Suddenly I find myself developing a new appreciation for toys I had thought obsolete. Zob had a thread some months back about what toys remain relevant in the wake of all the WfC updates, and I've come to realise that a lot of what I thought were old and busted are actually still fun and relevant.

Titans Return Kup is a darn good toy. The colors pop. The transformation is smooth, and presages Siege Hound/Hot Shot. Generations Kup has presence, SS86 Kup is the most screen accurate, but I have to say that TR Kup is by far the most fun.

In fact, that entire line's play pattern rocked hard. Drivers, weapons, articulated updates of classic and overlooked characters with intuitive and fun transformations. I rely on videos and instructions for Studio Series and much of WfC, but TR is a breeze. How I regret not picking up the entire line at retail...

Beast Machines Jetstorm (the smaller one). He's not particularly show accurate, but that's no fault of his. His transformation is surprisingly engaging and intuitive. The moving head/canopy, the headsculpt, and the insect like paint apps make me wonder if the Vehicons were designed to subliminally evoke something of the Beast era. He's pleasingly dense in hand, and his rubbery plastic holds up well even two decades later.

I wonder...even if they are later surpassed in terms of screen-accuracy or articulation, which other toys will continue to hold their own?

Codigo Postal <codigopostal959@gmail.com> wrote:
> Suddenly I find myself developing a new appreciation for toys I had
> thought obsolete. Zob had a thread some months back about what toys
> remain relevant in the wake of all the WfC updates, and I've come to
> realise that a lot of what I thought were old and busted are actually
> still fun and relevant.
>
> Titans Return Kup is a darn good toy. The colors pop. The transformation
> is smooth, and presages Siege Hound/Hot Shot. Generations Kup has
> presence, SS86 Kup is the most screen accurate, but I have to say that TR
> Kup is by far the most fun.
>
> In fact, that entire line's play pattern rocked hard. Drivers, weapons,
> articulated updates of classic and overlooked characters with intuitive
> and fun transformations. I rely on videos and instructions for Studio
> Series and much of WfC, but TR is a breeze. How I regret not picking up
> the entire line at retail...

Same with Hot Rod. The Studio Series matches the movie better, but the
Titans Return toy is just so much more fun.

> Beast Machines Jetstorm (the smaller one). He's not particularly show
> accurate, but that's no fault of his. His transformation is surprisingly
> engaging and intuitive. The moving head/canopy, the headsculpt, and the
> insect like paint apps make me wonder if the Vehicons were designed to
> subliminally evoke something of the Beast era. He's pleasingly dense in
> hand, and his rubbery plastic holds up well even two decades later.

This is one of my favorite toys, ever. A truly great mold, and a great deco
of it — that odd blue, paired with the color of Kraft dinner.

I don’t get an insect feeling from the paint apps though. I do love the
painted patterns on top of entirely different molded patterns that the
early vehicons had — very busy.

You can also transform him into a quadruped of some form, which is nice.

> I wonder...even if they are later surpassed in terms of screen-accuracy
> or articulation, which other toys will continue to hold their own?

The Classics Seekers, although it’s arguable whether they have been
surpassed. Same with CHUG Sunstreaker.

Wal-Mart Big Daddy. But mostly because Daddy-O is just not good.

Energon Ultra Magnus — although I cannot tell you why he is so good. I just
can’t figure it out at all.

CHUG Hound. Both the deluxe and the Legends.

Non-Seige WFC (WFC 1? The video game tie-in line) Shockwave is great.
Similarly, that line’s Megatron is amazing.

Classics Bumblebee.

Generations Inferno (or was that Universe 2.0? The Voyager with the wrong
type of firetruck alt mode)

Universe 2.0 Silverbolt.

If we are counting originals that are better than their updates, the list
is long, Including: G1 Perceptor, Armada Hot Shot, Optimus Primal, Optimal
Optimus, BW Megatron…

On Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 11:41:05 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:

> Titans Return Kup is a darn good toy. The colors pop. The transformation is smooth, and presages Siege Hound/Hot Shot. Generations Kup has presence, SS86 Kup is the most screen accurate, but I have to say that TR Kup is by far the most fun.

I think that's the biggest problem with going the Masterpiece Lite route for a lot of current toys. Takara taught us all that, yes, you absolutely can realize the Floro Dery designs in three dimensions given a big enough budget and given enough moving plastic parts. Hasbro has taken some cues from that for Earthrise and Studio Series and given us toys with not quite as big a budget and not quite as many moving parts, but a lot of the same ideas (lots of fake cockpits and windshields, swapping one set of vehicle parts for similar-but-different robot parts in a new size or shape or color).

So, you get the screen accuracy that includes all the wacky size-changing or color-changing parts and all magical disappearing wheels and windows and doors that are part and parcel for G1 animation, but it takes more transformation steps to get there and you end up with a Transformer that's much harder to transform. Challenge level is on a sliding scale, of course, and it changes as you grow and age. Toys that are arguably too simple are G1 Windcharger or Gears. Toys that are arguably far too complex include HasLab Unicron and Masterpiece Sunstreaker. If those toys represent the extremes on a 1-10 scale, I prefer my toys in the five to six range. Less complex than that, and they're not satisfying. More complex, and there are just too many moving parts to manipulate and it's really not enjoyable for me.

> In fact, that entire line's play pattern rocked hard. Drivers, weapons, articulated updates of classic and overlooked characters with intuitive and fun transformations.

Titans Return was a huge slam dunk. I don't remember any of us sitting around prior to 2016 wishing that Blaster and Scourge and Twin Twist had been Headmasters, but apparently what we all needed was for every character to be a Headmaster.

> I wonder...even if they are later surpassed in terms of screen-accuracy or articulation, which other toys will continue to hold their own?

The shift to screen accuracy in recent years has been positively palpable. Studio Series, Masterpiece, mainline toys, the emphasis on matching the Sunbow look has never been more prevalent. And I think as a result of this, a lot of people are dumping older toys that fail to meet this standard. BotCon Runamuck used to be one of the most highly-sought after toys on eBay, with plenty of fierce bidding competition, and now you can get him for like thirty bucks. It's weird how times have changed.

There are a lot of toys I'm nostalgic about, and still love, despite a lack of screen accuracy. But, my toy experience and my media experience represent different animals with different dietary requirements. There is some overlap, of course. For example, I love G1 Cosmos. He's cute and adorable and one of my absolute favorite toys ever. I loved him long before Michael McConnohie came along and started doing a Peter Lorre voice for him. The cartoon version of Cosmos is also great, for different reasons, but he lacks the adorable cuteness of his G1 toy. If they did a proper neo-G1 toy for Cosmos, it would need to be a real heckin' chonker, because cartoon Cosmos is an absolute unit. It would fulfil a very different need and desire for me.

Not really what you were asking, admittedly, but I already typed it so now you're stuck with it.

Zob (wife is at work, kids are at a pool party, so it's just me and the cats livin' it up today)

On Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 2:49:47 AM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>
> > Suddenly I find myself developing a new appreciation for toys I had
> > thought obsolete. Zob had a thread some months back about what toys
> > remain relevant in the wake of all the WfC updates, and I've come to
> > realise that a lot of what I thought were old and busted are actually
> > still fun and relevant.
> >
> > Titans Return Kup is a darn good toy. The colors pop. The transformation
> > is smooth, and presages Siege Hound/Hot Shot. Generations Kup has
> > presence, SS86 Kup is the most screen accurate, but I have to say that TR
> > Kup is by far the most fun.
> >
> > In fact, that entire line's play pattern rocked hard. Drivers, weapons,
> > articulated updates of classic and overlooked characters with intuitive
> > and fun transformations. I rely on videos and instructions for Studio
> > Series and much of WfC, but TR is a breeze. How I regret not picking up
> > the entire line at retail...
> Same with Hot Rod. The Studio Series matches the movie better, but the
> Titans Return toy is just so much more fun.

Yes to this. TF Hot Rod's vehicle mode is banging - all clean lines and curves. Transformation is intuitive and smooth and dare I say, fun. (are we still allowed to have fun with these at our ages?)

>
>
> If we are counting originals that are better than their updates, the list
> is long, Including: G1 Perceptor, Armada Hot Shot, Optimus Primal, Optimal
> Optimus, BW Megatron…

If it ain't broke...
I've held off on Kingdom Beast Megatron precisely because I can't imagine that it improves on the original...fortunately kids today will have a chance to pick up the original with the upcoming reissue, so they can experience it for themselves.

On Saturday, May 29, 2021 at 12:41:01 PM UTC-4, Zobovor wrote:
> On Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 11:41:05 PM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
> > Titans Return Kup is a darn good toy. The colors pop. The transformation is smooth, and presages Siege Hound/Hot Shot. Generations Kup has presence, SS86 Kup is the most screen accurate, but I have to say that TR Kup is by far the most fun.
> I think that's the biggest problem with going the Masterpiece Lite route for a lot of current toys. Takara taught us all that, yes, you absolutely can realize the Floro Dery designs in three dimensions given a big enough budget and given enough moving plastic parts. Hasbro has taken some cues from that for Earthrise and Studio Series and given us toys with not quite as big a budget and not quite as many moving parts, but a lot of the same ideas (lots of fake cockpits and windshields, swapping one set of vehicle parts for similar-but-different robot parts in a new size or shape or color).
>
> So, you get the screen accuracy that includes all the wacky size-changing or color-changing parts and all magical disappearing wheels and windows and doors that are part and parcel for G1 animation, but it takes more transformation steps to get there and you end up with a Transformer that's much harder to transform. Challenge level is on a sliding scale, of course, and it changes as you grow and age. Toys that are arguably too simple are G1 Windcharger or Gears. Toys that are arguably far too complex include HasLab Unicron and Masterpiece Sunstreaker. If those toys represent the extremes on a 1-10 scale, I prefer my toys in the five to six range. Less complex than that, and they're not satisfying. More complex, and there are just too many moving parts to manipulate and it's really not enjoyable for me.

In a sense, show accuracy demands a quick transformation. The Autobots and Decepticons in the show didn't sit around for ages transforming; they didn't even showboat against an anime backdrop the way their successors would in the RID/AEC era. They just got right down to it. Part of the fun is lost when a Transformer becomes something closer to a Rubik's cube than a toy, and demands as much attention to detail. The original Optimus Prime converts from truck to robot and back in seconds; the MPs are too much work. I give Earthrise Prime points for that - he's a very easy transform, unlike say, the mess of poorly toleranced parts that is Studio Series Bumblebeee movie Prime.

> > In fact, that entire line's play pattern rocked hard. Drivers, weapons, articulated updates of classic and overlooked characters with intuitive and fun transformations.
> Titans Return was a huge slam dunk. I don't remember any of us sitting around prior to 2016 wishing that Blaster and Scourge and Twin Twist had been Headmasters, but apparently what we all needed was for every character to be a Headmaster.
> > I wonder...even if they are later surpassed in terms of screen-accuracy or articulation, which other toys will continue to hold their own?
> The shift to screen accuracy in recent years has been positively palpable.. Studio Series, Masterpiece, mainline toys, the emphasis on matching the Sunbow look has never been more prevalent. And I think as a result of this, a lot of people are dumping older toys that fail to meet this standard. BotCon Runamuck used to be one of the most highly-sought after toys on eBay, with plenty of fierce bidding competition, and now you can get him for like thirty bucks. It's weird how times have changed.

The new Rhinox looks to fall short of his Thrilling 30 predecessor...I may just have to stick with my original BW...

>
> There are a lot of toys I'm nostalgic about, and still love, despite a lack of screen accuracy. But, my toy experience and my media experience represent different animals with different dietary requirements. There is some overlap, of course. For example, I love G1 Cosmos. He's cute and adorable and one of my absolute favorite toys ever. I loved him long before Michael McConnohie came along and started doing a Peter Lorre voice for him. The cartoon version of Cosmos is also great, for different reasons, but he lacks the adorable cuteness of his G1 toy. If they did a proper neo-G1 toy for Cosmos, it would need to be a real heckin' chonker, because cartoon Cosmos is an absolute unit. It would fulfil a very different need and desire for me.
>
> Not really what you were asking, admittedly, but I already typed it so now you're stuck with it.
>

G1 Cosmos is a marvel. I never picked up on the Peter Lorre as a child, probably because I had no idea who he was, and I always wondered what the reasoning was behind such an interesting accent for the character.

On 5/30/2021 1:14 AM, Codigo Postal wrote:

>> If we are counting originals that are better than their updates, the list
>> is long, Including: G1 Perceptor, Armada Hot Shot, Optimus Primal, Optimal
>> Optimus, BW Megatron…
>
> If it ain't broke...
> I've held off on Kingdom Beast Megatron precisely because I can't imagine that it improves on the original...fortunately kids
>today will have a chance to pick up the original with the upcoming reissue, so they can experience it for themselves.
>

That would be absolutely nothing in my opinion. The new BW Megatron is
underwhelming to say the least.

Brian