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I have been waiting since 1987 for "Rock Lords" to come back into production. I got the grey one and the green one but I always wanted the silver and gold .

^^^ HAHAHAHA!! Rock lords!! My goodness, I almost forgot about them!!

I had the silver one as a kid, and lost him at the beach........

I know these are Protoform toys, but the transformations (or 'trans-morph-ations', or whatever) ARE odd - and why does Prime have tyres?! I mean, they ARE kinda primitive (not to mention they would probably melt in re-entry, heh...)

id have preferd they kept the ark and made it transform then these, the bot modes dont look too bad but "entry modes" arnt called for, im sure in space they could think of another mode to move around in, a cool space craft would have been better for me,

I actually like these new Rock Lords...

They look like Evangelions, the only thing is there's no NERV logo.

Man, I wish they'd pring back the Transtech line!

*looks*

WOW! Now I wish for a million dollars!

piranacon wrote:id have preferd they kept the ark and made it transform then these, the bot modes dont look too bad but "entry modes" arnt called for, im sure in space they could think of another mode to move around in, a cool space craft would have been better for me,

Having a massive starship enter the Earth?s atmosphere would be way too conspicuous. Having a drop-ship form makes perfect sense for covert entry into a planet?s atmosphere.

As for Prime?s Protoform appearance, the windows on his chest are more like Cybertron Prime?s appearance. Also, the ?wheels? are probably only used on the ground and I am guessing would fold up inside or be covered by armor for atmospheric re-entry; something that wouldn?t be practical for a toy.

Asphalt wrote:man I hope they do a lot more than these with the line. I mean come on.

They are.

Well back to discussing the toys: Are Prime's hips just normal ball-joint and sockets? Almost looked like there might be a pivot joint combined with it. Kinda like a new joint design for a new toy in Japan that I can't remember right now.

Anyone got plans to bash one into anything yet?

To me Prime looks like a cross between cybertron prime and optimus primal. especially in the legs. The other thing that puzzles me is why are their alt molds look basically identical. Aside from the details they are the same basic shape. That being said, they do look pretty cool, although they still need some work. Which since I think these are prototypes they are headed in the right direction.


Screamers head is still ugly though

AceBaur Prime wrote:To me Prime looks like a cross between cybertron prime and optimus primal. especially in the legs. The other thing that puzzles me is why are their alt molds look basically identical. Aside from the details they are the same basic shape. That being said, they do look pretty cool, although they still need some work. Which since I think these are prototypes they are headed in the right direction.


Screamers head is still ugly though

The reason their alt forms look the same is because it's supposed to be a common form they all take when traveling to a different planet.

I wonder how starscream would look with a battlestar galactica logo on the side?

Gryph wrote:The reason their alt forms look the same is because it's supposed to be a common form they all take when traveling to a different planet.

That makes sense but it sort of defeats the purpose of Transformers doesn't it... since some of they're abilities are based on they're alt modes

AceBaur Prime wrote:

Gryph wrote:The reason their alt forms look the same is because it's supposed to be a common form they all take when traveling to a different planet.

That makes sense but it sort of defeats the purpose of Transformers doesn't it... since some of they're abilities are based on they're alt modes

they dont have thier "common" alt modes yet.. these figures are before the alt modes are are commonly used to ... pre jet , pre semi ..

I found these new toys to be rather interesting on several levels. I like the chance to see where the earth mode robot designs are coming from so to speak. The Protoform version of Prime (and Starscream) has many elements from the more "traditional" look of the character, and design wise they do make a good "bridge" between Cybertron and Classics Prime, and the movie one. In Seibertron.com I saw a digi-paint of these two in traditional colors, and they do really look good that way. I think if I had seen these versions first, the movie versions would not have looked quite so "out there". And I wouldn't have reacted quite so badly to them.
Another reason I find them interesting is I have a little more hope for the movie versions after seeing these, the pictures of the earth mode robots we have seen are still "work in progress". These are finalized designs, and may represent the way the final earth modes will look on a few details that were bugging me. I really disliked the earth mode Prime's face, and I actually like his face in this version. I also hate the proportions of Starscream in robot mode, and here his proportions are much better, so I have a little hope.
Also these seem to be a first look at final toy designs, and it may give us a glimpse of the quality of the other toys, and I actually like what I see. They seem to be very articulate and reasonably detailed, which is all good.
Last is the oft criticized alt modes, and here I am going to surprise myself a little, and say I actually kind of like them. I think it is hard to judge what they look like because the perspective in the picture is extremely foreshortened, so they are going to be longer than they look, though it is hard to say exactly how long they are. I "think" they are actually more like a blunt nosed helicopter in proportion rather than rock with a tail. I think the windows and "wheels" on Prime aren't as out of place as some people might think. In close up of the side of the legs there are three black "wheels" the one on the thigh and calf, and a small one near the knee. The one on the knee is a functional wheel that lets the toy roll in alt mode, and Starscream has them as well. I think they are like the small wheels on most tank transformers, only there so kids can push it across the floor. The "wheels" on the thigh and calf are not actually round, they are flattened ovals, and I think they are meant to mimic the "thrusters" (or maglev or anti gravity pods or whatever they were supposed to be) on the bottom of the ships in "The Matrix". I think Primes alt mode is a cross between a ship from "The Matrix" and those little space pods from the recent "Planet of the Apes". It is implied in the text on the back of the cards that this alternate form is used to let the transformers arrive on Earth undetected by mimicking a meteor. Starscream's alt mode also has obvious control surfaces, air intakes and such, so they both seem to be actual vehicular forms, and not just an alien space rock. Prime and Starscream may be similar in form because it is meant to perform the same function, a powered atmospheric entry that looks like the ballistic entry of a small meteor, the odd faceted surface designed to scatter radar, making it seem much smaller. (A 30-40 foot meteor strike would be large enough to be significant.)
So I guess these actually work for me, and will grab Prime if I have the money to spare, though I will paint it once I get it.

[quote="gawd6sic6]they dont have thier "common" alt modes yet.. these figures are before the alt modes are are commonly used to ... pre jet , pre semi ..[/quote]

Yeah I realize that but even in cybertronian form they all had a different kind of alt form, ie: the first episode of G1 cartoon or War Within.

What I'd really like to see is some pics of the toys in alt mode since so far all we have is the box art which as we all know isn't always completely accurate

So that's what Unicrons crap looks like.

^^^

*chuckling heartily!*

fire one! ooooh PPPPppppppppppppffttt ahhhhhhh

SPLOOOSH!!!!! Unicron left a floater!

AceBaur Prime wrote:[

These really aren't "cybertronian forms though. These are basically "default" forms that they all have as a means to travel between planets.

So is it kind of like a blank slate transformer with a generic space traveling form?


Whats the deal with the brown Starscream? on the box pic he looks like hes more of a silver color. The brown looks ok but I like the box pic much better

AceBaur Prime wrote:So is it kind of like a blank slate transformer with a generic space traveling form?


Whats the deal with the brown Starscream? on the box pic he looks like hes more of a silver color. The brown looks ok but I like the box pic much better

Prime is silver, Starscream is kind of a bronzy gold. Both box art also has a small picture of the other one, so that might confuse you

AceBaur Prime wrote:So is it kind of like a blank slate transformer with a generic space traveling form?
<snip>

Pretty much. There is probably more to it than that, but that would be the general idea. The Protoforms all still seem to have their own individuality and the vehicle modes do differ from one another, but one of the general functions is the same thing, to get them planet-side safely without being detected before scanning a new, final vehicle form and undergoing reformatting.

so a really advanced statis pod?