The Energon Pub

I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

I wonder if the designer cared more about the alt mode then the whole toy

ZeroWolf wrote:

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

I wonder if the designer cared more about the alt mode then the whole toy

it's not a particularly stellar altmode either. Almost total lack of external paint. It's tiny, and it's lacking any landing gear.

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

I wonder if the designer cared more about the alt mode then the whole toy

it's not a particularly stellar altmode either. Almost total lack of external paint. It's tiny, and it's lacking any landing gear.

I never said they were a good designer another theory could be that budget limits changed and features had to be stripped and poor airarachnid got the brunt of it.

ZeroWolf wrote:

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

I wonder if the designer cared more about the alt mode then the whole toy

it's not a particularly stellar altmode either. Almost total lack of external paint. It's tiny, and it's lacking any landing gear.

I never said they were a good designer another theory could be that budget limits changed and features had to be stripped and poor airarachnid got the brunt of it.

I think a reduced budget is really evident when you look at how that line turned out. I think more figures probably have paint apps missing on the final product compared to the production samples shown in photos on the packaging than any other line in TF history. Also didn't they completely change the design team towards the end of the second year? hence the sudden departure into the beast hunters franchise.

MAYBE, Just maybe, Airachnid's design was one last 'F YOU' the designers managed to cram in because they were hurt by being removed from the brand.

MemphisR56 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

What puzzles me is how it ever made it out of the dark recesses of the designer's brain and onto his CAD program.

And I am surprized Takara went along with it.

Kinda tragic that Airachnid got released yet Breakdown "was not made to the same standards."


There was a definite drop in overall quality between First Editions and Prime proper -- they even cut out faction symbols for a while. Though Airachnid also had the trouble of her bot mode not really looking at all like it should transform, and on top of that the design team felt it absolutely necessary to give her a working-but-useless cockpit:

And they didn't even try to work in her "spider" mode.

It's a wonder the same line gave us gems like Wheeljack and the Vehicon...

The First Editions were initially meant to be Generations figures before Hasbro decided the show deserved its own toyline. Why they proceeded to rerelease the same characters twice, I'm still not entirely sure of, but that's where Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee came from conceptually.

That Bot wrote:The First Editions were initially meant to be Generations figures before Hasbro decided the show deserved its own toyline. Why they proceeded to rerelease the same characters twice, I'm still not entirely sure of, but that's where Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee came from conceptually.

What about Optimus, Bulkhead, Megatron, Vehicon and Cliffjumper?

Your guess is as good as mine.

That Bot wrote:Your guess is as good as mine.

I was just wondering why you only mentionned some of the first edition figures and not the others. Is it because there is only evidence for those 3?

Yes, because according to the wiki (which I admit is not citing its source and that's annoying), only those 3 were confirmed to be developed for the Generations line. My personal speculation is that when they decided to expand the Prime line, they developed the rest of what we know as the First Edition toys, before they chose to refocus with the RID and Cyberverse style lines. How the Prime toyline(s) evolved would actually be a good set of interview questions, if anybody has an opportunity for that.

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

It never made it to any shelves near me. Probably a good thing given it's awful reputation, as I would have bought one had I seen one. Only ever saw the legends version, which I think is fine (for a legends scale anyway).

Optimum Supreme wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

It never made it to any shelves near me. Probably a good thing given it's awful reputation, as I would have bought one had I seen one. Only ever saw the legends version, which I think is fine (for a legends scale anyway).

The legion version is perfetly fine for what it is. People were hoping that could be upscaled along with other legions like Bumblebee and Twinstrike. I dont know how that would have turned out though.

william-james88 wrote:

Optimum Supreme wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I think everyone wonders how airarachnid made it to shelves.

It never made it to any shelves near me. Probably a good thing given it's awful reputation, as I would have bought one had I seen one. Only ever saw the legends version, which I think is fine (for a legends scale anyway).

The legion version is perfetly fine for what it is. People were hoping that could be upscaled along with other legions like Bumblebee and Twinstrike. I dont know how that would have turned out though.

I own the Legion and Deluxe, and lemme tell you. Even just a straight-up upscaling would make it the superior toy.

Airachnid is a dismal piece of crap. There are other words I could use to describe it, but I don't think they're allowed on the boards.

Legion Airachnid is better than Deluxe Airachnid, and that's just sad.

That Bot wrote:The First Editions were initially meant to be Generations figures before Hasbro decided the show deserved its own toyline. Why they proceeded to rerelease the same characters twice, I'm still not entirely sure of, but that's where Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee came from conceptually.

Yeah, if memory serves, they were actually in the Generations listing for a while, and it got everyone excited for G1 Arcee...


I'm assuming they remade the same characters because Hasbro's standards fell at that time. 2011/Dark of the Moon saw a downward shift in quality for one reason or another, so instead of simply repainting the FEs they had to make new molds.

Noideaforaname wrote:

That Bot wrote:The First Editions were initially meant to be Generations figures before Hasbro decided the show deserved its own toyline. Why they proceeded to rerelease the same characters twice, I'm still not entirely sure of, but that's where Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee came from conceptually.

Yeah, if memory serves, they were actually in the Generations listing for a while, and it got everyone excited for G1 Arcee...


I'm assuming they remade the same characters because Hasbro's standards fell at that time. 2011/Dark of the Moon saw a downward shift in quality for one reason or another, so instead of simply repainting the FEs they had to make new molds.

Whats interesting is that they did release a First Edition mold as part of the Generations line with Cliffjumper:

That Bot wrote:Legion Airachnid is better than Deluxe Airachnid, and that's just sad.

Especially since the Legion version isn't particularly good itself. It can't even hold its own weapon.

I just got the infamous AoE 1st Ed Optimus mold via Platinum Silver Knight Optimus Prime. I really don't think that toy should be on the list. Sure, it's a super shellformer, but you have to take it for what it is. He's big, imposing, have great colors, is fun to transform, and his shell tuck away pretty neatly. I don't regret buying him at all.

(In truck mode, at the feet of another hated Optimus.)

-Kanrabat- wrote:is fun to transform

I've heard differently. One of the chief complaints involves the difficulty of stuffing away his torso, as I recall.

That Bot wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:is fun to transform

I've heard differently. One of the chief complaints involves the difficulty of stuffing away his torso, as I recall.

They are doing it wrong. I transformed it without even glancing at the instructions and it's pretty easy to figure out. The arms fold back and the truck's side panels plug into the holes at the shoulders, where the arms were pegged before. Once that step is done, the torso is in the perfect position. Honestly, I like it as much as the full premium Takara redux. Seriously! It's different and it just work. I would have never got the regular 1st Ed. But the Silver Knight is PERFECT. He's his own character and anyone who love big Optimusses should have one in their collection.

william-james88 wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:

That Bot wrote:The First Editions were initially meant to be Generations figures before Hasbro decided the show deserved its own toyline. Why they proceeded to rerelease the same characters twice, I'm still not entirely sure of, but that's where Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee came from conceptually.

Yeah, if memory serves, they were actually in the Generations listing for a while, and it got everyone excited for G1 Arcee...


I'm assuming they remade the same characters because Hasbro's standards fell at that time. 2011/Dark of the Moon saw a downward shift in quality for one reason or another, so instead of simply repainting the FEs they had to make new molds.

Whats interesting is that they did release a First Edition mold as part of the Generations line with Cliffjumper:

Wasn't that part of that weird "GDO" line that was supposed to be for (non-Japan) Asia, but later wound up as TRU exclusive in the west?

Are we really still discussing how horrible some toys are? Primus.