Amazing post Cobotron. Not only does it make me want to own the masterpiece, but these may be the only G1 bots I ever get (not on the lookout per say, but they are making me less closed minded about seeking out G1 toys).
And I believe that kibble was always a great part of the transformers brand but the distinction I would like to make is kibble integration. Kibble is a word that gathers negative connotation because of toys like either of the AOE Leader Optimus toys. What sucks so hard about those was that all the truck kibble was unused for the robot mode leaving giant backpaks which some of us (ie Me) call kibble. Pretty much, the reason I love the Beast Hunter Ultra Magnus so much more than the RID Prime one is because there is more kibble/alt mode integration. And I absolutely adore the Binaltech/Alternators line for its car parts being the robot. Those truly were robots in disguise.
On the flip side though, Takara has proven that you could deviate from this with some very interesting designs. This was going to be my next nomination regardless but it fits so well as being an example of a good counterpoint to Cobotron's post. While alt mode integration is key, I have found it very interesting when Takara uses the very same parts from the alt mode but in a way that the kibble is no longer visible, giving way to a robot mode with detail that was never found in the alt mode. Dear friends, I give you: Cybertron Hot Shot
Just look at how little of the alt mode shows up in the robot mode:
And yet, the robot mode uses parts from the car mode, making him still sleek with a nice amount of bulk and heft. This toy simply amazes me. I love the alt mode being a cybertronian lambourghini. We had mentioned before that design is two fold. It is the look of the figure as well as it's engineering. And this guy works that way. The simple engineering means you can have a swift conversion from 2 modes that look nothing like one another. Think about it guys, this is what Hasbro is trying to hard to achieve right now with simplistic transformation. But this is it done right. It is truly a figure for all ages (it's my 11 year old cousin's favourite toy, she usually finds transformers too complicated).
And the style of the figure is something to behold. Speaking of head sculpts, this is probably one of my all time favourites. there is so much detail and sculpting. You have 4 colours playing off one another on this head design with different kinds of plastic as well, giving it a unique look while also harkenning back to a very old school robot look. And speaking of harkenning back, his gimmick is that he becomes an homage to Hotrod:
Sure, he isn't perfect. He has a big buttflap, the doors don't retract across his arms and the legs are quite bulky but to me this is just part of the design and intention to make him quick to convert while using as much as the kibble as possible in the robot mode (ie the legs ad doors).
This was the last line before the movie happened, and the very last states side line which used Takara designs and it was like a last hurrah for the classic transformer design, yet flipped on it's head (or upside down, as is the case with this toy). It's just great.
And once again, check out that headsculpt
Here's the vehicle mode:
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you like that you should see his wave mate fracture. I know she's a homage to a go-bots character (Crasher) but I love the colour scheme, goes really well on the Mirage mold.
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