The Energon Pub

-Kanrabat- wrote:

sol magnus wrote: I will catch heat for this, but he will never be a truck again.

YOU COWARD!

Meanwhile, I never dared to transform my MP-36 Megatron into a gun to this day.
﴾ᴗ ͟ʖᴗ﴿

I get nervous switching chests on MP-36. If the Fusion Cannon sticks, I just give up. I paid 200 dollars or whatever it was for that thing. Definitely not breaking it because some talking heads on a forum think "Transformers are meant to be transformed."

My 7 year old's Transformers are meant to be transformed. And sometimes I cringe at that.

Fwiw, I will probably never ever transform my MP-36 either. Not for fear of breakage, I know I can be gentle and careful, but to avoid the paint scrape issues. That particular figure is one I really don't care about the alt mode anyway, so no big deal. Soundwave is another one whose altmode doesn't matter to me, but I do like to transform everything at least once....just not MP-36.

I'll also probably never transform my MP-5 again either but mainly because I keep telling myself I'm just going to put him back in the box and try to sell him hahaha

Syclone wrote:I'll also probably never transform my MP-5 again either but mainly because I keep telling myself I'm just going to put him back in the box and try to sell him hahaha

I have MP-05 Gold. He was not so bad to transform from gun to bot (the way I received him) but it wasn't fun at all.

Recently, I transformed both MP-01 and MP-10 recently. I just can't believe I once found those hard to do before. Both have a very simple and straightforward transformations and are pretty fun to do. Hell, ROTF Leader Optimus is harder to do than them.

Soundwave, 1st Bee, Sideswipe, and Streak are also easy and fun to do.

Roadrage is not so fun because she have fiddly bits.

MPM Optimus and Bumblebee, I'll never transform again. Those are not fun to do at all and are full of fiddly and extremely frustrating bits.

I transform my MPs from time to time. In most cases for fun, sometimes because I want to re-experience the alt-mode, and sometimes out of principle (which turns out to be fun dashed with a sense of accomplishment if it's a very complicated transformation.) And it generally gets easier with each conversion. Seems like a shame to let all that engineering go to waste.

And Takara can simply hide Bombshell's purple in his legs like BadCube's version.

Cyberpath wrote:And Takara can simply hide Bombshell's purple in his legs like BadCube's version.

Given how Blackarachnia's Spider Mode turned out, don't count on it.

The part that bugs me is when people complain about how intricate MPs are. They are supposed to be. You're not handing over £100+ for a glorified CHUG. This is the Masterpiece Collection. Supposedly the best possible version of a given character that Takara have the ability to make. That is what MP-13 Soundwave is to a friend of mine. Getting from Altmode to Bot Mode should be more involved than a standard release. That level of design and engineering is what you are paying a premium for. If you don't like that aspect of this range, you'll probably be better off sticking with CHUG. They should all equate to MP-36 in terms of the final product.

Again for the premium we pay for this line, undue kibble hanging off the skid plate or the overall aesthetic not equally high from all sides, is NOT a Masterpiece and shouldn't be tolerated as such.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:And Takara can simply hide Bombshell's purple in his legs like BadCube's version.

Given how Blackarachnia's Spider Mode turned out, don't count on it.

The part that bugs me is when people complain about how intricate MPs are. They are supposed to be. You're not handing over £100+ for a glorified CHUG. This is the Masterpiece Collection. Supposedly the best possible version of a given character that Takara have the ability to make. That is what MP-13 Soundwave is to a friend of mine. Getting from Altmode to Bot Mode should be more involved than a standard release. That level of design and engineering is what you are paying a premium for. If you don't like that aspect of this range, you'll probably be better off sticking with CHUG. They should all equate to MP-36 in terms of the final product.

Again for the premium we pay for this line, undue kibble hanging off the skid plate or the overall aesthetic not equally high from all sides, is NOT a Masterpiece and shouldn't be tolerated as such.

Agreed 100%

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:And Takara can simply hide Bombshell's purple in his legs like BadCube's version.

Given how Blackarachnia's Spider Mode turned out, don't count on it.

What does it mean?

AllNewSuperRobot thinks the beast mode of BA is the worse part of the figure and how it looks. Though a better comparison would be more MP-48 with how the cartoony beast head is turned inside out for the more geometric robot mode shoulder.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:
The part that bugs me is when people complain about how intricate MPs are. They are supposed to be. You're not handing over £100+ for a glorified CHUG. This is the Masterpiece Collection. Supposedly the best possible version of a given character that Takara have the ability to make. That is what MP-13 Soundwave is to a friend of mine. Getting from Altmode to Bot Mode should be more involved than a standard release. That level of design and engineering is what you are paying a premium for. If you don't like that aspect of this range, you'll probably be better off sticking with CHUG. They should all equate to MP-36 in terms of the final product.

Fair enough, but honestly, people complain about all sorts of things that mystify me.

Again for the premium we pay for this line, undue kibble hanging off the skid plate or the overall aesthetic not equally high from all sides, is NOT a Masterpiece and shouldn't be tolerated as such.

Like so.

That's your opinion. If you (the royal you) could design a toy as *ahem* masterful *ahem* as a Masterpiece, without any kibble, then I would suggest you (the royal you) submit your design proposal to Takara, otherwise, you're just another crank with an entitled opinion. What you (the you you) 'tolerate' in a toy (at any price) is your business, not mine.

Complexity and overengineering doesn't necessarily make a "Masterpiece".
If the initial design is simple enough, we can have a "Masterpiece" that is accurate and great looking in all modes and be easy to transform.

Sorry to bring 3P again, but using the simple design of Dreamwave's Transformers War Within, Civil Warrior General Grant is one solid dude that transform almost as simple as a Gobots!
Then to be "high quality", and for the "premium feel", all diecast parts where it work, add nice paint, and make the toy feel good in hand. Grant was cheaper than 180$CAN shipped, yet he felt like MP-01 in hand.... and he posed better!

TlDr; A "true" Masterpiece must look great, must feel great, and must be fun to fiddle with.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Complexity and overengineering doesn't necessarily make a "Masterpiece".
If the initial design is simple enough, we can have a "Masterpiece" that is accurate and great looking in all modes and be easy to transform.

By the same token, I'd imagine people wouldn't be happy with a one-step Transformer that cost $100+
At the price point expectation would be for something not found with general lines.

-Kanrabat- wrote:TlDr; A "true" Masterpiece must look great, must feel great, and must be fun to fiddle with.

Ultimately, I'm not talking about some ideal, as yet unachieved, standard. Just that the overall quality for every figure be held to the same standard as the best of line. No cutting corners, "because they only need to look good from one side and/or in one mode" ala Bumblebee 2.0 or Blackarachnia. Not that every figure should look like a plastic flower ala MP Dinobot in mid-transformation, either. But by the end of the transformation they should exhibit a high level of finesse, as standard ala MP-13 or MP-38.

Not all MPs are made equal, yet as they all comprise this line, that shouldn't be the case.

Well, if a MP only require one step to transform in order to achieve the results, why not?

And obviously, when I say "good looking" I say from ALL sides. Only the underside of the car can the ugliness be forgiven.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Well, if a MP only require one step to transform in order to achieve the results, why not?

MP Rattrap being just an upscale of his original toy?
Seriously though, that would be walking a thin line. Veering into Masterpiece Actionmaster territory...

-Kanrabat- wrote:And obviously, when I say "good looking" I say from ALL sides. Only the underside of the car can the ugliness be forgiven.

Of course. The eventual MP Unicron Trilogy line would be nigh impossible without that

Armada and Energon would benefit greatly from a MP line. But Cybertron would be piss-easy to do. The original toys were screen accurate at 90-ish percent from the start.

I didn't think Armada and Energon on screen characters were that far from the toys either, just articulation is all they'd need to do. The toys wouldn't need to be complicated either

ZeroWolf wrote:I didn't think Armada and Energon on screen characters were that far from the toys either, just articulation is all they'd need to do. The toys wouldn't need to be complicated either

Yup. And by removing the intrusive Minicon gimmick, the bot and vehicles would be improved.

Toy-wise, just a general modernisation of design would do the trick really. Unlike G1, there isn't really an alternate aesthetic that UT would need to appease. It is just screen accuracy all the way. Yet as we've mentioned before, MP Energon toys would be a serious undertaking. Considering the dual-combining nature of nearly the entire line.

Ideally, I think I would be like to see a Masterpiece UT figure - ideally Demolisher or Hot Shot - within the next ten MPs.

You guys are absolutely right!

Day 132 of waiting for Transformers Armada Masterpiece news.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I didn't think Armada and Energon on screen characters were that far from the toys either, just articulation is all they'd need to do. The toys wouldn't need to be complicated either

Yup. And by removing the intrusive Minicon gimmick, the bot and vehicles would be improved.

I think it would actually be cooler for the bots to retain their minicons/key/combination gimmicks, but better articulated, balanced, and increased paintwork, with better engineering to make the bots follow this without sacrificing the gimmick

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I didn't think Armada and Energon on screen characters were that far from the toys either, just articulation is all they'd need to do. The toys wouldn't need to be complicated either

Yup. And by removing the intrusive Minicon gimmick, the bot and vehicles would be improved.

I think it would actually be cooler for the bots to retain their minicons/key/combination gimmicks, but better articulated, balanced, and increased paintwork, with better engineering to make the bots follow this without sacrificing the gimmick

When I said "removing the gimmick" it was mostly about the mechanism or the storage of the oversized thing. To have perfect bot modes, the "gimmick" could be done by hand or by partsforming.

As for the Energon duobots, it would require a very complex transformation in order to achieve good looking results. As long that nothing is fragile, I'd be okay with it.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I didn't think Armada and Energon on screen characters were that far from the toys either, just articulation is all they'd need to do. The toys wouldn't need to be complicated either

Yup. And by removing the intrusive Minicon gimmick, the bot and vehicles would be improved.

I think it would actually be cooler for the bots to retain their minicons/key/combination gimmicks, but better articulated, balanced, and increased paintwork, with better engineering to make the bots follow this without sacrificing the gimmick

When I said "removing the gimmick" it was mostly about the mechanism or the storage of the oversized thing. To have perfect bot modes, the "gimmick" could be done by hand or by partsforming.

As for the Energon duobots, it would require a very complex transformation in order to achieve good looking results. As long that nothing is fragile, I'd be okay with it.

I really think they could do it. All the gimmicks can be kept and updated for better aesthetic looks and function without removing said gimmick

I think they would need to test the water first, when it comes to duobots at MP level. I'm trying to think of someone G1 (other than Star Saber) and Car Robots Prime/Ultra Magnus is all that's coming to mind.

Well they could do MP Landcross or start simpler and do MP Battletrap

MP Battletrap or Flywheels could work. Even the combiner Cassettes? I highly doubt Landcross would even be considered outside of a fan poll.

I always forget the Dino cassettes, well, I mean I always forget their ability to combine.