TFviews Looks at the Power Core Combiners Line - discussion

[JediTricks]

Dom and I have written up an overview of the PCC line for the news section, taking the line point by point. Hasbro sent us Bombshock and Huffer, I kept Bombshock and am sending Dom the Huffer figure, and each of us added comments based on sets we had independently purchased. (I mention this for full disclosure, the FTC has rules about this for web reporting and blogging.) You can read our overview here:
http://www.tfviews.com/news/toysandcollectibles/1090

I welcome further discussion on it.

[138 Scourge]

This is a really cool thing, and I could totally get behind more features like this. Well done, gentlemen.

[Dominic]

Glad you liked it. In this case, I like the concept better than the execution. Lack of time and energy definitely hobbled me more than I would have liked.

Still, as a regular feature, this does have potential.

[JediTricks]

Yeah, I think part of the problem is that I've been under a lot of outside stress that takes up my time, and part of the problem is a lack of drive owning to the line itself. I'd love to bring more folks on and do this up more often though. If ever you guys want to, LMK, I can definitely make it happen.

[JediTricks]

Dom and I were discussing the line in follow-up, and I realized it's just as easy to continue it here...

you really dislike the drones huh? Truth be told, I have plenty of toys, (3 of them being Huffer no less). I would much rather see a PCC, (a TF designed for kids), in the hands of a kid, either a kid at a community center or the kid of a friend/relative.

I don't like the idea of drones like this, I don't see the toy value in the drones themselves, and the limbs they make are fair at best when they work - and too many don't work. If they didn't have alt modes, and were just robots that went from robot drone to limb, that I could maybe have gotten behind, but this vehicle drone thing makes so much less sense and play value than a real Transformer. They're not characters, they're not anything, they have no place by themselves in my TF collection. They're not even proper drones, they're just little random vehicles, even actual drone-type vehicles might have been more interesting, though less of a disguise perhaps. And I don't see this kid-value argument flying either, if the line cannot stand scrutiny, consumers from all walks will recognize this to some degree. There isn't anybody but hardcore TF fans buying this line right now, the wave 1 boxes are piled to the ceiling at all my local TRUs and Targets.

[Onslaught Six]

As far as I can tell, the play value with the drones is mostly supposed to come from...having a whole lot of them. It's a bold thing to do and it asks quite a bit from those buying the line, but as someone who ended up with scads of Minicons during Armada (probably the last TF line I could enjoy while being in the target age range--I was 12, I think) I can see where they're going with it. I just don't have the time or money to make that kind of investment.

That said, Huffer's looking nicer all the time. I'm sure I could just remove his blue pegs, right? They're held on by screws, aren't they? I'd have no use for them.

[JediTricks]

As far as I can tell, the play value with the drones is mostly supposed to come from...having a whole lot of them. It's a bold thing to do and it asks quite a bit from those buying the line, but as someone who ended up with scads of Minicons during Armada (probably the last TF line I could enjoy while being in the target age range--I was 12, I think) I can see where they're going with it. I just don't have the time or money to make that kind of investment.

I don't even know about that, the minicons were actual Transformers, they really transformed, they had alt modes and robot modes, they were little characters. You got 3 in a pack for $7, some of the packs combined, and every other figure in the line came with one no matter the pricepoint. The larger figures, from Deluxe up, had been designed to activate gimmicks only through use of a true minicon. The drones are just arms and legs that look like little chibi vehicles, aren't characters, there aren't that many of them, the Commander figures don't themselves require them for anything but a larger robot mode, and they only come in the boxed sets.

That said, Huffer's looking nicer all the time. I'm sure I could just remove his blue pegs, right? They're held on by screws, aren't they? I'd have no use for them.

They are not, they're using friction pins with large faces. You'd have to use the soldering gun technique to get them out. The rear pegs are on struts that are screwed in, but I am not sure that will actually let you remove them, the rest of the leg is pinned and glued together.

[Dominic]

JT, if O6 has designs on Huffer, send it along to 'im. As stated in the email, I have 3 of the mould and no desire to be greedy. If O6 decides he does not want it, I know a few kids who might be interested.

They're not characters, they're not anything, they have no place by themselves in my TF collection.

It is kind of funny to see a guy who cares nothing for the comics or back story complaining about a lack of character.

I do agree that drone vehicles, (sci-fi looking things if we understand each other), would have been preferable. Maybe we will get those later. Either way, more drones, especially leg drones, are needed.

I think that Hasbro probably made the drones vehicles only to accentuate the fact that they are drones, not individual characters. Why do people have such a huge problem with this? What is wrong with assuming that the drones are equipment, rather than characters?


Dom
-maybe packs with drones and Minicons?

[JediTricks]

JT, if O6 has designs on Huffer, send it along to 'im. As stated in the email, I have 3 of the mould and no desire to be greedy.

I was thinking the same thing.

It is kind of funny to see a guy who cares nothing for the comics or back story complaining about a lack of character.

I like a light amount of character. In any case, Transformers should have personality, I can get better vehicles from tons of companies, that's not why I buy TF figures in general. Even when I display them in alt mode, knowing they CAN be transformed into characters is what makes them good. Where do they go in YOUR collection?

I think that Hasbro probably made the drones vehicles only to accentuate the fact that they are drones, not individual characters. Why do people have such a huge problem with this? What is wrong with assuming that the drones are equipment, rather than characters?

The problem is that they have no place in any display or play patterns, they aren't in scale to anything even internally, they don't display worth a crap. As for in-universe, the idea of a disguised TF being followed around by its arms and legs in tiny vehicle form is junk.

Your argument is also entirely specious since we already know that Hasbro made them vehicles because their robot modes got costed out.

-maybe packs with drones and Minicons?

Wow, that is a really horrible idea for this PCC line, then you get a package of Transformers where the vehicles don't turn into robots, and the robots don't turn into anything worth a damn.

[Dominic]

Well, uh, I would buy that kind of pack.


I tend to display the drones near a commander, if not always their own. Like I said, I look at them almost as gaming sets, "Autobot Commander w/ Minicon" or "Autobot Commander with air drones". The Commanders and Minicons are characters, the drones are equipment.

For play value, use.....Searchlight and some drones.

Searchlight is, (as stated on his package), a rescue specialist. He and the Minicon focus on search/salvage and rescue. The AWACs plane circles the general area, increasing communications range and scanning for possible attackers. The non-armed copter would provide extra carrying/lifting power. (Remember, a little kid will just assume that the tow hook on the back can hang from a strong or something.) The armed copter guards the area immediately around Seachlight while the fighter jet patrols a larger area, and possibly interdicts attackers.

Your argument is also entirely specious since we already know that Hasbro made them vehicles because their robot modes got costed out.

But, Hasbro could have gotten rid of the vehicle modes and kept the robot/limb conversion. Why did they go with vehicle/limb instread of robot/limb? Maybe we should ask them.



Dom