The Energon Pub

which do you prefer, and why? hell, how are they different from each other, besides the powerlinking thing?

I don't have that many Micromasters, but Mini-cons are better. Of course, like your suggesting, they're basicly the same, but because Mini-cons can take advantage of modern toy technology, they are both more posable and have more intricate transformations in a lot of cases. Micro's are still cool though.

Gotta go Mini-cons. Alot more articulated.

Micromasters.

They may lack the articulation but they all looked pretty good, a number of mini-cons looked like melted pieces of plastic.

Plus Micromasters had bases, transports, etc etc. Enough to build their own little cities.

They also weren't some "gotta catch 'em all" marketing campaign.

Duke of Luns wrote:I don't have that many Micromasters, but Mini-cons are better. Of course, like your suggesting, they're basicly the same, but because Mini-cons can take advantage of modern toy technology, they are both more posable and have more intricate transformations in a lot of cases. Micro's are still cool though.

Yea they definetly benefit to new toy tech. But when I was a young kid I use to love the Micromasters. My favorites were the ones who could link up or tow something, like the Air Craft Carrier.

So for nostalgia reasons...I'm going for Micromasters as my fav.

Micros for me too. I agree that Minicons have the advantage of the modern technology and (usually) superior articulation, but I always think that a good aesthetics should always come before flashy (or otherwise) gimmicks, and while there were some excellent looking Minicons (Land Military, Air Military and Street Speed Teams particularly come to mind), many of the gimmicky ones (like the combiners) meant the actual figures really suffered as a result (Energon Grindor, anyone?).

The Micros may have generally been more simplistic, but they still had respectable articulation for the time, and almost all looked great in both modes. And as Burn said, the bases and vehicles made them even better; with enough floor space you could use them to build a massive city for them all to race around. I'd love to actually see upgraded versions of the Micros, with better articulation and without all the obstructive gimmicks, but frankly, I'm pretty happy with them all as is.

Micromasters were the center of the line at one point. They has bases and combination gimmicks that Minicons don't.

But Mini-cons have a betetr interaction with bigger bots (at least in Energon and Armada). They didn't take over the franchise either, so it wasn't like there were ONLY Minicons around. And, while most Minicons are different from one another, micromasters all had pretty much the same transformation. Minicons also are pretty prominent on TV and if I were into the Japanese TF cartoons, that would be a plus for me.

So, which wins?

World's Smallest Transformers, duh! Yeah, still.

Gauntlet101010 wrote:
So, which wins?

World's Smallest Transformers, duh! Yeah, still.

LOL! best post of the day!

Gauntlet101010 wrote:But Mini-cons have a betetr interaction with bigger bots (at least in Energon and Armada).

Yeah but look at how many figures ended up sucking because articulation or whatever was limited because of the mini-con gimmick.

Micromasters didn't screw up other bots.

Burn wrote:

Gauntlet101010 wrote:But Mini-cons have a betetr interaction with bigger bots (at least in Energon and Armada).

Yeah but look at how many figures ended up sucking because articulation or whatever was limited because of the mini-con gimmick.

Micromasters didn't screw up other bots.

Ah, the on-topic part of my post ...

I don't think they're worse than any of the larger figures from that era, to be honest. You can blame the designers for sacrifising articulation for gimmicks throughout Energon and Armada.

And how many molds truly suffered anyhow? I mean, there's been plenty of minicons since Armada and Energon so picking on the combiners is kind of an unfair way to condem the line.

And the Micromasters kinda screwed up with their own combining gimmick .... after all, if you lose one the alt mode's pretty sucky. Half a plane .... what can you do with half of a plane? Or a boat?

Gauntlet101010 wrote:I don't think they're worse than any of the larger figures from that era, to be honest. You can blame the designers for sacrifising articulation for gimmicks throughout Energon and Armada.

And how many molds truly suffered anyhow?

Nearly all could have been improved if it wasn't for gimmicks.

Armada Starscream? That back pack could have folded down, but it was there for the mini-con gimmick and his sound pack.

I'd have to go through the whole list to refresh my mind but yes, I do feel the mini-con gimmick limited the potential of the bigger figures.

I mean, there's been plenty of minicons since Armada and Energon so picking on the combiners is kind of an unfair way to condem the line.

Yeah but it wasn't just the combiners, some of the Classics mini-cons were bloody awful because they transformed from a nice alt mode into ... blergh!

And the Micromasters kinda screwed up with their own combining gimmick .... after all, if you lose one the alt mode's pretty sucky.

Yeah but that can happen to any combiner group. Though the vehicle combiners were a bit silly really.

But you still can't top the Micromasters having their bases! If the Mini-cons had them then it'd be a different debate.

Really I like them both but if I had to pick, I'd say micromasters.

Burn wrote:And how many molds truly suffered anyhow?
Nearly all could have been improved if it wasn't for gimmicks.

Armada Starscream? That back pack could have folded down, but it was there for the mini-con gimmick and his sound pack.

I'd have to go through the whole list to refresh my mind but yes, I do feel the mini-con gimmick limited the potential of the bigger figures.

Well, amen to that! I have only one Armada figure: "Powerlinx" Hot Shot. And that's bacause I'm collecting guys that look like G1 Hot Rod. I guess you can lump Energon Unicron as an Armada bot too. He has the mold.

Although .... I was asking for how many individual *minicon* molds suffered, really ...

Yeah but it wasn't just the combiners, some of the Classics mini-cons were bloody awful because they transformed from a nice alt mode into ... blergh!

Well .... it's an aestetic you have to like, I guess. I didn't mind either mode. Of course I didn't actually GET any of those guys since my collection doesn't focus on small TFs. To each his own. There's a wide variety of figures and they all look very different. I like variety, so this appeals to me.

Yeah but that can happen to any combiner group. Though the vehicle combiners were a bit silly really.

But Minicon combiners (and most others) can still go from a bot to an alt. Not saying the gimmick is enough to condem the line, just that combiners in general suffer from flaws.

Except for Voltron. Because he is awsome.

But you still can't top the Micromasters having their bases! If the Mini-cons had them then it'd be a different debate.

Yes, this is true! I don't get how Armada could miss that. Although some bases ... I have Star Convoy and his base mode ..... will never happen in my collection. Ever.

Edit: Really, though, I favor Mini-cons because they're "famous". As a kid I would have wanted someone I knew from TV and there's been lots of "famous" Mini Cons to fill that role. With Micromasters, well ... I remember seeing the Hot Rod Patrol in a store when I was a kid and I said:

"Hot Rod Patrol? So ... where's hot rod? Really, if they're gonna make a bunch of small Transformers, why don't they make the ones I care about?" I didn't have the comic as a kid, so there was no help there either. For me, that why Mini Cons win: they have a TV shouw which I woulda appreaciated. Of course WSTF wins the most because that's EXACTLY the sort of thing I woulda loved to death as a kid if they were micromasters.

I do kind of like the micromaster toys they had some really cool base figures and other accesories that they could take advantage.