Transformers Team "Drafts" Best Figures of 2023

Emerje wrote:

Munkky wrote:I had a look at my pending Hasbro Pulse pre-orders today, and at the moment it says Thundertron, Tasmania and Tigerhawk are due to be shipped out next week! 22nd December to be exact, so they most likely won't arrive by Christmas, but between that, my Takara Beast Wars VS Tigatron and Blackarachnia set coming tomorrow, and a Studio Series 1986 Arcee I found for a good price on Ebay, that's a few nice things I have to look forward to within the next few days.

I got the notice from Amazon for Bouldercrash arriving Thursday. I have Megatron and Tasmanian Kid ordered, but I guess those aren't coming yet.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:- They actually called Nemesis "dommy mommy"

Munkky wrote:

Emerje wrote:- They actually called Nemesis "dommy mommy"

Ah, men of culture I see.

Emerje wrote:The Transformers Team over on the Hasbro Pulse YouTube channel decided to have a little fun between BMac, Evan and Mark and do a sort of sports style "toy draft" picking their favorite figures of 2023 without duplicating picks for their "teams". They're picks were broken down by class as well as a wild card pick in no specific order. While mostly just something done for fun it did include quite a bit of banter between the three that has given us some insight into what we might find in the future as well as insight into the design process of figures they chose.

- It doesn't sound like they're working on a blue G2 Grimlock... yet.
- There was a brief, not by name mention of Dino King when talking about Core Scarr
- They actually called Nemesis "dommy mommy"... (Link is at least visually safe for work.)
- They said they have way more female characters than most people know about. Not sure if that meant to pick from or in the works.
- Apparently Takara gave the go ahead for SS86 Rumble and Frenzy to get their cartoon colors matched to their names (RiBFiR) after Siege went the other way (seemingly at Takara's request).
- Mark actually said Ultra Magnus has been under represented leading to the SS86 figure.
- Mark used some of Aaron Archer's original concept art when designing Commander Class Armada Optimus Prime.
- Mark was also the one that got Buzzworthy Tow-Line made.
- They joke about only making 4 SS86 Dinobots. They must hear that alot.
- Lots of gushing over Retro reissue pink Hot Rod and praise for that line in general.
- Mark actually went to a dump and waste management site for inspiration with Trashmaster (who was named by their copy editor).
- Tease more Insecticon repaints (but definitely no more Dinobots).



It's a little telling that while they praised the Studio Series line, most of their picks came from Legacy. Was there anything big that was missed? Let us know in the Seibertron Energon Pub forum!

cloudballoon wrote:I like the Origins WJ alt mode but not the chunky bot mode. I skipped on Jazz so I'll likely pass on this simply because I have no shelf space.

Tidal Wave is not for me, not into the designs of the Unicron Trilogy in general. And again, no shelf space. If I can squeeze out the space, I'll reserve it for Titan Nemesis anyway... but I'm still waiting for it to go on sale in Canada's Amazon/TRU. $300CDN + tax hurts my wallet too much.

Transformers Legacy United - Titan Tidal Wave

“Tidal Wave, Tidal Wave, Tidal Wave”

With the daunting chant on impending doom and having been officially announced at Cybertron Fest Singapore, let’s get into the details of Titan Tidal Wave. With the launch of Legacy United, we knew that there was no greater time to revisit this character at the titan scale. This guy was a blast to work on, but we had so many priorities we needed to define out of the gate. As a Titan, Tidal Wave needed to deliver a large scale super articulated robot. As a vehicle, he needed to deliver a large flying aquatic war craft, which needed to be assembled out of 3 smaller vehicle form factors (the dark fleet). Tidal Wave needed to combine with Armada Megatron, to create Burning Megatron and we felt that he needed to have an alt mode that was achievable without the need to separate the vehicles in assembly. I’d like to say that we were able to achieve 4 out of the 5, but in the end, we did them all!

Shogo Hasui (Hasui san) was an absolute rockstar to work with on this project, and continued to find incredible solutions in delivering such a massive undertaking. He continued to push this figure forward despite all the curve balls that we through to him.

In the end Tidal Wave delivers a super articulated Titan robot, with waist, ankle, clever butterfly shoulders, wrist and neck. His chest weaponry all 8 turrets points are articulated for rotation, with the larger 4 featuring articulated barrels and 5mm ports for blast effect compatibility. In addition, his palm cannons also used 5mm ports that can be utilized in robot and alt mode

Tidal Waves color spec is primary based on the Armada animation with a few pieces of influence from the original toy, similar to Armada Megatron.

What are your thoughts on Titan Tidal Wave? Was he a worthy selection for the next titan figure? Our would you have preferred to have seen him at a smaller scale? Let us know along with any other questions in the comments below!

Transformers Legacy United - Titan Tidal Wave - Alt Mode

We decided early on, the importance of delivering the dark fleet as 3 separate vehicles to align to the original toy, and the consistent onscreen combination sequence that took place on screen. Due to this figure being super articulated, we would not be able to have him transform from robot to combined war craft without separating the vehicle forms. In order to avoid having him be referred to as a parts former, we introduced a secondary alt mode as a battle station / weapons fortress.

Transformers Legacy United - Titan Tidal Wave - Combined Burning Megatron

In order to combine with Megatron to create Burning Megatron, miniature versions of the dark fleet can be extracted from various parts of Tidal Wave in order to combine. To avoid being left with a partial titan during the combination, we introduced a secondary transformation to the hands to keep them in tact so that a very in tact titan figure remains. The miniature versions are able able to be displayed as mini dark fleet vehicles, that convert into their armored accessories for Megatron.

To assist with the added weight of the components, and to deliver a more frightening Megatron, Foot extensions are included to raise the characters height, along with the ability to port the arm weaponry into the sides of the arms or the upper shoulders.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:So they realized Armada Megs was too small so they include new feet. I'd be less salty about it if there was a way for the feet to fully integrate with Megs.

Munkky wrote:

Emerje wrote:- They actually called Nemesis "dommy mommy"

Ah, men of culture I see.

No joke though, if I had bought the Nemesis my head-canon personality for her would've been a cutesy anime girl who doesn't really like fighting and treats the other Transformers like kittens or puppies ("OMG SO CUTE!!!" for example), in complete juxtaposition to everything else about her. I've decided I want Tidal Wave more than the Nemesis so I likely won't get her, but it's still funny to think about.

Razorbeast88 wrote:So who are the bots on tidal waves box art?

Emerje wrote:Soooo, are any of the bots on the box art actually recognizable as real characters? I'm stumped though the two in the water look a little familiar. Are they generics from the Armada cartoon? I looked through Insecticons.com and didn't really see any matches.

Emerje

Razorbeast88 wrote:So who are the bots on tidal waves box art?

D-Maximal_Primal wrote: Let's start with Medix: He is neato, a nice basic figure, but I like that I have this character now, and I do intend for him to go to the Aligned autobots shelf. Kinda wish he didn't have his blue gun, feels extraneous, but I can live with it.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote: Let's start with Medix: He is neato, a nice basic figure, but I like that I have this character now, and I do intend for him to go to the Aligned autobots shelf. Kinda wish he didn't have his blue gun, feels extraneous, but I can live with it.

The blue gun is a call back to the Botcon figure. I like that bit of attention.



Emerje

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I completely disagree. They captured the Animated spirit in him, and they made him really good. Could he have used a longer/narrow mid-torso? yes. But seriously, they did him really good here.

Emerje wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

Rodimus Prime wrote:Wow that Animated Optimus is a serious letdown. From that ridiculous face to the proportions, he continues the trend of showing why Animated should NOT be G1-ified.

I completely disagree. They captured the Animated spirit in him, and they made him really good. Could he have used a longer/narrow mid-torso? yes. But seriously, they did him really good here.

Agreed. Of all the Animated figures they've done I think he's the most successful. I don't think Bumblebee is all that bad either.

Emerje

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

AcademyofDrX wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh. I mean you can barely notice those aspects when it's just sitting there on the shelf anyway. Personally, I'm passing on Legacy since I have the vintage one, but I would rather be happy with one toy than unhappy with two.

Burn wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:Most Animated figures that have/may get a "modern" make over fall into the trap of "It's hard to top the original"

Not unless the original wasn't really good to begin with (as was the case with Animated Voyager Optimus being stuck with a bad Automorph that greatly destabilized the figure, a mouthplate gimmick that only barely revealed his face beneath it, and a weapon that could only generously be described as an "axe"; his Deluxe molds were much better figures, but weren't big enough).

Hence why I said "MOST". I'm well aware there was a couple of stinkers, but most of the others will be hard to top.

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

They really should give it another go, that's if it was intended as a modern take on Animated Bulkhead.

Sabrblade wrote:

Burn wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:And I suppose Animated Bulkhead already count at being remade in Legacy? If not, that's another one that will be hard to top. That old voyager was stellar, ¸aside being too small.

They really should give it another go, that's if it was intended as a modern take on Animated Bulkhead.

It was intended to be Prime Bulkhead. But aside from being green, it looked nothing like him from the neck down.

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

I wanted to come to this quote, because this is an interesting concept that I am split on. And I will use 2 easy figures to compare:

Armada Optimus vs Megatron.

Armada Optimus is my figure of the year. They took the original, removed the electronic gimmicks, gave him a matrix gimmick and more posing, as well as a more complete trailer transformation. They took what to me was not an overly exciting gimmick, and traded it for a much more involved transformation that provided a much more satisfying combination gimmick. In my mind, they complete overhauled him and made him different but the same but made him better.

Armada Megatron is sort of the opposite, he is one of my Top 5 disappointments in 2023. They took the original, removed all of the gimmicks but the torso turret part, and gave him articulation. Problem is, they did not supplement the removal of his old gimmicks with more convincing good ones. He can actually pose sure, but the original Megatron is such a fun toy, and all that was fun about him was removed and not really replaced with anything. We will see if Tidal Wave helps make him a better/more fun toy.

And that sort of is my deal: is what was taken from the original at least equated by what was given to the new one? A couple other examples:

Cyberverse Windblade now has articulation and a sword, something none of her toys actually had. She is a win.

Animated Optimus has a much better head and weapon, and there really weren't any sacrifices outside of the waist autotransformation, which was not a very good gimmick to begin with to me. To me, both are winners, but in different ways thanks to the different approaches.

Transmetal 2 Megatron swapped the wing flapping gimmick and 3rd mode for articulation, and included the effects for fire breath. To me, he wins out over the original because the original was hindered by those gimmicks.

So it all comes down to the opinion on the gimmicks really. Ones named above show how they found a balance of a trade off, as well as Armada Megatron showing how they didn't.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:

AcademyofDrX wrote:"Almost exactly like the original, just remove the play features" really is a Generations collector mindset, huh.

I wanted to come to this quote, because this is an interesting concept that I am split on. And I will use 2 easy figures to compare:

Armada Optimus vs Megatron.

Armada Optimus is my figure of the year. They took the original, removed the electronic gimmicks, gave him a matrix gimmick and more posing, as well as a more complete trailer transformation. They took what to me was not an overly exciting gimmick, and traded it for a much more involved transformation that provided a much more satisfying combination gimmick. In my mind, they complete overhauled him and made him different but the same but made him better.

Armada Megatron is sort of the opposite, he is one of my Top 5 disappointments in 2023. They took the original, removed all of the gimmicks but the torso turret part, and gave him articulation. Problem is, they did not supplement the removal of his old gimmicks with more convincing good ones. He can actually pose sure, but the original Megatron is such a fun toy, and all that was fun about him was removed and not really replaced with anything. We will see if Tidal Wave helps make him a better/more fun toy.

And that sort of is my deal: is what was taken from the original at least equated by what was given to the new one? A couple other examples:

Cyberverse Windblade now has articulation and a sword, something none of her toys actually had. She is a win.

Animated Optimus has a much better head and weapon, and there really weren't any sacrifices outside of the waist autotransformation, which was not a very good gimmick to begin with to me. To me, both are winners, but in different ways thanks to the different approaches.

Transmetal 2 Megatron swapped the wing flapping gimmick and 3rd mode for articulation, and included the effects for fire breath. To me, he wins out over the original because the original was hindered by those gimmicks.

So it all comes down to the opinion on the gimmicks really. Ones named above show how they found a balance of a trade off, as well as Armada Megatron showing how they didn't.

Nemesis Primal wrote:Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Now that we're solidly done with Legacy Evolution and people are getting their hands on United Wave 1, I'm curious to hear the consensus: which line did people think was better, the initial year of Legacy or Legacy Evolution?

Sabrblade wrote:

Nemesis Primal wrote:Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

Now that we're solidly done with Legacy Evolution and people are getting their hands on United Wave 1, I'm curious to hear the consensus: which line did people think was better, the initial year of Legacy or Legacy Evolution?

I'd say both were equally terrible, distribution-wise. Walmart and Target over-ordered the first waves and skipped several later waves, resulting in Wave 1 items still clogging the shelves to this day (from both lines), while several other items from later waves never made it to the stores.