Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever!
Saturday, April 10th, 2010 11:53AM CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Site ArticlesPosted by: Tigertrack Views: 76,644
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Clickity-clack-clickity-clack-clickity-clack...Is that Astrotrain choo-choo-ing his way up the track? Or is that Rail Racer protecting planet Earth from the evil Predacons? In this case, it’s neither. That noise is community member Diem tickling his computer keys as he waxes poetic with his unique style of fact, intertwined with humor (lots of humor), as he shares his ideas on the 26 greatest Transformers toy alt modes of all time. Oh yeah, and he uses a 'boat' load of the images from the galleries here on seibertron.com, reminding you of just what toys you may be missing, or under-appreciating in your collection. Diem covers toys from G1 to the current Revenge of the Fallen storyline, a bit for everyone!
Does your favorite alt mode make Diem’s cut? Check out the list, which nears completion soon! Only 4 alt modes left to reveal!
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Does your favorite alt mode make Diem’s cut? Check out the list, which nears completion soon! Only 4 alt modes left to reveal!
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Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063365)
Posted by Swiftpaw on April 10th, 2010 @ 12:00pm CDT
Posted by Swiftpaw on April 10th, 2010 @ 12:00pm CDT
Ahahaha. All good choices. The sheer diversity in what can be transformed into is one of the things that make the meta-franchise such a great thing!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063367)
Posted by RK_Striker_JK_5 on April 10th, 2010 @ 12:02pm CDT
Always have wondered how you look at something and figure that out, too.
Posted by RK_Striker_JK_5 on April 10th, 2010 @ 12:02pm CDT
Swiftpaw wrote:Ahahaha. All good choices. The sheer diversity in what can be transformed into is one of the things that make the meta-franchise such a great thing!
Always have wondered how you look at something and figure that out, too.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063419)
Posted by vegetacron on April 10th, 2010 @ 3:07pm CDT
Posted by vegetacron on April 10th, 2010 @ 3:07pm CDT
This post is epic. I'm sure you all know that. Diem, your posts are freakin hilarious.
"Drill nuts and Powerhug" = OMFGWINROFL
Ah, and yeah, you know theres gonna be a TRANSFOMERS MMORPG. No escapin that. Its just a matter of time.
"Drill nuts and Powerhug" = OMFGWINROFL
Ah, and yeah, you know theres gonna be a TRANSFOMERS MMORPG. No escapin that. Its just a matter of time.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063445)
Posted by autobot-jolt on April 10th, 2010 @ 4:29pm CDT
Posted by autobot-jolt on April 10th, 2010 @ 4:29pm CDT
pretty cool. 
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063462)
Posted by Samsonator on April 10th, 2010 @ 6:22pm CDT
Posted by Samsonator on April 10th, 2010 @ 6:22pm CDT
Wow... the thread got news'd... Congrats Diem, the little thread that could is now news!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063473)
Posted by scout185090002 on April 10th, 2010 @ 7:44pm CDT
Posted by scout185090002 on April 10th, 2010 @ 7:44pm CDT
Awesome thread diem. I agree with all your picks. You should really put in "Construction vehicles" or something like that. Come on, these guys are awomse alts, like Rotf Rampage and Long Haul.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063480)
Posted by Tigertrack on April 10th, 2010 @ 8:13pm CDT
There are 4 to reveal yet, you never know what he has up his sleeve.
Posted by Tigertrack on April 10th, 2010 @ 8:13pm CDT
scout185090002 wrote:Awesome thread diem. I agree with all your picks. You should really put in "Construction vehicles" or something like that. Come on, these guys are awomse alts, like Rotf Rampage and Long Haul.
There are 4 to reveal yet, you never know what he has up his sleeve.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063485)
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 10th, 2010 @ 8:31pm CDT
Actually, according to the Sourcebook, he is that Silverbolt. Of course, that came from the pen of Simon Furman, whose known for doing that sort of thing. (RE: Nefarious.)
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 10th, 2010 @ 8:31pm CDT
Diem wrote:
"I'm Silverbolt. Not that one."
Actually, according to the Sourcebook, he is that Silverbolt. Of course, that came from the pen of Simon Furman, whose known for doing that sort of thing. (RE: Nefarious.)
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063496)
Posted by Supreme Convoy on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:02pm CDT
What happens in Nefarious?
Posted by Supreme Convoy on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:02pm CDT
Darth Bombshell wrote:Actually, according to the Sourcebook, he is that Silverbolt. Of course, that came from the pen of Simon Furman, whose known for doing that sort of thing. (RE: Nefarious.)
What happens in Nefarious?
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063498)
Posted by joevill on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:18pm CDT
Posted by joevill on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:18pm CDT
Wow! What a great list! I cannot wait until it is complete!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063501)
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:36pm CDT
We get Soundwave partners named Rumble, Beastbox, Ratbat and Buzzsaw for no other reason than because Simon Furman's writing it.
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:36pm CDT
Supreme Convoy wrote:What happens in Nefarious?
We get Soundwave partners named Rumble, Beastbox, Ratbat and Buzzsaw for no other reason than because Simon Furman's writing it.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063505)
Posted by stringfellow on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:52pm CDT
How could you forget Browning?
Posted by stringfellow on April 10th, 2010 @ 9:52pm CDT
Diem wrote:Thanks guys! On with the list:
#23: Guns and Weaponry
How could you forget Browning?
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063511)
Posted by CybertronHotShot on April 10th, 2010 @ 10:18pm CDT
Nice selection, but i list Titanium Megatron and Animated Blitzwing.
Posted by CybertronHotShot on April 10th, 2010 @ 10:18pm CDT
Diem wrote:Wow, I can't believe I had such a bird-shaped, Unicron Trilogy sized brainfart!
Anyhyew, on with the list:
#18: Tanks
Nice selection, but i list Titanium Megatron and Animated Blitzwing.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063519)
Posted by MrMunkeepants on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:25pm CDT
Posted by MrMunkeepants on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:25pm CDT
why are you two quoting whole posts? that's a lot of unnecessary scrolling! how about just the title and a link back to it?
anyway, saw this on the front page and can't believe what I've been missing out on! this is a great countdown, I'm anxious to see the top four
anyway, saw this on the front page and can't believe what I've been missing out on! this is a great countdown, I'm anxious to see the top four
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063524)
Posted by CybertronHotShot on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:51pm CDT
My bad, i´m was watching 300 at the time.
Posted by CybertronHotShot on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:51pm CDT
MrMunkeepants wrote:why are you two quoting whole posts? that's a lot of unnecessary scrolling! how about just the title and a link back to it?
anyway, saw this on the front page and can't believe what I've been missing out on! this is a great countdown, I'm anxious to see the top four
My bad, i´m was watching 300 at the time.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063526)
Posted by stringfellow on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:59pm CDT
Wasn't thinking sorry.
Posted by stringfellow on April 10th, 2010 @ 11:59pm CDT
MrMunkeepants wrote:why are you two quoting whole posts? that's a lot of unnecessary scrolling! how about just the title and a link back to it?
anyway, saw this on the front page and can't believe what I've been missing out on! this is a great countdown, I'm anxious to see the top four
Wasn't thinking sorry.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063539)
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 12:58am CDT
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 12:58am CDT
Wow! I'm incredibly overwhelmed by all the positive response and by the newsing! Thank you everyone. Although some of these entries have been a lot of work to write I've appreciated the support all the way.
I've traded in my old crappy crashy PC for a shiny new Mac (I expect my polo neck and beret to spontaneously appear at any second) so hopefully nothing will get in the way of the last four entries.
To celebrate, let's have some honourable mentions for those who didn't make the list:
"Open, dammit! Open!"
There's nothing like playing with a whole planet to make you feel like God. On the other hand there are only two planetformers (unless you count Darth Vader), they're horribly out of scale to everyone else and they make my Micromasters feel inadequate.
"Nyeeeeah, what's up, Blot?"
On the one hand, a rabbit mode is perfect for a recon agent or a scout who needs to get behind enemy lines without being seen. On the other hand, he's a bunny!
Lent his accent to Animated Blitzwing and never got it back.
Volkwagens would have been a better alt mode were they not a Bumblebee-only club.
"Now that's a well made shoe!"
Heh heh. Yeah. Good times.
I've traded in my old crappy crashy PC for a shiny new Mac (I expect my polo neck and beret to spontaneously appear at any second) so hopefully nothing will get in the way of the last four entries.
To celebrate, let's have some honourable mentions for those who didn't make the list:
"Open, dammit! Open!"
There's nothing like playing with a whole planet to make you feel like God. On the other hand there are only two planetformers (unless you count Darth Vader), they're horribly out of scale to everyone else and they make my Micromasters feel inadequate.
"Nyeeeeah, what's up, Blot?"
On the one hand, a rabbit mode is perfect for a recon agent or a scout who needs to get behind enemy lines without being seen. On the other hand, he's a bunny!
Lent his accent to Animated Blitzwing and never got it back.
Volkwagens would have been a better alt mode were they not a Bumblebee-only club.
"Now that's a well made shoe!"
Heh heh. Yeah. Good times.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063585)
Posted by Mykltron on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:42am CDT
"He's got a vicious streak a mile wide! Look at the bones!"
Posted by Mykltron on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:42am CDT
Diem wrote:"Open, dammit! Open!"
Diem wrote:On the one hand, a rabbit mode is perfect for a recon agent or a scout who needs to get behind enemy lines without being seen. On the other hand, he's a bunny!
"He's got a vicious streak a mile wide! Look at the bones!"
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063589)
Posted by vectorA3 on April 11th, 2010 @ 5:00am CDT
Posted by vectorA3 on April 11th, 2010 @ 5:00am CDT
this is great!! A history of TF with humor!! Very funny stuff. Russell Brand should be punched for taking Katy Perry off the singles market & impregnating her. 
I have Sparkstalker and never knew anything about him. I knew he was obscure & am glad he was on the list. Strange looking to me more than cute.
Diem ----your list. Need moar.........
I have Sparkstalker and never knew anything about him. I knew he was obscure & am glad he was on the list. Strange looking to me more than cute.
Diem ----your list. Need moar.........
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063628)
Posted by frogbat on April 11th, 2010 @ 11:29am CDT
Posted by frogbat on April 11th, 2010 @ 11:29am CDT
cool list and entertaining writeups
am hopin that the cityformers/basebots are somewhere in the top 4 (unless i missed them) along with futuristic jets, construction vehicles and rescue vehicles, arachnids... interplanetary vehicles... alt modes that require some sort of explanation when they appear in your bedroom as an adult (countdown..)
am hopin that the cityformers/basebots are somewhere in the top 4 (unless i missed them) along with futuristic jets, construction vehicles and rescue vehicles, arachnids... interplanetary vehicles... alt modes that require some sort of explanation when they appear in your bedroom as an adult (countdown..)
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063633)
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 12:25pm CDT
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 12:25pm CDT
My only criticism is that while the subject is about alt modes, you continually reference their robot modes and don't provide pics! For someone who went through that same phase most kids do to abandon their toys between the ages of 12 and 20 something, I find myself stopping to have to look stuff up left and right in the toy gallery.
Mathius
Mathius
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063643)
Posted by Break on April 11th, 2010 @ 1:15pm CDT
Posted by Break on April 11th, 2010 @ 1:15pm CDT
First time I've logged in for ages.
I'm guessing #4 is going to be dogs, if he was leaving us a clue.
However, if it wasn't, then this should be the Final four
#4: Bats (Ratbat, Mindwipe the Headmaster, and the original OPtimus Primal figure)
#3: Space Shuttle (Astrotrain, Blast Off, Sky Lynx)
#2: Fire truck (G1 Inferno, Hot Spot, a Micromaster, and occasionally Optimus Prime, because having Optimus as a semi can get old, and Fire Truck is the best alternative choice for the most heroic individual on wheel that requires something with some size)
#1 : Penguin (Hey, it's just Break, but you don't get better than a penguin, period. Just wish it was a Rockhopper and not an Emperor, alas.)
I'm guessing #4 is going to be dogs, if he was leaving us a clue.
However, if it wasn't, then this should be the Final four
#4: Bats (Ratbat, Mindwipe the Headmaster, and the original OPtimus Primal figure)
#3: Space Shuttle (Astrotrain, Blast Off, Sky Lynx)
#2: Fire truck (G1 Inferno, Hot Spot, a Micromaster, and occasionally Optimus Prime, because having Optimus as a semi can get old, and Fire Truck is the best alternative choice for the most heroic individual on wheel that requires something with some size)
#1 : Penguin (Hey, it's just Break, but you don't get better than a penguin, period. Just wish it was a Rockhopper and not an Emperor, alas.)
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063652)
Posted by Name_Violation on April 11th, 2010 @ 1:40pm CDT
Posted by Name_Violation on April 11th, 2010 @ 1:40pm CDT
awesome stuff!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063659)
Posted by Archanubis on April 11th, 2010 @ 2:24pm CDT
I think he's already covered Ratbat.
Him too, back under Weapons/Targetmasters.
Posted by Archanubis on April 11th, 2010 @ 2:24pm CDT
Break wrote:#4: Bats (Ratbat, Mindwipe the Headmaster, and the original OPtimus Primal figure)
I think he's already covered Ratbat.
Break wrote:#1 : Penguin (Hey, it's just Break, but you don't get better than a penguin, period. Just wish it was a Rockhopper and not an Emperor, alas.)
Him too, back under Weapons/Targetmasters.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063703)
Posted by Break on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:11pm CDT
Posted by Break on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:11pm CDT
I thought of another possibilities
Cites/Fortresses: (Tryticon, Metroplex, Fort Max, G1 Omega Supreme)
Cites/Fortresses: (Tryticon, Metroplex, Fort Max, G1 Omega Supreme)
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063713)
Posted by Tigertrack on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:30pm CDT
There are plenty of pics of alt modes. Since most of the discussion is alt modes they are what is pictured. If you are using your skills to look in the toy gallery, well, good job!
You can't expect Diem to do everything.
Posted by Tigertrack on April 11th, 2010 @ 4:30pm CDT
Mathius wrote:My only criticism is that while the subject is about alt modes, you continually reference their robot modes and don't provide pics! For someone who went through that same phase most kids do to abandon their toys between the ages of 12 and 20 something, I find myself stopping to have to look stuff up left and right in the toy gallery.
Mathius
There are plenty of pics of alt modes. Since most of the discussion is alt modes they are what is pictured. If you are using your skills to look in the toy gallery, well, good job!
You can't expect Diem to do everything.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063739)
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 6:47pm CDT
Thank you. I'm trying to only include one picture per figure unless there's some special feature I'm trying to show.
Everyone is making very good suggestions for the next four alt modes (and there've been a few correct guesses) but with only a few minor edits this list has been set in stone since before I started it. But if anyone wants to use this thread to write some "Honourable Mention" entries once the list is finished I totally support that. Some alt modes won't feature simply because I personally don't have any real interest in them or anything interesting to say about them but I'd love to hear other people's perspectives.
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 6:47pm CDT
tigertracks 24 wrote:Mathius wrote:My only criticism is that while the subject is about alt modes, you continually reference their robot modes and don't provide pics! For someone who went through that same phase most kids do to abandon their toys between the ages of 12 and 20 something, I find myself stopping to have to look stuff up left and right in the toy gallery.
Mathius
There are plenty of pics of alt modes. Since most of the discussion is alt modes they are what is pictured. If you are using your skills to look in the toy gallery, well, good job!
Thank you. I'm trying to only include one picture per figure unless there's some special feature I'm trying to show.
Everyone is making very good suggestions for the next four alt modes (and there've been a few correct guesses) but with only a few minor edits this list has been set in stone since before I started it. But if anyone wants to use this thread to write some "Honourable Mention" entries once the list is finished I totally support that. Some alt modes won't feature simply because I personally don't have any real interest in them or anything interesting to say about them but I'd love to hear other people's perspectives.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063741)
Posted by Forgotten on April 11th, 2010 @ 6:54pm CDT
Posted by Forgotten on April 11th, 2010 @ 6:54pm CDT
Glad to see this thread back going. Diem, you're doing an excellent job. Congrats on the marriage, If I would have known you were about to tie the knot I would have sent you a wedding present with your other stuff. And thank you very much for giving the shoeformers honorable mention. Those things are so terrible they're awesome. 
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063746)
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 7:46pm CDT
Except he's not just discussing their alt modes. He's very specifically reviewing each characters robot modes as well. I'm not expecting him to "do everything", but then HE chose to do the write-up. It just would have been nice if he's going to bring them up.
That makes sense and you're doing a great job, I'm just frustrated by the amount of time and work I have to put into reading your article. If it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't still be reading it 9 pages later, but it would have been nice not to have to do the work.
Mathius
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 7:46pm CDT
tigertracks 24 wrote:There are plenty of pics of alt modes. Since most of the discussion is alt modes they are what is pictured. If you are using your skills to look in the toy gallery, well, good job!
Except he's not just discussing their alt modes. He's very specifically reviewing each characters robot modes as well. I'm not expecting him to "do everything", but then HE chose to do the write-up. It just would have been nice if he's going to bring them up.
Diem wrote:Thank you. I'm trying to only include one picture per figure unless there's some special feature I'm trying to show.
That makes sense and you're doing a great job, I'm just frustrated by the amount of time and work I have to put into reading your article. If it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't still be reading it 9 pages later, but it would have been nice not to have to do the work.
Mathius
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063747)
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:07pm CDT
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:07pm CDT
Okay, time for entry number 4.
Do you remember Gobots? I don't!
Seriously, Gobots were pretty cool. But there were a number of reasons why they came a second best to Transformers. For a start their animation was done by Hanna Barbera which means that the Guardians kept chasing the Renegades past the same boulder over and over. They had terrible, terrible names (will the real Spay-C and Cop-Tur please stand up), were usually very small and didn't come with any accessories.
On the plus side though, Gobots had a fantastic range of alt modes including some that have only just now been seen in Transformers and some that still haven't been seen (such as limos, seaplanes, chinooks and garbage trucks). Unfortunately this wasn't reflected in the cartoon. The leader of the Guardians, Leader-1 (yeeeeeeah) was an F-15 (not that there's anything wrong with F-15s but they were regular troops in Transformers) and the leader of the Renegades, Cy-kill (yeeeeeeeah) was a motorbike, not the most imposing or terrifying vehicle.
They did get one thing right though: Crasher, Cy-kill's second-in-command was a tough-talking, oddly-hot fembot who could cause earthquakes by stomping her feet. Not only did she have a non-stupid name but she had a fantastic alt mode:
Diem's life hints #117: Never tell a girl in real life she can cause earthquakes by stomping her foot.
#4: LeMans
Heheh..."Who's the man now dawg"..."the man"...."Le Man"...get it? Oh, nevermind.
As an enthusiast of pretty things with engines, the LeMans racer takes me to a happy place. The low profile, the minimal ground-clearance, the wheel arches the same height as the cockpit and the sleek curves leading up to the spoiler. If cars were food, LeMans would be very very sexy cars.
Traumatised warrior on the inside, bright orange on the outside.
Like his fellow Triggerbots Backstreet has a sad back story revealing why he hates war and loves fluffy bunnies. Also like his fellow Triggerbots he only has articulation in his shoulders unless you count bending over backwards at the ankles for limbo purposes. Despite the minimal paint apps his car mode is incredibly sexy with smooth lines and a giant pair of pop-out cannons. Nice.
"Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Friends for life through thick and thin with another Tailspin!"
Tailspin may have been yet another Micromaster with the same transformation but his sweet car mode really stands out. Also he has missile-launchers mounted to the sides of his head, so he must be really brave (and deaf).
"Deluuuuuuuge. Dellllluuuuuuuuggge."
I've mentioned the Aquaspeeders before as a range of guys with colour-changing parts and water-squirting guns (nice synergy there) but Deluge has to be their king. He has a very pretty and very nineties blue and green colour scheme with pink highlights and an eagle decal on the bonnet. The colours would normally be too gaudy but on a racing car it fits. Plus the name Deluge is a great name for a guy with a water squirter. As a robot he had a strangely aquiline face and powerful arms. In the US he was slightly recoloured and renamed Drench.
Later on for BotCon they knocked out a figure called Sideswipe who was a homage to Drench who is a redeco of Deluge; the figure was a repaint of Armada Wheeljack who was an Autobot who became a Decepticon. The figure was supposed to represent G1 Sideswipe in the Shattered Glass universe who is an Evil Autobot who became a Heroic Decepticon after borrowing the paint job of SG Drench. Needless to say I love this figure just for sheer continuitywank (TF buyer, that one's for you).
And Mathias, this one's for you.
Six-Speed the Minicon is a pretty cool guy (eh opens space warps and doesn't afraid of anything) with a transformation that harkens back to G1 days (and I don't use the word "harken" lightly). He got repainted a ton of times.
Sadly that's about the end of it for LeMans racers. Here's hoping that Bay starts watching less military porn and more 2 Fast 2 Furious before making the third movie.
Next time: an alt mode that's practically perfect in every way.
Do you remember Gobots? I don't!
Seriously, Gobots were pretty cool. But there were a number of reasons why they came a second best to Transformers. For a start their animation was done by Hanna Barbera which means that the Guardians kept chasing the Renegades past the same boulder over and over. They had terrible, terrible names (will the real Spay-C and Cop-Tur please stand up), were usually very small and didn't come with any accessories.
On the plus side though, Gobots had a fantastic range of alt modes including some that have only just now been seen in Transformers and some that still haven't been seen (such as limos, seaplanes, chinooks and garbage trucks). Unfortunately this wasn't reflected in the cartoon. The leader of the Guardians, Leader-1 (yeeeeeeah) was an F-15 (not that there's anything wrong with F-15s but they were regular troops in Transformers) and the leader of the Renegades, Cy-kill (yeeeeeeeah) was a motorbike, not the most imposing or terrifying vehicle.
They did get one thing right though: Crasher, Cy-kill's second-in-command was a tough-talking, oddly-hot fembot who could cause earthquakes by stomping her feet. Not only did she have a non-stupid name but she had a fantastic alt mode:
Diem's life hints #117: Never tell a girl in real life she can cause earthquakes by stomping her foot.
#4: LeMans
Heheh..."Who's the man now dawg"..."the man"...."Le Man"...get it? Oh, nevermind.
As an enthusiast of pretty things with engines, the LeMans racer takes me to a happy place. The low profile, the minimal ground-clearance, the wheel arches the same height as the cockpit and the sleek curves leading up to the spoiler. If cars were food, LeMans would be very very sexy cars.
Traumatised warrior on the inside, bright orange on the outside.
Like his fellow Triggerbots Backstreet has a sad back story revealing why he hates war and loves fluffy bunnies. Also like his fellow Triggerbots he only has articulation in his shoulders unless you count bending over backwards at the ankles for limbo purposes. Despite the minimal paint apps his car mode is incredibly sexy with smooth lines and a giant pair of pop-out cannons. Nice.
"Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Friends for life through thick and thin with another Tailspin!"
Tailspin may have been yet another Micromaster with the same transformation but his sweet car mode really stands out. Also he has missile-launchers mounted to the sides of his head, so he must be really brave (and deaf).
"Deluuuuuuuge. Dellllluuuuuuuuggge."
I've mentioned the Aquaspeeders before as a range of guys with colour-changing parts and water-squirting guns (nice synergy there) but Deluge has to be their king. He has a very pretty and very nineties blue and green colour scheme with pink highlights and an eagle decal on the bonnet. The colours would normally be too gaudy but on a racing car it fits. Plus the name Deluge is a great name for a guy with a water squirter. As a robot he had a strangely aquiline face and powerful arms. In the US he was slightly recoloured and renamed Drench.
Later on for BotCon they knocked out a figure called Sideswipe who was a homage to Drench who is a redeco of Deluge; the figure was a repaint of Armada Wheeljack who was an Autobot who became a Decepticon. The figure was supposed to represent G1 Sideswipe in the Shattered Glass universe who is an Evil Autobot who became a Heroic Decepticon after borrowing the paint job of SG Drench. Needless to say I love this figure just for sheer continuitywank (TF buyer, that one's for you).
And Mathias, this one's for you.
Six-Speed the Minicon is a pretty cool guy (eh opens space warps and doesn't afraid of anything) with a transformation that harkens back to G1 days (and I don't use the word "harken" lightly). He got repainted a ton of times.
Sadly that's about the end of it for LeMans racers. Here's hoping that Bay starts watching less military porn and more 2 Fast 2 Furious before making the third movie.
Next time: an alt mode that's practically perfect in every way.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063748)
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:09pm CDT
You could keep another tab open with the galleries. That's how I'm copy-pasting the pictures in the first place, after all.
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:09pm CDT
Mathius wrote:Diem wrote:Thank you. I'm trying to only include one picture per figure unless there's some special feature I'm trying to show.
That makes sense and you're doing a great job, I'm just frustrated by the amount of time and work I have to put into reading your article. If it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't still be reading it 9 pages later, but it would have been nice not to have to do the work.
Mathius
You could keep another tab open with the galleries. That's how I'm copy-pasting the pictures in the first place, after all.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063750)
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:11pm CDT
Dunno whether this counts as a "only just now" or "still haven't been", but Animated Wreck-Gar was a garbage truck.
Posted by Darth Bombshell on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:11pm CDT
Diem wrote:Gobots had a fantastic range of alt modes including some that have only just now been seen in Transformers and some that still haven't been seen (such as limos, seaplanes, chinooks and garbage trucks).
Dunno whether this counts as a "only just now" or "still haven't been", but Animated Wreck-Gar was a garbage truck.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063752)
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:18pm CDT
Posted by Diem on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:18pm CDT
"Only just now". After all it took, what, 24 years of Transformers for him to come out. And the first Chinook is coming out as part of the Power Core Combiners.Darth Bombshell wrote:Diem wrote:Gobots had a fantastic range of alt modes including some that have only just now been seen in Transformers and some that still haven't been seen (such as limos, seaplanes, chinooks and garbage trucks).
Dunno whether this counts as a "only just now" or "still haven't been", but Animated Wreck-Gar was a garbage truck.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063754)
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:36pm CDT
Yeah. That's what I'm doing. Keep getting sidetracked by other transformer goodness though.
Mathius
Posted by Mathius on April 11th, 2010 @ 8:36pm CDT
Diem wrote:You could keep another tab open with the galleries. That's how I'm copy-pasting the pictures in the first place, after all.
Yeah. That's what I'm doing. Keep getting sidetracked by other transformer goodness though.
Mathius
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063836)
Posted by Heckfire on April 12th, 2010 @ 1:54am CDT
Posted by Heckfire on April 12th, 2010 @ 1:54am CDT
Isn't the Mini-Con Downshift (and his fifty repaints) a Le Mans racer, too?
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063838)
Posted by Blurrz on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:06am CDT
Yup... so where's Waldo?
Posted by Blurrz on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:06am CDT
Heckfire wrote:Isn't the Mini-Con Downshift (and his fifty repaints) a Le Mans racer, too?
Yup... so where's Waldo?
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063839)
Posted by Diem on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:19am CDT
Is that your collection? It rivals CPs.
Posted by Diem on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:19am CDT
Blurrz wrote:Heckfire wrote:Isn't the Mini-Con Downshift (and his fifty repaints) a Le Mans racer, too?
Yup... so where's Waldo?
Is that your collection? It rivals CPs.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063842)
Posted by Blurrz on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:32am CDT
Posted by Blurrz on April 12th, 2010 @ 2:32am CDT
Bwahaha. No it's Rikkomba's.....
Although it will inevitably be mine, once I hide the body..
haha... Joking!
Although it will inevitably be mine, once I hide the body..
haha... Joking!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063848)
Posted by vectorA3 on April 12th, 2010 @ 4:04am CDT
dangit. I was thinkin that too. U beat me to it
Posted by vectorA3 on April 12th, 2010 @ 4:04am CDT
Break wrote:I thought of another possibilities
Cites/Fortresses: (Tryticon, Metroplex, Fort Max, G1 Omega Supreme)
dangit. I was thinkin that too. U beat me to it
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063880)
Posted by Tigertrack on April 12th, 2010 @ 6:59am CDT
Seriously?
I'm glad you think all the clicking and page flipping is worth it. At least the material is all on one website!
Posted by Tigertrack on April 12th, 2010 @ 6:59am CDT
Mathius wrote:tigertracks 24 wrote:There are plenty of pics of alt modes. Since most of the discussion is alt modes they are what is pictured. If you are using your skills to look in the toy gallery, well, good job!
Except he's not just discussing their alt modes. He's very specifically reviewing each characters robot modes as well. I'm not expecting him to "do everything", but then HE chose to do the write-up. It just would have been nice if he's going to bring them up.
Seriously?
That makes sense and you're doing a great job, I'm just frustrated by the amount of time and work I have to put into reading your article. If it wasn't worth it, I wouldn't still be reading it 9 pages later, but it would have been nice not to have to do the work.
Mathius
I'm glad you think all the clicking and page flipping is worth it. At least the material is all on one website!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063912)
Posted by Agamemnon on April 12th, 2010 @ 8:53am CDT
Mary Poppins was a Transformer? Weird.
Posted by Agamemnon on April 12th, 2010 @ 8:53am CDT
Diem wrote:Next time: an alt mode that's practically perfect in every way.
Mary Poppins was a Transformer? Weird.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063931)
Posted by --B-- on April 12th, 2010 @ 10:04am CDT
Posted by --B-- on April 12th, 2010 @ 10:04am CDT
[quote="Diem]"Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Whoa-ee-oh, Tailspin! Friends for life through thick and thin with another Tailspin!"[/quote]
Nice. For those who didn't get it, (which is like 95% of you)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaleSpin
Nice. For those who didn't get it, (which is like 95% of you)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TaleSpin
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063950)
Posted by zenosaurus_x on April 12th, 2010 @ 10:53am CDT
That's exactly what you want us to think.............
Well the new entry was cool, I don't think it deserves 4 though, but it was still good as usual.
And the Tailspin joke was awesome, oddly enough I got it and I'm younger than almost everyone here.....
Posted by zenosaurus_x on April 12th, 2010 @ 10:53am CDT
Blurrz wrote:Bwahaha. No it's Rikkomba's.....
Although it will inevitably be mine, once I hide the body..
haha... Joking!
That's exactly what you want us to think.............
Well the new entry was cool, I don't think it deserves 4 though, but it was still good as usual.
And the Tailspin joke was awesome, oddly enough I got it and I'm younger than almost everyone here.....
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063964)
Posted by Oilspill on April 12th, 2010 @ 11:45am CDT
Posted by Oilspill on April 12th, 2010 @ 11:45am CDT
Catching up on the 26-4 was way too addictive read. Awesome write-up Diem.
Now we're down to the meat and potatoes.
Now we're down to the meat and potatoes.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063974)
Posted by Iron Prime on April 12th, 2010 @ 12:19pm CDT
Posted by Iron Prime on April 12th, 2010 @ 12:19pm CDT
I'm so glad I didn't catch this at the beginning - the wait would have killed me! Waiting for 3, 2, and 1 is going to be torturous!
(GREAT work Diem!)
(GREAT work Diem!)
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1063987)
Posted by Sabrblade on April 12th, 2010 @ 1:10pm CDT
You forgot Daytonus!
Posted by Sabrblade on April 12th, 2010 @ 1:10pm CDT
Diem wrote:#4: LeMans
You forgot Daytonus!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1064021)
Posted by Break on April 12th, 2010 @ 3:15pm CDT
Now, if I was doing it, I would mention the original Optimus' trailer, and the attempt to make the Scramble City leaders have a base mode, each of which was a fail (well, Onslaught's wasn't too bad).
Can't come up with any that isn't G1, but I'm old school. My first transformer was Starscream in Christmas 1984.
Posted by Break on April 12th, 2010 @ 3:15pm CDT
vectorA3 wrote:Break wrote:I thought of another possibilities
Cites/Fortresses: (Tryticon, Metroplex, Fort Max, G1 Omega Supreme)
dangit. I was thinkin that too. U beat me to it
Now, if I was doing it, I would mention the original Optimus' trailer, and the attempt to make the Scramble City leaders have a base mode, each of which was a fail (well, Onslaught's wasn't too bad).
Can't come up with any that isn't G1, but I'm old school. My first transformer was Starscream in Christmas 1984.
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1064092)
Posted by TFBuyer on April 12th, 2010 @ 9:17pm CDT
I tip my hat to you, sir! You now deserve some fanwank of your own!
Posted by TFBuyer on April 12th, 2010 @ 9:17pm CDT
Diem wrote: Needless to say I love this figure just for sheer continuitywank (TF buyer, that one's for you).
I tip my hat to you, sir! You now deserve some fanwank of your own!
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1064093)
Posted by First-Aid on April 12th, 2010 @ 9:30pm CDT
Posted by First-Aid on April 12th, 2010 @ 9:30pm CDT
What a fantastic article! My wife and I are loving reading the list! My guess for one of the remaining alts is:
Heads!
I think we know firetrucks/rescue equipment is also on the list somewhere just for the sole reason of RiD Prime. Also, would gestalts count as an alt mode?
Heads!
I think we know firetrucks/rescue equipment is also on the list somewhere just for the sole reason of RiD Prime. Also, would gestalts count as an alt mode?
Re: Seibertron.com List and Discussion- The 26 Best Toy Alt Modes Ever! (1064161)
Posted by Diem on April 13th, 2010 @ 7:54am CDT
There's a LeMans spychanger and I missed it?!? That's a must buy.
I'm amazed by the number of supportive comments and fantastic suggestions in this thread. That said, it's time for round two of
Honourable Mentions
(or "I could've been a contender.")
"While my arms fly into space my body will go round and round on my wings and legs."
I'm gonna go a bit tl;dr for a minute: When I was young, my mum taught me a valuable lesson about saving money (that utterly failed to impact my adult life). While visiting relatives we spotted Metroplex who usually retailed for 40 quid IIRC on sale for 20 quid. She agreed to buy it on the proviso that I don't open the toy until I'd saved up enough money. Since my pocket money then was 2 quid a week I spent 10 weeks staring at the outside of a box. It was totally worth it though.
Although it's important for an army to have a good, powerful base, it kinda sucks to BE that base. After all, you have people inside you the whole time using your toilets and scuffing up your floors, and the only time you get to stretch your legs is when there's some kind of massive threat approaching. It would be like Superman's secret identity being not Clark Kent, but instead a filing cabinet at the Daily Planet offices.
Now DJing at a club near you.
Really construction vehicles should be on any good list of Alt modes but to be honest, I've never had much interest in them. For me there are several important factors to a good Alt; coolness, sleekness, speed, firepower, cuteness, quirkiness or being a tanuki all ranked high while practicality ranked low.
While I have nothing against construction vehicles (G1 Mixmaster is a Shakespearian witch in transforming robot form and the likes of Armada Hoist and Energon Landmine are great), the thought of writing a full entry about them, having to include all of them, arguing about the different international names of excavators and trying to make the whole thing entertaining, vaguely accurate and funny just kills me. As I said before if anyone else wants to write a full-length Honourable Mention I totally support that.
"FOR THE COLONY!"
And it's the same for fire engines really. RiD Prime is fantastic, G1 Hotspot is okay, but the rest bore me to tears.
"You can call me...Wheeliejumper."
Mindwipe is one of my favourite G1 figures but he isn't enough to outweigh the camel-faced Ratbat, the ugly Sonar or Nightscream.
"Da da da Look at my head. It's so crazy, look at my head. I got big ol' head, hey ho. All right show's over, I'm tired."
I would include heads, but a warrior doesn't need a head, just a good strong body.
Okay so entry #3 will be coming reeeeeal soon.
Posted by Diem on April 13th, 2010 @ 7:54am CDT
Sabrblade wrote:Diem wrote:#4: LeMans
You forgot Daytonus!
There's a LeMans spychanger and I missed it?!? That's a must buy.
I'm amazed by the number of supportive comments and fantastic suggestions in this thread. That said, it's time for round two of
Honourable Mentions
(or "I could've been a contender.")
"While my arms fly into space my body will go round and round on my wings and legs."
I'm gonna go a bit tl;dr for a minute: When I was young, my mum taught me a valuable lesson about saving money (that utterly failed to impact my adult life). While visiting relatives we spotted Metroplex who usually retailed for 40 quid IIRC on sale for 20 quid. She agreed to buy it on the proviso that I don't open the toy until I'd saved up enough money. Since my pocket money then was 2 quid a week I spent 10 weeks staring at the outside of a box. It was totally worth it though.
Although it's important for an army to have a good, powerful base, it kinda sucks to BE that base. After all, you have people inside you the whole time using your toilets and scuffing up your floors, and the only time you get to stretch your legs is when there's some kind of massive threat approaching. It would be like Superman's secret identity being not Clark Kent, but instead a filing cabinet at the Daily Planet offices.
Now DJing at a club near you.
Really construction vehicles should be on any good list of Alt modes but to be honest, I've never had much interest in them. For me there are several important factors to a good Alt; coolness, sleekness, speed, firepower, cuteness, quirkiness or being a tanuki all ranked high while practicality ranked low.
While I have nothing against construction vehicles (G1 Mixmaster is a Shakespearian witch in transforming robot form and the likes of Armada Hoist and Energon Landmine are great), the thought of writing a full entry about them, having to include all of them, arguing about the different international names of excavators and trying to make the whole thing entertaining, vaguely accurate and funny just kills me. As I said before if anyone else wants to write a full-length Honourable Mention I totally support that.
"FOR THE COLONY!"
And it's the same for fire engines really. RiD Prime is fantastic, G1 Hotspot is okay, but the rest bore me to tears.
"You can call me...Wheeliejumper."
Mindwipe is one of my favourite G1 figures but he isn't enough to outweigh the camel-faced Ratbat, the ugly Sonar or Nightscream.
"Da da da Look at my head. It's so crazy, look at my head. I got big ol' head, hey ho. All right show's over, I'm tired."
I would include heads, but a warrior doesn't need a head, just a good strong body.
Okay so entry #3 will be coming reeeeeal soon.
