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The newer action figures (and other toys) thread (NSF56k)

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Posts

  • HeatwaveHeatwave Come, now, and walk the path of explosions with me!Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Somebody got a 3D printed Claymore shotgun in the mail.

    fucdr050ldd7.jpg
    Are you going to have biotic effects pieces 3d printed so Shepard can get ready to charge+shotgun+melee+repeat ? :mrgreen:

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    Steam / Origin & Wii U: Heatwave111 / FC: 4227-1965-3206 / Battle.net: Heatwave#11356
  • WingedWeaselWingedWeasel Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    Having been messing around with apeface in bot mode i finally decided to you know...actually transform the transformer (*gasp*). He leaves much to be desired although I'm not sure what I was expecting. I think there's too much he needs to do for that price point to make it an effective toy. I need to mess around with the plan mode but unfortunately I'm not as excited as I once was.

    On the topic of the furai models. I think in the cleanup fervor post Christmas I threw away a box that had the other set of hands for my Megatron. I can't find anything indicating they make replacement parts so I guess I need to decide if I'm going to just deal with him as he is, or have to order an entirely new set.

    The model kits continue to impress me. I went in expecting something intensely fragile and basically a statue. Instead they are highly posable and basically exactly what I wanted. An awesome representation of the characters.

    In other news spinister is still awesome, also later a riveting story about water still being wet

    WingedWeasel on
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Heatwave wrote: »
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Somebody got a 3D printed Claymore shotgun in the mail.

    fucdr050ldd7.jpg
    Are you going to have biotic effects pieces 3d printed so Shepard can get ready to charge+shotgun+melee+repeat ? :mrgreen:

    Someone would have to have made those 3D files for me. I only have the claymore because someone already put a 3D model (for a full sized version) up for free online.

    But I don't really like the look of resin/plastic "biotics" anyway.

    On that note, someone in the ME thread asked me if I could position her the biotic charge stance and of course I obliged.

    zujuzud8xja9.jpg
    a3wcbsm47tgj.jpg

    One of the quality attributes of these figures is that they can hold a pose like this, standing on their own, without a stand or anything. I LOVE Smart Doll.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • Forever ZefiroForever Zefiro cloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered User regular
    So I have a lot of figures from various lines and I want to inventory it

    Are there any good sites for that kind of stuff?

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    XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    There's an App called Snupps that you can use to catalog your collection privately or publicly. You can even use the site to sell and buy other's stuff they have put up for sale. I found it through the channel Ashens, who does some toy and game opening stuff.

  • NobodyNobody Registered User regular
    Quick update after getting Astrotrain and Apeface:


    Astrotrain is solid, easily my favorite sculpt so far of this series (yes, better than Shockwave). The shuttle and train modes look great with minimal kibble and the “trailer” goes into each mode in a very logical way. There are two issues: the waist isn’t that solid when you put on the “backpack” in robot form, and has a tendency to cause him to lean back, the other is that the trailer doesn’t lay “flat” for the launch platform in shuttle mode (the section that can pull off just doesn’t unfold the full 90 degrees). I’m honestly looking out for the G1 reissue of him at this point so I can have the 3 different sculpts together on the shelf.

    Apeface isn’t as good imo. I like the robot and jet forms, but I’m not sure if I’m missing something in the ape transformation as the head just doesn’t seem to sit right. I’m also still not a fan of the headmaster mechanic that they carried over from the prior series. Still curious to see if they do his partner Snapdragon though.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    I mentioned recently that - after a long hiatus - I bought a bunch of toys again. They have come in, I have played with them, and I'd like to gush about them (over several posts, as time permits). Today, let me tell ya 'bout Iron Factory's Spirits of the D.E.C.

    I've been looking at these toys for a long time, ever since they came out, without really knowing what to make of them. My analysis went like this:
    Cons:
    - I have not read the IDW comics (yet, anyway), so I have absolutely no investment in the Decepticon Justice Division (which is who the Spirits of the D.E.C. are a clon-- sorry, an homage to) as characters.
    - Some of the alt modes look really weak; in particular, the two bulky bots appear to just be reclining robots.
    - One of the characters has an alt mode that is an electric chair. I am genuinely and completely creeped out by that. Having that be the design for an evil character that appears in a comic is one thing, but making an actual, physical toy of that character - even one aimed at adults - feels ghoulish to me. I'm not trying to judge anyone or yuck anyone's yum, we can probably tell a lot about me and the culture I grew up in that I don't bat an eye at toys that transform into fighter jets, tanks, cannons, pistols, and other weapons of destruction, but that a toy that transforms into a torture/execution device fucks me up, but those are my emotions on the matter.

    Pros:
    - The robot modes for pretty much all of them look good.
    - Alkaid and Merak are very bulky robots, and I'm a sucker for bulky robots. Dubhe's shoulder design also makes him look more imposing than he really is.
    - *** IT'S A COMBINER, it's a combiner!!!*** I love combiners. I can forgive a lot of flaws if they're in the service of making a combiner. The comic characters are not at all a combiner, so this is actually a pretty interesting development - a third-party company took these separate characters and designed a combined mode for them.

    Tallying it up, I decided it wasn't worth it. Then, recently, I realized something that I somehow managed to miss, despite the fact that I'd been looking at video reviews of these toys for months:

    They're Legends scale.

    This completely rebalanced the equation for me. This means that they are physically smaller, and somewhat cheaper, than most 3rd party Transformers, and that weighed the equation considerably in the "buy 'em" direction for me. So I did.

    I'm not gonna do an itemized review, I think there are plenty of YouTubers who already do a great job of that, but I do want to share my impressions and some photos. NSF56K warning: the photos link to much higher-rez photos, like ~3-5MB each.

    Robot modes:
    Dubhe, Phecda, and Mizar (left to right)
    PvUhk01.jpg?2
    Dubhe turned out to be a lot smaller (and therefore cuter) than I thought from photos/videos. I really like him - I think the bot mode design is really interesting, I like the purple color and the golden kneecaps, posability is great, everything feels solid, there's hardly any backpack. I feel like I don't have a lot to say, because he's just really good. Oh, apparently the original production run had some really bad shoulder issues, where plastic around the joint was cracking during normal play/transformation, which is obviously not OK. Apparently, they're done some redesigns or something, and all subsequent production runs have had the improved shoulders. I've seen people online say that they got replacements from Iron Factory, and in fact the Phecda-and-Mizar set comes with these replacement arms packed into the box. My guy's shoulders seem fine, so I'll pack those extra arms in case of future disaster.

    Phecda is, in my opinion, pretty mediocre. He's hampered by being the tiniest bot of the bunch, with very slim limbs and torso. All the major joints are ball joints, which means you have to work extra when posing him to make sure that all the joints are bent in realistic ways. At the same time, his posability is restricted enough that he can't even hold his rifle with two hands (as seen in the photo). Unless I just didn't try hard enough? Anyway, the robot mode also has nothing unique or interesting going on. I wouldn't have bought him solo.

    Mizar looks pretty cool in robot mode. Those shoulder coils look very distinctive, the backpack is noticeable but folds up fairly neatly, the tread-legs look good. Each robot comes with three sets of hands: closed fists, fists with 5mm holes for weapons, and open-palm posing hands. Mizar is unique in the set in that his posing hands are angled palm-out (all the others are I'm-gonna-shake-your-hand-angled), which just instantly adds personality - it's very easy to pose him like a dirtbag stage magician, which is great.

    Alkaid and Merak (left to right)
    fI5PEQ1.jpg?2
    Alkaid has a ton of personality just by virtue of having those giant bulky three-fingered arms and the tiny, spindly chest-arms, it's almost cheating. He's definitely a bulky boy, the heft is very pleasing. The design of the arms obstructs shoulder posability, unfortunately; likewise, the stumpy legs limit what you can do with him. I think it's OK - he's got enough presence that no matter how you pose him, he'll look good. Really fun figure, if you don't mind a bulkier, brickier figure.

    Merak is fine. There's a rotating joint just above each elbow that gets used in the transformation, but doesn't lock in in robot mode; it's good that it improves poseability, I suppose, but I almost wish it locked in for stability. The hips have ratchets with wide teeth, meaning that he's either standing with his legs completely straight (which looks very unnatural), or his legs are one click out and look too wide, unnatural in the other direction. The ankle tilt is just on the toes, so if you want to angle the legs out to the sides, you also need to tilt them forward (so he's bending forward a bit), bends the knees to compensate for that, and rotate the thigh swivel. It's not the end of the world, but it just kinda jumped out at me. Something about the forearms also feels a little off to me, like they're not visually balanced against the much larger shoulders.

    The combiner pieces (chest and head, feet, and the barrels of the arm cannon) can be put together to create a bust/statue, which is a really neat use of things - much better than just having loose combiner pieces hanging around, I think.
    DvZ35mk.jpg?1

    Alt modes:
    neIodhl.jpg?1
    Eh.

    Phecda gets by on being a sci-fi alien-tech gun, which can be used as an excuse for literally any kind of design. Still, though, he's really hampered by being so small and slim - there's no space for any transformation-aiding joints/tabs/whatever. You can see his arms right there on the front, his head is in the center of that but the face is just staring out the underside (you can rotate the head to alleviate this a bit). Those arms don't plug in place around the barrel, for example, they're just held in place by the friction in the shoulder ball joints. That seems... inexcusable to me? Just put two tiny tabs on there. The transformation is like "rotate the leg at the below-the-hip joint, whooooooaaaaa now rotate it back at the above-the-knee joint!", you're really just tucking in limbs. I understand that this scale in general and Phecda's design specifically make anything more involved a challenge, but I'm always bummed to see "just tuck the limbs in" transformations.

    Mizar's alt mode, as it turns out, grosses me out even more than I expected. I don't anticipate myself every putting it into this mode again. That said, the alt-mode looks the part perfectly, and the transformation's pretty decent, though suffers from some of the same issues as Phecda. I had actually considered not buying the Phecda-and-Mizar set at all, as they seemed to me the weakest toys of the bunch and they transformed into weapons for the combined mode, not actual body parts - but unfortunately this set also contains the head/chest and feet for the combined mode, which are crucial. My hunger for toys outweighed my moral stance, evidently.

    Alkaid and Merak are just literally "lie the bot down, tuck the limbs in, hey you're done". Apparently I have Alkaid's legs slightly mistransformed in the photo, you can push those bits that stick up a bit more down towards the legs, but it won't change the fact that the arms and legs are just completely out in the open. Merak is similar, but I think he works a little better, mainly because things compress a bit more. Some really disappointing alt-modes for me.

    On the other hand, I love Dubhe's alt-mode! It's still the "lie the bot down and tuck in its limbs" transformation, but there are enough extras on there to make the tank look like a tank instead of a recumbent robot. Everything pegs in, so you get a really nice and solid tank - and it's so tiny and cute! It's crucial that your military toys look kawaii, so that collectors can convince themselves that they aren't buying into a franchise that glamorizes violent conflict and tools designed for taking lives.

    Combined mode:
    Phecda just goes into his gun alt-mode. Mizar goes into an alt-alt-mode and the two barrels snap on to create an arm cannon. Dubhe curls up into a ball. Merak loses his arms and his head. Alkaid just fuckin' explodes. I enjoy partsformers that fit some nebulous "done well" criteria, and I actually kinda love them in the context of combiners, so this works for me.
    AZWKHFB.jpg?1

    Now slap it all together to make what is basically a larger version of Dubhe.
    xtokaKV.jpg?1

    I really love this guy! There's some unfortunate kibble (there's a second backpack hanging off his butt, the two treads that form the side-skirts get in the way of posability, the wings on the chest get in the way of posability, the two sand-colored panels that hang off the shoulders don't peg into anything and seem unsightly to me, Alkaid's two tiny chest-arms are very visible on the combiner's feet), a few connection points start to slide apart a tiny bit as you play with this guy and pose him, and some of the issues from the individual bots make their way into the combined mode (like Merak's hip joints, which become the combined mode's hip joints). The upside is that he's very solid, very poseable (though you need to work around some bits that get in the way), holds the poses extremely well, and just feels nice and chunky.
    jAp3RkU.jpg?2

    Here he is next to Masterpiece Ultra Magnus:
    Cx3J4J7.jpg?1

    Looking over what I wrote, it really sounds like I hated the the alt modes, and was neutral/disappointed by the bot modes. That's maybe a bit too harsh, I'm not like heartbroken-disappointed, more like "ah, such a missed opportunity"-disappointed. Honestly, I think the bot modes are neutral to great, and the alt modes are fine if you know what you're getting into. Pretty much all these toys suffer from the same issues: ball joints where hinges would have made for better posing, simplistic transformations that have absolutely no "whoa!" moments and that generally just consist of hiding the robot face and lining up the limbs against the torso, and alt-mode sections that don't plug into anything and just kinda hang in place due to friction.

    The combined mode absolutely 120% makes up for all shortcomings, for me; I am very happy with it, no regrets. I think it looks great, poses well, and you can mess with it and move it around without things falling off (like I said, some of the connections start to slide off by a fraction of a millimeter, but it's easy enough to slide them back together and it'll take a lot of intentional messing around to make parts actually fall off.

    I actually liked Dubhe and Alkaid enough that I'm idly contemplating getting the larger not-Tarn and not-Helex from Mastermind Creations (the former has been out for long enough to be sold out everywhere, the latter is due out soon).

    One weird concern that I have is that the connectors on some of the larger pieces (the arm and leg parts) are friction-based. The peg portion is a rectangular prism of a material that feels kinda like a denser version of a polycap from a plastic model kit - you can see it clearly on Alkaid's legs in the lower-right in the combiner parts photo, and sticking out of the combined mode's ankles in the last photo. The fit is very tight right now, things hold together great, but I wonder: does that kind of plastic degrade over time more easily than other plastic? I don't have a climate-controlled room, and NYC summers get to mid-90s Fahrenheit pretty regularly (and, let's be real, that number will go up and up over the coming years). Should I just sit back, appreciate my toy, and accept that after a decade or two, it might be time to junk it and move on? (The answer, of course, is "yes".)

    Delduwath on
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited January 2020
    Wow! That's quite the write-up.

    The DJD can best be described as Decepticon Zealots. They are 110% down for the modern Decepticon cause to the point where thier job is to hunt down Decepticons who have failed or betrayed the caues. The main dude is basically Megatron's biggest fanboy, to the point of having TWO fusion canons.

    Also the one guy doesn't quite turn into an electric chair IIRC; it's more of a torture/interrogation rack. Which isn't any better I realize.

    EDIT: Last wave of Siege micromasters just got in stock on Entertainment Earth
    https://www.entertainmentearth.com/product/transformers-generations-siege-micromasters-wave-5-set/hse3420ee

    Undead Scottsman on
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Yeah, I hadn't gotten any new toys in a long time, and had a lot of excited thoughts all at once. Also, I enjoy the write-ups you folks do, but had never really written anything like that about toys before, and wanted to join in. And then I kept thinking of more stuff I wanted to say as I kept writing.

    As for the characters, yeah, I mean, they make sense as on-page detestable villains, but having a physical form of them makes it more real somehow. I guess this is why a movie character who uses a weapon like a Cat-Shredder 9000 would instead be given a generic spring-loaded missile launcher when made into action figure form.

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Just remember in the realm of unliscensed Transformers, there are no rules.

    Which is how we got an Arcee figure with a replaceable chestplate, for the people who just need Arcee to be a couple cup sizes bigger.

  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    Just remember in the realm of unliscensed Transformers, there are no rules.

    Which is how we got an Arcee figure with a replaceable chestplate, for the people who just need Arcee to be a couple cup sizes bigger.

    Rule 34 of the Internet

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    I want to chime in and say thanks for the photos and write up for them. There are a few new toys that I want to sit down and write more about as well as share photos, but just haven't had the energy or drive to do so. But you planted the seed after reading your post and feelings about the not DJD team. So maybe expect to see some mini reviews and photos soon.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • ElbasunuElbasunu Registered User regular
    Oooo someone gave me an old Exo Squad or my birthday! It's missing a ton of pieces but I don't care!
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    Steam ID: Obos Vent: Obos
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Guys, I feel like I should apologize for this or something, but I ordered another doll. I even asked my husband's permission, even though we do have the money for it, because I didn't want to annoy him with having so many dolls. But he's cool with it, because he is awesome. No pictures until I actually have the doll.

    I also am trying a 3D print of a Mass Effect helmet for Lucy Shepard. I probably printed it too large, but it was actually cheaper than the Claymore so I don't mind reprinting it sized down if it turns out to be the wrong size. (yes I did measure before printing, but this is my first time printing something that has to fit over the doll's head and I'm not sure how much space between the headsize and the helmet I really need to not damage the figure)

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    Saw this video and thought you might like it, Cambiata:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RnTdqjZHPc&t

  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Guys, I feel like I should apologize for this or something, but I ordered another doll. I even asked my husband's permission, even though we do have the money for it, because I didn't want to annoy him with having so many dolls. But he's cool with it, because he is awesome. No pictures until I actually have the doll.

    I also am trying a 3D print of a Mass Effect helmet for Lucy Shepard. I probably printed it too large, but it was actually cheaper than the Claymore so I don't mind reprinting it sized down if it turns out to be the wrong size. (yes I did measure before printing, but this is my first time printing something that has to fit over the doll's head and I'm not sure how much space between the headsize and the helmet I really need to not damage the figure)

    My hope is for you to eventually collect a room worth of them, and then on one April Fool's day morning, position them all so that they're collectively staring at him when he wakes up.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Elbasunu wrote: »
    Oooo someone gave me an old Exo Squad or my birthday! It's missing a ton of pieces but I don't care!
    5g7nhda9eacj.png
    Holy shit! ExoSquad does not get nearly the amount of love and recognition that I want it to! :+1::+1::+1:

    I still have my cuddly boy Wolf Bronski (though sadly the springs in the grappling hook arm and one of the barrels on the other arm broke, like, 20 years ago and I've been too scared to take the toy apart to fix it), and also Jinx Madison in that cool fire truck-themed E-frame.

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Donnicton wrote: »
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Guys, I feel like I should apologize for this or something, but I ordered another doll. I even asked my husband's permission, even though we do have the money for it, because I didn't want to annoy him with having so many dolls. But he's cool with it, because he is awesome. No pictures until I actually have the doll.

    I also am trying a 3D print of a Mass Effect helmet for Lucy Shepard. I probably printed it too large, but it was actually cheaper than the Claymore so I don't mind reprinting it sized down if it turns out to be the wrong size. (yes I did measure before printing, but this is my first time printing something that has to fit over the doll's head and I'm not sure how much space between the headsize and the helmet I really need to not damage the figure)

    My hope is for you to eventually collect a room worth of them, and then on one April Fool's day morning, position them all so that they're collectively staring at him when he wakes up.

    Listen, it's weird enough for me to be an adult doll collector, I'm not tryna turn my house into a horror movie.

    Though having enough to fill a room is not necessarily out of the realm of possibility.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    What's the line between "doll collection" and "horror movie"?

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    edited January 2020
    Delduwath wrote: »
    What's the line between "doll collection" and "horror movie"?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw0uORumRts

    Cambiata on
    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Hey, I wasn't gonna sleep tonight anyway.

  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    This is my doll! It was made for me!

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Honestly if I had any place to put this I'd probably buy it.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    I completely forgot that SSC has their own site. Saw that this morning on Big Bad Toy Store.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Danny Choo put out his first images of Naruto today. He looks a look cooler than I was expecting. Still don't wanna buy him, though.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    edited February 2020
    When I was updating myself on the 3rd party Transformer developments from the last couple of years, the thing that most intrigued me was the significant step up in quality of Legends-scale toys. I'm kinda used to Hasbro and Hasbro-style Legends, which have thick plastic, clumsy proportions, and incredibly simple transformations, so I was kinda blown away by some of the toys I've seen in review videos. As far as I can tell, Magic Square and Newage are the two top contenders here, with everyone else so far behind that it's not even close (but this may be bias/lack of research on my part; take with a grain of salt).

    For starters, I grabbed four offerings from Newage. I recommend checking out some review videos to see the transformation; it's really impressive how much they can pack into such a small size. I also don't have too much to say about the individual figures, most of my thoughts kinda apply to all the figures, so here's a whole way too many photos first. I'll put most of them in spoilers, to save vertical space. Also, I won't go into too much detail on the accessories, unless they seem particularly interesting to me. There's guns, some bonus hands, that kinda stuff.

    First, the three Autobots:
    Manero (Not-Jazz)
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    Harry (Not-Prowl)
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    PLQm9uAl.jpg
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    McCoy (Not-Ironhide)
    CLfO51gl.jpg
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    K40Tookl.jpg

    Let's see how these guys stack up with MP Ironhide:
    M9QySOWl.jpg
    tBxZnzQl.jpg

    Car modes
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    That hole in McCoy's roof is not used at all; it exists because the Not-Ratchet uses the same exact mold, and that hole is where the ambulance light bar attaches. I can't say the hole bothers me too much, but it would have been nice if it came with a plug.

    Oh, and let's see how Not-Ironhide's car mode compares with MP Ironhide:
    fliZsWal.jpg
    gGmBEwJl.jpg
    IIYKSgwl.jpg

    Now that infamous Decepticon bad-boy, Agamenmnon (yes, that is how they spelled it) (Not-Megatron)
    yDt5FQ8l.jpg

    Since this is a Not-Megatron, you get the standard accessories that you'd expect:
    2LfFUzpl.jpg
    kn1Crq2l.jpg
    2mFBhq5l.jpg

    Comparison with MP Ironhide
    sj7eZupl.jpg
    I forgot to side-by-side him with the three Autobots, but he's a bit taller; you can use Ironhide as the measuring-stick.

    Alt mode
    djZq8HXl.jpg
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    Note the orange plug on the end of the barrel. It's a very nicely-painted piece of grey plastic, and on my version - which I got from TFSource - it's easily removable. I seem to recall the BigBadToyStore page for this guy saying that the plug's glued in, but now I can't even find the listing anymore, so can't confirm it. So, heads-up, I guess. It might vary by vendor. I saw one of those "the toy plus all the accessories you get" photos on one of the stores, and the orange plug was part of this shot, sitting separately, so I take this to mean that the plug is actually Newage-designed and -manufactured, which I find fascinating!

    He also came with some pretty, translucent purple special effects, which I think is a standard package they put in with some/all of the Decepticons they make. (Please pardon the spudger I had to use to prop up the gun, and the shadow from my hand/phone.)
    c9XX1ASl.jpg
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    One of the special effects plugs into the fusion cannon directly; there's a little grey adapter piece that you need to use for the other effect, and to use either of the effects for the gun barrel. The smallest effect is supposed to be for his pistol, but the hole in the effect is a tight circle, while the pistol has a sight on it. The effect is made out of plastic that has a little bit of give on it, so I was able to wrench it on there with a lot of force, but I see no reason to ever do it again. You can probably cut a small notch in the effect, though; I might try it later.

    General thoughts:
    I am genuinely shocked by these toys. I feel like there are almost no concessions made to the tiny size. The sculpts are great, the poseability's great, the plastic feels good. The cars are super-solid, and feel like nice litte Hot Wheels cars. The transformations are surprisingly involved. The biggest flaw, I'd say, is the wide use of ball joints, especially ball-pegs. Some knees that can bend in either direction. This is an artifact of the transformation, as the ball joints make it easier to twist the limbs all around every which way to tuck them into places, and to some degree this increases poseability, but it also means that you need to put extra effort into making sure that all the joints are bent the right way when you pose them. Also, McCoy's gun stores in the car mode, but in such a tenuous way that I wouldn't even use it - and the other two cars don't store their guns (or Harry's shoulder-cannons) in car mode at all, which I find very annoying. Ummm... you'll probably need a spudger (or other tool) to manipulate/unlock a few bits. Overall, though, I think the positives outweigh the negatives.

    The Megatron genuinely feels like a minor miracle to me. The transformation is really, genuinely clever, and - as far as I know - isn't a duplicate of something another company has done on a different figure. Really, watch a transformation video, it rules. The only iffy part of it involves having to apply some pressure on the trigger-guard - a curved piece of plastic - to make it curve a bit more as you manipulate it into position. That stuff always scares me, so this is a bummer, but maybe I'm just not doing it right. The accessories are really cool, and I actually really like the special effects. I don't really pose my figures when they're on shelves (it makes them take up more space), and I usually don't like accessories that don't store on the figure (because now I need to keep track of them in a separate baggy somewhere), but I feel like these effects just beg to be used. In terms of negatives, the biggest one is the crotch and hip joints. Two pins and some lines are very visible on the crotch piece, and hip joints are pretty objectively bad - they are below the actual hips, so bending at the hips breaks the sculpt pretty noticeably. There was apparently enough negative feedback that Newage has actually designed a replacement crotch-hip-and-legs piece that puts the hip joints where they belong, and has a solid crotch. It looks like you can buy this piece stand-alone from a bunch of Chinese online stores, and some Western stores will be bundling these legs with the next Newage release, Leviathan (Not-Thundercracker). Honestly, I'm not too bothered by this, so I haven't decided yet if I will try and get the replacement legs. I don't know anything about Chinese online retailers, and I don't see myself buying Thundercracker (I'm not interested in repaints, and I'm already planning on getting their Not-Starscream at some point), so unless I can just buy these legs stand-alone from an American retailer, I probably won't bother with it.

    A tangential thought, since I'm already just kinda blabbing: the removable orange plug that came with Megatron has made me think about toy guns more than I expected. I got the first iteration of MP Megatron (which I've since gotten rid of, because the metal parts started to tarnish and smell very strongly; apparently a common issue), and that guy came with a very makeshift, removable plug (apparently a standard enough thing that TFWiki even has a photo). At the time, I - a much younger man - was all "this is silly, Imma be a rebel and remove this plug". Now, though? As a guy in his mid-30s and with a toddler? I dunno, I think I'm gonna keep this orange plug in there, even on a laughably tiny pistol like this one. I know it's a trite cliche that people's values change when they have kids, but it's a cliche because it's real. I've been thinking about getting either the 2nd version of the Masterpiece Megatron, or one of the 3rd party alternatives, but now I'm thinking: do I really want a gun, even a fake plastic exaggerated gun, in my home? I don't know that I do.

    Anyhow, these toy are dope and have made me more excited about Transformers toys than I have been in a very long time. I can't afford, space-wise, to get every MP-scale toy I want, but with these Legends-scale toys? Hell yeah I can, easy. Given their quality, it doesn't even feel like a sacrifice.

    Delduwath on
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    I bought the Newage Not-Barricade a while back because I made the rule for myself that I'll only buy 3P of bots that Hasbro/Takara has not made. At the time Barricade was only in the Mustang mode so I could buy their version of him. Now I have the Siege version so not sure what I'll do with the 3P version. But yeah he really is awesome and I love the figure. It made me curious to get the others, and your photos and reviews tempt me more. Hahaha.

    I completely understand your fears of the gun toys and bots. I currently have both MP versions of Megatron and they are the only ones I have yet to transform. Both came without the orange plug so I am a bit hesitant to leave them in alt mode just because they look somewhat real. Not to mention they are really complex to transform compared to the older Masterpieces.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    One interesting thing about Legends-scale 3rd party toys is that apparently they're now popular enough that multiple companies are doing their own takes on the same character. For example, the Newage Seekers have been out for a while, and I think the Coneheads just came out not long ago. Magic Square, meanwhile, has the three core Seekers coming as a set in March. Magic Square has a Reflector that's already available at some vendors, while Newage's Reflector is coming in June. Newage has a Megatron (see previous post), and Magic Square has been teasing grey prototypes of a Megatron in their promotional material for other figures. MS has an Optimus Prime, and Newage has been hinting at one. I think that's it at the moment, but I'm sure that more overlaps are coming.

    This is probably a good thing, in that you get options. I saw a Chinese YouTuber do a side-by-side of the Newage and Magic Square Seeker molds, and there are very notable differences between them. It seems like Newage's Legends-scale bots are slightly shorter (we're talking like 0.2 inches), and they definitely have a lower resolution of surface detail. Newage seems to use more ball-joints (see my complaints in the previous post), while Magic Square seems to do a good job of using pinned hinges where appropriate. Magic Square uses that fairly unique plastic (I've seen it called "nylon plastic) that is probably an individual preference thing. The transformations are quite different. The overall designs and paint-jobs are slightly different, but I think they both look great. The biggest strike against the MS Seekers seems to be that in plane-mode, there's a visible gap between their legs/on the back of the plane.

    That same YouTuber also reviewed the MS Reflector, and it looks great too! And now I'm gonna have to wait a few months to see how the Newage one compares! Agony!

    Of course, given their tiny size and (relatively) low cost, it might be feasible to just... get one of each? As I said, they appear to be different enough to justify that. Indeed, one of the coolest things is that it looks like both companies have engineering and design elements that are relatively unique to them, and I think it's awesome that these companies have "signatures".

    The next thing I have my eye on is Newage Starscream, Magic Square Optimus Prime (unfortunately, the original non-metallic version is sold out everywhere, and I don't know how I feel about the metallic one), and Newage Brawn. Unfortunately, Brawn comes only as a two-pack with Outback, who uses the exact same mold. I'm not interested in repaints, so I'm still trying to decide on my approach. Does anyone want a Newage Outback? Maybe we can split the two-pack.

    ...actually, in the unhealthy amount of research I've done on 3rd party Transformers, I came across something that might get me to buy in on repaints - and a four-pack, at that! Consider: let's say you have a compact little Jeep car with a bit of a backpack in robot mode. Let's say you don't care at all about IP laws. Let's say you can lightly retool a mold designed to "homage" one franchise to instead "homage" another franchise. What might you come up with?

    My darlings, I give you: Newage Pizzeria
    GHfSYr2.jpg
    Just look at these little cars!
    8J86Ns4.jpg

    Apparently they come in 2 two-packs, as Newage reuses their package designs for all their repaints. I am mighty tempted.

    Oh, and here's the thing I'm probably most excited for: Magic Square has been teasing a Menasor (apparently complete with swappable bits for toy-accuracy/show-accuracy) for a few years, and now preorders for limb-bots have started to appear! Here are the promo images for their Seekers, with a Megatron and Menasor prototypes in the shots (images rehosted from TFSource):
    KRs5H8w.png
    WiICVMc.png

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited February 2020
    Unlicensed TF prices are always kind of wack, so I've really only done a handful of MP's, since I can kinda justify the ridiculous prices for those figures. $35 for a legends figure is just something I can't justify to myself, especially when I already have CHUG and MP scale collections that I can use the cheaper official figures.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    It tells you a lot about how much time I've spent looking at 3rd party Transformers over the years when I look at a $35 toy and think "whoa, that's so cheap!"

    That's pretty not great!

  • Forever ZefiroForever Zefiro cloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered User regular
    I love my tiny Snapdragon and Apeface

    2fbg9lin3kdl.jpg
    XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    If you're unsure about a metallic Optimus Prime, go all in and get Optimus Shine!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GoTpxZK1tI

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Delduwath wrote: »
    It tells you a lot about how much time I've spent looking at 3rd party Transformers over the years when I look at a $35 toy and think "whoa, that's so cheap!"

    That's pretty not great!

    Yeah, I only have like two unlicensed figures (Unique Toys Provider aka MP Octane and Toyworld's Spaceracer aka MP Cosmos). I have a couple of knockoffs (an oversized Generations Arcee to fill in on my MP shelf and a knockoff of MP Ratbat) but those were incredibly cheap in comparison. The rest of my collection is Hasbro or Takara.

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    I love my tiny Snapdragon and Apeface

    I got the tiny Apeface since I didn't think they would ever release him. Yep, that's right. Hasbro released one. So now I'm waiting for Snapdragon.

    I did see that there might be a SkyLynx released which is cool. Now I'm just hoping that Omega Supreme goes on sale again and I'll manage to get one. Sort of kicking myself for missing out on him earlier.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • Forever ZefiroForever Zefiro cloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered User regular
    edited February 2020
    Betsuni wrote: »
    I love my tiny Snapdragon and Apeface

    I got the tiny Apeface since I didn't think they would ever release him. Yep, that's right. Hasbro released one. So now I'm waiting for Snapdragon.

    I did see that there might be a SkyLynx released which is cool. Now I'm just hoping that Omega Supreme goes on sale again and I'll manage to get one. Sort of kicking myself for missing out on him earlier.

    Which Omega Supreme?

    I wish I picked up the Master Made "chibi" figures... I think most of them are sold out now, except not-Overlord

    edit - actually I'm like totally wrong. BBTS is sold out of most of them, but TFSource has some

    Forever Zefiro on
    2fbg9lin3kdl.jpg
    XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited February 2020
    Omega Supreme's radness only makes the dissappointment of CW Devastator all the more unfortunate for me. Wish I could send a message back in time to let my past self know to skip that one as Omega stands VERY well on his own.

    It genuinely sucked the enthusiasm out of my micromaster display as I still haven't found a way to fix the incredibly loose joints on the constructicons.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    Got a helmet. Helmet is too big. Re-scaled and printing a new one now.

    x4iqjufknvrv.jpg

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Betsuni wrote: »
    I love my tiny Snapdragon and Apeface

    I got the tiny Apeface since I didn't think they would ever release him. Yep, that's right. Hasbro released one. So now I'm waiting for Snapdragon.

    I did see that there might be a SkyLynx released which is cool. Now I'm just hoping that Omega Supreme goes on sale again and I'll manage to get one. Sort of kicking myself for missing out on him earlier.

    Which Omega Supreme?

    I wish I picked up the Master Made "chibi" figures... I think most of them are sold out now, except not-Overlord

    edit - actually I'm like totally wrong. BBTS is sold out of most of them, but TFSource has some

    The new Siege Omega. Although the 3P one sale at BBTS is tempting.
    Omega Supreme's radness only makes the dissappointment of CW Devastator all the more unfortunate for me. Wish I could send a message back in time to let my past self know to skip that one as Omega stands VERY well on his own.

    It genuinely sucked the enthusiasm out of my micromaster display as I still haven't found a way to fix the incredibly loose joints on the constructicons.

    Yeah the CW line really is disappointing compared to the newer stuff. I mainly bought the CW Devastator because I only had half of the original growing up and the CW SDCC version was cheaper than finding a G1 rerelease. Although now I have two of the G1 rereleases thanks to Walmart. Also I hate Walmart for the new G1 releases. Wish they would sell them everywhere.
    Cambiata wrote: »
    Got a helmet. Helmet is too big. Re-scaled and printing a new one now.

    x4iqjufknvrv.jpg

    Oooh that is an awesome helmet.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    I wish I picked up the Master Made "chibi" figures...
    Oh hey, one of these was shipped out to me earlier today! I'll post some photos when it arrives.

  • DonnictonDonnicton Registered User regular
    The doll stares at the camera incredulously, as though judging your error.

This discussion has been closed.