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I mean at least they had more chemistry than the tiger and airazor but that's not saying much. I remember reading somewhere that the writers had intended for Megatron to have some kind of love interest, but they dropped that pretty quickly because they didn't think it would be of interest in the show. So instead we got the stripper spider. And no, that is not a dig at her, I remember a behind the scenes interview where some of the animators and designers said they got inspiration for her after visiting a strip club. Technically Rampage was a Maximal. I did enjoy how the maximals acted like total dumbasses and just left his body in the energon pit when they know very well the dude's immortal and very likely could get up at some point. They seriously acted like morons in a horror movie where you think the monster is dead so you just walk away.
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Mar 22, 2024 13:30
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Interesting. Cybertron Starscream and adorable basic Cheetor are already in stock at BBTS. They just went up for preorder yesterday.
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Mar 22, 2024 15:24
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Joe Fisto posted:Interesting. Cybertron Starscream and adorable basic Cheetor are already in stock at BBTS. They just went up for preorder yesterday. Sorcery! 
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Mar 22, 2024 15:40
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Poor Hasbro are just chasing what’s already out in stores now. I was surprised they still did the announcement, they’ve definitely skipped a lot of stuff before that has leaked out/was already available somewhere, concentrating instead on what’s to come. Considering this wave only has 3 deluxes, 1 voyager, 1 leader, etc, it feels like Hasbro are on the back foot right now.
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Mar 22, 2024 15:43
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Not everyone is knee deep in the sauce like us. There’s a whole audience on YouTube who are learning about these toys for the first time. Plus, they tell us stuff about the toys. We never would have found out Shard is female if not for the stream.
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Mar 22, 2024 16:16
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Nodosaur posted:She only had a chance because the writers made her that way. There was nothing suggesting she was more “redeemable” until Silverbolt introduced it because again, she was pretty bad beforehand, just more intelligent than the likes of Inferno. The writers wrote a character and had her say things? Well, I’ll be, what a concept. It’s been already said how the other protoforms were mostly SOL when it came to being able to be redeemed. Rampage, crazy murdering experiment. Inferno, crazy damaged manic. Quickstrike, whatever side this guy was on you can tell he was a major rear end in a top hat that wasn’t about to let you fool with him. Out of all the Predacons. Dinobot actually DID get redeemed and had one of the most noble ends you could ever hope for. There’s a reason this guy is remembered. His bickering friendship with Rattrap was great. It showed depending on the characters even with clashing personalities two bots from different sides could actually develop friendship. The BA/Silverbolt relationship was a logical extension of this. BA definitely played her own game and did things on her own end but she saw how the other Predacons were as well and knew they wanted to use her like anything else, why would she want to stick with them. She was smarter than that and didn’t want to be a random thug for a group. Her friendship and then relationship with Silverbolt was over a season and the next, it didn’t magically happen. Megatron using her certainly helped make her decision easier to switch sides. It took some events to happen before she finally committed. The Transmutate episode which is one of the BEST episodes of Beast Wars may I add, helped to develop Silverbolt tremendously. It showed he did exactly what he said, unlike the others he didn’t want to end the poor thing, he valued her life no matter what. The fact she was different didn’t matter, she had worth and value. She mattered. Rampage liked her because he saw a twisted reflection like himself. Two bots, two different points of view. One common link. It wasn’t enough to bond them because one of them is a crazy mass murdering psycho that ATE OTHERS. If it was one thing Beast Wars did well it was grow the characters with their interactions. There was conflict and strife and they didn’t always get along, that was realistic, it added to them. Helped give them dimension. There’s a reason to this day BW is still beloved and the characters so cherished and it was due to how they were wrote. So successful was this it revived the entire brand. Not bad for a franchise that had been dead and Hasbro itself didn't care enough to monitor until Beast Wars earned that success. The Last Call fucked around with this message at 16:59 on Mar 22, 2024 |
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Mar 22, 2024 16:55
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I’m saying what they wrote was sudden and a huge swerve. Yes, BA had plenty of reasons to get away from the other Predacons, but in season 1 she was just as power hungry as Megatron and just as ruthless as Tarantulas. There was NOTHING to indicate she would be the type to go good, no more than Inferno, she just actually had half a brain. But they made her a love redeems type character with a hidden good side just because that’s what always happens with female bad guys. And you missed my point about the Transmutate episode. Silverbolt sees Rampage’s humanity in this episode…and never says anything to him ever again. Think about if he used his experiences there to try and keep reasoning with him. Think about how he could have butted heads with Depthcharge over it. Think about how he could have tried to save Inferno too like he was doing with BA, only to be brick walled by Inferno’s black and white insanity. There’s all this potential drama here for him to not just solely be part of a character warping relationship black hole and they ignore it in favor of keeping certain characters firmly in one box. Beast Wars let down a lot of its own characters, and most of them were Predacons. But Silverbolt never evolves beyond an exaggerated Nice Guy who so conveniently ends up redeeming the one girl bad guy who loses all her ambitions and vices entirely.
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Mar 22, 2024 17:08
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Sudden? Again, she had season two and then season three to make the change happen. It was a series of events. The Maxmimals didn’t even fully trust her until she almost died and got her TM2 body in season 3. It was hardly a sudden hook up and that was it. Silverbolt got chewed out by Primal a time or two for not taking a shot at her when he could have. I’ve seen plenty of shows where the bad girls don’t get redeemed, do people get redeemed or switch sides in shows? Sure. But as we saw in the version first episode of Beast Wars itself the one who did so was a male. Why should a woman get singled out later for doing the same? Each of them had different reasons but they had valid reasons to do so. Dinobot obviously didn’t think much of Megatron to begin with and BA over time came to think the same. What really turned her was when Megatron forced her to open the ARK or else. If one thing was clear by her character, it was she did not like to be made to do anything unless she wanted to do it. Staying with the Predacons from that point on really wasn’t an option, she knew better. Only then did she stick with the Maximals and she still almost left because they didn't trust her. You miss the problem with Rampage. There is no reasoning with him. There is no turning him, he’s too far gone. He’s a mass murdering psychopath who I must repeat actually EATS OTHERS. Silverbolt is kinda naïve in some ways, and yes, he saw the pain Rampage suffered from Transmutates death. He also wasn’t an idiot, if he walked up to Rampage and put his hand on the guy’s shoulder in sympathy Rampage would have likely torn him apart. Primal tried to talk to Depth Charge but he refused to listen. It’s Captain Ahab and the Whale. The story was never going to end well. Rampage literally let Depth Charge kill him. Laughed while doing so, Depth Charge knew and still stabbed him. They were both too far gone, each lost in their own ways. One wanting only revenge. The other knowing he was what others called him, a monster. That dynamic said a lot without the words needing to be said. I’m still shocked in some ways they got away with showing it. It’s bleak. Suicide in a kids show. Inferno is still loved for his character personality that stuck with people to this day, Waspinator is a fan favorite people feel sorry for and quote. Tarantulas is viewed as one of the coolest designed and cunning bots in the series with origins that had people asking questions for decades after. Overall, I say they did pretty drat well with the Predacons. They might not have been given the growth every character has but they made sure to make their personalities shine enough they are still loved by the fandom. If the show had continued and given more time I'm sure we would have seen other sides to them, but sadly that was not meant to be. Overall the Preds were still a varied and fun lot to watch.
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Mar 22, 2024 17:48
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Birmingham Forbidden Planet has a small amount of boxed SS86 Sweeps and Wreck-Gar! Don't know where they dug them up from but I'm not complaining.
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Mar 22, 2024 17:52
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Inferno is nothing more than a wacky “ha ha so insane” pyromaniac with a transphobic joke where he constantly misgenders Megatron. I find his entire existence disturbing, given he’s basically a mentally ill child his own original faction never tries to save because he’s so “dangerous”. But no BW does horribly with the Preds. Waspinator is a good Team Rocket-esque gag but outside of Megatron and Tarantulas, whose entire existence sadly gets wrapped up in the awful Vok plot line, all of them are extremely one note. They killed off Terrorsaur and Scorponok because nobody loving cared about them. I’m sorry I don’t venerate BW like most do but I wasn’t there originally for it. It’s a series I had to absorb through hindsight, so the “magic” isn’t there for me as much as it is everyone else. It’s a great show, but it has more than a few flaws.
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Mar 22, 2024 17:57
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Nodosaur posted:Inferno is nothing more than a wacky “ha ha so insane” pyromaniac with a transphobic joke where he constantly misgenders Megatron. I find his entire existence disturbing, given he’s basically a mentally ill child his own original faction never tries to save because he’s so “dangerous”. At the time of it showing most people simply viewed it as him seeing Megatron literally as his Queen and the Predacon and the base as his colony. The whole fire ant nature was a big part of his character. It got played up and that’s all that people really thought or viewed it as. People loved the guy, people loved how he acted. In today’s world, yeah, I can see how it can come off a different way, and that’s a sign of the times. Things change. Attitudes change. People change. But I can tell you as someone who was on some TF forums at the time of the showing people didn’t think he was making fun of a group of people out there. It was never brought up. His programming was damaged and that was all that was to it. I can tell you from the lot I use to hang out with if anyone felt like it was targeting them in a negative or offensive way, we would have felt bad. We were young, we had come together out of this love for this show and concept, none of us would have wanted someone to feel alienated. It was a good group. Again, I’ll disagree with you largely on the Predacons getting treated horribly. They did get the short end of the stick but they were in a war and dying is part of war. I liked the Vok as well, it gave a third-party element to the conflict that gave both parties a threat to deal with. It’s a pity the whole storyline with them got ruined by middling beyond the writer’s control. I was there from day one with the Beast Wars. Or Beasties as they called it in Canada. I didn’t even know it was a Transformers TV show at first. I tuned in because I was bored out of my mind and read it had something to do with characters infusing beast dna to survive. It never got mentioned it was a Transformers show, so watching the opening you could say I got taken by surprise. Happily, so. I thought the franchise was dead and dusted, it’s time long past. Bringing back shows back then was still very rare. Didn't bother me they turned into beast, it was Transformers, that's all that mattered to me. So yeah, I got to watch everything to unfold and some time in season two I managed to get this crazy new thing called the internet in my house. How cool was this, I could talk to anyone in the world! Did you know by using a “:” and “)” you could make a smile face? : ) See! How cool is that. Crazy stuff. Basic stuff now, back then, emoji's were new. There was even a thing called email. How crazy is that. I bet there’s some who is reading this who are remembering their own time with the net way back when right now. You got mail. In short, I was there for G1, saw Transformers fade away, saw it return with Beast Wars and the fans reaction to that. Then came Beast Machines which…ugh. And everything else after. Been a ride. Haven't loved it all ,but been there regardless. It's easy to look back and judge matters, but for their time, we really did not get shows like Beast Wars at all. Most kids stuff was beyond basic with zero depth or growth at all. Cheap to put it mildly. It's why so many of us found anime to be a revelation in the late 80's and early 90's and that took off.
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Mar 22, 2024 18:28
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Nodosaur posted:Plus, they tell us stuff about the toys. We never would have found out Shard is female if not for the stream. Finding out Cybertron Starscream is a retool of the Siege Seeker mold was also really interesting.
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Mar 22, 2024 18:29
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I know trans issues weren’t a big thing in 1996. But that doesn’t make Inferno’s whole deal suddenly in good taste. Yeah, he’s an ant, but he also talks and shoots flames and has a rocket butt. He’s still a talking character that writers are ultimately responsible for. And “no one thought of it back then” doesn’t change the fact that his situation is genuinely horrifying. The Predacon Shell Program’s implications were just not well thought out or dealt with in a way that doesn’t make the Maximals look like they’re abandoning their own protoforms. And it’s not just Preds that got the short end of the stick either. Tigatron and Airazor were let down by the narrative too. As for what came after BW and BM, that stuff was what got me into the franchise. Yeah, they have their flaws too, but they deserve their shot as well as anyone else. But also no TF series is perfect, and people should be allowed to say that, even when it’s the fandom darling. Nodosaur fucked around with this message at 19:02 on Mar 22, 2024 |
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Mar 22, 2024 18:40
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If there's ever been a poster with a worse case of Main Character Syndrome yadda yadda...
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Mar 22, 2024 18:49
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Exfuckingscuse me?
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Mar 22, 2024 18:53
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Nodosaur posted:I know trans issues weren’t a big thing in 1996. But that doesn’t make Inferno’s whole deal suddenly in good taste. Yeah, he’s an ant, but he also talks and shoots flames and has a rocket butt. He’s still a talking character that writers are ultimately responsible for. What is acceptable now and what is acceptable then are two very different things. I’m sure there are things we do or say that one day could be taken in a totally different way and not for the better. Again, times change. Back then, there was nothing wrong with it, or we didn't perceive anything wrong with it. These days it wouldn’t be done again. I’m not going to roast the writers for not having today’s sensibilities at the time it was not an issue. We recognize now it can be problematic and so it’s not done again which is for the best. Changing a bot’s nature is definitely messed up. Always has been and if you noticed the Maximals never tried to enforce the change on another. It’s up to the bot to make the change themselves, be it Dinobot or BA. Where as the Predacons have no problem changing the nature of the others forcefully ie: Rhinox. Once the personality program is set the Maximals respect it, they are not hot happy about it and know they have lost that person or whoever they could have been. It’s the consequences of the war. They do what they can, but they can't save everyone. Tigertron and Airazor got screwed over by Hasbro starting to take control of the show. The writers had made the show a success, kids were back into the toy line and for it they got majorly screwed over. Beast Machines happened for a reason the way it did and that was because Hasbro wanted things done their way and all but kicked the BW crew to the curb. A lot of us would have been kinder to Beast Machines if it had new characters instead of reusing the Beast Wars characters. BW Optimus Primal and BM Optimus Primal are two entirely different characters. BW Megatron? Enjoyed baths and brushing his T-Rex head teeth. BM Megatron hated all organics and wanted machine purity. WTF can not be said enough. If it had been new characters, it would have been better received, but the fanbase largely revolted over the treatment and changes done. The execution was atrocious.
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Mar 22, 2024 19:07
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I’m just gonna leave it there, man. Thanks for debating me, but I can see this turning into yet another case wheee I have to defend myself alongside my posts. x_x
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Mar 22, 2024 19:20
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Nodosaur posted:I’m just gonna leave it there, man. Thanks for debating me, but I can see this turning into yet another case wheee I have to defend myself alongside my posts. x_x Don't take it hard. We have different view points and thoughts on matters, that's all. I certainly don't mean anything personal against you with anything I said. What you think, feel and believe is as valid as anyone else. The Last Call fucked around with this message at 19:31 on Mar 22, 2024 |
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Mar 22, 2024 19:28
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I'm sorry Nodo, I got snippy for a moment there. Please don't give it a second thought, go have a lovely weekend.
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Mar 22, 2024 20:35
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How exactly was Beast Wars Megatron not a massive Queen
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Mar 22, 2024 23:53
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The way he constantly he acts disgusted whenever Inferno refers to him as such is an important clue
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Mar 23, 2024 00:23
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Nodosaur posted:She only had a chance because the writers made her that way. There was nothing suggesting she was more “redeemable” until Silverbolt introduced it because again, she was pretty bad beforehand, just more intelligent than the likes of Inferno. So Blackarachnia's face turn is forced but Silverbolt suddenly striking up a shared rapport with the personification of violence who literally feeds on causing fear and pain to others wouldn't have been? Not really buying it, and even Transmutate pushes Rampage's character structure to the very limit of believability, granted without crossing the line. It's true that the knight errant/bad girl thing is pretty run of the mill sexist plotting, but Blackarachnia being the redeemable one is set up in Season 1. She's resisting Tarantulas' shell program from the beginning, defying him and Megatron regularly, and enacting her own plans to get away from and supersede them as figures of authority as far back as The Trigger two-parter. It's a very short leap from that to finding the Maximal beneath. Was there a better way to do that than a romance? Maybe, but considering romantic relationships in Transformers were barely explored things at the time, it's a way of expanding what was only touched on in a rudimentary way with Tigatron and Airrazor. And we sure weren't getting Chromedome/Rewind on syndicated afternoon TV in 1997 so hetero it had to be. Keldroc fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Mar 23, 2024 |
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Mar 23, 2024 01:35
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I never said Silverbolt's rapport with Rampage would be successful. But you know. Anything to get him interacting with someone in a meaningful way beyond just his girlfriend.444 And Blackarachnia's self serving nature was her defining trait in season 1. That wasn't a sign of the Maximal within. It was a sign of her being a smarter Starscream.
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Mar 23, 2024 02:03
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my personal lore theory is that astrotrain sabotaged the Nemesis to crash on earth specifically, because he somehow knew that there would be trains there one day
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Mar 26, 2024 16:40
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Nodosaur posted:And Blackarachnia's self serving nature was her defining trait in season 1. That wasn't a sign of the Maximal within. It was a sign of her being a smarter Starscream. Starscream wanted to rule. Blackarachnia just wants to do her own thing.
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Mar 26, 2024 17:49
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I'm back on my Cassettebot collecting & made a bit of progress on it over the last couple of weeks. First is one of my collection grails; something that I've wanted to get my hands on for a few years now. The e-Hobby Shattered Glass Soundwave vs. Blaster set.   I love that box art!     I had to use the sticker sheet; how could I not? It's packed with little references like the Cold Slither logo on Soundwave   SG Rewind (is red), Ramhorn (is blue), Ratbat(man), Slugfest & Solarbot. Solarbot has to be the most obscure TF to get a toy. Moreso than Enemy or even Stripes. Solarbot was only ever mentioned on pre-release card proofs for some G2 figures.  I also managed to get these guys during a restock on Pulse: Transformers Retro/Cartoon Soundwave & Blaster   Blaster honestly isn't much different from his regular release. At least Soundwave has more paint apps and is a beautiful shade of blue.   The cassette modes are extremely lacking, but otherwise these three are fine. Wish Blaster would have come with a second partner, though. Lastly, well, I'm trying to get them all so I had to get this, right? Linkin Park x Transformers Soundwave    He's gold. Very...gold. And that's about it.   Even the tapes are boring. Laserbeak and Buzzsaw are the exact same toy! Honestly, the box is probably the best thing about the set. The Laserbeak is removeable and unfolds with note lines like the paper in cassette cases & the tray the toys are in is purple frocked plastic. I only have to get Encore Soundblaster & Twincast and the stupid-expensive for what you get Cobalt Sentry set to complete the G1 cassettes. Time for some 
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Mar 27, 2024 05:06
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juggalo baby coffin posted:my personal lore theory is that astrotrain sabotaged the Nemesis to crash on earth specifically, because he somehow knew that there would be trains there one day he was tired of people asking what a train was.
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Mar 27, 2024 07:22
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Moai Ou posted:I only have to get Encore Soundblaster & Twincast and the stupid-expensive for what you get Cobalt Sentry set to complete the G1 cassettes. Time for some Did you get J Balvontron? Yes that’s a thing.
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Mar 27, 2024 13:28
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drat those are some nice Soundwaves! but why is he so much shorter than Blaster?
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Mar 27, 2024 14:37
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Cowslips Warren posted:drat those are some nice Soundwaves! Blaster was a super big toy in Microchange because the whole toy was originally a functioning AM radio. There was a "tape" that served as the radio core, and then Blaster himself had working speakers that amplified it, and battery compartments to drive it. His gun's circular opening is for an earbud to stow in. https://tfsource.com/blog/2023/10/11/collecting-thoughts-3-g1-transformers-vs-their-non-tf-versions/
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Mar 27, 2024 14:48
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DoctorWhat posted:Blaster was a super big toy in Microchange because the whole toy was originally a functioning AM radio. There was a "tape" that served as the radio core, and then Blaster himself had working speakers that amplified it, and battery compartments to drive it. His gun's circular opening is for an earbud to stow in. Laughing hard thinking of the G1 animated Blaster "COVER YOUR EARS AND GET READY FOR SOME SICK JAMS" *transforming noises* *dull static, quiet guy talking about butterflies and coughing into the mic*
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Mar 27, 2024 14:51
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It’s funny cuz Microchange “Blaster” was also supposed to be an upgrade for the toy that became Soundwave.
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Mar 27, 2024 14:58
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You can get pretty tiny Bluetooth speakers now, they should make a Blaster + Soundwave with one built in.
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Mar 27, 2024 15:02
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Soundwave as an Amazon Alexa device
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Mar 27, 2024 15:16
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A Soundwave who only communicates via numbers-station broadcasts.
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Mar 27, 2024 15:24
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Wasn't there a Fensler Film where a GI Joe opened his mouth and AM radio came out?
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Mar 27, 2024 15:49
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Medullah posted:Laughing hard thinking of the G1 animated Blaster "COVER YOUR EARS AND GET READY FOR SOME SICK JAMS" It's a good joke, though AM was still pretty mainstream in the 80s. I remember my mom listening to top 40 stuff on an AM station driving me to school!
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Mar 27, 2024 17:23
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Rhymenoserous posted:Did you get J Balvontron? Yes that’s a thing. Of course! Right now the plan is to get all the G1-mold cassettes. I'd go for Masterpieces too, but the three I need are also in some high-priced items, including a convention exclusive GI Joe crossover set. There's also a weird Brazilian Steeljaw that has a completely different sticker, but it's crazy rare.
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Mar 27, 2024 18:06
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DoctorWhat posted:Blaster was a super big toy in Microchange because the whole toy was originally a functioning AM radio. There was a "tape" that served as the radio core, and then Blaster himself had working speakers that amplified it, and battery compartments to drive it. His gun's circular opening is for an earbud to stow in. Scale really was an issue all over with Transformers due to so many toys being from several lines. Even after it was still pretty wonky. See any minibot for that. Better yet look at G1 Galvatron who was still a huge rear end figure that towered over other bots of the time. Likely for the batteries and electronics.
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Mar 27, 2024 18:16
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Phy posted:It's a good joke, though AM was still pretty mainstream in the 80s. I remember my mom listening to top 40 stuff on an AM station driving me to school! Yeah my dad listened almost exclusively to talk radio on AM so it's permanently burned into my brain. I always swore I'd never do that so now I listen to podcasts oh my god what have I done I have become my father it's time to put on a red hat and hate immigrants
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Mar 27, 2024 18:17
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