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Post by Hoist on Aug 9, 2011 17:10:52 GMT -5
Rid, Armada, was there any need for upgrades in the TF shows? And not Megatron becomes Galvatron. I mean blatant new paint jobs that were just to sell another version of they toy! I never quite got it in R.I.D. In Armada they dun goofed and made a mistake so Starscream ended up looking like Thundercracker!
Is there any reason for a blatant new paint job mid series? In today's 4 for 4, we ask just that. What are your thoughts?
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Post by Onix Solo on Aug 9, 2011 17:42:37 GMT -5
The trend didn't start with RID, it goes back as far as Beast Wars II. Leo Convoy and Convoy both changed color to demonstrate a more powered up self. It is a very common Japanese device. Like in Dragon Ball Z, the characters were shows as more powerful and energized by the changing of their physical appearance (usually in the color of their hair and the length and so forth). It kind of carried over into Transformers, especially in the Unicron Trilogy. In the middle of the season they would suddenly become more powerful and change color.
I think it has more to do with the format that Japan employs with cartoon series than with the desire to sell more toys by the laziest means possible. In Japan their entire series (in the case of the prevelant Japanese series that also showed in America) runs from start to finish without break. That means (I guess depending on the frequency of the new episodes) that their shows finish within a year. So unlike Beast Wars were the characters got stronger with newer, upgraded bodies (meaning new molds for us), they go with the color change as an easier means of production. I guess in the end, it is because in the Western countries we have more time to produce new molds because we use the season format, where Japanese Transformers shows didn't.
It didn't quite make sense in the shows, but it gave us some nice redeco homages to characters like Hot Rod and Thundercracker in the case of Starscream and Hot Shot.
I think it made a little more sense in RID, where the brothers were supercharged (for a very limited time) because of the power of the Matrix.
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Post by Jazzman Crothers on Aug 10, 2011 12:57:51 GMT -5
The only new paint jobs I can remember would be the G2 series. Considering they used G1 toys, it seemed pretty useless.
Sideswipe did look pretty bad ass when he went black. He did come with a shoulder mounted rocket launcher and once in car mode he could use it or his blaster on top of the roof of his car.
Looking at the Aerialbots, they really weren't any different even with a new paint job.
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Post by Hoist on Aug 12, 2011 5:21:27 GMT -5
Don't for get this was posted on a Wednesday, cartoon based topics, I don't want to get too side-tracked into the toys/comics. RID made more sense than Armada, I mean Starscream into Thundercracker in the show was a well known animation error. that they had to keep. I think maybe it was a very early 2000 thing as I don't think it went beyond Armada? After that it was new looks completely et al Armada into Energon - Cyclonus and Demolisher into Snowcat and whatever, Megatron into Galvatron, Energon into Cybertron new looks for Hot Shot and Red Alert etc, same for Prime from Armada to Energon etc. But then that was for new toys even thouggh Energon was a continuation of Armada.
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Post by Onix Solo on Aug 12, 2011 11:05:18 GMT -5
Energon did the same color shifts mid season. Not sure about Cybertron.
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alphaprime1
Minibot
Old Skool Original
"The lesser of two evils... is still evil."
Posts: 400
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Post by alphaprime1 on Aug 17, 2011 2:55:42 GMT -5
I liked the new colors for the Autobot brothers in RiD after they were "charged up"... well, not the redo of X-Brawn.
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Post by Onix Solo on Aug 17, 2011 11:20:18 GMT -5
Ah, come on. It's a homage to Wheeljack. I think supercharged X-Brawn is pretty sweet.
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