Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums

Posted: **Sat Apr 25, 2015 9:58 pm**

Sideswipe29 wrote:So let me get this straight. You wouldn't do a gallery of an older toy until it's relevant again because as you say it's an "older" gallery?

There's a lot of factors involved. Everything from relevancy, current workload, condition of vintage figures, trends in the comics, overall character's popularity, etc. I've been working on these galleries for 11 years. In the mid 2000s, I had a lot more freedom to do whatever galleries I wanted because there wasn't this massive onslaught of toys continuously coming out like there has been the past few years.

Older Transformers toys just don't get as much traffic as newer Transformers toys. I was bummed after I launched the galleries of Black Zarak and Grand Maximus a few years ago when I saw how poorly both galleries were performing initially. I thought those two galleries would generate all sorts of traffic due to the novelty and rarity of both items. While they are the end-all-be-all galleries of those two sets, they're just not good traffic generators. Black Zarak (July 2012) has 74,144 pageviews currently and Grand Maximus (October 2012) has 72,604 pageviews. By comparison, Evasion Mode Optimus Prime (which launched April 2014) has 249,116 pageviews.

I've owned every Hasbro Transformers toy (1984 to current) since 2007 and own a sizable portion of the European exclusives (only missing the Motorvators) and a very large collection of Takara exclusives and variants (minus a couple dozen Takara late G1 toys and and minus some regional variants prior to Henkei). If I had it my way, I'd do nothing but work on old Transformers galleries ... they're fun to do and a lot less work than the modern toys are due to their lack of poseability. But "work" comes first ... I have to work on what will generate traffic first, and then work fill in the gaps as time and relevancy allows.

Sideswipe29 wrote:So it's not so much that you couldn't do a gallery for the Protectobots because you always could have but you wanted to wait until they were relevant again so they could be a "new"gallery? So with that logic, why didn't you wait for all older G1 characters to become relevant and then make "new" galleries for them? Why have you bothered to hold out on a protectobot gallery and not other G1 stuff?

As I mentioned above, I've been working on the galleries for 11 years now. Due to less products being released prior to the live action movies, I used to have more time to work on older galleries. Since the movies, it's just been a matter of me finding time to work on older products which I usually try to squeeze in when those characters become relevant again.

Sometimes the relevancy is "self-created" such as in late 2013 when I had 4 complete G1 Reflectors and a really nice modern KO (the one with the new G1 box) to sell in the Seibertron.com Store on eBay. I took that time to do Reflector because I wanted to generate a little bit of interest in him first prior to posting those items for sale in the Seibertron.com Store and because I was excited about having 4 complete ones to sell.

Last summer, I photographed the G1 Powermasters after having two points of relevancy: comparison photos of Generations Doubledealer with vintage G1 Doubledealer and doing the gallery of Fire Guts God Ginrai because of BotCon Ginrai which came out last summer.

Sideswipe29 wrote:Sorry for all the questions. And I in no way mean to criticize you because your galleries are always incredible and it's smart to wait until characters are relevant again. I'm just trying to figure out why you waited to do the protectobots and not wait on others.

These are great questions ... happy to answer any of them. Bottom line is this: there's no black and white rule that I follow. I focus on new/current products first because that is what's most relevant and will generate the most traffic. I work on vintage and other older Transformers products that haven't been photographed as time allows. I generally try to do older figures that are relevant first and then work my way through the ones I want to as time allows.

The same thing applies to when I don't have time to photograph a toy the first time it is released. I'll usually wait until a repaint comes out to get it the 2nd time around and launch both of those galleries at the same time. Million Publishing Artfire is a good example. I really need to do his gallery, but if I'm going to do his gallery at this point, I should do United Grapple, GDO Hot Spot, and 2014 Protectobot Hot Spot's galleries. It's easier to do all of a mold's galleries at one time then it is to do them one-at-a-time.

Hope this all makes sense. If you have more questions, please let me know.

Posted: **Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:25 pm**

how about a G 1 combiners only gallery?
since combiners are currently relevant

cant blame a guy for asking

Posted: **Sat Apr 25, 2015 10:30 pm**

steve2275 wrote:how about a G 1 combiners only gallery?
since combiners are currently relevant

Seibertron.com's galleries are all character driven so a gallery just to do a gallery of Combiners all together isn't something that I would work on: http://www.seibertron.com/transformers- ... eries/new/

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2015 6:55 am**

Seibertron wrote:
Cyberpath wrote:Great gallery. Defensor was my first combiner.

They look pristine with the scrub-down and new stickers. The joints seem tight, too. Is the process very time-consuming?

btw, Streetwise's legs actually extend and his chest is supposed to tab into the diecast like this:

The "legs" are not supposed to be extended in robot mode. The leg extension is for when he's an arm. I like having the hood of the vehicle folded up like that because it looks more like a robot chest instead of the front half of a car on a robot's chest.

These are of course your galleries, and your rules or fancies apply, and again, I applaud your great effort with the Protectobots!

However, your argument seems a bit incoherent when it comes to Streetwise, as you claim the legs are not official transformation, but then refer to the folding of the hood as being your personal preference? As for the legs, I would argue that they are intended to be used in bot mode (there are two of them after all) regardless of how the instruction sheet turned out. They seem to be out on the 1986 catalog photo, too... As for the hood, my personal preference is having it flush down (also in the catalog), with the hood bumper resting in the diecast indentation which is probably also there for a reason... Streetwise was my first Transformer but is long lost and broken, and this is not how I remember him... Any possibility of additonal pic or two with the catalog/TFWiki stock photo transformation in the future?

A request which of course is another compliment to your beautiful photography

Posted: **Sun Apr 26, 2015 12:46 pm**

Seibertron wrote:
Sideswipe29 wrote:So let me get this straight. You wouldn't do a gallery of an older toy until it's relevant again because as you say it's an "older" gallery?

There's a lot of factors involved. Everything from relevancy, current workload, condition of vintage figures, trends in the comics, overall character's popularity, etc. I've been working on these galleries for 11 years. In the mid 2000s, I had a lot more freedom to do whatever galleries I wanted because there wasn't this massive onslaught of toys continuously coming out like there has been the past few years.

Older Transformers toys just don't get as much traffic as newer Transformers toys. I was bummed after I launched the galleries of Black Zarak and Grand Maximus a few years ago when I saw how poorly both galleries were performing initially. I thought those two galleries would generate all sorts of traffic due to the novelty and rarity of both items. While they are the end-all-be-all galleries of those two sets, they're just not good traffic generators. Black Zarak (July 2012) has 74,144 pageviews currently and Grand Maximus (October 2012) has 72,604 pageviews. By comparison, Evasion Mode Optimus Prime (which launched April 2014) has 249,116 pageviews.

I've owned every Hasbro Transformers toy (1984 to current) since 2007 and own a sizable portion of the European exclusives (only missing the Motorvators) and a very large collection of Takara exclusives and variants (minus a couple dozen Takara late G1 toys and and minus some regional variants prior to Henkei). If I had it my way, I'd do nothing but work on old Transformers galleries ... they're fun to do and a lot less work than the modern toys are due to their lack of poseability. But "work" comes first ... I have to work on what will generate traffic first, and then work fill in the gaps as time and relevancy allows.

Sideswipe29 wrote:So it's not so much that you couldn't do a gallery for the Protectobots because you always could have but you wanted to wait until they were relevant again so they could be a "new"gallery? So with that logic, why didn't you wait for all older G1 characters to become relevant and then make "new" galleries for them? Why have you bothered to hold out on a protectobot gallery and not other G1 stuff?

As I mentioned above, I've been working on the galleries for 11 years now. Due to less products being released prior to the live action movies, I used to have more time to work on older galleries. Since the movies, it's just been a matter of me finding time to work on older products which I usually try to squeeze in when those characters become relevant again.

Sometimes the relevancy is "self-created" such as in late 2013 when I had 4 complete G1 Reflectors and a really nice modern KO (the one with the new G1 box) to sell in the Seibertron.com Store on eBay. I took that time to do Reflector because I wanted to generate a little bit of interest in him first prior to posting those items for sale in the Seibertron.com Store and because I was excited about having 4 complete ones to sell.

Last summer, I photographed the G1 Powermasters after having two points of relevancy: comparison photos of Generations Doubledealer with vintage G1 Doubledealer and doing the gallery of Fire Guts God Ginrai because of BotCon Ginrai which came out last summer.

Sideswipe29 wrote:Sorry for all the questions. And I in no way mean to criticize you because your galleries are always incredible and it's smart to wait until characters are relevant again. I'm just trying to figure out why you waited to do the protectobots and not wait on others.

These are great questions ... happy to answer any of them. Bottom line is this: there's no black and white rule that I follow. I focus on new/current products first because that is what's most relevant and will generate the most traffic. I work on vintage and other older Transformers products that haven't been photographed as time allows. I generally try to do older figures that are relevant first and then work my way through the ones I want to as time allows.

The same thing applies to when I don't have time to photograph a toy the first time it is released. I'll usually wait until a repaint comes out to get it the 2nd time around and launch both of those galleries at the same time. Million Publishing Artfire is a good example. I really need to do his gallery, but if I'm going to do his gallery at this point, I should do United Grapple, GDO Hot Spot, and 2014 Protectobot Hot Spot's galleries. It's easier to do all of a mold's galleries at one time then it is to do them one-at-a-time.

Hope this all makes sense. If you have more questions, please let me know.

Those are all excellent answers and it all makes complete sense. It's a shame that relevancy and popularity come first before you can do what you want but I speak for everyone here on Seibertron that the work you do and the effort you put into toy galleries is outstanding. You make the greatest transformers galleries around and that is truly appreciated. You do great work and I look forward to seeing future galleries from you.

Posted: **Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:27 pm**

Seibertron wrote:
Cyberpath wrote:Great gallery. Defensor was my first combiner.

They look pristine with the scrub-down and new stickers. The joints seem tight, too. Is the process very time-consuming?

btw, Streetwise's legs actually extend and his chest is supposed to tab into the diecast like this:

The "legs" are not supposed to be extended in robot mode. The leg extension is for when he's an arm. I like having the hood of the vehicle folded up like that because it looks more like a robot chest instead of the front half of a car on a robot's chest.

so if the legs are not supposed to be extended in robot mode then why make them look like legs if its just for an arm (usually hes a leg though)then they should not look like legs, i get you are overwhelmed with these awesome galleries and you have control over how they come out but at least use common sense when a figure has legs but you refuse to show them properly its like seeing a mistransformed figure in your galleries and im sure you dont want mistransformed figures in your galleries

Posted: **Tue Apr 28, 2015 9:54 pm**

Ultra Markus wrote:so if the legs are not supposed to be extended in robot mode then why make them look like legs if its just for an arm (usually hes a leg though)then they should not look like legs, i get you are overwhelmed with these awesome galleries and you have control over how they come out but at least use common sense when a figure has legs but you refuse to show them properly its like seeing a mistransformed figure in your galleries and im sure you dont want mistransformed figures in your galleries

I'm sure you didn't intend for your message to sound rude. I have plenty of common sense. A lot of care and TLC goes into these galleries. I am unaware of any glaring errors in the instructions for G1 toys other than minor things that were left out, but when it comes to the transformations, the G1 instructions were pretty thorough. That is not always the case with modern Transformers that are more complex, but the G1 instructions are a a different beast.

Attached to this message are G1 Streetwise's instructions which do not show the leg extension. To me, it's common sense that he shouldn't stand so much taller than all of the other "Scramble City" combiners which are all a similar height. He's already taller than the rest without doing the crazy leg extension.

I'm also unsure where the "overwhelmed" comment comes from. It's a lot of work, but this is my job. It's what I do full time, 60+ hours per week. Owning my own business can be a little overwhelming from time-to-time but I don't think I've said anything in this topic that alludes to me saying that I'm overwhelmed by doing galleries.

If you guys unanimously want me to do his chest the "correct" way, I will update his gallery when I have time for it. His legs are going to stay the way the instructions show them because I think he looks silly with them extended.

Posted: **Wed May 06, 2015 3:40 am**

Streetwise is indeed unique in many ways among Scramble City limb bots, mostly from the fact that he is the only one whose robot mode head cannot be used as a connector peg. Also, his height. I still suspect that the extension of the legs is supposed to be used in his robot mode despite it making him taller than the other Protectobot limbs; he is simply a rule-breaker in various regards, for reasons unknown, but that is also what makes him stand out from the crowd in my opinion. By the way, the G1 box art showing those red thighs seems to support the extended leg configuration:

However, as for a new gallery of him, it might be sufficient with a few new additional pics for the existing one, with all chest and leg configurations included, so that everyone get satisfied already?

In the end, it is of course up to you Ryan, either way, thank you for all your hard work on the G1 Protectobots!

Posted: **Wed May 06, 2015 6:33 am**

OK, quick recap of possible configurations:

1.Hood folded up, legs not extended (Ryan´s preferred configuration):

2.Hood flush, legs not extended (basically, his whole front side is a chopped up car):

3.Hood flush, legs extended (the one I think his engineering hints is the correct one):

4.Hood folded up, legs extended (the most ridiculous one in my opinion!):

...so, which one of the above is the correct one? Or perhaps more importantly, which one looks the best? Should we have a poll?

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 1:19 am**

When the Platinum Edition of Blitzwing and Astrotrain was first revealed, everyone was a little confused about the colour decos on the two, the latter in particular. Taking the 1985 Takara mold and eHobby exclusive, and painted in bright orange and white (almost Alpha Bravo colours!) was definitely quite a peculiar choice to accentuate, as the other toy in the box is really quite close to the original figure, though the mold is once more the Takara G1 version.

Nonetheless, Seibertron.com still brings you the full gallery treatment to this bizarre Platinum Edition set of the two Decepticon triplechangers, showing off all their three modes, comparisons with previous incarnations of the characters and our trademark under the foot shots - click on any image below to view them!

Platinum Edition Astrotrain

Platinum Edition Blitzwing

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 1:29 am**

Love 'em. I'm a sucker for G1 figures in crazy, wacky colors. If you want the original colors, they're easy enough to find on ebay. These figures though? Come to papa...

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 5:41 am**

These guys are so weird! :SICK:

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 8:21 am**

I don't know man......easy pass for me. Those colours just don't do it for me on Astrotrain. I like my weird stuff aswell but maybe it's just the colours they chose that don't work for me.

Plus the "wacky" prices these things go for at retail makes that decision easier.

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 9:13 am**

Glad to see the flicks.
I have my set on preorder with a bunch of other stuff so it will be a while before i get them in hand.
Still no "Official" word on the concept for the color schemes huh?

Posted: **Fri May 08, 2015 10:55 am**

A few things about Astrotrain and Blitzwing ...

Astrotrain has the same flaw that the Hasbro Commemorative Astrotrain has that causes the shuttle tailfin to not sit properly for some reason like it does on the original Takara reissue, the e-Hobby version and the original. The two halves also don't press flat against each other.

The sticker that should be the light/reflector in the front of Astrotrain's train mode is misapplied to the front of his rifle/gun instead.

This version of Blitzwing is the same as the Takara book style reissue. It does not have the rubsign unfortunately, but it does have the pointier sword (as opposed to the rounded sword like the original Hasbro version). Oddly enough, the absence of the rubsign was corrected for e-Hobby Overcharge. While it comes with all 3 missiles, it does not have any springs to launch them.

Posted: **Sat May 09, 2015 9:42 am**

Does the Platinum Blitzwing have plastic rather than metal feet? At least that's what it looks like from the picture

Posted: **Sat May 09, 2015 12:43 pm**

Blitzwheels looks really nice! Now where is that deco on the Generations voyager??? Don't get me wrong, I love the G1 mold, it's one of the very, very few G1 molds I've owned, I had a blue one when I was a little kid, but the newer one would be nicer.
As for Astrotrain...yeah, it Astrotrainwrecked, those are good colors, but they where applied kinda randomly, the homage doesn't really come across well, :/
And Va'al is right, those are Alpha Bravo-ish colors, have you noted that movie 2007 Evac is pretty much movieverse Alpha Bravo? :-?

Posted: **Sat May 09, 2015 12:47 pm**

MaverickPrime wrote:And Va'al is right, those are Alpha Bravo-ish colors, have you noted that movie 2007 Evac is pretty much movieverse Alpha Bravo?

Or is Alpha Bravo...

...Generations Evac?

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2015 2:05 pm**

I updated Million Publishing Skids gallery to include in-package images ...

Transformers Encore Skids

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:40 pm**

Hey, Seibertron -

Did Astrotrain still have the notorious odd legs that means he often leans to one side?

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:59 pm**

Amelie wrote:Hey, Seibertron -

Did Astrotrain still have the notorious odd legs that means he often leans to one side?

Only if you don't pull the legs out all of the way. My original G1 doesn't have this problem either.

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:10 pm**

Seibertron wrote:Only if you don't pull the legs out all of the way. My original G1 doesn't have this problem either.

My original doesn't, but my old Takara TFC:Collection reissue had to almost use his rifle as a makeshift crutch!

Loved the Platinum galleries for Blitzwind and Astrotrain, btw. Its nice to see G1 love every now and then, even though I know it doesn't draw the site traffic like new stuff does.

Posted: **Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:11 pm**

Amelie wrote:
Seibertron wrote:Only if you don't pull the legs out all of the way. My original G1 doesn't have this problem either.

My original doesn't, but my old Takara TFC:Collection reissue had to almost use his rifle as a makeshift crutch!

Loved the Platinum galleries for Blitzwind and Astrotrain, btw. Its nice to see G1 love every now and then, even though I know it doesn't draw the site traffic like new stuff does.

Yah if I had it my way, I'd work on nothing but finishing up G1, G2, and Beast Wars galleries. I'm making pretty good progress on them though. Slowly yet surely.

Posted: **Thu Jul 02, 2015 12:43 am**

Seibertron.com is proud to present our newest galleries:

G1 Powermasters Optimus Prime and Doubledealer

With this set, we're well on our way to having our biggest year of Transformers galleries, beating out 2014 which was our biggest year to date!

Up first? Powermaster Optimus Prime and his Powermaster Partner Hi-Q. This was a rebirth of Optimus after he died a horrible death at the hands of his eternal enemy Megatron in Transformers The Movie in 1986, and what a rebirth it is! Not only do you get the usual Optimus cab and trailer combo, but instead of a battle platform springing to life like his original trailer, you get a fully armed battle station! And Hi-Q gets to join in on the fun as he can interact with the weapons while Prime mans the main station. The best, however, was still to come because you could now combine Optimus with his trailer to form the biggest, baddest Optimus the US had ever seen... Powermaster Optimus Prime and he rocked it hardcore!

And would you take a look at that price tag from 1988? *sighs* :shock:

Last, but certainly not least, is Doubledealer! This double agent could change from Autobot robot to Decepticon buzzard to a missile carrier truck and back! But, much like Optimus, he could only do so with a little help from his friends Knok and Skar! With a shoulder mounted cannon and rifle formed out of the missile he's carrying, this walking weapon of mass destruction was just as deadly as he was two faced...literally!

Take a trip down memory lane with us and check out their galleries below and when you're done, come to forums and share your thoughts, memories and experiences with these two blasts from the past!

G1 1988 Optimus Prime

G1 1988 Hi-Q

G1 1988 Doubledealer

G1 1988 Knok

G1 1988 Skar

Keep your optics tuned to Seibertron.com for the latest in news and updates, plus the best galleries around!

Posted: **Thu Jul 02, 2015 1:03 am**

Excellent stuff! It's good to see more G1 stuff in the galleries. There's a shortage of powermasters in there.

And that Doubledealer. The bird missilie gets me every time. Yeah.

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New Galleries: G1 Powermasters Optimus Prime And Doubledealer

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