The Energon Pub

News Credits: 6188 · Tue May 29, 2012 4:36 pm

I've had this question buzzing in my head since I started considering packing my room up to move house (again).

How do you transform your figures?
Is it an anything-goes fest, do you follow instructions, do you like leaving some parts for last (say, the head; although Revealers do that for us, but still), do you follow a particular sequence which has its own story, do you chuck it at the wall and see what happens (partsformers!), give it to a younger collector to be put to shame in speed..?

Just wondering, let us know whatcha think.

News Credits: 226 · Tue May 29, 2012 4:38 pm

Generally I just look at it, see where the lines go, then follow the usual path depending on what it transforms into. For example, a car? Back end is going to be feet and legs. At some point the arms will fold out from or under the hood.

Tue May 29, 2012 4:46 pm

Like Burn says, generally looking at the lines where the pieces fit together. I then give an experimental tug on sections to see what has to move in order for something else to move.

News Credits: 402 · Updated Oct 21, 2022

I fiddle until it fits.

Tue May 29, 2012 5:10 pm

Va'al wrote:How do you transform

Slowly, preferably in a dark room with lots of lube.

Va'al wrote:...your figures?

OH... okay. :shock:

Immediately after they're unpackaged, their bodies get unraveled to allow me to find out how they work first-hand.

Mkall wrote:I fiddle until it fits.

That's what SHE said!

Tue May 29, 2012 5:39 pm

I use the instructions if I think I'm doing it wrong or something looks like it's going to end up broken (I have really bad luck with getting figures QC missed)

Once I've figured out what to do I find a better/more preferable way to transform it, leaving the head for last if possible.

Tue May 29, 2012 6:18 pm

I use the instructions the first few times, although considering how a lot of them can be wrong/hard to read, mostly as a guide.

Tue May 29, 2012 6:25 pm

never liked using instructions never will. i look at a picture and if it needs to go to car mode i make it look like the car in the pic. robot mode i like to fiddle around with it until it has the best poseability it can have unless it has to be show/movie accurate. so going back and forth i just move stuff around very carefully and see what it does.

News Credits: 101 · Tue May 29, 2012 7:54 pm

After two years of being a Transfan, here's what I do.

For a brand new picture, unless it's a piss-easy legend of scout, I follow the instructions. Often, the instructions are hard to make out so I just improvise.

Now I know that for every transformers, it's always the same thing.

From robot to vehicle: I have to figure out where to start. Then, aling everything that need to be aligned and peg the pegs in the pegholes.

That's it!

As for vehicle to robot, I just hsve to find the starting point to "break" the vehicle. Then, everything unfold.

News Credits: 4 · Tue May 29, 2012 7:54 pm

I tend to use the instructions for new figures. Maybe it's the number of posts I've seen on here of people breaking their brand new figures, or just the seemingly poorer quality on toys these days, but I fear doing something wrong and ending up with a broken bit of plastic that cost me £15. Not that the instructions always make a whole lot of sense, but even the really bad ones do usually give a couple of hints. One the basics are out of the way I do find my own way.

Having bought a fair few 2nd hand toys lately I've had a bit of fun figuring out the transformations, but most aren't too tough to crack. Nearly every TF has very obvious lines, and you can usually see at least a bit of robot mode folded under if you flip the alt mode over. I think 8year old me would laugh at how long I take to change a TF from vehicle to robot mode nowadays.

News Credits: 2 · Tue May 29, 2012 8:05 pm

Freestyle.

Tue May 29, 2012 8:11 pm

I make a serious attempt to not use the instructions, but I'm very gentle while doing so. If I feel like I'm stuck or I don't want to tug too hard, I just pull out the directions. No sense in breaking things, eh?

News Credits: 4 · Wed May 30, 2012 3:15 am

I will always use the instructions the first time, although sometimes it's so simple I can figure it out on my own. (most Cyberverse toys) After that first time, I know how everything fits together, so I allow myself a little more flexibility in transformation. Like, the instructions may say "move this part first" but I know you can move a different part first without harming the figure. And I always try to make the head be the last part, but sometimes that's not possible.

Wed May 30, 2012 4:16 am

I never use instructions the first time, figuring it out myself is part of the fun. I will give them a look over afterward to see if I missed something. I do try to reveal the head last when possible.

News Credits: 9 · Wed May 30, 2012 5:43 am

I never use instructions the first time, I love the challenge! After trying it a few times I use the instructions to see if I've missed anything or see if they show a better order for some steps. After that each figure falls into it's own order, although with some of them if I don't transform them for a while I forget and have to work it all out again!

News Credits: 1 · Wed May 30, 2012 5:51 am

That Bot wrote:I will always use the instructions the first time, although sometimes it's so simple I can figure it out on my own. (most Cyberverse toys) After that first time, I know how everything fits together, so I allow myself a little more flexibility in transformation. Like, the instructions may say "move this part first" but I know you can move a different part first without harming the figure. And I always try to make the head be the last part, but sometimes that's not possible.

Me too.

Wed May 30, 2012 9:14 am

i always use the instructions the first time. after that, the sequence is stuck in my head.
sometimes, when i've seen a video review beforehand (more often with new figures coming out), i'll do without the instructions.
video reviews can be very helpful when the instructions suck, or
when it's a tricky figure (i'm looking at you, MP rodimus. i had a lot of help from peaugh on that one, thereby keeping me from breaking it).

News Credits: 12 · Wed May 30, 2012 9:50 am

If I'm not 100% sure I can transform it without the instructions, I use the instructions. I've broken a few figures by not transforming them properly, and that's an awful feeling.

Wed May 30, 2012 10:29 am

I use the directions the first time. After that I am usually ok doing it my own way. If I get stuck I will get the directions out and take a look.

News Credits: 7 · Wed May 30, 2012 10:29 am

I view transformation as a puzzle, so looking at instructions kills the whole fun of discovering the solution. I keep them close by just in case I get stuck, though, and I do look at the package's pics for reference while first solving it.

I usually try to save random kibble bits for last. I like the idea of TFs being able to walk and talk before completely finishing transforming. Just little things, like wings locking into place.

News Credits: 2 · Wed May 30, 2012 10:36 am

I always try my first couple times without instruction and then look back at it to see if I missed anything. Only very few figures made me give up and had to peek at the instruction since I couldn't figure out. WFC Optimus is one of them. ROTF leader class Optimus is one of them. And this guy I actually had to rely on youtube since the instruction didn't help either.

Wed May 30, 2012 11:02 am

The very first time in each direction, I ALWAYS use instructions, especially on more complex or expensive figures like the movie Leader classes and the Masterpiece lines. After that, I only break out the instructions if I get stumped.

News Credits: 1 · Wed May 30, 2012 3:47 pm

I only ever use the instructions for Masterpieces. I don't wanna break 'em by accident!

For regular TFs I usually just bust 'em out and make things around until it looks right. I try to leave the head for last whenever possible. If it gets a little tough I stare at the box photos as I transform them.

News Credits: 668 · Thu May 31, 2012 1:35 am

I always, without fail, use the instructions. I refuse to take a chance on something disastrous after spending good money AND having trouble finding my "at the moment" grail.

I can understand why some want to take the chance on their own, that's fine, but I still find wonder out of these things, even with the instructions. The instructions take none of the mystery away for me, because the figure itself still impresses.

I was finally won over by the PRID Vehicon. (I still love my FE Vehicon, but the PRID is awesome.) It's incredibly simplistic, and the instructions show you how to fold down the auto body, but actually seeing it with your own eyes and doing it with your hands, none of the magic disappears because you've used the instructions. That same feeling goes for a lot of the figures in my collection.

On the other hand, figures like PRID Knock Out have such HORRIBLE instructions, you're either left to YouTube or chancing it. Those instructions aren't only incorrect, but they are impossible to decipher. ROTF Mixmaster is another one. His transformation is just total dickishness on the part of the designers.

Ree dick u lus.

News Credits: 4 · Thu May 31, 2012 2:44 am

Autobot032 wrote:ROTF Mixmaster is another one. His transformation is just total dickishness on the part of the designers.

Ree dick u lus.

To add insult to injury, my Mixmaster was misassembled. One of the small hinges in his missile arm was backwards, meaning it can't bend like it's supposed to, and his cannon mode is impossible to make.