The Energon Pub

Drawing inspiration from Fenfir's, Toystore/Company sponsored reviewers, thread. toystore-company-sponsored-reviewers-are-they-good-for-us-fans-3rd-party-ed-t102348.php-sid=1aa868b3b7aefcf271dcaca2332d68aa

Feel free to post.

My POV below is.

Not willing to Tailor my 3rd party TF toy purchases to match The 1980's TF G-1 cartoon series characters scales. Because it was a low budget cartoon series. That had errors in almost every scene. Size scales between robots literally changed in every scene, episode and season.

Think the HasTak's Classics-Generations toy line has the worse scaled characters TF toys of all of the TF toy lines and within the CHUG toy line itself. Not willing to tailor my 3rd party purchases trying to match the Classics-Generations toy line scale.

It's very, veeeeeeery loosely important. I want the Dinobots to be larger and the combiners to be as large as possible without the limbs being ridiculous.

The cartoon (and G1 toyline itself) had a few problems for me. I don't like that the minibots turn into small cars. Not only was this depicted inconsistently in the cartoon, but it also never made sense to me. I want all my cars to be deluxe size, whether they're standard Autobot Cars, Stunticons, or Minibots. Cybertronian modes get a pass, however.

The only time I can say it's important to me is for my most watched TF adventure: the movie. I want the movie guys to scale well. And, you know what? With the right setup they mostly do! The only one not getting with the program is Cyclonus and Kup. Maybe one day we'll get a Cyclonus tall enough to scale (I don't care that Kup's too tall).

But, overall I agree. Cartoon scale is a losing argument. Even if you take away animation errors you have mass shifting a minibots and it's a nightmare.

I'm slowly turning into a MP collecter now were scale is actually a thing , unlike the classics line , even 3rdp are catering to Takaras scale , i guess it's nice to have the consistancy but it's not that important , in classics only a few key characters i guess .

Tsutsukakushi wrote:Drawing inspiration from Fenfir's, Toystore/Company sponsored reviewers, thread. toystore-company-sponsored-reviewers-are-they-good-for-us-fans-3rd-party-ed-t102348.php-sid=1aa868b3b7aefcf271dcaca2332d68aa

Feel free to post.

My POV below is.

Not willing to Tailor my 3rd party TF toy purchases to match The 1980's TF G-1 cartoon series characters scales. Because it was a low budget cartoon series. That had errors in almost every scene. Size scales between robots literally changed in every scene, episode and season.

Think the HasTak's Classics-Generations toy line has the worse scaled characters TF toys of all of the TF toy lines and within the CHUG toy line itself. Not willing to tailor my 3rd party purchases trying to match the Classics-Generations toy line scale.

Scale within Transformers is pretty much nonexistant. I'm more interested in semi-plausible vehicle mode scale, but that's not going to happen. I'd still rather my jets were Voyagers and my cars were Deluxes, though.

I already mentioned this in another thread but isn't it surprising that the original G1 jets were huge but when in robot form, they are just as tall as the Classics/henkei robot modes? Is this "mass shifting?" Same with the fiirst release Pretender figs, their robot modes are just as tall as the G1 seekers.

Edit and erase.

I'm not too strict when it comes to scale but I do like consistency. Let me put it to you this way: I've never had to use the metric system to describe how off the heights are. I mostly focus on the Masterpiece line now and there's a certain level of scaling built in to the line now.

I'm a bit of a scale Nazi, but I put things in "Transformers scale" which is based mostly on the bot modes, not the real world vehicles. I find that old G1 bot mode scale chart to be a pretty good reference for what the show characters were supposed to be in relation to one another.

If the "Deluxe scale" is your average height character, that is what I want for most of the Autobots.

I prefer my Seekers and the majority of the Decepticons really, to be voyagers. Leaders, like Prime, should also be voyagers.

I like my mini-bots to be mini. I thought the scout class (ie Windcharger) was perfect, but the larger legends that have been coming out lately work pretty well too (Cosmos). I'm still pissed that iGear screwed this up so royally.

For Combiners, I like Deluxe limbs, with voyager Leaders/torsos. Devastator is kind of his own thing, as is Predaking, since he was originally made of larger figures. But, I prefer bigger rather than smaller if given the choice. I prefer the individual gestalts to be about the same as one another, however, which is why the Warbotron stuff pisses me off so much.

Dinobots should be at least voyagers IMO, ultra is OK too ... the current crop of 3P Dinobots has been working perfectly for my CHUG collection.

I get that Metroplex doesn't exactly "scale", and I accept that some of the truly larger characters need compromise. I get enough crap for a 3' figure, a playset character that would take up a garage bay would not pass the home planning committee.

My rule of thumb is to compare characters.
"Character A should be larger/smaller/about the same as Character B".
If that is true, within reason, I'm happy.
If a character that should be a large deluxe or voyager, ends up as a small deluxe (Trailbreaker, classics seekers, FoC Shockwave) I'm less happy and look for alternatives.

rpetras wrote:I'm a bit of a scale Nazi, but I put things in "Transformers scale" which is based mostly on the bot modes, not the real world vehicles. I find that old G1 bot mode scale chart to be a pretty good reference for what the show characters were supposed to be in relation to one another.

If the "Deluxe scale" is your average height character, that is what I want for most of the Autobots.

I prefer my Seekers and the majority of the Decepticons really, to be voyagers. Leaders, like Prime, should also be voyagers.

I like my mini-bots to be mini. I thought the scout class (ie Windcharger) was perfect, but the larger legends that have been coming out lately work pretty well too (Cosmos). I'm still pissed that iGear screwed this up so royally.

For Combiners, I like Deluxe limbs, with voyager Leaders/torsos. Devastator is kind of his own thing, as is Predaking, since he was originally made of larger figures. But, I prefer bigger rather than smaller if given the choice. I prefer the individual gestalts to be about the same as one another, however, which is why the Warbotron stuff pisses me off so much.

Dinobots should be at least voyagers IMO, ultra is OK too ... the current crop of 3P Dinobots has been working perfectly for my CHUG collection.

I get that Metroplex doesn't exactly "scale", and I accept that some of the truly larger characters need compromise. I get enough crap for a 3' figure, a playset character that would take up a garage bay would not pass the home planning committee.

My rule of thumb is to compare characters.
"Character A should be larger/smaller/about the same as Character B".
If that is true, within reason, I'm happy.
If a character that should be a large deluxe or voyager, ends up as a small deluxe (Trailbreaker, classics seekers, FoC Shockwave) I'm less happy and look for alternatives.

nailed it!

rpetras wrote:I'm a bit of a scale Nazi, but I put things in "Transformers scale" which is based mostly on the bot modes, not the real world vehicles. I find that old G1 bot mode scale chart to be a pretty good reference for what the show characters were supposed to be in relation to one another.

If the "Deluxe scale" is your average height character, that is what I want for most of the Autobots.

I prefer my Seekers and the majority of the Decepticons really, to be voyagers. Leaders, like Prime, should also be voyagers.

I like my mini-bots to be mini. I thought the scout class (ie Windcharger) was perfect, but the larger legends that have been coming out lately work pretty well too (Cosmos). I'm still pissed that iGear screwed this up so royally.

For Combiners, I like Deluxe limbs, with voyager Leaders/torsos. Devastator is kind of his own thing, as is Predaking, since he was originally made of larger figures. But, I prefer bigger rather than smaller if given the choice. I prefer the individual gestalts to be about the same as one another, however, which is why the Warbotron stuff pisses me off so much.

Dinobots should be at least voyagers IMO, ultra is OK too ... the current crop of 3P Dinobots has been working perfectly for my CHUG collection.

I get that Metroplex doesn't exactly "scale", and I accept that some of the truly larger characters need compromise. I get enough crap for a 3' figure, a playset character that would take up a garage bay would not pass the home planning committee.

My rule of thumb is to compare characters.
"Character A should be larger/smaller/about the same as Character B".
If that is true, within reason, I'm happy.
If a character that should be a large deluxe or voyager, ends up as a small deluxe (Trailbreaker, classics seekers, FoC Shockwave) I'm less happy and look for alternatives.

That sounds about right to me, too. I'm not too hung up on scale, but I refuse to accept the old legends-class Trypticon as 'my' Trypticon.

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:That sounds about right to me, too. I'm not too hung up on scale, but I refuse to accept the old legends-class Trypticon as 'my' Trypticon.

I lol'd. Still, I tracked down a complete G1 Trypticon to fill that slot until something better comes along. He looks pretty good.

zero importance to me.With characters like metroplex, trypticon, Fortress Maximus, Omega Supreme, and not to mention Unicron/Primus scale is utterly impossible to achieve. I just get what I like and if happens to be the wrong size so be it.
I also feel that when discussing scale we really cant differentiate between hastak and 3rd party as they equally complement one another from animated to MP to classics and so on.
I mean how many of us have 3rd party figures mixed in with our chug or MP's?

Mkall wrote:

RK_Striker_JK_5 wrote:That sounds about right to me, too. I'm not too hung up on scale, but I refuse to accept the old legends-class Trypticon as 'my' Trypticon.

I lol'd. Still, I tracked down a complete G1 Trypticon to fill that slot until something better comes along. He looks pretty good.

Yeah, G1 Tryps would look good until we get a new version.

alternator77 wrote: zero importance to me.

Ditto.

A noisy minority or maybe JUST a single noisy poster.

my personal preference for scale isn't based on any continuity or media representation in particular, but takes them all into account. In most cases there are a lot of bots that are more of less the same size, then some bigger guys and some smaller guys, and then a few massive ones. I'm generally good with the toys sticking with that.

I prefer my minibots to be Legends/Legion size, but only because I've no desire to buy most of them all over again. Maketoys Swerve and Gears are probably as big as I'd like, although I make exceptions for Bumblebee, being as he's a more prominent character, the small Deluxe Classics one is okay. I like my leaders to be close to Voyager size, maybe a tad bigger. Protector, Maniaking Classics Megatron and Prime are fine there. Combiner limbs being between Scout and Deluxe size is good for me, as the toys were much smaller than the individual bots, and even at that scale a gestalt with a Voyager-ish torso is still nice and imposing next to a standard sized character. Powerhouses like the Dinobots (especially Grimlock) are fine being Voyager or a little larger. Hexatron is maybe a bit large for my personal canon in robot mode, but it definitely sells him as being a serious threat, so I'm not too worried about it (besides he's a lovely toy!).

so pretty much, the Classics sort of scale is fine by me. I go predominantly by robot mode.

I’ve always been a cartoon scale guy, caring more about robot mode scale over vehicle. I always hated the vintage toy scale because it was designed around budget constraints and child playability, two things that mean nothing to me. The cartoon scale is more well-rounded, and represents a cast of characters who’s various sizes complement each other. I always said the cartoon was far from perfect, but it was drawn to correct all the inconsistencies between the hodge podge of different Japanese lines the Seasons 1 and 2 cast was created from. However, there are a few things I don’t care about in the cartoon scale that I can live without…

Mini-bots – I don’t like them up to Prime’s knees like a lot of people seem to like. I prefer them about up to Prime’s stomach in height. Scout class Windcharger is perfect scale. Igear Cosmos was also perfect. Igear Brawn and Gears were a bit too big, but their Rager and Spray were way too small.

Seekers – I like them to be the same height as autobot troops in deluxe scale. I know sometimes they were portrayed as being bigger, but other times they fought head to head with the Autobot cars and were the same height. It just looks better that way. I don’t care about the alt mode scale as much.

Faction leaders – I like Prime, Megatron. Rodimus, Galvatron, etc. to be voyager scale even if they were the same height as characters that are deluxe scale in the cartoon. A leader looks better when he is taller than his troops.

Cartoon scale kept some of the sanity in G1. I prefer the penny racers size over the Legends. Shockwave sticks out like a sore thumb but no way am I arguing with Shockwave. Btw, MP Grimlock scales well with the G1 figs perfectly.

Maketoys did a great job with Seaspray and Powerglide. They got not-Gears and not-Swerve a bit too big. I-Gear Huffer was right on the mark. But then, that's just my personal preferrence.

Rated X wrote:I’ve always been a cartoon scale guy, caring more about robot mode scale over vehicle. I always hated the vintage toy scale because it was designed around budget constraints and child playability, two things that mean nothing to me. The cartoon scale is more well-rounded, and represents a cast of characters who’s various sizes complement each other. I always said the cartoon was far from perfect, but it was drawn to correct all the inconsistencies between the hodge podge of different Japanese lines the Seasons 1 and 2 cast was created from. However, there are a few things I don’t care about in the cartoon scale that I can live without…

Mini-bots – I don’t like them up to Prime’s knees like a lot of people seem to like. I prefer them about up to Prime’s stomach in height. Scout class Windcharger is perfect scale. Igear Cosmos was also perfect. Igear Brawn and Gears were a bit too big, but their Rager and Spray were way too small.

Seekers – I like them to be the same height as autobot troops in deluxe scale. I know sometimes they were portrayed as being bigger, but other times they fought head to head with the Autobot cars and were the same height. It just looks better that way. I don’t care about the alt mode scale as much.

Faction leaders – I like Prime, Megatron. Rodimus, Galvatron, etc. to be voyager scale even if they were the same height as characters that are deluxe scale in the cartoon. A leader looks better when he is taller than his troops.

Reads like you create your own scale like the rest of us here do.

Examples in your reply here show you are following CHUG toy line scale and not G-1 cartoon scale.

Considering that Scales in the 80's cartoon were inconsistent from one moment to the next, I have a tendency to throw that whole scale chart out the window.

I usually go by what seems right. For instance people complain the MP Grimlock is out of scale with MP-10 Optimus when in fact in their alt modes, they seem about right when measuring a real life T-rex skeleton and a real life semi and trailer. I got animated swoop because again his alt mode fits with Grimlock's alt mode in scale comparison.

Now with this in mind, 3rd party looks like it's going to fit the bill with my other 3 dinobots. Looking at the scale that Fanstoys is making the dinobots in, I'm looking to pick up their version of sludge because the Brontosaur (Apatosaur) was bigger than a T-rex by volume. I'm probably going to go with Toyworld for Slag and Snarl because their respective alt modes we relatively close in size, but smaller than a T-rex.

Of course when it comes to decepticons, You can throw any rule of scale right out the window. In the '86 movie ALL the decepticon jump into Astrotrain when fleeing the battle of autobot city. Galvatron travels to Starscream's coronation inside Cyclonus. In a later episode, we see Ultra Magnus handling 2 constructicons like they are toys in his hands, yet somehow 6 of them combine into a bot that stands may times taller than Magnus?

When it comes to Decepticons, I say what ever looks about right.