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Gauntlet101010 wrote:While it doesn't do anything for me, the latest reveal is actually pretty neat for all the reasons Seibs already stated. It has a large, 100% new mould as the shell and homages an unused concept from decades ago. That's actually pretty neat and goes above and beyond anything they've done before. It's not for me, but it's a really nice effort on Fun Pub's part.

I agree. I don't personally care about Pretenders or this figure, but think they've gone somewhere pretty cool. If I cared at all about the Pretenders era, I'd probably be floored by this. I can appreciate their efforts...

Something that boggles me is comments like:
"yay we're getting a previously unreleased (Japanese) mold!"
In the age of the internet, acquiring a Takara product is not difficult. The average webstore price for that Arms Micron Breakdown was 60 bucks, so I assume stores like HLJ were even better. So now we get a Botcon variant, which loose on eBay I bet will run a minimum of $90. People complain about missing out on specific "molds" while they're certainly attainable, and cheer when a more expensive option (and as a matter of fact, NOT that easily attainable) comes around.

JazZeke wrote:

Tsutsukakushi wrote:Think, Had the mecha gorilla pretender shell been fully articulated it would have been worth buying. With almost no articulation, it's a easy pass.

Think this is the way PWTT needed to design their pretender toys. With just creating fully articulated pretender shells. then using HasTak Legends class toys to fit inside the shells.

Yeah, that's what kills this for me, too. I actually LIKE the concept of Pretenders, it's just the execution that's a huge let-down. I had hoped that when Hasbro eventually revisited the concept (as they've been working their way through the old gimmicks in the Generations line), we would get a Pretender shell with some actual articulation, not yet another bulky, hollow brick that just stands there, looking the opposite of intimidating.

But this isn't Hasbro revisiting the concept. This is Fun Publications. If Hasbro revisits the concept, I'm sure it will take the concept to the next level.

Hasbro's Jerry Jivoin asked me last year at their "Combiner Wars" press event at San Diego Comic-Con what was something I wanted to see them do. I immediately answered with "Pretenders", which seemed to confuse/disappoint/bewilder him. Probably not what he was expecting me to say at the time.

I don't know what it is about Pretenders, but for whatever reason they are my all-time favorite Transformers gimmick. I guess they got me with a few different points, which also helped that I grew up with the concepts as they were revealed. First, my mom wouldn't let me buy Fort Max because he was too expensive so I bought the first wave of Pretenders instead. They were one of the first "complete" sets of Transformers I owned after getting all of wave 2 as well. The "2 toys in one" concept was fascinating to me as a kid. I was a sucker and felt like I was getting two new Transformers toys. The Pretender concept was initially really well played up and with Skullgrin, Landmine and Cloudburst all getting stand alone stories, I was really hooked. Even moreso when they used the concept to revive 4 "dead" Transformers via the Pretender Classics (Starscream, Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee). Fast forward 6 years later to 1995 and the Pretenders were yet again at the forefront of my interest with Transformers when I discovered Masterforce thanks to a bootleg VHS dealer at the Motor City Comic-Con. Getting to see cartoon versions of some of my favorite Transformers toys really cemented my interest in the concept.

It probably also helped that I was really into Masters of the Universe in the early 80s so large muscled "action figures" among Transformers was probably an easy concept for me to take interest in. While I love to see people explain away about the hows and whys for the existence of the Pretenders in the first place, all you have to do is look at the marketplace to see what popular toy brand had taken a huge chunk out of Transformers sales back in 1988. Pretenders was probably a knee-jerk reaction to the popularity of that particular line of Action Figures.

Back to my conversation with Jerry, he asked me "Why Pretenders?" I told him it was because of a few different reasons ... it's my favorite concept, it hasn't been revisited by Hasbro, 3rd parties haven't touched them yet and I'd really like to see what Hasbro could do with the concept 27 years later. Articulated, well sculpted Pretenders with awesome Transformers inside (or even Legends Class sized Pretender robots) would be really great to see. My biggest concern with Fun Pub doing Oilmaster is showing a larger interest in Pretenders to 3rd party companies. I really wanted to see Hasbro knock them out of the park by doing them properly before 3rd party companies had the chance but now it'll be interesting to see who comes out with what first.

Pretenders hide the Transformers inside!

shajaki wrote:Something that boggles me is comments like:
"yay we're getting a previously unreleased (Japanese) mold!"
In the age of the internet, acquiring a Takara product is not difficult. The average webstore price for that Arms Micron Breakdown was 60 bucks, so I assume stores like HLJ were even better. So now we get a Botcon variant, which loose on eBay I bet will run a minimum of $90. People complain about missing out on specific "molds" while they're certainly attainable, and cheer when a more expensive option (and as a matter of fact, NOT that easily attainable) comes around.

I 100% agree. Does anyone really collect something because they want to have a particular mold for the first time? If they do, Arms Micron Swerve is the cheap alternative. $44.86 shipped on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-AM-17-Autobot-Figure-Swerve/dp/B008KIMZUM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430190971&sr=8-1&keywords=am-17+swerve

I think I find myself appreciating this figure more than loving it. I don't hate it at all, but I feel that I'd find myself enjoying it more had the shell been given some modern day articulation (knees, hips, elbows, etc.), what with the limbs being independent of the torso's backpack. I understand it's meant to appeal to those nostalgic towards the original 1988-1989 Pretenders, right down to the same level of articulation, but, well, while I've got nothing against those G1 Pretenders and have accepted the concept of their gimmick, I'm just not that much of a fan of standard figures lacking in decent articulation. So, I'm not the target audience for this shell figure.

The thing I really love about this is that it doesn't have upgraded articulation or a more modern aesthetic. It's not exact to the unreleased double pretender but it's really close, and will fit in better with an existing collection of pretenders than being the odd one out. I'd love to see the lion armor and spider as well, but I'll take this, happily.

I think where Funpub failed most with this entire set was the random mixture of continuities. You got Beast Wars, Shattered Glass, DOTM, G1 CHUG, and Vintage G1 with a CHUG inside it. This set was practically made to be broken up and sold individually. They shouldn’t even bother with a box, just save some trees. You got too many different continuities that are arch rivals among the fandom in general. This is no way to sell a themed set with a collector in mind. Although the Pirates vs. Knights theme was silly, there was no doubt the set as a whole was meant to homage Obscure G1 characters (with Cannonball being the exception) This set is all over the place and truly has no purpose other than to exist. They might as well have thrown in a GI Joe homage for good measure. Who knows, maybe they will ? We haven’t seen the exclusives yet…

Rated X wrote:I think where Funpub failed most with this entire set was the random mixture of continuities. You got Beast Wars, Shattered Glass, DOTM, G1 CHUG, and Vintage G1 with a CHUG inside it.

That's the appeal of this set. The story for this year's comic is taking us readers back to the one place where characters from all sorts of continuities are supposed to mingle with each other: Axiom Nexus.



Some of the best stories the Club has ever told have been set there, and three stories in particular stand out that didn't promote any Club toys, but instead starred some old G1 dudes in one, an old G2 dude in another, and a set of old e-HOBBY G1 dudes in another. And also featured many non-toy characters, along with many other mass retail toy characters as well.

This year's set is supposed to be a hodgepodge of characters from different continuities because of the nature of the story the Club wants to tell.

Wondering what the 2015 Botcon add on toys will look like. Guessing,

Flywheels
Random G.I Joe Transformers crossover toy.
Unreleased G1 Pretender spider shell with probably a Legends insecticon and minicon.
Botcon Gift set Gorilla shell repurposed as Beast Wars Optimus Primal.
Random troop builder of Three toys.

Freebie attendance toy, guessing a black toy or clear toy.

Seibertron wrote:

JazZeke wrote:

Tsutsukakushi wrote:Think, Had the mecha gorilla pretender shell been fully articulated it would have been worth buying. With almost no articulation, it's a easy pass.

Think this is the way PWTT needed to design their pretender toys. With just creating fully articulated pretender shells. then using HasTak Legends class toys to fit inside the shells.

Yeah, that's what kills this for me, too. I actually LIKE the concept of Pretenders, it's just the execution that's a huge let-down. I had hoped that when Hasbro eventually revisited the concept (as they've been working their way through the old gimmicks in the Generations line), we would get a Pretender shell with some actual articulation, not yet another bulky, hollow brick that just stands there, looking the opposite of intimidating.

But this isn't Hasbro revisiting the concept. This is Fun Publications. If Hasbro revisits the concept, I'm sure it will take the concept to the next level.

...

Back to my conversation with Jerry, he asked me "Why Pretenders?" I told him it was because of a few different reasons ... it's my favorite concept, it hasn't been revisited by Hasbro, 3rd parties haven't touched them yet and I'd really like to see what Hasbro could do with the concept 27 years later. Articulated, well sculpted Pretenders with awesome Transformers inside (or even Legends Class sized Pretender robots) would be really great to see. My biggest concern with Fun Pub doing Oilmaster is showing a larger interest in Pretenders to 3rd party companies. I really wanted to see Hasbro knock them out of the park by doing them properly before 3rd party companies had the chance but now it'll be interesting to see who comes out with what first.

All true, and I know Hasbro and FunPub are distinct entities. Still, I can't help feeling a little disappointed waiting for the return of Pretenders, and when someone finally revives them, it's not what I hoped for. Still, you're right, let's hope this leads to a renewed interest and revival down the road.

Seibertron wrote:

shajaki wrote:Something that boggles me is comments like:
"yay we're getting a previously unreleased (Japanese) mold!"
In the age of the internet, acquiring a Takara product is not difficult. The average webstore price for that Arms Micron Breakdown was 60 bucks, so I assume stores like HLJ were even better. So now we get a Botcon variant, which loose on eBay I bet will run a minimum of $90. People complain about missing out on specific "molds" while they're certainly attainable, and cheer when a more expensive option (and as a matter of fact, NOT that easily attainable) comes around.

I 100% agree. Does anyone really collect something because they want to have a particular mold for the first time? If they do, Arms Micron Swerve is the cheap alternative. $44.86 shipped on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-AM-17-Autobot-Figure-Swerve/dp/B008KIMZUM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1430190971&sr=8-1&keywords=am-17+swerve

I totally agree. Any hardcore collector that wanted TF Prime Breakdown that bad sucked it up and shelled out the $60 to get the Takara version. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are more Takara Breakdowns sitting on US collector shelves than there are in Japan. The who sales pitch “First time the mold is released in the US” is a total joke. Nobody missed out on it except maybe some 5 year old kids who don’t even know Takara exists. Come to think of it, is there even a such thing as a “mold collector” ? I collect characters, not molds. If a mold works for the character, I say use it. The only reason I don’t own the Breakdown mold is because I didn’t like the character. I felt TF Prime Breakdown and Knock-out were just alternate versions of G1 Stunticons. (Knock-Out being Dead End) They were too far off from their G1 selves work as CHUG homages, but not original enough to be new characters. So I skipped both of those molds period. I always felt the breakdown mold had potential if they could match it with the right character. Cannonball might have been a winner. But by doing DOTM Megatron, Funpub really dropped the ball.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:I think where Funpub failed most with this entire set was the random mixture of continuities. You got Beast Wars, Shattered Glass, DOTM, G1 CHUG, and Vintage G1 with a CHUG inside it.

That's the appeal of this set. The story for this year's comic is taking us readers back to the one place where characters from all sorts of continuities are supposed to mingle with each other: Axiom Nexus.



Some of the best stories the Club has ever told have been set there, and three stories in particular stand out that didn't promote any Club toys, but instead starred some old G1 dudes in one, an old G2 dude in another, and a set of old e-HOBBY G1 dudes in another. And also featured many non-toy characters, along with many other mass retail toy characters as well.

This year's set is supposed to be a hodgepodge of characters from different continuities because of the nature of the story the Club wants to tell.

I never knew about that. But to be honest its just another way to link things that don't really belong together to create a sales pitch. Kind of like the Aligned Continuity. Some people are such suckers for any storyline as long as its official. If I get a job with Funpub tomorrow and create my own wacky box set and story to go with it, there's going to be a small group of fans out there who will buy anything. Thats why Shattered Glass exists.

Rated X wrote:I never knew about that. But to be honest its just another way to link things that don't really belong together to create a sales pitch. Kind of like the Aligned Continuity. Some people are such suckers for any storyline as long as its official. If I get a job with Funpub tomorrow and create my own wacky box set and story to go with it, there's going to be a small group of fans out there who will buy anything. Thats why Shattered Glass exists.

That's what I've been saying since Shattered Glass.

Don't see what the big fuss is all about with these Botcon toys. Paying Five to Six times more for a repaint with maybe a new head is laughable at best. Read some of the club comics and it's the worse written comics I've ever read.

Tsutsukakushi wrote:Don't see what the big fuss is all about with these Botcon toys. Paying Five to Six times more for a repaint with maybe a new head is laughable at best. Read some of the club comics and it's the worse written comics I've ever read.

All Club fiction is not created equal.

Same as all IDW fiction is not created equal (AHM =/= MTMTE, for instance)

Rated X wrote:I never knew about that. But to be honest its just another way to link things that don't really belong together to create a sales pitch.

You mean like how Hasbro linked Micromasters and Diaclone and a Macross Valkyrie and some random toys from other companies into Transformers in order to better sell the toys in their market?

Rated X wrote:But to be honest its just another way to link things that don't really belong together to create a sales pitch. Kind of like the Aligned Continuity.

Be fair. Aligned doesn't cross the streams. It keeps its separate branches mostly separate, meaning you can enjoy the parts that appeal to you and ignore the ones that don't without feeling like you're missing something you need to know. (There are a few minor exceptions, but they're cases where, as far as I can tell, it would be unlikely to be an issue.)

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:I'm confused, were double Pretenders supposed to be different from the Pretenders who had shells that could transform and combine with the inner robot?

As the name implies, Double Pretenders were supposed to have not one, but two robots inside the Shell. We don't really know what the robots themselves were supposed to do because we have no prototypes or even design sheets for them: only the Shell seems to have made to the hard copy stage.

That's the reason why "Oilmaster" is two figures instead of one, three if you count the Shell. In fact, the main conscience is split among the three according to bio, akin to G1 Optimus Prime's Marvel bio.

Ok so we NEVER got double Pretenders? Just wanna make sure because I really liked Pretenders back in the day.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:Ok so we NEVER got double Pretenders? Just wanna make sure because I really liked Pretenders back in the day.

Nope. The inner bots never made it past the planning stage. The outer shell was made, but it was just a prototype.

Seibertron wrote:The Pretender concept was initially really well played up and with Skullgrin, Landmine and Cloudburst all getting stand alone stories, I was really hooked. Even moreso when they used the concept to revive 4 "dead" Transformers via the Pretender Classics (Starscream, Grimlock, Jazz, and Bumblebee).

I just wanted to quote this because those stories were 2 of my favorites from the Marvel Comics, my "bible," if you will, when it comes to the franchise. I do wish there was a Pretenders-only oriented BotCon sometime soon, where we get updated G1 Pretender figures in the set and its accompanying exclusives, but I don't think Oilmaster comes even close.

Rodimus Prime wrote: I do wish there was a Pretenders-only oriented BotCon sometime soon, where we get updated G1 Pretender figures in the set and its accompanying exclusives, but I don't think Oilmaster comes even close.

I would love a Botcon Pretenders-only set. But with the full shells and everything. We've seen Pretenders in the last years (Skullgrin and Blackshadow in the main line and Metalhawk as an exclusive), but to get me going, they need to bring the suits. Also, it's not gonna happen the way I'd like it to.

The big monkeyman does excite me and may be the first Botcon toy I'm going to hunt for online. I just don't know if the Swerve mold is the right inner bot. Maybe a more humanoid bit with a slimmer posture... Something along the lines of Classics deluxe Optimus. He doesn't get a whole lot of love, but the body type fits that of the G1 pretenders.

So, for the record, Oilmaster is completely awesome IMO.

If someone gets a set and doesn't want Oilmaster and is willing to wait a bit to sell him to me - pleeeeeease (pretty please), can you hold onto him for me?

The others I have very little interest in, but I think I could squeeze Oilmaster onto my G1 shelves.

Also - next year.... "Pretender" Optimus Prime featuring the same shell as a BeastWars homage with Legion Class Optimus Prime inside to homage G1 Prime

Oil Master is something that interests me, especially as it was made by a "third party". I just hope that the legs are articulated at the hips/thighs (and hopefully knees, shoulders and elbows), so that this modern pretender shell has more articulation than the originals. Otherwise, I might have to take a saw to it and give it some joints, just like the 11 inch Optimus Prime that's coming out.

Anyway, I hope i can just get the double pretender and maybe the triple changer (plus a better third party head with a chin that hides part of the neck).

I'm with the big guy on this one - Pretenders are one of my favorite gimmicks with this franchise.

If see we anymore movement in that department for the near future, here's hoping we see some Carnivac/Snarler action, maybe Monsterbot/Dinoforce sets.

The original prototypes had two colour schemes, with one used for oil master, as shown in the comic that came with ehobby black reflector (can't remember his name). Some people think a recolour will be optimus primal, but my money is on an Autobot or maximal prototype (maybe optimus minor) as an attendee figure. Optimus minor was a minor character (pun intended) and using him as a "missing link" between Autobot and maximal technology might be cool. Or failing that, "apelinq", as it's in his name, too, and it's a Botcon character.

I'll probably want both of the pretenders.



Ps: why is the image upload for this forum 256kbs or less? Even mobile phone friendly services like Disqus allow for better image housing than here!

I'm with Ryan, in later years when it all became about gimmicks, Pretenders was the better one. Sure, it was a silly gimmick, but it made more sense than Action Masters. And the other Masters were just standard figures with smaller bots, nothing exciting there.

Pretenders at least gave some very unique shells which added to the character. The inner robots may not have been much chop but the shells more than made up for that!