JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Designing in general is all about making compromises, between what you want, what looks good, and what's physically possible. Tons of articulation and other moving pieces for instance, is what one would want, but that would make the toy too complex and fragile.
I think that's an impossible to prove hypothetical - all we can really do at this point is comment and opine on the product we have, not the one that was never made.
Also, I'm not asking for
a ton of articulation on top of what we got - is a hip swivel really too much to ask for? He's the only mold that doesn't have one besides the Seekers (and that mold is a decade old). Between inhibited arm movement and lack of hip swivel, UM's dynamism really takes a hit. Alleviate just one of those issues and I doubt I'd be so adamant in my criticism.
But you're right, it's all about compromise. I think UM is a transformation-centric figure whose play value comes from alt-mode interactions and conversion, not necessarily robot action. And that's OK - but my priority is the robot mode, so predictably I'm a bit disappointed.
guarayakha wrote:I'm sure they'd have consider all possible options and it was all down to the problem of production costs.
I'd imagine that UltraMagnus was designed around a stricter budget while being able to keep the die-cast and rubber tyres, and StarSaber being given a tad more of that $$$ for being a special case.
I doubt they had a design out there and said "remove some moving pieces; production costs are too high." I'm more inclined to think the designer got a set of specs, such as "cab has to match MP-10," "alt mode must interact with the other cars," and a few other details, and this is the design they came up with. Star Saber
may have gotten more money, but I think Star Saber being a stand alone piece gave the designers the room to minimize the compromises this line demands.
Agamemnon wrote:Indeed, besides physics, money often factors in. If UM could have had much more articulation, but the cost was pushed up over $300 per unit, would that be worthwhile? Or is this compromise, with a cheaper price point, preferable?
I'm not saying that is what happened here, but I think it is at least as plausible as mistakes or laziness (though I am not accusing anyone of specifically calling the designers lazy.)
Personally, I like the price point (in fact I thought UM was going to be much, much more expensive.) And I am happy with the results. Isn't there always room for improvement? (Such as when an artist's piece of work is never "done...")
I doubt a waste swivel or greater arm articulation (or both) would have pushed the price point up by $100+. Besides, you had the first run of MP10 sell out at $250, and the second run sell out at $300. Changes in the Yen:Dollar conversion rate aside, a few extra bucks wouldn't have made a huge dent in sales. The line is fairly well established and predictable at this point.
Yes, there's always room for improvement. For example, I love Sideswipe, but you can see through his side, and his legs are hollow. For me, these are hidden well enough to be overlooked and accepted as a necessary compromise. Ultra Magnus' lack of waste just seems like an unnecessary compromise. That's just my two cents.
Ironhidensh wrote:Honestly, and I don't mean to offend here, but the complaints against ultra Magnus sound like nitpicking. Ever since the white repaint of MP-1 came out, we've been begging and begging for a true ultra Magnus. Well we finally got one. Hell, if you count the upcoming combined wars figure, we have two ultra Magnus' this year.
To me, Magnus is everything I've been waiting for and then some. Are there tiny things that could be better? Of course, but in the face of the sheer awesomeness of this figure, they aren't worth thinking about.
Great. I'm glad you (and others) feel that way.
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