It also means that if they are selling it at the same pricepoint - then if the size is larger and the price is the same - then something has to give.

 

I vote - engineering!

 

Essentially he is a Super Gobot - i would have paid the extra $5 bucks for a little better design - but if the priority was keeping it reasonably priced - then perhaps Hasbro's hands were tied a bit.

From what I recall someone mentioning from a Botcon panel, the primary driver for cost (within a particular line) is the weight of the plastic used.  Even though he has larger dimensions, I'll bet that Prime weighs about the same as any of the other Alts.

 

More likely Takara was only half-heartedly into it.  I'll bet when Hasbro got the final engineered product back they were like, "Oh, crap."

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more like "oh sweet, good thing this one's named 'Optimus Prime' cuz all the fanboys will buy him anyway no matter how much he sucks."

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And the response would be any different if he had been named "Ironhide"?

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From Hasbro or the fans?

 

personally I don't think there's anything wrong with him. I mean, it's a truck... where do people think all this bot mode bulk is going to magically come from?

 

if they repaint him as Trailbreaker I'll be happy as a pig in its own feces

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The same place that the bot mode magically comes from w/ the other Alts. Granted that the others have more room to hide bot pieces and whatnot, but w/ some better engineering, they could have done a much better job.

 

I think it was Bainreese that said Prime basically looks like a truck turned up on its tailgate. In this line, which is supposed to be ultra articulated, ultra detailed, ultra complicated, that is unacceptable.

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Granted INDEED. A truck is just a big empty box with an engine. There are no back seats to hide behind, no long passenger compartment... did any of us really expect that the bed of a truck was going to become something other than what it is?

It also means that if they are selling it at the same pricepoint - then if the size is larger and the price is the same - then something has to give.

 

I vote - engineering!

 

Essentially he is a Super Gobot - i would have paid the extra $5 bucks for a little better design - but if the priority was keeping it reasonably priced - then perhaps Hasbro's hands were tied a bit.

 

What annoys me most is that this supposedly was prime ONY cause Takara insisted - yet they arent even producing it now.... so we are stuk with Prime and the reason for that is no longer valid....

 

sigh.

 

 

Hunter

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I would have gladly paid more $$ for a better figure (like I already do/did w/ the BTs). It definitely sucks that Takara apparently roped Hasbro into doing this. Not fair at all.

 

I think the response would have been different if he'd been named "Ironhide". There's a strange mystique surrounding the character of Optimus Prime, which can be a good and a bad thing... either way I think fans expect an Alt Prime to be the savior of mankind or something.

 

BTW yellow stripes? :tfhuh

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Unfortunately that is the expectation w/ any Prime figure. He is supposed to be the "cornerstone" of any TF line. The most sought after, most highly recognizable figure in that line. I agree that if this had been Ironhide, people would have been much more accecting (myself included). There is most undeniably a certain level of expectation from any Prime figure and this one doesn't seem to meet that expectation.

Granted INDEED. A truck is just a big empty box with an engine. There are no back seats to hide behind, no long passenger compartment... did any of us really expect that the bed of a truck was going to become something other than what it is?

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Sure, there is all kind of space underneath the bed that could have been used for kibble, or the bed itself could heve been folded into something other than goalie shin guards. Or at the very least they could have had the legs extend more like they do in Skids. I agree w/ many many others that consider this a super-sized Go-bot that is not worthy of the Alternators label.

 

EDIT: for space

Granted INDEED. A truck is just a big empty box with an engine. There are no back seats to hide behind, no long passenger compartment... did any of us really expect that the bed of a truck was going to become something other than what it is?

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Yes.

 

 

 

 

 

Not counting the seats (witch just hang off the back) Hound's legs are esentialy a truck bed.  They did Ok giving them articulation, and they would have had more room front to back to hide things on the Ram...

 

...I just maesured the bed of a GMC Sierra and there is about 16 in. bettween the bed and the bottom of the side walls.  At 1:24 scale that's about 2/3 in.  The box that skid's knees slide in and out of is aroung 3/4 in. on the outside edges. Personaly I woun'd mind having .0833 in. of extra bot parts show below the side walls if it means a better transformation.  Skid's knees stick out about 3/8 in. (.375 in.) bellow the bottom of his Alt mode...

 

... just a few examples. :thumb

i have a thought:

 

kitbash to make a homage to rid magnus! im not kidding. im pretty sure the head will fit from the rid magnus on that body. am i a genious?

Bains transformation seems dead on to me sadly, hers hoping it comes with stickers to hide the screws.

 

all in all its pretty cool, clearly trailbreaker in my eyes and the gun is quite cool too

I think the simplest fix as far as making the most out of the truck body would have been to put a hard-top bed cover on this guy.  I mean, it's a sport truck to begin with, so throwing a cover on it with a spoiler or whatever wouldn't have been a far cry - especially with the after-market stuff they tossed on Skids.

 

At the very least, those hideous kibble piles on his shoulders will of course work beautifully on the ever-obvious Ultra Magnus redeco.  (Assuming they try to mimic the exo-armor and not just the inner bot.)

hey Baim mind showing a pic of Primes stering wheel, or at least confirm wheather or not it looks likt the Matrix??  I've heard on other prime based threads it does from certain angles..

hey Baim mind showing a pic of Primes stering wheel, or at least confirm wheather or not it looks likt the Matrix??  I've heard on other prime based threads it does from certain angles..

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It doesnt, its just a plain steering wheel

I think the simplest fix as far as making the most out of the truck body would have been to put a hard-top bed cover on this guy.  I mean, it's a sport truck to begin with, so throwing a cover on it with a spoiler or whatever wouldn't have been a far cry - especially with the after-market stuff they tossed on Skids.

 

At the very least, those hideous kibble piles on his shoulders will of course work beautifully on the ever-obvious Ultra Magnus redeco.  (Assuming they try to mimic the exo-armor and not just the inner bot.)

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A hard-top for the bed probably would have solved a lot of the problems, the most obvious of which is the "where to put the kibble" issue. Plus like you said, a sport truck usually does have a hard-top, so it is not a stretch.