The Energon Pub

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The thing with Wheelie though is he is often the same size as Spike and/or Daniel in their exo-suits. I mean what could they even charge for an MP that small on his own? That's why I think it would make sense for him to be paired up with someone bigger, as the regular human figures were.

Why cant we then simply use Legends Wheelie as a stand in? Sounds like the best MP stand in we ever had due to scale and accurate likness of both modes, making an MP Wheelie down the list in terms of priorities.

william-james88 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The thing with Wheelie though is he is often the same size as Spike and/or Daniel in their exo-suits. I mean what could they even charge for an MP that small on his own? That's why I think it would make sense for him to be paired up with someone bigger, as the regular human figures were.

Why cant we then simply use Legends Wheelie as a stand in? Sounds like the best MP stand in we ever had due to scale and accurate likness of both modes, making an MP Wheelie down the list in terms of priorities.

Indeed. When it comes to Movie characters for the MP line, I wouldn't be surprised if the general consensus puts Wheelie at the bottom, under Wreck-Gar..

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The thing with Wheelie though is he is often the same size as Spike and/or Daniel in their exo-suits. I mean what could they even charge for an MP that small on his own? That's why I think it would make sense for him to be paired up with someone bigger, as the regular human figures were.

Why cant we then simply use Legends Wheelie as a stand in? Sounds like the best MP stand in we ever had due to scale and accurate likness of both modes, making an MP Wheelie down the list in terms of priorities.

Indeed. When it comes to Movie characters for the MP line, I wouldn't be surprised if the general consensus puts Wheelie at the bottom, under Wreck-Gar..

By the way, Allnewsuperrobot, I really like your avatar pic.

william-james88 wrote:By the way, Allnewsuperrobot, I really like your avatar pic.

Thanks and likewise! TM Megatron was my favourite design in Beast Wars after all.
I do have a fondness for Iguanus. Although he never appeared in the show, he was the second BW figure I got after the Gator Megatron & Bat Primal two pack. Loved the headsculpt (in contrast to Gator Megs) and so I even started to write/draw fanfic and stuff around him.
I think Transformers, more than most other media, can endear you with a visual without a word of dialogue.

Anyone notice in the sketch it looks like the chairs fold out into platforms in repair mode? Looks like they’re metal so the magnet feet will probably stick to them. Also love how the hip skirt on the robot sketch used to look exactly like megatron’s but then some one invented a better way to do hip skirts. Looks like we’ll have to wait for a mp Megatron 3.0 to get a proper match!

I thought MP-36 was The Definitive Megatron? In terms of show accuracy also??

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I thought MP-36 was The Definitive Megatron? In terms of show accuracy also??

I think MP-44 is proof that nothing is ever actually definitive.

Cobotron wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I thought MP-36 was The Definitive Megatron? In terms of show accuracy also??

I think MP-44 is proof that nothing is ever actually definitive.

That is more telling of a problem within Transformers than proof of anything else

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Cobotron wrote:

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:I thought MP-36 was The Definitive Megatron? In terms of show accuracy also??

I think MP-44 is proof that nothing is ever actually definitive.

That is more telling of a problem within Transformers than proof of anything else

Problem? What problem?

The Prime fetish.

Most media has that 'one' character in an ensemble series that is typically the most marketable, for whatever reason. Ryu (SF), Scorpion(MK), Wolverine(X-Men), Iron-Man (Avengers), Batman (DC, in general) etc etc They normally aren't the main character, just the popular one. Which through confirmation bias, is the face behind the most merch. Prime is That character in Transformers.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:The Prime fetish.

Most media has that 'one' character in an ensemble series that is typically the most marketable, for whatever reason. Ryu (SF), Scorpion(MK), Wolverine(X-Men), Iron-Man (Avengers), Batman (DC, in general) etc etc They normally aren't the main character, just the popular one. Which through confirmation bias, is the face behind the most merch. Prime is That character in Transformers.

Why is that a problem, though? The character that pays the bills are always going to be the ones that are front and center and as long as people keep buying them companies will keep pushing them. That says a lot more about fans than anything.

Emerje

The problem is the oversaturation across all the lines. Prime isn't the only popular character within Transformers. Just the one Takara fixates on the most (and in recent times Movie Bumblebee). For the people that love the character it's fine I guess, but there is next to zero growth or originality to him anymore. Barring Optimus Primal, Optimus Prime has been set in stone as a variation of a red truck (of some description) since the 80's. Starscream also shares in that issue too I suppose. Couple that with his sheer abundance and the problem lies in a dated core to the series.

Mickey Mouse has always been a mouse.

My point was, Transformers is a series built on redefining itself. To say one specific version or toy is the definitive version is only up to the beholder.
Red Freightliner defined G1 Prime. A gorilla defined Beast Wars Prime. Cool weird space fire truck defined Cybertron Prime. A red train engine defined Transformers GO! Prime. And there will be new definitions as long as fans have money to spend.

Is Prime in a truck rut at the moment? Maybe.
Would I personally like to see Prime transform into other things? SURE! Why not?

MP-44 may be the newest "definitive" G1 cartoon accurate version of the character. Or MP-36 for Megatron, for that matter. But you can bet there will be more attempts to "get it right".

AllNew, I ask you this, is Masterpiece Optimus Primal your definitive Primal?

There is a reason why they keep re-releasing the same popular characters over and over. To sell toys.

Cobotron nailed it on the head and I've recently come to the same conclusion. They are going to keep on keeping on as long as the toys sell. The options are pretty straight forward though once a "definitive" figure has been released; don't buy any more figures, buy additional figures, or sell old figures and "upgrade".

When it comes to Masterpiece, MP10 is my stop point, until something I deem better comes along. MP44 looks like a marvelous bit of engineering and a part of me feels like I'm missing out, but I only have so much time, money and shelf space.

Characters getting remade, re-imagined and re-released is just part of this franchise. Every iteration of Transformers will have their time to shine with Beast Wars likely to get theirs soon. If there's one thing us G1 kiddies can say for sure, "nostalgia is one helluva drug!"

Cobotron wrote:My point was, Transformers is a series built on redefining itself.

Which is surely counter-intuitive to Prime himself?

Cobotron wrote:Is Prime in a truck rut at the moment? Maybe.
Would I personally like to see Prime transform into other things? SURE! Why not?

This is what I'm saying. The idea seems to be that the "definitive" look/version of Optimus Prime in 2019 is his design from a cartoon from 1984.
He is not just 'a truck in a rut at the moment', the character has been trapped in it for 35 years.

Cobotron wrote:AllNew, I ask you this, is Masterpiece Optimus Primal your definitive Primal?

No. Because of the electronics. He is very good, but the electronics and what that takes away from the articulation of the figure leave it lacking. Even at a minor, nit-picking level.

AllNewSuperRobot wrote:

Cobotron wrote:AllNew, I ask you this, is Masterpiece Optimus Primal your definitive Primal?

No. Because of the electronics. He is very good, but the electronics and what that takes away from the articulation of the figure leave it lacking. Even at a minor, nit-picking level.

Honestly, not the answer I was anticipating! But a good answer none the less.

For me, the original toy defined that character. I had the toy and fell in love with it and the idea of Beast Wars before I ever saw the show. which was disappointingly another example of the cartoon missing the mark on what I thought the character should look like. And despite it, I loved that show! But my definitive Optimus Primal is the original toy.

I just want to try to further enforce the notion that "definitive" is only in the eye of the beholder. The Transformers fandom and it's perception of Transformers is as diverse as Prime's many iterations.

Normally I don't invest in "hero" characters. The villains are my favourites and in just about everything, they have superior designs too. That said I did buy into both sides in Beast Wars. I had three of the four BW Primal's (I loathe Optimal Optimus). I liked Bat Primal (and Gator Megs). It would have been interesting for him to be depicted as something so physically weak.

As an aside, although they were never part of any show, I would love an MP twin pack of Bat Primal and Gator Megatron. They were the first of the line, so it would be a nice callback.

As far as 'definitives' go, I just wish Takara and Hasbro would at least try to embrace the entire line. How many Primes do the Blurr or Swoop fans have to sit through before they get their 'definitive' favourite??

I wonder why MP-28 Hot Rod (star of TFTM) and MP-25 Tracks (featured in a couple of episodes) didn't get the face gimmick, even though it's been the standard since MP-21 Bumblebee.

My best guess with Hot Rod would be because they couldn't accommodate the goggles ( ) and a face swap?

Tracks didn't want anybody messing with his face. Too vain!

I have mixed feelings on the face swap gimmick. On one hand I like the options, on the other hand once I pick a face (always boring static or mask) it never changes. So it's a fun option, but not something I look for.

I love the face swapping myself. While I do tend to keep a particular face for several months, I do switch them out for different poses.

Most of the time, I tend to stick with the default face that comes attached. The one exception was Shadow Panther. I keep him with the chrome "mutant mask" face and it suits his colour palette and overall aesthetic far better than the other Cheetor faces he comes with. Gives him a bit of visual distinction from Cheetor too. It will be interesting to see how the faces gimmick applies to MP Waspinator or Tarantulas, who don't have expressive facial features.

For my part, the most redundant are the alternate Beast Mode faces. I transform them once and they stay in Bot Mode on display.

Cobotron wrote:My best guess with Hot Rod would be because they couldn't accommodate the goggles ( ) and a face swap?

I figured one of his faces could have had the goggles. He's the star of TFTM it's kind of strange that the gimmick skipped over him.

Cobotron wrote:Tracks didn't want anybody messing with his face. Too vain!

Tracks probably gets the robot equivalent of Botox so he can't have facial expressions anyway.

Nah, just kidding, he's a natural mechanical beauty.




I really like the gimmick, especially on Megatron. And the head-swaps representing different designs/styles.

I envy the face-gimmick of the new Bluestreak, even though I'm already happy with the original.

Speaking of which, Ironhide and Ratchet have the same faces in the cartoon -- I wish Takara had done their gimmick like Inferno and Grapple where you can switch between them. That way we'd have a smiling Ironhide.

We wanted to let you know about 2 new Transformers Masterpiece figures, Streak and Bumblebee Version 2.0 from Takara Tomy! Both with be available exclusively at EB Game Canada.

The Canadian prices are:

$109.99 – TT Streak

$159.99 – TT BB

TT Masterpiece MP-18+ STREAK (Pre-Sell 2/8)
TT Masterpiece MP-45 Bumble Ver.2.0 (Pre-Sell 2/13)


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