Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

[rpetras]

The more I see the more I like it!

I'm waiting with baited breath for the pre-orders.

I do hope they offer alternate Deva heads, but even if they don't, this thing is incredible.

[puttster3]

Anybody else notice the bottom of longhauls legs in combiner mode?

Might have some Scramble City options.

I think it would be quite cool though if they were to release it all in one box, so long as the box is done right with good artwork and packaging.

Another possibility they could do is a box of 3, displaying on the front either the top half or the bottom half, like how Fansproject did with Munitioner and Explorer.

[Sodan-1]

I don't want to tread on any toes, but I'm still not liking what I see with Project: Deva. It looks like the complete combiner ("not-Devastator") is going to look good, but at the price of having very ugly alt modes and pretty ugly separate robot modes.
I mean, this "not-Longhaul": just look at the ground clearance. You can't tell me that on the scale these are designed at, more ground clearance isn't possible. Same goes for not-Longhaul's bed: I can see Deva's fists, right there! Even original G1 Longhaul had a realistic dump truck bed.

The ground clearance issue isn't about scale, it's about the apparent design intent of eliminating combiner kibble. G1 Longhaul had a more realistic alt mode but at the cost of having basic articulation and having spare parts to set aside when not combined as a part of Devastator.

The fact that FP's Crossfire Explorer and Munitioner are so amazing is because they look exactly like realistic vehicles, have amazing transformations into perfectly proportioned robots and also do the job of becoming limbs (OK, Munitioner doesn't really have to do much), at a much smaller scale.

Explorer and Munitioner don't have to incorporate combined hands or feet in their design. It's all taken care of by the combiner kibble, which can fortunately be incorporated into the separate combiner members' assortment of accessories. The same thing can't be well done with the Project Deva figures.

So the two basic choices for a Constructicon team/Devastator styled figure with respect to hands/feet are either to incorporate them into the figure designs or make them combiner kibble. Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks.

Well said sir. Some people expect miracles.

[victoryconvoy]

I just want to know where i can get this. I have not seen any toy sites mention this for pre order or any thing

[Doctor McGrath]

This Devy is looking very good so far but I do fear the price tag. I'm also thinking that this set is gonna have an extremely limited run. The pictures of the individual bots and the way they are manufactured has me very impressed.

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

This is looking better and better Long Haulish looks like a great compromise for what they intend with him.

[Dread_Wing]

Has anyone else noticed that the 'armoured flap' for lack of a better term above the cockpit in truck mode is attached upsidedown when compared to the CGI renderings we saw earlier? I wonder which is correct? I think the CGI version looked a lot neater.

Maybe they were just a bit rushed when putting the prototype together, and pinned the piece in wrong.

Edit: I spotted this colour rendering on another board:

[Stormrider]

As to the Reflector, I like that this set has more detail than t' other, but they lose out for not being individualized by well-used kibble. The light-up feature... meh. I don't need my toys to light up, but I will still grant that it seems they did a good job of having it in both robot and camera mode.

PE is the winner, though, no question.

I feel that both 3rd parties are missing the mark. I agree that PE is making good use of the kibble, but the robots that made Reflector were not ninjas. They were barely better than drones. I would love a set that made all three robots look identical and generic just like the cartoon.

[Mykltron]

This looks promising but it's going to be sssssoooooooooooo expensive.

[alternator77]

i guess i finally geta mp devastator just not from hastak cant wait for the preorders!!

[Heavy B]

oh my god. whatever the cost, i must own devastator

[MINDVVIPE]

Posing this with Bruticus on either side of Unicron is going to make my Decepticon army look insane.

[Oilspill]

I don't want to tread on any toes, but I'm still not liking what I see with Project: Deva. It looks like the complete combiner ("not-Devastator") is going to look good, but at the price of having very ugly alt modes and pretty ugly separate robot modes.
I mean, this "not-Longhaul": just look at the ground clearance. You can't tell me that on the scale these are designed at, more ground clearance isn't possible. Same goes for not-Longhaul's bed: I can see Deva's fists, right there! Even original G1 Longhaul had a realistic dump truck bed.

The ground clearance issue isn't about scale, it's about the apparent design intent of eliminating combiner kibble. G1 Longhaul had a more realistic alt mode but at the cost of having basic articulation and having spare parts to set aside when not combined as a part of Devastator.

The fact that FP's Crossfire Explorer and Munitioner are so amazing is because they look exactly like realistic vehicles, have amazing transformations into perfectly proportioned robots and also do the job of becoming limbs (OK, Munitioner doesn't really have to do much), at a much smaller scale.

Explorer and Munitioner don't have to incorporate combined hands or feet in their design. It's all taken care of by the combiner kibble, which can fortunately be incorporated into the separate combiner members' assortment of accessories. The same thing can't be well done with the Project Deva figures.

So the two basic choices for a Constructicon team/Devastator styled figure with respect to hands/feet are either to incorporate them into the figure designs or make them combiner kibble. Each option has its own benefits and drawbacks.

Well said sir. Some people expect miracles.

Agreed. There's no pleasing some people.

The clearance is not an issue for me at all, many regular transformers with two modes still have kibble visible in alt mode (see 90% of jet-formers).

These are effectively triple changers, that include all the combiner parts - which is very ambitious and impressive.

Looking at any triple changer Hasbro has given us recently, all of them suffer in at least one mode. This is to be expected for anything with three modes as the designer has to make some concessions somewhere. And lets not even start with any of the official combiners we've got recently.


Of course, this Deva may not be to everyone's tastes, and the price may end up being off-putting, but I don't think anyone can say that this isn't the best engineering & design for a Devastator we've ever seen (perhaps some customs may be better, but they're not for sale to the masses). So huge kudos to the designers!

[alldarker]

I'm not trying to convince anyone this is a bad transformer, and we've definitely yet to see anything so ambitious come into production from a third party producer as this will be. Mega-kudo's to TFClub for doing this: like I said before, I'm sure my jaw too will drop when I see the pictures of the complete set. Still, my concern is that they are perhaps focusing too much on the (literally) bigger picture: a great looking Devastator robot, but at the cost of making too many compromises and shortcuts in the separate parts. I mean, Longhaul looks like it's scraping the ground, which really irks me in an altmode which 'in real life' is designed for off-road and rough terrain. Bigger wheels would definitely help the alt mode, although I'm sure it would hurt the robot and torso mode.

It's true that FP Munitioner and Explorer's limb modes depend mostly on additional parts to make them look the part, while these Constructicons are entirely self-contained. Still, Scavenger (and Bonecrusher) just needs to hide the Deva fists: elbow-movements for Deva will probably be the same as the waist-joint for the separate robots, and this will also probably be true for Deva's leg parts which, like G1 Devastator, will probably (and accurately) not actually have specific feet parts but be dependent on Scrapper's scoop and Mixmaster's cabin. So comparing them to Triplechangers is exaggerating things slightly. I guess Longhaul does get the toughest job of becoming a dump truck, a robot AND a torso which has the additional constraints of having to support a lot of weight and stress. Still, considering each of these is roughly Voyager scale, I'd have expected that their size would have allowed enough bulk in each separate Deva part to 'design away' stuff like low ground clearance, visible fists and connector parts.

Anyway, I can't wait to see the complete set, even if it won't be my cup of tea at the end of the day.

[MINDVVIPE]

I'm not trying to convince anyone this is a bad transformer, and we've definitely yet to see anything so ambitious come into production from a third party producer as this will be. Mega-kudo's to TFClub for doing this: like I said before, I'm sure my jaw too will drop when I see the pictures of the complete set. Still, my concern is that they are perhaps focusing too much on the (literally) bigger picture: a great looking Devastator robot, but at the cost of making too many compromises and shortcuts in the separate parts. I mean, Longhaul looks like it's scraping the ground, which really irks me in an altmode which 'in real life' is designed for off-road and rough terrain. Bigger wheels would definitely help the alt mode, although I'm sure it would hurt the robot and torso mode.

It's true that FP Munitioner and Explorer's limb modes depend mostly on additional parts to make them look the part, while these Constructicons are entirely self-contained. Still, Scavenger (and Bonecrusher) just needs to hide the Deva fists: elbow-movements for Deva will probably be the same as the waist-joint for the separate robots, and this will also probably be true for Deva's leg parts which, like G1 Devastator, will probably (and accurately) not actually have specific feet parts but be dependent on Scrapper's scoop and Mixmaster's cabin. So comparing them to Triplechangers is exaggerating things slightly. I guess Longhaul does get the toughest job of becoming a dump truck, a robot AND a torso which has the additional constraints of having to support a lot of weight and stress. Still, considering each of these is roughly Voyager scale, I'd have expected that their size would have allowed enough bulk in each separate Deva part to 'design away' stuff like low ground clearance, visible fists and connector parts.

Anyway, I can't wait to see the complete set, even if it won't be my cup of tea at the end of the day.

Your're right about the low clearance being a downside... but there are definitely downsides to FP Bruticus.
Can any of us do it better? i doubt it. It takes a fair bit of engineering to get these bots looking good, so why not just enjoy the tons of upsides, and give some crazy reasoning to the downside. Uhm... lets see... long haul has low clearance coz he pretty much plows through any ruble with no problem, and everything underneath is just dust. done.

[Oilspill]

So comparing them to Triplechangers is exaggerating things slightly

Yeah, true, I mean more that they have 3 modes, so that complicates the engineering more than your typical bot-to-vehicle transformation. Like you say, particularly Long Haul as he has to pull off a decent torso mode.

I think I remember seeing that these guys were more of a deluxe scale - but I wouldn't be surprised if Longhaul is about Voyager scale - I'll have to eyeball the pics again.

[AshesOfPain]

TFClub has updated their forums with new images of the third component of their upcoming Project:Deva and their unnamed Reflector-ish project. Their forums require registration so the images have been mirrored below.

To me the alt mode is looking very much like Payload's. Take note of this heavy hauling dump truck's lack of front end ground clearance? I don't remember hearing any chatter about it, but mebbe I wasn't listening.
[url=http://www.seibertron.com/images/toys/files/131/r_payload-042.jpg]
[/url]

[Requiem Prime]

You know, I was so busy fawning over him I never noticed he didn't have the breastplate.

...Looks good without it. It looks nicely unified, but still suggests he's made from a bunch of different vehicles.

Of course, that sexy half-complete Deva photo is made with unpainted prototypes. The earlier painted shots we saw had them different shades of green and purple. Which could wreck the whole thing. I don't care what colors they choose, but PLEASE us it on all six.

[El Duque]

You know, I was so busy fawning over him I never noticed he didn't have the breastplate.

...Looks good without it. It looks nicely unified, but still suggests he's made from a bunch of different vehicles.

Of course, that sexy half-complete Deva photo is made with unpainted prototypes. The earlier painted shots we saw had them different shades of green and purple. Which could wreck the whole thing. I don't care what colors they choose, but PLEASE us it on all six.

Those were hand painted prototypes, I'm sure the final products will be molded in a uniform color.

[Oilspill]

You know, I was so busy fawning over him I never noticed he didn't have the breastplate.

...Looks good without it. It looks nicely unified, but still suggests he's made from a bunch of different vehicles.

I guaran-DAMN-tee that if there is no chest plate when this is released, some third party will make one as an accessory. No doubt in my mind.

I'm still thinking it is possible it may come with Scrapper, since I think it came with him in G1 (and attached for awesome flying-payloader action). Even though all the other accessories are not detachable, I still think this is likely. I say this because it's pretty big and would probably look horrible if they tried to work it in as an actual part of Hook or Longhaul, so it would be better to make it a separate piece.

Then again they may think the figure doesn't even need the chestplate (and they may well be right).

But personally I hope for it as an attachment. Hmmm it would be cool if it turned into some kind of flying drone. Like Prime has Roller, Devy could have his own pet-winged-chest-armour. Hey, that would kinda make him a breastmaster, which would be frikken awesome! If anyone knows these TFClub guys, feel free to send that idea through to them

[Requiem Prime]

Even though all the other accessories are not detachable, I still think this is likely. I say this because it's pretty big and would probably look horrible if they tried to work it in as an actual part of Hook or Longhaul, so it would be better to make it a separate piece.

Then again they may think the figure doesn't even need the chestplate (and they may well be right).

But personally I hope for it as an attachment. Hmmm it would be cool if it turned into some kind of flying drone. Like Prime has Roller, Devy could have his own pet-winged-chest-armour. Hey, that would kinda make him a breastmaster, which would be frikken awesome! If anyone knows these TFClub guys, feel free to send that idea through to them

The head and hand are genuinely integrated? I didn't know that! This guy's even cooler that I thought!!

Kudos on the drone idea! Now I hope they do try it. It would be the most clever integration of former extra bits ever.

[MINDVVIPE]

Eh, pass on the Drone idea, I rather not have another bit of a non transforming piece that is just meant to ensure more G1 accuracy for the sake of only that. I want them to be able to transform without needing anything extra that isn't just a weapon. If the drone could integrate into one of the vehicle modes, cool, but otherwise, I prefer them transforming into Devastator "anywhere", without a magical breastplate flying in to help them.

[Dread_Wing]

That would be the beauty of making the chest wing, and having it attach without big obvious posts and or holes (from what I can see there are none). Those who want to use it can, and those who don't like the idea can leave it off without hurting the aesthetics any.

[MINDVVIPE]

That would be the beauty of making the chest wing, and having it attach without big obvious posts and or holes (from what I can see there are none). Those who want to use it can, and those who don't like the idea can leave it off without hurting the aesthetics any.

Fair enough. The idea just reminded me of G1 combiners and my never ending task as a kid to fit every piece onto something, so that the feet pieces were little hover pads, etc. The loading ramp, dear god, I had no idea where to put that, couldn't really pass for anything other than a loading ramp.

If they made the drone out of smaller individual parts that could attach to devy in it's vehicle modes, that'd be cool, and they could all combine to be the chest piece/drone.

[puttster3]

I think I just MIGHT see some peg holes for a chest piece in Hightowers front cabin area.