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Transformers |OT| Transform and roll out...
- Thread starter Mike M
- Start date
Rewatching Beast Wars and I'm curious; did the Maximal crew not meet one another before the crash? The scene where they introduce themselves has really not aged well
CGI is really dated, but you tend to appreciate early attempts at CGI like that.
The crew was only shown in shadow prior to the crash, because they didn't have beast modes yet. They were pure Cybertronian. After the crash, they changed their physical appearances somewhat, changed their names apparently, and might have tweaked their own personalities (since all of those appear to be based on their beast modes). Some re-introductions may have been in order. This might be normal for Transformers, who by their very nature are open to drastic change in themselves.
Also, kids show.
I remember in G1, the first episode of the cartoon showed Transformers who were clearly based on Earth vehicles but transformed into Cybertronian vehicles, and someone explained it as being like a dream, or memory, where you can see yourself in the past, but the "self" you see might be your current self, not your past self. The "past" you are seeing is not a literal record of the past, it has been colored by things that have happened since then.
You've gotta put some effort into these things.
mattwhite924
Member
Got in Perfect Effect's Menasor kit today, figured I'd share.
I think it improves it quite a bit. Unfortunately there are quite a few trade-offs, like leg articulation get's pretty much killed off. Though overall I still think it's worth it, especially since it stabilizes his hips so that he can stand up better.
I think it improves it quite a bit. Unfortunately there are quite a few trade-offs, like leg articulation get's pretty much killed off. Though overall I still think it's worth it, especially since it stabilizes his hips so that he can stand up better.
The first two episodes of Beast Wars are really really really bad by the series standards. Tons of errors, really bad writing, crappy animation even by season 1 standards.Rewatching Beast Wars and I'm curious; did the Maximal crew not meet one another before the crash? The scene where they introduce themselves has really not aged well
CGI is really dated, but you tend to appreciate early attempts at CGI like that.
The only redeeming part is Dinobot getting blasted off by Megatron and joining the Maximals.
Got in Perfect Effect's Menasor kit today, figured I'd share.
I think it improves it quite a bit. Unfortunately there are quite a few trade-offs, like leg articulation get's pretty much killed off. Though overall I still think it's worth it, especially since it stabilizes his hips so that he can stand up better.
Wow, so much better. Too bad about the articulation.
mattwhite924
Member
The way you're supposed to do it give him a bit of forward leg articulation, but it forces his legs to be really spread apart. D:
I hate losing the articulation, but considering that it will probably just stand on my shelf it's probably ok.
At least overall the combiner wars toys have been pretty good.
Just saw this guy, I think it's the most impressive TF figure I've ever seen. It's also one of the most expensive 
But damn this is bad ass.
http://tfsource.com/warbotron/wb01-full-set/
But damn this is bad ass.
http://tfsource.com/warbotron/wb01-full-set/
Warbotron is one of the best looking 3rd Part TFs, bar none. It evades nearly all the typical 3rd Party Traps, including it having a head sculpt that doesn't look like crap. I hear it's actually sturdy and fun to play with as well. Definitely a top tier figure. Only problem I have is it's a bit over detailed. It's got way too many extra lines and ridges on it, seemingly as an attempt to make it look more expensive and realistic. Thighs are maybe a bit too thin, but again it's a minor issue.
Still, it's an amazing figure.
Still, it's an amazing figure.
Barrow Roll
Member
Yeah it kinda makes it look like it's made out of Legos.
Totally agree. It's definitely an atheistic choice, but it's one you don't really see on other TFs. Makes this piece sort of not fit in with most collections. Can't really put it with Masterpiece or Classics. It's a good thing it looks good enough to stand on its own.
Tizoc
Member
Continuing my rewatch of Beast Wars, it sucks that they got rid of Tigertron and Air-razor in Season 2 like that :/
Were there any interviews/articles regarding this? I get that they wanted to shift focus but it was lame how they got rid of them after how well they were written in Season 1.
Were there any interviews/articles regarding this? I get that they wanted to shift focus but it was lame how they got rid of them after how well they were written in Season 1.
If anything I feel it might have made the extra details even more obvious.
I'm curious about that as well. They just up and left.
Hasbro being Hasbro. The writing doesn't dictate the toys (no matter how good it is), the toys dictate the writing. IIRC, Beast Wars was often "behind" in implementing the changes Hasbro wanted, because the show's producers felt like they needed to come up with "story reasons" for the changes.
Hasbro came up with the base characters for season 1. By season 2, Hasbro was bored of all of those characters, and they wanted shiny Transmetal and Fuzors. Scorponok, Terrorsaur, Tigatron, Airazor? "Oh, we're super bored with those characters, so don't upgrade them to Transmetal. Kill them off to make room for the new characters we're going to invent. If you don't kill them, you're just going to have to kill Dinobot and Waspinator, because we need space in the locker room."
Larry DiTillio said that near the end of the series, Hasbro randomly asked them to come up with a new character, so Asaph Fipke came up with TigerHawk. He said it was the only way Hasbro was ever going to allow those two to come back.
Hasbro: "Great idea, we love it!"
One week later: "Terrible idea, we hate it. Kill TigerHawk."
One week later: "We changed our minds, and we like TigerHawk again, so don't kill him off. Oh, you already animated the episode and he's dead? Nevermind then. Keep up the good work."
I think it was more that they weren't going to make a toy of him/her, so kill TigerHawk. And then changed their mind a week later.
Sigh.
BattleMonkey
Member
Eh he's maybe more solid than other 3rd party combiners, but hes still wobbly all around. Strong joints and such, limited posing really though. It is kinda busy but also bad ass looking. Devastator from CW blows it away with how sturdy it is.
That's the only way it blows it away, though, and at the cost of the individual robots' quality in many respects. CW Devastator is great, and an infinitely better toy compared to the 3rd party stuff, but the 3rd party combiners are just vastly better collector's pieces.
Weltall Zero
Member
I read through most of More than Meets the Eye throughout the vacations (blessed Humble Bundle) and what can I say. Mind. Blown. It's every bit as good as everyone says and then some. This is the story about Transformers that we deserve as adults; simply amazing stuff. If any of you still haven't read it, drop whatever you're doing and go for it now.
Seconded. It's not just the best Transformers fiction of all time, it's one of the best comics on shelves, period.
Barrow Roll
Member
I started reading MTMTE a few months ago, everything was going well and I was enjoying how the story was building from Last Stand of the Wreckers, and I was really eager to see what was going to happen next after the
reveal. However, while the next 2 issues that introduced the DJD was pretty cool, it was also far removed from the main cast and story. Following that was the Annual issue, which didn't have that Alex Milne goodness and wasn't all that interesting. And then it was the Shadowplay arc, and I just kind of fell off. 6 issues after that reveal, I wanna know what happens next, and it just felt like a slog. I get it, Roberts likes to pepper in little tidbits here and there and I'm sure it all comes together like an intricate puzzle in the end, but at the time, it lost my interest. I'll come back to it someday.
Overlord in the basement
Weltall Zero
Member
Perhaps it's because I didn't read Wreckers before and so for me
Overlord
Overlord
Funnily, I was enjoying the more leisurely pace the first issues of the comic had, as opposed to traditional TF fiction, and assumed the entire comic would be like that, an off-beat walk through the galaxy, and was more than happy with that. However, little did I know Roberts was just gaining momentum to throw the comic into a breathless, relentless pace right about that time that has simply not let go. Sir, keep reading because things are about to get hot.
Kinda funny considering that was one of the biggest plot points in Wreckers, how he was such a nobody.
Holy shit.
That's.........beyond my wildest dreams.
The stacks being candles is just the cutest thing ever to me for some reason
ColonelSkills
Member
I'm a huge fan of the greebling on Warbotron, but perhaps that's because of how much I Liked High Moon's WFC content. I feel it gives him a sense of scale that you don't really get from the flat panel work otherwise.
I'll admit the aesthetic is quite a departure otherwise though.
And he's great except for like, one or two joint issues. Still not a fan of those ankle tilts.
I'll admit the aesthetic is quite a departure otherwise though.
And he's great except for like, one or two joint issues. Still not a fan of those ankle tilts.
Tizoc
Member
That is amazing.
MTMTE is more about the journey than the destination. Do you really think this ragtag crew is fit to find the Legendary Knights of Cybertron? Think about that for a minute
If you wanna keep reading the series, read it mainly for characterization and not the plot.
Weltall Zero
Member
MTMTE is more about the journey than the destination. Do you really think this ragtag crew is fit to find the Legendary Knights of Cybertron? Think about that for a minute
If you wanna keep reading the series, read it mainly for characterization and not the plot.
Excellent sum up and particularly the bolded could be printed on the cover and/or back cover. Hell, it even hangs a planet-sized lampshade on it later on, delivered by the resident fourth-wall breaker:
Swerve: I'm hoping for more massive, rambling diversions. Who wants closure? Let's really stretch this sucker out.
Weltall Zero
Member
Does anyone in here have Generations Skids? I bought it secondhand at a shop and I can't fold back his shoulder missiles (not the shoulder cannons, but the missile pods that flip over the tires). It came with them flipped down, and when I try to flip them back, they don't give, and it seems like forcing them might break them. It's the same on both of them. Worse, you need to fold them back to even transform him... :/
Amusingly, I watched a few reviews to see if there was any trick to it, and the only one where he flipped them back (to turn him back to car mode), he didn't manage it at first and cut the footage where he managed (it probably took him a while). Damn! You can see it at 17:50 here:
https://youtu.be/aRTsaZKHK80?t=1070
Here's a pic showing the position of the shoulder piece. It seems like the peg should be resting in one of the indents rather than past it: both are like this, don't know if the previous owner forced them or what:
Amusingly, I watched a few reviews to see if there was any trick to it, and the only one where he flipped them back (to turn him back to car mode), he didn't manage it at first and cut the footage where he managed (it probably took him a while). Damn! You can see it at 17:50 here:
https://youtu.be/aRTsaZKHK80?t=1070
Here's a pic showing the position of the shoulder piece. It seems like the peg should be resting in one of the indents rather than past it: both are like this, don't know if the previous owner forced them or what:
I do enjoy the comic a great deal but I'm getting a bit tired of the silliness. It helps to keep the "slaughtering" moments from making every too dark but at the same time everyone really could use a little less of the "samey" kind of attitude........mind you I chalk it up to them all being PTSD after how many years of war and not knowing how to be normal after.
Just get Devastator and be done with it!
I'm going to wait for UW-4. The transforming visor is kewl, elbows on Scrapper and Mixmaster are good, but if that hadn't sold me the handguns for each Constructicon would have. More guns for the robot army!
I'm pretty impressed with how nice the cheap little toys have gotten, if you can get a Legends class figure without paying a speculator's profit it's good value. They're so much better at posing than any comparably sized or priced action figure from my youth, and I'm talking about the ones that were meant to pose, not transform. The articulation absolutely destroys nearly all '85-'87 'formers of any size.
This sounds like fun, I'll have to check it out.
The robot army added Legends Skywarp, Warpath, Huffer, and Blackjack. I managed not to get gouged on Blackjack by buying him in a bundle with Huffer from BBTS. This was not a hard sacrifice, I'm fond of all the ones I owned and I had him as a Mini-Vehicle.
I also got Brake-Neck / Wildrider to join the army, but that wasn't enough. So today when I got home there was a package containing the other 4 Stunticons. Menasor must be combinerized!
Tizoc
Member
So MTMTE #44 preview is out and we learn who the
That last part is actually brought up one or two times.
The book shows how much depth you can go with characterization and a series like TF could use it, especially when most stories used for shows or games is Autbots stopping Decepticons evil plans.
spy in the DJD is
apparently it's Vos
He's that Decipticon whose face plate hides 100 drills which he attaches to his victim's faces.
I'm still having a hard time accepting that :V
apparently it's Vos
He's that Decipticon whose face plate hides 100 drills which he attaches to his victim's faces.
I'm still having a hard time accepting that :V
That last part is actually brought up one or two times.
The book shows how much depth you can go with characterization and a series like TF could use it, especially when most stories used for shows or games is Autbots stopping Decepticons evil plans.
Weltall Zero
Member
Finally got my CW Hot Spot!!! Just left the store, will post pics later
Congratulations, man! I actually bought a second Hotspot for cheap this weekend and am customizing it into Optimus Prime / Fire Convoy.
That's actually a pretty appropriate choice for a custom, I'd love to see it when you're done.
Weltall Zero
Member
Nice. Can I advise you to try an alternate configuration I find much more balanced, symmetrical and aesthetically pleasing by swapping Blades with Streetwise?
Thanks! I'm probably only going to customize the combiner's head: I'm adding a faceplate, removing the goggles and sanding down the sides of the head to make them a bit more rounded; it's nearly done. I'll probably add Op's antennae too. The rest of it is going to be a straight repaint, I've done a couple mockups to check how the colors come together in all three forms:
The color scheme is more classic Optimus than Fire Convoy, even if the truck mode would lend itself perfectly for the latter, but I couldn't resist.
I was also considering doing something with the combined mode's chest plate, which would be super easy as it's very soft plastic, but I'm not sure what (carving cab windows? Might be hard evening them out). Probably will just paint and see how it looks first.
That's not how Defensor is canonically configured. Bad enough the other side is already backwards in the photo. You limb swappers are history's greatest monsters.
Weltall Zero
Member
That would be where the "alternate" comes from.
I'm sure you prefer the Japanese version with its car-sized motorcycle. The Japanese version of Groove is actually really cool.
There's actually room for interpretation about Defensor's left side:
Sure, why not. I thought Blades was too thin to look good as a leg, I'll have to try it.
Oh and MattKeil don't worry, I'll put First Aid on the left
Has anyone tried to flip Hot Spot legs like this?
Weltall Zero
Member
Streetwise looks pretty bad as a leg (especially next to First Aid), but much better as an arm (it makes a very similar "shoulderpad" to Rook's). Blades on the other hand makes for a better leg than an arm, as the rotor blades don't get in the way (he's actually wider than First Aid in leg mode).
Nope, but I'm about to!