"Impossible" gimmicks & how they could work
Posted: Tue Jul 05, 2022 5:00 pmSo, are there any gimmicks or abilities present in Transformers media you'd love to see in a toy, but seem too impossible to pull off? And how would you work around them?
For me, I can think of three off the top of my mind:
- Omni-transformation/combination: Shifters, Mutacons, Infinites, Stentarians, DoTM Laserbeak, Amalgamous & Nexus Prime; we've had our fair share of Transformers, either individuals or groups, who were said to transform or combine infinitely, one of the coolest concepts for the sheer possibilites available... but also the most frustrating because there's no way to make a toy that transforms or combines into literally anything. My best approach so far would be a hybridization of Construct-Bots, Weaponizers/Modulators/Fossilizers and Bandai's Mugenbine: a (most likely buildable) core figure, which could be rearranged into different poses for different modes or combinations, while adding or removing structural pieces and armor to create different, more cohesive modes (in the case of omnicombiners, their combination-modes using the most partsforming and their actual alt-mode needing little to no partsforming). And for non-Shifter characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream, they could come as extra pieces for the actual Shifter characters to disguise as, either as dedicated part boxes or additional pieces in the Shifter toys like the Battle Upgrade Hero Mashers.
- Reverse-pretenders/humanformers: Pretenders are a divisive concept, from what I see (I personally think it has potential), but humans that turn into Transformers are far better accepted, if Masterforce and Sari Sumdac's reception is to be believed. I could see this going two ways: for those that become larger, actual Transformers (like those kids from the old G1 commercials), do like the Power Up Nezha figure: a fully workable Transformer with a human figure that can fit inside its torso/cockpit in both modes. For the more direct human-to-robot characters like Sari or RoTF Alice, the best I can think of is either treating one of the modes as "armor" and store/combine it in an accessory they come with (kinda like Sqweeks' extra toolbox), or try to replicate the early fold-out designs of the Animorphs line (though hopefully with something more durable than soft rubber).
- Size-shifting: a bit of a stretch, because we already have a bit of a solution to this: Animated Lockdown, which switched from a "regular" Deluxe car to a much larger bot mode. While it wouldn't be able to replicate some of the more ludricous examples like the object-formers, the engineering could certainly be studied and used for some of the more reasonable ones like the Mini-Bots or the motorcycle-bots; maybe even some of the Triple Changers and combiners, if it didn't compromise structural integrity.
For me, I can think of three off the top of my mind:
- Omni-transformation/combination: Shifters, Mutacons, Infinites, Stentarians, DoTM Laserbeak, Amalgamous & Nexus Prime; we've had our fair share of Transformers, either individuals or groups, who were said to transform or combine infinitely, one of the coolest concepts for the sheer possibilites available... but also the most frustrating because there's no way to make a toy that transforms or combines into literally anything. My best approach so far would be a hybridization of Construct-Bots, Weaponizers/Modulators/Fossilizers and Bandai's Mugenbine: a (most likely buildable) core figure, which could be rearranged into different poses for different modes or combinations, while adding or removing structural pieces and armor to create different, more cohesive modes (in the case of omnicombiners, their combination-modes using the most partsforming and their actual alt-mode needing little to no partsforming). And for non-Shifter characters like Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee and Starscream, they could come as extra pieces for the actual Shifter characters to disguise as, either as dedicated part boxes or additional pieces in the Shifter toys like the Battle Upgrade Hero Mashers.
- Reverse-pretenders/humanformers: Pretenders are a divisive concept, from what I see (I personally think it has potential), but humans that turn into Transformers are far better accepted, if Masterforce and Sari Sumdac's reception is to be believed. I could see this going two ways: for those that become larger, actual Transformers (like those kids from the old G1 commercials), do like the Power Up Nezha figure: a fully workable Transformer with a human figure that can fit inside its torso/cockpit in both modes. For the more direct human-to-robot characters like Sari or RoTF Alice, the best I can think of is either treating one of the modes as "armor" and store/combine it in an accessory they come with (kinda like Sqweeks' extra toolbox), or try to replicate the early fold-out designs of the Animorphs line (though hopefully with something more durable than soft rubber).
- Size-shifting: a bit of a stretch, because we already have a bit of a solution to this: Animated Lockdown, which switched from a "regular" Deluxe car to a much larger bot mode. While it wouldn't be able to replicate some of the more ludricous examples like the object-formers, the engineering could certainly be studied and used for some of the more reasonable ones like the Mini-Bots or the motorcycle-bots; maybe even some of the Triple Changers and combiners, if it didn't compromise structural integrity.