Exquisite phrase! Here's my quick comments to your points:

 

First - "So true!"

 

Second & Third (combined) - "Ya know...out of all my many years of higher education, which included a few film & multimedia classes, even I managed to learn about 'marks' and the no-no of 'jump cuts'...why doesn't this professional get it?!" - the same goes for your take on the transformation continuity (or lack thereof).

 

Finally - Ego? Out of touch? Perhaps both...

 

Right?! :doh

In all seriousness, I have to occasionally re-watch the scene to reaffirm that all those continuity errors really did happen.

 

And here's why: for several of the shots, Michael Bay was literally called upon to deliver the cinematic equivalent of a still-life. Nothing moving, nobody entering or leaving... just a couple of shots, from different angles, of a group of stationary vehicles. We're talking about the ultimate in directorial simplicity.

 

Somehow, Michael Bay managed to move the vehicles in between shots. I'm not even talking about the stupidity that is Long Haul teleporting from point to point; that can be ascribed to the man's desire for accepting a cool shot over a consistent one. No - he actually managed to move stationary objects around while taking a couple of quick shots.

 

Maybe he didn't think to get one of the shots until the next day... maybe he had to move Scrapper out of the way while getting a nice close-up of Mixmaster, or some such. I don't know. All I know is... he did it. Somehow. My inability to comprehend this causes me to constantly doubt my eyes.

 

Alas, if we could only send him back to film school. :)

 

By the way...anyone notice that Long Haul was left out of the SDCC Hasbro panel announcements? :wtf Maybe it's b/c he's about to be released soon, but...I was really hoping to hear about some of the next ones, like say Scrapper!?!

And considering all the movie toys they did want to talk about... it's not very promising, is it?

 

It's weird: I don't really care for the Demolivenger / Scaveshor toy, I'm not all that impressed with Rampage and his crazy jackhammer mode, I hate that Mixmaster has a case of cab-butt, and the Long Haul toy doesn't entirely live up to the movie character's stout awesomeness... but for some reason I've got this crazy notion that an Overload toy would be pure awesome. I don't know if it's the four arms, or the way the EZ version looks, but I have a gut feeling that if Hasbro were to make it, then awesome would ensue. :)

By the way...anyone notice that Long Haul was left out of the SDCC Hasbro panel announcements? :wtf Maybe it's b/c he's about to be released soon, but...I was really hoping to hear about some of the next ones, like say Scrapper!?!

And considering all the movie toys they did want to talk about... it's not very promising, is it?

 

It's weird: I don't really care for the Demolivenger / Scaveshor toy, I'm not all that impressed with Rampage and his crazy jackhammer mode, I hate that Mixmaster has a case of cab-butt, and the Long Haul toy doesn't entirely live up to the movie character's stout awesomeness... but for some reason I've got this crazy notion that an Overload toy would be pure awesome. I don't know if it's the four arms, or the way the EZ version looks, but I have a gut feeling that if Hasbro were to make it, then awesome would ensue. :)

Definitely makes me nervous that they might not live up to their end of the bargain! Was really hoping we'd see something from SDCC!

 

Yeah, for all their flaws, I still can't help but have an affinity for the Constructicons. Other than their unique designs, they're among some of my favorites in this line. Mining machines by day, robot warriors by night...my inner child just won't allow me to abandon them! :D

 

Overload WOULD be awesome! I just want to hear some assurance about Scrapper. We've seen the cool robot design...bring on the bot! I don't care if it's a 2010 release...just announce it! If we can get'em to go that far, then they've gotta finish it!

Yep, they made damn sure that would NOT work (Long Haul & Rampage as customized legs)! There's almost enough Long Haul there to lean over and serve as the crotch & upper thing to plug into Rampage! :tflaugh Oh well...I think from here we go with alternatives.

 

Dude, I think the best incorporation that I've seen you working on so far was Rampage as an arm. Something just looked comfortably organic about that merger.

 

I think you might have the right idea about using Long Haul as part of the body though. Perhaps he could serve as the abdominal portion, and possibly the upper thighs that both legs would plug in to? :shrug Then keep Demolisher on top to serve as the chest & arm terminals, and perhaps throw Mixmaster on the bottom as a leg or back to the very top as the shoulders/neck/head area.

 

Just curious about your starting point...what transformations do you start merging these from (robot/vehicle/in between)?

 

Keep at it! :thumb

Instead of using Voyager class Long Haul, you might be able to use the FAB Long Haul. It's also a bit more movie accurate, believe it or not.

Instead of using Voyager class Long Haul, you might be able to use the FAB Long Haul. It's also a bit more movie accurate, believe it or not.

Ya know, everytime I think about that...I sit there & look at it in the store, and...the detail is just not there. It doesn't have the ability to blend in well with the level that the other voyager/deluxe figures contain. BUT, if ya want the order of the combination that we saw in the movie...Tramp is correct, that's probably your only choice.

Instead of using Voyager class Long Haul, you might be able to use the FAB Long Haul. It's also a bit more movie accurate, believe it or not.

Ya know, everytime I think about that...I sit there & look at it in the store, and...the detail is just not there. It doesn't have the ability to blend in well with the level that the other voyager/deluxe figures contain. BUT, if ya want the order of the combination that we saw in the movie...Tramp is correct, that's probably your only choice.

Well, a little paint would certainly bring out the detail.

I go away for the weekend and... wow.

 

Just wow.

 

As for Unicron, Bay can only change what Hasbro let's him change. Nothing more. They still have full veto power. Bay doens't have complete free-reign to do whatever he wants. He can only do what Hasbro allows him to do.

Now, we haven't seen the contract between Hasbro and Paramount and other involved entities, but I think it would be safe to say that Hasbro have some sort of veto power. (And in the unlikely event that they don't have a veto option, they could still distance themselves from the production.) Simply put, if something in the film conflicts with Hasbro or Hasbro's goals, then they will take action.

 

So the question is: what will Hasbro allow?

 

Tellingly, Hasbro did not put their foot down and force the removal of the controversial, often sexually-themed lowbrow humour that plagued Revenge of the Fallen. This is a toy company, selling toys, to young children. Their own corporate code of conduct states: "Advertising and promotion of Hasbro products... are expected to be conducted in a way which is appropriate for a children’s and family entertainment company." And yet Revenge of the Fallen features material accused of promoting negative racial stereotypes, robots simulating sexual acts with humans, even pseudo-genitals on the character with the most expensive toy in the entire line. Evidently, despite their role as a toy company and their own stated code of conduct, Hasbro found no conflict, no need to exercise veto.

 

In light of this, what argument can be made - should the filmmakers decide to make Unicron silver, or a whole gang of robots, or a cloud - that Hasbro will intercede to protect their property? Why should Unicron get special attention when Hasbro is happy to allow through controversial material with the potential to bring their business into disrepute or worse?

 

Whether or not Unicron is a multi-universal entity is irrelevant - all that matters is whether (a) the filmmakers have shown a propensity for changing the source material to suit their needs (they have), and whether (b) Hasbro have demonstrated a propensity for protecting their property via veto (they haven't).

 

I hope that we're lucky enough to get some actual answers from Hasbro in the Burning Questions Part 5 submissions, as to whether or not we'll see the remaining figures (Scrapper & Hightower). I'd of course like to see any & all others (i.e., Overhaul & that unnamed 'Volvo Excavator'), but that's probably asking a lot, so...just finish rounding out the major '6', Hasbro! *please* :bounce

You know, colour me sadistic, but I would totally buy a deluxe of the Volvo excavator if his mech-alive gimmick was having the figure separate into 'spare parts'. (Deliciously ironic for something 'mech-alive', I realize. :))

I have to disagree with you an a number of points here, JOP. First off, Hasbro went into this movie series with the full intention that these movies would be PG-13, not PG or G rated "children's movies". They're targeting mainstream audiences to bring them into the mythos , not just sell toys to children. PG-13 is the target rating Hasbro was after for these movies because that is the largest demographic for movies. The teenagers and young adults, not children. Thus, the humor is catered to that crowd. Hence the "frat-boy" humor and sexual innuendo.

 

Because the whole point is to introduce the greater mythos to a wider audience, Hasbro isn't going to allow too big of a change to such an important character to the mythos, particularly one which would break away from their establishment of his being a multiversal singularity. That is a major part of the mythos.

 

 

Okay, wth?! I know this is late but honestly. You cannot just say "teenagers and young adults enjoy "frat boy" humor." That's the most asinine thing I've heard in a while. I'm a teenager, and I can honestly say that that kind of humor appeals to me. I can also say that I know many other teenagers and also young-adults who don't care for that kind of humor. So please, don't make generalizations.

Okay, wth?! I know this is late but honestly. You cannot just say "teenagers and young adults enjoy "frat boy" humor." That's the most asinine thing I've heard in a while. I'm a teenager, and I can honestly say that that kind of humor appeals to me. I can also say that I know many other teenagers and also young-adults who don't care for that kind of humor. So please, don't make generalizations.

I wasn't not making any specific generalizations. I was giving the reasons for why the material is in there based upon the demographics as figured by the movie industry. If you look at movies particularly targeting that demographic, they tend to use that type of humor. The movie industry is the ones making the generalizations because of demographic studies done. They're looking to appeal to the lowest common denominator and thus reach the largest possible audience within the demographics. Does that mean that "all" teenagers and young adults like that kind of stuff? Of course not. However, a lot of them do, which is why it is so popular in movies and on TV.

I'm wondering what a G1 approach, as far as order of assembly, would look like? :shrug

 

Hightower is not out (and who knows if he will be?), but right now use Demolisher as the upper torso & arm posts. Place Long Haul under him as the lower torso & leg posts. Use Mixmaster as a left leg...and Rampage as a left arm (which I don't know how many times I have to say it...has been my personal favorite of all your transformations!). That leaves the right arm & leg missing, as well as a head...but I'm hoping we've got more coming in the future!

 

Another idea builds upon this configuration...but instead of Mixmaster as a leg, use him in combination with Dirt Boss to build the neck/head portion. Then buy 3 more Rampages, build another matching arm & two of those groovy legs! :tflaugh With an army of Rampages, it'll at least be that much more complete...and color coordinated! :D

The nice thing is, given Hasbro's statement about any group of Constructicons forming Devastator, all ideas can be legit!

True. ;)

 

On a separate topic...after looking at those videos over-and-over-and-over last week trying to figure out limbs, details, etc., does anybody see a lot of extra kibbles/details in Dev's head? As Overload seems to get lost in the transformation sequence, I'm wondering if he contributes to any of the head's beefiness, as I see a lot of RED details. I guess if I'm looking at RED though, that could apply towards Overload or Demolisher. By the end of the transformation, it just seems monstrously larger with much more detail than what we initially saw transform out of Mixmaster's cab. Thoughts/comments?

 

Also, trying to figure out any possibilities for customizing that head!