The Energon Pub

Ya'know, I was thinking the other day, could the movie toys be some of the best Transformers toys we've seen in a long time? ... I know, I know, but hear me out:

If you think about it, whats one of the biggest aspects of the Transformers toy franchise? I'll tell ya: converting from one thing to another while allowing both modes to look nothing like each other. I believe the movie toys do this quite well, due to the Automorph technology, no doubt. See what I mean? I first noticed this with the Optimus and Barricade figures. If you look at the robot and alt modes separately, you can't really tell at first glance what the alt mode is from the pics of the robot mode. Eh, that's just me. Anyone feel the same way?

Oh, by the way, I AM excluding the figure for Blackout from these thoughts. I mean, there's no mistaking a robot who has a freaking propellor on his back for a 'bot who turns into a chopper.

I'm with you on that thought. The movie folks should take a cue for Hasbro here. If they took the toys and just used those as models, I think we would get a less exploded metal look, and something more traditional. I like the designs, don't get me wrong, but the toys look a thousand times better.

The whole Automorphing thing has me a bit worried though. While a cool gimmick, it could reduce the life of the toy. I asked this before but never got an answer. Anyone with movie test shots/protos, how is the stablity, is it fragile?

But yeah, love or hate the designs, the toys themselves seem to be pretty innovative.

Yeah, I can see your concern with the durability. The feature has been compared to the fast attack action gimmick from the first several basic Beast Wars figures, just times like ten. So, if you consider the fact that all of the Beast Wars figures that have this feature (all the ones I have anyway) are very durable, then these new figures can't be that flimsy. I think it'll work. BTW, if the movie makers were to base a movie on toys, they shoulda gone with the Alternators, and I'm sure I'm not the first to say or think that.

which toy franchise are you talking about?
because the g1 line the bots always looked
like they had parts of there alt mode shown
so you could see that they turned into a certain
vehicle. if i saw jazz or bluestreak in robot mode alone
i could see what they turned into. i thought thats what
made transformers so cool.

I'm talking about the toys for the upcoming '07 movie, not the vintage ones. I don't really have a preference when it comes to indistinguishable alt modes and whatnot, but it's a nice touch to be able to look at a Transformer in robot mode and not be able to tell what his alt mode is. It adds to the overall impact of the toy, not to mention artistic integrity on the part of the designers'.

I prefer seeing what they can turn into myself.

Nemesis_Apoc wrote:If you think about it, whats one of the biggest aspects of the Transformers toy franchise? I'll tell ya: converting from one thing to another while allowing both modes to look nothing like each other.

That's where I disagree with you. For me, being able to tell what they turn into is what makes TFs unique, and not just another "GO GO GIANT ROBOTS!" series.

Not to mention that I feel you're just completely off-base saying that the franchise has had a theme of not being able to tell what a con or bot turns into(hell, even with the stylized classics versions of the cartoons/classics, I can tell that screamer turns into an F-15; or that prime turns into a truck; or that Cheetor turns into a cheetah; or that Armada Wheeljack turns into a car). Really the only series(not counting the Movie) I can agree with you on is BM; THAT series definitely tried to go for the aesthetic you described.


I suppose that's why I prefer the toys over the CGI renderings; they just can't take out car/plane/whatever bits of the robot mode like they can with the CGI renderings(look at Bumblebee, two completely different designs because a deluxe-sized figure just can't have the design he has in the movie; and I personally much prefer the toy's design). Unfortunately(for me, at least) the heads stayed the same.

Never thought about that aspect of the movie figures, but the design style has grown on me the more I see it. But I also like knowing what they turn into.

Either way, I like Transformers in general cause when they transform, they actually look like something, unlike most other transforming anime' robots. Not that I have anything against other robots, I rather like them, it's just that most of them transform for functionality purposes, and thus barely look like anything.