Twincast / Podcast Episode #232 "NYCC 2019"

Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome. You guys have to remember that this might be the first time someone rediscovers their youth and are in a position to start collecting. You really need an alternate opinion from someone who doesn't have a vast collection.

SkyFire Prime wrote:Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome. You guys have to remember that this might be the first time someone rediscovers their youth and are in a position to start collecting. You really need an alternate opinion from someone who doesn't have a vast collection.

Thank you. I'm a collector and I can rarely afford a MP. There is a charm to OTC chugs. They use creative liberties trying to make the best figure possible without the budget that MPs require. And obviously there would be no Masterpiece toys at all if it weren't for their original chug iterations first.

Adimus Prime wrote:

SkyFire Prime wrote:Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome. You guys have to remember that this might be the first time someone rediscovers their youth and are in a position to start collecting. You really need an alternate opinion from someone who doesn't have a vast collection.

Thank you. I'm a collector and I can rarely afford a MP. There is a charm to OTC chugs. They use creative liberties trying to make the best figure possible without the budget that MPs require. And obviously there would be no Masterpiece toys at all if it weren't for their original chug iterations first.

Another take: I am one of those starting to tire of the same charactwrs and figures, but:

When is the last time we got a G1 Prime and Trailer? Some of the Kiddie Lines have done it, but as far as CHUG is concerned... Never? So this gets a pass. If it was just a Voyager Prime, I would probably pass for the Siege Version I just bought. But its not.

-When is the last tine we got a Cliffjumper? GDO? Not exactly an overplayed character. And the ski gimmick is unique

Hoist? The IDW T30 one is a fantastic toy but its also the only real Hoist I can think of. So I welcome this.

Grapple? Tough call, but I dont have the Generations version to compare to, so I am excited for this one.

Wheeljack? Okay, Wheeljack migbt be a *bit* overplayed, but this figure is drop dead schmexy. I love everything its doing excpet the flat panels on the hands, but I will live with that. I can give them a pass for overplayed if they can make a grand slam and this most assurredly is.

Starscream? I got nothin'. Like Siege, I will make my decision when I know what the Seeker Armada will look like. Of anything, this will make me pass on the regular characters and only buy the Cybettron only Siege guys (Rainmakers, Red Wing) and get this SS, TC and SW. But sunce this is an upscaled cousin to the Classics mold I already have 8 of, I'm not racing out to get this.

I guess my point is that we already know they have to do the core guys and keep them at the front, Prime, Megatron, and theit chief lieutenants Bee and Starscream (Technicall Bee is not a lieutenant but he is the Autobot spokesbot, and Megatron×Starscream is such an icon of villiany) but the rrst of these that are rehashed are still not as overplayed. If we got Hound, Ironhide, and Sideswipe again I might be more apt to grab the flaming Pitchforks and riot, but they are not. Yeah, this is G1 with knees, and yeah G1 Hoist is an ugly aft robot and this is doing it no favors, but I am excited for him regardless. They could have gone with worse choices.

But eventually I want my Car Robots Prime and Rail Racer, dammit!

=======
Another thought though, ehile youvguus are not wrong that rehashing is a great way to potentially land a new Collector, (remembering that the hypothetical "new" collector is at least 41 assuming they were 6 in 1984) this is doing Hasbro no favors to its existing collectors. That's why there has to be a compromise. I really like Titans Return because it found that balance with guys like the Targetmasters and Headmasters that we hadnt seen since 1986.

Flashwave wrote:
But eventually I want my Car Robots Prime and Rail Racer, dammit!

I would absolutely love an updated Rail Racer!

SkyFire Prime wrote:Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome. You guys have to remember that this might be the first time someone rediscovers their youth and are in a position to start collecting. You really need an alternate opinion from someone who doesn't have a vast collection.

I'm legitimately going to have to go back and re-listen to this show because I felt like there was a passing comment on being tired of certain characters and some extensive discussion on how we were excited for most of these.

Edit: I went back and listened, so I understand what you're talking about. I just don't agree with the focus of your point. We do remember the newer collectors and even made point of that.

Adimus Prime wrote:Thank you. I'm a collector and I can rarely afford a MP. There is a charm to OTC chugs. They use creative liberties trying to make the best figure possible without the budget that MPs require.

I'm not trying to be combative, but didn't I (we) essentially make almost that exact point?

SkyFire Prime wrote:Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome.

Isn't this the point I made when talking about Prime and his trailer? Just because I personally don't find something super exciting doesn't mean it isn't.

Adimus Prime wrote: And obviously there would be no Masterpiece toys at all if it weren't for their original chug iterations first.

The line that started before Classics wouldn't exist without Classics?

Flashwave wrote:When is the last time we got a G1 Prime and Trailer? Some of the Kiddie Lines have done it, but as far as CHUG is concerned... Never? So this gets a pass. If it was just a Voyager Prime, I would probably pass for the Siege Version I just bought. But its not.

-When is the last tine we got a Cliffjumper? GDO? Not exactly an overplayed character. And the ski gimmick is unique

If we got Hound, Ironhide, and Sideswipe again I might be more apt to grab the flaming Pitchforks and riot, but they are not. and Rail Racer, dammit!

=======
Another thought though, ehile youvguus are not wrong that rehashing is a great way to potentially land a new Collector, (remembering that the hypothetical "new" collector is at least 41 assuming they were 6 in 1984) this is doing Hasbro no favors to its existing collectors. That's why there has to be a compromise. I really like Titans Return because it found that balance with guys like the Targetmasters and Headmasters that we hadnt seen since 1986.

These are points I made

Were we really pitchforks and stones and molotov cocktails!? If that's how this came out then I truly messed up in communicating for that hour or so.

I'm all for a balanced approach and the new, nicer Cyberverse toys are such a welcome sight. I want more G1 too! There are so many characters that didn't get toys or an update. I want more Beast Wars! Animal transformers are fun and have a different kind of charm. I want Rail Racer and Mini-Cons and something to make the Animated fans shut the hell up

I also want something new and won't apologize for communicating that regularly. There are two threads on just this first page of general discussion topics with the same energy. When Generations ran alongside stuff like Prime I didn't gripe about G1 redone ad infinitum but when that's most of what's out there that doesn't suck with little exception for years on end it gets exhausting. As implied in the show, I must be wrong and they must be making money and growing "The Brand" anyhow. I hope I am at any rate but there's only so long 1984-1985 can be used as a crutch for the lack of new storytelling effort coming out of Hasbro.

At the same time I'm excited for this new Starscream, Cliffjumper was overdue, Ironworks looks great, I'm generally more positive now about Earthrise than I ever was with Siege. To come in here and see these comments has been baffling and frustrating.

Thank you guys for that podcast. It was short, but i enjoyed the content.

And you articulated my thoughts on earthwise very well too. It's cool, it's interesting, it has some new stuff that has long been wanted/needed, but it feels not very diverse and I long for some more diversity and inclusion in Generation (no -s really).

Also, as an Animated fan, I will never shut up until we get an Animated Omega Supreme

ScottyP wrote:

SkyFire Prime wrote:Here's that critic again,
Guys you have to realize that not everyone had disposable income throughout the last 20 years or are never able to afford MPs so when you guys huff and puff anytime new G1 versions are released it gets tiresome.

Isn't this the point I made when talking about Prime and his trailer? Just because I personally don't find something super exciting doesn't mean it isn't.

Adimus Prime wrote: And obviously there would be no Masterpiece toys at all if it weren't for their original chug iterations first.

The line that started before Classics wouldn't exist without Classics?

Flashwave wrote:When is the last time we got a G1 Prime and Trailer? Some of the Kiddie Lines have done it, but as far as CHUG is concerned... Never? So this gets a pass. If it was just a Voyager Prime, I would probably pass for the Siege Version I just bought. But its not.

-When is the last tine we got a Cliffjumper? GDO? Not exactly an overplayed character. And the ski gimmick is unique

If we got Hound, Ironhide, and Sideswipe again I might be more apt to grab the flaming Pitchforks and riot, but they are not. and Rail Racer, dammit!

=======
Another thought though, ehile youvguus are not wrong that rehashing is a great way to potentially land a new Collector, (remembering that the hypothetical "new" collector is at least 41 assuming they were 6 in 1984) this is doing Hasbro no favors to its existing collectors. That's why there has to be a compromise. I really like Titans Return because it found that balance with guys like the Targetmasters and Headmasters that we hadnt seen since 1986.

These are points I made

Were we really pitchforks and stones and molotov cocktails!? If that's how this came out then I truly messed up in communicating for that hour or so.

I'm all for a balanced approach and the new, nicer Cyberverse toys are such a welcome sight. I want more G1 too! There are so many characters that didn't get toys or an update. I want more Beast Wars! Animal transformers are fun and have a different kind of charm. I want Rail Racer and Mini-Cons and something to make the Animated fans shut the hell up

I also want something new and won't apologize for communicating that regularly. There are two threads on just this first page of general discussion topics with the same energy. When Generations ran alongside stuff like Prime I didn't gripe about G1 redone ad infinitum but when that's most of what's out there that doesn't suck with little exception for years on end it gets exhausting. As implied in the show, I must be wrong and they must be making money and growing "The Brand" anyhow. I hope I am at any rate but there's only so long 1984-1985 can be used as a crutch for the lack of new storytelling effort coming out of Hasbro.

At the same time I'm excited for this new Starscream, Cliffjumper was overdue, Ironworks looks great, I'm generally more positive now about Earthrise than I ever was with Siege. To come in here and see these comments has been baffling and frustrating.

So, Here's the thing.

I wrote a line into my post that got erased somewhere. Makes all the difference:

I wrote that in response to the first two posts, I had not gotten to listen to the Podcast

Now that I am into it, yes you made many of the same points, although I do agree to an extent with "that critic" that your "G1 guys again..." thoughts, and I do get it, even share it to a degree, opinion overshadows your excitement for some things. But its also not an unfair critisim that everything John Warden was excited for in his interview with Megatronus (some good talking points btw) are thr things you pooh-poohed on. I do think, and take a page from WJ because he gets this in the Top 5 lists, but it should be important to seperate the Masterpiece expectations from this. Its two very different lines, and even though Generations is themed at the old school Collectors, they arent doing Combiners or Blast Effects or Build-A-Base because its ehat Collectors want, they are doing them because they can cross sell to both Collectors as well as the Kids whobare either slughtly older than Cyberverse or "more sophisticated" if that makes sense. And I am not saying don't call ot on defects, Prime's hands are the wrong color, I'm not convinced, as cool as the articulated mitt is, that he'll be able to hold his or thoer accessories well because of it, but ai do think its more important as a Podcast, at least for thr First Look at ToyFair, to be holding this Wheeljack up against other Wheeljacks inbthe same realtive $20, not against the 200$ Version

I look at it like this: I am with ypu, in that I am tired of the same Characters over and over in Generations. If I had bought 8 Siege Seekers I would be throwing things at this announcement. (i didnt. And I am glad. Instead, I can now go and get the Rainmakers and Redwing as the line of defense on Cybertron and collect whatever other Seekers come out of this mold on Earth).

Prime is a great example: (and I know you said something about making piece with multipkes of him per line, but still)

If thus had been just another Voyager cab-over, I would have skipped this HARD. The Siege one is just fine, and I like the Sige Bot mode more, tbh, but this is the one with the Trailer. The Trailer is new to the mainline, its been teased since the Classics Voyager was rumored to have been owed a Leader Class Release with a Trailer in what, 2008? And Scotty, your first reactiin is "yeah, I can build a wall with all the Materpiece Trailers I have". But those are Masterpiece not mainline and anyway, how many of those are rare off redecos that the average collector isbt going to have all of?

Or Ironhide: lets say next week they say "We are going to do Ironhide agin. He'll be G1 Itonhide." The fandom will say "AGAIN? I just bought the Siege one! I already have a Masterpiece Ironhide and a half dozen 3Ps. I do t need or wabt this".

Then we find out this is "Slplits in half like Energon Towline and is compatible with the A.I.R. Lock Ramps as his own platform" and we are all excited. Not oonly because it fits the gimmickbut because its new abd different from every 9ther recent Ironhide, even though G1 Did it, Energon Did it, Botcon took the ball and ran with it.

Crap. Now I want that.

1 thing I do agree with you ob 110%

Where the flippin heck is this "Story" John Warden keeps talking about? I see "Toys". Not even "Toys with Bios" Or "Toys with 1 Paragraph plot seeds". You kbow what would be fun and easy? Remeember the HFTD bios, when you have Terradive and JetStream's bios talking about bteaki g cover and trying to blow poor Tomahawk out of the sky because he's slow and helpless, and Tomahawk's bio is him sitting there in the clouds going "C'mon, just a little bit closer flyboy..." We dont evem have that! Or Beast Hunters, where each character got a short blurb about hmwhat they contributed tovthe Beast Hunters Mission, even if it wasnt interteined with anyone else in passing.

On a seperate bote of "New Things", I still want a Generations Blackout. Give my a Voyager (he *should* be a Leader but I am willing to meet halfway) with a little scorpion drone, or give me a Scorponok Weaponizer to go with him. I also want a proper Generation Lockdown. That HFTD Figure jist osnt there for me.

And webegged them for Generations versions of the Rescue Bots. Transformable figurea that go just a little further for the adult collectors than the preschool toys do. They are clearly dping it here in Cyberverse, lets backpedal and revisit Blades, Boulder, Heatwave, and Chase. Give me that fabulous Siege Mirage mold as RB Blurr.

I'm trying to have fewer versions of the same character on display, so I end up only getting a Starscream (for example) if he's especially well made, or so radically different from a previous version that it almost counts as a different character.

Starscream is a great example here, because Animated Screamer, movie Screamer, Armada Screamer, TF Prime Screamer, and SIEGE Screamer are so uniquely different that I don't mind having the whole bunch up there on display. Optimus Prime, not so much. Big red truck is a big red truck. So I have one on display.

However, a big red truck and a giant monkey or big lion, now we're talking. What I'm trying to say is that I don't mind having the same characters all the time as long as they're differently done. Or give me new characters. The best is of course to offer a balance of both. And I think that Hasbro has done a decent job of doing that.

At this point Hasbro is competing with itself. Almost every Bot in my lineup I have at least two of and it's getting kinda tired. I would've loved a Prime with a trailer if it was part of the last one that I bought. I'm not buying 4 OP's a year.

A good point that was brought up in the Pod was about being a scale Nazi. For me it depends on how much I care about the character. For example nothing about that upcoming Astrotrain makes me wanna replace my Takara Legends version despite it towering over Siege Megatron. I'm never replacing that CHUG Deluxe Warpath so he gets a pass since tank shouldn't be a Minibot IMO anyway. But on the flipside I don't want a Cliffjumper that towers over Brawn and the other Legends class bots I've collected over the last 6 years. So I'll just take TR Roadburn and replace his head with Shapeways CJ head.

With that Starscream mold I only hope it was really meant for the Coneheads. And I hope there aren't too many more repeats from Siege. Release some new characters. Even IDW ones that are a bigger class size than Rung.