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TargetmasterJoe from Velocitron Since: May, 2013 Relationship Status: I like big bots and I can not lie
#7326: Jan 31st 2024 at 9:36:34 AM

HasLab Omega Prime is already past the halfway point!

...I guess people really liked Car Robots/RID 2001. Like, whoa. surprised

HandsomeRob Leader of the Holey Brotherhood from The land of broken records Since: Jan, 2015
Leader of the Holey Brotherhood
#7327: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:13:17 AM

[up] It’s more a comedy series than later shows, and probably more for kids, but it came just after the beast era, returning us to vehicle based forms for the first time in years.

It also had some good designs (Fire Convoy himself, team bullet train, etc) and of course, the greatest shark around.

I’m not shocked it’s well liked. I consider Fire Convoy to be the best of the Fire Truck Optimus….well second best after Animated.

One Strip! One Strip!
Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#7328: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:20:20 AM

Not to mention introducing the Black Convoy color scheme. Can't overstate how influential that was.

I do think RID Prime might be my favorite Optimus design of them all. It's also definitely the only Prime whose super mode is both A: superior to their individual mode and B: not just "Optimus, but bigger!." For me, it's always one or the other (E.g. Armada is the latter, but not the former. Power of the Primes is the former, but not the latter).

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TheEvilDrBolty Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
#7329: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:26:26 AM

Wasn't RID 2001 a big toy sales success? Regardless of the show's subtle or middling legacy, there's probably significant nostalgia and fondness for the toys themselves.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#7330: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:46:13 AM

For a filler line in the US, absolutely. It's why (like Universe 2k3) they also wound up just shoving random redecos in the line because there was a decent amount of demand for it.

I'd argue the line was more successful than the series in the US.

I'm betting that the final tier unlock will be a T-AI minifigure. That's something that we probably would never get at retail (at least in the US) and would be kinda neat and follow the trend of tier unlocks.

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7331: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:50:57 AM

RID is kind of a mind fuck of a franchise when you think about it.

So on one hand you have some of the best toys of the early 2000s. RID Optimus, Megatron, Rail Racer, the Build team. The autobot brothers except Side-burn.

On the other hand half the line are repaints from other lines. Like, you have Rail Racer, arguably one of the best combiner designs ever. The Decepticons meanwhile are a repaint of G1 Bruticus. Wut.

The show introduces the now iconic cyan highlight on nemesis prime. But rather than him being a black version of Convoy, he's a ... repaint of a G2 Optimus toy???

Half the autobots are those go-bots released in late G1. Or Machine Wars repaints.

The predacons are inexplainable Transmetal 2 repaints that dont mesh with either their own boss or the other villains.

[up] It’s more a comedy series than later shows, and probably more for kids, but it came just after the beast era, returning us to vehicle based forms for the first time in years.

It also had some good designs (Fire Convoy himself, team bullet train, etc) and of course, the greatest shark around.

I’m not shocked it’s well liked. I consider Fire Convoy to be the best of the Fire Truck Optimus….well second best after Animated.

I will say that at the time, RID had from the fandom a very rough reception. Hasbro porting over an anime was seen as lazy in the wake of Beast Wars and Beast Machine. Not helping the accusation of laziness and not giving a shit is that the show has some of the worst names in the franchise. X-Brawn. Mega Octane. Prowl 2.

The big popular things of the franchise were Sky-Byte, Junko/Kelly, and Scourge's paint scheme.

The toyline was a hit however, and I can definitely see for the fandom who got in via the Unicron Trilogy (which would come out next), RID 2001 must've been super nostalgic.

WillKeaton from Alberta, Canada Since: Jun, 2010
#7332: Jan 31st 2024 at 11:58:25 AM

Plus, Robots in Disguise gave us great insight into the life cycle of a Transformer.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7333: Jan 31st 2024 at 12:00:07 PM

I forgot how rough the voice acting is in that show. Oof.

DrPsyche Avatar by Leafsnake from Hawaii Since: May, 2012
Avatar by Leafsnake
#7334: Jan 31st 2024 at 12:55:07 PM

I wonder if RID Megatron will be the next Haslab seeing as Deathsaurus was the follow up to Victory Saber.

It'd be neat to see giant hand at a Haslab budget.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7335: Jan 31st 2024 at 12:58:03 PM

It'd be interesting to see how they improve that one. It has less flaws than Omega Prime did (who was notoriously fragile and couldn't stand up).

Megatron by comparison has little to improve on.

Deathsaurus by comparison was in the same situation as starsaber of not having a non-G1 toy (that was mostly japan exclusive).

Edited by Ghilz on Jan 31st 2024 at 4:00:07 AM

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#7336: Jan 31st 2024 at 1:26:09 PM

Yeah. I can attest to RID Megatron perfectly holding up today. What would you do, make it a few inches taller to scale with the new Omega Prime?

Then again, that's basically the reasoning for Deathsaurus being Haslab. Too obscure to get a mainline release of the character properly scaled to his major enemy. And arguably too goofy an alt-mode for store shelves, but then again we got Doubledealer derp vulture.

Man, I gotta find my missiles for that guy. What a great TF.

Edited by Larkmarn on Jan 31st 2024 at 4:28:26 AM

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7337: Jan 31st 2024 at 1:39:22 PM

Like the main improvement I could think is not having ball joints for ankles, and the sliding forearm mechanism which is kinda akward. But otherwise there's so little to improve. He doesn't have one big flaw the way Omega Prime does.

TheEvilDrBolty Since: Dec, 2009 Relationship Status: I'd need a PowerPoint presentation
#7338: Jan 31st 2024 at 5:56:34 PM

The show introduces the now iconic cyan highlight on nemesis prime. But rather than him being a black version of Convoy, he's a ... repaint of a G2 Optimus toy???

I actually see that as a positive. The mold may as well have been an entirely new toy to its target audience, and therefore the evil Prime was this sharper-edged contrast to the sleek new Optimus.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7339: Jan 31st 2024 at 6:00:49 PM

Yeah, don't get me wrong, Lazer Optimus Prime was made for this color scheme and Scourge elevates it a new level, and Laser OP is also one of the best G2 toys. Surprisingly poseable for his time.

THAT SAID

He looks nothing alike to his show's Optimus. Which is super weird. The show and fiction treats them as counterparts but Scourge doesn't even have a similar head to Optimus, never mind the rest of his body.

DrPsyche Avatar by Leafsnake from Hawaii Since: May, 2012
Avatar by Leafsnake
#7340: Jan 31st 2024 at 7:37:22 PM

Upcoming Cyberverse Chromia. Kind of wish this was just Chromia, because it really doesn't look anything like her Cyberverse design.

And she looks alright, in robot mode. Alt-mode makes me miss her Tron Light Cycle bike mode. The toy for her IDW incarnation was decent, but those big leg wheels made it a chore to pose.

I like the head a lot, and she looks good on Animated Prowl's body. But Animated Universe Prowl's toy was very eh. And Chromia, while better than the last outing, looks only alright.

Chortleous she/her friend to the hooved (4 Score & 7 Years Ago) Relationship Status: She does the things you do, but she is an IBM
she/her friend to the hooved
#7341: Jan 31st 2024 at 7:42:55 PM

[up][up]I don't have anything backing this up and it's kind of a stretch, but I bet the idea was more of an 'evil mirror opposite' sort of deal: Bright red firetruck > black tanker truck full of flammable fuel.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7342: Feb 1st 2024 at 6:56:21 AM

[up] For sure. but again, narratively the story is Scourge as he scans an alt mode, Optimus grabs the truck so he scans both Optimus and the truck.

But he looks nothing like Optimus. The only thing they got in common is having a faceplate. And even these arent shaped the same.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#7343: Feb 1st 2024 at 8:59:56 AM

Somewhat similar head (faceplate, crest, side antennae), windowboobs and tummy grill (particularly notable here since both Prime and Scourge's are fake kibble), alt-mode with a cab and trailer. Both Prime and Scourge look like divergent evolutions of G1 Optimus.

I'm pretty okay with it, especially considering there's also the X factor of the original protoform.

Personally, I headcanon that Burnout is what Scourge's protoform would have been if it weren't for Megatron's interference. Helps that that figure came out in the same wave as the newest Scourge toy.

Edited by Larkmarn on Feb 1st 2024 at 12:01:39 PM

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7344: Feb 1st 2024 at 9:57:26 AM

alt-mode with a cab and trailer.

...But Optimus' alt mode isn't a cab and a trailer. Like, fire trucks don't have "trailers". It's a single unit. Heck, Optimus' "cab" cant even roll solo coz it has only 2 wheels.

Larkmarn Since: Nov, 2010 Relationship Status: Hello, I love you
#7345: Feb 1st 2024 at 10:10:38 AM

Firetrucks don't, but Optimus' does. The cab has three wheels, two regular ones plus one made from his gun for this express purpose.

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Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7346: Feb 2nd 2024 at 7:46:22 AM

Haslab Omega Prime just past 60% backers.

J79 Since: Jan, 2015
#7347: Feb 3rd 2024 at 4:30:50 PM

As great as Beast Wars was, some of the names left something to be desired. While there were cool names like Rhinox, Rattrap, Black Arachnia, and Depth Charge, you also had names like Terrorsaur, Tarantulus, Waspinator, and Tigatron who's names sound like Asylum film titles.

Ghilz Perpetually Confused from Yeeted at Relativistic Velocities Since: Jan, 2001 Relationship Status: Barbecuing
Perpetually Confused
#7348: Feb 3rd 2024 at 6:04:51 PM

I love Waspinator, partially coz i have this "Art of transformer" book that is a collection of art pieces from several artists and one of them is Waspintator did in the style of the Terminator poster.

The main thing about Beast Wars' name is the first episode establishes everyone picked new names... but not why. Like clearly Optimus and Megatron didnt. But really Cheetor? You decided to be called Cheetor? You mispronounce it Cheater in the same episode!

We know at least Depth Charge was named this before he became a fish.

Edited by Ghilz on Feb 3rd 2024 at 9:05:58 AM

wanderlustwarrior Role Model from Where Gods Belong Since: Jun, 2009 Relationship Status: What's love got to do with it?
Role Model
#7349: Feb 3rd 2024 at 6:11:41 PM

[up][up]The only one of those that was bad was "Tarantulas." It's spelled with an A there and is indistinguishable from the plural of tarantula. If it was "Tarantulus" it would've been a perfectly fine "What would a robot naming itself after an animal call itself that still sounds robotic" name. Like "Tarantula + Calculus," since he's a scientist and schemer.

The sad, REAL American dichotomy
WillKeaton from Alberta, Canada Since: Jun, 2010
#7350: Feb 3rd 2024 at 6:20:49 PM

Beast Wars toy bios were super weird. Instead of it being a new generation, they made it so Optimus and Megatron were Optimus Prime and original Megatron in new bodies, though this did get dropped later on when it skewed closer to the show lore. Taratulas was a ninja though.

Edited by WillKeaton on Feb 3rd 2024 at 7:46:55 AM


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