The Energon Pub

FThis being a transformers forum im sure it has come up but i couldnt find the post to read hrough, i was just really wondering peoples views on transformations. What they like what the hate amd ultimately their fav/worst transformers to transform.

For me my fav i possible WFC Prime for a deluxe he is complex enough and quite fun and also looks badass with only a little Kibble.

Worst is possibly Energon Hot shot, very simple and blocky. Also his arms i think are kinda tiny.

I do like simple transformations, like 9 or 10 steps. As long as it doesn't come at the cost of blocky kibble. I think PRiD Vehicon is the perfect example of the combination of simplistic transformation and kibble free modes...both ways.

My favorite dude to transform is Cybertron Hot Shot. Simple and fun. The worst is probably Cybertron Megatron. I can't transform that thing for the life of me.

Cybertron Defense Hot Shot, I'm guessing you mean? Because, while the original Cybertron Hot Shot does come out looking quite good with the backpack-wing-spike-Rodimus-homage-things, his backpack is MASSIVE.

As for me, I like middling transformations as well, I'd say 10-12 steps is reasonable but not excessive. That said I don't mind complex transformations either! I quite enjoy them when they're done well, but if a transformation is hard just because it's hard to line things up, then it stops being enjoyable. Lookin' at you Rotf Leader Optimus, you and your blasted engine section transformation! I do love that mold otherwise though, haha.

For my favorite transformations, I'd have to say Rotf Breacher and Generations Warpath are very good and produce VERY good results in both modes. I've been messing with BH Wheeljack a lot the last few days, and I quite like his transformation, and I always liked Dead End too, but the addition of BH Jackie's wings looks quite nice.

Maxman wrote:For me my fav i possible WFC Prime for a deluxe he is complex enough and quite fun and also looks badass with only a little Kibble.

Personally I think there's TOO much going on for a deluxe and it's rather or less too specific on the order of transformation steps to be that enjoyable.

Worst is possibly Energon Hot shot, very simple and blocky. Also his arms i think are kinda tiny.

Mine's in storage right now, and in poor shape, but the Unicron trilogy was rather well known for it's simplistic transformations typically meant to accommodate some obtrusive gimmick. In this case it was the Superlink crap.

PrymeStriker wrote:My favorite dude to transform is Cybertron Hot Shot. Simple and fun.

No arguments here. I'm just annoyed that I tried to take both of mine and attempt repaint them...

The worst is probably Cybertron Megatron. I can't transform that thing for the life of me.

I'll grant there may be a few small things that are hard to figure out, but overall I still find him extremely simplistic. I just don't care for him since he has poor balance.

RAcast wrote:Cybertron Defense Hot Shot, I'm guessing you mean? Because, while the original Cybertron Hot Shot does come out looking quite good with the backpack-wing-spike-Rodimus-homage-things, his backpack is MASSIVE.

It sits more flush than CD Hot Shot's massive shoulders.

RAcast wrote:Cybertron Defense Hot Shot, I'm guessing you mean?

No. I'm talking about this:



Besides, CD Hot Shot is a lot blockier. I have troubles getting him into awesome poses.

I for one cannot stand 99% of the beastformers out there, mostly because their transforms are:

1 ) Stand figure up on hind legs
2 ) Tilt head forward / back, depending on figure
3 ) Stick tail in hand as "sword"

Or the like.

I also can''t stand most Shellformers.

What I DO like is figures that are chunkier than most movie figs, but not bricks that are basically a car standing on its rear fender with the doors out as arms. G1 Sideswipe is about as simple of those type as I can stand (and the identically transforming RID Go_bots, the ones the size of Hot Wheels in car mode).

Oh, and transforms that end up with the "robot" mode not looking like a robot at all - perfect example, G2 Staxx:
http://www.tfu.info/1995/Decepticon/Staxx/staxx.htm
He looks more like a Cybertronian phone booth with a head and arms.

Valandar wrote:What I DO like is figures that are chunkier than most movie figs, but not bricks that are basically a car standing on its rear fender with the doors out as arms. G1 Sideswipe is about as simple of those type as I can stand (and the identically transforming RID Go_bots, the ones the size of Hot Wheels in car mode).

Those would be the Spy Changers, and they're from the G2 line originally. Sideswipe had that transformation before it was cool!

Transforming is now easy for me. Why? because I learned the two basic thing: LINE THESE PANELS and THE PIN GO INTO THE HOLE. By following these two logical principles, the rest just flow.

My favorite type of transformation is the middle ground. Not to overly complex and long (Like ROTF Leader Optimus Prime or Deluxe Generation Cybertronian Optimus Prime) nor the too simplistic ones (Unfold in two and that's it).

My favorite molds to transforms are the one that transform without things that pop off or missiles that fly out.

So, favorite molds to transform:
Voyager Classic Inferno or Solar Storm Grappel.
Human alliance Jazz.
Masterpeice Optimus Prime, MP-10 version.
Energon Leader Megatron.
Masterpeice Starscream, first version.
2007 voyager Starscream (the only one that I disregard the missile problem)
Voyager Animated Bulkhead.
Animated deluxe Oilslick.
G1 Optimus Prime.
Marvel Xover Ironman, car.
Alternator Rodimus.

Well... too many to count, actually!

I generally have very little trouble transforming any given figure but my favourite are desk toys. I've been playing with Beast hunters Twinstrike for the past few days. Though thats not to say I won't pull over Planet X Genesis and play with him

My least favourite I'd have to say is a remnant of my childhood; RiD Ultra Magnus I could NEVER get him back into vehicle mode. I have gotten over this problem since re-buying the figure some months ago.

I don't want a toy where all I do is stand it on its back legs and it's "transformed". I enjoy a level of thought and detail that goes into changing them back and forth. This also gets me thinking about the level of thought that went into it's engineering/developement, which makes me appreciate it even more.

Transformation wise, for me:
Best: MP10. Intuitive, detailed and most importantly fun. Couldn't wait to get him out of the packaging
Worst: Classics Galvatron. What can I say that hasn't been?

I like transformations with clearly defined actions, without all sorts of floaty bits needing to be tucked in somewhere. Transformations should be challenging, but never frustrating. I really enjoy the transformations of MP-12 Sideswipe and MP-13 Soundwave, because I did not need the instructions at all: although there's a lot to do, their transformations are both very intuitive, and they both do not have any parts which seem to be deliberately complex. It's that almost deliberate and needless complexity which turns me off transformations in some of the Binaltechs / Alternators (especially the Ford Mustang mold).
I collect primarily G1 TF's, and their transformations are of course pretty easy most of the time: still, I can sometimes be pleasantly surprised by new G1 Transformers in my collection which have transformation sequences more interesting, unexpected or complex than I could have guessed at first glance.

I love transformations that are not so easy or hard to do, an example would be the recent Prime figures (not all of them though, for example RID Voyager Ultra Magnus), my favourite of that example would be Voyager Breakdown, both Voyager Bulkheads, etc, etc.

I do not like over simplify transformations, a recent one is FOC Grimlock.. didn't "play" with it that much

I don't enjoy overly complex transformations or parts/panels that don't line up without extensive fiddling. If they are, I put them in bot mode and pose on the shelf. I don't take them down and mess with them anymore. Examples include MP Megatron, WFC Prime, Alternators/Binaltech.

Figures I take off the shelf to play with often include FOC Soundwave and Blaster, Classics Prime, Generations Warpath, Universe Inferno, and Classics seekers.

I don't mind complex transformation but don't really like the transformation process that has parts get in the way. Generation Straxus (oops, Dakrmount I mean), WFC Prime, FE Arcee (kind of) all kind of fall in to this category although they are all awesome figures. Also don't like the panel lining thing such as ROTF leader Jetfire.

Most of the Classics/Universe 2.0/RTS I really enjoy transforming them.

My favorite toy to transform would be ROTF Soundwave, because I have about four or five different modes he can pull off. He also has decent poseability, and it's Soundwave.

My least favorite is ROTF Optimus Prime. That is a B-witch to convert.

It's almost easier to say what I don't like. Shellformers where the shell parts interfere with articulation or aesthetics. Partsformers where it wasn't necessary (ie splitting into multiple vehicles). Essential components of one mode which have no place to fit in another mode, or detach to become accessories. Designs which could easily have been so much better, but improvements were removed or never implemented in order to fit into a price point. Visible robot kibble in any non-robot mode (head and hands especially, but also feet). Designs where the altmode is very obviously just the robot doing yoga.

Robot modes with huge amounts of altmode kibble or oversized backpacks. Buttflaps, now that Fansproject Function X-1 has shown how to neatly turn them into chestplates without losing waist articulation. Beast mode kibble which doesn't neatly tuck away or display aesthetically. Quadruped transformations where the robot arms become the forelegs and robot legs become the hind legs on the same sides as the robot limbs, using the same articulation joints in both modes.

Gaping holes in any mode, including hollow components which are very obviously so. Transformations where the toy starts compact, spreads messily all over a table, and then collapses back down in a slightly different manner. Oversized faux parts. Arms which are just a weapon, tool, or leftover part of the altmode, and couldn't really be used as normal arms. Transformations requiring panel/parts massage.

What I don't mind: origamiforming, to a degree, as long as all the panels lock into place. Thematic faux parts, where a design of one part may look similar (but not slavishly identical) to another part. Uni-legs. Transformation steps or joints which exist purely to make the robot mode look better. Innovative quadruped transformations (BW Silverbolt comes to mind).

What I like: elegance - the minimum number of parts, joints, and moves to switch the components into position. Aesthetic robot modes - they don't have to be humanoid or even have strictly human proportions, but I do like them to be relatively clean, instead of looking like an animated junkpile. Built-in weapons - it's one less part to lose, and it just makes more sense for war machines. Pop-off/on ball joints. C-clips. Multiple modes done well. Clips, stops, ratchets, and tabs which help you to tell when a part should stop moving in a transformation even if it could physically move further.

What I would like to see: transforming heads and hands. Not just "cute little ear-wings pop out" or "a panel swings into place to hide the fingers", but actual transformations of heads and hands into parts of the altmode or to tuck away. The Leader, Masterpiece, Supreme, and Titan-classes should be able to accommodate this. And Headmasters don't count - they just had a panel swing into place to cover the face as it turned into backpack kibble. Not even Animated Shockwave did much better. Where's the Devastator head which splits up to store partly in Hook's torso and partly under the crane? The Superion head which forms Silverbolt's nosecone? The Metroplex head which slides into thirds and stores in his chest? The Trypticon dinosaur head which becomes... well, _anything_? Yeesh, I can think of a Punch/Counterpunch transforming head which only needs two parts, still has full balljoint capability, looks different in either mode (including different head colors and helmet shapes), and doesn't have the other face sticking out of its back.

Sometimes a transformation makes me say "wow, that's clever" and that's the best type. There's always something that's been done on other figures, like MP Sideswipe's hands swinging inside the hinged arm panel, but he has plenty of other new and interesting ideas.

I don't like shellformers.
I don't like parts that don't lock somewhere. Alternity Megatron has lots of options for his shoulder parts but it takes a long time to line them up symmetrically.
I don't like having to squash parts together (DotM deluxe dreadlock SUV chappie requires the car mode being CRUSHED together).

Best transformations:
Leader Starscream because everything is just so intuitive and perfect.
MP Hot Rod because it's insanely complex.
Classics voyager OP.
MP Soundwave.
MP Sideswipe.
Classics Inferno.

*Edit
I don't know about you but the first few steps in TFP RID Deluxe Ratchet were a NIGHTMARE to me.
Those who know him: know these hook-like pieces on the inside of his arm-pieces that hook behind corners on his cabin-pieces, I nearly broke these off when I tried to transform him first few times.

For those who plan to obtain above-mentioned figure: I recommend that you push the cabin-pieces upwards before pulling those pieces apart.

Other than that, the transformation isn't that bad, but my best transformer is PRID Vehicon

Red 50 wrote:*Edit
I don't know about you but the first few steps in TFP RID Deluxe Ratchet were a NIGHTMARE to me.
Those who know him: know these hook-like pieces on the inside of his arm-pieces that hook behind corners on his cabin-pieces, I nearly broke these off when I tried to transform him first few times.

For those who plan to obtain above-mentioned figure: I recommend that you push the cabin-pieces upwards before pulling those pieces apart.

Other than that, the transformation isn't that bad, but my best transformer is PRID Vehicon

I had a similar issue the first time transforming PRiD Knock Out. Once you figure it out it's never a problem again though.

the Prime line has had some damn good ones. RID Vehicon of course, but I'd also like to mention Cyberverse Cliffjumper. Great transformation for such a tiny figure.

craggy wrote:the Prime line has had some damn good ones. RID Vehicon of course, but I'd also like to mention Cyberverse Cliffjumper. Great transformation for such a tiny figure.

Not to mention articulation! He's EASILY best articulated Legends/Legion figure I'm aware of!