The Energon Pub

There's no transparent plastic.

None.

At all.

The windshields are painted matte black instead of transparent plastic. To me, that's excusable for the smaller scale TFs like the Legends figures but when we get into the deluxe scale? It's just one more thing that Hasbro feels it needs to sacrifice in order to get the MRSP to a price that they're happy with.

I don't like it, it's yet another indication where this company is taking TF design. I'm all for simplicity, but I'm not for cheapness. IMO this is more cheap than simple.

That said, I'm still getting Strongarm, because I'm a bloody hypocrite.

In another thread I've compared the Warrior Class with the Simplified Deluxes from the tail end of Beast Hunters, and the comparison seems quite apt actually with complexity (just a few step up) and articulation. I also found this in the same thread:



Transparent plastic for Bumblebee But not for others like Drift:



It would seem Hasbro is keeping RiD 2015 more kid-friendly than Generations. Better watch the age recommendations, especially for 8+!

I didn't even notice Bumblebee (kind of a commentary on what I think of the character huh?). Still not happy about the rest though.

Look I will say I prefer to an extent the painted windows. Why, well clear plastic windows has lead to things like PRID Knockout and AOE Crosshairs looking particularly unpainted, because most of the paint budget was allocated to making big chunks of clear plastic mesh with the car for the sake of the windows.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:In another thread I've compared the Warrior Class with the Simplified Deluxes from the tail end of Beast Hunters, and the comparison seems quite apt actually with complexity (just a few step up) and articulation. I also found this in the same thread:



Transparent plastic for Bumblebee But not for others like Drift:



It would seem Hasbro is keeping RiD 2015 more kid-friendly than Generations. Better watch the age recommendations, especially for 8+!

I just noticed that the wheels on Drift are clear plastic...

Speaking of the figure, I really do like his alt mode. I might just do a head swap and make him an original character in a custom. Just paint up the windows and the car looks almost like a Cybertrnian alt mode.

I think this is why these are "Warriors" and not "Deluxes", in an attempt to distinguish them as purposely not made to that standard. Honestly, these look like slightly upscaled Cyberverse Commanders to me.

And just as I type this, I notice Jelze made basically the same point up above, but I'll leave this here anyway.

ScottyP wrote:I think this is why these are "Warriors" and not "Deluxes", in an attempt to distinguish them as purposely not made to that standard. Honestly, these look like slightly upscaled Cyberverse Commanders to me.

And just as I type this, I notice Jelze made basically the same point up above, but I'll leave this here anyway.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

ScottyP wrote:I think this is why these are "Warriors" and not "Deluxes", in an attempt to distinguish them as purposely not made to that standard. Honestly, these look like slightly upscaled Cyberverse Commanders to me.

And just as I type this, I notice Jelze made basically the same point up above, but I'll leave this here anyway.

Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so

I think it's smart of them, and really cements their strategy. Wise of them to market certain stuff for toddlers (Rescue Bots), certain stuff for younger kids (RiD 2015), and certain stuff for older kids and collectors (Combiner Wars) instead of trying to appeal to everyone carte blanche in the same line.

Some people just like to hate things, and the reveal of a new product line gives them lots of new targets. There's no more depressing time to be a TF fan then when a new line is shown and people just want to crap all over it.

One thing that should be remembered here is that a lot of what we're seeing are 3D printed and hand painted prototypes. From the looks of things, it's not a high quality 3D printer, either really, they're just cheap pre-production models.

This might help to explain the lack of translucent plastic, because they can't actually 3D print in that colour/material.

MemphisR56 wrote:One thing that should be remembered here is that a lot of what we're seeing are 3D printed and hand painted prototypes. From the looks of things, it's not a high quality 3D printer, either really, they're just cheap pre-production models.

This might help to explain the lack of translucent plastic, because they can't actually 3D print in that colour/material.

I don't think they're using 3D printing just yet.

It's true they're hand-painted prototypes, but usually they're made from production molds or resin hardcopies. Besides, photoshop can do wonders.

SKYWARPED_128 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:In another thread I've compared the Warrior Class with the Simplified Deluxes from the tail end of Beast Hunters, and the comparison seems quite apt actually with complexity (just a few step up) and articulation. I also found this in the same thread:



Transparent plastic for Bumblebee But not for others like Drift:



It would seem Hasbro is keeping RiD 2015 more kid-friendly than Generations. Better watch the age recommendations, especially for 8+!

I just noticed that the wheels on Drift are clear plastic...

As are his windows, if you look at the windows you'll see that they're made from the smokey translucent material as the wheels, with orange paint for the body.

These are definitely printed parts that have been painted before sanded down, you can see the print lines on them.

MemphisR56 wrote:One thing that should be remembered here is that a lot of what we're seeing are 3D printed and hand painted prototypes. From the looks of things, it's not a high quality 3D printer, either really, they're just cheap pre-production models.

This might help to explain the lack of translucent plastic, because they can't actually 3D print in that colour/material.

Yes they can, it's one of the more basic materials.

A true hater doesn't let facts stand in the way of his hate.

GuyIncognito wrote:A true hater doesn't let facts stand in the way of his hate.

I have nothing to add except to say that this is an amazing statement. Grade-A Post.

SW's SilverHammer wrote:Look I will say I prefer to an extent the painted windows. Why, well clear plastic windows has lead to things like PRID Knockout and AOE Crosshairs looking particularly unpainted, because most of the paint budget was allocated to making big chunks of clear plastic mesh with the car for the sake of the windows.

This.

It's the biggest gripe I have about figures like PRID Ratchet. There's a huge chunk of his paint budget that went into making a couple transparent blue panels into white and red panels with windows. I think transparent windows are only a necessity on toys that have, to some extent, a molded interior, otherwise you just get to look at a chunk of the robot bits on the inside. In Ratchet's case, the toy would have benefited much more from having those panels cast in white, then painted for the details. I realize that the argument's pretty much moot now that it's shown that clear plastic does exist in the line, but still, the point stands, sometimes it's completely unnecessary. Like with Universe Prowl. Oh that poor bastard...

Agreed; I'd rather have opaque windows than clear windows that allow me to see the folded up kibble inside. It ruins the "disguise".

I wish we could go back the the times that the clear plastic windows were separate pieces from the rest, so car roof wouldn't just be painted clear plastic.

No more show toys was a ground rule I set for collecting, going forward. I can't move the Animated and Prime stuff I have now. It just doesn't sell. I'm not dealing with a pile of toys I'm tired of after 3 years when the line is ended. Classics, third party to expand that, TFCC, and Reissues. that's all I'm doing any more. The rest is distraction and for me, wasted time effort and money. That's me and my two cents.

I actually like painted windshields 95% of the time. When they have clear and try to paint the roof to match the rest of the car it never matches well. Like someone posted here: if they went back to windows being separate pieces then it wouldn't be as bad. TF:P RiD Knockout was mentioned and even with him I Reprolabeled his windows up and he looks much better. One of the only clear windows I like a lot recently is TF:P RiD Wheeljack and TFCC Chromedome. They are separate pieces and being clear they are somewhat less noticeable in robot mode.

Shame because I really wanted to like and get Strongarm. (more fembots is nice to have), but her figure along with the others from what I've seen, is unnecessarily simplistic and bland.

Dead Metal wrote:I wish we could go back the the times that the clear plastic windows were separate pieces from the rest, so car roof wouldn't just be painted clear plastic.

Oh, good, I'll call Hasbro and tell them they can stop making Transformers.

Because guess what: Painted clear plastic roof, is the norm. From G1 to the present, that has been the case. It doesn't always work out, of course. Some times due to paint issues (Ohai Universe Sunstreaker), sometimes due to durability issues.Look at all the broken-roof Jazzes and Datsun boys. Regarding its replacement with opaque plastic, one must also keep in mind clear ABS's tendency towards brittleness. 's'why deluxe Roddy got an opaque windshield in his last Hasbro outing.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:'s'why deluxe Roddy got an opaque windshield in his last Hasbro outing.

I thought that was for better show-accuracy, as the later United Rodimus Prime and Timelines Side Burn figures both had clear windows.

United's Takara, though. And FunPub gets to make a lot of the calls for the Timelines figures.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:I wish we could go back the the times that the clear plastic windows were separate pieces from the rest, so car roof wouldn't just be painted clear plastic.

Oh, good, I'll call Hasbro and tell them they can stop making Transformers.

Because guess what: Painted clear plastic roof, is the norm. From G1 to the present, that has been the case. It doesn't always work out, of course. Some times due to paint issues (Ohai Universe Sunstreaker), sometimes due to durability issues.Look at all the broken-roof Jazzes and Datsun boys. Regarding its replacement with opaque plastic, one must also keep in mind clear ABS's tendency towards brittleness. 's'why deluxe Roddy got an opaque windshield in his last Hasbro outing.

It was not the norm, the majority of clear windows I've encounter have been separate pieces, especially during the Unicron Trilogy line.

You think Rody's window was opaque to make him less brittle?
One:
The entire set he came in was in cartoon colours, and he was especially cartoon accurate as far as paint goes.
Two:
That release is infamous for being made of cheap, crappy plastic. Have you ever handled any of the figures in that set? Especially Rod feels like a chap KO with his brittle plastic that feels less sturdy than Henkei Thundercracker, Galvatron is even worse than the original retail version, only Cyclonus managed to not feel incredibly cheap.

Try again.

Dead Metal wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Dead Metal wrote:I wish we could go back the the times that the clear plastic windows were separate pieces from the rest, so car roof wouldn't just be painted clear plastic.

Oh, good, I'll call Hasbro and tell them they can stop making Transformers.

Because guess what: Painted clear plastic roof, is the norm. From G1 to the present, that has been the case. It doesn't always work out, of course. Some times due to paint issues (Ohai Universe Sunstreaker), sometimes due to durability issues.Look at all the broken-roof Jazzes and Datsun boys. Regarding its replacement with opaque plastic, one must also keep in mind clear ABS's tendency towards brittleness. 's'why deluxe Roddy got an opaque windshield in his last Hasbro outing.

It was not the norm, the majority of clear windows I've encounter have been separate pieces, especially during the Unicron Trilogy line.

You think Rody's window was opaque to make him less brittle?
One:
The entire set he came in was in cartoon colours, and he was especially cartoon accurate as far as paint goes.
Two:
That release is infamous for being made of cheap, crappy plastic. Have you ever handled any of the figures in that set? Especially Rod feels like a chap KO with his brittle plastic that feels less sturdy than Henkei Thundercracker, Galvatron is even worse than the original retail version, only Cyclonus managed to not feel incredibly cheap.

Try again.

Oh really? During the Unicron trilogy? You must not have been buying much of anything smaller than a Voyager then! Clocker, Takara-release Armada Hot Shot, Energon Hot Shot, Cybertron Hot Shot, Cybertron Red Alert, Armada Blurr, Armada Sideswipe, Energon Downshift, Cybertron Downshift, Cybertron Crosswise, Energon Strongarm... All of them lacked separate windows and windshields. Before that, during RID? Same deal. After that, during the movie line? Same thing again! It's the norm for the smaller cars and stuff.

And I've heard about the Battle in Space and Rodimus vs. Cyclonus sets.
1. What does an opaque window have to do with cartoon color accuracy? No, seriously, what?
2. You know, I've heard a lot of people whinging about the plastic in that set, but somehow I haven't heard a lot of people actually reporting breakages.