Studio Series discussion

[CoffeeHorse]

I don't envy the poor fool who had to pick Soundwave's colors since no two screencaps match, but I've seen a few that are close to this.

It doesn't help that no two home video releases of TFTM look alike either.

 

[Sabrblade]

I don't envy the poor fool who had to pick Soundwave's colors since no two screencaps match,

All they gotta do is stick to the animation model:

 

[Haywire]

Well, for starters, the modern Siege-style cassettes are about one-third the size of the G1 and MP cassettes, so just tweaking the original would make it too big to fit in Soundwave's chest.

I would assume resizing the design specs to fit the current scale would be part of the whole "tweaking the design" thing?

Maybe my memory is just faulty (nope, checked the wiki, its not) but I feel like most of the modern Ravage figures try to give Ravage width by folding the cassette mode in half in some way, which then forces them to make weird compromises with the legs, and the heads just look weird. The G1 design was thin, but it worked pretty well; maybe it's not possible to replicate with modern parts counts, but I feel like that design is a better starting point than what we've gotten from trying to do Ravage different?

 

[CoffeeHorse]

I could try the model sheet. Somehow those never seem to match any episode or any copy of TFTM, but if they're really what was intended then they're the best standard we've got.

 

[unluckiness]

The biggest deco loss is the cassette detailing, really.

The feet look silver. Not sure if that's just overzealous airbrushing but hopefully it's the same color as his other body parts. I don't have a strong preference for cartoon flat gray vs toy silver but I'd at least like consistency.

 

[LBD "Nytetrayn"]

I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone. I'd honestly felt like I might be the only one out there who legitimately likes MP Ravage!

I thought I was the only one!

Anyway, Soundwave...

I don't mind the smooth surfaces. It's kinda what I expect from a 1980's consumer electronic?

Is it just me, or is the handle on his gun a little high up towards the middle?

I'm not a fan of how straight Buzzsaw and Laserbeak's wings are, but they look good otherwise. Or the gaps in tape mode. Ravage I like, except for the big butt. Seems unnecessary. Couldn't we just have a place to peg the missiles? Or are they trying to do the "doubles as bonus weapons" thing they did with Ratbat, Ramhorn, and Perceptor?

Speaking of those guys, I wonder if these are the same size? And if they'll actually fit inside like they're supposed to.

Maybe my memory is just faulty (nope, checked the wiki, its not) but I feel like most of the modern Ravage figures try to give Ravage width by folding the cassette mode in half in some way, which then forces them to make weird compromises with the legs, and the heads just look weird. The G1 design was thin, but it worked pretty well; maybe it's not possible to replicate with modern parts counts, but I feel like that design is a better starting point than what we've gotten from trying to do Ravage different?

If it would help, they should just carve out a bit more space in Soundwave and Blaster's chests and make the tapes thicker, then.

No one's going to care. No one that isn't already turned off by these, anyway. Cassette spools are wherever, they have gaps, and they're tinier than any actual functional cassette I've ever seen, unlike the microcassettes the original G1 versions were imitating.

Not saying make them a cube or whatever like in Bumblebee, but shoot, for all the inaccuracies they do anyway, this one would probably at least be forgivable if it helped mitigate some of the other problems.

 

[unluckiness]

These should be around the same size as previous cassette bots since they’ll presumably be meant to go with Core Rumble and Frenzy. Hopefully they tweak Soundwave’s chest compartment on the new mold. The core red/blue dudes were a very tight squeeze.