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Today we have several updates regarding 3rd party toy manufacturer Maketoys. The first is a sort of "drill" upgrade for Maketoys Giant. These appear to be a standard and phillips screwdriver tips for the combined mode of Giant. Although there has been no explanation on whether this is a future release or just for fun. They've also posted new color images of their next two-pack Dump Truck and Mobile Crane.

But that is not all for Giant, because MakeToy have updated their website to officially confirm the green Giant repaint the fandom was demanding, and just like some rumours stated it will be a full 6 figure gift set! You can read their message in English here or oyu can click here for the Japanese version.






















Then there is a picture that surfaced on Maketoys.jp website. A silhouette of an easily recongnizeable behemoth, Computron. Will 2012 be the year of the Technobots? We have reported earlier, that TFC has worked up some sketches of the Technobots as well. Is the fandom ready for another combiner show down? Check out the image below or click here to view the previous reports on TFC's concept Computron.

Why do these two always gotta do the same characters ???

I might consider the yellow Devy for my G2 stuff if it goes on clearance. But Herc is the real Devy.

Constructicons merge and form DEVASTATOR!
Prepare for TOOL TIME!
Autobots, you are SCREWED!

That joke needs fixing.....

Nice screws! I love that idea! Hopefully the green version will also have them.

Computron ... they'll have to do an amazing job to interest me in that guy. Still, it's good for Computron fans.

Computron hu... it would be nice to have third parties crank out diff characters instead of competing... now im sure when both devis are finally out well have a good idea of what we like about each and base our decision on which to get from that... I just hope that some company goes back to their "by fans, for fans' mentality and start awnsering some emails...

Hmmm, weren't there some Micronauts that had screwdrivers for weapons too? I remember someone talking about that at my first convention, Transcon '97.

And a week after the discussion about Botcon banning 3rd party items got everyone talking about whether HasTak could actually sue any of these companies for IP infringement, the possibility of 3rd party Technobots opens yet ANOTHER set of legal issues:
Could Lucasfilm or Disney sue these guys if their Scattershot, Strafe, and Afterburner's alt modes look too much like the Blockade Runner, a Snowspeeder, and a Tron Light Cycle, respectively? Even if the resemblance if vague, both companies have licensed official Transformers of some of their characters, so I could realistically see them taking a crack at legal action over this, even if it would be a foolish waste of time and money for huge corporations.

Also, the trademark registration report 2 days ago showed that Hasbro wants to preserve the name as Scattorshot, so could these guys technically get away with calling the leader Scattershot? It'd still piss Hasbro off enough that they'll never try it, but I can't help but wonder why Hasbro can't trademark the name with an "e".

I'm actually glad to hear this news; I'd prefer a $400-$450 Computron (or less) to a $500+ version which the TFC Toys version will most likely be. And same argument as before, will probably scale better with the existing combiners and the FP Bruticus.

lol, screwdriver bits? I wonder if these are the rumored 'bonus parts' that are supposed to come with the yellow version only. If they are, I'm not too worried about missing out on them.

As for Computron, I'm interested to see how it turns out, but I'll probably skip it.

City Commander wrote:Though even TFC Computron will be shorter than my custom Superion. I guess that makes sense, Superion is a warrior combiner after all, Computron...not so much.

How do you figure? Has TFC made any claims or shown any prototypes to determine what the actual size will be?

All I'm aware of so far are the sketches and the color references (red and white) on one of their pages (FB I think?).

Updated to include the information on Green Giant being confirmed as a six pack!

It's about time that Autobot combiners got more love. Of course we won't actually see it until 2013 at this rate

Screwdriver hands, huh? Sounds fun.

And Computron? Y'know I give credit to maketoy for putting out a smaller, and somewhat more affordable Devy design for those of us who weren't willing to shill out $80-$90 per single figure from TFC. Now though it seems that may very well be their shtick, putting out something that someone else is already doing. The fact that I don't even like Computron doesn't help either.

Additional note: Looking at their main site I can see that the color changes entailed by the green version of Giant seem to be solely constrained to swapping the yellow for green, and not changing the visors of those who got lumped with blue ones. nvm, you can see for yourself.

Shadowstream wrote:And Computron? Y'know I give credit to maketoy for putting out a smaller, and somewhat more affordable Devy design for those of us who weren't willing to shill out $80-$90 per single figure from TFC. Now though it seems that may very well be their shtick, putting out something that someone else is already doing. The fact that I don't even like Computron doesn't help either.

This assumes that Maketoy are waiting until TFC makes announcements and aren't deciding and developing the same character choices simultaneously as coincidence.

It looks like MT have been working on their Computron a lot longer than TFC, TFC only has a few character sketches, while MT have a silhouette of a computer render of a combined robot.

Court Jester wrote:

Wooooooo00000000000OOOOOOOoootT!

"SONIC-BOOM!"

Duuuuude, that's badass.

kirbenvost wrote:Duuuuude, that's badass.

Dude. And "Cement Mixer" has yet to be shown in full range.

I'm sure there's a few more "oh dayum" moments left in the project - hopefully MakeToys has a grand finale up their sleeve. They've delivered on execution as far as stills show.

The continuity between FansProject and MakeToys design style is undeniable. It's a style in which I'm thoroughly invested. I really was tempted by its competitor. But there's something to be said about detail (or textures). It's really not how much, but context: where is the viewers attention drawn - how do you accentuate that attention and, concurrently, disperse it. It's a style I could be over-analytic about, but I'll just quit, and buy the damn thing.

It's really been a long road for these artists (from concept). I cannot wait for convention season. The 3P reveals are going to be out of this world.

Computron is nice and all but I'd rather they did the preMovie combiners first. Protectobots and Stunticons in the same scale as Giant and Crosssfire Superion and Bruticus are a must! Computron, Abomonus, even Predaking all take a backseat to them!

Hmmmm?Maketoys also making computron?! Now those conspiracy theories on the other TF websites seems logical now,TFC and Maketoys are the same banana anyway, make all the combiners and you can screw my wallet

kirbenvost wrote:lol, screwdriver bits? I wonder if these are the rumored 'bonus parts' that are supposed to come with the yellow version only. If they are, I'm not too worried about missing out on them.

I was thinking the same thing. From what we've seen of Giant so far there isn't anything MakeToys could get away with not including in the green boxset. I'd like to know how much cheaper that version will be, if any. I'd prefer the yellow version but ultimately price will be the deciding factor.

I'm glad to see the Autbot combiners getting some 3rd party treatment and the Technobots are a great place to start. I know it can be frustrating that two 3rd parties are potentially tackling the same project, but if the alternative is two 3rd parties taking on different projects simultaneously then I'll take the option which doesn't tag-team my wallet.

I was looking at "Mobile Crane" and finally saw how the connection ports are implemented. They're under the hinged panels (one of the panels has HK 915 painted on it).

Bring on the Big Green! Woot woot!