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The Grand Transformers Thread

krinsbez said:
Is it weird that watching that made me want to resume my Long After The Great War concept?
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Not at all - it's one of the things Earthspark gad some really interesting ideas about, whether you'd judge them well handled or not. Foremost amoung them of course is what do you do with the Decepticons? Sure, there a some who might subspace their guns and be content to just do other things, but I'm having trouble thinking of more than one hand's worth who make it to the human-adjacent time frame that aren't sadists, sociopaths, egomaniacs, or some combination of the above, and that isn't a good recipe for peaceful reintegration into a society.

That is of course due to their nature as the baddies of a kids' cartoon who exist to give the heroes opponents to fight with, at most, only the slightest occasional whiff of moral ambiguity, but it's still the characterization presented. Even a fair few Autobots are more than a little cracked if you take stricter interpretations of them - the lam-bros spring immediately to mind, but even for ageless beings like Transformers millions of years of bitter Us vs. Them warfare is a long time to rack up grudges and trauma.

Go long enough and you can sidestep that too by having a mostly postwar new generation cast, but there's always going to be the niggling questions of "When do we meet (X)," or "What happened to (Y)?"

For one possiobility, consider Starsream. Now, to be clear, I loathe Starscream. He's the distilled essence of every negative character trait of saturday morning villains, all scraped into a pile and left to fester. But, perhaps because of a winner of a visual design, he keeps coming up as a "fan favourite," so I'll try to find a place for him anyway, with the assumption that it is possioble for him to develop a bit as a character without being faked for some plot or immediately backsliding when presented with an opportunity ,such as with Prime Wars trilogy Screamer.

The Skyfire episodes make it clear that he truly enjoys being a warrior over his pre-war tasking as an explorer or scientist, though those still remain in his skill set, and ambition is his most defining trait if we're assuming cowardice and arrrogance have subsuded a bit. Given that, I'd propose him as leader of a faction like your typical fantasy issekai Adventurer's Guild, with a loose collection of nominal subordinates he gets to order around but who spend enough time away from him to put up with it in echange for the coordination his organization rpvides, generally being matched against weaker or peer opponents and celebrated as heroes from sticking to socially acceptable targets like monsters or outlaws, and for bringing back new information or resources from areas considered hazardous or isolated by the general population. He gets to be the bosss, he gets to keep his null-rays warm, he gets to plan expeditions and puzzle over strange discoveries and how to overcome obstacles, what's not to like?

The real question becomes, who does he get to be the dutiful and serious (but somtimes a little scary) big-sister type guild receptionist? ;)
 
So, the Pulsecon stream has come and gone, and preorders are up for the new reveals - almost all of which are straight reissues and the rest are repaints, but it means I can get the previously-exclusive Cosmos and Ramjet at MSRP instead of insane markups, and hopefully Thrust will follow in fall 2025 or spring 2026 assuming no economic crash, world war, or hate plague apocalypses break out.

Honestly not unexpected for the last wave of a given subline, and at least the SS TFOne Elita and Dumbassotron pn the 17th are all new molds, even if I'm going to stick with the sleeker Prime Changer Pika-127. Elita is definitely something I expect to be riding the F5 key to preorder ASAP though, she looks like she's apt to be the best bikeformer yet, with even better kibble management than the BB Movie Arcee but better proportions and a more coherent bike mode, as one would hope since it was actually designed to transform from the beginning instead of kludging it after the fact from the robot mode.

SS VOY Sentinel Prime looks great too; assuming I can still see well enough to sagely use a hobby knife I'll likely go ahead with turning the Prime Changer into a G2 Imperial Seeker as previously mentioned, having been holding of on ordering a second copy to see if the VOY Sentinel would be worth almost double the price tog... for a Voyager this good looking who also includes a built in Super Mode, I think that's safe to day they seem to have nailed that down pretty solidly.

I did also consider the Speedia Galaxy Shuttle reissue, but there's way too many other things I want more coming in the next six months to try to fit another Leader class in, especially with Swoop due to ship any day now, 86 OP soon, KITT in December, and the Grimlock reissue Aprilish IIRC already at high price points on that list.

The new Devastator should be revealed next month they say, which will be interesting, but I'm actually wondering more about the DX class "DEV" Optimus. it's very likely to be a G1 OP meant to represent the TF Devastation game version, but what exactly that will mean when it's competing with S86"MP 44 At Home" and the G1 toy-style DX "Missing Link OP At Home" at roughly the same time is quite the question.
 
Czlyydwr Llrngwl said:
The new Devastator should be revealed next month they say, which will be interesting, but I'm actually wondering more about the DX class "DEV" Optimus. it's very likely to be a G1 OP meant to represent the TF Devastation game version, but what exactly that will mean when it's competing with S86"MP 44 At Home" and the G1 toy-style DX "Missing Link OP At Home" at roughly the same time is quite the question.
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Maybe it will have enhanced articulation to be able to do a bunch of the fighting moves and poses from the game?
 
I got Metroplex for Christmas when he came out. Although I don't own my vintage one anymore, I've got an Encore Reissue. And honestly, of the four big ones i own from G1-Metroplex, Omega Supreme, Fortress Maximus, and Trypticon, he's by far my favorite. He's not a pertsformer like Omega, and his transformation is IMHO a lot better than Trypticon's or Fort Max's. Trypticon's two 'modes' are him lygin down and looking like he got flayed open. Fort Max either looks like he's doing sit ups, or in his laughable battle cruiser mode, considering the position of that central tower?

Might as well be 'lie back and think of Iacon' mode.
 
I stand by my original assessment of the maximum 'G1 toy with more joints' design philosophy. Ratchet and Ironhide or you're cowards.
 
I want a Missing Link Soundwave so I can display it next to my year of the goat Soundwave.
 
So, I was originally going to do a review on Prowl from RID 2001, but then I was reminded that today is the 40th anniversary of the premiere of the G1 Sunbow cartoon. I decided to postpone it until next week and review one of my all-time favorite toys. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...

Masterpiece MP-01 Optimus Prime.


This toy was released in 2003/4, as part of the 20th anniversary of Transformers. It was supposed to be a standalone celebration, a one-and-done toy, but the massive success spurred the entire MP line. This toy was and still is awesome. This is the Hasbro release, with shortened smokestacks and no trailer. I got it at Walmart for, with my discount, 57 bucks. He even came with a poster.



Dreamwave art-style. :D

As you can see, the alt mode is the classic short-nosed tractor cab with his ion blaster, ion axe, and Megatron in pistol mode. It's big, chonky, diecast metal and rubber tires.

Transformation is Optimus Prime. The back becomes the legs. The sides form the arms, the main cab becomes the torso. Just expanded is all. The only really tricky part is extending and collapsing the legs. You gotta mess with the gas tanks a bit and they can get stuck sometimes. And once he's transformed...



He's so damned good! Look at it, like he stepped out of the cartoon. This is where all the creativity and engineering during the Transformers: Energon toyline went to! This toy has presence, heft, weight, and a ton of features. First off, articulation. Honestly, the only thing he really doesn't have is ab crunch. Fully-articulated neck. Press a button on the back of his head and the mouth plate moves. Universal shoulders, 90-degree elbows, elbow rotation, wrist swivel and each finger is jointed. Waist rotation, universal hips, a DEEP knee bend, rotation, and full ankle articulation. The ankle ball joints can get a tad weak, but it's not too bad. Just be careful.

He's got a lot of gimmicks, too. Both elbows and knees have working pistons.


What's really impressive about the knee pistons are they're internal. They didn't have to do them!

He's got the Matrix, natch.



It lights up, but the batteries are dead.



A flip-up comm panel. Hi, Bumblebee!



Press up on the feet and the vents pop open. I don't know why they did this, but it's so damned cool.



And here he is holding Megatron. I usually have my MP Starscream hold it. There's probably gimmicks i forgot with this guy. :D

He's only really got three problems. The first is there's no storage for his accessories in cab mode. The ion blaster is a bit loose in his hands, and finally his ankles can get loose over time. Other than that he's pretty much perfect.

And that's MP-01 Optimus Prime. He's still one of my all-time favorite TF toys, and is more than worthy of the name 'Masterpiece'. He holds up today. If you can get him semi-cheaply, I highly recommend getting him.
 
The only toy I ever bought two of to keep one on the box. Not because I don't keep my open one out to play with when the impulse strikes, but because IO figured that today (as in another 20 years on) he'd be worth enough I could point at it and say "See, I wasn't just messing around and wasting shelf space all these years!" to all my doubting relatives. That turned out pretty off-plan :rofl:

Then again, I also learned to be much less concerned with appearances and anyone's pinons of entertainment and recreation expenses if they weren't involved with them, so whatever, and at least I've got cool stuff for the grand-nephews or -nieces to inherit someday, even if it's not going to be "my rich uncle died and left me a million dollars." At least the inheritance tax won't be so high? :p


And, wiritng this has taken long enough the the SS DX TFOne Elita and Dumbassotron preorders arre live, alonf with the VOY Sentinel Prime that appeared breifly Aug 1 by accident returning (still with no pictures on Amazon yet though.)

link to that since it's not showing up sorted by new arrivals

edit: starts about 3:35 in this news highlights video if you didn't see the Pulse stream

View: https://youtu.be/aKMUw8-ZbGM?si=9aBeuhpAmI6vVc1O&t=215

A-;evel DX DEV OP and S86 VOY Scrapper that I got apparently-still-live preorfeers in for at the same time as Sentinel and KITT before vanishing beside Sentinel srill just lead to the Amazon dogs trying to check the listing again from the order info page, though. 🤷‍🤷‍🤷‍🤷‍🤷‍🤷
 
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krinsbez said:
Random thought:

The Council of Worlds meets in Blackrock Hall, located in the heart of Rodimus City on the planet New Lithone, in orbit of which is Faireborn Station, headquarters of the Galactic Defense Command. The flagship of the GDC is GDCS Ginrai, which is not to be confused with her sister ships: GDCS Lennox, GDCS Galen, and GDCS Nakadai
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So, awhile ago I posted this little tidbit from my "Long After The War Ends" concept (it's the one with Veritas Prime, the Decepticon leader who inherits the Matrix after Logos Prime is assassinated by a cabal of baddies who's leader is secretly Starscream's Ghost), and y'all didn'tl ike it cuz none of these things were named after Optimus.

Now, my reason for doing that is that the mech's got stuff named after him EVERYWHERE. Schools, cities, towns, planets, whatever. But tell me what you think of these additions:

Blackrock Hall is defended by the Pax Guard, located in the Prime Plaza, which is also the entrance to Optimus Park.

Also, I'm thinking that the GDCS Ginrai and her sister ships are Golden One class?
 
I've seen some spoilers and it looks good.

I like how they leaned more into the energy to matter things
 
So, Transformers One.

(Don't worry, no spoilers here that weren't explicit in the trailers)

It's not without flaws, the presence of Dumbassotron first among them... but it's easily as visually stunning as the 1986 movie with only your preference for cel or 3d animation to give one the lead, and there's no contest that it has the most logical plot progression flat out. Nothing "just happens, why? Who cares, new thing is happening!" or worse yet, interrupting the flow of the narrative to insert some political lecture only relevant to a bunch of fleshie grubs that won't even exist for eleven million years. Sure, there are parallels that you can draw... but it leaves those matters for the audience to make the connections for themselves instead of dropping them like anvils from the sky. It's almost like they had an inkling of respect for the viewer's intelligence, imagine that!

Now, callbacks, quotes, and references to iconic moments in previous TF media, those it goes hard with, but much like the bayformers theatrical score it does that in a way that finds all the right buttons and pounds on them with big fucking hammers. There's are dozens of "he said the thing!" "and "he did the thing!" moments, and evening huge crowd scenes any bot close enough to the camera to have recognizable features at all has a color layout and detailing that at least suggests an established character in the franchise if not being obviously intended to be them - and everyone who gets names actually matches the name they were given too. Well, it's a new type of Quintesson than we've seen before, more reminiscent of the Executioner at the Sharkticon Pit than anything else from G1, or maybe a bit of Beast Machines Alpha Quintesson, but we already knew that from the trailers and new Quint forms pop up two out of three times they gget used, so whatever.

I do think it ends up with something of a broken Aesop, but come on, this is the origin story of Optimus and Megatton, there's no way the ending could be in doubt any more than Titanic. Less, really, since at least then there was the question of whether the viewpoint characters would survive even if the boat had to sink.

Final score: solid eight out of ten I'd say, maybe higher if the rumors of voice changes for some characters and a better sound level mix in the final edit compared to early access screens are true. I believe them at least to an extent, reports from the even earlier showings say Elita's voice was all but inaudible but she was fine in the one I caught; certainly some more minor characters didn't sound like they had the full voice processing applied.


Teal Cyber-deer: If you like Transformers, or sci fi in general, or action movies in general, go ahead and see it. At worst, it's a fun couple hours of hijinks, stunts, and explosions, and if you're inclined to engage with the characters at all they'll get right unser your skin, in the best way.

Well, mostly. Dumbassotron still exists, but the first trailer really played up the jokes and blabbering. It's age-appropriate for any kid old enough to giggle at the near-miss middle finger joke from the second trailer while understanding that it's rude, crude, and unacceptable in polite company, but not so dumbed down you'll long to club yourself unconscious if you take a younger relative to see it.


e: If this is the last movie I can see, I won't regret the time and money spent.
 
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My morning-after thoughts probably do count as a spoiler, so...
Really, OP and Elita and Jar Jar Bee are there too, but this is Megatron's movie. He's the one with a character arc that amounts to more than getting a pep talk after a moment of doubt, having enough of someone's bullshit and then getting over it to work with them anyway, or the stunning personal achievement of shutting the frag up for a full minute without being physically gagged. It's a downwards arc, but arc it is, and it's a far better origin story than off screen time travel that results in being built as the ultimate Decepticon in a cave by a bunch of bots he personally captured and reprogrammed into Decepticons.

It finally gives him more motivation than simple cruelty, ego, and ambition for why he can tolerate no other leader as well, even if it does mostly tread ground the comics broke first to do it - but that's not a bad thing either, as unlike so much of the past ten years of remakes and pastiches, the level of detail and coherence of the result in Tramsformers One make it clear that it come3s from a place of love, that more than just oine of the people making the major creative decisions on the project were knowledgeable and passionate about the franchise as a whole, and wanted tomake a movie that okdheads like us could groove along to while introducing a whole new genration to it in a way that isn't some deconstruction or moral tract, just a cinematic adventure that shiws more than it tells of the deeper meanings and issues it presents.

I really would like to see it get a Phantom Edit treatment to excise as much Jar Jar as possible, though,


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx-IteXMlEs
 
On a different topic entirely, EarthSpark DX Aftermath.

Robot mode doesn't look as good in person, truck mode looks a bit better but does not want to exist. Half a dozen flaps and tabs on each side that all have to line up at once and don't hold very well make transforming him a frustrating chore. Also, his little slab-feet are just clipped on with a split peg from the ankle connector which is put under direct stress that will usually pop one side off when combining or splitting them around his little gun/tailpipe thing.

It is a functional toy but not a good one.

3/10 is being generous. Avoid.
 
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