Updated Alt Modes: When, Why, and How
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:24 amIt goes without saying that changing a character's alt mode is usually the subject of a great deal of controversy. We saw it with Megatron becoming a tank instead of a gun, we saw it with Blast Off being a Harrier instead of a space shuttle, and we'll undoubtedly see it many times more.
So anyway, what are some characters you'd like to see get a change of alt mode- and what would be your solutions to common alt mode conundrums (such as "Megatron can't turn into a realistic pistol anymore because kids kept getting shot" and "Blast Off doesn't make a lot of sense as a space shuttle")?
Let's get the ball rolling, shall we?
Silverbolt:
Silverbolt never made a lot of sense to me. As much as I love the Concorde, it doesn't really make a great deal of sense for it to be on a team of military aircraft- and because it's so "thin" it's really difficult to make a toy that has to be a robot AND a combiner torso be a convincing Concorde. And that's not even touching on the scale issues (Yes I know Transformers and scale never mix...).
TFC tried making him into an SR-71 Blackbird (Whitebird?) but sadly it didn't work very well- it suffered (as many Blackbird Transformers do) from "robot doing yoga bolted to the underside of an aircraft" syndrome, and was generally not a very good toy. I, however, have a much better idea for an aircraft for Silverbolt to turn into, one that's larger than most military jets (but not ludicrously so), fairly blocky/chunky, and is an actual armed military aircraft.
Presenting: The F-111 Aardvark!
As you can tell by the size of its cockpit, it's pretty damn huge, thus making it perfect for a combiner torso. Plus, it's a really, really cool aircraft.
Jetfire:
Jetfire was originally a Macross Valkyrie toy given a new deco and ported over to the Transformers line. He was always depicted as huge in the cartoon (where he turned into a blocky Cybertronian cargo plane...thing...) so naturally his alt mode needs to be big, even by jet standards. His Generations toy is cool, but making him a "regular" jet makes him look odd next to other jetformers, especially the likes of Classics Seekers. Several 3P companies have attempted to make his classic jet alt mode...with little success.
However, I can think of an alt mode for him that is not only huge, not only fairly similar to his original jet mode, but also an utterly legendary aircraft whose time was cut too short.
I'm talking, of course, about the incredible TSR-2.
Not only does it look a lot like G1 Jetfire, it's also a beautiful looking aircraft. I'd love to see a Transformer turn into one of these- Jetfire just seems like an ideal candidate for the alt mode.
Reflector:
Poor, poor Reflector. Doomed to insignificance after Season 1, they were always one (three?) of my favourite unsung heroes of the Decepticon forces. Now I actually really like Reflector as a camera (and plan to get the PE Scouting Force some day) but suppose he were to get an actual vehicle mode.
How about, I propose, a police surveillance van?
It seems fitting that the Reflector trio would turn into something like this- especially topical with the controversy over government surveillance at the moment. Also, something like this would work well as a "vehicle mode combiner" like Reflector- it's big and boxy and could easily split apart into 3 small robots.
Anyway, discuss away!
So anyway, what are some characters you'd like to see get a change of alt mode- and what would be your solutions to common alt mode conundrums (such as "Megatron can't turn into a realistic pistol anymore because kids kept getting shot" and "Blast Off doesn't make a lot of sense as a space shuttle")?
Let's get the ball rolling, shall we?
Silverbolt:
Silverbolt never made a lot of sense to me. As much as I love the Concorde, it doesn't really make a great deal of sense for it to be on a team of military aircraft- and because it's so "thin" it's really difficult to make a toy that has to be a robot AND a combiner torso be a convincing Concorde. And that's not even touching on the scale issues (Yes I know Transformers and scale never mix...).
TFC tried making him into an SR-71 Blackbird (Whitebird?) but sadly it didn't work very well- it suffered (as many Blackbird Transformers do) from "robot doing yoga bolted to the underside of an aircraft" syndrome, and was generally not a very good toy. I, however, have a much better idea for an aircraft for Silverbolt to turn into, one that's larger than most military jets (but not ludicrously so), fairly blocky/chunky, and is an actual armed military aircraft.
Presenting: The F-111 Aardvark!
As you can tell by the size of its cockpit, it's pretty damn huge, thus making it perfect for a combiner torso. Plus, it's a really, really cool aircraft.
Jetfire:
Jetfire was originally a Macross Valkyrie toy given a new deco and ported over to the Transformers line. He was always depicted as huge in the cartoon (where he turned into a blocky Cybertronian cargo plane...thing...) so naturally his alt mode needs to be big, even by jet standards. His Generations toy is cool, but making him a "regular" jet makes him look odd next to other jetformers, especially the likes of Classics Seekers. Several 3P companies have attempted to make his classic jet alt mode...with little success.
However, I can think of an alt mode for him that is not only huge, not only fairly similar to his original jet mode, but also an utterly legendary aircraft whose time was cut too short.
I'm talking, of course, about the incredible TSR-2.
Not only does it look a lot like G1 Jetfire, it's also a beautiful looking aircraft. I'd love to see a Transformer turn into one of these- Jetfire just seems like an ideal candidate for the alt mode.
Reflector:
Poor, poor Reflector. Doomed to insignificance after Season 1, they were always one (three?) of my favourite unsung heroes of the Decepticon forces. Now I actually really like Reflector as a camera (and plan to get the PE Scouting Force some day) but suppose he were to get an actual vehicle mode.
How about, I propose, a police surveillance van?
It seems fitting that the Reflector trio would turn into something like this- especially topical with the controversy over government surveillance at the moment. Also, something like this would work well as a "vehicle mode combiner" like Reflector- it's big and boxy and could easily split apart into 3 small robots.
Anyway, discuss away!
