'd been superseded by a newer better version (R2-D2 & C3PO's original versions were retired in 1982 to make way for the Sensorscope & removable limbs, a newer battle damaged X-Wing replaced the pristine white version). I now know the truth is a little more complicated..... So suddenly seeing a catalogue for a toyline that was missing many of my favourites, several of which I really did want, was something of a shock. I can remember an early solo trip out over a wider area to try to locate the tapes which I desperately covered and could recall seeing hanging in a newsagent's window in Teddington. I don't think the trauma of loosing those early toys has ever really gone away and I think it's true for many of us. So we probably should look at the casualties of the 1986 massacre ...... As well as the 1984 Minibots that weren't BB, from the first year we have also lost Optimus & Megatron - though I recall a column in a Target 2006 TFUK issue that said they were still available, Soundwave & the tapes, Skywarp & Thundercracker. Four of the initial UK set of cars survive with Hound & Bluestreak not surviving. Of the second set of 1984 cars that the US got and we didn't - Ironhide, Prowl, Sunstreaker, Trailbreaker & Wheeljack - there are no survivors :-( I've always seen those seven as the hardest cars to get in the UK with Sideswipe, Jazz and most of the 1985 cars being the easiest. MOST, as they've had one casualty too: Skids is gone, which may account for what happened to him in the UK stories. Most of the other 1985 UK additions survive but we've lost the Insecticons and the Jumpstarters, which is slightly curious because their natural opposition the Battlechargers are introduced here. The Insecticons, like several other toys, survive in the US when they don't in the UK but the Jumpstarters and Skids are gone there too, the only toys not to survive either side of the Atlantic. Curiously there are some UK survivors this year which aren't available in the US: we'll look at that when we get to the 1986 US catalogue in <checks diary> SIX weeks time. Finally JETFIRE is at last pictured on a UK catalogue, having been available here during the previous year. |
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Dezzeh
Thunderjet
Wait, what?
Posts: 4,888
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Post by Dezzeh on Aug 24, 2018 8:12:57 GMT
Definitely a Pipes win here, possibly even for best ever Minibot. Now that is a statement.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:15:08 GMT
Let's get this out the way now: WHY IS HUBCAP YELLOW SO HE LOOKS LIKE BUMBLEBEE? I get that it's a change made late in the day, as this toyfair 86 catalogue pic shows: But even then surely someone should have said "Hang on, that looks really REALLY like Bumblebee?" even if they didn't go "Didn't we accidentally do a yellow Cliffjumper in 1984?" and make a change to something like green or black say (colours not used elsewhere in this set) Hubcap will not be winning my vote this week. Not sure I've ever owned one. Burns is outraged I have never owned Hubcap and has been texting me on this matter attempting to bully me into buying one. |
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 24, 2018 8:15:29 GMT
Here's a question. Up until now, I think it's understood that the toys were designed as toys, and then Bob Budiansky gave them characters, and the comics and cartoons created stories featuring characters resembling those toys.
Was that the case with the Movie toys, or were those toys created specifically to represent characters that they needed for the Movie?
Is Wheelie an attempt to make a toy out of an animation character model?
Martin
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:15:40 GMT
Definitely a Pipes win here, possibly even for best ever Minibot. Now that is a statement. We shall be putting that one to the test in the other thread next week! |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:17:31 GMT
Let's get this out the way now: WHY IS HUBCAP YELLOW SO HE LOOKS LIKE BUMBLEBEE? I get that it's a change made late in the day, as this toyfair 86 catalogue pic shows: But even then surely someone should have said "Hang on, that looks really REALLY like Bumblebee?" even if they didn't go "Didn't we accidentally do a yellow Cliffjumper in 1984?" and make a change to something like green or black say (colours not used elsewhere in this set) Hubcap will not be winning my vote this week. Not sure I've ever owned one. Burns is outraged I have never owned Hubcap and has been texting me on this matter attempting to bully me into buying one. M has joined in now too! |
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Post by Fortmax2020 on Aug 24, 2018 8:18:46 GMT
In a stunning about-face I have voted for Defensor to stop Phil threatening me with True Friending in another thread. I am now safe. 4-way tie. 57 mins to go. -Ralph And thus we got Brexit. |
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:29:00 GMT
And, like the UK electorate, Burns proceeded from the false assumption that voting that way would get him what he wanted.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:42:32 GMT
The best toy this week is Pipes. The differences between Hubcap, Outback, Swerve and Tailgate and Cliffjumper, Brawn, Gears and Windcharger are just skin deep, but Pipes, although looking the same as Huffer in vehicle mode, has a different (improved) upper body transformation so that he actually faces the other way from Huffer is robot mode. As a result he has a solid backpack rather than a hoodie, and his wonderful arms are positioned more comfortably than those of Huffer, who always appears to be trying to do a ghost impression or cast a magic spell. With his expressionless face, pipe arms and backpack, Pipes is wonderfully non-humanoid. Definitely a Pipes win here, possibly even for best ever Minibot. Now that is a statement. I love Pipes, but I always found his lack of proper hands a problem. His animation model, with hands & pipes, is amazing though! www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=PipesHasbro, I want a Legend that looks like that! Not like this: www.tfu.info/2016/Autobot/CWPipes/pipes.htmIt is a shoot out between the four non Hubcap recolours. Pretty certain I know who the winner is but need some last minute thought to decide. However Wheelie isn't without his merits either even though he's very different to the others. |
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Post by Benn on Aug 24, 2018 8:46:03 GMT
Phil! None of the Minibots have hands!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Aug 24, 2018 8:48:55 GMT
All the rest of them have something representing a hand or fist. Pipes has pipes.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 24, 2018 8:52:24 GMT
Bumblebee has moulded hands. Brawn has square robot hands.
-Ralph
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Jim
Thunderjet
Micromaster Backside Monitor
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Post by Jim on Aug 24, 2018 8:53:08 GMT
I'm voting Tailgate. I just really like his design overall, from colours to face to that chest sticker which sadly wasn't homaged on the POTP version.
Genuinely don't think Wheelie is so bad; vehicle mode is quite nice, even. He just doesn't fit with the other mini-bots.
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Post by The Doctor on Aug 24, 2018 8:55:20 GMT
I vote for Tailgate. Loved mine back in the day though my memory cheats as I was sure he was 87!
I also like Swerve a lot. I liked both these minibots 30 years before they were 'cool'.
Pipes is good but I agree about him having no hands. Wheelie is a fab weird alien robot. Was he the first proper Transformer? Was the line all recolours of other toy lines before this?
-Ralph
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Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Aug 24, 2018 9:05:48 GMT
Bumblebee has moulded hands. Brawn has square robot hands. Yes, and Cosmos has lasers, and Huffer has... whatever Huffer has. Martin |
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