Just came into this thread for the first time. Some good stuff. Much to reply to! Time for one great big multi-reply!
This is going to be a long one, it seems. Thus, if you wish to reply to anything I say, please
for the love of God only quote the relevant portion(s) of my post!
Here we go!
Seibertron wrote:First thing that came to my mind are fake chest cockpits on Generations Jetfire and Combiner Wars Starscream and Thundercracker, and also the upcoming Legends Slipstream. Either make it work, or don't do the fake cockpit on the chest. For some reason this bothers me even more than fake car front pieces on the chest.
I'm right with you there on most fake cockpits. But it doesn't bug me one bit on Jetfire. Maybe because it doesn't stick out to me as a cockpit on his alt mode. I dunno, I kind of think of it as an underslung sensor or camera mount, or something.
Also, there is precedence for a bit of blue being there:
MemphisR56 wrote:Hip ratchets which only sit at 30 degree angles. (CW Megatron, Motormaster mold, CW Magnus)
That was really annoying on the Motormaster mold. Luckily, I was able to score some third party ratchets to replace the ones in my Optimus. But I will agree it would have been better not to have to do that.
MemphisR56 wrote:Hip/knee ratchets which are too weak to support the weight of the figure (Gens. Metroplex)
I agree with your peeve, but not with your example. On such a large figure, I guess I expect the weight to be an unavoidable issue anyway. If they made the joints super tight to accommodate, then instead we'd all be complaining about broken joints.
Besides, his joints aren't even
that bad. Heck, while I admit it was rather twitchy, I once got my Metroplex to do this:
Any figure that can (even if only momentarily) hold a one-legged standing pose can't be considered to have joints that are
that bad! And anyway, 99.44% of the time, I want him posed with both feet on the ground. And I've never had a problem with him that way.
MemphisR56 wrote:Moulded pseudo ankle tilt. (Most annoying when paired with the 30 degree ratchets mentioned above. again e.g. CW Motormaster)
Yeah! If there is not a joint in the ankle, I'd kind of would prefer the bottom of the feet to be flat. And if they aren't flat, I'd at least like the legs to be able to go to the proper angle themselves!
MemphisR56 wrote:Not at least painting the Headlights and Tail Lights on a Vehicle mode. (so many examples it hurts)
Annoying, but often understandable for budget reasons. At least Reprolabels often comes to the rescue. (Although, much like with the new ratchets I had to buy for my Combiner Wars Prime, it would be nice not to have to!)
MemphisR56 wrote:Paint apps shown on official stock photography which aren't on the actual figure (I'm looking at you Prime RiD)
Mistransformation in Hasbro stock photography
That's why I usually don't put much stock in stock photography. Often paint apps are dropped after the figures are photographed and before it hits retail. And even when paint apps aren't different, the figures are usually photoshopped to hell to the point where the deco only has the vaguest similarity to the actual figure. That, combined with not uncommon cases of slight mistransformations, and it is like, "What is the point? How is this supposed to be at all representative of the figure?"
I look at the stock photography basically to at most get a general idea. To get a complete picture of a figure, I figure I have to either wait until I run into it at retail and can see it through the plastic with my own eyes, or at least wait until people start posting "in hand" pics.
RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:Backpacks that mess with the toy's balance, articulation and are just plain an eyesore. Human Alliance Jazz has a backpack... that is small, folded up well and is fairly unobtrusive.
I, too, don't mind a bit of a backpack. They're almost unavoidable. Vehicle parts need to go
somewhere and on the back where they are typically out of sight is as good a place as any. But yeah, when it becomes a case of, "I have an entire crushed car hanging two feet off my back!" then maybe it is time for the toy designers to rethink their process...
Optimum Supreme wrote:There's another peeve, gimmicks that get in the way and make a figure worse than it could have been. I understand play value and all, but sometimes the gimmicks aren't even sensical, like this Megatron
(image of 2006 Classics Deluxe Megatron)
The cannon on his arm spins around like a propeller? WHA? And for that he doesn't get a right hand? Bad gimmick, makes the figure worse, adds no play value.
Gimmicks that interfere with a figure
are a problem. As for that particular figure, though, while it would have been nice for him to have had two proper arms, since he was a Deluxe class figure originally sold in an affordably priced two pack, I was never that bothered by him, really. I usually just ignore the spinning gimmick, and pose him with the cannon on the top of his arm to hide the lack of fist.
SillySpringer wrote:durroth wrote:Figures that can't stand reliably are my pet peeve. Especially since it's something that should have been figured out in prototyping.
Agreed, like Gen Windblade for example.
Oh my god, yes. Don't get me wrong, I still like her as a figure, but she could have been so much more. Her feet should have folded down in vehicle mode, and her legs and feet should have actually all tabbed in place for robot mode. So much unrealized potential in her design that she is a rather tragic case of what should have been.
SillySpringer wrote:william-james88 wrote:Weak Alt Modes, half-assed "cybertronian" vehicles: I hate those cybertronian movie designs like the first 2 megatrons. They just look like Megatron doing Yoga. I am also not a big fan of Cybertron Metroplex (or any metroplex) who just looks like a robot who just dropped the soap in jail. Discovering new parts while transforming and having 2 toys in one is the beauty of the transformation process. These lazy modes take the fun away since its just rearranging limbs around.
That's why I'm not tempted to get Gen Titan Metroplex, cuz the alt modes look like a folded up robot.
I agree with disliking weak alt modes. Especially when the excuse is just, "Well, he's a
Cybertronian tank/car/jet." So on Cybertron, tanks, cars, jets, and what have you all just look like robots that have been put through car crushers and spit back out? No, thank you.
I will have to take a moment to defend my boy Metroplex a bit more, though. For his city mode, there actually is quite a bit going on. I'll agree that the lack of anything to do with the hands is a bit lazy, but beyond that I find it to be a satisfying transformation.
(The far too short ramp is a bit of a problem, but not one I would peg as a transformation issue. And fortunately, it is an issue I was able to get fixed.)
And yeah, his third mode is a bit more obviously just a robot with his legs folded forward and fiddled with a bit... but that is kind of also all that mode was on the G1 figure. At the risk of sounding like a nostalgic idiot, I kind of am more forgiving of such things if they are paying homage to G1.
SillySpringer wrote:I think another pet peeve of mine is when people complain about hollowness on a figure, like CW Ultra Magnus for example. It needs to be hollow people! In order to keep the price down! If you don't like the hollow back, don't display it facing the wall.
Ha ha, quoted for truth! Would it be better if such hollowness wasn't there? Sure! Do I let it get my proverbial knickers in a twist? Nah! Even on the oft-complained about Generations Jetfire, when he's all armored up and standing on my shelf and I'm not looking at him from only two inches away, I hardly notice any hollowness, if at all.
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:So we're talking pet peeves eh? Well, here are some that stick out more to me:
1) Fake parts. It's one thing if the engineering is very difficult, it's another to put A FRIKKIN FAKE BUMPER ON A ROOF (looking at you legions movie 1 Jazz). That is being very lazy with engineering: sacrificing the vehicle mode for the robot mode.
I don't mind fake parts so much if they aren't too obviously visible in the mode they aren't needed for. But yeah, that Jazz you mentioned was comically bad, even for a Legends class figure of the time.
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:2) Bad ball joints. My DotM Skids is very difficult. his ball joints on his elbows do not work at all, and I have to keep him in vehicle mode since robots mode his arms literally fall off.
Must be a Skids thing. My Generations Skids has some ball joints that were loose out of the box, and that don't seem to want to put up with being thickened. (Even after letting the clear nail polish dry overnight, it rubs right off. Maybe I should try the floor polish route some people seem to prefer?)
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:3) and finally, my really big one: Overly large, unstorable weapons.
I don't find it the end of the world if I have to put aside a weapon for one mode. But it is a little annoying. But I do like it better when (for Transformers with non-military Earth-based vehicle alt-modes) the weapons store somewhere on the figure and do so unobtrusively, either by transforming into a part of the alt mode (like the 2006 Voyager Classics Optimus Prime's two weapons) or just storing somewhere on the vehicle's undercarriage (like many other figures). But yeah, an otherwise ordinary looking car with a huge freakin' gun stuck to its roof? That doesn't quite do it for me. Maybe if Transformers had a Mad Max crossover toy line, but until then such things just look silly to me.
Thadicon wrote:Yogabots suck, its like they haven't put any thought in it. I'm pretty sure I have seen some people doing fan modes for Cybertron Metroplex that look better than the official Altmode.
Well, as far as his city mode goes, even though that was the mode that I said was less "Yogabot-ish" of his two alt-modes myself, I will admit that it looks even better with the help of a few add-ons I've given him. (And when the city is populated!)
SillySpringer wrote:I also don't like giant Mechtech weapons.
I didn't get many Dark of the Moon figures. But my biggest problem with "Mechtech" weapons were the ones that couldn't lock in both modes, and could only be in their second mode when you were actively holding it that way. Maybe not a huge problem for kids actively playing with their toys. And granted, those kids are technically the intended market. But annoying for old farts like me who might wish to display a figure on the shelf.
Transformers Prime Voyager Optimus Prime had an even worse weapon. At least the Mechtech ones still looked like something in the default configuration. This one was another one that had to be held open:
...and when you weren't doing that, it just looked like a random piece of crumpled up crap for Prime to hold!
D-Maximus_Prime wrote:Now, some mechtech weapons do work and look cool...
...and Megatrons works very well since it forms a part of the alt mode and turns into an arm mounted fusion cannon/claw
That Megatron being one of the few DOTM figures that I
did get, I must agree. Also, if you are an insane person willing to spend way too much money to get a hollow plastic box (also known as a trailer), the Japanese version of the Voyager Class Optimus Prime had a really nice one. (I should know, I am such an insane person.)
SillySpringer wrote:D-Maximus_Prime wrote:SillySpringer wrote:I also don't like giant Mechtech weapons.
Now, some mechtech weapons do work and look cool.
I'm talking mostly about the PRiD Mechtech weapons.
Ah... I guess when I hear "Mechtech" I just think DOTM. But yeah, as I stated above, the one example of a PRiD one that I have
is pretty crap!
phantom1592 wrote:My own pet peeves?? Not very many, and not very serious.
1) Non-G1 inspired. Always a contentious opinion, but I'm an old fogey who buys for nostalgia. Doesn't mean they have to be 100% G1 accurate. but 'close'. I am a firm believer in IMPROVING the issues that G1 had in design. Nobody wants a new Ratchet or Ironhide to be 100% G1 accurate. The toys were limited, and the animation was simplified... but I like my toys to be designed to resemble the cartoon designs, yet the added details of modern engineering. Things like Bayverse designs and such have zero appeal to me at all.
My collection is very G1-nostalgia based, as well. I did collect Optimus Primes from other continuities as well, but when space started to become an issue, I had to put many of my non-G1 based Primes in storage and become a bit more choosy about any new Primes I got. (Thus, I actually ended up skipping out on the most G1 Bayverse Prime of them all, the Evasion mode one from AoE!)
As for Ironhide, who you also mentioned... I'm picking up the '84 Autobots Combiner Wars limbs when they come out, and Ironhide kind of feels like he's going to be the odd one out there to me. I don't mind if he is a pick-up in other continuities, but for that figure, I kind of wish that they were going with the First Aid version of the mold (with the light bar removed) rather then the Offroad version. But oh well, I'll live with it. It isn't like he's going to be my main Ironhide, anyway. Despite that figure's flaws, that honor will for now be remaining with my 2008 Universe Deluxe Ironhide.
phantom1592 wrote:2)WEIRD Scales... Another firebomb around here.
Screw you hippy! I'm getting my Deluxe Groove, and I shall love him!
phantom1592 wrote:Leader Class Thundercraker??? Legends Class Hot Rod??? Yeah, I really don't have a use for something like that. I was never a huge fan of 'mini-bots' to begin with, but dropping down the 'average sized' robots to mini's just messes with me. Mini's should be reserved for the Cassette guys... anyone who turns into a vehicle should be at least deluxe.
While I don't plan on getting the figures you mentioned specifically (
maybe the Hot Rod if I see him at retail and don't have anything else to buy that day... and even then, it is still a maybe...), I don't mind Legends class figures of some characters who it may not make sense for scale-wise. Especially for a figure who (to go back to G1-fueled nostalgia-land for a moment) in G1 may have been a mini-bot. Or for a figure who
also has had a decent Deluxe (or above) class release, for whom a Legends Class figure might just be a fun smaller version to also have.
phantom1592 wrote:3) Price. Previously I collected MOTU and Marvel Universe and those prices got a bit silly at times. Transformers blows them righ out of the water. It's the most expensive toy line I've bought into yet. WAY too many of them hitting that $100 mark or more. Then more often then not, they repaint the mold and try to get you to buy it AGAIN...
I agree that prices have been rising to the point where we're almost paying for a Deluxe what we used to pay for a Voyager, and that is bloody annoying. But $100? Outside of Masterpiece figures, import figures, stupid con exclusives, third party figures, or genuinely huge things like Titan Class figures, what the heck might you be buying that is hitting or even exceeding the $100 mark? I very much doubt that you'll be seeing the average Hasbro Legends, Deluxe, Voyager, or even Leader Class figures retailing for that any time soon.
That Bot wrote:william-james88 wrote:Weak Alt Modes, .... I am also not a big fan of Cybertron Metroplex (or any metroplex) who just looks like a robot who just dropped the soap in jail. Discovering new parts while transforming and having 2 toys in one is the beauty of the transformation process. These lazy modes take the fun away since its just rearranging limbs around.
I have to point out that Cybertron Metroplex is based on an actual piece of mining equipment, he's a bucket wheel excavator, which are known to be COLOSSAL (fitting for someone from the Giant Planet).
Oh crap, william-james88, you specified
Cybertron Metroplex, and I replied talking about the Generations figure! Ah, well... I won't bother rewriting what I said. I'll instead use your in-parentheses "or any metroplex" as a loophole.
Although I am amused that the one you actually were complaining about does actually have an alt mode based on (and successfully looking like, in my opinion) an actual thing!
Finally, reading a preview of my post before submitting it, I see I actually was replying to SillySpringer talking about Generations Metroplex in reply to you talking about Cybertron Metroplex. So I guess I was perfectly fine talking about the Generations one after all! (That's the trouble with such a long post! When you get all the way to the end, the details of what you wrote earlier on can be murky! Ha ha!)
Well, I guess that wraps up this edition of giant multi-reply!
I actually really hate that we didnt get Breakdown.
