Studio Series discussion

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

I believe they said that that part wound up on the unpaintable plastic sprue which is probably the the cherry on top of all the flaws the robot mode is showing off. Toyhax is going to make a killing on selling red abs + three dozen extra stickers you don't care about sticker sheets.

I dunno. With the number of differences I'm spotting, they might be able to get away with just covering those.

I’m of the opinion that Triple Changer vehicles suck anyway so they should prioritize robot mode. Blitzwing already set the precedent with his flying club sandwich and happy-to-see-you tank anyway.

Am I alone in thinking they should just go back to the originals and their transformation mechanics, and then see what can be improved upon there using today's technology?

Not quite Missing Link, exactly, but not unlike it either, I suppose? Like they had Grimlock's head move to a more natural position. Maybe for Astrotrain, for a start, they could have his arms extend?

 

[lastmaximal]

Funny, I was just thinking that (about Blitzwing) after I made that post. Like, update the proportions and closeness to the models and whatnot, and use some newer engineering tricks (so not EXACTLY Missing Link), but there are generally ways to make something based on the older transformation schemes that works. Like Earthrise OP basically updates the G1 "arms become sides of the truck, legs are the rear of the truck" somewhat directly enough, and SS86 OP pleasantly ups the ante with a slew of other engineering tricks but by and large has the same plan. SS86 Bee/AOTP Bumper largely follow the "hood halves pull out to be legs, arms come from the back" of the original, which also sidesteps the Earthrise Jumperbee cousins' inaccurate roof/windshield direction in robot mode (as well as the partsforming back panel).

I don't know enough about the original Astrotrain to guess either way though (but those original arms were teeny for a reason too).

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

And I just sat down to eat and watch a few things before bed, just to find out a third party basically did exactly that, and it came out pretty good!

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Part of me thinks they should have revealed the toy deco first, because the mold was clearly made for it. The skinny arms will only add to the charm. But given how fast this one sold out, Hasbro may have been right to do the toon deco first. We complain but it seems to have worked.

 

[lastmaximal]

I've never looked at it closely, just in occasional pics in image searches, but MFT's Iron Sky has always seemed like a good take.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

Sometimes I regret not getting Classics Astrotrain. It just did its own thing without caring what the toon or old toy did, and it looks fun. But then I remember how dumb the leg articulation is, and I remember why I didn't appreciate Classics much at the time. Today's designers may not always do the most interesting thing, but they're so good at it.

 

[Badgertron]

I actually really liked Legacy Blitzwing, as an update to the G1 toy. Should have been a head taller though, and wish they could have integrated the pile of treads under the plane mode better.

 

[Blot]

Sometimes I regret not getting Classics Astrotrain. It just did its own thing without caring what the toon or old toy did, and it looks fun. But then I remember how dumb the leg articulation is, and I remember why I didn't appreciate Classics much at the time. Today's designers may not always do the most interesting thing, but they're so good at it.

Always felt like a toy that was a tad undercooked. A few parts that don't lock into place in a way you'd want, the big train halves on the arms actually not having a locking mechnism at all so they easily can slide right back over the arms, those weird leg joints, sculpting windows on the shuttle wings and then ignoring them... If not for Grimlock's everything, it'd probably be at the bottom of the tier list for the Classics figures.

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I still wish I could have gotten that Train Wars repaint. I know I would have been happy with it, despite the inherent issues.

 

[unluckiness]

Dramatic Capture Series Triple Takeover just keeps winning

 

[LordGigaIce]

The nuts thing is that Legacy United Sandstorm might be the best triple changer HasTak has ever put out. That thing doesn't compromise its robot mode, and neither of its vehicle modes are compromised to any significant degree. It's probably the closest we've gotten to a "balanced" triple changer. And, until SS '86 Astrotrain, it was the most recent one.
It seemed like maybe they'd found the secret sauce, and then this thing comes out.

Which is notable in its own right. Most triple changers have to compromise at least one mode for the sake of the gimmick, but SS '86 Astrotrain might be the only one that compromised the robot mode.

 

[lastmaximal]

Sandstorm I was glad to double dip on (still keeping my T30), and was really good. Clever design updates, and even the mostly superfluous cage accessory is worked in well and doesn't really take away from how good the robot and both modes are. He also has the benefit of no longer being hamstrung by the "we spent a chunk of the budget on stuff instead of the main toy" that Astrotrain and Blitzwing were undermined by.

Springer is solid but was made at a Voyager budget and it shows, even after the tweaks for SS86. He's okay but there's just enough missing from it overall.

 

[lastmaximal]

Dramatic Capture Series Triple Takeover just keeps winning

I am considering looking into an Astrotrain now, tbh. Just not a priority because I have the Siege one and there's so much else to get through first.

 

[unluckiness]

My only real complaint is that he comes with three guns: a pair of mirrored thinner guns and a larger one. There’s not enough ports in train mode to store the thin guns aside from sticking straight up from the engines or sort of overlapping on the roof, and the single cannon lopsides the shuttle mode

 

[lastmaximal]

It's also unfortunate that despite the extra bits being part of the budget originally, the Dramatic Capture version doesnt include his tender caboose. Screen accuracy!

Then again, not like I have the storage space...

 

[Sabrblade]

Most triple changers have to compromise at least one mode for the sake of the gimmick,

Which mode was compromised for Thrilling 30 Springer and Sandstorm? All three of theirs ranged from good to excellent.

 

[LordGigaIce]

Which mode was compromised for Thrilling 30 Springer and Sandstorm? All three of theirs ranged from good to excellent.

They're kind of cheating, since they don't actually transform into real world vehicles. They're either Cybertronian designs or they're hyper-stylized Earth designs. Either way there's far less they HAVE to adhere to, and that makes it much easier to "make work."
Legacy United Sandstorm, on the other hand, skews towards real world Earth vehicles, even if they're generic to avoid paying out licences. So it's a far more impressive task to get both vehicles correct there.

Astrotrain falls into that category. And funnily enough, SS '86 seems to get the train and shuttle as good as can reasonably be expected, just at the sake of the robot mode.

 

[Princess Viola]

im still baffled at how the original G1 Astrotrain is probably one of the best triple changers in terms of how good both vehicle modes look.

Of course it kinda helps when there's like 6 steps total.

 

[Platypus Prime]

I wonder if the smaller guns can plug into the rear engines as 'extra' smokestacks or something?

 

[LordGigaIce]

im still baffled at how the original G1 Astrotrain is probably one of the best triple changers in terms of how good both vehicle modes look.

Of course it kinda helps when there's like 6 steps total.

I feel like both G1 and SS '86 Astrotrain get the train and space shuttle modes pretty much perfect (or as perfect as you can get) at the expense of the robot mode. Thing is... in G1, that's excusable. In a modern toy with modern engineering that's going to be sold for over $60? Far less so.