New Galleries: Club Exclusive Piranacon Set with Seacons

SEACONS WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO

These guys look cool. Can't wait for them to get a modern update eventually, cause that is a good look

Perhaps I missed something, but how are these 'dangerously reused molds'?

Dagon wrote:Perhaps I missed something, but how are these 'dangerously reused molds'?

They're reused much much later than the first time the mold was intended, and it shows.
Perhaps bad phrasing on my part, here.

Dr Va'al wrote:

Dagon wrote:Perhaps I missed something, but how are these 'dangerously reused molds'?

They're reused much much later than the first time the mold was intended, and it shows.
Perhaps bad phrasing on my part, here.

Also, hadn't the molds somewhat degraded by the time this set was issued?

And just to be kind of nitpicky, the King Poseidon version of Tentakil is actually Scylla, who's a fembot, not just a version of Tentakil.

Bounti76 wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:

Dagon wrote:Perhaps I missed something, but how are these 'dangerously reused molds'?

They're reused much much later than the first time the mold was intended, and it shows.
Perhaps bad phrasing on my part, here.

Also, hadn't the molds somewhat degraded by the time this set was issued?

I own the set, but haven't looked at it for quite a while, so maybe I'm not as aware of this mold issue as it apparently warrants. This is kind of a head-scratcher remark to me though, as no one ever seems to be critical of the trillion Combaticon reuses in such a way. The Seacons have only been reused three times, or four total times if that sounds better, so I guess i don't really associate 'mold overuse' or degradation with them.
Ultimately, I think I just misunderstood what the good doctor wrote.

Bounti76 wrote:And just to be kind of nitpicky, the King Poseidon version of Tentakil is actually Scylla, who's a fembot, not just a version of Tentakil.

I wouldn't call this a nitpick at all.

For whatever reason though the Combaticon molds hold up. In terms of number of uses, you're absolutely correct --- the Seacons have been used far less.

Couple years ago I got the BBTS shared exclusive reissue of the Seacons and I was TERRIFIED to transform them. The plastic felt brittle and it felt like every part was going to snap at the slightest movement. I did a full conversion ONCE, returned it to combined mode (and clicking the heads into the ports was the worst), and stuck it back in the box. I had similar, but not as severe, issues with the TRU reissue Insecticons from about five years ago. I couldn't speak to the quality of the current (overpriced) platinum set of Insecticons.

I think "dangerously reused" is fair to say with respect to the quality of the toys.


When WAS the last Combaticon reuse? RID? They were great, at any rate. But that's already 15 years ago.

Bounti76 wrote:

Dr Va'al wrote:

Dagon wrote:Perhaps I missed something, but how are these 'dangerously reused molds'?

They're reused much much later than the first time the mold was intended, and it shows.
Perhaps bad phrasing on my part, here.

Also, hadn't the molds somewhat degraded by the time this set was issued?

Yeah, that is also what I was referring to.

I've got an original G1 set, the God Neptune set, and the TFCC rerelease, and have never had any mold issues. I remember hearing the BBTS/TRU reissue set had a lot of QC issues, but have never handled it, so I can't speak to that one. I guess I'm just surprised to learn that there are such issues associated with these figures.

As for the Combaticons, the original Universe line had two Ruinations, and I think that was a year or two after RID ended. Still a long time back regardless.

Dagon wrote:I've got an original G1 set, the God Neptune set, and the TFCC rerelease, and have never had any mold issues. I remember hearing the BBTS/TRU reissue set had a lot of QC issues, but have never handled it, so I can't speak to that one. I guess I'm just surprised to learn that there are such issues associated with these figures.

As for the Combaticons, the original Universe line had two Ruinations, and I think that was a year or two after RID ended. Still a long time back regardless.

None of these sets have as bad of mold degradation as people suggest. They feel about the same as the original G1 version. The primary issues I had with my reissue and Club sets were pegs being a little loose in peg holes, which was fixed by adding a dab of superglue to either the hole or the peg (which was determined by plugging in other accessories from the set as well as the original G1 set). Everyone's guns fit fine now. The rest of the issues also seem to be similar to issues that the original G1 toy set had with paint issues (which some people might not be as picky about). They have some issues, but I would consider most of the issues to be minor with quality control. However, truth be told, there was a slight delay on me finishing the gallery for my Club set because it was missing the card for Skalor as well as having two left fists for Piranacon. I ordered a second set off eBay after discovering the two left fists (I wasn't too worried about the missing bio card, but was really frustrated about the missing right fist). I'll relist the other set on eBay (though I'm unsure if I'll sell it as an entire set or piece it apart to help people out who might be looking to replace something that broke or is missing on their set).

As much as I like how unapologetically '80s the originals were, I think I like the deep sea colors of this version even more.

Bounti76 wrote:And just to be kind of nitpicky, the King Poseidon version of Tentakil is actually Scylla, who's a fembot, not just a version of Tentakil.

God Neptune, not King Poseidon.

Dagon wrote:As for the Combaticons, the original Universe line had two Ruinations, and I think that was a year or two after RID ended. Still a long time back regardless.

Just one: the grey Urban Camo was still RiD2001, albeit at the advent of Universe 2003.

Speaking of mold degradation, the Combaticons do suffer from it visibly, especially Onslaught who's been retooled the most times (FYI Blast Off having a rounded nosecone was an intentional tweak). Look at Encore Bruticus closely for plastic marring.

Fellow Seibertronians, we have an update to our early access Ramjet gallery, as well as a sneak peek at the upcoming TFSS 4.0 Spinister gallery, in the form of their bio cards and art. So check them out and let us know what you think in the comments below.

I wish I could get Collector's clubs bots. I would really like that Spinister.

Just an FYI for all of you folks wondering who Shrute is, its the new name for Hairsplitter.

What is a Shrute anyway?

I wrote the bio and tech specs for Ramjet.

Randy

Powered Convoy wrote:I wrote the bio and tech specs for Ramjet.

Randy

You don't say.

Heh, cute that Spinister getting a release as a Targetmaster for Nemesis Prime got a mention in the bio. (I wonder if that would've lead to something more if the club's original plan to have Nemesis as the torso for Wreckage went through.)

It was originally unintentional from the writer, because the Toxitron toy was already finalized when he was brought on-board to do the bio. It did though become a fun little nod to unused plans when others at Fun Pub read it.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Just an FYI for all of you folks wondering who Shrute is, its the new name for Hairsplitter.

What is a Shrute anyway?

I think it's the name of a character from "The Office".

RevTibe wrote:Heh, cute that Spinister getting a release as a Targetmaster for Nemesis Prime got a mention in the bio. (I wonder if that would've lead to something more if the club's original plan to have Nemesis as the torso for Wreckage went through.)

I think the reference stands fine on its own, and was amused by it.

I love Ramjet's head. It is awesome.

And I really want a Spinister, extra MTMTE please

"Does not want to talk about his mileage" as opposed to saying does not want to talk about his past.

THIS IS THE WAY YOU WRITE TRANSFORMERS

Fun Pub's fourth figure of their Transformers Subscription Service is now being received by the fans and several have contacted us to let us know. This time, it is Windsweeper, who is a redeco of Combiner Wars Skydive. This toy is an update to the G1 Windsweeper toy, who was a triggercon, and acts as a limb for Thunder Mayhem. We have quite a few in hand pics for you courtesy of Seibertron and Scotty P, which include Vomes with Matrix of Malice as well.

There is next to nothing in that bio that even even resembles Windsweeper's personality.

Compare this:



To these:

What kind of matrix is that...

[BW] Rainmaker wrote:What kind of matrix is that...

Read the bio.

Sabrblade wrote:There is next to nothing in that bio that even even resembles Windsweeper's personality.

Compare this:



To these:

Seems pretty accurate to me; it just adds something new to him.
Besides, it's a new continuity. New interpretations are fine.

Don't like generation one comic art work on him front of plane is behind his feet

Sabrblade wrote:There is next to nothing in that bio that even even resembles Windsweeper's personality.

It appears to be based around the theory that his figure was intended to be a Triggerbot rather than a Triggercon since he's the only con with chrome, spring loaded weapons like Override and Backstreet. On the flip side, Dogfight was probably meant to be a Triggercon since he has gear driven, non-chromed weapons like Ruckus and Crankcase.

Emerje

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:---

Seems pretty accurate to me; it just adds something new to him.
Besides, it's a new continuity. New interpretations are fine.

Yeah, mostly seems like they expanded on the "cruel" and "malicious" aspects while avoiding directly mentioning the "crazed sanitation admin" aspect. I'm assuming the latter's because it would conflict with Thunder Mayhem's role in reducing Cybertron to an apocalyptic wasteland (the messiest kind of wasteland)?

That said, it might've been fun to have had the bio talk about how he snapped and concluded that best way to ensure Cybertron's never dirtied is to simply destroy it. (That might conflict with currently unrevealed stuff about Mayhem and the Matrix of Mailce, though.)

Emerje wrote:It appears to be based around the theory that his figure was intended to be a Triggerbot rather than a Triggercon since he's the only con with chrome, spring loaded weapons like Override and Backstreet.

Neat stuff! Sounds likely, wouldn't be the first time FunPub's based stuff on speculative parts of Transformers history.

dragons wrote:Don't like generation one comic art work on him front of plane is behind his feet

Generation One artwork was sometimes a little bit too close to the toy for me sometimes, like with Blast Off and the front of his space shuttle being his entire hand.

RevTibe wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:---

Seems pretty accurate to me; it just adds something new to him.
Besides, it's a new continuity. New interpretations are fine.

Yeah, mostly seems like they expanded on the "cruel" and "malicious" aspects while avoiding directly mentioning the "crazed sanitation admin" aspect. I'm assuming the latter's because it would conflict with Thunder Mayhem's role in reducing Cybertron to an apocalyptic wasteland (the messiest kind of wasteland)?

Except the latest TCC magazine comic issue features Windsweeper and portrays him in line with his original "neat freak" personality. He gets nervous from the sight of water leaking from some rocks (mistaking it for some disgusting fluid), and idolizes Ramjet for his desire to the destroy the universe (viewing such as the ultimate cleansing operation).

Sabrblade wrote:

RevTibe wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:---

Seems pretty accurate to me; it just adds something new to him.
Besides, it's a new continuity. New interpretations are fine.

Yeah, mostly seems like they expanded on the "cruel" and "malicious" aspects while avoiding directly mentioning the "crazed sanitation admin" aspect. I'm assuming the latter's because it would conflict with Thunder Mayhem's role in reducing Cybertron to an apocalyptic wasteland (the messiest kind of wasteland)?

Except the latest TCC magazine comic issue features Windsweeper and portrays him in line with his original "neat freak" personality. He gets nervous from the sight of water leaking from some rocks (mistaking it for some disgusting fluid), and idolizes Ramjet for his desire to the destroy the universe (viewing such as the ultimate cleansing operation).

Nothing in the profile contradicts it.
While it probably should be there because of your reasoning - and, imo, from what RevTribe (can I call you Rev?) said - but there's nothing in the bio which says he isn't like that. It just focuses on the other aspects of his absolute psychotic nature.

Kurona wrote:Nothing in the profile contradicts it.
While it probably should be there because of your reasoning - and, imo, from what RevTribe (can I call you Rev?) said - but there's nothing in the bio which says he isn't like that. It just focuses on the other aspects of his absolute psychotic nature.

The bio doesn't contradict his his most basic personality element... because it completely forgot to even mention it! There's no hint or trace of his being a clean freak anywhere in that bio.

All it tells us is that he's an evil cruel bad guy who likes to hurt people (which applies to about 90% of all evil Decepticons) and that he used to be an Autobot (which was never the case for the guy). His whole "sanitation"/"anti-littering" thing that made him stand out from other Decepticons is completely ignored by his new bio.

It's as though the author only read the original toy bio and severely misinterpreted it, essentially writing a different character with only rudimentary similarities to Windsweeper, being that he's "malicious" and just "shoots anyone in the sky".

Emerje wrote: On the flip side, Dogfight was probably meant to be a Triggercon since he has gear driven, non-chromed weapons like Ruckus and Crankcase.

I had always thought Dogfight was a con until recently when I further looked into those toys.

[BW] Rainmaker wrote:

dragons wrote:Don't like generation one comic art work on him front of plane is behind his feet

Generation One artwork was sometimes a little bit too close to the toy for me sometimes, like with Blast Off and the front of his space shuttle being his entire hand.

Man, I wish we had an update to that front of shuttle hand design.

Sabrblade wrote:Except the latest TCC magazine comic issue features Windsweeper and portrays him in line with his original "neat freak" personality. He gets nervous from the sight of water leaking from some rocks (mistaking it for some disgusting fluid), and idolizes Ramjet for his desire to the destroy the universe (viewing such as the ultimate cleansing operation).

Those are different independent freelance writers. The guy who wrote this bio had nothing to do with TCC magazine. It was written before that magazine comic issue came out and they probably didnt share scripts since this isnt handled internally but outsourced to freelance writers.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Except the latest TCC magazine comic issue features Windsweeper and portrays him in line with his original "neat freak" personality. He gets nervous from the sight of water leaking from some rocks (mistaking it for some disgusting fluid), and idolizes Ramjet for his desire to the destroy the universe (viewing such as the ultimate cleansing operation).

Those are different independent freelance writers. The guy who wrote this bio had nothing to do with TCC magazine. It was written before that magazine comic issue came out and they probably didnt share scripts since this isnt handled internally but outsourced to freelance writers.

My post was in response to how RevTibe suggested that this new bio might reflect how Windsweeper is portrayed in the specific fiction that advertises this new toy.

Sabrblade wrote:

RevTibe wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:---

Seems pretty accurate to me; it just adds something new to him.
Besides, it's a new continuity. New interpretations are fine.

Yeah, mostly seems like they expanded on the "cruel" and "malicious" aspects while avoiding directly mentioning the "crazed sanitation admin" aspect. I'm assuming the latter's because it would conflict with Thunder Mayhem's role in reducing Cybertron to an apocalyptic wasteland (the messiest kind of wasteland)?

Except the latest TCC magazine comic issue features Windsweeper and portrays him in line with his original "neat freak" personality. He gets nervous from the sight of water leaking from some rocks (mistaking it for some disgusting fluid), and idolizes Ramjet for his desire to the destroy the universe (viewing such as the ultimate cleansing operation).

Oh, thanks! Didn't know that Mayhem had made an appearance outside of the text stories. Yeah, if Windsweeper still has his capital-Q Quirk, it is a bit surprising that it wasn't included in his bio.

Kurona wrote:Nothing in the profile contradicts it.
While it probably should be there because of your reasoning - and, imo, from what RevTribe (can I call you Rev?) said - but there's nothing in the bio which says he isn't like that. It just focuses on the other aspects of his absolute psychotic nature.

Yup, Rev's a-okay! Depending on how many characters are permitted/how bothered I feel at time of registration, it can stretch out to Rev. Tiberius Jackhammer, so a degree of abbreviating is expected.

This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Probably the fact that it's just one bio, which a lot of people won't use as their basis for the character anyway.
And I mean, this isn't exactly new. Tech specs and on-box bios for characters almost always misrepresent or simplify characters; just look at a ton of the Transformers Prime box bios.
I'm not saying it's great, but it's not exactly a big deal nor is it a unique new problem

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Probably the fact that it's just one bio, which a lot of people won't use as their basis for the character anyway.
And I mean, this isn't exactly new. Tech specs and on-box bios for characters almost always misrepresent or simplify characters; just look at a ton of the Transformers Prime box bios.
I'm not saying it's great, but it's not exactly a big deal nor is it a unique new problem

This is Fun Pub we're talking about, though. They're sticklers for making things all tie together with their fiction (bios included).

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Probably the fact that it's just one bio, which a lot of people won't use as their basis for the character anyway.
And I mean, this isn't exactly new. Tech specs and on-box bios for characters almost always misrepresent or simplify characters; just look at a ton of the Transformers Prime box bios.
I'm not saying it's great, but it's not exactly a big deal nor is it a unique new problem

This is Fun Pub we're talking about, though. They're sticklers for making things all tie together with their fiction (bios included).

Well yeah, but it's still just one bio. It's a shame, but oh well.

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Probably the fact that it's just one bio, which a lot of people won't use as their basis for the character anyway.
And I mean, this isn't exactly new. Tech specs and on-box bios for characters almost always misrepresent or simplify characters; just look at a ton of the Transformers Prime box bios.
I'm not saying it's great, but it's not exactly a big deal nor is it a unique new problem

This is Fun Pub we're talking about, though. They're sticklers for making things all tie together with their fiction (bios included).

The bios for thunder mayhem arent written by funpub but by freelancers picked by hasbro. One of them is Protoman, you could ask him on cybertron.ca

william-james88 wrote:The bios for thunder mayhem arent written by funpub but by freelancers picked by hasbro. One of them is Protoman, you could ask him on cybertron.ca

They're still counted as Fun Pub product due to their coming with Fun Pub toys.

And regardless of whether the bio ties in with "Of Masters and Mayhem" or not, and regardless of whether it was written in-house by Fun Pub or not, this is G1 Windsweeper's first new toy since his original. Would it not stand to reason that the bio ought to describe the basic personality of the character it is meant to reflect, instead of barely reflecting the kind of character that G1 Windsweeper is?

I mean, isn't describing what the specific character is supposed to be like that a bio comes packed with the entire point of a Transformers toy's pack-in bio in the first place? It's a simple job, really.

william-james88 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:This Windsweeper bio is like if someone wrote a bio for BW Cartoon Dinobot and somehow managed to completely avoid even hinting at his key character trait of being an honorable warrior.

Perhaps, but considering Windsweeper is pretty obscure... I think it can be excused.

Since when is obscurity an acceptable excuse for misrepresentation?

It's fine if you don't care about the character. I've no affections for him either. But this bio undeniably missed what made Windsweeper Windsweeper. It's disappointing that it didn't represent how the character is known to be when it's not meant be a new incarnation with a new personality.

Probably the fact that it's just one bio, which a lot of people won't use as their basis for the character anyway.
And I mean, this isn't exactly new. Tech specs and on-box bios for characters almost always misrepresent or simplify characters; just look at a ton of the Transformers Prime box bios.
I'm not saying it's great, but it's not exactly a big deal nor is it a unique new problem

This is Fun Pub we're talking about, though. They're sticklers for making things all tie together with their fiction (bios included).

The bios for thunder mayhem arent written by funpub but by freelancers picked by hasbro. One of them is Protoman, you could ask him on cybertron.ca

But isn't it the case that FunPub is providing info/direction for the points covered in the bios? It seems safe to assume that details such as the voices, Matrix of Malice etc were requested by FunPub to support their Thunder Mayhem plotline.

So, other than Windsweeper's "used to be an Autobot" thing, Spinister allegedly told Hairsplitter/Shrute that he used to be Targetmaster (context implies he meant the gun, not the wielder) and Ruckus/Grabuge is "no longer top of the mountain like his past", which may or may not be a reference to Ruckus's short-lived sting as Mayhem leader (anyone know who to ask?). I'm wondering if there's a reference in Needlenose's bio too and I'm just missing it.

Sabrblade wrote:I mean, isn't describing what the specific character is supposed to be like that a bio comes packed with the entire point of a Transformers toy's pack-in bio in the first place? It's a simple job, really.

I've seen much worse. Take a look at Animated Sunstorm's sometime.

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:I mean, isn't describing what the specific character is supposed to be like that a bio comes packed with the entire point of a Transformers toy's pack-in bio in the first place? It's a simple job, really.

I've seen much worse. Take a look at Animated Sunstorm's sometime.

That one got reconciled later.

Sabrblade wrote:

Zeedust wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:I mean, isn't describing what the specific character is supposed to be like that a bio comes packed with the entire point of a Transformers toy's pack-in bio in the first place? It's a simple job, really.

I've seen much worse. Take a look at Animated Sunstorm's sometime.

That one got reconciled later.

I must have missed that. How?