Should we do a Year in Review thing?

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JediTricks
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?

Post by JediTricks »

- 2010 TF Final Thoughts -
Hasbro had a lot of pacing problems in the first half of the year, Star Wars also suffered from this. TF had a lot of 4th quarter '09 stragglers in the first half of 2010, and then they did something really weird, they changed all the packaging to a style more matching the Universe line, totally changed the Voyagers packaging, started focusing on bot modes in package, and this really confused retailers, so the second half of '10 was a bit slow and jumbled. But Hasbro also brought back the Classics line with great surprises and new ideas, then put some of its figures in the mainline (only to come back out of the mainline in early '11 anyway, wtf indeed!). The pegs were pounded by shelfwarmers, largely from last year's ROTF line, but a few were repaints from that line too. Decos got a little lighter, figures got a little smaller, accessories got a cool new 3mm clip system, we got an awesome new leader-class figure and Masterpiece Grimlock made it to US shelves.A ton of weird exclusives that really didn't attract. Yet another north-of-leader-class Bumblebee that nobody really was looking to get at this point. Bayverse really didn't ruin too many figures and mostly took a back seat even in the ROTF line, War for Cybertron was a good launch, Prime was a notable launch even if it wasn't my cup of tea (that's the nicest way I can say it was crap). Largely, I think 2010 had a good run of products with a less-than-stellar pacing and availability, but was overall a good year for Transformers.

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Onslaught Six wrote:
Or at least make some new organic beast TFs, since it's been forever since we got some of those. Universe Dinobot and Cheetor don't count since they were (lackluster) reimaginings of older characters.
This I agree with, and it's why I bought ROTF Scalpel.
I disagree with this. I think Dinobot and Cheetor, to me, *prove* that Hasbro can't do organic TFs anymore (if they ever could--BW's toys were only ever middling when you really got down to it) and I'd rather we don't see that anyway.
For clarification, my comment about Scalpel was from a part you didn't quote.

That out of the way, Dinobot and Cheetor do prove that the current Hasbro design team can't deliver beasties. The original BWs were done by the then-newly-acquired Kenner division in Cincinnati, and when Hasbro closed the Kenner division they rolled those employees into the main Rhode Island HQ, spreading them onto new teams. But the fact that Hasbro currently can't deliver doesn't mean they shouldn't try new things and keep striving for better.
Prime is Prime and I really just plain don't need another new Optimus Prime toy. (Seriously, I don't care if DOTM Prime transforms into a cocksucking machine, I'm not buying him.) Bumblebee I've been looking at, and Megs is...another Megatron. It's like, we didn't get any of the guys who I might've actually bought for being awesome, like Breakdown, Barricade, or Warpath.
I guess, though we haven't gotten a particularly good Megatron figure in quite some time, and this one is adequate. I just think you're cheating yourself by closing off nifty figures expressing different eras merely because they're main characters.
Bwuh? Breakdown rules. Simple little nifty guy.
Awful figure, totally crap, I just got him out again to double-check. Terrible alt mode, chibi in the wrong ways, not even chibi enough to be a minibot. Bot mode is way out of proportion, covered in kibble, ridiculously long arms, no back except for a backpack on a frame sticking waaaaay out, and awful feet. And all those compromises without even being part of a gestalt. Hell, he doesn't even have a weapon.
Who do you guys think they need to do next time Generations comes along? I want Skids. As a Scion look-alike. Basically I just want Alts Skids but smaller and easier to transform, really.
That would be more appropriate for my recent Generations thread, I think, since I specifically ask that question in the opening post. :p viewtopic.php?f=7&t=734

BWprowl wrote:I don't have a problem with Hasbro repainting toys, but only when it's appropriate (Prowl into Bluestreak, and the Seekers, and the like). But when they assign two characters who otherwise have nothing to do with each other, like Tracks and Wheeljack, to be the same mold, it just smacks of cheapness. Frankly, I don't think Sideswipe and Sunstreaker should've been the same mold either, since they weren't to begin with, and they got enough repaints out of Sideswipe to justify it anyway.
"Only when it's appropriate"? Why is it appropriate for them? Because someone 27 years ago decided to do the exact same thing they're doing now with Tracks & Wheeljack, only they did it with different characters. The existing Classics Sideswipe wouldn't exist at all if someone at Takara hadn't NOTICED that an alternate form could have been made out of Sunstreaker's mold with an alternate transformation, this came after the design (that's what they said at SDCC anyway).
When it comes down to it, maybe I'm being selfish, but the main thing I want is more new toys. I do want Wheeljack, so it kinda stings knowing that when I buy him I won't be getting an awesome new Wheeljack toy, but the Tracks toy I already own just in different colors with a new head and feet.
Well, you have a choice: Wheeljack done this way, or no Wheeljack at all. At least they're designing dual-functionality into the molds now, that makes the crossovers easier for stuff like the lower legs, and it also means they can put a little more budget into the figure since it's going to make money across 2 different waves' budgets.

Dominic wrote:QC is so wildy out of order that it is hard to be sure how to monetize it. The QC is truly low, as QC measures consistency more than absolute quality. In theory, I really like Tracks' coloring. But, in practice, I have seen some pretty bunged up copies of Tracks.
You've said this a lot the last few years to levels that I haven't been able to get you to explain, I'm not seeing that level of QC failure, not like some chinese dollar-store knockoffs the way you make it sound. I've also not seen any copies of Tracks with bad decos yet, but I've only seen a few since I got mine.
Partly true. But, the gun/engine combination does not work as well as it should, which brings Red Alert down a bit.
It's never worked very well, and it's never been in the instructions probably for that very reason.
I kind of like Backwind...... :(
You kind of like all of PCC, but Backwind is the pits. What do you like about him from an objective point of view? I can tell you six ways till sunday what bothers me objectively, but I'll let that slide and ask: what do you have to say that's good about the toy on its own merits?
I am guessing it was a question of saving money and pushing a popular character.
I have no problem using Lockdown, I have a problem with them using MOVIE Lockdown.
I am pretty sure Lockdown is not intended to be any more of a singularity than say...Bumblebee. Of course, if Sorenson or Willis get their official mits on Lockdown, I might have to smash both of my Lockdown figures.
The difference is that BB in the ongoing, G1-based comic series, doesn't look a thing like the bayverse Camaro character; yet this Lockdown comic character is the bayverse toy in a G1 comic.
Nah, they designed both into the tooling, hence the gun, but I see waaaay more Tracks in the alt mode than Wheeljack, Wheeljack isn't appearing at all there. And the bot mode, it's only the chest really that suggests Wheeljack to me.
I think they are going to tweak the vehicle mode a bit, but do not quote me on this.
I am quoting you on this only to explain that Reveal the Shield Tracks and Generations Wheeljack only differ in headsculpt, "pipes" accessories, adding a front lip-spoiler to the car mode front end, and a traditional rear-end spoiler.
Agreed. But, I also see immigrants slip into their original language when they are mad. (Seriously, you know an immigrant's kid is in trouble when their mother is not using English. This is universal for people from all over the non-English speaking world.)
But that's not what Rapido is doing here either.
-time to start a "looking forward to" thread.
Go for it!

Shockwave wrote:And maybe we should add an "in summation" to our lists. In summation, I would say 2010 was a great year for TFs. We got a LOT of new toys and a LOT of new characters in toy form. And many of those were done very well. Sure the year had some low points, but what year doesn't? I really felt that both the amount and quality of product we got this year far outwheighs previous years. It really has been a good year to be a TF fan and it looks like 2011 will be even better.
Good idea. I'll put mine at the opening of this post of mine.

138 Scourge wrote:Best Paint: Maybe this should be "Best Repaint" but screw it, Generations Blurr wins "Best Paint" no problem. Holy crap, between the way the four-tone paint on the car mode drew me in and the way the colors just pop on the robot, Blurr looks SO damn good. I was looking at the car and thinking "Hell, good enough", but got him into robot mode and was like "Holy shit lookit that!". It sucks that he's a hard-to-find toy, because he's really good.
Ugh, you guys are driving me crazy, I don't want to hunt for Blurr, I want to just find him and not have it be a chore, and to be able to say "oh well, no big loss if I don't get him", but more and more I'm feeling the need to get out there and track him down.
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?

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JediTricks wrote:I disagree with this. I think Dinobot and Cheetor, to me, *prove* that Hasbro can't do organic TFs anymore (if they ever could--BW's toys were only ever middling when you really got down to it) and I'd rather we don't see that anyway.
For clarification, my comment about Scalpel was from a part you didn't quote.

That out of the way, Dinobot and Cheetor do prove that the current Hasbro design team can't deliver beasties. The original BWs were done by the then-newly-acquired Kenner division in Cincinnati, and when Hasbro closed the Kenner division they rolled those employees into the main Rhode Island HQ, spreading them onto new teams. But the fact that Hasbro currently can't deliver doesn't mean they shouldn't try new things and keep striving for better.
I was wondering about that Scalpel comment and how it fit in.

And yes, I'm aware of the Cincinnati closing; it's why Armada was the way it was. New design team came in and barely had a clue what they were doing.
I guess, though we haven't gotten a particularly good Megatron figure in quite some time, and this one is adequate. I just think you're cheating yourself by closing off nifty figures expressing different eras merely because they're main characters.
We haven't gotten a "particularly" good Megatron in several years, but...I already have Henkei Megatron. I have him. I own him. I own the good one. I don't need another one that's similar to that but he turns into a hovertank. I can't see needing another Megatron (besides maybe Masterpiece Megs, but I need to start a Masterpiece shelf anyway).
Bwuh? Breakdown rules. Simple little nifty guy.
Awful figure, totally crap, I just got him out again to double-check. Terrible alt mode, chibi in the wrong ways, not even chibi enough to be a minibot. Bot mode is way out of proportion, covered in kibble, ridiculously long arms, no back except for a backpack on a frame sticking waaaaay out, and awful feet. And all those compromises without even being part of a gestalt. Hell, he doesn't even have a weapon.
Wow. I dunno, I dug him?
Who do you guys think they need to do next time Generations comes along? I want Skids. As a Scion look-alike. Basically I just want Alts Skids but smaller and easier to transform, really.
That would be more appropriate for my recent Generations thread, I think, since I specifically ask that question in the opening post. :p viewtopic.php?f=7&t=734
You're right, I'm stupid.
I am guessing it was a question of saving money and pushing a popular character.
I have no problem using Lockdown, I have a problem with them using MOVIE Lockdown.
...Is there a difference? Movie Lockdown is pretty clearly designed to be interchangable into Classics--Lockdown's supposed to look monstrous anyway, being a cobbled-together bunch of pieces.
The difference is that BB in the ongoing, G1-based comic series, doesn't look a thing like the bayverse Camaro character; yet this Lockdown comic character is the bayverse toy in a G1 comic.
Eh. I'd say Lockdown was designed to fit into either, seriously.
I am quoting you on this only to explain that Reveal the Shield Tracks and Generations Wheeljack only differ in headsculpt, "pipes" accessories, adding a front lip-spoiler to the car mode front end, and a traditional rear-end spoiler.
And Prowl doesn't think this is significant? A year ago we would have just gotten a white Corvette knockoff with half-hearted green and red stripes. And if they were feeling lazy, they would just be Tracks' flames in green and red.
Ugh, you guys are driving me crazy, I don't want to hunt for Blurr, I want to just find him and not have it be a chore, and to be able to say "oh well, no big loss if I don't get him", but more and more I'm feeling the need to get out there and track him down.
A friend of mine found Blurr the other day and 'passed on him!' He was all "Yeah Blurr doesn't look that interesting." I was all, "Dude! I need him! Buy him and I'll hand you money!"
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?

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I am kind of burned out on hunting for toys at this point. I want Blurr and a few others, but will not make myself crazy to find them. (And, I have already secured that last wave.)

Dom
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?

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Onslaught Six wrote:I was wondering about that Scalpel comment and how it fit in.
Now you know, and knowing is a significant portion of the battle.
And yes, I'm aware of the Cincinnati closing; it's why Armada was the way it was. New design team came in and barely had a clue what they were doing.
So basically, in the mid '90s to early 2000s, Hasbro couldn't make their own Transformers. And Archer is the holdover from that era.
We haven't gotten a "particularly" good Megatron in several years, but...I already have Henkei Megatron. I have him. I own him. I own the good one. I don't need another one that's similar to that but he turns into a hovertank. I can't see needing another Megatron (besides maybe Masterpiece Megs, but I need to start a Masterpiece shelf anyway).
The WFC figure's not particularly similar to the Classics Megs. And that Classics mold is now 5 years old (even if the Henkei one is 2 years late to that party). I guess it depends on what you're looking for, but I'm always looking for the next good thing.
Wow. I dunno, I dug him?
I dig lots of figures that suck, doesn't make them good toys, just things I like. Armada Nightbeat is a fine example.
...Is there a difference? Movie Lockdown is pretty clearly designed to be interchangable into Classics--Lockdown's supposed to look monstrous anyway, being a cobbled-together bunch of pieces.

Eh. I'd say Lockdown was designed to fit into either, seriously.
You wouldn't say that about the Animated character, so I don't see how it's apt with the Classics style. The movie version has the aesthetic of the bayverse: digitigrade legs, bony thin limbs, overreliance on complexity and kibble, weird faces, and awkward body proportions.
A friend of mine found Blurr the other day and 'passed on him!' He was all "Yeah Blurr doesn't look that interesting." I was all, "Dude! I need him! Buy him and I'll hand you money!"
To paraphrase my avatar, "Tell him I hate him!" :mrgreen:
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Re: Should we do a Year in Review thing?

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I guess, though we haven't gotten a particularly good Megatron figure in quite some time, and this one is adequate. I just think you're cheating yourself by closing off nifty figures expressing different eras merely because they're main characters.
You know something, you are right. We have not had a really good Megatron in about 5 years or so. And, even then, "Classics" Megatron is a fun toy, but not a good representation of the character. (I fiddle with it all the time. In fact, I hesitate to paint it up because then fiddling will scrape the paint. But, it does not feel like Megatron.)
You've said this a lot the last few years to levels that I haven't been able to get you to explain, I'm not seeing that level of QC failure, not like some chinese dollar-store knockoffs the way you make it sound. I've also not seen any copies of Tracks with bad decos yet, but I've only seen a few since I got mine.
Mistakes in moulding and paint, or joint tolerances, are becoming more common, but are so wildly inconsistent that it is hard to be sure what you are actually getting. My god, I just want one more good copy of the figure, and the mistakes with the striping are not even consistent, so I cannot even be certain of exactly what to be on the look out for. I saw one the other day that I was tempted to get just because it was so awful.

It's never worked very well, and it's never been in the instructions probably for that very reason.
It actually works pretty well on....Sideswipe and Sunstreaker...even Breakdown.

I can tell you six ways till sunday what bothers me objectively, but I'll let that slide and ask: what do you have to say that's good about the toy on its own merits?
He has a good "generic" style robot mode. He looks like some kind of "brute work assistance" thing. He hangs nicely on the bottom of the copter, and actually looks like some kind of light fixture and armature.


Dom
-also sick of hunting for toys.
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