Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Now you get waht is basically a botcon set for $100.

Pete Sinclair has adamantly objected to the notion of comparing the two TR Collection Packs to the BotCon boxed sets, on account of the BotCon sets at least adhering to a set theme, whereas the two TR sets just seem to lack any real theme.

Right, because their sets are always totally coherent and unified in theme

"Multiversal criminals"? "Axiom Nexus?"

Sabrblade wrote:"Multiversal criminals"? "Axiom Nexus?"

I too can write fan fiction explaining either TR set and so can you Neither of us need to though, this pic from Hasbro is all we need to know that these toys were together once in one way or another, if anyone remotely cares.

It's a shame they didn't think to add a little pack-in comic (ala the Unicron Trilogy) which "explained" the set. It wouldn't have to be a grand work of art, just a little mini-comic that ended with "How does this escapade end? You decide!" or something.

I miss those comic/catalogue hybrids. They were fun.

Eh, the fiction does matter to some extent. Shattered Glass is cool as a concept, but the stories around it solidify my want for the BotCon SG toys -- likewise, if the Velocitron boxset had some decent fiction beyond the boxart saying "this happened", with these characters looking like this and teaming up in some little adventure; giving basic but identifiable personality to Fastclash and Quickswitch, I would likely find myself wanting the boxset a lot more. As is, it's just one or two characters I like packed in with a few I have zero care for that increase the price far beyond what I'd like to pay for said characters I like. Fiction matters.

Sorry guys, no offense to the fans of the fiction. You are all great people. But, God forbid a toy company give children the tools they need, to be creative, use their imagination, tell their own stories, and grow to think for themselves, and become critical thinking problem solvers.
Spoon feeding is only necessary to about the age of 1 year.

End grumpy old man rant.

Cobotron wrote:Sorry guys, no offense to the fans of the fiction. You are all great people. But, God forbid a toy company give children the tools they need, to be creative, use their imagination, tell their own stories, and grow to think for themselves, and become critical thinking problem solvers.
Spoon feeding is only necessary to about the age of 1 year.

End grumpy old man rant.

Well, to be fair, I think these boxsets are more aimed towards collectors rather than children, necessarily. So if some sort of thing like with what the Legends line is doing, by adding a short story or mini-comic to go with the boxsets and solidify the character cohesion, would give people that wanted some more fiction to go with their figures, and allow those who didn't care a chance to recycle.

Not for nothing, Bot-Con drastically changed the look of their box sets after the Hasbro CW sets

Kurona wrote:As is, it's just one or two characters I like packed in with a few I have zero care for that increase the price far beyond what I'd like to pay for said characters I like.

I think this is what I dislike most about boxsets. There may be a couple of figures I want to own & a couple I could care less about. Even in cases where I have interest in all of the characters, I may own some other version of a few of them & feel like I'm just re buying things I already have. That Transformers the 1986 movie boxset & the Takara God Ginrai set are examples of this.

Relic0037 wrote:

Kurona wrote:As is, it's just one or two characters I like packed in with a few I have zero care for that increase the price far beyond what I'd like to pay for said characters I like.

I think this is what I dislike most about boxsets. There may be a couple of figures I want to own & a couple I could care less about. Even in cases where I have interest in all of the characters, I may own some other version of a few of them & feel like I'm just re buying things I already have. That Transformers the 1986 movie boxset & the Takara God Ginrai set are examples of this.

Pretty much. I feel boxsets should have some sort of connecting theme to them; an IDW MTMTE-themed boxset for example or a Transformers Armada boxset. That way the characters all have something to do with each other and if you want one character in that boxset, chances are you'd want most or all of the others to complete a collection.

Kurona wrote:Pretty much. I feel boxsets should have some sort of connecting theme to them; an IDW MTMTE-themed boxset for example or a Transformers Armada boxset. That way the characters all have something to do with each other and if you want one character in that boxset, chances are you'd want most or all of the others to complete a collection.

Or not. I really dont feel its a hard fast rule. Here is a set with a clear theme but few fans care for it and those that want it only want it for a few toys they werent able to get previously (like Arcee).



For me, that Chaos on Velocitron set had an awesome theme: Characters not in William-james88's collection yet.

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote:Pretty much. I feel boxsets should have some sort of connecting theme to them; an IDW MTMTE-themed boxset for example or a Transformers Armada boxset. That way the characters all have something to do with each other and if you want one character in that boxset, chances are you'd want most or all of the others to complete a collection.

Or not. I really dont feel its a hard fast rule. Here is a set with a clear theme but few fans care for it and those that want it only want it for a few toys they werent able to get previously (like Arcee).



For me, that Chaos on Velocitron set had an awesome theme: Characters not in William-james88's collection yet.

That's comparing apples to oranges. Like you said, these are characters that were previously released so it's not really comparable. Not only that but as a Platinum set, this was ridiculously expensive.

Kurona wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Kurona wrote: Not only that but as a Platinum set, this was ridiculously expensive.

Yes, it is apples to oranges but I couldnt resist. About the last part though, its less expensive than the TR sets at target right now. For less than $100 you get a leader a voyager and 3 deluxes.

unicron1200 wrote:

Cobotron wrote:Sorry guys, no offense to the fans of the fiction. You are all great people. But, God forbid a toy company give children the tools they need, to be creative, use their imagination, tell their own stories, and grow to think for themselves, and become critical thinking problem solvers.
Spoon feeding is only necessary to about the age of 1 year.

End grumpy old man rant.

Well, to be fair, I think these boxsets are more aimed towards collectors rather than children, necessarily. So if some sort of thing like with what the Legends line is doing, by adding a short story or mini-comic to go with the boxsets and solidify the character cohesion, would give people that wanted some more fiction to go with their figures, and allow those who didn't care a chance to recycle.

All we get these days is a short blurb on the back of the packaging (unless they're in the comics) -- whatever happened to the good ol' tech specs?Thankfully, there's also tfwiki. You take a character like Pretender Roadblock -- he never had more than the commercial he appeared in for the Ultra Pretenders, and his tech specs. But thankfully, with a face like that, the imagination can run wild.....

william-james88 wrote: I really dont feel its a hard fast rule. Here is a set with a clear theme but few fans care for it and those that want it only want it for a few toys they werent able to get previously (like Arcee).



For me, that Chaos on Velocitron set had an awesome theme: Characters not in William-james88's collection yet.

I would have wanted that 1986 movie themed set if it came out a few years ago.. By the time it was released, Kup was the only one I didn't have.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:"Multiversal criminals"? "Axiom Nexus?"

I too can write fan fiction explaining either TR set and so can you

It's no more "fan fiction" than any of the other stuff we get these days from Hasbro Studios or IDW.

william-james88 wrote:Neither of us need to though, this pic from Hasbro is all we need to know that these toys were together once in one way or another, if anyone remotely cares.

All the artwork really tells is "This happened." But to a lot of people, that isn't enough. Simply saying "This happened" leads people to ask "What happened?"

The little on-package blurb and the short toy bios provide a little context for each set, but only the bare minimum. Some people are still irked that none of the Titan Masters in each set beside Rodimus and Thunderwing have their own names/identities, for instance.

Cobotron wrote:Sorry guys, no offense to the fans of the fiction. You are all great people. But, God forbid a toy company give children the tools they need, to be creative, use their imagination, tell their own stories, and grow to think for themselves, and become critical thinking problem solvers.
Spoon feeding is only necessary to about the age of 1 year.

End grumpy old man rant.

Would you feel the same if the Generation 1 toyline never had its toy bios, Marvel comic, and Sunbow cartoon & movie? Those factors played a huge role in the Transformers line's lasting success.

I mean, would people really be as interested in the Nautica figure if it wasn't for her comic depiction? Why, said comic depiction being so beloved is a big part her even getting a toy in the first place, since she's a fiction-original character.

I was on 4chan's /toy/ talking about how G1 Doublecross is superior to TR Twinferno when someone posted this...



I think I loss it!

-Kanrabat- wrote:I was on 4chan's /toy/ talking about how G1 Doublecross is superior to TR Twinferno when someone posted this...

TF Twinferno LOSS.jpg

I think I loss it!

Loss is a classic.

Sabrblade wrote:Would you feel the same if the Generation 1 toyline never had its toy bios, Marvel comic, and Sunbow cartoon & movie? Those factors played a huge role in the Transformers line's lasting success.

Well. Yes. The G1 bios were all I needed as a kid as a spring board for my imagination. Just a little push with a name and a little back story, and the rest was up to me. I didn't like the cartoon as a kid so I found my own fun and stories. I just never really bothered with the comics. I guess I was content to play in my room and create the world myself.

Sabrblade wrote:I mean, would people really be as interested in the Nautica figure if it wasn't for her comic depiction?

I can't answer for all the people nor would I attempt to, but personally, Nautica being a female character is enough to catch my interest. All I need is "female scientist/engineer" and I can take it from there. I'm always ready to add in another female action hero to diversify my ranks.

But I don't collect TFs to collect the characters from my favorite fictions. I collect them because I think they are neat, well designed toys with a cool gimmick I don't get tired of. And, they fuel my imagination. That's just my schtick. But I agree with what you said about how the fiction plays a huge role in the Transformers line's lasting success. I'm glad it's there to satisfy those fans and ensnare more where it can.

But to bring it back around to the topic at hand, Titans Return is a great example. It saddens me every time I hear things like, "Insert any character that wasn't a Headmaster here - was never a Headmaster in the fiction, so that's just dumb!". It's a really fun gimmick that offers even more play options on top of a toy that already has a really fun play pattern. Why miss out on all that fun? If you can just put a little imagination on it, it opens up a whole new avenue for exciting new stories about our favorite robot sci-fi action heros. I fear when fans have to adhere so steadfast to the fiction, they may be missing something super cool. But it's all up to each individual how they ingest the franchise. It's pretty darn tasty any way you slice it.

Sabrblade wrote:I mean, would people really be as interested in the Nautica figure if it wasn't for her comic depiction?

Considering I don't read comics and never heard of her before seeing the set, I think it's a yes.

I also have to admit some other random redeco may not have worked, but fembots are so rare, that yes, I was interested despite knowing nothing about her.

Cobotron wrote:But I don't collect TFs to collect the characters from my favorite fictions. I collect them because I think they are neat, well designed toys with a cool gimmick I don't get tired of. And, they fuel my imagination. That's just my schtick.

Exactly the same here.
I don't care the comics, neither the G1 cartoon that I don't remember. I get a TF when it looks great and/or fun.
(and I already said it several times : TR line bring back all the fun which was lost after Cybertron/GF)

I said, would people be AS interested in her, not simply interested at all.

Sabrblade wrote:I said, would people be AS interested in her, not simply interested at all.

I said I don't want/like to answer for the entire fandom, but from my observations and what I've learned about the fandom in my short time being active in it, I would answer, NO. No they would not.

Kurona, you're a Nautica super fan. What say you?

Yeah, from what I've seen, Sabr's completely right -- Nautica has immense appeal due to not just being a popular character, but an IDW-original character; of which aside from Drift we pretty much never get represented in official toy form. I remember when she was revealed people were going crazy over her for those exact reasons, myself included. A lot of people are into Transformers figure collecting - most especially Generations - because they want representations of the characters they love, and Nautica's no exception. If she was just some random new character, people might be drawn to her; but nowhere near to the extent people are drawn to her in this reality.

Shattered Glass Megatron is quite Great using Sky Shadow's Mold



It just need some few molds

-Kanrabat- wrote:I was on 4chan's /toy/ talking about how G1 Doublecross is superior to TR Twinferno when someone posted this...

TF Twinferno LOSS.jpg

I think I loss it!

Y'ALL NEED WHITE LEO

Has anyone else seen a restock of wave one and two stuff at Walmart and Target