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RiddlerJ wrote:You know, the talk about licensing has me wondering. Takara doesn't have the license to the original mold that was used for G1 Shockwave. So how can they make new figures based so closely to that design? Isn't that the same kind of infringement that 3rd party toys commit when they make figures?
AutobotAlvaron wrote:I'm so glad that a TransFormers Authority like you Seibertron, agrees with me about how much I dislike Takara's blatant overuse of LILAC and LAVENDAR for some of it's most ICONIC Decepticon villains. There are instances where slavish cartoon-acuraccy simply doesn't work in a real-world 3-D representation. Our beloved G1 cartoon-series is infamously inconsistent in it's animation as far as character colors, body-proportions, and scale are concerned. The limited color-palette of 1980's cell-shaded animation should not always be the final deciding factor when designing Masterpiece TransFormers figures. I, for one, have always wanted more homages to the G1 toys and to the real-world vehicles & objects that originally inspired the vintage figures and characters. That is why I would have preferred having more (high-quality) chrome on car-bots and their weapons, more mold details in general, and a deeper, truer PURPLE for MP Shockwave, Re-issue Galvatron, and Henkei Cyclonus.
william-james88 wrote:Also be weary of hope in this hobby. Hope is just undiscovered disappointment.
Agamemnon, barebacked rider of flying robo-dragon, and not often constipated either...My nephew wrote:Bacon is meat candy.
Seibertron wrote:AutobotAlvaron wrote:I'm so glad that a TransFormers Authority like you Seibertron, agrees with me about how much I dislike Takara's blatant overuse of LILAC and LAVENDAR for some of it's most ICONIC Decepticon villains. There are instances where slavish cartoon-acuraccy simply doesn't work in a real-world 3-D representation. Our beloved G1 cartoon-series is infamously inconsistent in it's animation as far as character colors, body-proportions, and scale are concerned. The limited color-palette of 1980's cell-shaded animation should not always be the final deciding factor when designing Masterpiece TransFormers figures. I, for one, have always wanted more homages to the G1 toys and to the real-world vehicles & objects that originally inspired the vintage figures and characters. That is why I would have preferred having more (high-quality) chrome on car-bots and their weapons, more mold details in general, and a deeper, truer PURPLE for MP Shockwave, Re-issue Galvatron, and Henkei Cyclonus.
Thanks AutobotAlvaron. Just doing my part to help get the word out there. I couldn't have said it better about the purple (though I am anti-chrome as well ... the chrome on Masterpiece Hot Rod is already coming off 6 weeks after owning him and transforming him a few times).
Apparently, I'm with the minorities on this figure. I was extremely excited about Shockwave when he was first announced last year, after wanting a Masterpiece Shockwave ever since Masterpiece debuted back in late 2003.
Unfortunately, my liking of this figure has done nothing but decrease the more it was revealed all the way up to actually owning it. Here's my rundown of dislikes for "Masterpiece" Shockwave. Normally I try to refrain from posting my opinions when I strongly dislike something, but in this case I've got to level with all of you because I find all of the "wow this toy is amazing" comments from so many of you kind of odd when I find the toy frustrating overall.
- This is the WRONG color purple. It doesn't match the cartoon and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want any Shockwave toy to "match" the color of his cartoon counterpart. Dark purplish blue, bluish purple. Not lavender or light purple or whatever! This toy's color was the hardest color to photograph that I've ever dealt with in 12.5 years of photographing Transformers toys (well aside from some of the crazy neon orange and pink colors like G2 Starscream). I couldn't match it no matter what camera settings I used, no matter how much I tinkered with the RAW files (adjusting hue, saturation, color temperature, contrast, etc). The toy doesn't match the cartoon, and like AutobotAlvaron said above, cartoon accuracy should be used as a guide but common sense should take over at some point.
- What the heck is up with his backup? I'm in disbelief that this was the best solution they could come up with. All we did was trade one partsforming piece for another, hardly an improvement on a toy designed by a lesser known company called Toyco back in the 1980s. If you transform the front of the cannon properly, it screws with his silhouette and overall color scheme since he know has a giant light gray piece on his back. It doesn't get any better when you add the backpack cover, because then he just ends up with a massive purple block on his back (which looks better, but not as good as it does on the original).
- The light grayish purple hands, left arm cannon, and ears ... Takara you're killing me. Not interested in colors like this on my Transformers that should be silver and dark purple!!!!!!
- The lower legs are a mess. I can't tell you how many few dozens of times his leg panels collapsed or didn't stay together when I would move him into a new position or different angle for the camera. I swear every time I kept grabbing his lower legs (because that's where I usually handle a Transformer so that it doesn't tip over when I rotate them for the photoshoot, which I kept grabbing by mistake because of force of habit). The lower legs are a poor design no matter how you want to argue it ...
- ... which brings me to his feet. Ok in robot mode, but the fact that you can't even do what the G1 toy does so that he can "stand" in gun mode is absurd and unfortunate. But hey, we ended up with a silly looking purple stand instead. Nice.
- As for the light piping for his singular eye ... it's a nice feature, but the light piping is too dark or something. While light piping is one of my favorite features on Transformers toys since late G1.5/G2, and while it's something I wish had been on Masterpiece figures from the start, at this point I'd rather they had just painted it properly instead of doing light piping poorly, plus it just kind of looks out of place amongst the other Masterpiece figures.
- The light up feature was kind of a slap-in-the-face. It was a nice touch, but also a reminder that the sound effects were absent, which is what helped make G1 Shockwave so iconic. I liked how they implemented the light up feature, especially with the brief "stay-on" feature, but the lack of sound was disappointing.
- The "hose" is also another disappointment. That metal coil will not last. It will become dented or bent, or whatever. We'll just end up with a hose with a different problem from the original. I just can't believe that was the best they could come up with.
- His size ... Shockwave should have been bigger. And please for the love of god, if someone pulls out that silly G1 size chart, I'll go crazy. Shockwave should be big. Optimus Prime or bigger. Just like his G1 toy was bigger. He should be bigger than Soundwave and Starscream and I wouldn't mind if he was bigger than Megatron (though not the MP-5 Megatron). Ultimately, he just feels like another take on the original G1 toy with the only improvement being posability. So many details are the same, which is probably good, but at the same time it just feels like a rip-off of sorts or a 3rd party G1 Shockwave's original toy is so iconic that to not do it right just seems like an injustice.
A proper G1 colored Shockwave is on the top of my want list. It doesn't resolve the other issues, but fixing his colors would go a long ways toward not making him look like a character that belongs in the My Little Pony universe.
So those are my thoughts. I've unloaded my opinions. Bummed about Shockwave and a few others recently released. Here's hoping we can get back to figures along the "masterpiece" levels of Masterpiece Wheeljack and Prowl soon.
It matches one his purples. He was painted various shades throughout the show. I wouldn't have minded a deeper colour either. Ironically, the screen caps in the instruction sheets are a different purple than the MP.Seibertron wrote:This is the WRONG color purple. It doesn't match the cartoon and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want any Shockwave toy to "match" the color of his cartoon counterpart.
Strange, mine doesn't do that, at all. I hope it won't be an issue with the replacement figure. Are you sure you tabbed everything?Seibertron wrote:The lower legs are a mess. I can't tell you how many few dozens of times his leg panels collapsed or didn't stay together when I would move him into a new position or different angle for the camera.
Seibertron wrote:As for the light piping for his singular eye ... it's a nice feature, but the light piping is too dark or something. While light piping is one of my favorite features on Transformers toys since late G1.5/G2, and while it's something I wish had been on Masterpiece figures from the start, at this point I'd rather they had just painted it properly instead of doing light piping poorly, plus it just kind of looks out of place amongst the other Masterpiece figures.
Burn wrote:Agamemnon wrote:Let's get back to talking about Burn's mammoth snout flopping...
Well I am Australian. It's kinda what we're known for.
Cobotron wrote:I didn't/don't have the G1 toy. What sounds did he make?
The same stock laser gun sounds that all 80's laser gun toys made, (especially the ones from Radio Shack)?
Burn wrote:Agamemnon wrote:Let's get back to talking about Burn's mammoth snout flopping...
Well I am Australian. It's kinda what we're known for.
I agree. Even before that size chart showed its face to the world, Shockwave always struck me as being about a head shorter than Megatron and Optimus in the cartoon.Cyberpath wrote:His height feels right to me, in the series he was the same height as Starscream and a bit shorter than Soundwave. But to each their own!
Shadowman wrote:This is Sabrblade we're talking about. His ability to store trivial information about TV shows is downright superhuman.
Caelus wrote:My wife pointed out something interesting about the prehistoric Predacons. I said that everyone was complaining because transforming for them mostly consisted of them just standing up-right. She essentially said, 'So? That's what our ancestors did.'
Sabrblade wrote:I agree. Even before that size chart showed its face to the world, Shockwave always struck me as being about a head shorter than Megatron and Optimus in the cartoon.Cyberpath wrote:His height feels right to me, in the series he was the same height as Starscream and a bit shorter than Soundwave. But to each their own!
El Duque wrote:In regards to the figure's color, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Look at Red Alert, we're about to get a "more animation accurate" version. I have little doubt that in a year or so they will announce a "more toy accurate" version of Shockwave. It's a well-known sales technique that some of the third party companies have been using for years; sell the less desirable color first, then get customers to double dip when the more desirable color is released. Double sales for the same mold.
Seibertron wrote:El Duque wrote:In regards to the figure's color, it's pretty obvious isn't it? Look at Red Alert, we're about to get a "more animation accurate" version. I have little doubt that in a year or so they will announce a "more toy accurate" version of Shockwave. It's a well-known sales technique that some of the third party companies have been using for years; sell the less desirable color first, then get customers to double dip when the more desirable color is released. Double sales for the same mold.
I've been preaching this for years, ever since there was a clear divide between Hasbro and Takara products at retail with the products being different from each other instead of the same. They figured out that they could sell the same products twice, thanks to a global market and collectors. It has nothing to do with if Takara or Hasbro has the better paint scheme ... it has everything to do with just coming out with something different to appeal to a different type of buyer.
I still don't get the choice for Shockwave. The product photography on the packaging is darker than the toy as are the screen caps they used. It's not the same color as what's in the cartoon, but I really don't want that color purple either. Let's hope Takara has a 2nd version coming out later ... and I'll take a gray version as well for Shackwave, Shockwave's clone! Now we just need a new Megatron, and a repaint for Megaplex, and then Shackwave and Megaplex can hang out together.
Seibertron wrote: Normally I try to refrain from posting my opinions when I strongly dislike something, but in this case I've got to level with all of you because I find all of the "wow this toy is amazing" comments from so many of you kind of odd when I find the toy frustrating overall.
This is the WRONG color purple. It doesn't match the cartoon and to be honest I'm not sure I'd want any Shockwave toy to "match" the color of his cartoon counterpart. Dark purplish blue, bluish purple. Not lavender or light purple or whatever! This toy's color was the hardest color to photograph that I've ever dealt with in 12.5 years of photographing Transformers toys (well aside from some of the crazy neon orange and pink colors like G2 Starscream). I couldn't match it no matter what camera settings I used, no matter how much I tinkered with the RAW files (adjusting hue, saturation, color temperature, contrast, etc). The toy doesn't match the cartoon, and like AutobotAlvaron said above, cartoon accuracy should be used as a guide but common sense should take over at some point.
What the heck is up with his backpack? I'm in disbelief that this was the best solution they could come up with. All we did was trade one partsforming piece for another, hardly an improvement on a toy designed by a lesser known company called Toyco back in the 1980s. If you transform the front of the cannon properly, it screws with his silhouette and overall color scheme since he know has a giant light gray piece on his back. It doesn't get any better when you add the backpack cover, because then he just ends up with a massive purple block on his back (which looks better, but not as good as it does on the original).
The light grayish purple hands, left arm cannon, and ears ... Takara you're killing me. Not interested in colors like this on my Transformers that should be silver and dark purple!!!!!!
The lower legs are a mess. I can't tell you how many few dozens of times his leg panels collapsed or didn't stay together when I would move him into a new position or different angle for the camera.
... which brings me to his feet. Ok in robot mode, but the fact that you can't even do what the G1 toy does so that he can "stand" in gun mode is absurd and unfortunate. But hey, we ended up with a silly looking purple stand instead. Nice.
As for the light piping for his singular eye ... it's a nice feature, but the light piping is too dark or something.
The light up feature was kind of a slap-in-the-face. It was a nice touch, but also a reminder that the sound effects were absent, which is what helped make G1 Shockwave so iconic. I liked how they implemented the light up feature, especially with the brief "stay-on" feature, but the lack of sound was disappointing.
The "hose" is also another disappointment. That metal coil will not last. It will become dented or bent, or whatever. We'll just end up with a hose with a different problem from the original. I just can't believe that was the best they could come up with.
His size ... Shockwave should have been bigger. And please for the love of god, if someone pulls out that silly G1 size chart, I'll go crazy. Shockwave should be big. Optimus Prime or bigger. Just like his G1 toy was bigger. He should be bigger than Soundwave and Starscream and I wouldn't mind if he was bigger than Megatron (though not the MP-5 Megatron). Ultimately, he just feels like another take on the original G1 toy with the only improvement being posability. So many details are the same, which is probably good, but at the same time it just feels like a rip-off of sorts or a 3rd party G1 Shockwave's original toy is so iconic that to not do it right just seems like an injustice.
So those are my thoughts. I've unloaded my opinions. Bummed about Shockwave and a few others recently released. Here's hoping we can get back to figures along the "masterpiece" levels of Masterpiece Wheeljack and Prowl soon.
william-james88 wrote:As someone mentionned before, the partsforming is improved since you arent forced to clip on that backpack cover unless you want to achieve a look. With the G1 toy, the parsforming was a must and the parts went nowhere in robot mode. Here in robot mode, you can attach it all, get the nice G1 look and have no peices left over which was not the case in the G1 toy. So thats a pretty massive improvement. And the cover works dual purpose as a stand to make up for the fact that he cant stand on his own as a gun.
... which brings me to his feet. Ok in robot mode, but the fact that you can't even do what the G1 toy does so that he can "stand" in gun mode is absurd and unfortunate. But hey, we ended up with a silly looking purple stand instead. Nice.
As I said above, the stand makes up for that.
Its not the parts count and we both know that electronics and die cast have little to know impact on the cost.
fenrir72 wrote:As much as I'd be respecting various opinions but from what I read y'all just love the old G1 fig and want the MP to be a carbon copy of it. Kind of like you all "bonded" with it thru nostalgia....it's a modern version. Some compromises had to be made. The color isn't 100% accurate by a fe hues. No pew pew effects. I can live with it.
Emerje wrote:
He did this in the cartoon as well. You can't do that with the MP without holding it.
Its not the parts count and we both know that electronics and die cast have little to know impact on the cost.
No matter how many times you say this it wont make this true. All toy companies have been decreasing or eliminating the use of diecast to lower costs. Even Hot Wheels have gone to using more plastic in their cars, those $1 cars no longer have diecast undersides while the full diecast cars of the same size run $4-5 now. And the only reason why they can even keep the price down that much is because they get so much use through color variations of each mold they make.
As for electronics, there's a reason why we don't see those anymore in figures, they're getting to expensive to make. I hear all the time how the materials used to make these electronics are becoming scarce and more difficult to source properly which is driving the prices up across the board. When was the last time we saw electronics in a normal (Deluxe, Voyager, Leader) size class figure? 2012? Does UW Fortress Maximus even have electronics at his price like Metroplex did?Electronics have become too expensive to use on a regular basis.
Seibertron wrote:Cerebros, the head of Titans Return Fortress Maximus, has electronics in him.
william-james88 wrote:Emerje wrote:No matter how many times you say this it wont make this true. All toy companies have been decreasing or eliminating the use of diecast to lower costs. Even Hot Wheels have gone to using more plastic in their cars, those $1 cars no longer have diecast undersides while the full diecast cars of the same size run $4-5 now. And the only reason why they can even keep the price down that much is because they get so much use through color variations of each mold they make.
But that must be recent though, right? Because Platinum Predaking had a ton of diecast and only cost about 100$. Plus there was that whole titanium line which didnt sell for a lot either. But both of those examples are before 2013 so this may be a more recent phenomina.
As for electronics, there's a reason why we don't see those anymore in figures, they're getting to expensive to make. I hear all the time how the materials used to make these electronics are becoming scarce and more difficult to source properly which is driving the prices up across the board. When was the last time we saw electronics in a normal (Deluxe, Voyager, Leader) size class figure? 2012? Does UW Fortress Maximus even have electronics at his price like Metroplex did?Electronics have become too expensive to use on a regular basis.
But how expensive can it really be if all the baby toys that keep coming out still use electronics? The only reason I mention that is because I have a baby now and everybody gives me presents and all of them have electronics. Dollar store toys from vietnam have electronics too. Its just a light with this Shockwave, nothing overly complex, I am surprised that would raise the cost that much. And as for TFs with electronics, here is a recent one:
Transformers Adventures Optimus Prime Gallery
Look, I am sure you are right, you are very well versed in this hobby. I just dont understand how it can all be so costly.
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