Reminder: TFCC Membership Deadline and New In-Hand Image of Exclusive Protoform X / Rampage

Ok, from straight on, he does look nice.

Really looking forward to Protoform X

How often have the 'free' figures gotten a new headmold?

Mkall wrote:How often have the 'free' figures gotten a new headmold?

2012 Runamuck seems to be the only other one.

Mkall wrote:How often have the 'free' figures gotten a new headmold?

Well, the first one to receive a new head was Heatwave (his combiner head, at least). Then you had Runabout/Over-run (or was it Runamuck?). Then we have Rampage. They've been at this incentive figure deal since... 2005? 2006?

So really, only three I can think of. We're not counting the other exclusives, right?

Ah, right, forgot about Heatwave's Nexus Prime head.

Rampage's head looks really small.

Noideaforaname wrote:Rampage's head looks really small.

Yeah, it sits pretty high up on that neck due to the way Megatron's head original sat upon it. Megs' head had a lot of hanging parts that covered his neck area, but since Rampage's head doesn't angle that way, it sits up higher and looks proportionally off.

It also has to be small enough to fit through the peekaboo hole in jet mode, so that's another factor. A way they could have possibly remedied this was toy simply nix the horns that stick out from the sides of Rampage's head.

After all, a lot of folks are gonna be using this as a pre-BW Cartoon Protoform X instead of its intended use as Uprising Rampage, and in the cartoon, X didn't have those horns in the past:

Sabrblade wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:Rampage's head looks really small.

Yeah, it sits pretty high up on that neck due to the way Megatron's head original sat upon it. Megs' head had a lot of hanging parts that covered his neck area, but since Rampage's head doesn't angle that way, it sits up higher and looks proportionally off.

It also has to be small enough to fit through the peekaboo hole in jet mode, so that's another factor. A way they could have possibly remedied this was toy simply nix the horns that stick out from the sides of Rampage's head.

After all, a lot of folks are gonna be using this as a pre-BW Cartoon Protoform X instead of its intended use as Uprising Rampage, and in the cartoon, X didn't have those horns in the past:

So you're proposing removing one of the more iconic visuals of Rampage, from Rampage?

Besides, though the head may be slim from the side, it will probably hopefully seem a tad larger when viewed straight on.

Sabrblade wrote: A way they could have possibly remedied this was toy simply nix the horns that stick out from the sides of Rampage's head.

Not meaning to sound crass, but doing that to make Nighbeat's head fit went over SOOO well...

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:Rampage's head looks really small.

Yeah, it sits pretty high up on that neck due to the way Megatron's head original sat upon it. Megs' head had a lot of hanging parts that covered his neck area, but since Rampage's head doesn't angle that way, it sits up higher and looks proportionally off.

It also has to be small enough to fit through the peekaboo hole in jet mode, so that's another factor. A way they could have possibly remedied this was toy simply nix the horns that stick out from the sides of Rampage's head.

After all, a lot of folks are gonna be using this as a pre-BW Cartoon Protoform X instead of its intended use as Uprising Rampage, and in the cartoon, X didn't have those horns in the past:

So you're proposing removing one of the more iconic visuals of Rampage, from Rampage?

People wanna use this toy as Protoform X, and Protoform X DOESN'T have those horns:

How many people are going to look to a split-second silhouette as the "correct" appearance over the iconic show design, though?

Sabrblade wrote:People wanna use this toy as Protoform X, and Protoform X DOESN'T have those horns:

Not everyone is obsessed with such minute details like that.

That silhouette lasted for about a minute, whereas Rampage's head was seen for a season. Guess which head most BW fans want on their "Protoform X"

Noideaforaname wrote:How many people are going to look to a split-second silhouette as the "correct" appearance over the iconic show design, though?

The diehards that this is aimed at?

It was just a suggestion to make the head be not as tiny and more reasonably proportioned, as it is a sacrifice that is at least rooted in something rather than done randomly for no other reason than make the head bigger while still fitting inside the hole. If the Club wanted to go for show-accuracy, that is one way they could have done so. But the chose not to and instead had to shrink the head to a dinky proportion that some are still going to complain about just like they did with Punch/Counterpunch.

tl:dr - there is no pleasing this fandom.

Sabrblade wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:How many people are going to look to a split-second silhouette as the "correct" appearance over the iconic show design, though?

The diehards that this is aimed at?

I'm with Noideaforaname here. Anyone who's purchasing this can be considered a die-hard, I think - myself included. And I just don't see the point of removing the iconic touches that make Rampage recognizable as Rampage.

While we're at, why not paint him all black too, so that he's accurate to the split-second silhouette?

Sabrblade wrote:It was just a suggestion to make the head be not as tiny and more reasonably proportioned, as it is a sacrifice that is at least rooted in something rather than done randomly for no other reason than make the head bigger while still fitting inside the hole.

It was a suggestion, and I certainly understand your good intent. But just because there's a split-second source for something, doesn't mean we should go with that as opposed to the vast majority of source material the vast majority of fans will recognize and appreciate. That just seems ill-advised.

Sabrblade wrote:If the Club wanted to go for show-accuracy, that is one way they could have done so. But the chose not to and instead had to shrink the head to a dinky proportion that some are still going to complain about just like they did with Punch/Counterpunch.

I'm still thinking the side angle obscures the size a bit, and that the head will be somewhat bigger than it appears in that shot (even though it will probably still be a tad smaller than the original photoshopped promotional pics we've seen).

Sabrblade wrote:tl:dr - there is no pleasing this fandom.

That's a whole bucket of truth, right there.

Sabrblade wrote:

Noideaforaname wrote:How many people are going to look to a split-second silhouette as the "correct" appearance over the iconic show design, though?

The diehards that this is aimed at?

It was just a suggestion to make the head be not as tiny and more reasonably proportioned, as it is a sacrifice that is at least rooted in something rather than done randomly for no other reason than make the head bigger while still fitting inside the hole. If the Club wanted to go for show-accuracy, that is one way they could have done so. But the chose not to and instead had to shrink the head to a dinky proportion that some are still going to complain about just like they did with Punch/Counterpunch.

tl:dr - there is no pleasing this fandom.

Oh, Punch, How I loathe that figure.. mostly cause I Never got it!!!! Stuck with this flimsy KO now...

Eh, but its "not-not"accurate. That is a show head, it's just on a non-existant body. heck, we don't even know WHAT Protoform X looked like, from that picture, that could be his head sideways, and we can't SEE the claws. Many of the IDW Gathering Preds maintained pointed decorations where their BW forms had claws and tusks around the robot mode head.

And anyway, I'mma gonna toss Rampage and any other figures we might get (#Geckobotareyousure) in with the Dawn of Future's Past crew (+Cyb Longrack) cause I can. I wish I coulda gotten the add-ons when I was there, and I kinda hope one of our Shapeways Gurus (Support the local Transtopia members! YEAH!) can come up with a good looking "crushed Spark" accesory...

Agree to disagree?

Manterax Prime wrote:I just find it odd in naming her Transmutate when that name was used for a specific reason.
It doesn't fit.

this might seem silly as im essentially creating fanfic in my head to make sense of this.... BUT:
transmutate was disfigured and mentally disabled (for lack of a better term). but she also had terrifying power. perhaps she had this "power" before her accident making her the transmutate we saw in BW. other TF character had "powers" too (starscreams indestructible spark) and it was considered a mutation. so maybe she got the name transmutate because of her crazy powers?

megatronus wrote:Anyone who's purchasing this can be considered a die-hard, I think - myself included. And I just don't see the point of removing the iconic touches that make Rampage recognizable as Rampage.

While we're at, why not paint him all black too, so that he's accurate to the split-second silhouette?

^agrees^
this statement should have killed the horn debate. im a hradcore BW fan and call me crazy, but i want a rampage that looks like rampage.

by the way, the way the orange fades to red on the legs is amazing.

Noideaforaname wrote:How many people are going to look to a split-second silhouette as the "correct" appearance over the iconic show design, though?

Agreed. The head is tiny, but I'd rather it look like Rampage's character model than the brief, likely cobbled together appearance of Protoform X.

And as far as different universal streams go, I think I'd rather put this with my newer Beast Wars figures than create a separate display for just him and Depth Charge, much the same way I've put Waspinator with my Rhinox and Universe Dinobot rather than with Shockwave and Dreadwing, to match his appearance in IDW continuity. Isn't it the point of an homage to be slotted into your collection wherever you want it to be?

shajaki wrote:by the way, the way the orange fades to red on the legs is amazing.

Yup - the deco is awesome looking. One of the reasons this guy can't get here soon enough.

Henry921 wrote:And as far as different universal streams go, I think I'd rather put this with my newer Beast Wars figures than create a separate display for just him and Depth Charge, much the same way I've put Waspinator with my Rhinox and Universe Dinobot rather than with Shockwave and Dreadwing, to match his appearance in IDW continuity. Isn't it the point of an homage to be slotted into your collection wherever you want it to be?

That's exactly my thinking, too.

I was curious though, and not wasting time on what any one individual has said, but... how many toys from this alternate universe before you create a separate display for them? I mean, we have three now... what if between the the service and the yearly next year we get three to five more of these guys?

dende5416 wrote:I was curious though, and not wasting time on what any one individual has said, but... how many toys from this alternate universe before you create a separate display for them? I mean, we have three now... what if between the the service and the yearly next year we get three to five more of these guys?

Well, speaking only for myself... I think I can consider a display 'complete' when I feel both factions are represented adequately.

For example, I felt last year's Machine Wars figures actually worked pretty well together, and excluding Electro (who I'd place with BotCon 2010 figures) and the Rainmakers (who I'd put with Classics), you have five Autobots and four Decepticons, a common team configuration from the cartoons. They don't need any outside figures, forming their own coherent universe.

If Depth Charge was joined by other Primax 209.0 Gamma figures (like Dynobot and Rattrap) and Rampage was flanked by at least one other Predacon, I might be inclined to separate them from the other characters. For the moment, I tend to prefer them as either "pre-Beast Wars" designs or updated to fit in on something like current IDW Cybertron or Axiom Nexus, where various factions and homages come together. I place them in my Beast Wars display not because they necessarily match the aesthetics of current and older Beast Wars figures, but because to me that is where they belong. That opinion may change depending on how this "Alone Together" fiction progresses.

I also have no interest in Transmutate, which may or may not be a factor in creating a separate display for you.

Thus far, all the known characters who has been named in the Uprising universe are as follows:

Blackarachnia
Nightscream
Scavenger
Immorticon
Optimus Primal (deceased)
Cheetor (damaged)
Rattrap (presumed dead, but evaded death)
Silverbolt (deceased)
Rhinox (deceased)
Depth Charge
.X Rampage
Trans-Mutate
Dynobot
Jawbreaker
Botanica
Geckobot
Torca

And of these, the ones that we know what they look like are:

Rattrap
Depth Charge
Rampage
Trans-Mutate
Dynobot
Jawbreaker
Botanica
Geckobot
Torca

And, well, technically we have seen Blackarachnia, Nightscream, Scavenger, and Immorticon as well, but only in the bodies of their TransTech counterparts, which they stole. So we don't know what their original bodies looked like before they jumped from the Uprising world to Axiom Nexus.

And of the ones who have visual references, only Depth Charge, Rampage, and Trans-Mutate are confirmed to be getting official toy releases (though, a few others like Dynobot, Botanica, and Jawbreaker have been made into unofficial fan customs).

So these visual ones have the best chance of being made into toy form, being based off actual toy designs.


P.S. - As for why the known characters have so many named Maximals vs. so few named Predacons, it's because they're not all part of the same allegiance. Several of these Maximals turned on their fellow Maximals who were still loyal to the Autobots, and these deserters joined up with likeminded Predacon deserters to initiate a rebellion. And of these known characters, the following are members of the resistance:

Blackarachnia
Nightscream
Scavenger
Immorticon
Cheetor (original leader)
Rattrap (current leader)
Trans-Mutate
Dynobot
Jawbreaker
Botanica
Geckobot

The rest either remain loyal to their Autobot masters or were killed prior to the resistance began. As for the deceased, Primal remained loyal and was killed by the rebels, while Rhinox and Silverbolt were killed in action before the rebellion started (Rattrap was thought to have died with these two, but he survived).

Henry921 wrote:

dende5416 wrote:I was curious though, and not wasting time on what any one individual has said, but... how many toys from this alternate universe before you create a separate display for them? I mean, we have three now... what if between the the service and the yearly next year we get three to five more of these guys?

Well, speaking only for myself... I think I can consider a display 'complete' when I feel both factions are represented adequately.

For example, I felt last year's Machine Wars figures actually worked pretty well together, and excluding Electro (who I'd place with BotCon 2010 figures) and the Rainmakers (who I'd put with Classics), you have five Autobots and four Decepticons, a common team configuration from the cartoons. They don't need any outside figures, forming their own coherent universe.

If Depth Charge was joined by other Primax 209.0 Gamma figures (like Dynobot and Rattrap) and Rampage was flanked by at least one other Predacon, I might be inclined to separate them from the other characters. For the moment, I tend to prefer them as either "pre-Beast Wars" designs or updated to fit in on something like current IDW Cybertron or Axiom Nexus, where various factions and homages come together. I place them in my Beast Wars display not because they necessarily match the aesthetics of current and older Beast Wars figures, but because to me that is where they belong. That opinion may change depending on how this "Alone Together" fiction progresses.

I also have no interest in Transmutate, which may or may not be a factor in creating a separate display for you.

I personally don't have any of those Botcon figures of the pre-earth Beast Wars figures (they look so gorgeous but they fetch quite the price on e-Bay.) So, for now, Depthcharge is just kinda off on his own little thing with Over-Run and Runamuck(I don't really have a place for those either.) But then again, my collection space is a bit limited in a one-bedroom apartment. In the future, maybe, but I hope they release more of the figures through the Service or something.

Yeesh, been feeling depressed all week. Looking at that roster Sabrblade put up makes me feel even more depressed. Definitely lacking in Predacons. Hopefully we'll see some more Predacons coming down the pipe to help balance out the equation.

Also, I just had a quick thought: did Thrustinator originate from the Beast Wars: Uprising universe, or was he from a nearly identical universe that ran parallel with the Generation One/Beast Wars continuity?

Mindmaster wrote:Yeesh, been feeling depressed all week. Looking at that roster Sabrblade put up makes me feel even more depressed. Definitely lacking in Predacons. Hopefully we'll see some more Predacons coming down the pipe to help balance out the equation.

I think it would be cool if we got more Predacons among the ranks of the rebels, since we've had several non-evil Decepticons in stories of recent years, but non-evil Predacons seem to only come once in a blue moon.

Mindmaster wrote:Also, I just had a quick thought: did Thrustinator originate from the Beast Wars: Uprising universe, or was he from a nearly identical universe that ran parallel with the Generation One/Beast Wars continuity?

There was a post made online by somebody, I think it was Pete Sinclair, who said something along the lines of "We imagined Thrustinator as being the Waspinator from the cartoon."

So it sounds like he's a post-Beast Machines cartoon Waspinator after getting stuck in this body:



Though, I admit that it would be helpful to have a link to the post, so I'll try to track it down if I can.

Found it! Turns out it was on Allspark - http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/95 ... ?p=2394564

Pete@BotCon wrote:

Pete@BotCon wrote:And for the record. In regard to some other post I read. Neither of us gave any thought to how Waspinator got back to Cybertron nor how long it took him to get back...

Is this the actual BW/BM Waspinator, or a doppelganger from a nearby universe?

As of right now, we are thinking this is BW/BM Waspathrust proper

This was posted on September 13, 2013.