Transformers: Age of the Primes Thread: ll First Post All Listings II Update : April 12th, 2027 Bonus Wave: Repaint fun, Beast Wars, G2, Machine Wars

[Andrusi]

Second, they keep redoing the small characters and scaling up anyway, just like they do with everyone else, so the other source for the line gets cannibalized. At one point it was neat that they got a second shot at Wheelie and made a full transforming figure out of him at that "right" price point. But even that figure was doomed to redundancy because of course they'd make a Deluxe out of Wheelie just like all the other minibots.

Nobody will ever understand how mad I am about this. Scale freaks in the fandom demanded Legends/Core be the Small Guys Pricepoint, scale freaks at Hasbro largely turned it into that, and then both groups turned around and said "nah, actually all those guys should be either Deluxes or Micromaster-sized" as soon as it was too late for this to result in the stuff I liked coming back.

 

[NovaSaber]

Who that would have been Core was done as (or did fans say should be) Micromaster-sized?

Other than the literally Micromaster-sized figures sold as Core because Hasbro stopped making Micromaster two-packs but still wanted to make cassette characters.

 

[lastmaximal]

I really liked what they had going throughout Prime Wars, and just wished they had more of a retooling budget. There was a steady stream of neat little Legends class molds, and even the quick redecos like CW Windcharger got better redos later on. Plus with TR on they started having the additional functionality of being able to carry Titan/Prime Master sized figures. It just seemed like a decent compromise rather than "let's make Deluxes but make them smaller/shorter" -- here's a price point meant for smaller, and the Deluxe space gets freed up.

I was delighted when Micromasters made a comeback, and again the format seemed perfect. Minibots going to Deluxe? Okay, let's use this price point for 2-packs. The idea of eventually completing a few Micro teams (or at least touching on a few), and it also being a venue for cassettes, was so great. Maybe even some Mini-Cons down the line for when they'd get to Armada homages. But apparently retailers didn't want it, so back to Core? Asinine ending.

I don't necessarily dislike the Deluxes they've made since then (some still seem unnecessary due to how well the earlier version nailed the design), and sure, it's nice for them to be able to do more with that budget. But it's been a rough few years for the price point.

 

[Platypus Prime]

Scale has always been a mess, but I usually didn't have the money to get a lot of different things. I did get the Encore AND Kabaya Maximus. Comes in handy for different things since neither scales well with everything. Like how Encore Maximus is on top of a dresser being a big prop, while the small one can interact with other figures. I have heard of a smaller Fort Max coming someday, I am curious to see what it's like. I tried to get my two looking similar, not sure if a 'modern line' one will go more G1 or Titans Return.

 

[Sabrblade]

"Oh no! Godzilla is attacking the city!"
*city transforms*
*BONK*
"Oh no! The city is attacking Godzilla!"

 

[Platypus Prime]

The thing is, depending on WHICH Godzilla, you can use different cities.

"Suddenly Waldo found something that got his attention..."

What I would have loved to see was more Core Class figures that could have interacted with larger classes, like how the Subscription Service turned two of the 'Legends' class toys of the time into Pretenders. I loved the end result of Pretenders with good, recognizable alt-modes. I had thought the rumored 'Energon Monsters' might be core-class holding shells for the smaller inner bots, but it never seemed to pan out to anything. I still wonder if a HasLab might someday tackle a decently accurate Bludgeon, Thunderwing, or a two pack of the two, as they were the most 'iconic' smaller-bots-in-larger-shells setups, but neither lend themselves to our modern assortment size classes.

 

[lastmaximal]

"Oh no! Godzilla is attacking the city!"
*city transforms*
*BONK*
"Oh no! The city is attacking Godzilla!"

Ah yes, the season 3 opening credits

 

[Sabrblade]

Ah yes, the season 3 opening credits

Nah, that's more like, "Oh no! The city is figure-skating with Godzilla!"

 

[lastmaximal]

I mean, I'm not here to doubt when a ginormous robot dinosaur might feel attacked over his insecurities in figure skating

 

[Superomegaprime]

"Oh no! Godzilla is attacking the city!"
*city transforms*
*BONK*
"Oh no! The city is attacking Godzilla!"

(old trailer voice style) "When cities attack, tonight at 2500 hours!!!"

 

[Andrusi]

Who that would have been Core was done as (or did fans say should be) Micromaster-sized?

Other than the literally Micromaster-sized figures sold as Core because Hasbro stopped making Micromaster two-packs but still wanted to make cassette characters.

What do you mean "would have been?" I'm talking about characters we did get as Legends/Core toys, which were then redone at other pricepoints.

 

[Badgertron]

Another issue with Core class was there often seemed to be both movie style and Generations style figures of the same characters on pegs around the same time.

 

[Sabrblade]

Another issue with Core class was there often seemed to be both movie style and Generations style figures of the same characters on pegs around the same time.

You mean just like all of Studio Series is right now?

 

[MrBlud]

Hasbro knows very few people are going to pay $18 for dainty little Core Rumble plus it takes up a peg.

 

[Badgertron]

You mean just like all of Studio Series is right now?

On the larger size classes, the design differences are usually much greater, and the character selection is often a bit different. I always had to squint to figure out which Core Shockwave I was looking at, for example. And I wouldn't have to really worry about something like a core class Kup or something.

 

[Shadewing]

Hasbro knows very few people are going to pay $18 for dainty little Core Rumble plus it takes up a peg.

Core probably needed two size classes like DOTM/Prime Cyberverse, because yeah the little guys like cassettes where too much of the box is empty probably didnt help.

 

[unluckiness]

Another thing is that the smallest size classes probably got their niche as cheap simple toys for smaller children stolen from under their nose by the similarly priced but much bigger and more impressive looking Authentics toys who are all major characters. What normie parent would purchase Micromasters Whozit and Whatsit or a rectangle with a trumpet they can’t even use for around the same price as 6-inch tall Optimus, Bumblebee or cool voice tape guy?

 

[NovaSaber]

What do you mean "would have been?" I'm talking about characters we did get as Legends/Core toys, which were then redone at other pricepoints.

Well, I'm 100% certain no one was done as "Core" first and as Micromaster later (because the size wasn't named Core until after the last Micromasters were made), and 99% certain that the only ones who were done as Legends first and as Micromaster later were cassette characters sized for compatibilty with corresponding Soundwave and Blaster figures.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Alright! Tonight, I opened micronus!

First off: MINICON!

*ATLA mouth foaming guy*

I ******* LOVE minicons.

Anywho: the body is basically an armorizer, but... it's armor... so it works. Micronus himself is just adorable, with decent poseability and tooling. The motorcycle mode is neat enough on its own that you can easily pose the two together and they look good. And while it's probably NOT accurate, I love the idea of the scale for all them being "correct" and he's literally just that ******* tiny. Literally being megatronuses jiminy cricket or hitching a ride on vector for no other reason than he thought it was funny at the time.

So yeah, totally worth my self imposed wait, and awesome toy. Love it. And not just because he's a minicon.

 

[LordGigaIce]

They really cooked with Micornus and I'm excited for Nexus if this is the energy they bring.