Reality Shattering

This Transformers video is so wrong it wraps around the universe and comes right back at you. I won’t say more so that it hits you as hard as it hit me.

TF2 News and Pics

News and pics from the set of Transformers 2: Revenge Of The Fallen. Possible spoilers, so be warned.

7-Foot Optimus Prime

Seen at Gizmodo: a 7-foot tall Optimus Prime model constructed from old car parts. Not bad, but at $4,838.71 (plus shipping) and 485 pounds, I’m not getting one any time soon.

(Plus, it doesn’t transform, so…)

Ironhide

Can someone explain to me why neither Hasbro nor Takara has been shoving bucketfuls of money to this guy to get him on the Transformers toy design team?

BotCon 2008

The official Transformers convention took place this weekend. As usual, Hasbro showcased some of this year’s new toys. The Animated line continues to amaze me with its clever engineering and faithful designs. The Classic line isn’t bad either — we would have killed for those toys back in the 80s!

Night Hunter

Yep, it’s another beautiful LEGO Transformer, based on a Russian attack helicopter.

Transformers Animated #10

Just watched it now. It’s really amazing — they’ve done the story so that the kids could follow it, but it’s really one huge sequence of homages for the older TF fans.

First, they introduce Soundwave by putting him in a cassette player-shaped box. He’s got the vocorder voice, the expressions, the general shape and colors, etc.

Other winks to the fans:

- Daniel, one of the G1 characters, makes a cameo at the birthday party.
- The pinata is a purple T-Rex, which is Megatron’s beast form in Beast Wars.
- Soundwave uses a “snake” cable to plug into the phone system.
- Soundwave has other bots under his controls (“minions”).
- Kreemzeek, the electrical lifeform that allied itself with Megatron in G1, is shown on the TV station’s “out of order” panel.
- At the end, what’s left of Soundwave is shaped (and sized) like a cassette player.

What can I say, the toy is very tempting.

Toy Fair 2008 Gallery

Check out the galleries for this year’s toys and figures.

Warning — there are some spoilers in there for the Animated series.

Classics Wave 2, in Color

The subject line says it all: these are the Wave 2 Classic Transformers, in color this time. I’m really impressed by Prowl and Sunstreaker, they are quite close to the original toys.

For Octane and Powerglide, though, I much prefer the fan-made versions. Oh well…

Classic Bots, Re-imagined

I wonder why Takara/Hasbro don’t just hire this guy for their Classics 2.0 line. He’s doing a better job of adapting the old designs that their in-house guys.

More Classics

Hasbro and Takara are busy taking characters from the 1980s G1 Transformers series and updating the toys to modern standards. Series 2 is coming out very soon.

UPDATE: check out this video.

But What If We Want To Dance?

You gotta give mad props to that guy: he built (and wears) a ten-foot tall Optimus Prime costume.

Alas, it doesn’t transform into a drivable truck. More’s the pity.

More LEGO Transformers

Though they do not transform, alas: Movie Bumblebee and Optimus Prime.

More Jin Saotome

It’s been a while since I’ve had a Transformers post so take a look at Jin Saotome’s customized figures. Scroll down a bit to check out his latest creations.

LEGO Blackout

There are some very good builders out there. Even knowing this, I still come across stuff that leaves my jaw on the floor.

Case in point, this Blackout model from Transformers. Yes, it transforms. It’s also superior to the toy version since it’s closer in scale to the rest of the car toys from the movie.

Micro Prime

It’s a microscale G1 Optimus Prime. And yes, it “transforms,” despite being composed on about a half-dozen bricks.

There are also Starscream and Megatron galleries.

(Via Brothers Brick)

Blade

This kitbash of G1 character Blade (he was the helicopter Protectobot, forming the right arm of the Defensor gestalt) is one of the nicest and best made Transformers toys modifications I’ve ever seen.

TF Animated Series Revealed

Hasbro made a big presentation at the ComicCon and they showed a short video as well as images of the upcoming 2008 toys. Yes, the toys match the animated series’ designs — call me astonished.

Masterpiece Soundwave

Well, not quite. It’s a fully functional MP3 player, but it doesn’t hold transformable memory cards.

The Frenzy and Rumble earphones are a nice touch, though.

Shellshock

Here’s the perfect post to start off the next batch of thousand entries: Decepticon Shellshock, done in the movie style and in LEGO. Awesome!

V-Bot R/C Transformer

It’s not enough to have radio-controlled cars now — it’s better if they also transform into a R/C robot, too! (Alas, no video of the toy in action.)

LEGO® Transformers

1) Here’s Movie Prime, or at least, a pretty good approximation. It transforms and even sports the flames!

2) A neat little go-kart Transformer.

3) This Movie Prime is closer to the robot mode, but doesn’t seem to transform…

4) Here’s a Minifig “City” scale Optimus Prime.

5) Now we’re talking! Here’s a very accurate movie Optimus Prime. The builder still needs to find a way to make it transform, however.

6) And another Movie Prime! Still doesn’t transform, darnit. Don’t make me pull out my boxes of bricks…

Random TF Stuff

1) The personal Web site of one of the Transformers movie’s concept artists (caution: slow site).

2) What the movie could have been like with Generation 1 styling.

3) That’s a whole lot’a robots.

Painted Movie Toys

I’ve already linked to Jin Saotome’s toy mods, but here they are all in the same thread. Just scroll down for new stuff.

Transformers Art Design

CG Society has posted an interesting article regarding the work of Alex Jaeger, ILM’s art director for the Transformers movie. He talks about the process of designing the looks and the complex transformations required by the movie.

(Also, for fans of Heavy Gear, check out the steam car on the first page — twin V-engines!)

Stop Me Before I Buy Again

Couldn’t resist — I went and bought Ratchet this afternoon. I managed to resist the Leader-class Optimus Prime, which is not only pricey but kind of big, and I couldn’t find Ironhide or Blackout, darn it.

Reliving my childhood, one plastic toy at a time! (I had the original Ratchet as a kid.)

Transformers F/X

Popular Mechanics explains how they made the Transformers real.

More Random Comments About the TF Movie

Spoilers galore, so don’t read until you’ve seen the movie.

- Yes, Bumblebee doesn’t speak at the start. Keep in mind most viewers will discover the TFs with Sam, so no point in having BB explain everything from the start.

- Yes, Bumblebee speaks at the end. Notice how Ratchet says “I’m still working on him” and then hits him with a red beam that seems to do something? The voice processor “healed” by the end of the movie.

- Jazz’s death seemed a bit pointless. Also, none of the Autobots or humans seemed to be bothered much by it. But is he really dead? All Ironhide said was, “we couldn’t save him.” From Meg’s attack?

- A lot of people were bothered by the human/TF screentime ratio. Sequels will likely be better in this regard since they won’t have to introduce the concept. Expect more robots from the start in TF2 (summer 2009?).

- Apparent ‘Con survivors: Starscream, Barricade (not seen after the highway scene), Scorponok (not seen after burrowing under the sand minus its tail).

- Apparently, they cut out 20 minutes of extra scenes. Like I need a reason to buy the DVD?

- In the first draft, I bet that the racing bike that the hero soldier rode on to attack Blackout at the end was Arcee (her toy is a similar race bike).

- The towtruck used to transport BB has the same looks as the new Autobot Longarm Deluxe toy.

Gaaaaahh!!!: A Transformers Review

So we just came back from the Transformers movie premiere… Do you have any idea how hard it is to walk with your jaw scrapping the pavement? Spoilers laden review after the fold.

This is going to be a bit of a flow of ideas here… I want to get it all out while still under the spell.

Needless to say, we were blown away by the whole thing. The Transformers are all grown up now. I don’t think the cartoon ever adequately transmitted the raw power of these aliens. These are massive beasts, dangerous ones. The earth shook, the walls were shattered, you could feel every hit. They moved fluidly, like living beings. I didn’t think the faces would work, but they did, especially Prime’s. No rubber metal here, just tons of little metal plates that approximate a human face.

The film has tons of action, obviously, but also a lot of humor. Some comes from the scenes themselves, but much came from the robots and their reactions to the new world around them. There are a lot of fun moments in this movie!

I got the good fortune of watching the movie with a roomful of fans like me. When Blackout first transformed at the beginning of the movie, and we heard the familiar sound, everyone applauded. When Prime first arrived, wild cheers. And when he uttered the classic line “one shall stand, one shall fall,” the entire room murmured the words along, like a prayer. It made the whole thing even more emotional.

Things that hurt the experience a little: Bay’s usual “shake that camera! Quick cut! Another quick cut!” style made it a bit nauseating to follow the action sometimes, and we lost a lot of details. Also, with only 140 minutes and a large cast, it was hard to give more than a few lines to each robot. I would have liked to have more interplay between the Decepticons, many of which were blown apart without even uttering a word.

One last note: when you see the movie, stay for the three extra scenes in the end credits. The third one’s important.

Countdown

Twenty four hours from now, if all goes according to plans, I’ll have seen the Transformers movie.

Massive New Hasbro Gallery

The guys at Seibertron have just published a major picture gallery of their Hasbro tour, including movie concept art and more. Surprinsingly, I learned that Arcee and Wreckage were indeed supposed to be included in the film and were cut so late that their toys actually got done (though they changed Wreckage’s colors)!

BotCon 2007 Reports

Images from the 2007 official Transformers convention, which takes place this weekend:

Friday Dealer Room Preview Night

Botcon 2007 Hasbro Tour

Hasbro’s Botcon Toy Display Sneak Peek

(Sorry if this blog is getting all TF, all the time. I’ll be seeing the movie on Monday night, that should scratch my itch and we can get back to gaming and space stuff.)

I'm Torn

On the one hand, the looks of the new Transformers animated series is very dynamic, and I like that.

On the other hand, I really don’t see how they’re going to make toys out of this. There’s no way you can get from the big green guy (Ironhide?) to the military truck seen below him, at least not without using inflatable rubber.

But on the gripping hand — the toys from the movie are pretty darn close to the CGI models, and everyone thought it couldn’t be done. Time will tell, I guess.

UPDATE 1: the ‘Bots are, from left to right: Ratchet, Prowl, Prime, Bulkhead and Bumblebee. Most people had pegged the green guy as either Ironhide or Hound.

UPDATE 2: the series is aimed straight for kids, with 22-minute stories and no narrative arcs. Strangely, the villains will be as likely humans as Decepticons. Go figure.

Toys!

Zellers was having a special this weekend on Transformers Deluxe toys, so I picked up Jazz, Barricade and Bonecrusher while grabbing treats for the dog. Almost grabbed Swindle and Brawl as well, but a) I’d rather restrict myself to movie designs, and b) Deluxe Brawl is rather tiny for a tank. Better wait for the Leader class version.

That said, I’m amazed at the amount of details and articulations they managed to pack into a $10 toy. Granted, they lack the neat diecast of my childhood toys, but at least you can pose these. [grin]

They could use a bit more paint applications to make the details pop out a little, though. I might break out the paints and brushes to do some touch-ups (though I don’t plan on going this far).

Sigh… 35 years old and still buying toys. On the plus side, if true age is in the heart, I’m going to live to 120.

SD Transformers... in LEGO

The subject line says it all — kawaii*!

[*”cute” in Japanese.]

And go up a level, this guy’s “regular” TF are pretty amazing. I can’t believe how he made a better Megatron than the original 1984 toy!

Painted Bonecrusher

If only they came that way out of the box…

It only goes to show that Hasbro’s engineers did a remarkable job of emulating the complex movie designs in simplified toy form.

(From Shortpacked!)

MTV Awards Videos

Optimus Prime vs Bonecrusher — don’t look if you don’t want to see another action piece from the movie.

(Holy Heck!)

Prime Costume

And of course, it transforms.

New Trailer!

There’s a new Transformers Movie trailer available!

More than Meets the... Brick?

This hits me in two of my favorite geek things. Check it out!

Prime Speaks!

New Transformers TV spot — you know what to do.

Bonecrusher Vs. Prime

New movie pics are up!

Also, Transformers plush toys — that transform.

New Transformers Trailer!

You can find it right here.

We get to see everyone this time, including Frenzy, Meg and even Ironhide pulling a “John Woo” move. Keen!

Transformers CosPlay

As usual, the Japanese fandom manages to be both scary and awesome at the same time. Check out the “costume play” Transformers at Japan Expo 2004.

Well, that didn't take long

A direct-to-video shop is ripping off the Transformers concept right before the official movie opens.

That said, I’m curious to see the trailer. [grin]

(Via Shortpacked)

Car Robots

Real-life Transformers in vehicle modes.

Yes, Starscream (the grey F-22 in the back) is going to be big.

Toy Fair 2007

With the 2007 Toy Fair going on this weekend in New York, the cool stuff is coming out of the woodworks:

Frenzy & Ironhide art

Hasbro Toy Fair 2007 Press Release with Optimus Prime Images

Megatron ’s final head

Ultimate Bumblebee Camaro and more

Seems like Hasbro is planning on swamping the market with not only toys, but merchandizing as well.

Man, it’s like it’s 1984 all over again!

UPDATE: LEGO is also getting out the big guns. Check out the new booster for Exo-Force!

Ironhide

Check him out here. I think we’ve seen all the movie’s robots now with the exception of Bonecrusher. Neat!

UPDATE (Feb. 5): never mind, here’s Bonecrusher.

Ratchet V01

Here’s a look at what Autobot Ratchet could have looked like in the movie.

Then again, maybe they can call him Inferno (I used to own that toy) and stick him in the sequel. It would work just as well.

Colored Pictures of TF Movie Figures

Well, here they are. Not all of them, though — missing Ratchet, Ironhide, Starscream, Blackout… But, we’ve seen them all elsewhere.

Transformers Movie Toys

They’ve started to emerge in large number as the Chinese factories sell the prototypes and test shots on eBay (“intellectual properties rights? Never heard of it.”).

You can see the pictures here, amongst other movie-related news.

Megatron and Prime Toys

Here’s an image of the Transformers Movie Optimus Prime toy prototype, with nemesis Megatron in his original Cybertron form.

The truck mode looks pretty accurate to me, but the bot mode’s posture needs to be worked on a little. I’m pretty amazed that they managed to reproduce Meg’s busy movie design, too.

A World... Transformed

It’s kind of a Christmas gift for me: the Transformers trailer is here.

Now ‘scuse me, I need to go fetch the mop.

UPDATE: The hi-res trailer is now online. Much nicer, and you can pause it to stare lovingly at the nice killing machines.

Transforming Tables

If you want to see what the “folding, interlocking panels” transformation style of the new Transformers will look like, check this live action example: DB Fletcher Furniture Design.

It’s not CGI — the table really does shift and change shape when you turn it.

(Via Boing Boing)

Transformers Movie Images Compilation

Fan site TFW2005 has made a compilation of all the Transformers Movie leaked design images and toy prototypes.

Spoiler warning, of course, but if you really want to see what the Autobots and Decepticons will look like in live action, and you don’t feel like hunting all over the Web, check out that link.

New Transformers Movie Toys

You can see the toys for Brawl, Barricade and Bumblebee by following the link. Spoiler warning, you can see them in robot mode.

Is it just me, or does Brawl transform almost exactly like the G1 version? (That is a good thing, BTW.)

Ratchet

Here’s another robot mode image from the Transformers movie. This time we take a look at the Autobots’ medic.

Meg is Back

Remember that 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime super-hi-grade Transformer toy (I own it)?

Well, now they are doing Megatron as well. And yes, he’s a gun again. Impressive!

I like how they got rid of the trigger (check the inside of each leg). I used to own the original 1984 toy, and its trigger, in robot mode, was… embarrassing.

(Mecha trivia: the robot to the left is Ideon, whose animated show holds the all-time record for most characters killed at the end of the series: everyone(!). Firing of the main gun collapsed the universe, blowing up good guys, bad guys, bystanders — everything. Same director as MS Gundam, BTW.)

Bumblebee

Here’s a look at what Bumblebee will look like in the Transformers movie. All modes, all accessories. Keen!

Lil Formers!

Transformers caricatures. Funny!

(Apparently, will soon be found at www.LilFormers.com.)

Transformer Costume

I’ve seen some of those before, but never in action.

UPDATE: Here’s another one, though this one doesn’t transform.

A Prime Shot

Literally — it’s a shot of the Optimus Prime head and shoulder prop for the Transformers movie. They probably have a scene where a character has to physically interact with Prime (sitting on his shoulder, perhaps) and they need good 3D references for proper positioning.

(The saturated blue color — as in “bluescreen” — and the position dots are dead giveaways.)

PhotoShop Transformers

A guy went and did pictures of what the Transformers would have looked like if the moviemakers had followed the G1 toys exactly.

Sometimes it works, sometimes not. I think it was a good idea to start off fresh for the movie.

REVs

Well-known game designer Matt Forbeck helped Playmate develop a Transformers-like line of robotic toys called REVs (Radically Engineered Vehicles). The gimmick here is that the robot doesn’t transform into a car — it hides inside the car, and can wear pieces of the later as armor.

(Isn’t the name “Six Gun” already in use in the Transformers line, though? Maybe the trademark elapsed…)

More movie pics

Including some first looks at the concept for nearly all Transformers in the movie. Very blurry, though.

More than meets the eye

Someone made a compendium of all the Transformers Movie pictures on Flickr. Now you can get all the leaks in one place.

TF First Look at Movie Megatron

As usual, don’t follow the links if you don’t want spoilers. You can see the images here or here.

My comments? Well, he’s silver… and certainly menacing. But the design lacks the big gun (which could be added later, mind you) and is extremely busy, visually. Of all the TF designs I’ve seen so far, it’s the one I’m most unsure about. It transforms, yes, but it doesn’t say “Transformers” to me. Maybe there isn’t enough “kibble” (visible parts of the vehicle mode) on him?

But hey, I’m willing to give it time to grow on me. Who knows, once in action and with the proper voice…

UPDATE: Oh boy, are the fans completely, seriously mad.

And it can’t be a good thing when even my (non-TF fan) wife’s first reaction is “oh, eww.”

UPDATE 2: I just realized that if they added two more arms, this design would be near-perfect for the Shrike.

TF Movie Toys

When it rains, it pours, it seems. Only this time that’s a positive thing, as new images of the Transformers Movie toy line have surfaced.

(Obviously, don’t follow the link if you don’t want to see spoilers.)

I must say that I absolutely love the alien, quasi-insectile looks they have given them. And, they managed to translate it into the toys, at least for Blackout (the giant Sikorsky helicopter). Prime looks great, Scorponok is suitably menacing… not 100% sure about Starscream, however. The satyr legs may grow on me, but I’m not sure. The face, though, is great, no matter what other Transfans are saying. It reminds me of a cunning warrior, with the slanted eyes and the hint of a mustache/beard (hey, like the Animated Movie’s Scourge!).

UPDATE: A much bigger picture of Blackout, without watermarks, can be found here.

TF Movie Line-up

You surely read about it elsewhere (if you’re a Transformers fan, that is), but here they are, as per today’s release.

AUTOBOTS
Optimus Prime - The classic leader-type character. Altmode: long-nose Peterbuilt truck.
Bumblebee - The Underdog. The scout, smallest of the gang. Altmode: 1978 Camaro, then 2008 Camaro.
Jazz - Rock n’ roll character, Prime’s right-hand bot. Altmode: stylish sports car.
Ratchet - Medical/Science officer, repairs Transformers injured in battle. Altmode: emergency vehicle.
Ironhide - Optimus’ oldest friend. Gritty veteran warrior. Altmode: 4×4 pickup truck.

DECEPTICONS
Megatron - Cruel, survival of the fittest-type leader. Altmode: cyberjet (unconfirmed)
Starscream - Second-in-command, secretly plotting to overthrow Megatron. Altmode: F-22 fighter.
Brawl - Pissed-off bot, heavy lifter. Altmode: heavy tank.
Bonecrusher - Constructicon-like bot, hates all other Decepticons except for Megatron. Altmode: minebusting construction truck.
Barricade - The hunter, likes to get to things first. Altmode: Mustang police car.
Skorponok - The closest to a Beast Wars-era character. Altmode: giant scorpion.
Frenzy - Character which replaces Soundwave, stealth spy. Altmode: ghetto blaster (used to be a cassette, but no mass-shifting in this movie).
Blackout - Transport, takes out ability to fight back with EMP. Altmode: heavy helicopter.

TF Movie leaks

I had a pretty bad day at work (don’t ask), but then, like a gift from above, look what I just saw:

Pics of Movie Autobots

I’m pumped. I love the transtech look. Have you noticed that Bumblebee’s chest is the Camaro’s front grill, and the rear wheels can be seen within his feet?

Sweet!

First Look at Optimus

The first images of Movie Optimus Prime are now out. Well, an arm and part of his head, at least.

Imperial march

As played by LEGO Star Wars figures.

It's Not That Bad

So Optimus Prime is going to be a Peterbilt “long nose” truck in the movie, like the G2 toy. It’s not that bad.

Michael Bay gave his reasons on his Web site, and I have to admit they make sense. You need a honking big truck to make a robot that compares, size-wise, to a jet. You don’t want Prime to be only as tall as Megatron and Starscream’s belt buckles, eh?

the transformers teaser is here

We don’t see much, but you get the feeling this will be a serious movie. You can catch the teaser trailer at the official movie site.

UPDATE: This isn’t the official teaser, but it’s pretty cool. There are some talented animators out there…

More images from the transformers movie

See them while you can. And take a look at this:

I know, I know. The tank could be Megatron, it could be a U.S. army “anti-Transformer” prototype, whatnot. But remember that “Brawl” has been going around as a character name, and… well, come on! Look at it! [grin]

their war - our world

The teaser sheet is up for the Transformers movie. I think that’s Optimus Prime’s eye. He says it’s a Decepticon, but come on — blue eye? Not yellow or red?

This is turning out to be a good day.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go change my underpants.

(Edited to point to the movie site.)

(Second edit: apparently it isn’t Optimus’ eye. It’s the Autobot symbol.)

...in disguise

Wow, they have Mustang police cars in the States? Pretty slick!

Wait a second… (More after the fold)

That ain’t right.

Ah. It makes sense now. [grin]

So now we know for sure that the Transformers movie won’t be fully G1, but starts its own continuity. And you know what?

As long as Optimus is a red flat-nose truck, I don’t give a damn. I’m going to have a geek-asm anyway.

(Via Seibertron)

Masterpiece Starscream

Of course, I’m buying this when it comes out.

Well, I might wait for the inevitable Skywarp (or Thundercracker) repaint. Maybe.

Transformers News

Ain’t It Cool News interviews Michael Bay about the Transformers movie.

The first diagrams of Masterpiece Starscream are coming out.

The wait is painful for the true fan.

Transformers Videos

It’s amazing what you can find on YouTube:

Photocopier Transformer

Nissan Transformer

Test Footage?

Wassup?

Magnus Test Shot

Shoe-former

2CV

Solving Parking Problems

Sally

Masterpiece Metroplex

A bunch of guys are building a more “true to scale” Transformers Metroplex (the Autobot city playset):

Look at the size of that thing! It’s going to be very impressive once it’s done…

Steampunk Transformers, Part 2

I mentioned the Steampunk Transformers before, but now we get to look at them!

(Via BoingBoing)

Live Transformer!

Of course, it’s a bit smaller than the ones we’re used to.

But it’s real, not CGI, it does drive along, walk and transform.

I want one for Xmas!

Skyfire

Skyfire was one of the Transformers from the “Generation 1” series that never got a toy. Sure, Hasbro imported and repainted one of the bigger Macross Valkyrie toys, but it was just a stopgap measure that never pleased anyone.

Now a guy put on himself to do a toy of G1 Skyfire, and do it right.

He used sheet metal and a masterpiece Prime.

Once you’re done drooling, see how he did it here.

Transformers Sites

As you may know from this blog, I’m a Transformers fan. Not fanatic enough to buy the over-priced* DVD sets or dozens of the plastic critters, but enough to own the 20th Anniversary Masterpiece Optimus Prime (I love my wife!) and a couple of gestalts sets. I don’t own more because, frankly, I don’t have the space; and besides, some of the newest toys are lame compared to the die-cast wonders of the G1 era.

I mostly feed my addiction by reading Web sites. I can recommend three that I visit often:

Seibertron is probably the biggest TF Web site on the Internet right now. They’ve got tons of info, galleries, databases and forums, plus they are usually very much up to date with TF news. Whenever something new happens (for example, regarding the development of the upcoming TF live-action movie), I often read it there first.

The forums at Transtopia are my next stop. The main site and its associated picture galleries are horribly slow (must be something wrong in its dynamic Web code) but most of the conversions, kitbatchs and repaints can be seen in various forum posts. There are some seriously talented toy modelers in that place.

I use Remy’s Transformers - TFkenkon mostly as a visual reference. The guy posts tons of pictures of each toy, each very clear and well-lighted.

—-
*(For me, of course - as luxury items, Hasbro can sell them at whatever price the market will bear.)

R/C Transformer!?

Yep, it’s a radio-controlled transforming robot toy called the TransBot.

Must… resist…

More than Meets the Eye... Later

Oh, will they keep me twisting in the wind for long?

The Transformers live-action movie has been pushed back eight months, to the summer of 2007. That’s two whole years of waiting. On the plus side, though, a summer release means a bigger movie. And, I’d rather they take the time to do it right rather than just rush it: after all, two-third of the characters are going to be FX, they’d better be slick.

Optimus Prime himself has dropped by the San Diego Comic-Con to make the announcement. But of course, they had to keep him under a tarp the whole time, dammit. The Elita-1 mudflaps are a nice touch…

Citroen Transformer

Remember that cool TV spot where a brand new Citroen transforms into a dancing robot?

Someone made a parody using an old Citroen 2CV. Still very cool!

Rebooting the Transformers

I’m a big Transformers fan. I learned English mostly because I wanted to be able to follow the story when I watched the show after school. I never got many of the toys, but that’s only because I had to buy them myself, and my means were limited.

I started to regain an interest in them last year. I don’t remember what the trigger was, but I got the first season and watched it again. I also bought a few of the old toys (thank you eBay!) and my beloved wife bought me the 20th edition Optimus Prime figure. I’m anxiously awaiting the live action movie.

As I rewatch the old episodes, though, I wish it was possible to do a “reboot,” kind of like what they did with Battlestar Galactica. Things I would change:

1) Emphasis on the original theme, “Robots in Disguise”

I didn’t like the fact that everyone on Earth knew about the Transformers. What’s the point of the tag line, then? I also disliked most of the movie and post-movie characters, who all turned into futuristic vehicles which obviously didn’t belong on this planet.

Here’s how I would have done it. No transformation on pre-Earth Cybertron. In my version, the Cybertronians would be humanoid robots, slightly larger than human (car-sized). Physically, they would look the same, though minus the car-looking parts (easy to do — the cartoon models didn’t have many of those to start with). The transformation into vehicles would be a Teletran-1 invention to allow them to stay hidden from the humans. No matter how much he dispises the humans, even Megatron is bright enough to understand the concept of “they may be primitive, but we’re outnumbered and they got nukes.” A big part of the show would be to operate while keeping out of the public eye. And it would be cool to see them learn about their new transforming abilities.

2) Cybertron is far away!

I disliked the episodes where they brought Cybertron near Earth. It’s supposed to be a planet, not a tiny moon. The space bridge was a great way to allow some action “back home,” though.

Oh yeah, and add some sort of “space fold” effect in the first episode, for crying out loud. It takes them so little time to fly from Cybertron to Earth, the two must be celestial twins. I understand they only had 22 minutes per episode, but a jump effect would have lasted maybe one or two seconds!

3) Energon is more than raw energy!

In the show, any energy source could be made into energon. Why bother coming to Earth, then? Just build solar power satellites, or fusion power plants! They surely had the technology.

Again, there’s a way around this. A lot of the Cybertronian technology is build on dimensional circuitry - they can store mass and energy into pocket universes, change sizes, and so on. This would require special energy, one with a high “transdimensional content.” (Bear with me, here.) The latter would be generated by the dimensional quantum shadow of high-level technology - basically, turbulences in other dimensions are caused by complex, energy-intensive processes. These turn themselves into knots sometimes, and these knots store high levels of energy with a cross-dimensional polarization.

Now, energon is a three-dimensional manifestation of this, but it also exists partially into other dimensions. This makes it a perfect fuel for Cybertronian bodies and tech. Originally, the civilization on Cybertron could generate its own energon. When the civil war caused mass casualties and destruction, however, a threshold was reached and energon conversion became near impossible.

The Cybertronians put as many of their numbers in stasis aboard the Ark as possible (bringing only their personality components, which would later be known as Sparks). These will be the source of all those new toys, I mean characters, that appear later in the show. They then launch themselves in space, like in the first episode. This time, though, the Ark is buried deep within the volcano (or else we humans would have found it long ago), and the trigger for reactivation is not a random volcanic eruption, but the fact that human technology has reached the complexity level required to allow energon conversion!

This would give them a reason to stay on Earth and gather energon. All this would have required minimal changes to the scripts, but make vastly more sense.

4) Don’t kill off Optimus!

There was a lot of fan outrage at this, back in 1985. I think it was a pretty stupid idea to kill off half the cast just to make room for new toys.

I saw an Ultra Magnus toy repaint on a fan site, in the Optimus colors. They could have severely hurt Optimus in the movie instead, and just brought him back into a “powered” form, rather than just kill him off to introduce Magnus.

5) Don’t bring in Galvatron!

I never liked Galvatron, for two reasons: one, Megatron was more cunning. It was supposed to be a power-up, but Unicron just turned him into a drooling maniac. Second, it’s “robots in disguise,” guys — what the heck is Galvatron supposed to be? A prop from a “B” grade sci-fi movie? (I know, they had to retire the gun-like Megatron, because of new laws about realistic weapon toys. But couldn’t they make him into a tank, instead? Geezz…)

6) Jettison all the outer space “sci-fi” episodes!

There were several episodes, especially in the second half of the series, that took place in alien worlds. Why? The whole idea behind the show is to make the kids wonder “hey, could that car there be a hidden Transformer?” Put those cars in outer space, and it becomes yet another adventure kiddie cartoon that makes no sense.

7) More factions! More movement between factions!

It would have been neat to have Cybertronian “nations” or sub-groups. These would have provided additional tensions within the story, without having to always rely on “Megatron’s plan of the week.” Defections and conversions would have also been neat (and hey, they could have re-sold the same toy with slightly different colors!).

Sigh… Not that any of these will ever come to pass. It’s just a kiddie show, right? Why bother putting some thoughts into it? Grrrr…

Don Figueroa Showcase

If you’re a big Transformers fan like me, you will drool all over your keyboard by checking this showcase.

The concept art is worth the trip alone. I mean, WWII Transformers? KEWL!

LEGO Transformers

I think I was way too conservative with my LEGO designs back when I was a kid.

I mean, look at these LEGO Transformers. Who needed the actual toys?

More Motormaster Thoughts

I’m worried. Ever since I discovered those toy kitbasher sites, I want to make some. I keep getting ideas and diagrams in my head!

For example, I wasn’t happy with either of the Motormaster toy ideas I had in the last post. The repaint was nice, but it would be a repaint — Optimus in new colors. I feel that the transformation mode is at least as important to the identity of a character as his head and color scheme. The second idea was closer, but it just wasn’t slick enough to fit in with the Alternators line.

But I had this insight on Friday — why not reverse the truck cab? This way, the wheels are at the knee joints, instead of underfoot, and you can pop out a pair of feet from behind the cab. You can also fold in two side panels to give Motormaster a better waist.

I think I’m going to go buy some foamcore, see if I can put a cheap prototype together…

More Transformers Thoughts

I saw that Takara is making a repaint of the 20th edition Optimus Prime toy as Ultra Magnus (though not everyone is convinced this is a good thing). Not unexpected, and it makes sense, but they should have given him a mouth instead of a face mask, and Magnus without his trailer armor just isn’t Ultra.

Funny enough, I did a Photoshop last month of another possible repaint of the same figure — Motormaster, the leader of the Stunticons! They would have to change a few parts, however. The head is one; the others are the two chest pieces. Instead of just swinging to the side, they would have to be reversible. One side would have the purple windows, the other side would have the black chest shield. Assuming making another gun design isn’t a problem, the rest is just repainting. If the toy didn’t cost $120 here, I’d probably try it myself…

I also have an idea for an Alternator-sized Motormaster made out of a 1/24 or 1/28 scale truck plastic kit. I have plenty of sketches, just not the will to do it! I figure that by using the truck cab as the lower legs (instead of just the feet) and removing the rear half of the trailer (which can be kept empty to store extra parts), you can make him about the same size as the Optimus Prime figure. This has the double advantage of being closer to the show’s styling than a simple repaint (seen below), yet having the right size for the Alternators line (roughly 1/24 scale). I also think it would be able to convert to Menasor, but that would mean scratchbuilding another four Transformers! (Possible, just a very long term and costly project.)

Left to right, you have the comics/cartoon design, the scratchbuild one (here a Photoshop of the actual toy) and lastly the Optimus figure mod/repaint. The repaint is nicer looking. Motormaster always was pretty boxy… To get the correct proportions, the trailer would have to be a serious plastic and metal origami, and I’m just not up to it.

Maybe once I retire…

Wheeljack?

According to rumors I’ve read, one of the next Transformers Alternators figures is a Ford Mustang remold to be Wheeljack. Given that the Autobots’ resident mad scientist is one of my favorite G1 characters, I was very disappointed by this. Granted, a Lancia license is probably harder to get than a Ford one, but still.

(And don’t get me started with Grimlock as a car, either.)

What got me worried was that I was looking at 1/24 scale model kit of various Lancia race cars, and trying to figure out whether I could kitbash a proper Wheeljack with parts from another Alternator figure… Good thing I don’t have a workshop yet, me think.

EDIT: Figures, someone else beats me to it. I never realized there were so many talented toy kitbashers out there…

Transformer sighting

Okay so it’s not a real Transformer sighting (like that New Beetle movie of a few years back). It’s a television ad to promote the new Citroen car. But still, this is one bitch’in machine.

When the Transformers real life movie comes out in the Summer of 2006, I’m going to have to bring a drool bag.

Now if you excuse me, I have to mop the office’s floor before my wife comes home.

Transformers Flash

As you may (or not) know, I’m a huge Transformers fan(1), way back from 1984. If you are, too, you have to watch this.

It’s a “Super-Deformed” Flash animation of the various Generation 1 Transformers. It’s a riot to watch — don’t miss the bloopers at the end. Warning: 5.5 Mb file, you have to let it load entirely.

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(1)Spare Transformers toys gracefully accepted as wedding gifts. /wink/