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Post by xiombarg on May 14, 2014 11:40:27 GMT -5
Well the look that they were trying to get with this upgrade kit is trying to stay as movie accurate as possible. I can't find many images or screen shots of the actual CG model from Dark of The Moon. But this add on kit along with all of the other add ons from FWI are made to look screen accurate. I can understand your dislike because you are looking at it from a functional point of view. I don't know why Michael Bay designed it the way he did. Big bulky clutters of machines parts is how he see Transformers. And more means more power? Look at how he destroy the design of Devastator in his second movie. Devastator is a combiner, not a bunch of construction vehicle that are slapped together to form a ugly mess. It's for this reason a lot Transformers fans hate his interpretation and dislike the movieverse line of Transformers. To me it is an acquired taste. For the longest time I hated these designs. But, the toys themselves aren't that bad and I started to like these movieverse transformers. The ROTF leader Optimus Prime is a joy to Transform. I think you are right on all of this, especially about Michael Bay's design aesthetic. I don't mind some of the movie designs, but I hate a lot of them. The Devastator and the Starscream designs are horrible. I don't mind mechanical parts if the overall design doesn't look like parts pulled from a scrap metal yard. A hodge-podge mix of parts doesn't look high tech to me, and I think it's sort of a poor man's way of doing design.
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Post by xiombarg on May 13, 2014 20:44:26 GMT -5
I think it's the huge proportions and how busy it all looks together that I don't like. The question I ask myself is whether something like this makes the figure actually look better, or is it just more stuff. As a contrasting example I think of the super packs for the Valkyries which with only a few exceptions almost always make the Valks look better. Same goes for most scranders and spazer accessories for Mazinger and Grendizer, which work with the character. This upgrade kit looks inconsistent with the Optimus design and kind of clunky by being so big. It might just be that Optimus was never really meant to have wings in the first place, but even so, I think these wings design look too messy for how visually rough Optimus already is. I like it better than the official stuff that Takara and Hasbro makes. The JetWing Prime Amazon Exclusive with the g1 trailer like color was kind of awful. Transformers Optimus Prime Jetwing Movie Deco - Amazon Exclusive by Transformers www.amazon.com/dp/B007MCPCZM/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_qKYBtb06179QJI don't find it ugly and I have the FWI-03. Here is mines standing behind the DMK DOTM Optimus Prime. So the difference from this add on vesus the FWI-03 is the FWI-03 JetWing Add on is the way Optimus looks in ROTF. He get an upgrade in feet armor making him taller and a big rifle. This new Upgrade is the way Optimus looks in DOTM with the Jetwing Pack. I don't find the add ons ugly, it's actually really detailed. But I prefer the ROTF Jetwing armor upgrade over this rendition. Really not sure what you mean by ugly. But if you don't like BayFormers and find them ugly then I am not going to convince you otherwise. I used to hate these movie style Transformers. But the DMK Optimus Prime model kit change all of that. Because in building that Optimus Prime and seeing all the refine details that went into designing this, I just can't help but to appreciate and like the effort they put into designing these movie style Transformers.
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Post by xiombarg on May 10, 2014 1:49:33 GMT -5
Huh. I'm guessing that the real thing doesn't turn into a robot? Whatever the case, I have a hard time getting around the geekiness of this thing to call it an "art" toy. Its certainly as wacky as any sentai villain.
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Post by xiombarg on May 9, 2014 23:43:39 GMT -5
Okay that looks million times better then Mazinger H.. Even the handles are much more coherent and flows with the rest of the design. Her upper arms and lower legs are short though...proportions are tough but they're supposed to be pros. All she Needs is some diecast feet so it won't wobble constantly when josh,s doing his review. That's actually how most Japanese people's anatomy is, especially the lower leg portion being short. I think that's why most of the Kamen Rider and other Sentai figures look a little bit wimpy-ish. They are probably sculpting those figures based upon Japanese models.
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Post by xiombarg on May 9, 2014 20:32:45 GMT -5
I was thinking this would be an article talking about how many variations (too many) of everything Transformers there are these days, but instead it's just promoting yet another one. I could go for a century without seeing yet another transforming semi truck, no matter how "great" it might be.
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Post by xiombarg on May 9, 2014 17:18:34 GMT -5
Finally got my shipping notice from BBTS. I always forget that BBTS doesn't always get things in stock really quick so I've been pulling my hair out waiting, and waiting, and waiting... But finally it's on it's way!
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Post by xiombarg on May 8, 2014 16:37:14 GMT -5
www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=FWI10003&mode=retailFor a brief second I thought this might be ok, but then I saw the pictures with the figure in full view. Bloody awful. In fact I would say I straight up hate this thing. It's not just big and ugly, it's SUPER DUPER BIG and ugly. Don't mean to offend anyone though. Do any of you guys like this?
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Post by xiombarg on May 8, 2014 11:33:27 GMT -5
The working pistons on the hips are freaking cool, but I especially love the hands. The joints look fairly tight probably due to the size of the pins and the thickness of the fingers, but very cool.
I wouldn't mind if they would have put a little more black paint in the grill on the face, and some eyeliner around the eyes. Other than that I think is does a great job in accomplishing it's goals. Looks solid and well crafted.
Not my cup of tea overall, but I totally respect what this design is doing. I actually really hope to see more robots in this design idea.
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Post by xiombarg on May 3, 2014 2:03:45 GMT -5
This 3rd party transformers has been around for quite some time. They make the human characters like Spike and Sparkplug and the TF Animated human characters Sari&Issac Sumdac. They also make the energon cubes and the Quintessons. You see the trend here? Their choice and selection of what they choose to produce flat out suck. The tetrawhatever if you remember the first episode of Transformers are the alternate mode for the seekers, this is what Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp turn into when they were on Cybertron, before they crash landed on earth. Had these been successful, they would have probably made a Soundwave figure that transformed into a light post. Cause that is what Soundwave turns into before being reformatted on earth as a Walkman. The way I see it, this company failed because of their poor choice in what they choose to produce. I truly believe that had they choose to make a light post Soundwave, they would still be in business. Because a Soundwave that transforms into a light post is way better than ugly triangle jets with god awful looking robot modes. It really isn't complicated at all. Make products people want to buy and you will survive. Take for instance Mastermind Creations Feral Rex (not Predaking). Those are high quality Transformers figure that people actually want to buy. Is there a big following, fan base for Predaking and the Predacons? Maybe but here is my point. Now I was not really a Predaking fan but after seeing Promo pictures of Feral Rex, I became a Predaking fan. The mechanical beast mode for all five of Mastermind Creations Feral Cons are amazing. I love the sculpt. All of the robot modes are also extremely nice, well proportionate and powerful looking. And the combine Gesalt Predaking, IMO it is the best Transformers combiner money can buy. There are a lot of 3rd party Transformers company out there and that is part of the reason why this one fail. Just too much competition. And this company choose to make the most obscure things that no other company want to make. The other companies don't want to make these obscure stuff because they understand these figures aren't what the fan base wants. 3rd party company Dr.Wu is staying alive because they make small accessories and upgrades. FansProject is still around because their moto is "by Fans for Fans". FP has good market research and understand what fans want to buy. Impossibletoy failure is really simple, they made a bunch of unwanted transformer toys. Yeah. you are right on all counts. Nothing fails quicker than a business who does not have a genuine understanding of their own product genre, and who is buying what and why. It's a similar problem you saw over and over again when designer vinyl was really hot, and with movies as well. Impossible Toys would seem to me to be a "business motivated idea" by guys who had some skills to engineer and knew where to manufacture, but a poor sense of design evaluation. Making Transformers probably seemed like the most obvious and easy meal ticket. The other products I've seen by these guys was a variety set of larger scale G1 style Bumble Bee and Bumble Jumper cars, and a super ordinary looking transforming t-rex. In both cases these products did nothing for the imagination in comparison with their competition.
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Post by xiombarg on May 2, 2014 20:50:50 GMT -5
A couple of months ago I noticed the pre-order for these odd little 3rd party transforming ships called something like Tetra fighters on BBTS, and the reason I noticed them was not because they were what I see as cool, these were sort of ugly, or at least unintentionally retro. So it looks like the idea behind them was to make a transforming robot out of a tetrahedron. Hmm, ok. Well, now the company is going out of business and the ships aren't to be released for another month. The explanation is simple enough, they sunk a lot of money into this project (and two other not very exciting designs they have) and nobody pre-ordered them because they are sort of lame.
We see a lot of toy makers bite the dust for a lot of reasons. Just in the last couple of years we've seen CM's, SHE, and various other smaller companies bite the dust. So this all got me thinking about who makes successful toys and what was the problem here. These guys at Impossible Toys seem dedicated to quality and durability, which is good, but they either don't know their toys, or they fell prey to a common problem that was often talked about in graphic design classes, which is "you can't fall in love with your idea"... if it isn't going to work. This is what I think is the number one problem of toy companies. They either fall in love with their business idea, or with poor designs, or with good ideas that are too expensive or unpredictable for such a finicky market. I feel bad for the guys. Judging by their products I'm almost sure that their venture was a complete failure, and it sucks to see a dream go down in flames.
To the guys at Impossible Toys, whoever you were, RIP. If nothing else you gave it a shot.
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Post by xiombarg on May 1, 2014 21:55:42 GMT -5
I really like the hands.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 30, 2014 1:19:38 GMT -5
Its good to finally see a face forward shot, but it really confirms that this isn't for me.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 29, 2014 16:17:50 GMT -5
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 28, 2014 21:17:17 GMT -5
Robox www.dynamism.com/3d-printers/robox.shtmlThis might be the new printer to beat. $1400 cost. Layer resolution of 20 microns. Filament fed, or FDM (fused deposition modelling) Thoughts - Resolution is excellent and it has some pretty cool innovations. Even though it's an FDM based system it's able to start and stop the flow of plastic using shutoff valves so that you don't have the common problem of little bumps caused by clumped together plastic. The valves also stops strings and oozing. Also has a dual wheel feed system which is nice. Where this is an FDM based machine I'm sure it's still going to need more attention to tuning in order to get really clean results, but at this price it's really worth the trouble.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 28, 2014 0:40:36 GMT -5
Yes, I am completely aware of all the points you have raised, and I agree. But what is particularly relevant is your statement concerning this toy's positive points "It's very distinct, quite original and it's fun..." These are the primary reasons I collect toys, hence my interest. I'm asserting the positive aspects of this toy as it's copping way too much flak from people that clearly just want the status-quo, maybe tweaked slightly, but nothing more. If someone wishes to collect the same design in different colours and sizes, that's their prerogative. Hence, I don't see it fit to attack such toys, nor those that like to collect essentially the same design, over, and over again. And something else is the value for money, or lack of it apparently. Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I've never seen evidence to suggest that zinc-alloy, means a better or higher quality toy than plastics can achieve. If anything, zinc is occasionally implemented poorly and is to the detriment of the toy. Is die-cast metal really any more valuable than quality plastics? Why are people so hung-up on die-cast metal? it's weight & feel? and tin aside, the fact that it started out as a gimmick to impress children? Is this what draws people? Don't get me wrong, I dig it too, but it ain't exactly a deal breaker when a 16" tall robot isn't made of it. I mean c'mon, where would the sense be in that anyway? Metal is often overrated, and in the worst case scenarios it even ruins a toy that would have been perfect if made of plastic. The feel and weight of metal is often aesthetically pleasing, but not necessary for any functional purpose. Metal is more expensive to cast generally, especially compared to vacuum formed vinyl, and I'm sure it costs more as raw material as well. Plastic costs practically nothing. I know what you are saying when it comes to admiring originality and distinction, but a lot of collectors really aren't looking for this, or at least not to the degree of some of us. I think the purist outlook leans more towards a perfectionism outlook. It's sort of chasing the dragon's tail, keeping your focus looking for the perfect specimen, but we probably all do this to some degree.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 27, 2014 22:46:57 GMT -5
There's nothing currently being sold by Fewture at the prices you've stated, maybe a couple of years ago, but just like everybody else, their prices have gone up considerably. I'm glad to hear you haven't had any QC issues, but as we both know, it's no urban myth that their QC hit & miss ratio is sub-par. As for the plastic versus die-cast argument, I have to disagree. Firstly, minus the $60 it would cost to ship, and it's a $270 figure. And for that $270 you will be receiving a huge mass of quality vinyl with gorgeous design and detail, and one of the best paint finishes in the hobby. I can't see how the price isn't just right. Just imagine this hyper-realistic 16" robot behemoth in your display with N-scale model buildings, cars, etc, (they are to scale) at it's feet...that's a robot collectors wet dream right there. And at 16 inches, the much maligned hip design isn't going to be the eye-sore that people think it is. And besides that, the hip design is completely appropriate as it helps to set the unique aesthetic. Threezero has done something very special here...and I feel that there's going to be many people that wish they hadn't passed it up, especially when threezero releases further robots down the line It's probably good that you feel this figure is perfect, as any collector should if they plan on paying $300 plus dollars for a vinyl figure. I think the hips do fit the aesthetic, but at the same time I still don't really like them. I think this is a good design for what it's trying to accomplish. It's very distinct, quite original and it's fun... and those are the exact reasons it's also not for everyone. Anytime you stray from an original design that's been around for half a century you're going to have those that are the purists who won't buy it, and those who just don't particularly like the styling choices who also won't buy it. That's the gamble with any stylized rendition of a famous character. Sometimes you can capture the whole target market, but doesn't always happen. It's the same reason that everyone doesn't run out and buy D style figures or Fewture figures. In fact it's the reason many old school collectors don't buy SOCS. Don't get me wrong, I am impressed by aspects of this figure, but I don't love it. Even though I'm sure seeing this figure in person at 16" would be impressive, I actually wish the whole industry would stop following the 1/6 large figure trend. It's an impractical size that takes up tons of space, requires a lot of box space, makes figure very unplayable, and it increases costs. For combiners it's ok, like the Mattel Voltron, because the individual vehicles with removable pilots is actually quite cool, but for action figures it's a bit pointless.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 27, 2014 0:52:20 GMT -5
I don't know if I would call most 3a designs steampunk in a strict sense. They're usually more retro and often minimalist. They're at an interesting intersection right now because they've probably dried up the market for the Birdie the pipe bomb reprints and variations so they are seeing what else can sustain them.
I think this Mazinger will be successful. It's new and different, and it's Mazinger. I'm ok with it, and even though I don't want to buy it, iwant it to be successful because I want to see this aesthetic applied to other characters and perhaps get better results for my taste.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 25, 2014 18:43:18 GMT -5
This 3zero Maz hasn't even been released yet and Hong Kong eBay sellers have already started posting ads for pre-orders, starting price range is $339! ( yep, light-up eyes, too) zozo-maz Pre-orders are open as of yesterday with prices ranging from $270-$310. My question is if as a member here mentioned that a vinyl figure is cheaper to produced when compared to a metal one, then why in the heck it has such a high MSRP? I understand that 3Zero has a patented paint technique and this Mazinger will come with light-up eyes and accessories. But still, I do not see a justification for such high MSRP on a 16-inch vinyl figure. Such price makes the metal figures look like a bargain for the consumer. I agree that it's probably priced too high, but at the same time I know from experience that there is substantially more time put into designs that have this much geometry. The production cost wouldn't be any more than anything else this size, but the design end would be significant.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 22, 2014 19:52:45 GMT -5
Interesting choice of accessories.
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Post by xiombarg on Apr 19, 2014 16:39:02 GMT -5
wow, as if them wide hips aint weird enough, like they just HAAAD to pose him in that Crotch Thrust stance. zozo-mag See, that's the thing... With the way his legs and hips are situated, any pose that has his legs turned outward gives him a crotch thrust look, and most poses don't look as good if you point the legs/feet straight forward, so hmm.
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