Twincast / Podcast Episode #109 "I Can Deal With That"
Tuesday, January 20th, 2015 9:05pm CST
Categories: Site News, Digital Media News, PodcastPosted by: Razorclaw0000 Views: 71,818
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Episode #109 "I Can Deal With That" is available directly and in our RSS Feed and should appear on iTunes, and Stitcher Radio within 24 to 48 hours of when you see this news post.
Topics include:
Masterpiece Ultra Magnus toy in hand, and why Bob is a horrible person for not buying it.

Combiner Wars Devastator rumors - including a six figure box set, possibly at SDCC?

The latest Generations and Combiner Wars toys - including:
Arcee and Chromia

Combiner Wars Wave 1

The BotCon 2015 Theme has been hinted... does anyone care?

Topic discussion - figure quality control and what constitutes an inexcusable flaw, or what can you look past?

Ask the Twincast - from our own news staff member william-james88:
Of course, original stickers in good quality will always be most desirable but what is worth more between:
A g1 toy with reprolabel stickers or a g1 toy with faded/incomplete/scrappy original stickers.
Does applying reprolabels to a G1 transformer make it lose value?
Bragging Rights
Don't forget, the show only gets better if you tell us how. Drop us a review on iTunes and be sure to tell us what you love, what you hate, and what you want to hear!
Not on the show to give your take? Probably not, so don't forget to keep the discussion going on the Seibertron.com Energon Pub Forums by simply replying to this post!
Got a question for the Twincast? We take all of them, we just don't take them all seriously! Leave a question in the Ask the Twincast thread and, if it makes the cut, it may get read and answered on the show.
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Posted by Samsonator on January 20th, 2015 @ 9:23pm CST
Posted by SW's SilverHammer on January 20th, 2015 @ 10:48pm CST

Oh and it seems that there's allota Michael's/Mikes auditioning and/on the show.
Posted by Samsonator on January 21st, 2015 @ 1:04am CST
Can't really say why, for sure... but I'm really looking forward to episode 110 now!
Posted by Kibble on January 21st, 2015 @ 7:11pm CST
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.
Posted by fenrir72 on January 21st, 2015 @ 9:08pm CST
Posted by megatronus on January 21st, 2015 @ 10:28pm CST
Posted by mooncake623 on January 21st, 2015 @ 11:26pm CST
Posted by ScottyP on January 22nd, 2015 @ 9:02am CST
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?
Posted by Kibble on January 22nd, 2015 @ 10:19am CST
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.
Posted by megatronus on January 22nd, 2015 @ 1:05pm CST
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.
Posted by Flux Convoy on January 22nd, 2015 @ 11:53pm CST

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.
Posted by balgorra on January 23rd, 2015 @ 8:30am CST
Posted by Va'al on January 28th, 2015 @ 8:53am CST
This is what Sorenson had to say about it when we interviewed him and Bill Forster about the book:
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.
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.

Posted by ScottyP on February 2nd, 2015 @ 2:03pm CST
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!

Posted by Counterpunch on February 3rd, 2015 @ 10:22am CST
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.
Posted by megatronus on February 3rd, 2015 @ 10:42am CST
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?

Posted by Flux Convoy on February 6th, 2015 @ 5:22pm CST

Posted by Counterpunch on February 9th, 2015 @ 9:23am CST
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.
Posted by Flux Convoy on February 9th, 2015 @ 1:29pm CST
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.

Posted by SW's SilverHammer on February 9th, 2015 @ 1:32pm CST
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
