Online Listing for Transformers Power of the Primes Predaking

Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

Well all it takes is looking at it. The wings are folded down in predatking mode and not in divebombs condor mode. So no obviously the wings always stay in. The arms seem short but the individual robot legs which are the elbows seem longer so again the arms are naturally short.

Seriously you can’t figure out its mistransformed. Someone need to tell you even with photos in front of you.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

I believe it is mistransformed.

Or just posed badly.

Yeah it's mistransformed, but it's looks are one of those marmite things (you either love it or you don't) I have a growing urge to want to play with it but I just can't justify the price.

This is hands down the worst rendition of Predaking to this date. Just like Hasbrostator, this guy is getting skipped for being oversized and underwhelming. As long as I get the other 3 Terrorcons and Firestar im good with POTP. If I find the monkey or the elusive pretenders even better but nothing to die for. Im ready for WFC trilogy. Bring us some autobot targetmasters and a scorponok please.

Randomhero wrote:
Seriously you can’t figure out its mistransformed. Someone need to tell you even with photos in front of you.

Take it easy.
Brand new figure, with a reputation of strange proportions and design choices, with actually very few images out there of it. Not everybody knows how he's supposed to look.
Stop antagonizing.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

im right there with you on that one
there will be sales for sure like HTS or entertainment earth which is where i got Fort Max for 75$
i went ahead and got the unite warriors devastator with the perfect combiner addon i can say money well spent

Ultra Markus wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

im right there with you on that one
there will be sales for sure like HTS or entertainment earth which is where i got Fort Max for 75$
i went ahead and got the unite warriors devastator with the perfect combiner addon i can say money well spent

I too went for UW Devastator, I dont regret it one bit either. I vote with my wallet and Takara went the extra mile for him (plus the price was the same as Hasbro so why not). But with this guy, I will definitely not be buying at full price. If me saving money on this Predaking means no more poorly done Titan Class figures coming out, then so be it.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Well, there is a rumor, albeit one that pops up pretty frequently, that Predaking is going to be watched by Hasbro.This rumor postulates that Fort Max and Trypticon did not sell out like Metroplex and Devy did (although I have never seen hard $$ numbers), an Hasbro may have saturated their market of "Big Figures". If he sells, proving there is still room in the market for more Titan figures, then they'll keep going, but if Preds sits until Blowout Prices then we may not be getting any more for a while.

Flashwave wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Well, there is a rumor, albeit one that pops up pretty frequently, that Predaking is going to be watched by Hasbro.This rumor postulates that Fort Max and Trypticon did not sell out like Metroplex and Devy did (although I have never seen hard $$ numbers), an Hasbro may have saturated their market of "Big Figures". If he sells, proving there is still room in the market for more Titan figures, then they'll keep going, but if Preds sits until Blowout Prices then we may not be getting any more for a while.

Well, Fort Max was just a weak figure. Everyone saw it and decided to wait for a sale. Heck, Hasbro themselves didn't put a full budget into it. What did they expect?

As for Trypy, I think a few people were put off by the QC issues but I might be wrong on that.

william-james88 wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

im right there with you on that one
there will be sales for sure like HTS or entertainment earth which is where i got Fort Max for 75$
i went ahead and got the unite warriors devastator with the perfect combiner addon i can say money well spent

I too went for UW Devastator, I dont regret it one bit either. I vote with my wallet and Takara went the extra mile for him (plus the price was the same as Hasbro so why not). But with this guy, I will definitely not be buying at full price. If me saving money on this Predaking means no more poorly done Titan Class figures coming out, then so be it.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. If my buying Predaking at full-price solely to support the continuation of the Titan class means that we'll get more Titans of Predaking's caliber, I don't need those to exist anyway to be honest.

Qwan wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

Ultra Markus wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

im right there with you on that one
there will be sales for sure like HTS or entertainment earth which is where i got Fort Max for 75$
i went ahead and got the unite warriors devastator with the perfect combiner addon i can say money well spent

I too went for UW Devastator, I dont regret it one bit either. I vote with my wallet and Takara went the extra mile for him (plus the price was the same as Hasbro so why not). But with this guy, I will definitely not be buying at full price. If me saving money on this Predaking means no more poorly done Titan Class figures coming out, then so be it.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. If my buying Predaking at full-price solely to support the continuation of the Titan class means that we'll get more Titans of Predaking's caliber, I don't need those to exist anyway to be honest.

Maybe this predaking is a test for us fans to see how much we actually care and if we don't care enough no more titan class

Ultra Markus wrote:

Qwan wrote:

william-james88 wrote:I too went for UW Devastator, I dont regret it one bit either. I vote with my wallet and Takara went the extra mile for him (plus the price was the same as Hasbro so why not). But with this guy, I will definitely not be buying at full price. If me saving money on this Predaking means no more poorly done Titan Class figures coming out, then so be it.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. If my buying Predaking at full-price solely to support the continuation of the Titan class means that we'll get more Titans of Predaking's caliber, I don't need those to exist anyway to be honest.

Maybe this predaking is a test for us fans to see how much we actually care and if we don't care enough no more titan class

I don't think Predaking would have the express purpose of being a test, but it's possible(?) that Hasbro will watch his sales carefully and if he does really bad they might pull the plug on Titans. (Though, to be fair, every single Titan so far has had that rumor surrounding them, and it hasn't been true yet.) If it is the case though, then there are only two options consumers can vote for with their wallets - no more Titans, or a continuation of the Titan class with more figures on par with Predaking. And if those are the choices, I guess I really don't care enough to want the Titan class to continue...

Man, I don't wanna be a downer! I'm really looking forward to a potential Omega Supreme in the coming years, and I like the Titan class as a concept. I adore UW Devastator, Trypticon is pretty great, and Fort Max isn't that bad either! I'm just not a big fan of this Predaking at all, so I just end up sounding unenthusiastic about the whole concept

If they stop titan class though they may just stick all future big figures on the haslab instead.

Bronzewolf wrote:

Randomhero wrote:
Seriously you can’t figure out its mistransformed. Someone need to tell you even with photos in front of you.

Take it easy.
Brand new figure, with a reputation of strange proportions and design choices, with actually very few images out there of it. Not everybody knows how he's supposed to look.
Stop antagonizing.

Thanks. Yeah that was a bit rude of that guy. I could tell the wings weren't up properly but the general body proportions seemed so off but I couldn't tell if it was bad posing, mistransformation or the toy is just that wonky. A lil bit of all of those it would seem. An easy pass.

Flashwave wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Well, there is a rumor, albeit one that pops up pretty frequently, that Predaking is going to be watched by Hasbro.This rumor postulates that Fort Max and Trypticon did not sell out like Metroplex and Devy did (although I have never seen hard $$ numbers), an Hasbro may have saturated their market of "Big Figures". If he sells, proving there is still room in the market for more Titan figures, then they'll keep going, but if Preds sits until Blowout Prices then we may not be getting any more for a while.

Would that really be that big of a loss? I'd much rather see the Titan Class go away and mo ey put back into better smaller figures.

Ironhidensh wrote:

Flashwave wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Well, there is a rumor, albeit one that pops up pretty frequently, that Predaking is going to be watched by Hasbro.This rumor postulates that Fort Max and Trypticon did not sell out like Metroplex and Devy did (although I have never seen hard $$ numbers), an Hasbro may have saturated their market of "Big Figures". If he sells, proving there is still room in the market for more Titan figures, then they'll keep going, but if Preds sits until Blowout Prices then we may not be getting any more for a while.

Would that really be that big of a loss? I'd much rather see the Titan Class go away and mo ey put back into better smaller figures.

This. Titans, at their current size with the current budget, are disasters for the most part. Either keep the price and scale them down so they have more plastic and parts to work with, or keep them the same size but put the price/budget up.

I miss old Supreme toys.

I still think this Predaking looks great, and it's a definite upgrade from the G1 original. I like it so much, I'm going to buy TWO! (Though, I always double up on my combiners anyway. )

Man, they really are pushing back his release date a lot. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the previous Titans get released during the summer, like around July or August, and how this guy is due in October? There won't be enough time at this point to start putting him on massive Christmas sales.

And sadly with the Titan class, I must agree. Predaking looks to be the weakest of the 5, and that is saying something when you look at their effort with Fort Max. He is 5 voyagers for $150, maybe $175, he has a few small guns that combine to form an arm cannon in combined mode, and that's about it. And the individuals are quite weak too. I'm here hoping for a Titan Primus, Unicron, Omega, Tidal Wave, and maybe Scorponok, and I would be sad if they got this level of respect in the toyline.

Trypticon and Devastator were fantastic to me, I adore both. But here, I really wish they would have worked with him more before releasing him. It's just not that good, and I cannot justify even buying him this year.

MagicDeath wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

I believe it is mistransformed.

Or just posed badly.

I don't know how but that picture of Predaking doesn't look so bad.

RiddlerJ wrote:

Flashwave wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Despite it's flaws, I'll be buying that Predaking for sure. However, should I wait for a sale or not? Because for the Citybots, everyone who waited won big time. But for Devastator, the early bird got the worm. So where will PotP Predaking stand?

Well, there is a rumor, albeit one that pops up pretty frequently, that Predaking is going to be watched by Hasbro.This rumor postulates that Fort Max and Trypticon did not sell out like Metroplex and Devy did (although I have never seen hard $$ numbers), an Hasbro may have saturated their market of "Big Figures". If he sells, proving there is still room in the market for more Titan figures, then they'll keep going, but if Preds sits until Blowout Prices then we may not be getting any more for a while.

Well, Fort Max was just a weak figure. Everyone saw it and decided to wait for a sale. Heck, Hasbro themselves didn't put a full budget into it. What did they expect?

As for Trypy, I think a few people were put off by the QC issues but I might be wrong on that.

I bet that Fort Max didn't even have launch ramps or a jail cell. I didnt care for the city mode either.

CrashDummy wrote:

MagicDeath wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

I believe it is mistransformed.

Or just posed badly.

I don't know how but that picture of Predaking doesn't look so bad.

That's because he probably isn't so bad at all. Fans just don't know what they really want.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

CrashDummy wrote:

MagicDeath wrote:

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Is that main combined form picture mistransformed or does it genuinely look that weird?

I believe it is mistransformed.

Or just posed badly.

I don't know how but that picture of Predaking doesn't look so bad.

That's because he probably isn't so bad at all. Fans just don't know what they really want.

Oh they know what they want. They just want it cheap Business ain't that way. Remove the incentive to make a product line, the product line dies.

Also, by September/October 2018, once he's released a lot of naysayers will be having a podiatric diet on steroids!

Last but not the least, some items, not just humans, tend to be either photogenic or not (or really having a crappy product photographer.

Actually I think he's just not what some people are looking for in a Predaking, while others would have proffered razorclaw to be bigger. You may not agree with them but it is what it is, don't let it stop you liking him. Besides doesn't less people buying him mean less likely to sell out

Predaking sure is not perfect. But this here fan will be buying.
But when?

-Kanrabat- wrote:Predaking sure is not perfect. But this here fan will be buying.
But when?

I'm in the same boat. I will be getting him, but will most likely wait out a sale around Christmas.

Wolfman Jake wrote:Fans just don't know what they really want.

I think this is about as wrong as can be. The thoughts expressed about this set, both negative and positive, have been very clearly stated. I think the fans very much know whatnot we want, and for a lot of us, this isn't it. There are many who do want it.

I think fans know what they want today more than any period in the past.

Ironhidensh wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:Fans just don't know what they really want.

I think this is about as wrong as can be. The thoughts expressed about this set, both negative and positive, have been very clearly stated. I think the fans very much know whatnot we want, and for a lot of us, this isn't it. There are many who do want it.

I think fans know what they want today more than any period in the past.

This, pretty much. The problem isn't fans not knowing what they want, it's fan opinion being heavily divided. Some people think that because he's made of equally sized robots that he's perfect. I'm of the opinion that making him out of equally sized robots is a bad idea that's doomed to fail; Feral Rex had a kinda small torso with bloated feet, and this Predaking is a huge pile of compromises for the admittedly interesting transformation scheme.

I know what I want in a Predaking, and this isn't it.

Fellow Transformers toy fan over on Twitter TCrackerGenmon has had the opportunity to play with an early sample of the Power of the Primes Titan class size offering set of the Predacons combiner figure: Predaking!

And that means we also have in hand images of the gestalt, plus some posing, and a closer look at the packaging and the beast modes specifically, though no individual robot modes as yet - though they are bound to surface soon enough - different from stock photography seen previously. Check the set of images out below, and join the discussion in the Energon Pub!

Now that doesn't look too bad.

NICE

Black Hat wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:Fans just don't know what they really want.

I think this is about as wrong as can be. The thoughts expressed about this set, both negative and positive, have been very clearly stated. I think the fans very much know whatnot we want, and for a lot of us, this isn't it. There are many who do want it.

I think fans know what they want today more than any period in the past.

This, pretty much. The problem isn't fans not knowing what they want, it's fan opinion being heavily divided. Some people think that because he's made of equally sized robots that he's perfect. I'm of the opinion that making him out of equally sized robots is a bad idea that's doomed to fail; Feral Rex had a kinda small torso with bloated feet, and this Predaking is a huge pile of compromises for the admittedly interesting transformation scheme.

I know what I want in a Predaking, and this isn't it.

This is exactly what I mean when I say "fans don't know what they want." It is super divisive, and not just in a "love it or hate it" sense. The "haters" all have completely different ideas about what would make the figure ideal for them, and frankly a lot of them want magic. A figure that is perfect in every way to their untenable ideal for less money than is reasonable in this market. We go through this almost every time too. There was much gnashing of teeth over the Devastator reveal, and now most people agree it's a must have, especially the Takara Unite Warriors release. Fans have VERY short memories about these things.

What gets me really about a lot of the naysayers on Predaking is the, frankly, delusional belief that the G1 version is somehow superior. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the only thing the G1 original figures have over the new Power of the Primes version is swords. These PotP figures have better engineering, articulation, and proportions (especially in the gestalt mode). The original had way "blockier" figures, with limited possibility. The combined form looked like it suffered from gigantism of the legs and arms. People are complaining about a skinny waist on this new PotP version!? That's the kind of insanity in the nitpicking that has made me really dismissive of a lot of the complaints this time around. They're just nonsensical.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Black Hat wrote:

Ironhidensh wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:Fans just don't know what they really want.

I think this is about as wrong as can be. The thoughts expressed about this set, both negative and positive, have been very clearly stated. I think the fans very much know whatnot we want, and for a lot of us, this isn't it. There are many who do want it.

I think fans know what they want today more than any period in the past.

This, pretty much. The problem isn't fans not knowing what they want, it's fan opinion being heavily divided. Some people think that because he's made of equally sized robots that he's perfect. I'm of the opinion that making him out of equally sized robots is a bad idea that's doomed to fail; Feral Rex had a kinda small torso with bloated feet, and this Predaking is a huge pile of compromises for the admittedly interesting transformation scheme.

I know what I want in a Predaking, and this isn't it.

This is exactly what I mean when I say "fans don't know what they want." It is super divisive, and not just in a "love it or hate it" sense. The "haters" all have completely different ideas about what would make the figure ideal for them, and frankly a lot of them want magic. A figure that is perfect in every way to their untenable ideal for less money than is reasonable in this market. We go through this almost every time too. There was much gnashing of teeth over the Devastator reveal, and now most people agree it's a must have, especially the Takara Unite Warriors release. Fans have VERY short memories about these things.

What gets me really about a lot of the naysayers on Predaking is the, frankly, delusional belief that the G1 version is somehow superior. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: the only thing the G1 original figures have over the new Power of the Primes version is swords. These PotP figures have better engineering, articulation, and proportions (especially in the gestalt mode). The original had way "blockier" figures, with limited possibility. The combined form looked like it suffered from gigantism of the legs and arms. People are complaining about a skinny waist on this new PotP version!? That's the kind of insanity in the nitpicking that has made me really dismissive of a lot of the complaints this time around. They're just nonsensical.

Wrong on all counts. I'm still thoroughly unimpressed with HasTak Devastator- even the UW version lacks articulation, is overly hollow, is awkwardly proportioned and is farcically out of scale with the other combiners. Predaking continues the trend of sacrificing quality and design (especially in the individual modes) in favour of sheer size.

The G1 version of Predaking isn't superior objectively, no, but that's because it was made over 30 years ago. And honestly, this newer version inherits a lot of the flaws from the original toy. The robots all being the same size means that in order to get a vaguely proportionate combined mode, the individuals suffered immensely (poor Headstrong and Tantrum...). The beast modes are just jokes that somehow manage to look dorkier than the G1 originals. No melee weapons (not even for Predaking himself). The combined mode has very weird proportions, notably his child-birthing hips and supermodel waist. The hands are hollowed out inarticulate blocks that are leagues less impressive than the ones on Unicron, and that's a 15 year old toy. Oh, and STICKERS.

Sure he has more articulation than the G1 figures but that isn't hard. Honestly, he looks like the worst Titan Hasbro has made thus far, and that's saying something. I think some people are determined to like him just because he exists and isn't an icky third party figure. It's not "Magic" to make a figure that doesn't suck (Abominus actually looks damn cool). It's application of common sense. Don't make him so big that in order to keep in budget you have to hollow him into oblivion. Make him bigger and bulkier than the average combiner, sure, but not THAT much bigger. If you must have him that big then you'll have to up the pricetag. And for the love of God, DON'T TRY AND MAKE A FIVE MEMBER COMBINER OUT OF EQUALLY SIZED FIGURES. IT WON'T WORK (See FOC Bruticus).

If you like it, that's fine. I question your taste, but fine. But don't tell people who aren't willing to settle for that...thing that they've got unrealistic expectations. I'm not asking for a 3 foot tall combiner with a billion custom-tooled steel parts, a perfect transformation, Figuarts-tier posing in all modes and automotive paint. But considering this is likely the only official Predaking we're gonna get for at least 5 years, I expect a bit more care put in.

So does anybody else hear the Bee-Gees in their head when looking at this photo? No? (God I'm old)

Now that looks great.

The packaging of Devastator was better. It was a keeper. So I will thrash that Predaking box in the recycling bin when I buy it with no regrets.

Definitely not worth the ludicrous price they're asking. $59.99 tops!

Aimless Misfire wrote:Definitely not worth the ludicrous price they're asking. $59.99 tops!

You'll find it for that price at Ollie's in about twelve months, if you hurry.

Black Hat wrote:Wrong on all counts. I'm still thoroughly unimpressed with HasTak Devastator- even the UW version lacks articulation, is overly hollow, is awkwardly proportioned and is farcically out of scale with the other combiners. Predaking continues the trend of sacrificing quality and design (especially in the individual modes) in favour of sheer size.

The G1 version of Predaking isn't superior objectively, no, but that's because it was made over 30 years ago. And honestly, this newer version inherits a lot of the flaws from the original toy. The robots all being the same size means that in order to get a vaguely proportionate combined mode, the individuals suffered immensely (poor Headstrong and Tantrum...). The beast modes are just jokes that somehow manage to look dorkier than the G1 originals. No melee weapons (not even for Predaking himself). The combined mode has very weird proportions, notably his child-birthing hips and supermodel waist. The hands are hollowed out inarticulate blocks that are leagues less impressive than the ones on Unicron, and that's a 15 year old toy. Oh, and STICKERS.

Sure he has more articulation than the G1 figures but that isn't hard. Honestly, he looks like the worst Titan Hasbro has made thus far, and that's saying something. I think some people are determined to like him just because he exists and isn't an icky third party figure. It's not "Magic" to make a figure that doesn't suck (Abominus actually looks damn cool). It's application of common sense. Don't make him so big that in order to keep in budget you have to hollow him into oblivion. Make him bigger and bulkier than the average combiner, sure, but not THAT much bigger. If you must have him that big then you'll have to up the pricetag. And for the love of God, DON'T TRY AND MAKE A FIVE MEMBER COMBINER OUT OF EQUALLY SIZED FIGURES. IT WON'T WORK (See FOC Bruticus).

If you like it, that's fine. I question your taste, but fine. But don't tell people who aren't willing to settle for that...thing that they've got unrealistic expectations. I'm not asking for a 3 foot tall combiner with a billion custom-tooled steel parts, a perfect transformation, Figuarts-tier posing in all modes and automotive paint. But considering this is likely the only official Predaking we're gonna get for at least 5 years, I expect a bit more care put in.

I didn't say you liked Titan Class Devastator. I said most did, and the majority of those who were upset when it was first revealed had to eat some serious crow later.

Transformers have been "hollow" for years now, and Predaking isn't even the worst example of such. The initial Fall of Cybertron toys hold that dishonor. And yes, it's a cost cutting measure to hollow out parts where able, because parents aren't going to buy their children a $300-$400 big "Megazord," certainly not on a whim, and likely not even for a big birthday or Xmas gift.

Predaking is big because he was always a bigger combiner than the other G1 combiner TOYS. Hasbro isn't as fussed about what characters looked like exactly in the old Sunbow cartoon. Their focus has always been on the original toys. Devastator was chosen to be big because he was considered special, being the first combiner in Transformers. The Contructicon alt modes are actually in relatively accurate scale with the deluxe car characters, by the way. None of the other combiners pay attention to scale at all either, not between teams and not even within teams. Deluxe sized jets, planes, shuttles, motorcycles, and even tanks create all sort of problems when you look at scale, whether realistic or even internally consistent in the cartoon, so that's your own little burden to shoulder if you think Devastator and Predaking are "farcically out of scale" with other contemporary combiners.

Stickers!? You're still made about stickers!? Guess you hate every Voyager and Leader figure Hasbro has put out for the past couple of years too. Yes, everyone wishes the stickers would go away, but they aren't any time soon, it seems. ALL Titan releases, starting with Metroplex, have relied on stickers, btw, so this is also not something new to PotP Predaking. It's not even new to ANY G1 Predaking as the original had stickers too. Even the special reissues, like Platinum Edition Predaking, had revised stickers instead of going for paint apps.

Honestly, I think you just don't like Transformers now. Things have been as they are for years now, and Predaking isn't turning the past five years or so on its ear. It's entirely consistent with everything Hasbro has been doing with their toys since Dark of the Moon and Fall of Cybertron. Just admit that you have a personal expectation that Hasbro can't realistically meet in this market and go have fun with your third party options.

Aimless Misfire wrote:Definitely not worth the ludicrous price they're asking. $59.99 tops!

To each their own with "budget needs" but seriously... they're still FIVE voyagers... that's going to be $100 minimum (and that's technically deluxe prices).

As for the heated debate over this guy... yes he compromises. Most transformers these days are "compromises".

One thing I think a LOT of ppl forget about Devastator... is the fact that he's actually Masterpiece scale.... and he's the closest we're going to get to one ANY time soon. and certainly otherwise would be paying 3rd party ($50-60) per component otherwise.

My biggest misgiving with Predaking (other than the lack of swords) was the spiked fists... but then I realized they plug into the feet for storage. Seeing that... I can live with the compromise they made.

I still think the SDCC/Hascon version *might* come with swords. but we'll see. It's been awfully quiet on that front.

Wolfman Jake wrote:Stickers!? You're still made about stickers!? Guess you hate every Voyager and Leader figure Hasbro has put out for the past couple of years too.

Oh god, yes. Although, to be sure: TItan-class citybots with stickers I apply myself are fine, it's the Voyager-class triple-changers whose factory-applied stickers never stay on properly that I detest. I'm not sure which one of those Predaking will fall under, but I'll be looking forward to applying Toyhax labels either way.

Honestly, I think you just don't like Transformers now. Things have been as they are for years now, and Predaking isn't turning the past five years or so on its ear. It's entirely consistent with everything Hasbro has been doing with their toys since Dark of the Moon and Fall of Cybertron. Just admit that you have a personal expectation that Hasbro can't realistically meet in this market and go have fun with your third party options.

This. If Hasbro isn't someone's cup of tea and they prefer third-party, I don't blame them -- but I'm never going to complain about the things Hasbro does in order to keep prices manageable. Well, except the stickers.

Holy CRAP that's a terrifying little joint holding up the entire top half! I predict we'll be seeing a lot of Predacons that can't combine any more in the future.

Other than that I'm fine with the way he looks.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

1526924524-p5.jpg

Holy CRAP that's a terrifying little joint holding up the entire top half! I predict we'll be seeing a lot of Predacons that can't combine any more in the future.

Other than that I'm fine with the way he looks.

Emerje

For what it's worth, I suspect those legs were supposed to slide all the way into his back and fill in that gap.... However.... that does indeed not address the "small" (mushroom?) peg that's his waist....

Though... I do believe that central crotch piece is part of the same "assembly" as the abdomen... So that shouldn't be a joint gets abused a lot. We'll see how the wear-and-tear goes with the hot swivel action though.

Well these pics look nice (see hasbro, look at what you get when you let people who know what they are doing do the photos). Still I can understand why people say they don't want him and it's their choice. No one will change their mind by going on at then constantly.

ZeroWolf wrote:Still I can understand why people say they don't want him and it's their choice. No one will change their mind by going on at then constantly.

True story. it's like someone has to be "right" when... in collecting and hobbies... everybody is "right" about their own collections.

On the other hand, it's nice to have constructive discourse on a subject, but when it devolves into a shouting match... that's where the construction ends.

I do take a bit of an affront to those that feel the want to *immediately* want to get it at under 50% off though.... I just feel that's not being fair, respectful of the product. Similar to how the ppl "love MPs but wait for the knock-offs".

But enough of a tangent.

I do think similar to Devastator Predaking will be much more interesting in hand. While both he and Devastator probably could have been reduced to "large deluxe" in size and save a bit on price.... Hasbro obviously wants to make a *splash* with this guy. I will say what weapons he comes with are starting to grow on me more. I wasn't happy about his wrist mounted cannon.... but there appears to be a bit more molding and detail in it than I originally though. (Similar to Devastators gun). Still not sure what one is supposed to do with the small "extensions" for the shoulder cannons though (are they Razorclaws tail?)

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Black Hat wrote:Wrong on all counts. I'm still thoroughly unimpressed with HasTak Devastator- even the UW version lacks articulation, is overly hollow, is awkwardly proportioned and is farcically out of scale with the other combiners. Predaking continues the trend of sacrificing quality and design (especially in the individual modes) in favour of sheer size.

The G1 version of Predaking isn't superior objectively, no, but that's because it was made over 30 years ago. And honestly, this newer version inherits a lot of the flaws from the original toy. The robots all being the same size means that in order to get a vaguely proportionate combined mode, the individuals suffered immensely (poor Headstrong and Tantrum...). The beast modes are just jokes that somehow manage to look dorkier than the G1 originals. No melee weapons (not even for Predaking himself). The combined mode has very weird proportions, notably his child-birthing hips and supermodel waist. The hands are hollowed out inarticulate blocks that are leagues less impressive than the ones on Unicron, and that's a 15 year old toy. Oh, and STICKERS.

Sure he has more articulation than the G1 figures but that isn't hard. Honestly, he looks like the worst Titan Hasbro has made thus far, and that's saying something. I think some people are determined to like him just because he exists and isn't an icky third party figure. It's not "Magic" to make a figure that doesn't suck (Abominus actually looks damn cool). It's application of common sense. Don't make him so big that in order to keep in budget you have to hollow him into oblivion. Make him bigger and bulkier than the average combiner, sure, but not THAT much bigger. If you must have him that big then you'll have to up the pricetag. And for the love of God, DON'T TRY AND MAKE A FIVE MEMBER COMBINER OUT OF EQUALLY SIZED FIGURES. IT WON'T WORK (See FOC Bruticus).

If you like it, that's fine. I question your taste, but fine. But don't tell people who aren't willing to settle for that...thing that they've got unrealistic expectations. I'm not asking for a 3 foot tall combiner with a billion custom-tooled steel parts, a perfect transformation, Figuarts-tier posing in all modes and automotive paint. But considering this is likely the only official Predaking we're gonna get for at least 5 years, I expect a bit more care put in.

I didn't say you liked Titan Class Devastator. I said most did, and the majority of those who were upset when it was first revealed had to eat some serious crow later.

I'd argue that has more to do with low standards than it actually being good but OK.

Transformers have been "hollow" for years now, and Predaking isn't even the worst example of such. The initial Fall of Cybertron toys hold that dishonor. And yes, it's a cost cutting measure to hollow out parts where able, because parents aren't going to buy their children a $300-$400 big "Megazord," certainly not on a whim, and likely not even for a big birthday or Xmas gift.

And most kids aren't even going to know who Predaking is. It's marketed squarely at collectors- and it falls short of the expectations any right-thinking collector would have. And if they hadn't made it so monstrously large but kept the pricetag the same it might actually have been good.

Predaking is big because he was always a bigger combiner than the other G1 combiner TOYS. Hasbro isn't as fussed about what characters looked like exactly in the old Sunbow cartoon. Their focus has always been on the original toys.

I know that, and he could still have been bigger than the others without being double their size and thus horrendously compromised.

Devastator was chosen to be big because he was considered special, being the first combiner in Transformers. The Contructicon alt modes are actually in relatively accurate scale with the deluxe car characters, by the way.

Again, he didn't need to be twice the size of a regular combiner. There's such a thing as "a happy medium". And if we're going on vehicle scale then Superion should be the size of Devastator as he's made of jets. I work at an aviation museum and let me tell you, jets are BIG.

None of the other combiners pay attention to scale at all either, not between teams and not even within teams. Deluxe sized jets, planes, shuttles, motorcycles, and even tanks create all sort of problems when you look at scale, whether realistic or even internally consistent in the cartoon, so that's your own little burden to shoulder if you think Devastator and Predaking are "farcically out of scale" with other contemporary combiners.

I'm not talking about vehicle scale or even cartoon scale (which was always inconsistent). I'm talking about what actually looks good and makes for decent toys. If Predaking and Devastator are gonna be $200 behemoths, why put all the mass into making them so tall? Why not bulk them out a bit? Why not do anything other than making them huge but hollow piles of compromise and failure?

Stickers!? You're still made about stickers!? Guess you hate every Voyager and Leader figure Hasbro has put out for the past couple of years too. Yes, everyone wishes the stickers would go away, but they aren't any time soon, it seems.

Then vote with your wallet and refuse to buy figures that make excessive use of them. Any figures with them on I get are getting their stickers peeled off, but to be honest, with the Voyager and Leader class being as desultory for POTP as they are (Hungrr and Elita are the only figures bigger than a Deluxe that interest me) then they won't be getting any of my money for stickered releases anyway.

Of course up until recently the answer was that people could import the less abysmal Takara versions, but thanks to Hasbro's blatant greed and apparent spite, rather than spend cents per figure on improving their own product to make up for lost sales to Takara they've instead told Takara to stop making their own figures any better.

ALL Titan releases, starting with Metroplex, have relied on stickers, btw, so this is also not something new to PotP Predaking.

Yep, and I have yet to buy any of them.

It's not even new to ANY G1 Predaking as the original had stickers too. Even the special reissues, like Platinum Edition Predaking, had revised stickers instead of going for paint apps.

These are supposed to be an improvement on the 30+ year old toys. "GEEWUN DID IT" is not an excuse for stickers.

Honestly, I think you just don't like Transformers now.

I do like Transformers- there are still good figures (Stinger from the Studio Series was one of the best figures I've gotten from HasTak in a while) but hell if I'm going to suck up to Hasbro for making trash and removing the opportunity for people like me to actually get decent alternatives.

Things have been as they are for years now, and Predaking isn't turning the past five years or so on its ear. It's entirely consistent with everything Hasbro has been doing with their toys since Dark of the Moon and Fall of Cybertron.

Then vote with your wallet and tell Hasbro "No, I will not accept this crap, either improve your products or lose my business". That's how capitalism is supposed to work.

Just admit that you have a personal expectation that Hasbro can't realistically meet in this market

That's just it. They CAN meet my expectations. Even putting aside the nickel-and-diming that we're seeing with the line, all they have to do is not make boneheaded decisions like "Make him so big the only way the budget will pass is if he's a ropey piece of crap" and "Let's make the individuals the same size even though that doesn't work". They CAN still make good figures- it's almost like they're choosing not to. This isn't budgetary constraints, this is incompetence.

But as for Hasbro and their budget cuts, they absolutely could afford to make the figures better. The problem is that either their higher-ups, the shareholders or most likely both are greedy, penny-pinching misers who apparently can't spare a few cents per figure to make them less dreadful solely because it would mean one micrometre less platinum plating on their monogrammed prostate massagers.

and go have fun with your third party options.

Thanks, I will. Hopefully Maketoys does a Predaking eventually so I can buy that instead rather than giving a single penny to Hasbro.

If you honestly like POTP Predaking then that's fine. But don't try and bulls**t to me that they couldn't do any better, and CERTAINLY don't get on my case like I'm somehow being ungrateful or something for not approving of a botched job. Because quite frankly it reeks of fanboyism at best and corporate shilling at worst.

Predaking looks good overall. He's not perfect, but he's not the garbage fire some people make him out to be. My only real issues with this set are the decision to make Razorclaw the same size as the rest of the Predacons (leading to massive, unsightly kibble on Headstrong and Tantrum) and the lack of his very iconic sword. People that want Razorclaw to be perfectly in scale with his teammates are forgetting that Predaking himself is already out of scale with other combiners. The sword is not a surprising omission as none of the PotP combiners have dedicated weapons. Seems to be an across the board cost cutting decision. Lastly, while not bothered by it, I am confused as to why they removed his knuckle spikes. I can't see a functional reason they would need to be removed.

Black Hat, I'm more than willing to call out Hasbro when they legitimately screw up. Poorly designing Trypticon's hip joints such that they self destruct after being used is a screw up. Missing out on doing Apeface and Snapdragon in Titans Return was a screw up. Wave 2 of Power of the Primes drying up within weeks at retail is a screw up. Predaking is not a screw up. That's not shilling or fanboyism. That's being fair, objective, and logical. I don't think you're at all being fair if you're resorting to jokes about platinum plated prostate massagers and calling these designers "incompetent." Get off your high horse.