Going through bins of toys, here are a few that leapt out at me… just made
up a bin number.

Generations Crosscut (2014):
http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/GenCrosscut/crosscut.htm

The vehicle mode is a tough looking little hatchback, and the robot mode is
a very tightly packed, narrow shoulder, kibble-encrusted little guy,
covered in weapons. He’s an awkward mix of Movieverse and CHUG styles, and
I’m not sure how much I like him because of that.

He’s mostly a pearlized metallic gray, that I’ve always disliked as a
standin for silver. There’s a little bit of silver paint, and some really
quite fetching but slightly out of place metallic red. And some black robot
bits.

I love the handgun, which splits into two handguns. He also has two guns on
each arm the fold out together, two guns over each shoulder, and 8 tiny
missile pods on each upper arm. TFWiki says all these guns are “defensive”.

I hate the legs that have shards hanging off.

Transformation is a nuisance because of panels getting in each other’s way.

There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
Skids.

Apparently there’s an Age of Extinction Rollbar from this mold, which I
might have (came with an Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, and some other toy),
and that might be the “right” version of the toy.

————

Robot Masters Beast Megatron (2004):
http://www.tfu.info/2004/Destron/BeastMegatron/beastmegatron.htm

He’s a smaller toy, roughly deluxe sized, based on the Ultra BW Megatron,
sharing the basic transformation, but lacking gimmicks. Something about
this toy feels wrong — there’s a different type of plastic used, and all
the pegs that hold him together are small. (Everything pegs together, but
all the pegs seem small and fragile)

He does have a right arm, and the tail clamps around it, so that’s very
nice.

Beast mode looks … bloated, if not fat.

The paint job is excellent. He’s weird, and feels wrong, but he’s fun.

————
Animated Blazing Lockdown (2009):
http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/Lockdown/lockdown.htm

A redeco and slight remold of the original Animated Lockdown, he unfolds
into a gigantic robot, despite being a deluxe.

In vehicle mode, he is almost entirely flat black, with some gold flame
details, red windows and lights. It’s deeply weird to see such a reserved
and pleasing color scheme on this toy, when he is supposed to have been
upgraded many times and had parts of random colors because of that.

Robot modes adds a slightly different gold. The sides of the car extend and
then become legs. He’s taller than Legacy Galvatron and it’s not close.
Articulation is very limited by today’s standards, especially in the legs
where there is just knee bend and very restricted ball joints on the hips.
He has a waist though. There is a chainsaw attachment that I should be
keeping an eye out for.

Transformation requires getting the arms in just the right spots, so the
rear fenders can peg into place. A little frustrating.

Actually a really nice looking toy. Doesn’t quite fit the character though.
Perhaps a younger version.

(There’s also a clear version that I have no idea why I bought — it came
with two legends scale figures, so maybe that was the draw? And I expect to
find the nomad color scheme at some point)

————
Energon Sixshot: http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/SixShot/sixshot.htm

Six Shot benefits greatly from not being Shockblast, as Energon Shockblast
is probably the worst homage to G1 Shockwave ever. Shockblast also features
a green arm to make sure that the vehicle mode looks wrong and you
instantly see the entire robot.

There is no reason for this toy to be named Six Shot. My pet theory has
always been that his main weapon uses so much power that he can only fire
it a limited number of times. Specifically seven times. He tells everyone
his name is six shot so they will count to six, and then step out of cover
and then be obliterated by that seventh shot.

(And so long as they are dead, they cannot reveal the secret!)

Six Shot is mustard color, with purple camouflage, and bits of purple and
black, and clear red plastic. There’s also red chrome, and metallic red
paint. And copper. There’s a lot going on, but basically mustard, dark
bits, and red trim — not as awful as he sounds.

The toy is built around a giant soundbox that is in one arm, the Shockwave
gun arm. There are a lot of compromises in the toy to accommodate this
soundbox, and a missile launcher, and frills that pop out. I never put the
batteries in.

Robot mode clearly has a few Shockwave influences — head design, a panel on
the chest, and… one arm is a gun, but it’s as big as he is, so that doesn’t
match up well, and the other arm has two guns. Big clunky thighs and feet?

(The Shockblast version has the gun arm in olive green, cutting the
appearance further — this toy could have gotten a Shockwave deco, but it
kind of didn’t)

He has solar panels sticking up from his back (bright red chrome), which
can be adjusted to change his silhouette.

Articulation is surprisingly good, with waist, hips, knees, an above knee
swivel, universal shoulders, and one forearm on a ball joint. Head rotates
and can look up and down. Solar panels can flap for semaphore or something.
The cannon arm is a solid block.

He has slight ankle tilt, which is actually really good for getting him
into poses with that cannon arm.

Pulling a trigger on the cannon causes some little panels to flip out
dramatically, and a missile to launch. It probably would trigger a sound
too, if he had batteries.

Vehicle mode is a tank. Sit down on the floor with your legs facing
forward. Rotate your torso 90 degrees to the right. Point your left arm and
your nose towards your toes, and then scratch your head with your right
hand. That’s the tank mode.

It doesn’t look anywhere near as bad as that sounds. The left arm is a
giant cannon, and there are treads on the legs. The right arm has a gun
shield thing on it, so it looks like a turret. The chest and the back look
identical, and don’t have any clear anatomical elements. The butt has
treads. And the head is utterly inhuman

Totally briefly passable tank mode — very long, might have been better as a
battle train.

There’s a satellite or base mode. It’s a failure, with nothing looking like
anything. Better as a base than a satellite, as I could see using his main
gun as an artillery piece, using the legs to brace the recoil.

Overall, a fun toy, as fun as I remembered.

========

Cybertron Soundwave:
http://www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Soundwave/soundwave.htm

Part of the reason I think the Cybertron line is basically perfect is that
I never have this toy out. By all rights it should go into the pile of toys
to be banished, but I know that if I were to do so, I would forget how bad
he is, and replace him.

He’s not just a bad Soundwave, he’s a bad toy. An assortment of limbs piled
on top of the frame of a stealth fighter.

Are there other terrible Cybertron toys I’ve forgotten about? I’ll find out
eventually! (Menasaur is not great, and Metroplex is Metroplex)

On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 3:30:36 AM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Going through bins of toys, here are a few that leapt out at me… just made
> up a bin number.
>
>
>
> Generations Crosscut (2014):
> http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/GenCrosscut/crosscut.htm
>
> The vehicle mode is a tough looking little hatchback, and the robot mode is
> a very tightly packed, narrow shoulder, kibble-encrusted little guy,
> covered in weapons. He’s an awkward mix of Movieverse and CHUG styles, and
> I’m not sure how much I like him because of that.
>
> He’s mostly a pearlized metallic gray, that I’ve always disliked as a
> standin for silver. There’s a little bit of silver paint, and some really
> quite fetching but slightly out of place metallic red. And some black robot
> bits.
>
> I love the handgun, which splits into two handguns. He also has two guns on
> each arm the fold out together, two guns over each shoulder, and 8 tiny
> missile pods on each upper arm. TFWiki says all these guns are “defensive”.
>
> I hate the legs that have shards hanging off.
>
> Transformation is a nuisance because of panels getting in each other’s way.
>
>
> There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
> someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
> Skids.
>

This is a recolor of IDW Skids, who had a fairly sizable role in James Roberts' MTMTE/Lost Light books as a mysterious bot with a past he couldn't remember. The book did a decent job with his character, turning him from a non-entity (or a one-note Charlene joke) into a character that mattered. (Incidentally, I'm of the mind that Roberts' run embodied both the highest highs and the lowest lows of the comic books. Great humor, "what-if" storytelling, and whizbang characterization, but with just a little too much fanservice, and the inability to stop. shipping. every. single. character. together. Including Skids).

> ————
> Energon Sixshot: http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/SixShot/sixshot.htm
>
> Six Shot benefits greatly from not being Shockblast, as Energon Shockblast
> is probably the worst homage to G1 Shockwave ever. Shockblast also features
> a green arm to make sure that the vehicle mode looks wrong and you
> instantly see the entire robot.
>
> There is no reason for this toy to be named Six Shot. My pet theory has
> always been that his main weapon uses so much power that he can only fire
> it a limited number of times. Specifically seven times. He tells everyone
> his name is six shot so they will count to six, and then step out of cover
> and then be obliterated by that seventh shot.

I'm not gonna lie. That's pretty funny.

>
> Overall, a fun toy, as fun as I remembered.

I have a copy but can't get the backpack to lock into place. Not even sure if it's able to.

(Cyber Battalion Shockwave is still the best Shockwave, and that's a hill I'm willing to lie on).

>

Codigo Postal <codigopostal959@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 3:30:36 AM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>> Going through bins of toys, here are a few that leapt out at me… just made
>> up a bin number.
>>
>>
>>
>> Generations Crosscut (2014):
>> http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/GenCrosscut/crosscut.htm
>>
>> The vehicle mode is a tough looking little hatchback, and the robot mode is
>> a very tightly packed, narrow shoulder, kibble-encrusted little guy,
>> covered in weapons. He’s an awkward mix of Movieverse and CHUG styles, and
>> I’m not sure how much I like him because of that.
>>
>> He’s mostly a pearlized metallic gray, that I’ve always disliked as a
>> standin for silver. There’s a little bit of silver paint, and some really
>> quite fetching but slightly out of place metallic red. And some black robot
>> bits.
>>
>> I love the handgun, which splits into two handguns. He also has two guns on
>> each arm the fold out together, two guns over each shoulder, and 8 tiny
>> missile pods on each upper arm. TFWiki says all these guns are “defensive”.
>>
>> I hate the legs that have shards hanging off.
>>
>> Transformation is a nuisance because of panels getting in each other’s way.
>>
>>
>> There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
>> someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
>> Skids.
>>
>
> This is a recolor of IDW Skids, who had a fairly sizable role in James
> Roberts' MTMTE/Lost Light books as a mysterious bot with a past he
> couldn't remember. The book did a decent job with his character, turning
> him from a non-entity (or a one-note Charlene joke) into a character that
> mattered. (Incidentally, I'm of the mind that Roberts' run embodied both
> the highest highs and the lowest lows of the comic books. Great humor,
> "what-if" storytelling, and whizbang characterization, but with just a
> little too much fanservice, and the inability to stop. shipping. every.
> single. character. together. Including Skids).
>
>> ————
>> Energon Sixshot: http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/SixShot/sixshot.htm
>>
>> Six Shot benefits greatly from not being Shockblast, as Energon Shockblast
>> is probably the worst homage to G1 Shockwave ever. Shockblast also features
>> a green arm to make sure that the vehicle mode looks wrong and you
>> instantly see the entire robot.
>>
>> There is no reason for this toy to be named Six Shot. My pet theory has
>> always been that his main weapon uses so much power that he can only fire
>> it a limited number of times. Specifically seven times. He tells everyone
>> his name is six shot so they will count to six, and then step out of cover
>> and then be obliterated by that seventh shot.
>
> I'm not gonna lie. That's pretty funny.
>
>>
>> Overall, a fun toy, as fun as I remembered.
>
> I have a copy but can't get the backpack to lock into place. Not even
> sure if it's able to.

The backpack locks lower than you expect it to, with the large part the
tread parts attach to locking into the very small piece hinged on both
sides — that thing between the backpack and the body — and then that part
hangs off the lower back.

Ok, that might be gibberish.

If you look at all the parts in that area, you will see two slots for the
locking tab. One gets used in vehicle mode, one in robot mode — the robot
one needs a little more force to get in.

On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 1:30:36 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
> someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
> Skids.

I want to say I probably own Crosscut. I might have bought him because he was ten dollars, which back then didn't seem like a lot of money to throw away on a Transformer. Toys are getting more expensive, but they're also getting objectively better. I like the idea that they are finally doing the best versions of many characters. I may never need another Blitzwing or Cyclonus, for example (well, until they do the Masterpiece toys, which I will have to get, because of reasons).

I expect we will eventually get a Crosscut out of the Legacy Skids mold. The Diaclone version of Skids came in lots of colors—blue, silver, yellow, black, red. Okay, I was kidding about yellow, but you believed it, didn't you? I don't know that I could love them all. Skids is already hard to love. He's practically already a Diaclone non-character.

> Robot Masters Beast Megatron (2004)

I didn't really do the Robot Masters thing, though I will admit he's very strangely interesting. I like him, but he's odd-looking.

> Six Shot is mustard color, with purple camouflage, and bits of purple and
> black, and clear red plastic.

Not mustard. Green. He's a Shockwave toy in Constructicon colors, just like that one time Shockwave appeared in "Five Faces of Darkness" in Constructicon colors.

> He’s not just a bad Soundwave, he’s a bad toy. An assortment of limbs piled
> on top of the frame of a stealth fighter.

Awful toy. He's garbage. I kept Blaster (identical toy) in the package for years and years and just recently sold him off. Good riddiance.

> Are there other terrible Cybertron toys I’ve forgotten about? I’ll find out
> eventually!

I hate Backstop with the rage of a thousand burning suns. I own him, but I don't know what compelled me to buy him. Perhaps I was feeling ill that day, or was mad at myself and felt like I needed to be punished. I don't know.

Zob (or maybe I bought him to make other, slightly less ugly toys feel better about themselves?)

On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 9:44:52 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 1:30:36 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
>
> > There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
> > someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
> > Skids.
> I want to say I probably own Crosscut. I might have bought him because he was ten dollars, which back then didn't seem like a lot of money to throw away on a Transformer. Toys are getting more expensive, but they're also getting objectively better. I like the idea that they are finally doing the best versions of many characters. I may never need another Blitzwing or Cyclonus, for example (well, until they do the Masterpiece toys, which I will have to get, because of reasons).
>
> I expect we will eventually get a Crosscut out of the Legacy Skids mold. The Diaclone version of Skids came in lots of colors—blue, silver, yellow, black, red. Okay, I was kidding about yellow, but you believed it, didn't you? I don't know that I could love them all. Skids is already hard to love. He's practically already a Diaclone non-character.
> > Robot Masters Beast Megatron (2004)
> I didn't really do the Robot Masters thing, though I will admit he's very strangely interesting. I like him, but he's odd-looking.
> > Six Shot is mustard color, with purple camouflage, and bits of purple and
> > black, and clear red plastic.
> Not mustard. Green. He's a Shockwave toy in Constructicon colors, just like that one time Shockwave appeared in "Five Faces of Darkness" in Constructicon colors.
> > He’s not just a bad Soundwave, he’s a bad toy. An assortment of limbs piled
> > on top of the frame of a stealth fighter.
> Awful toy. He's garbage. I kept Blaster (identical toy) in the package for years and years and just recently sold him off. Good riddiance.
> > Are there other terrible Cybertron toys I’ve forgotten about? I’ll find out
> > eventually!
> I hate Backstop with the rage of a thousand burning suns. I own him, but I don't know what compelled me to buy him. Perhaps I was feeling ill that day, or was mad at myself and felt like I needed to be punished. I don't know.
>
>
> Zob (or maybe I bought him to make other, slightly less ugly toys feel better about themselves?)

Backstop and Brushguard were still at the local Big Lots until 2017. I've literally had people give them to me for free and still didn't want them.

A lot of the scouts were pretty terrible.

Cybertron Thundercracker is the only toy named Thundercracker I was so uninterested in I just had to get rid of. His jet was so terrible it wouldn't stay together.
Dirt Boss was just boring, 70% of the vehicle become backpack.
I know people like it, but I hated Cybertron Jetfire and how much of him didn't really transform.

Shortround was awesome though.

Zobovor <zmfts@aol.com> wrote:
> On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 1:30:36 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:

>> Six Shot is mustard color, with purple camouflage, and bits of purple and
>> black, and clear red plastic.
>
> Not mustard. Green. He's a Shockwave toy in Constructicon colors, just
> like that one time Shockwave appeared in "Five Faces of Darkness" in
> Constructicon colors.

It’s mustard, sorry. Maybe he’s based on G2 animation-error-Shockwave?

> I hate Backstop with the rage of a thousand burning suns. I own him, but
> I don't know what compelled me to buy him. Perhaps I was feeling ill
> that day, or was mad at myself and felt like I needed to be punished. I don't know.

I actually kind of like him. He has an interesting transformation that
tries to do something new. Doesn’t pull it off, but I give him props for
trying, failing, and still being sort of ok.

>
> Zob (or maybe I bought him to make other, slightly less ugly toys feel
> better about themselves?)
>

Injector thanks you?

Irrellius Spamticon <Ob1kenoby@att.net> wrote:
> On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 9:44:52 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
>> On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 1:30:36 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the
>> Seattle Wombats wrote:
>>

> Backstop and Brushguard were still at the local Big Lots until 2017. I've
> literally had people give them to me for free and still didn't want them.

I like both of them. Brushguard has a goatse thing going on, with the claws
and his cyber key hole.

> A lot of the scouts were pretty terrible.

I’ll grant you Lugnuts and Undermine.

> Cybertron Thundercracker is the only toy named Thundercracker I was so
> uninterested in I just had to get rid of. His jet was so terrible it
> wouldn't stay together.

I forgot he existed. He sucks.

> Dirt Boss was just boring, 70% of the vehicle become backpack.

Built around a gimmick and the gimmick works, so… not unforgivable

> I know people like it, but I hated Cybertron Jetfire and how much of him
> didn't really transform.

He’s a plane that comes to life. He’s a favorite of mine. He’s no
Downshift, but he’s great.

> Shortround was awesome though.

He’s fine. Hardtop might be my favorite of the Scouts.

On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 7:25:02 PM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Codigo Postal < wrote:
> > On Monday, July 18, 2022 at 3:30:36 AM UTC-4, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> >> Going through bins of toys, here are a few that leapt out at me… just made
> >> up a bin number.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> Generations Crosscut (2014):
> >> http://www.tfu.info/2014/Autobot/GenCrosscut/crosscut.htm
> >>
> >> The vehicle mode is a tough looking little hatchback, and the robot mode is
> >> a very tightly packed, narrow shoulder, kibble-encrusted little guy,
> >> covered in weapons. He’s an awkward mix of Movieverse and CHUG styles, and
> >> I’m not sure how much I like him because of that.
> >>
> >> He’s mostly a pearlized metallic gray, that I’ve always disliked as a
> >> standin for silver. There’s a little bit of silver paint, and some really
> >> quite fetching but slightly out of place metallic red. And some black robot
> >> bits.
> >>
> >> I love the handgun, which splits into two handguns. He also has two guns on
> >> each arm the fold out together, two guns over each shoulder, and 8 tiny
> >> missile pods on each upper arm. TFWiki says all these guns are “defensive”.
> >>
> >> I hate the legs that have shards hanging off.
> >>
> >> Transformation is a nuisance because of panels getting in each other’s way.
> >>
> >>
> >> There is a Skids version of this mold, and I think it works better as
> >> someone I don’t know at all than even the basically non-entity that is
> >> Skids.
> >>
> >
> > This is a recolor of IDW Skids, who had a fairly sizable role in James
> > Roberts' MTMTE/Lost Light books as a mysterious bot with a past he
> > couldn't remember. The book did a decent job with his character, turning
> > him from a non-entity (or a one-note Charlene joke) into a character that
> > mattered. (Incidentally, I'm of the mind that Roberts' run embodied both
> > the highest highs and the lowest lows of the comic books. Great humor,
> > "what-if" storytelling, and whizbang characterization, but with just a
> > little too much fanservice, and the inability to stop. shipping. every.
> > single. character. together. Including Skids).
> >
> >> ————
> >> Energon Sixshot: http://www.tfu.info/2005/Decepticon/SixShot/sixshot.htm
> >>
> >> Six Shot benefits greatly from not being Shockblast, as Energon Shockblast
> >> is probably the worst homage to G1 Shockwave ever. Shockblast also features
> >> a green arm to make sure that the vehicle mode looks wrong and you
> >> instantly see the entire robot.
> >>
> >> There is no reason for this toy to be named Six Shot. My pet theory has
> >> always been that his main weapon uses so much power that he can only fire
> >> it a limited number of times. Specifically seven times. He tells everyone
> >> his name is six shot so they will count to six, and then step out of cover
> >> and then be obliterated by that seventh shot.
> >
> > I'm not gonna lie. That's pretty funny.
> >
> >>
> >> Overall, a fun toy, as fun as I remembered.
> >
> > I have a copy but can't get the backpack to lock into place. Not even
> > sure if it's able to.
> The backpack locks lower than you expect it to, with the large part the
> tread parts attach to locking into the very small piece hinged on both
> sides — that thing between the backpack and the body — and then that part
> hangs off the lower back.
>
> Ok, that might be gibberish.
>
> If you look at all the parts in that area, you will see two slots for the
> locking tab. One gets used in vehicle mode, one in robot mode — the robot
> one needs a little more force to get in.

Great explanation - worked perfectly! Thanks for the tip.