Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

xyl360 wrote:Guys like Kickback and Grimlock don't do a very good job of being 'robots in disguise' but they are definitely some cool toys.

That's quite true, but I think some people take the "Robots in Disguise" slogan a bit too far. If every TF *had* to be disguised when in alt mode, imagine how many fewer TFs we'd have!

xyl360 wrote:I can definitely see why many hate/don't like organic looking alt modes though. It is a very big departure from the concept of a robot transforming into/being composed of mechanical parts.

Sort of. Other than Beast Wars and Beast Machines, most of the Transformers that transform into an animal/insect/organism still look pretty mechanical.

xyl360 wrote:

Valandar wrote:The only ones I don't mind are ones where the beast mode doesn't even try to look organic. The G1 Insecticons and Dinobots, Energon Insecticon, and the like, for example. And if it uses the "Stand up on hind legs, flip head forward or back, stick tail in hand" transform scheme, it may as well be melted down into slag plastic for making new toys, IMHO.

Like I said way earlier in this thread, it's a natural decision in engineering a robot that transforms into an animal to do such things.

Agreed. I recently got Transmetal 2 Cheetor, and that's pretty much how he transforms. He's not great, but it's a solid figure and I like it. Another fave of mine, Energon Battle Ravage, transforms almost exactly the same way, but looks cool enough to pull it off. Same with Universe Frostbite. It might not be the most glamerous transformation, but it makes for a somewhat posable beast mode.

Is there any beastformer that doesn't use the limbs for both modes or is any combination of a shellformer/partsformer? I guess maybe some of the old G1 ones might do it but they're really quite blocky so I suppose that's the price they pay.

There are two particular figures that spring to mind as brazen shellformers. They're the Japanese Beast Wars exclusives Dead End and Break who appropriately came in the same set.

I'll say that Dead End does actually pull it off. It looks fairly functional as shields go but above all his beast mode is one where the whole point of the creature is that it hides its body in a shell. So however the mechanics were done he'd be a shell transformer. Break, though... well... He's pretty neat for being one of the few who turn into a penguin.

Energon Insecticon does a good job of not having a "normal" transform, though his articulation is exceptionally poor, especially for an Energon Basic.