MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Transformers Generations (guidebook)

2010-03-02T21:30:41Z

98.71.138.167: /* Vital Statistics */

{{disambig3|Generations}}
[[Image:TakaraTransformersGenerationsCoverDeluxe.jpg|right|300px|thumb|All the G1 Autobot leaders. Well, from the Japanese animated continuity anyway. So what I told you was true, from a certain point of view...]]

Published in July 2001, '''''Transformers Generations''''' is a Japanese-exclusive book featuring a wealth of information on [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]], [[Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]] and [[Machine Wars]], including product photos of all Transformers toys released in Japan, Europe and the U.S. during the original releases of these generations. Unfortunately, the book is ''entirely'' in Japanese...

==Content==
The main selling point is the book's exhaustive photography of the entire G1 and G2 toylines. Including not only all U.S. Releases (which were mostly all also released in Japan), the guide includes all Japanese-exclusive toys from Japanese-only lines such as ''[[Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]]'', ''[[Victory (franchise)|Victory]]'' and ''[[Zone (franchise)|Zone]]''.

In fact, the book is somewhat U.S.-centric, despite being created for the Japanese market. Product lines are listed by year and present U.S. assortments with Japanese exclusive characters in separate "Japan" sections by year. The only English text in the book are character names and designated function titles, subtitled below the Japanese heading. European/Australasian-exclusive releases are also features in similarly separate "EU" sections, by year.

Small sections on additional items are dotted randomly throughout the book, covering oddities, rarities, unreleased items and unused concepts, such as: [[Bumper (G1)|Bumper]], "[[Dropshot (Armada)|Dropshot]]", an unreleased [[Godbomber]] prototype, [[Block Town]], the [[Super Hybrid Model|Super Hybrid Models]], the unreleased G2 ATB [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Jazz (G1)|Laser]] [[Soundwave (G1)|Cycles]], promo items like [[Mini-spy|Mini-Spies]], [[Powerdasher|Powerdashers]] and [[Decoy|Decoys]], the [[BotCon]] exclusives from the period, G2 [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] and [[Nightracer]], and lots more. Separating the sections on 1986 and 1987 is a page of unused design concepts, featuring items such as a fire-truck version of [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] in the style of Powermaster Optimus Prime, a [[Scramble City]]-style dinosaur combiner, and the famous [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]]-as-[[Headmaster (technology)|Headmaster]]-[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] repaint.

Were it not entirely in Japanese, this book would surely be the definitive toy guide to pre-[[Beast Era]] toys. Even so, it's a contender, being far more exhaustive (albeit less detail-oriented) than the next best English-language equivalent, Antarctic Press' ''[[Cybertronian: The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide]]''.

[[Image:Bookopen.JPG|left|180px|thumb|More pics than you can shake an ion blaster at!]]
After the toy guide section of the book ends, the book includes a gallery of Japanese-market promotional art, including images from sources such as ''[[TV Magazine]]''. Following this, the paper stock switches from glossy color-printed to uncoated black and white for the remainder of the book; the black-and-white section begins with a gallery of [[character model]] sheets featuring most of the model fronts from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|G1 cartoon]], including the Japanese-exclusive anime series ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'', ''[[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|Masterforce]]'', ''[[Victory (cartoon)|Victory]]'' and the [[Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!|''Zone'' OAV]]. Most of the [[Studio Ox]] model sheets are also featured, as well as designs for manga such as "[[The Battlestars (manga)|The Battlestars]]".

Finally, the book closes with a selection of primarily-text features (Japanese, of course); features on [[Beastformers|Battle Beasts]] and [[Transformer PD Type]], an interview [[Masumi Kaneda]], an article on the ''TV Magazine'' manga, a full listing (with English titles and artist credits) for the US and UK G1 and G2 comics, a multi-page table listing the various Japanese ID numbers of all the G1 and G2 toys, and finally, a complete episode listing for all the G1 animated shows (with English titles where appropriate).
{{-}}
== Editions ==
[[Image:ConvoyVsMegatronYoshioka1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Back cover (of AWESOMENESS) by [[Hidetsugu Yoshioka]]]]
The preceding text refers to the original release of the book. An update, entitled ''Transformers: Generations Deluxe'' (pictured at the head of this article), released in March 2004, added an extra eighteen pages to the book, consisting of a massive gallery of design sketches and various unused concepts for the Transformers toyline.

Among the scores of images, some of the most notable include a proposed "[[Vintage Horror Movie Series]]" of Transformers based on famous movie monsters such as [[The Fly]], [[Dracula]] and [[The Creature from the Black Lagoon]]; a fifteen-figure Micromaster combiner; a figure that worked with an interactive video game, including "Duck Hunt" style light-gun antics; concepts for [[Action Master]] versions of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], [[Predaking]], [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and a tricked-out [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]; and designs for ''Battlestars'' characters Super Megatron, Ultra Megatron and [[Dark Nova]] (who would have transformed into Star Giant). There are particularly large numbers of unused designs for [[City-bot|city-bots]], [[Six Changer|Six Changers]] and [[Pretender|Pretenders]].
{{-}}

== Primus Contest ==
[[Image:GodPrimus2.jpg|right|150px|thumb|This is what he looks like if he gets possessed by the God.]]
Although it's probably unknown to most English-language fans, the first official [[Primus]] toy was ''not'' the Supreme-class figure that debuted in the [[Cybertron (toyline)|''Cybertron''/''Galaxy Force'']] line. It was a gold-chrome vacuum-metallised reissue of the G1 [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] mold. Dubbed "Primus", it no doubt was created based on the god's rather Rodimus-esque astral form shown in [[Primal Scream (issue)|U.S. ''Transformers'' #61 "Primal Scream"]]. This [[Lucky Draw figure]] was a contest prize given away to 100 winners through the Deluxe edition of ''Generations''.{{-}}

== Trivia ==
*Both editions are out of print, making them very hard to find.

*The Deluxe edition is particularly sought after by fans (even by those that owned the original edition) because of the massive amount of additional unused concept designs.

*There were a lot more G1 Transformers than you ever owned as a kid.

*There were a lot more G1 Transformers than you even ''knew existed'' as a kid.

== Vital Statistics ==
'''Transformer Generations - Welcome to the world of Transformers!!''' 
ISBN 4766938003 
ISBN 978-4766938005 
'''Pagecount:''' 143 
'''Publisher:''' [[Keibunsha]] 
'''Date Published:''' July 2001

'''Transformer Generations Deluxe''' 
ISBN 4813010946 
ISBN 978-4813010944 
'''Pagecount:''' 159 
'''Publisher:''' [[Million Publishing]] 
'''Date Published:''' [[March 25]], 2004

{{stub}}

[[Category:Reference texts]]

Talk:Toy Fair 1986

2010-02-24T02:10:07Z

98.71.138.167:

Guess what I found on eBay: [http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180326276436 Toy Fair 1986 catalog!] Featuring Blue Superion and Wacky-Gunned Galvatron! It, uh, costs $500 to bid on, so we're probably gonna hafta deal with the annoying and obtrusive watermarks if we steal any images from it. --[[User:ItsWalky|ItsWalky]] 12:18, 23 February 2010 (EST)
:We've seen smaller, grainier pics of that proto-Galvatron before: they were in the same Japanese laserdisc booklet that had the pics of proto-Arcee. They're already up..... uhh.... on some site. Either Zob or Prime Saber or the STA. --[[User:Thylacine 2000|Thylacine 2000]] 20:56, 23 February 2010 (EST)
::This is the third time that auction's been up. I think the last time it was priced at $600, but I have the auction images from the first time it showed up. Toy Archive had the laserdisc scans.--[[Special:Contributions/98.71.138.167|98.71.138.167]] 21:10, 23 February 2010 (EST)

Design flaw

2010-02-24T01:45:14Z

98.71.138.167: /* Factory Errors */

Transformers toys are marvels of modern toy engineering. They change from one form into another, and still manage to be both great vehicle or animal toys '''and''' great action figures. Despite that, sometimes there are problems. Because of the complexities in design toys will have common breakage points, or parts that wear down in predictably consistent ways. These are what we refer to as design flaws.

Design flaws aren't just the common ways that toys break, they're also the common ways that toys don't work properly. Sometimes a toy's features aren't quite finished, or don't really work how they're supposed to. Sometimes the way a toy transforms can cause it to break. Sometimes toys just plain aren't what they're supposed to be. That's what design flaws are all about.

==Wear Based Looseness==
It's perhaps unfair to include this as a ''design flaw'', but it should be touched upon. When a toy is played with frequently the plastics or metals will wear against each other, causing the friction that keeps the joints tight to lessen. This will lead to looseness in the toy's joints. The easiest way to avoid this common malady is simply to not play with a toy. Looseness is often not much of a problem with toys kept on display. A loose-armed G1 Optimus Prime will look much the same as a tightly jointed Optimus Prime. However looseness can be more of a problem for other toys, preventing them from standing, or holding together in their alt mode.

Some toys are particularly prone to looseness not just due to wear but due to design too. Heavy parts on weak joints are a common problem here -- leading to incredibly weak joints that are loose and difficult to use how they were intended.

===Ball Joints===
Ball joints, which rely entirely on friction to work, are a common victim of wear-based looseness. This can be particularly bad for toys with ball-jointed hips, ankles or legs, making them nearly impossible to stand. Looseness in ball joints can also make it easy to lose parts, such as arms, legs, or kibble panels... oh, or heads... or uhh... well, just about anything on a ball joint.
*Almost all of Beast Wars is afflicted with this problem. Woe to all those kids who grew up on Beast Wars. Good luck having complete toys.
*Generation 2 Cyberjets can be nigh impossible to stand with just a little joint wear, but it's their arms that tend to get especially floppy.

===Retractable Thighs===
A common method of Transformation in generation one was for the thighs of the toy to retract into the lower legs (or more accurately for the lower legs to push up over the thighs) when in vehicle or beast mode -- then for the thighs to extend while in robot mode. It doesn't take an enormous amount of wear for the thighs to loosen and then they won't be able to stay extended in robot mode. When that happens you'll either have a midget version on display or you'll have to shove a wedge of paper down into the joint to increase the friction to let their thighs stay extended.

This problem can be particularly compounded when a toy has a really heavy upper body. A toy with electronics or metal in his torso will be much more likely to collapse his own knees just due to his weight, time, and wear-and-tear on the toy.
*G1 Special Teams toys are particularly prone to this. Especially the Aerialbots.
*Astrotrain is particularly problematic due to his heavy upper body.
*Sandstorm is also prone to this problem.
*Generation 2 Laser Optimus Prime has a massively heavy upper body and weak knees. It's incredibly common for him to just collapse into Midgetimus Prime.

==Clipping issues==
Sometimes when designing a Transformer the designers will forget that these things have to work in 3D space. Parts will have to bend around each other or pass through the same space during transformation. Often if you don't do steps in the right order this will lead to parts breaking or snapping. This is particularly problematic when you given the designers the freedom of things like ball joints, where you can use their flexibility to Transform the toy, leading not just to breakages but to toys that are incredibly difficult and frustrating to transform.

===Parts breaking off other parts===
Especially around late generation 1 there were a few toys where you needed to transform their parts in the right order. If you don't you risk breaking your toy when the parts push against each other causing stress or wear. This problem is a lot less common with modern transformers which use parts that are designed to pop off rather than simply break, if the stresses are too great.
*Generation 1 Skystalker's wings are known to snap quite regularly. This is particularly a problem for his ''left'' wing because of the way the base is designed. If you attempt to fold Skystalker's wing down from base mode into its shuttle position '''before''' you've folded in the grey box next to it it's very easy to snap the wing due to the edge of the box just touching the wing. The edge of the box is even curved, giving you the visual impression that it won't be a problem. But it will be a problem -- ebay's endless supply of one-winged Skystalker bases says so.
*Animated Lockdown has tabs in his wrists that prevent them from extending into a straight position. Unfortunately these self same tabs act as levers so that if you try to force the hands into a straight position you will simply snap his wrists. Ouch.

==Common Breakage Points==
Some toys have flimsy plastic, others have joints that are too tight, others have metal pieces wearing on poor plastic pieces. Whatever the case there are often Transformers with predictable, easy to identify, breakage points. Let's have a look at a few types.

===Breakable Joints===
Joints are very important to Transformers. They're required both for articulation and to allow the toy to change from one form to another. Usually articulation isn't much of a problem -- but sometimes transformation joints put a massive amount of pressure on a small joint that's just not able to keep up with the strain of moving large parts of toy from one place to another. You'll see ebay littered with toys that are victims of these sorts of joints -- the same toy breaking over and over in the same place due to the stresses on a joint.
*Generation 1 Metroplex is particularly bad, with his entire body rotating around a flimsy little waist joint that likes to snap. Loves to snap. Delights in snapping. Reportedly the reissue of Metroplex has made this joint a little bit more robust.
*Transmetal Megatron suffers from a weak plastic used in a very small, tight joint. His waist is so well known for snapping that the fandom has mistakenly though that it was Gold Plastic Syndrome. The fact that the forces involved cause it to ratchet apart doesn't help.
*Armada Megatron's turret has a gearing flaw on the inside. Namely, the ratcheting joint simply... breaks, eventually. The ratchet is actually a very small and relatively flimsy gear that is attached to the rotating handle. When the handle is locked in place, high stress is placed on the gear and tends to make it snap somewhere between the teeth and become loose or just fall off and rattle around inside Megatron.
*All four Action Master Elite figures (Omega Spreem, Windmill, Turbomaster, and Doublepunch) are prone to roughly the same problem as Armada Megatron, in that the gears used to drive their gimmicks are not made of strong enough plastic to last very long. Many an Elite can be found with a half a neon plastic gear rattling around inside.

===Clear Plastic Breakage===
Common especially for Diaclone-based toys, which have hinged clear plastic parts that are very well known for snapping or breaking.
*Generation 1 Prowl's roof is particularly prone to this problem.
*A number of Beast Machines toys, such as Deluxe Optimus Primal and Skydive, use clear plastic for tight pinned joints. These generally break without careful use.
*Robots In Disguise Prowl's clear plastic car doors are mounted on a balljoint. Unfortunately, clear plastic is not usually malleable enough to withstand the constant pressure and tends to break, especially if the door is accidentally dislodged from the joint.

==Factory Errors==
Sometimes, just sometimes, a toy comes out of the factory with a part not working quite the way it should. Or not being there at all. Bummer.

===Missing Parts===
When molds go out of use for a while, sometimes things are forgotten. Maybe the trip overseas was rough and something fell of the boat. We may never know, but something's just gone missing.
*Destructicon Scourge's production run for the US lacked the waist ratchet part that G2 Hero Optimus Prime had, causing his lower body to limply spin when lifted. This was corrected on slightly later UK and Asian runs.
*The Toys R Us exclusive Beast Wars 10th Anniversary set's version of Megatron also lacked a waist ratchet that the Japanese version of the same set and original did not.

===Mismolded Parts===
While fairly rare in comparison to other problems, a messed up mass production does happen maybe once or twice a decade.
*Generation 1 Skystalker's right wing usually has a mismolded socket that is the too small to deal with one of the pegs to which it is supposed to snap on. This means the wing's joint ends up bent, showing white stress marks, or just straight up broken. As such, unbroken right wings are hard to come by. Poor guy can't win.
*Destructicon Bludgeon suffered from severe mold wear when G2 Hero Megatron's mold was brought back into use again, leading to mismolded panels on the backs of either shoulder. The panels are molded twice as thick as they should be and prevent the turret of the tank mode from forming properly.

[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Toys]]