Twincast / Podcast Episode #109 "I Can Deal With That"

Oh I am so glad this is up, it's been a long work week and now I've got something to take the edge off... well... this and possibly alcohol...

Anyone ever notice combiners are essentially transformers having an orgy, and make a bigger robot?

Oh and it seems that there's allota Michael's/Mikes auditioning and/on the show.

Good episode, I really dig these long ones.
Can't really say why, for sure... but I'm really looking forward to episode 110 now!

Odd that some of the MP 'desirables' mentioned in this episode are what a lot of MP collectors complain about, either in the official line or 3rd party releases. Specifically gimmicks and light piping for eyes... Personally, I could do without both. Light piping, while cool looking when you have a light shining on the back of the head, is mostly useless when the figure is sitting on a shelf and gives the figure dull or 'dead' eyes without the proper lighting. And gimmicks, I'm fine with them if they don't himder the figure, but most the time they're unnecessary. The figure transforming and looking like the toon is all the gimmick I need.

As for Ultra Magnus...great figure! But I do wish they would have scaled him to bot mode like they have the rest of the line since the reboot. Not even the carbots scale properly in alt mode to MP-10, why's Magnus the one exception? I'd understand if they went the white Prime route and that's just how it landed, but they didn't... But I think I'm probably in the minority I'm that one. Good for everyone else, I guess.

I think if they scaled him smaller, it won't be proportional to MP-10 and won't be a car carrier for the other MP cars.

Wow, another one out already! I need to catch up...

Wow that cloud Rodimus is unacceptable!

Kibble wrote:Light piping, while cool looking when you have a light shining on the back of the head, is mostly useless when the figure is sitting on a shelf and gives the figure dull or 'dead' eyes without the proper lighting.

Amen to that. This is precisely why I prefer the Hasbro MP-10 robot/truck piece. Just can't stand the "dead eyes" on the Takara one (though still buying the re-release of it for the nicer trailer. I suck.)

I often ignore light piping on Gundams too, it's super whack in almost every case. Even the stickers are reflective and, meh. So from that experience, here's my recommendation for figures with green eyes where you want to really make them "pop" on the shelf: www.amazon.com/Tamiya-Models-Acrylic-Pa ... 00KMWUS8U/

Anybody got some good recommendations for blue or red? Gotta be bright but not too bright, ya know?

fenrir72 wrote:I think if they scaled him smaller, it won't be proportional to MP-10 and won't be a car carrier for the other MP cars.

Wouldn't be proportional to MP-10 in alt mode...instead he's not proportional in bot mode. I thought the point of the reboot was to scale properly in bot mode... And you're right that he wouldn't be a working car carrier for the other MP cars...the whole one time I did it for 2 minutes and will likely ever do it. But hot damn if it wasn't worth it at the price of the 99.99% of the rest of time he'll be the wrong size in the mode he's actually displayed in!

I get why they did it (more or less)...I just don't agree with it, nor does the choice agree with how they've been doing the other figures. But whatevs. Although if this figure continues with the trend of MP figs getting KO'ed, it would be awesome if they shrunk it down an inch and a half. I would totally buy that chit.

Kibble wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:I think if they scaled him smaller, it won't be proportional to MP-10 and won't be a car carrier for the other MP cars.

Wouldn't be proportional to MP-10 in alt mode...instead he's not proportional in bot mode. I thought the point of the reboot was to scale properly in bot mode... And you're right that he wouldn't be a working car carrier for the other MP cars...the whole one time I did it for 2 minutes and will likely ever do it. But hot damn if it wasn't worth it at the price of the 99.99% of the rest of time he'll be the wrong size in the mode he's actually displayed in!

I get why they did it (more or less)...I just don't agree with it, nor does the choice agree with how they've been doing the other figures. But whatevs. Although if this figure continues with the trend of MP figs getting KO'ed, it would be awesome if they shrunk it down an inch and a half. I would totally buy that chit.

At its heart, the MP line is a compromise between vehicular and robot scale. Just as Magnus is a bit taller than he should be, arguments have been made that bots like Sideswipe & Prowl should have been slightly taller. But that doesn't change the fact that, considering the size of the task and the choices they've had to make on both sides of the scale question, Takara has done an amazing job.

I got my MP Magnus in earlier this week. At first, I really didn't like him - the limited articulation in bot mode soured my opinion. He's grown one me - he is Magnus. Seeing him standing on the shelf with Optimus, Wheeljack, and the rest seems so right. And at the end of the day, if it feels right to me, that's what matters.

Lots of complaints about the club and Botcon in general and yet you're talking about it. That's the point. We're months away and not knowing what's exactly being done has got you talking about it. I'm willing to bet every one on the cast owns the vast majority of the club/con figures as well. How quickly we forget the good and are willing to talk smack about the club with no one to counter(punch?)point you. I've been around for the whole ride minus the con in 05. I've gotten some great toys. Had some great times with some great friends I've made attending. Enjoyed some fun fiction and in some cases, phenomenal art. I've never been left out to dry with poor customer service. So really, at this point, is it just the popular thing to do to still be holding a grudge? We're all adults, collecting toys. If there's some legitimate issue, I would imagine we're all adult enough to manage a solution. Whether that's to stop doing business with them, or continue to give them business and complain, that's your choice. Whatever the case, it's far past time to stop visiting that well.

I've never heard about the missing battery cover for Sentinel Maximus and I've owned him for years. I can't find any mention of it doing a Google search. I couldn't even find images of the battery cover. I had to take out mine to guess where it might be. Ha! So yeah, first time hearing that.

P.S. I realize I made it sound as if the battery cover was missing but it was intact. Crisis averted.

xRotorstormx, I live in Baytown, Tx and that Toys R Us has been poorly stocked for Transformers for the base 2 years or so. I did not see any on the current movie figures there until about 2 weeks after they were released everywhere else. Unfortunately it is not just the Toys R Us, it is the area in general late distribution all around.

Finally able to listen to this one too, and have a reply to Seibertron and those who mentioned the lack of artist acknowledgement in Transformers: Legacy.

This is what Sorenson had to say about it when we interviewed him and Bill Forster about the book:

[quote]Va'al – I will not comment on Hasbro UK, here. I think my question at this point, though, is: what about the artists of the original artwork? Did you find out who they were?

Jim – They're all in the Acknowledgements section, we did contact them but not everyone remembered what they actually worked on. We didn't think it made sense to do attributions if we only knew about 40% of the total. But they are there, and they did help with the book. [/quote]

I do not have a copy at hand to check, but I do remember seeing something to that effect in the Acknowledgements page!


As for Leader Ultra Magnus - holy carp your voice is amazing.

Flux Convoy wrote:Lots of complaints about the club and Botcon in general and yet you're talking about it. That's the point. We're months away and not knowing what's exactly being done has got you talking about it. I'm willing to bet every one on the cast owns the vast majority of the club/con figures as well. How quickly we forget the good and are willing to talk smack about the club with no one to counter(punch?)point you. I've been around for the whole ride minus the con in 05. I've gotten some great toys. Had some great times with some great friends I've made attending. Enjoyed some fun fiction and in some cases, phenomenal art. I've never been left out to dry with poor customer service. So really, at this point, is it just the popular thing to do to still be holding a grudge? We're all adults, collecting toys. If there's some legitimate issue, I would imagine we're all adult enough to manage a solution. Whether that's to stop doing business with them, or continue to give them business and complain, that's your choice. Whatever the case, it's far past time to stop visiting that well.

I can definitely relate to this point of view. Almost everything I've personally dealt with regarding the Club and Botcon has been great and very fun, and yes, I own all but like 6 of their figures.

Personally, it seems fair to criticize their methods because they don't seem to be worried about growing the club and convention, and any issues I raise about them stems from a genuine care and desire for them to do well. If the convention grows and becomes something even cooler, that's great. Doesn't seem they want that to be the case, which is frustrating. But truly, any complaining is, for me, rooted out of a positive place at the end of the day. It can't help but come across as negative, especially once rolling with it as a group, but just feels like they're losing the pulse of the fan community and it concerns me, so the topic gets brought up.

That said, if a good portion of our listener base is sick of that kind of talk, we can absolutely cut down on it!

ScottyP wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:Lots of complaints about the club and Botcon in general and yet you're talking about it. That's the point. We're months away and not knowing what's exactly being done has got you talking about it. I'm willing to bet every one on the cast owns the vast majority of the club/con figures as well. How quickly we forget the good and are willing to talk smack about the club with no one to counter(punch?)point you. I've been around for the whole ride minus the con in 05. I've gotten some great toys. Had some great times with some great friends I've made attending. Enjoyed some fun fiction and in some cases, phenomenal art. I've never been left out to dry with poor customer service. So really, at this point, is it just the popular thing to do to still be holding a grudge? We're all adults, collecting toys. If there's some legitimate issue, I would imagine we're all adult enough to manage a solution. Whether that's to stop doing business with them, or continue to give them business and complain, that's your choice. Whatever the case, it's far past time to stop visiting that well.

I can definitely relate to this point of view. Almost everything I've personally dealt with regarding the Club and Botcon has been great and very fun, and yes, I own all but like 6 of their figures.

Personally, it seems fair to criticize their methods because they don't seem to be worried about growing the club and convention, and any issues I raise about them stems from a genuine care and desire for them to do well. If the convention grows and becomes something even cooler, that's great. Doesn't seem they want that to be the case, which is frustrating. But truly, any complaining is, for me, rooted out of a positive place at the end of the day. It can't help but come across as negative, especially once rolling with it as a group, but just feels like they're losing the pulse of the fan community and it concerns me, so the topic gets brought up.

That said, if a good portion of our listener base is sick of that kind of talk, we can absolutely cut down on it!

I feel like for the most part, we have always been fair with the club and Botcon. To not point out our frustrations when things do not improve would be disingenuous.

I feel like we have always balanced it by being prompt and thorough with the things they do well and right.

Counterpunch wrote:

ScottyP wrote:I can definitely relate to this point of view. Almost everything I've personally dealt with regarding the Club and Botcon has been great and very fun, and yes, I own all but like 6 of their figures.

Personally, it seems fair to criticize their methods because they don't seem to be worried about growing the club and convention, and any issues I raise about them stems from a genuine care and desire for them to do well. If the convention grows and becomes something even cooler, that's great. Doesn't seem they want that to be the case, which is frustrating. But truly, any complaining is, for me, rooted out of a positive place at the end of the day. It can't help but come across as negative, especially once rolling with it as a group, but just feels like they're losing the pulse of the fan community and it concerns me, so the topic gets brought up.

That said, if a good portion of our listener base is sick of that kind of talk, we can absolutely cut down on it!

I feel like for the most part, we have always been fair with the club and Botcon. To not point out our frustrations when things do not improve would be disingenuous.

I feel like we have always balanced it by being prompt and thorough with the things they do well and right.

I personally think the twincast's treatment of the Club, and the validity of certain criticisms, depends largely on exactly what the criticism is.

For example, when you talk about outdated marketing models, the seeming lack of interest to grow the convention, and the over sexualizarion or arbitrariness of certain Club characters/fiction/toys, I think the criticism tends to be fairly even handed.

When it comes to criticism of the convention location or timing of announcements, I raise an eyebrow. Certain podcast members regularly bemoaned the CA convention location for the past few years, but when the Chicago location for 2015 was announced, there was no love - in fact, more lampooning for the most part. Or, when the Club announced Chicago farther in advance than usual after complaints of not giving enough notice, there was more complaining about how they should announce it even farther in advance - preferably at the end of the previous year's Botcon. Granted, these criticisms were largely tied to the fact that the Club was obviously trying to disrupt TFcon, but it seems they just can't win on certain things.

At any rate, I don't mind Club criticism - we're all very passionate people who care about the brand, and if the official Club that represents that brand makes major missteps, it's our job to make that known. Besides, why would I want to listen to a podcast where everyone agrees with me on everything?

What exactly do you think needs improving though? Obviously whatever they're doing is working for them. Lines are an issue at any con. As noted by others, go to any other convention where celebrities are present. See if Botcon lines aren't miniscule in comparison. You certainly won't get the kind of quality time with a celebrity like you can at Botcon or these TF fan specific events. I own every figure they've done including the Magnificus and SG ehobby pack. There's slim few I don't care for. No huge complaints. I'm more frustrated with the lack of certain characters instead of others sometimes. I guess the negative attitudes just grate on me. "A big box of shit." I mean, c'mon. Has there been a year where the majority of the box set is actually bad? By any stretch? I've attended every show since 06. Being a Florida resident, travel expenses to California are outrageous. Yet we managed it, every time. I get the location gripes from my end of it. However, I have never had a bad time in Cali. The locations have never been run down or gross. Never had a bad experience there. We were ecstatic to hear this year was going to be our end of the country. Otherwise we were going to have to bow out. In short, I don't get a lot of the complaints. I agree that I don't want to listen to a show where everyone agrees with me either but it's gotten old and redundant to constantly berate the club. My (more than) two cents.

Flux Convoy wrote:What exactly do you think needs improving though?

My two biggest issues:

1. Order show exclusives when you register.
2. Modern websites and webservices for ordering, including adequate security measures.

And my one growing issue:

Better control over how new heads are QCed. This truly was not an issue for me for a long time, but it seems that every year there is one that is problematic now.

Counterpunch wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:What exactly do you think needs improving though?

My two biggest issues:

1. Order show exclusives when you register.
2. Modern websites and webservices for ordering, including adequate security measures.

And my one growing issue:

Better control over how new heads are QCed. This truly was not an issue for me for a long time, but it seems that every year there is one that is problematic now.

The mystery part has always been Botcon tradition. I like being surprised. Your second point, I have no counter for. There's no denying their web technology should have grown up by now. Your final point, I'm having a hard time remembering any Club or Botcon figures in the last couple years with any head issues. I'd be interested to hear which ones you have issues with.

Flux Convoy wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:

Flux Convoy wrote:What exactly do you think needs improving though?

My two biggest issues:

1. Order show exclusives when you register.
2. Modern websites and webservices for ordering, including adequate security measures.

And my one growing issue:

Better control over how new heads are QCed. This truly was not an issue for me for a long time, but it seems that every year there is one that is problematic now.

The mystery part has always been Botcon tradition. I like being surprised.

Just because it's a tradition, doesn't mean it's a good thing Maybe some people want to know if they're going to actually get their $400+ worth before signing up.