The rest of the Hasbro First Edition TFPrime figures arrived, completing the set of regular figures. (unless Hasbro plans to release the Vehicon in the "First Edition" series that Tomy has just done)
With the arrival of the Deluxe sized Arcee, Starscream & Cliffjumper, my TFPrime shelf is starting to look a little more respectable.
This weekend being another long weekend, I'll have a bit of a play, and review these here. So far though, from the ones I have already toyed with, these figures are unnecessarily complicated and frustrating, with almost no room to move on parts (or wiggle room) when converting them.
The last three series they "rebooted" or relaunched the brand (Animated, Armada, Beast Wars) to draw in a new, younger, generation of collectors, they started off with relatively simple, easy toys in the first waves, which were fun enough to want to buy more. The engineering on these are bordering on Movie-level complexity, which will put off more people than they suck in. First impressions count, especially on toys, as they are an expensive gamble. If a single "small" $25 toy doesn't "pay off", the kid won't spend his/her pocket money on more, and the parent won't either.
I agree that the recent releases have more complicated transformations than there needs to be. On the one hand, there is the argument of improved technology, better engineering and more sophisticated consumers who appreciate the complexity; but on the other hand, there is pure and simple play value.
ReplyDeleteI have seen many a kid put down a TF because he/she cannot transform it properly in 2-3 minutes - they just lose interest, or the TF would be a jumbled mess of unsnapped together panels and protrusions...