Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Figures, collectables, customs and collecting.
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Warcry
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Warcry »

Denyer wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:55 pmCW/POTP "Guard City"
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Inferno_Combiner

Inferno, Alpha Bravo, Groove, Prowl and Rook. A mostly white set that gives a cohensive look and fairly close to the classic scans of a half-arsed Defensor repaint.
For some reason this possibility never occurred to me and now I'm sad that I didn't get some of those guys. Guard City always had that "unobtainable Japanese exclusive" mystique, and zigzagger made him actually cool on top of that.
Denyer wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:55 pm(3P) Fansproject Dinoichi ("Slog")
https://tfsource.com/fansproject/dino-ichi/

Also a favourite character.
I loved the look of this set when it came out. If I'd known that it hit clearance I would have picked up their version of my boy Wildfly. Though probably not from TFSource because I don't want my credit card information winding up in the hands of some unscrupulous distant cousin back in the old country...
Denyer wrote: Mon Feb 22, 2021 2:55 pm(3P) Mastermind Creations Anubis
https://tfsource.com/mastermind-creations/r-18-anubis/

As good as representation of Death's Head as I think we're likely to get.
That's gorgeous.

I find it baffling that Hasbro have the Marvel license but haven't managed to find a way to slip Death's Head into the Legends line. They've made a zillion characters more obscure than that and they even made a bloody Death's Head II. It's not like I'm asking for Circuit Breaker or something!

I'm just realizing now that I took a zillion pictures of my Beast-era collection before Christmas when I was dusting my shelves, and I don't think I've posted any of them here. I also have some older pics kicking around that I'm fond of as well. So I'm going to indulge in spamming this place with Beasties.

I don't think I ever showed off my custom pre-Transmetal Scarem! He's actually made from my childhood Insecticon. Which I never would have replaced if I'd known how easy it would be to disassemble him and take out the little automorph spring after the tiny clip that holds him shut in beast mode broke.
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Iguanus's colour scheme is so damned photogenic...I think I may have taken more outdoor pictures of him than any other figure I own. I don't think I've posted too much of it here but I absolutely love taking outdoor photos of Beast Wars toys in the summertime. These outdoor shots are actually four or five years old, though.

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Manterror is so much fun. It's weird, but it really feels like they deliberately chose the least interesting toys to feature in the first season of the TV show. So many of the non-show guys are so much cooler than the well-known characters.
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Even when they're the same mold, like Buzz Saw here!
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How did I wind up with this many Cheetors? I don't even like Cheetor! I do adore that Transmetal mold, though.
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I think I may actually like Transmetal Terrorsaur more, though! They're both just brilliant designs, and absolutely ahead of their time.
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Clay will like this shot:
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That's enough for now, I think.
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Clay
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Clay »

I like your Insecticon/Scarem repaint! Is it just the green parts you painted?

Warcry wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:37 am Image

This picture is great!
Manterror is so much fun. It's weird, but it really feels like they deliberately chose the least interesting toys to feature in the first season of the TV show. So many of the non-show guys are so much cooler than the well-known characters.
May be on purpose... "this toy doesn't have an interesting design, but its show character has a great personality!"
How did I wind up with this many Cheetors? I don't even like Cheetor! I do adore that Transmetal mold, though.
Are you missing any? It seems like you have all the transmetal versions. And is that the masterpiece figure in there too?
Clay will like this shot
I recognize those! :wave:
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zigzagger
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by zigzagger »

Warcry wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:37 am Guard City always had that "unobtainable Japanese exclusive" mystique, and zigzagger made him actually cool on top of that.
Who, me? Awwwwwwww! :love:
---

Okay, I'll bite.

Had pull out the ol' tubs for this one, but some of my most cherished bots are from the Beast-era. Sharing some of my more "prized" pieces--and hey, I got plenty of other beasties to share my thoughts on if anyone's interested.

Going with three picks for now.

Beast Machines Primal Prime

At the time, I was lucky to pick this up at a not-so exorbitant price (I think around 60-70 dollars), as nowadays, its appears to go for about ~300 bucks on the aftermarket.

At any rate, I love this piece! Yes, the tertiary modes are a bit crap (and yet somehow also fun due to their absurdity), but the robot mode has PRESENCE. Switching on those LEDs cranks up that presence even further, with some rather excellent green light-piping.

I am definitely partial to this deco over Optimal Optimus's (more well-known) yellow and blue. It's iconic in it's own right, but also that cherry-red and sapphire blue chrome is freaking gorgeous.

I am missing his rifle, but, meh, I don't think it's much of a loss; the hulking design doesn't really suit such a puny weapon, anyway, especially when it already has two honking cannons on its shoulders.
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Robots In Disguise Cryotek

Barely inching out TM2 Megatron, but with paintwork and detailing as beautiful as this--in gradients of blue and purple--how could it not. He is one bedazzled beast. Cryotek knows how fabulous he looks.

The articulation in the dragon mode's neck does leave me wanting, and pose-ability options are somewhat lacking, but they simply do not make toys like this anymore--and never will again. A toy in this scale, with this many moving parts, that is molded almost entirely asymmetrical, and has this level of detail would be an impossibility nowadays.
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Universe Razorclaw

This is one that I actually grabbed in-store waaaaaaay back when. But, I'm guessing y'all might be detecting a pattern here; it's another redeco, and as far as my interests go, it is another good one. Razorclaw's black, purple, and maroon attire is a lot more appealing to me than what this mold was initially deco-ed in.

That said, aesthetically, Razorclaw/Tigerhawk look like an avenging archangel, all grimacing with wings splayed. It's definitely a look, but why didn't this thing come with a sword? It needs a sword. It would complete the look, truly.
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Warcry
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Warcry »

Clay wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:58 amI like your Insecticon/Scarem repaint! Is it just the green parts you painted?
It's actually another of my adventures in dyeing! I was trying to turn the green bits orange like TM2 Scarem, but overdid it because I wasn't sure exactly what colour mix I needed. But the blood red looks so cool that I think I need to start pretending it was on purpose. I've pondered on and off whether I should paint any of the other parts but for now everything else is the stock colours.
Clay wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:58 amThis picture is great!
Thanks! It's one of my favourites.
Clay wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:58 amAre you missing any? It seems like you have all the transmetal versions. And is that the masterpiece figure in there too?
I'm missing quite a few, actually. They've made a silly number of Cheetors over the years. But I think the only one that I really notice is that I don't have a TM2 Cheetor. I always liked the design on the show, but the toy is super ugly. The Gathering comic made me want the Ravage redeco but I've never really looked for that either.

That is indeed the Masterpiece in the back. He's terrible! Partly because of overly complex engineering but mostly because I always forget how flat-out ugly Cheetor's show model was compared to the simple but elegant toy.
Clay wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 3:58 am I recognize those! :wave:
Depth Charge is an absolute gem of a toy that I never really took the time to appreciate him until my son fell in love with it (Jamie has decided that his defining character trait is that he gets very angry at ceiling fans.) He's just huge and really tough to display anywhere. And Megatron is, of course, Megatron so he's awesome.

Sky-Byte keeps leaving me angry haikus griping that the other two get played with more.
zigzagger wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:33 amWho, me? Awwwwwwww! :love:
You made every Protectobot and Protectobot-adjacent character awesome. Don't pretend you didn't!
zigzagger wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:33 amBeast Machine's Primal Prime

Robots In Disguise Cryotek
Either you have excellent taste or you know exactly which toys to post to make me jealous (or both)! I love the looks of both of these. Unfortunately they're two of the most expensive retail Beast-era releases out there. Primal Prime is even creeping up on the same level of "ridiculously unattainable" as Antagony or Metals Ravage.

I'm actually still a bit upset that they made a new Optimal Optimus mold a few years ago and didn't make a new Primal Prime out of it. A part of me is holding out hope that it might show up as a topical Selects release alongside the Kingdom stuff.
zigzagger wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:33 amA toy in this scale, with this many moving parts, that is molded almost entirely asymmetrical, and has this level of detail would be an impossibility nowadays.
This is exactly why I'm so in love with Beast Wars molds. The beautiful hand-sculpted details, the deliberate asymmetry, the willingness to just be plain weird... I feel like the style of the Kenner Beast Wars molds were basically perfect for robots that turned into living things. The Kingdom toys are great, but they lack the same oomph because they have the same sterile "designed to be micron-perfect in CAD software" feel as the modern G1 stuff does.
zigzagger wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:33 amThis is one that I actually grabbed in-store waaaaaaay back when. But, I'm guessing y'all might be detecting a pattern here; it's another redeco, and as far as my interests go, it is another good one. Razorclaw's black, purple, and maroon attire is a lot more appealing to me than what this mold was initially deco-ed in.
Razorclaw is 50% of the reason for me falling in love with Beast stuff when I got back into the fandom in the early 2000s (Universe Silverbolt was the other half). I remember seeing Tigerhawk in stores as a teen and thinking he didn't look as cool as the Optimal Optimuses and Dragon Megatrons on the shelves beside him. As an adult, I think the reason why he didn't impress me was that the white and the chrome drowned out a lot of the detail in the mold. Razorclaw's black and purple do SO much better at showing those details off, though I still wish he'd gotten a bit more paint. He's one of the few Universe beasts that they didn't absolutely go to town on with painted detail.
zigzagger wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 4:33 amThat said, aesthetically, Razorclaw/Tigerhawk look like an avenging archangel, all grimacing with wings splayed. It's definitely a look, but why didn't this thing come with a sword? It needs a sword. It would complete the look, truly.
He's pretty much the angel of death, isn't he? A sword really would complete the look. And the wings give him so much presence. He and Gigatron are my two favourite-looking big bad guys from the Beast era and the wings absolutely make the look in both cases.
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Denyer
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Denyer »

Love the outdoor pics with BW figures. And I remember Cryotek getting a lot of love way back when, but haven't seen one in years and looking at it now it's easy to see why it's always been such a favourite for people.

Primal Prime is one I do kind of regret moving on and would pick up a modern redeco of if it isn't some super-rare and expensive release. Out of all of the BM toys and the few I got, it was just fun, and a present from an ex.
Warcry wrote:That's gorgeous.
Wouldn't be worth anything like what they've got it listed as -- it was less than half that at the time of release. Even though the head sculpt isn't perfect, the effort they went to with the weapons and way the cloak is integrated is impressive though.

I'd quite like a halfway decent Blackrock and Circuit Breaker. Not the other Neo-Knights, but they were more influential in the comics than the human characters were ever interesting in the show.

Maybe in the Super7 Ultimates line, which already has some quite random picks...
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

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Warcry wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 6:29 am
Either you have excellent taste or you know exactly which toys to post to make me jealous (or both)! I love the looks of both of these. Unfortunately they're two of the most expensive retail Beast-era releases out there. Primal Prime is even creeping up on the same level of "ridiculously unattainable" as Antagony or Metals Ravage.
I wanted to start big ;) Don't think I have anything else in my Beasties collection that's as "unattainable" as those two, sans a few Takara Metals figures, like Megatron and Tarantulas. TM2 Blackarachnia looks to fetch a hefty price these days, too, soooo... maybe her..??

But, no Shokaracts over here.
Denyer wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:54 pm And I remember Cryotek getting a lot of love way back when, but haven't seen one in years and looking at it now it's easy to see why it's always been such a favourite for people.
As I said before, it's a lovely piece of toy engineering by itself (and I neglected to mention those wraith-like wings; they're amazing), but there's just something really special about that color scheme that places it well above TM2 Megatron.
I'm actually still a bit upset that they made a new Optimal Optimus mold a few years ago and didn't make a new Primal Prime out of it.
It did seem like a missed opportunity there, didn't it? Like, it was totally an obvious repaint.

But what better time than now for a new Primal Prime? Considering we're recently gotten updates to just about the entire 1987 catalogue, of all things, it's really just a question of "when" rather than "if" Hastak will move on to updated Transmetals.

I mean, who'd a thunk Hasbro would revisit the entire first season cast of Beast Wars, right? And here I was over here thinking folks would continue to get the odd Beast Wars throwback or homage (or another Cheetor) mixed in with the usual Generation One rehashes.
This is exactly why I'm so in love with Beast Wars molds. The beautiful hand-sculpted details, the deliberate asymmetry, the willingness to just be plain weird... I feel like the style of the Kenner Beast Wars molds were basically perfect for robots that turned into living things. The Kingdom toys are great, but they lack the same oomph because they have the same sterile "designed to be micron-perfect in CAD software" feel as the modern G1 stuff does.
The earlier Kenner stuff is a mixed bag for me, though I think they were still trying to find their footing during that period. Transmetals and onward, for me, is where I think they found their groove. Ideas seemed more fleshed-out and realized. Concepts got a bit more interesting, and creative and, like you said, weird. And I fucking love weird. It was also where we started to see a lot more of those asymmetrical designs, too. I dig those deliberate "imperfections"; it gave the characters (in toy form) so much personality. Like, look at TM2 Scourge (who I'll share in a bit; he's a fav); what a wonderfully ugly bastard he is. One look at him, and you can work out his allegiance and disposition.

Not at all a "sterile" design philosophy. There's life in these old Beast Wars toys.

....


Well, that was a tangent. Sorry about that.
Razorclaw's black and purple do SO much better at showing those details off, though I still wish he'd gotten a bit more paint. He's one of the few Universe beasts that they didn't absolutely go to town on with painted detail.
It does... though I agree, more detail could've helped. Now that you mention it, it's reminiscent of that black Airazor repaint; needed just a teensy bit more of something to make things pop.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Warcry »

Denyer wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:54 pmLove the outdoor pics with BW figures.
I do a lot of outdoor photos but never seem to actually get around to posting them. I really enjoy shooting the Beast Wars stuff outside though. I feel like the colours and designs really pop in natural light in ways that carbots or the like just don't.

Denyer wrote: Tue Feb 23, 2021 8:54 pmI'd quite like a halfway decent Blackrock and Circuit Breaker. Not the other Neo-Knights, but they were more influential in the comics than the human characters were ever interesting in the show.
Blackrock would be a super easy custom. Just find the right Tony Stark head and pop it onto a Marvel Legends suit body. Josie, though... If I thought the RED line was going to last more than a year I'd say that she'd be a great candidate for that.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 am I wanted to start big ;) Don't think I have anything else in my Beasties collection that's as "unattainable" as those two, sans a few Takara Metals figures, like Megatron and Tarantulas. TM2 Blackarachnia looks to fetch a hefty price these days, too, soooo... maybe her..??
I'm not even sure what the "rarest" figure in my Beast collection would be. Universe Nemesis Prime, maybe?

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 amBut, no Shokaracts over here.
Is it just me, or do the old-timey 3H BotCon exclusives have way more appeal than more of the FunPub stuff could ever aspire to? I don't know if it's just that they repainted molds from the "right" series, or the serious rarity or just the fact that they felt more special when there was only one or two a year instead of the 486 that FunPub would spam out, but the likes of Onyx Primal, Fractyl, Antagony, Shokaract, TM2 Arcee...in my head at least, those toys are legends.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 amAs I said before, it's a lovely piece of toy engineering by itself (and I neglected to mention those wraith-like wings; they're amazing), but there's just something really special about that color scheme that places it well above TM2 Megatron.
It does the same for me too. TM2 Megatron is a super cool dragon but in robot mode he just looks goofy, and for whatever reason I never get that impression when I look at Cryotek. He's just so much (pardon the pun) cooler than the original.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 amBut what better time than now for a new Primal Prime? Considering we're recently gotten updates to just about the entire 1987 catalogue, of all things, it's really just a question of "when" rather than "if" Hastak will move on to updated Transmetals.
As long as Kingdom sells well I think it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we'll see Transmetals eventually. But I also feel like there's a whole lot less room for improvement (either in toy engineering or show accuracy) with the Transmetals and Fuzors than there was for the first season designs. I'd definitely be happy to see them but I think Kingdom Blackarachnia and Dinobot are more exciting individually than a whole lineup of season two and three designs would be.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 amThe earlier Kenner stuff is a mixed bag for me, though I think they were still trying to find their footing during that period. Transmetals and onward, for me, is where I think they found their groove.
I think they found their footing sooner than you give them credit for! I feel like folks tend to forget that they put out two whole years' worth of organic beasts before the Transmetals hit, probably because only Airazor and Inferno made the TV show out of the 1997 releases. But the 1997 line was a high point as well. Even the handful of toys that fail as conventional action figures due to their gimmicks (hi, Retrax!) are still fun, and the only absolute dud of the bunch for me is Drill Bit. 1998 may have been even better with the Transmetals and the Fuzors, but if I had to pick my favourite year of the line I think I'd say 1997. Airazor! Razorclaw (not that one or the other one either, the crab)! Powerpinch! Spittor! Cybershark! Manterror! Great stuff.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 amLike, look at TM2 Scourge (who I'll share in a bit; he's a fav); what a wonderfully ugly bastard he is. One look at him, and you can work out his allegiance and disposition.
I fell in love with Scourge when I saw his cross-sell on the back of Prowl's card back in the day, and he's even more riotously colourful in person! In fact I love him to the point that I'm currently working on a story that heavily features the guy.

Wait, did I say "riotously colourful"? That sounds like a good segue to my boy Reptilion!

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I love the ghastly little bugger. The mold has so much personality in both modes, it's super poseable and they painted the hell out of it (I think I'm seeing seven different colours of paint). Off the top of my head I'd say he's probably my favourite Universe toy. Not bad for a figure that I only bought because it was at the back of the peg with an inch of dust on it and I felt sorry for the thing. One day I need to find him a TM2 Iguanus to hang out with.


More love for Transmetal Terrorsaur. I feel like I must have taken this shot very quickly because I have no idea how it's balancing like that.

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Living in Canada is good for something!

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This obviously isn't a Beast Wars toy but I really like this shot.

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zigzagger
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by zigzagger »

Warcry wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 5:32 am
Is it just me, or do the old-timey 3H BotCon exclusives have way more appeal than more of the FunPub stuff could ever aspire to? I don't know if it's just that they repainted molds from the "right" series, or the serious rarity or just the fact that they felt more special when there was only one or two a year instead of the 486 that FunPub would spam out, but the likes of Onyx Primal, Fractyl, Antagony, Shokaract, TM2 Arcee...in my head at least, those toys are legends.
Nah, it's not just you. The Deathsaurus repaint from Gigatron still looks mighty appealing That mold looks good in blue.

But, I think you pretty much nailed it; a lot of it had to do with the frequency between 3H and Fun Pub's releases. Not to say Fun Pub's ideas were all bad. Pyro/Spark, Clench, Doublepunch, and Scorponok are pretty great, but as you also say, it got spammy real fast.
As long as Kingdom sells well I think it's pretty much a foregone conclusion that we'll see Transmetals eventually. But I also feel like there's a whole lot less room for improvement (either in toy engineering or show accuracy) with the Transmetals and Fuzors than there was for the first season designs. I'd definitely be happy to see them but I think Kingdom Blackarachnia and Dinobot are more exciting individually than a whole lineup of season two and three designs would be.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not interested in the slightest; the originals are perfect (to me) just the way they are. I have no urge for any updates.

Besides... I'd be worried I'd end up with a hollowed-out Transmetal Megatron that's held together with friction joints, and lacking chrome-purple paint [/shaaaaaade].
I think they found their footing sooner than you give them credit for! I feel like folks tend to forget that they put out two whole years' worth of organic beasts before the Transmetals hit, probably because only Airazor and Inferno made the TV show out of the 1997 releases. But the 1997 line was a high point as well. Even the handful of toys that fail as conventional action figures due to their gimmicks (hi, Retrax!) are still fun, and the only absolute dud of the bunch for me is Drill Bit. 1998 may have been even better with the Transmetals and the Fuzors, but if I had to pick my favourite year of the line I think I'd say 1997. Airazor! Razorclaw (not that one or the other one either, the crab)! Powerpinch! Spittor! Cybershark! Manterror! Great stuff.
Oh, don't get me wrong, I don't think ALL of it is iffy. The original Optimus Primal is probably one of the best and the most fun molds in the entire Beast-era. Pretty hard to dispute that. It holds up pretty well.

Tripredicus is pretty nifty too, its individual components and its combined form.

It's down to personal taste, of course, but I do think the lizard and insect formers fared a smidge better than the mammalian formers did during that period. Mind, love it or hate it, kibble is big part of the Beast-era figures; it's never bothered me, but it is a sticking point to others. To me, Beast-era kibble always looked like armor made from the hide of a beast the wearer defeated.

That said--and I soooo know you're gonna disagree :p --the early Predacon molds tended to do a lot more interesting things with that kibble than the early Maximal molds did, and thus I usually preferred the former. With the latter, both bot and beast modes tended be more...compromised, I guess, more so during those years.

Does that make any sense?
"riotously colourful"?
Ooooh, nice segue! Allow me to retort:

Transmetal 2 Scourge -- Scourge checks off so many boxes as to why I appreciate the Beast-era. Earlier in this thread, I was gushing on and on about the design philosophy during this particular period. Scourge practically epitomizes the later-year Beast Wars asymmetry and freaking INSANE attention to detail.

The searing color palette, the deformalities and (again) asymmetry of his limbs, the weird monstrous locust form; these are all deliberate design choices. And, oh my god, it works. It works so well. I said it before, he is an ugly bastard that screams personality, and I f***ing love it. Scourge looks like a being whose body has been twisted and mutated by his own vileness and hatred.
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Transmetal Waspinator -- Often overlooked, since Waspinator never donned his toy-exclusive Transmetal duds in the television series. The original Waspinator is quite the fan favorite; we tend to associate all iterations of the lovable whipping boy with the green guy... and not whoever the hell this red, black, and gold prick is.

And after saying that, I have to admit, Transmetal Waspinator does feel like he's over-compensating for something. :laugh:

But, it's still good, too. Yes, yes, I like the green guy, must of us do, but this is such a cool redesign. I love the techy detailing, the color scheme is popping, and in spite of the insectoid limbs, he's looking pretty dynamic in bot mode. He also has one of the more functional tertiary modes, switching into a silly, but super fun wasp-jet.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by StoneCold Skywarp »

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 2:59 am
But, no Shokaracts over here.
The one piece of my BW collection I'm glad I never sold "back in the day" but honestly can't remember now what I did and didn't move on. That said, the BW stuff mostly goes for reasonably inflated prices nowadays and I don't have the display space for figures of that size or calibre anymore.

Even Shokaract just lives in his box, in storage, somewhere.

EDIT : HOLY MOSES! I just had a look how much this goes for...Anyone know where I can get a fireproof safe from!?
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Sades »

I've recently been thinking that I should pull out and display my BW toys. I have a few out, but not many. BW was definitely my favourite era. Warcry, I love the outdoor pictures!
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Clay »

Looking at secondary market prices now, a lot of my beast wars stuff is really like a dragon's hoard... Only increasing in trade value, but I'll never part with it without being slain by adventurers, lol.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

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Clay wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:20 pm Only increasing in trade value
Well, up until the collectors begin to die off en masse anyway. Then they'll be about as valuable as your average bit of Elvis memorabilia.

... This is probably one of those thoughts that should have stayed in my head, but I thought the article was interesting. Sorry. :glance:
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Denyer »

I think the difference is that Elvis is likely to retain substantial cultural cachet into the next century, it's just that the bubble's burst on mass-produced stuff connected to him.

There are still new generations getting into Nirvana.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Sades »

Denyer wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 12:52 am I think the difference is that Elvis is likely to retain substantial cultural cachet into the next century, it's just that the bubble's burst on mass-produced stuff connected to him.

There are still new generations getting into Nirvana.
Yes! Honestly it's a lazy comparison, collective memory of Elvis will far outlive Transformers. But I read a similar article recently on the subject (colletive memory) and couldn't think of anything comparable that isn't almost directly contemporary.

I was thinking about how collective memory of Transformers was likely to die recently and I think if we keep them around long enough in a few generations the originals, and more unique, better-made lines (my BW bias is showing, eh) might see an increase in value. Assuming space rocks/global warming/misc etc don't obliterate everything first that is.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

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zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:05 amDon't get me wrong, I'm not interested in the slightest; the originals are perfect (to me) just the way they are. I have no urge for any updates.
I think the most appealing (for me at least) would be the prospect of a mass-retail Beast Wars Ravage.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:05 amIt's down to personal taste, of course, but I do think the lizard and insect formers fared a smidge better than the mammalian formers did during that period. Mind, love it or hate it, kibble is big part of the Beast-era figures; it's never bothered me, but it is a sticking point to others. To me, Beast-era kibble always looked like armor made from the hide of a beast the wearer defeated.
I feel the same way too. Creative use of beast-mode parts in robot mode is what makes most of the most memorable Beast-era designs so good! Not even necessarily just kibble (though stuff like Blackarachnia's spider legs or Silverbolt and Prowl's shoulder wings are a huge part of their appeal) but also things like Megatron's dino head hand, or Air Hammer's fish tail mitten, or Manterror having arms down to his ankles. They did a great job of leveraging unique beast parts to give the figures unique, appealing robot modes as well.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:05 amThat said--and I soooo know you're gonna disagree :p --the early Predacon molds tended to do a lot more interesting things with that kibble than the early Maximal molds did, and thus I usually preferred the former. With the latter, both bot and beast modes tended be more...compromised, I guess, more so during those years.
I'm right there with you, actually. The Maximals tend to feel a bit...safer I guess in terms of robot mode designs. Maybe because there's a lot of standard four-limbed mammals in their ranks so the designers didn't have to get as creative, or maybe because the designers didn't want to go quite so weird with them because they're the good guys. Some of the best Maximals from the first couple years were the ones with off the beaten path alt-modes like Cybershark or Claw Jaw or Airazor.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:05 amTransmetal 2 Scourge -- Scourge checks off so many boxes as to why I appreciate the Beast-era. Earlier in this thread, I was gushing on and on about the design philosophy during this particular period. Scourge practically epitomizes the later-year Beast Wars asymmetry and freaking INSANE attention to detail.
I feel like the Transmetal 2s had to walk a very thin line because it's very easy to make an ugly toy with that design approach, and a lot harder to make a good-looking one. Scarem and Sonar are two that fall on the wrong side of the line for me, figures that try hard but just aren't very appealing. Even Dinobot II is kind of a mess..."velociraptor skeleton that got assimilated by the Borg" is a great sale pitch but the actual toy is so busy that it's hard to tell what's what.

Scourge saw that line, laughed in its face and painted himself orange and red and purple and lime green to spite it. He might be the most batshit figure from the entire toyline, and when that toyline also contains Injector, that's saying something! He's awesome in the original, literal meaning of the word -- I'm in awe that this glorious horror show exists, and it's one of the most memorable Transformers you'll ever see.

How's his chrome holding up? Mine has sadly flaked a ton so I don't really handle it anymore.

zigzagger wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 8:05 amTransmetal Waspinator
I've had one bookmarked on eBay for a while now and your picture made me go and buy it. That's not what I think when I think "Waspinator" either but it looks so cool.

StoneCold Skywarp wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 9:00 amEven Shokaract just lives in his box, in storage, somewhere.

EDIT : HOLY MOSES! I just had a look how much this goes for...Anyone know where I can get a fireproof safe from!?
It's crazy, isn't it? The price of Beast Wars stuff in general has gone up a lot in the past decade, albeit from a very low starting point for some of it (in the early 2010s I bought some MOSC figures at toy shows for barely above 90s retail!). But the exclusives? Yowza! The prices don't seem to be anywhere near flattening out either, they're more expensive every time I look them up. But when there were only 700 or so of each of them made, I guess that's no surprise.

Ironically, with so much of the Japanese BW lines being so accessible thanks to the Korean releases that places like BBTS were flooded with for a decade, BotCon toys are probably the closest the Beast Wars generation of fans has to what Artfire or Stepper or Minerva were to G1 fans in the early 2000s.
Sades wrote: Wed Feb 24, 2021 3:35 pmI've recently been thinking that I should pull out and display my BW toys. I have a few out, but not many. BW was definitely my favourite era. Warcry, I love the outdoor pictures!
Glad you're enjoying them!

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Universe Frostbite is a great example of what the Universe line did really, really well. It takes an old toy and takes it in such a drastically different direction that it's hardly even recognizable. Sadly I don't have a Jawbreaker, but if you Google the two of them together you'll see that it'd be basically impossible to make the two of them any more different than they are. Frostbite's calmer colour scheme also really, really emphasizes the cyborg nature of the design. The TM2s have so much bling that sometimes it's hard to look past it and remember just how unnatural these guys are supposed to look. He's a really well-designed beast with a lot of great sculpting.

So it's definitely a disappointment that he turns into a dorky midget with ridiculous shoulder kibble. :(

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Also not a Beastie but definitely someone who should have their picture taken in nature. (I really should take more pictures in the fall..)

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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by zigzagger »

Warcry wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:34 am
I feel the same way too. Creative use of beast-mode parts in robot mode is what makes most of the most memorable Beast-era designs so good...

..... They did a great job of leveraging unique beast parts to give the figures unique, appealing robot modes as well.

... Maybe because there's a lot of standard four-limbed mammals in their ranks so the designers didn't have to get as creative, or maybe because the designers didn't want to go quite so weird with them because they're the good guys.
And to be fair, I think it was probably easier for the designers to work with insectoids. Real life arachnids and insects do not have musculature per se, or claws, or are covered in fur; they have exoskeletons, and pincers, and stingers. Pincers make for easy (and rather nifty) hands. Sleek exoskeletons mean there's less need to create cumbersome outer-shells. Stingers make for obvious weapons.
Warcry wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:34 am
How's his chrome holding up? Mine has sadly flaked a ton so I don't really handle it anymore.
Oh, I knew exactly what I was getting into beforehand with Scourge. I knew of the rumors, and, sadly, experienced severe flaking firsthand with my Takara Metals Rampage (such a good deco, too :( )

I found a carded Scourge for a fairly pretty decent price at the time (I think around 30 dollars). Didn't want to risk getting something that was already flaking. Shortly after taking it out and handling it for a bit, Scourge got a nice protective clear coat.

Annnnnd, it seems to have worked like a charm. Not a single flake to this date.
Warcry wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:34 am I've had one bookmarked on eBay for a while now and your picture made me go and buy it. That's not what I think when I think "Waspinator" either but it looks so cool.
Sweet! Glad I could be a bad influence. :devil:
Warcry wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 6:34 am Universe Frostbite
Oooh, he is nice. The purple does stand out a bit more than I thought it would (figured the details would've gotten lost in all that white).

I have been debating tracking one down, as I do have a Jawbreaker, and I very much dig him. He's got a great gnarly beast mode, looking almost villainous in spite of being a "Heroic Maximal" (I'm thinking he'll probably find his way in this thread at some point with my TM2 Tripredacus Agent)
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by zigzagger »

Soooo.... is it okay for me talk about the Beast Wars toys I pulled out of storage again? ;) Had it all written up earlier, an' everything too. They're the underwater kind!

---

Transmetal 2 Cybershark - Blah, blah, blah, requisite but obvious comment about Sky-Byte, blah, blah, blah. Don't have any affinity or attachment to Sky-Byte, so whatever; this is Cybershark's time.

Annnnd he's a bit panel-y, isn't he? Which wouldn't be too much of an issue, if the darn things weren't prone to popping off. Does require a little bit of gymnastics to transform Cybershark without losing anything.

In robot mode, I do appreciate some of the aesthetic choices here. Such as how the dorsal fin is incorporated in the bot mode's helm like a mohawk--though, I always thought the head shape was more akin to Super Shredder. Its a neat design choice, in any case. The lime-green plastic has flecks of gold glitter that give off this sort of glowing illusion. Like it's irradiated. It's a plastic color you don't see too often in, well, anything. The spinny claw-arm gimmick, while it looks cool and otherworldly, it does hinder poseability options due to its weight. It's a bit cumbersome, honestly. Neat, but still cumbersome.

Shark mode is brilliant though, isn't it? Aquatic-theme coloring is more apparent in this mode; gradients of green and blue, and some really, really nice turquoise chrome that I wish there was more of. Shark mode itself looks suitably terrifying, as you'd want a Transmetal shark to look.
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Transmetal Depth Charge - It's Rampage's bestest buddy in the whole wide world. The chrome work is used much more sparingly here than usual. Not certain how well that comes across in photography, but Depth Charge is molded in these cooler, almost pearlescent shades of blue and silver. The additional purple and yellow highlights, and that dull, antique-looking gold chrome, makes for a complementary, coral reef inspired palette. It's eye-pleasing, I guess.

I do enjoy the robot mode, and its built-in pizza-shooter. The aquatic theme carries over well, but, at the end of the day, the big ol' manta-ray mode is where it's at. It's very sleek and swooshable. I will say, Depth Charge's molding is somewhat stark in contrast to the hyper-detailing prevalent in most Transmetals; while Depth Charge is highly detailed, his molding is also... smoother, I want to say. More subtle, I guess. More aerodynamic, which I suppose would make sense. It's easy to imagine this big ass manta-ray moving swiftly through the ocean.
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Transmetal Rampage - Rampage is SHINY! He will sparkle like a wealthy woman's neck!

Okay, okay, I'll stop.

But, yeah, Tamatoa is indeed a big and shiny boi. I believe, with claws stretched out, he is about a foot in width. He's a big boi. I'd probably list it as one of my favorite beast modes. The giant, highly-articulated arms and pincers add an extra layer of fun, too. Have him throttle any Maximals you might have handy, or just have him hold your can of Red Bull. Options are good.

Rampage's third, tertiary tank mode... it's pure nonsense. It totally is, but I'm okay with it! Thinking on it, though, it dawned on me just how rare it is that any tank-former throughout the entire Transformers franchise has actual working treads. Not that many--and this one turns into a frickin' crab.

Robot mode seems to have folks split, often coming down to the admittedly extraneous crab-kibble. Me, I like it (are you shocked). Rampage is characterized as this abomination, and the dangling appendages adds to that. Loving on the textured detailing and gradient effects, too. He looks like a monster, and it's an aesthetic that I am completely on board with.

Separately, I did have the Takara Metals version of this mold some time ago, but my brother parted ways with it due to most of its chromework flaking away. It's a shame, too; the paintwork on it was really, really nice, and it's cast in a lovely transparent red plastic.

TLDR; Rampage's a shiny crab boi, he's got a whole lot of value, and he originally cost the same price as a mainline deluxe does today.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Warcry »

Please don't turn my happy "remember to unbox and play with your old toys!" thread into a fight, guys. :)

I think some of you would be surprised by the number of literal twelve year olds partaking in the more active corners of the fandom these days. In general there are TONS of teens and early twenty-somethings who are every bit as passionate about Transformers as we are. Some of them only care about the new stuff, but you'd be surprised by the number of kids that are hardcore Sunbow fans buying Masterpieces and scouring eBay for toys that their fathers might have played with. I feel like the fandom will be in good hands with the next generation. Beyond that who knows?

zigzagger wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 7:46 amAnd to be fair, I think it was probably easier for the designers to work with insectoids. Real life arachnids and insects do not have musculature per se, or claws, or are covered in fur; they have exoskeletons, and pincers, and stingers. Pincers make for easy (and rather nifty) hands. Sleek exoskeletons mean there's less need to create cumbersome outer-shells. Stingers make for obvious weapons.
Good point! Bugs also come pre-segmented thanks to their exoskeletons, which I think made designing the transformations a whole lot easier. Someone like Insecticon, for example, has almost all of his transformation joints hidden in the places where his beetle body naturally has seams to begin with.

zigzagger wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 7:46 amI found a carded Scourge for a fairly pretty decent price at the time (I think around 30 dollars). Didn't want to risk getting something that was already flaking. Shortly after taking it out and handling it for a bit, Scourge got a nice protective clear coat.

Annnnnd, it seems to have worked like a charm. Not a single flake to this date.
Nice! Mine was loose when I bought it and I hit it with clear coat as soon as I got it home, but I got to him too late because he was already starting to flake. I seem to recall having some of the paint come off just from the tiniest bit of friction from my paintbrush! After that experience I've mostly stuck to MOSC when I pick up one of the more chrome-heavy Transmetal figures. Even then, and even after a couple layers of clear-coat, the BM Terranotron I picked up last year already has a couple dings here and there.

zigzagger wrote: Thu Feb 25, 2021 7:46 amI have been debating tracking one down, as I do have a Jawbreaker, and I very much dig him. He's got a great gnarly beast mode, looking almost villainous in spite of being a "Heroic Maximal" (I'm thinking he'll probably find his way in this thread at some point with my TM2 Tripredacus Agent)
Ironically I think Frostbite looks a lot less evil than his Maximal counterpart did. If you told me one was a good guy and one was a bad guy and I didn't know, I'm sure I'd get it wrong.

Tripredacus Agent is another I'd like to track down one day. The mold looks cool but I'm not a huge fan of the colours on TM2 Cheetor.

I mentioned Nemesis Prime before. He's basically the king of shellformers. I'm sure everyone has seen the picture on the wiki of his moldmate Big Convoy, with the complete robot mode stripped of all kibble and standing beside a 95% complete mammoth. The beast mode is a literal statue on top of that, and the transformation is very panel-heavy. You'd think that would add up to a bad toy, but he's actually quite solid. The mammoth mode is very well-sculpted and looks super impressive in spite of literally having only articulation at the ears and nose plus a weird "moving tusks" action gimmick, and the robot mode does a really good job of making good use of the kibble so it doesn't feel like he's wearing a shell. On average I feel like Takara struggled to replicate Kenner's success with making cool animal Transformers, but this guy is one of their success stories for sure.
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Cheetor here is one of those early Maximals that definitely lacked the dynamism of the later releases. He's got a lot more joints than them obviously, but the blockiness of his design brings to mind late-G1 or G2 toys as much as it does the Beasties that followed.

In spite of that, I really don't think any of the new toys based on this design have realized it better. Universe was terrible, the Masterpiece was terrible and Kingdom certainly doesn't make a convincing argument that I need to buy it either. This guy, for all his flaws (and I mean, just look at it...) is at least a fun toy to play with!

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zigzagger wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:53 amTransmetal 2 Cybershark
Always wanted this as a kid! Never got it, even to this day. I do have a (sorry!) Sky-Byte thanks to Clay though, and I have to say that it's...not the greatest. Very pretty. Also very frustrating to play with. It's all the panels, like you say. I don't think I've ever successfully transformed it without having something pop off. I suspect Cybershark would mostly live in the display too if I got one. I still want one though, if only to have the upgraded form of the character -- the original Cybershark is one of my favourite toys in the line (and something I need to grab a few pics of when I run out of old stuff to post!).

zigzagger wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:53 amIn robot mode, I do appreciate some of the aesthetic choices here. Such as how the dorsal fin is incorporated in the bot mode's helm like a mohawk--though, I always thought the head shape was more akin to Super Shredder. Its a neat design choice, in any case.
I feel like this is a deliberate "monsterification" of the original Cybershark's toothy, finned head, taking the original's features and exaggerating them to go with the TM2 aesthetic. It's probably my favourite thing about the mold.

zigzagger wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:53 amTransmetal Depth Charge
I also only own the redeco of this guy. And also courtesy of Clay, ironically. The Boba Fett-coloured Universe toy has so much personality of its own that I always forget how pretty the original was. I cannot imagine any universe where I have room for two of them though, especially in the manta ray mode (which, as you say, is super swooshable).

zigzagger wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:53 amTransmetal Rampage
I've never owned one. Always been half-way on the lookout for one, but come to think of it I don't believe I've ever even seen one in person. Not even a junker. He looks great though.

zigzagger wrote: Sat Feb 27, 2021 2:53 am TLDR; Rampage's a shiny crab boi, he's got a whole lot of value, and he originally cost the same price as a mainline deluxe does today.
God that's depressing. :( I remember buying Mega-class Scorponok with my own money when I was around eleven or so, and he seemed so expensive at the time. I think he was around $17 or something Canadian.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Skyquake87 »

Loving seeing all the Beast -era pics. That really reminds me of happy times being a too old for toys 18 year-old going into Woolworths (RIP) when they had a big promotional push on Beast Wars toys; beastly footprints on the floor leading to well stocked end cap and an entire aisle filled floor to ceiling with Beast Wars figures. I spent more time just watching families looking through them - 'look at this one - it's a scorpion...and it shoots a bee!'. I really liked how fresh and invigorating Beast Wars felt (and still feels - even in the Kingdoms line the beast-era asthetic stands in contrast to more traditional 'bots to the point that the likes of Cyclonus feel wrong it that jungle packaging). The brilliant graphic design work that accenutated 'Beast Wars' over Transformers - it felt new. That's how you keep your brand alive. Do something unexpected or appealing to your main demographic that taps into the zeitgeist.

As much as I love Beast Wars, I also have a huge soft spot for sequel series Beast Machines. It kind of got lost here in the UK. We got the first wave of figures and a few other dribs and drabs, but the line launched at a 'bad' time. Hasbro were restructuring themselves, interest in Beast Wars had been replaced by Pokemon (the TV show's third season didn't get aired here in favour of Pokemon at the time - although it did get an eventual release to VHS with the selling point of not being seen on TV), and Beast Machines wasn't supported by any media here. The line tanking in the states also saw the hasty introduction of RiD, so the line (over here at least) got puched out by that as well, with later wave figures turning up in discount stores. Collecting the figures I've managed to get been kind of nice, with finds turning up sporadically over the last (blimey) 20 years (my latest is a carded Skydive, which I'm excited about and looking forward to when he arrives).

So lets have a look at these slightly unloved and bizarre figures:

The Maximals

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Taking some inspiration form Takara's Beast Wars II, all the beasts are now good guys. In keeping with the shows theme, these aren't the cyborgs of Beast Wars, but a fusion of beast and machine at a cellular level, giving these bio-mechanical lifeforms are more organic and less blocky feel than before. Whatever you think, the design work and pushing of the beast/robot concept here is a wonder to behold. Okay, they weren't all successful - obvious duffers Silverbolt and Nightscream, with that turd coming out of his head, spring to mind- but the shaping and styling is incredibly impressive. I do love Night Viper's snake form. It's brilliant and I love how clever the toy is, with his legs forming the tail. Colours are great, too. Rattrap is excellent and shows how these weird designs could work if given enough space. Shame they didn't do Silverbolt at this sort of scale. My favourite has to be Blackarachnia. Prior to her recent Kingdoms and MP figures, this was probably the one that managed to nail the spider/robot transformation and give us a robot mode that was very sleek and appealing. Colours are awesome as well - a sort of radioactive take on the familiar green and purple normally used on the Constructicons. I opted for Night Slash Cheetor, as I did have the original Mega class figure, but it was awful. This is a much better take on that awkward design, although I could have lived without the springloaded swiping gimmick that means he never looks right in beast mode to me. Buzzsaw, with his massive springy stinger is bloody ace. Quickstrike the cat thing is a nice figure - I love how sleek his beast mode is and then he turns into this stocky little nut with a flip out blade. Longhorn is one of those figures that's much better in hand. The way the figure was styled, his head is bowed in a constant 'charge!' look, which means you miss out on his lovely bull head and muscular limbs unless you take a picture from a low angle, which I haven't. Hammerstrike is an interesting shark design. He's very skeletal in robot mode and very thin, then folds up into this awesome looking Hammerhead. Optimus is probably the weakest of the bunch, but that still doesn't mean he's a bad figure. Probably an odd choice to have him as a deluxe (and one of the many, many strange size class choices for the Maximals), but it did mean kids could get an affordable leader figure. The gorilla design isn't the best - the really long fingers are a bit creepy and the angry / shocked face gimmick is balls - but there's something about the colours which sells this over the larger figure to me.

The Vehicons

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I'm always surprised that more people didn't get excited about seeing vehicular Transformers back on the shelves. I suppose kids weren't interested and older collectors were having their heads turned by Car Robots. Wrong types of vehicle, I guess. Still, it was interesting to see all those learnings from 4 years of beasties put into some vehicles. The asymmetry is still present, which I appreciate and I like that these vehicle modes were designed to be animalistic in a different way - cockpits that moved like the head of a bird, vehicles with 'faces' or articulated like snakes. All the massable drones were hard to find in the UK, so I was pleased to land a couple of Tank Drones and Sonic Attack Jets. Scavenger is ubquitous on the aftermarket, so picking up another couple wasn't hard work. I'd like another motorcycle drone or two, so I'll keep my eye out for one of them. I really get a kick out of these figures, as there's a real attempt to make these alien looking vehicles. They look more convincing than Siege's attempts at Cybertronian alt-modes. The Jetstorm figure is still fantastic (and better than the Ultra Class toy, IMO), Blast Charge is also great, with a strange 1950s tin robot feel to him in robot mode (especially in his wheeled robot form). The small figures are all excellent, particularly the brown jet lad (forget it's name) and Obsidian. Mirage isn't so bad. I think he's so commonplace that it's easy to overlook what a sleek looking thing he is in vehicle mode.

The Dinobots

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I didn't know these existed until I picked up a toy collector magazine (Tomart? Something like that), which had a feature on Beast Machines. Again, figures that didn't turn up over here, so a bit hard to find. Kind of wish I'd held onto T-Wrecks, but he did look daft next to these Beast Wars Neo figures. I'm hoping Kingdom Megatron (Beast) gets repainted into him, as I think that will do nicely with these. Triceradon is my favourite. I know a lot of people can't stand this mould, because it's so cluttered and busy in robot mode, but I love it. The colours and paintwork are fantastic (trumping even Takara's efforts) and the beast mode is superb. Airraptor is similarly brilliant. Such a bright, vibrant burst of colour. I like the way the wings form a shawl over the robot mode. Nice. Dinotron is nice enough, but the green/yellow/black isn't a good colour combo - maybe if they'd thrown in some lighter green or given him a blended hide or something, it would have looked nicer. Good figure, all the same. Sadly, Striker will never become a robot ever again. This is my second version and this has also succumbed to GPS, although nowhere near as bad as the last one I had. He still transforms, but one of the ball joint housings has crumbled, so I won't be doing that again. Shame, as the colours are fantastic. Magmatron I feel very lucky to have got. He's missing the blade for his weapon, but I'm happy to have him. He's a horrible mash-up of three creatures and looks fantastic. Bit awkward to pose as a result though. My latest Dinobot find was Rapticon, who was languishing in a bin at TFNation and I was so excited to find him. The TMII Dinobot mould looks so much nicer in these darker colours, and you can see all the moulded details that much better. Love the gun metal chrome too. Nice.
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Re: Remembering that our old toys actually exist!

Post by Sades »

All right, this is the excuse I needed to go dig out the BW toys I've been talking about digging out for months.

Time to WEIRD OUT THE NEIGHBOURS BY PLAYING WITH TOYS ON THE FRONT LAWN \o/
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