"It's not like you'd EVER see an "official" release of these Combiners as cool as these are and with so much attention to the G1 aesthetic"
Funny...this is EXACTLY what peeps used to opine about Devy back before Herc and Giant were even created as teaser images...and look what we got.
TFC
knew we all wanted G1-esque aesthetics, big 'ol bots, decent-scaled alt modes, and a towering Gestalt...and we got it. Then people complained about his arm molds and whatnot, so they gave us Teh Rage. Maketoys did it a little better (read: not needing the additional add-on), to a slightly smaller scale for those who wanted their Devy in-line with their already existing FP Bruty/Supes.
Pretty much everyone wins...only problem was...Herc, Giant, or wallet suicide via both?
Now, though, they
know we still want the same things, but are toying with us by giving us this new "6th-bot" ideology, and whats worse, passing it off like it is supposed to be the norm from here on(6th bot for Superion? Check. 6th bot for Predaking? Check.).
Whats worse, my prediction is another Herc/Giant scenario will come up, but with a worse outcome. Someone will do a "6th bot" Superion, and amidst all the complaining, another company will do a more accurate/slightly different Gestalt of the same team with the ACCEPTABLE 5 bots...and all the people who jumped on the train fearing just what this guy said (about never getting another option to add a stand-in for this team to their collection) are the ones getting screwed. Now they are stuck with an embarrassing, NOT-G1-accurate money sink and thinking "man, if only I had waited a while longer and not jumped all over this in desperation."
Think about it...would you buy a toy labelled Optimus Supreme (or some other trademark-infringement-avoiding name) if it wasnt even a semi-truck? Or it was a semi truck, but it was, like, orange and purple NO. Because thats NOT the character. Just like a team of SIX bots, who just happen to turn into airplanes, and just happen to gestalt together into a giant bot, are NOT the aerialbots.
If that's me getting my "collector sensbilities" in an uproar...than so be it. I will pay for what I find as suitable stand-ins for my collection, you do the same and we will all live happily ever after.