How to determine modern TF's via their 'class'.

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Auntie Slag
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How to determine modern TF's via their 'class'.

Post by Auntie Slag »

I think this is a question for Blackjack; is there something in the toys section that shows you the levels of Transformers in terms of their price/complexity?

The reason I ask is that when I'm casually looking through forum posts and whatnot, people mention legends classes, voyager classes etc. I don't know off-hand what that represents.

I wondered if it would be handy to have a very tiny guide, or something that splits the modern reviews by their class e.g.

Legends class = £9.99 toys (and US equivalent)
Voyager class = Deluxe trasformation £18 toys

Something like that. I was fine as a kid knowing the difference between mini-autobot prices, gestalt limb prices and G1 car robot prices.

Its just that for a casual observer like me, and perhaps many others who just rifle through messages it can get a bit confusing. For example there's a thread on TF '09 movie Devastator ultra legends voyager prime generations class and I don't really know which they're referring to.

I know I could just educate myself, but maybe it would be handy to just to have that little guide that people can refer to when a 'class' catches them out?

Sometime its just a little bit of quick reference knowledge like that which can spark a sale on-line or elsewhere.
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

Mmm, we used to have that when we had Nevermore's checklists, and the first Movie line had the toy's size class slapped onto the back.

Basically, the Scouts Class is the equivalent to the Basic Class of BW (about the size of an Autobot Car), while Voyager is equivalent to Mega (about the height of G1 Optimus Prime). Ultra is a bit bigger, Leader a bit bigger than Ultra. Legends Class are exactly the same size as a Minibot, Minicons are roughly the same as Micromasters.

Probably we need a 'size class' factor in the 2010 TF/Universe Classics reviews as well, since there's a whole lot of them. Hmmm...

When I have some (more) free time, I'll make an article about modern size classes in a bit to go on the site. Just to give me an excuse to take transformer photographs...

Generations, Prime, and '09 Movie are the titles of the lines. I've been meaning to make an article about the history of all transformer lines too for years. Hell, all of transformers, fiction and toy wise. Just because I'm kind of nuts. And obsessive. And insomniac. But that'll be a long long time. ;)
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

In the meantime, here's a pic of different size classes, with G1 Bumblebee thrown in as a measuring stick.
-Overcharge is a Mini-Con.
-Goldbug is a Legends Class.
-Ransack is a Scouts Class. (or Basic Class pre-Movie)
-Jazz is a Deluxe Class.
-Nemesis Prime is a Voyager Class. (or Mega Class pre-Movie)
-Inferno is a Ultra Class.
-Movie Megatron is a Leader Class.

The three bigger ones would be Supreme (like Cybertron Starscream or Metroplex), Ultimate (Ultimate Bumblebee, Battle Ops Bumblebee, Primus, Unicron) and Masterpiece (the whole blasted line) but these are few and far between. Plus, I don't own any of them and MP Megatron is on a top shelf and I can't be assed to get it down now.
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Post by Rack 'n Ruin »

Blackjack wrote:In the meantime, here's a pic of different size classes, with G1 Bumblebee thrown in as a measuring stick.
-Overcharge is a Mini-Con.
-Goldbug is a Legends Class.
-Ransack is a Scouts Class. (or Basic Class pre-Movie)
-Jazz is a Deluxe Class.
-Nemesis Prime is a Voyager Class. (or Mega Class pre-Movie)
-Inferno is a Ultra Class.
-Movie Megatron is a Leader Class.

The three bigger ones would be Supreme (like Cybertron Starscream or Metroplex), Ultimate (Ultimate Bumblebee, Battle Ops Bumblebee, Primus, Unicron) and Masterpiece (the whole blasted line) but these are few and far between. Plus, I don't own any of them and MP Megatron is on a top shelf and I can't be assed to get it down now.
Universe Inferno is/was a Voyager.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Could we not conjure up some sort of overlapping table-type key thing? The only problem I can think of is coming up with retroactive size classes for G1 toys is likely to be tricky, especially as the G1 line's toys grew in size over the years (e.g. Autobot cars are somewhere between Basic and Deluxe in size depending on figure). Maybe make the table retroactive? i.e. start off with the current Legends/Basic/Deluxe/Voyager/Supreme, and only give comparisons that fit, rather thantrying to force everything from pre-set size class lines into it?

I think I'm explaining myself poorly... Will try to hammer something out once I've showered and tried to work out how I'm going to write nine whole lines on Jean-Louis Schlesser's 1983 F1 career...
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Eh, sod it... Something like this: - http://counter-x.net/temp/class.html

Though obviously with a little research in place of what I can remember without checking somewhere. We ignore relative price points and go by rough physical size (and skip things like the Minicons, which are tricky - they were sold at the rough Basic pricepoint IIRC, but the figures are smaller and referring to them as the same size class as, say, ROTF Dead End is just going to be confusing... on which logic the Spychangers should probably be omitted)
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Post by Blackjack »

Inferno's a...?

But he's big!

Meh, I knew I should've dug Silverbolt out...

Agreed that a table would be ideal, with pictures showing approximate sizes. Mind if I use your table as a basis, Cliffy? No idea about the size of pre-Armada toys, would need help on that.

Price-point wise, tfwiki.net/wiki/Size_class and scroll down to the last page. We've got ourselves a bloody table.
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Post by Paul053 »

Blackjack wrote:Inferno's a...?
Yes he is.
But he's big!
Yes he is. How about ROTF Lockdown. His robot mode will screw you.
Meh, I knew I should've dug Silverbolt out...
Yes you are right. Or Universe Onslaught.
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Post by Warcry »

Blackjack wrote:Voyager is equivalent to Mega
Actually, Voyagers are in the same price point as an Ultra from Beast Wars. If you think waaaay back, you'll remember that the Universe Ultras (many of which were redecoed BW Ultras) sold for the same price point as Armada and Energon Mega-class toys (which became Voyagers in Cybertron). There's no real modern equivalent to the Megas they had in the Beast Era, allegedly because that price point never sold well.

Size-wise, Voyagers are somewhere in between the two. If you take a look at the pic I've attached, you'll see that Universe Primal (an Ultra) is just a touch taller and bulkier than the Voyagers, and Armada Predacon (a Mega) is just a touch smaller. The smallest Voyagers (like Blackout) might end up looking Predacon straight in the eye and the biggest (like some of the ones from Cybertron) are probably the same size as Primal, but in general they fall somewhere in between.

Blackjack wrote:Probably we need a 'size class' factor in the 2010 TF/Universe Classics reviews as well, since there's a whole lot of them. Hmmm...
Not a bad idea.
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Post by Paul053 »

Beast Machine Megatron is a mega class and he is a head shorter than classics deluxe class.

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Universe Onslaught is a ultra and much taller than voyager Megatron.

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Guess we can't compare them across different lines. On the other hand, since we haven't seen the DOTM line, but I've heard they are generally smaller than their same class as in ROTF line and the first move. Only known leader Sentinel is slightly taller than ROTF leader Optimus.

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Post by Thunderwave »

Paul053 wrote: Yes he is. How about ROTF Lockdown. His robot mode will screw you.
All the versions of Lockdown are like that, staring my Voyagers and some Ultras right in the eye. Some of the locals here have started to use the term "Lockdown-itis" or "Lockdown Syndrome" as a way to say that the figure unfolds in such a way that they end up much taller then they should be, often looking figures in larger size classes in the eye.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

We'd have to come up with some sort of average height for the sizes as this sort of thing is rife across all lines - Hound and Inferno from G1, for an obvious example. We just want a few broad examples so that someone who hasn't broughht anything since, say, RiD has a rough idea how big a figure being reviewed is, not some wakinerd pedantry shitstorm.

Oh, wait, Transformers Archive. Never mind.
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Post by Blackjack »

The Beast Wars 'Mega' Class is sold at US$15 pricepoint, while BW/RID-era Ultras are sold at US$20, and would become the modern-class Mega and Voyager classes.

The BW/BM/RID era Basic class are smaller than modern Scouts/Basic class as well.
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