Takara Missing Link G1 Series

CoffeeHorse

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I want to be wrong. The idea of the original robot mode combining with the sled to form the toon robot mode is bonkers and I'd call it Toy of the Year on the spot. I just don't see how it's physically possible. It would require swapping parts like a Bandai design, or some anomaly of physics I'm failing to imagine.
 
Sciflyer

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I just...fail to see what the big issue is here. It's an "overly-engineered-to-suit-modern-notions-of-what-an-action-figure-is" version of a toy from the 1970s. It has parts that it didn't have before, and based on the limited information that I have, looks to be closer to the character that it represents. It will presumably be available for purchase, and as savvy consumers, we can either decide to purchase it or not.
 
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Donocropolis

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I do understand the objections in that it is a very significant deviation from the original robot mode (unless it can still do a G1 Ironhide toy mode, which may yet be possible), which is not the usual MO for a Missing Link toy, but I also do understand that the G1 Ironhide / Ratchet toys were....pretty much just nothing. They work as mech-suit / Alien Power Loader type things as Diaclone originally envisioned them as, but as actual Cybertronian type robots, they just don't really work. Like I said earlier, this strikes me as a compromise that falls exactly in the middle between "normal" Missing Link toys and the more "create a real thing out of vague ideas" style that Arcee represents. I suspect that we'll see a few more of the latter in the future. At some point, they're going to want to make a Megatron, and he's not gonna be a gun.
 
Sciflyer

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I just feel that for this line, deviation from the original Ironhide/Ratchet molds is necessary. Otherwise, what's the point? I buy yet another iteration of G1 Ratchet/Ironhide with removable sled, no head, and I guess some poseable hands or something? It just seems like a lot of unnecessary teeth gnashing over something that isn't that big of a deal.
 
Shadewing

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Sciflyer said:
I just feel that for this line, deviation from the original Ironhide/Ratchet molds is necessary. Otherwise, what's the point? I buy yet another iteration of G1 Ratchet/Ironhide with removable sled, no head, and I guess some poseable hands or something? It just seems like a lot of unnecessary teeth gnashing over something that isn't that big of a deal.
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If you want deviation to look like the sunbow toy you got Earthrise, Core, and Studio Series Ironhides.
 
Sciflyer

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Shadewing said:
If you want deviation to look like the sunbow toy you got Earthrise, Core, and Studio Series Ironhides.
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And MP and probably a bunch of other versions, too. But none of those use the G1 toy as a foundation the way that this does.
 
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lastmaximal

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I don't know how many more ways there are to say "this deviates from the thus-far consistent pattern of 'the G1 toy with added articulation' in a big, unignorable way" to explain why some are put off. No one is asking for a straight identical reissue. No one is asking for a WFC/mainline style remake. People have been gauging whether or not this lines up with what Missing Link has "been" for its last several releases, to understandably varying levels of acceptability for them.

It's not a big deal to me as I can't afford to follow this line anyway (having to pass on Magnus is sad), but I don't question why it might matter to others.

All of this can change or not once more pics and info come out, but currently there's space for all these takes.
 
ZacWilliam1

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I think the problem here is Apophenia. People have glommed on to a "pattern" that is not meaningful.

The purpose of the line is to "produce the toys that didn't exist in the 1980s that 'they' wish did." Fully-Poseable Prime, BB, CJ and SS fit that mandate but that isn't the only way to fit the mandate. "An 80s style toy of Arcee" does too. As does "Ironhide and Ratchet with full robot modes that aren't just a manned mech with a sticker on the seat."


-ZacWilliam, I mean it's fine not to like it or not to be interested but imagining it breaks the concept of the line is just making up a rule that Takara never intended to follow.
 
Shadewing

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ZacWilliam1 said:
I think the problem here is Apophenia. People have glommed on to a "pattern" that is not meaningful.

The purpose of the line is to "produce the toys that didn't exist in the 1980s that 'they' wish did." Fully-Poseable Prime, BB, CJ and SS fit that mandate but that isn't the only way to fit the mandate. "An 80s style toy of Arcee" does too. As does "Ironhide and Ratchet with full robot modes that aren't just a manned mech with a sticker on the seat."


-ZacWilliam, I mean it's fine not to like it or not to be interested but imagining it breaks the concept of the line is just making up a rule that Takara never intended to follow.
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So what you're saying is they are Halloween 3ing it? "This is an anthology series, just the fact the first two movies are sequels give the audience the wrong expectation of our plans."
 
lastmaximal

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Well, let's not say the pattern isn't meaningful or imply that people are imagining the pattern is there. A year or so of these releases, barring Arcee, fit that pattern. It's a handful of engineered molds (Op, Sunstreaker, Bee/Cliff, and the Magnus armor, with Grimlock upcoming) but they've more or less kept to that.

That seems like a fair amount of data to extrapolate from. Now, if Ironhide marks a change in that pattern, that's well within Takara's remit, but that still means there was an older pattern to expand from.

That said, Hironori Kobayashi did say this (translated) in this interview -- which does leave a lot of room for more.

Missing Link isn't just about adding more joints; as the name suggests, it's a project designed to complete the unexplored aspects of Transformers. What you're seeing now represents only half of Missing Link. The true essence of the project lies ahead, and we are actively working on how to shape it.
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Sciflyer

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lastmaximal said:
Well, let's not say the pattern isn't meaningful or imply that people are imagining the pattern is there. A year or so of these releases, barring Arcee, fit that pattern. It's a handful of engineered molds (Op, Sunstreaker, Bee/Cliff, and the Magnus armor, with Grimlock upcoming) but they've more or less kept to that.

That seems like a fair amount of data to extrapolate from. Now, if Ironhide marks a change in that pattern, that's well within Takara's remit, but that still means there was an older pattern to expand from.

That said, Hironori Kobayashi did say this (translated) in this interview -- which does leave a lot of room for more.
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They're doing something a little different, and some people don't like it, even though the final product hasn't been fully shown yet.

You hit the nail on the head, though, when you said that every release ..."barring Arcee" fit that pattern. This one doesn't fit that pattern either, and people are losing their jive over it. Wake me up when the full pics have been revealed.
 
Donocropolis

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MrBlud said:
Missing Link Megatron will *absolutely* be a gun.
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I would absolutely love to be wrong and have you be correct. If so, I'm sure it would be a "Japan Only" release as I don't see Hasbro selling them on Pulse like they have with other Missing Links. Not impossible to get in the States by any means, but not nearly as easily as, say, Cliffjumper.
 
Sabrblade

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Japan doesn't have the same toy gun safety laws that the US has. Takara could totally make a Missing Link Megatron and sell it domestically in Japan. It's just that Hasbro would not be legally able to carry it on Pulse as an import.
 
LordGigaIce

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Western toy gun laws won't impact Takara's decision on ML Megatron. They've proven time and again, between G1 reissues and MPs, that if they want to do gun Megatron they will.

The thing standing in the way of ML Megatron is that his G1 toy is kind of a glorious mess. His entire upper body just sorts of hangs together on thin metal rods. The Diaclone Convoy mould is one where adding modern joints to it was fairly straightforward. MC Gunrobo though? That thing is a mess. I'd love to see it because I love the little goblin, but it would be a challenge to be sure.
 
MrBlud

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Maybe Ironhide is going to be a test case in how much deviation from the original the buying public will accept for a Missing Link?
 
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