Takara Tomy Transformers Legends LG-31 Fortress Maximus and TG-23 Metroplex comparison image

RNSrobot wrote:I really like how much thicker Max looks. Waiting for a good sale, but I'm looking forward to having him in-hand.

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Actually, Ginrai's name was made up - in a way that, in Japanese, if you remove every second syllable it spells Godzilla.
As an aspiring writer this sort of **** is what inspires me. There's no real reason for it. It doesn't really link into the theming of Masterforce as far as I'm aware. They just did it because Godzilla.

Sabrblade wrote:

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Actually, Ginrai's name was made up - in a way that, in Japanese, if you remove every second syllable it spells Godzilla.
As an aspiring writer this sort of **** is what inspires me. There's no real reason for it. It doesn't really link into the theming of Masterforce as far as I'm aware. They just did it because Godzilla.

And as a happy accident, it ends up sounding like "thunder god" in Japanese.

RAR wrote:'God Thunder' would be a good name for Diaclone coloured Ultra Magnus.

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I think Jinrai (or Ginrai) works just great as a Japanese boys name - I've long suspected that Anakin will be a regular boys name that people forget was made up for a Movie by the 22nd Century.
Leia is normalised already - though I'm not sure if that was a legit name or not anyway when I first heard it I always took it as a bastardised version of other names like Laia & Leia & Leaha but it is a legit name supposedly as Luke was.. Leia is actually Hebrew curiously.
But I don't think people automatically think Star Wars when they hear it. so I do wonder could someone "Get away" with Ginrai in Japan ?

Logan79 wrote:TF YUKI

fenrir72 wrote:I wonder if Takara will fit this "Ginrai" into what continuity as in the original Masterforce, the Transtector actually acquired a "spark" without theneed for Ginrai? So the cab portion is no longer needed so to speak. And in Victory, it seems that Godbomber was permanently bonded to "him"

Or will this be just a wack pocket universe back story as seen in the instruction manuals.

Gawd I miss those JP catalogs of yester years.

Sabrblade wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:I wonder if Takara will fit this "Ginrai" into what continuity as in the original Masterforce, the Transtector actually acquired a "spark" without theneed for Ginrai? So the cab portion is no longer needed so to speak. And in Victory, it seems that Godbomber was permanently bonded to "him"

Or will this be just a wack pocket universe back story as seen in the instruction manuals.

Gawd I miss those JP catalogs of yester years.

Best guess is the Japanese G1 cartoon continuity like the others.

As to a specific point in the timeline, though, the online comic with the Headmasters and non-Headmasters-who-became-Headmasters losing this bodies was set in 2021, after Masterforce but before Victory. But, as the Transtector gained a life of its own at the end of Masterforce, like you said, maybe the Legends toy form would be a temporary form he'd take that would have him re-bond with his former human host as a Headmaster, and would then ultimately get turned back to normal later on so as to prevent contradicting Victory.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:Hm nope. These just don't do it for me. I can't justify paying loads of money for a giant mass of plastic that doesn't actually turn into anything decent (and certainly wouldn't fit on any of my shelves too). It's making me worry about Scorponok too whenever he gets made cos he'll likely get made giant to compete with the Autobots here and cos of the cartoon when I far, faaaar prefer the Marvel Comics Scorponok character who was relatively normal sized (if larger than most bots... same goes for Fort Max) and had decent characterisation (particularly loved his sacrifice against Unicron which felt far more natural a heroic deed for a Decepticon than turning Megatron into an Autobot). I'd love a brand new Scorpy but not a giant.

Kurona wrote:

Kurona wrote:Scorponok and Omega Supreme were the two other choices on the Titan Class poll, so yup, he's getting a Titan Class Toy. Which is a shame, because like you I prefer him to be Leader-sized.

Carnivius_Prime wrote:

Kurona wrote:Scorponok and Omega Supreme were the two other choices on the Titan Class poll, so yup, he's getting a Titan Class Toy. Which is a shame, because like you I prefer him to be Leader-sized.

Yeah. Damn. I'd certainly buy a Leader class version to pose next to Takara's upcoming version of Powermaster Prime and would be a lot more affordable and practical than a Titan class figure.


Metro and Trypticon I almost let slide cos they're never usually portrayed as more than simple minded behemoths but still this Titan size is just too large for my collecting. It might have suited Unicron though.

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Actually, Ginrai's name was made up - in a way that, in Japanese, if you remove every second syllable it spells Godzilla.
As an aspiring writer this sort of **** is what inspires me. There's no real reason for it. It doesn't really link into the theming of Masterforce as far as I'm aware. They just did it because Godzilla.

Emerje wrote:

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Actually, Ginrai's name was made up - in a way that, in Japanese, if you remove every second syllable it spells Godzilla.
As an aspiring writer this sort of **** is what inspires me. There's no real reason for it. It doesn't really link into the theming of Masterforce as far as I'm aware. They just did it because Godzilla.

No. Ginrai, properly romanized as Jinrai and spelled exactly the same way, is a real common Japanese word meaning "thunderclap" and has long been used as a character name in other places. The thing you're talking about is for the full name God Ginrai and is based on Gojira, not Godzilla. God Jinrai

Emerje

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Emerje wrote:

Kurona wrote:

RAR wrote:
As for Jinrai isn't it simply a Japanese guys name like Tomoaki or Shigaru or this list

Actually, Ginrai's name was made up - in a way that, in Japanese, if you remove every second syllable it spells Godzilla.
As an aspiring writer this sort of **** is what inspires me. There's no real reason for it. It doesn't really link into the theming of Masterforce as far as I'm aware. They just did it because Godzilla.

No. Ginrai, properly romanized as Jinrai and spelled exactly the same way, is a real common Japanese word meaning "thunderclap" and has long been used as a character name in other places. The thing you're talking about is for the full name God Ginrai and is based on Gojira, not Godzilla. God Jinrai

Emerje

Even then, with the ginormous amount of homophones in Japanese, names in katakana are usually treated as proper nouns (meaning they don't get translated), and the fact no kanji are associated with the name, we can't really deduce any kind of meaning from it. Etymology, maybe.

o.supreme wrote:But Metroplex was never intended to be the whole of Autobot City (I know the toy commercial was poorly worded...) but merely a battle station within it.

https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSd-JyokO4Fj0Q7SutGlDtTtZR390pE4ELaZBPwR5OJsfl5fSedHw

Kurona wrote:Depends on the continuity.
... and episode, let's be honest.

That Bot wrote:A fortress should be smaller than an entire city, if you ask me. It can be a miniature city, sure, but not a "Metroplex". So I really feel like Metroplex and Trypticon should be the HUGEST transformers (aside from the planetbots), followed by Fort Max and Scorponok, who are regular headmasters after all, followed by Omega Supreme and the combiners, and then big but still reasonably sized guys like Jetfire and Magnus, and then everybody else.

Cyberpath wrote:Decided to scan the manga from LG21 & LG22 in case anyone went Hasbro with these, or just skipped it. Click to enlarge. Feel free to translate.

fenrir72 wrote:

That Bot wrote:A fortress should be smaller than an entire city, if you ask me. It can be a miniature city, sure, but not a "Metroplex". So I really feel like Metroplex and Trypticon should be the HUGEST transformers (aside from the planetbots), followed by Fort Max and Scorponok, who are regular headmasters after all, followed by Omega Supreme and the combiners, and then big but still reasonably sized guys like Jetfire and Magnus, and then everybody else.

But in the JP continuity, 'plex more or less reached Fortress' knees. That and the tech that inspired him was kind of supernatural technology.

That Bot wrote:As for that manga, why is Airazor a secretary? Do I want to know? More Japanese sexism?

Cyberpath wrote:Decided to scan the manga from LG21 & LG22 in case anyone went Hasbro with these, or just skipped it. Click to enlarge. Feel free to translate.

Rattrap and his friends are surprised to see numerous giant heads descend from a portal in the sky and transform into robots. Their leader, Fortress, explains that they're Headmasters from the "G1 World" who have lost their larger bodies and seek assistance in using the Legends Universe's energy to build new ones. Rattrap and Optimus Primal respond that they don't work for free, so Fortress strikes a deal with Primal to share Headmaster technology with the Axalon Trading Company, and the two groups start working together at a newly constructed office building.

During an after-work karaoke session, Hardhead sings about how nice and peaceful Legends Universe is and how he'd like to stay there forever, annoying Chromedome, who is bored of this world and reminds him that they're soldiers with duties in their homeworld. They're interrupted by a message from Fortress that a body is finished, and return to find it to be a new transtector for Hardhead. A jealous Chromedome demands one too, and is instead told to ride into battle on Tankette, Hardhead's energetic new drone partner. Hardhead immediately has a chance to try out the transtector when he's sent out to stop a meteor from impacting with the city, accepting the fact that no matter how much he enjoys being a salaryman, he must return to being a soldier for the sake of protecting his comrades. He combines with his new body and, with his friends manning his guns, opens fire on the meteor, only for their blasts to have no effect. Determined to defend the peaceful world he's come to love, Hardhead shows how he got his name by headbutting the meteor, successfully destroying it. But since his head is his real body, this heroic act ends up landing him in the hospital.

Jealous that his Axalon Trading Company rivals are collaborating with the Autobot Headmasters, President Megatron organizes his own partnership between Tera-Kura Co. and the Decepticon Headmasters. Using information gathered from the Autobots by Laserbeak's espionage, Tarantulas of Tera-Kura first creates a new transtector and partner drone named Batora for Skullcruncher. When presenting his creations to Skullcruncher, he finds the Decepticon fast asleep, and Weirdwolf explains that his comrade has been narcoleptic ever since being hit by Mindwipe's hypnotic rays. Once he's woken up, Tarantulas sends Skullcruncher out to rampage in streets, hoping to lure out and destroy the Autobots in order to remove his competition on the robotics market.

Though Skullcruncher soon dozes off again, the plan proves successful when Hardhead and Chromedome break off their usual karaoke session to stop him. Weirdwolf then swoops in on Batora, captures Chromedome inside the drone by forcing him to form part of its dinosaur mode, and uses this mode to violently wake Skullcruncher. With Chromedome as their hostage, the Decepticons then prepare to take on Hardhead, only for Hardhead to work with Twincast to sing a lullaby that sends Skullcruncher into a deep slumber. Weirdwolf and Tarantulas make their escape with the sleeping crocodile, leaving Chromedome still stuck in Batora's body as he tries to continue life as normal.

Sabrblade wrote:

That Bot wrote:As for that manga, why is Airazor a secretary? Do I want to know? More Japanese sexism?

He is an office lady, a Japanese female office worker (even though he's really a male). The Maximals all work in a corporate office building of the Axalon Trading Company. Optimus Primal is the company president, Rhinox is a section manager, Rattrap is a rookie salaryman, Cheetor is another salaryman, Dinobot is another employee, Nightscream is another office lady, Silverbolt is a teenaged part-timer, and Tigatron is another employee.

That Bot wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

That Bot wrote:A fortress should be smaller than an entire city, if you ask me. It can be a miniature city, sure, but not a "Metroplex". So I really feel like Metroplex and Trypticon should be the HUGEST transformers (aside from the planetbots), followed by Fort Max and Scorponok, who are regular headmasters after all, followed by Omega Supreme and the combiners, and then big but still reasonably sized guys like Jetfire and Magnus, and then everybody else.

But in the JP continuity, 'plex more or less reached Fortress' knees. That and the tech that inspired him was kind of supernatural technology.

I've seen half of Masterforce, that's the extent of my exposure to JG1. Look, I was born in 1990, G1 in general is before my time. I look back at it differently than people who lived through it, and it is my opinion (which you are welcome to disagree with) that Metroplex should be bigger than Fort Max.


As for that manga, why is Airazor a secretary? Do I want to know? More Japanese sexism?

Cyberpath wrote:Pre-orders are up on HLJ & AmiAmi. Super Ginrai is $63-66 btw.

SillySpringer wrote:I'm really curious to see what the Takara Legends Astrotrain will look like. From the way the outline looks, it seems like his train mode is going to have a more earth-like look.



I wonder if the back of the train will look different from the front also. That would be an interesting thing indeed. It would make sense because the only spots they'd show up in the robot mode would be on the backs of the legs as a bit of kibble. Kibble doesn't have to be symmetrical.

fenrir72 wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I'm really curious to see what the Takara Legends Astrotrain will look like. From the way the outline looks, it seems like his train mode is going to have a more earth-like look.



I wonder if the back of the train will look different from the front also. That would be an interesting thing indeed. It would make sense because the only spots they'd show up in the robot mode would be on the backs of the legs as a bit of kibble. Kibble doesn't have to be symmetrical.

He gonna be gray purple. Like henkei.

Cyberpath wrote:I Futured Skruncher's floppy legs yesterday, now they are tight! (Maybe a little too tight, didn't realise it took that amount of time to take effect.) So proud!

btw, anyone notice that the three Decepticon Headmasters have open hands while the four Autobot ones have closed hands?

SillySpringer wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I'm really curious to see what the Takara Legends Astrotrain will look like. From the way the outline looks, it seems like his train mode is going to have a more earth-like look.



I wonder if the back of the train will look different from the front also. That would be an interesting thing indeed. It would make sense because the only spots they'd show up in the robot mode would be on the backs of the legs as a bit of kibble. Kibble doesn't have to be symmetrical.

He gonna be gray purple. Like henkei.

Did I mention color one time in my post? No. I was talking about the sculpt, and what differences this one will have. I was saying how the outline of train mode looks more like a real-life locomotive rather that a "space train".