Well, slightly more progress this time. Based on the experience I gained from the still un-named Terrorship, here's the nearly complete 2nd ship.
I found myself toning down the guns slightly, and I need to think about if I should put some more on. The first was made with an eye towards having torpedo tubes if I wanted, this one kind of needs the same......
Then there's the escort prototype. It proved to startlingly easy to make from the bits I had, being a hoarder helps at times, buuuuut, it needs further orkying.
The short term plan just now is to complete the terror ship and a 3 strong escort squadron, to get a 500 point fleet together. This is based on the limited selection of tactics articles that still exist, oh, and,
January hasn't been too productive to be honest. Real life in the form of a cold, the day job, a sudden compulsion to write, and my landlord put a dent in my progress. That said, that doesn't mean I haven't done anything since my last update here. Presenting the currently unnamed Terrorship.
Butt shot
I'm quite pleased with it, and here's the next, although its still a good distance from completion.
I've also got some ideal bits for the Ravager class torpedo caddy. (And yes, the box is important.)
More to come. I'm hoping to attend the Robin convention in February, to get some bits, if time allows.
This article has its roots on twitter,
mainly collecting articles by @inkybauds, but also thoughts that have
been bubbling away in the back of my head. While I am old enough to
have experienced Generation 1 first hand, the first Transformers toys
and media, I'm not wedded to the concept as many fans, and
TakaraTomy, seem to be. I'm more than happy to enjoy the new
iterations of the brand, the new spin of things, without immediately
comparing it to a toyline or cartoon only slightly younger than I am.
This leads me to the seemingly very unpopular opinion I wish to
discuss, I like Transformers Armada. I liked it at the time of
release. I like it now. I like those Armada toys I still have better
than the G1 toys I still have. While I am enjoying Titans Return,
probably more than you are, I am more interested in those infrequent
Armada homages and remakes, than revamping everybody from the 80's.
The latest cartoon accurate Masterpiece release? Not my thing.
Combiner Wars Armada Megatron? My thing. The only thing more my thing
than that thing would be a continuation of Transformers: Animated.
Today, I will ramble about why.
Context
Unpopular with fans at a time when
Hasbro had money trouble, Beast Machines marked the end of the beast
era proper. And, by extension, the original Transformers continuity.
The planned sequel, Transtech, was dumped and while its replacement
was worked on, a stop-gap measure was needed. This was quickly
provided by Takara, whom had their own problems with the brand in the
late 90's. For the new millennium, they produced “Car Robots”, a
new continuity(1), featuring a mixture of new toys and toys
previously unreleased in Japan. This did feature beast modes, but in
a purely antagonistic manner, and the proportion of beastformers
declined over time. Hasbro rebranded it as “Robots in Disguise”,
and played up the references to the original continuity in the
redubbed cartoon. It worked very well. Unfortunately, while Robots In
Disguise proved to be a far greater success in the West than in
Japan, one aspect that was less popular was complexity. Those few
original designs featured where often shellformers of an infamous
kind, or needlessly complex, and parents complained. It seems this
filtered through to the design studios at some point, and ended up
influencing what was being worked on. Like RID, the new series would
be another new continuity, paying tribute to the Generation 1
concepts and reusing names, but was doing its own thing. It would
also have a Japanese cartoon that would be redubbed. But more
importantly, it would favour simple, colourful and blocky designs for
kids to enjoy. Intricate transformations and balljoints basically
disappeared, replaced by unique play features, again, for kids. This
would be activated by tiny transformers called Mini-Cons, paired with
each full size toy, or sold in teams like the old Micromasters. This
is what was called Transformers: Armada.
It didn't go down well with people, but
it also so sold so well they couldn't make toys fast enough.
Demolishor & Blackout, a typical 1st wave Armada set. Not pictured: everything they do.
This design approach was of course the
complete antithesis of what much of the older fandom wanted, and in
those early days of the internet, boy did we hear about it. Beast
Wars kids, having been raised on complexity and balljoints, were less
than impressed with the simplifications being made, and the absence
of beast modes. G1 purists, initially cocky that vehicles were back
in fashion, were less than impressed at another new continuity that
reused names but was otherwise indifferent to 80's homages. Later
releases would help placate both groups, but a series that favoured
new kids over old collectors?
This always gonna annoy people, and actual children LOVED it. All
the while this was going on, the internet was slowly breaking down
barriers between east and west, while anime was the new hotness, so
another aspect of the fandom was acting up. Not only was there
derogatory comparisons to Pokemon, there would prove to
recognisable differences in both toys and the cartoon, nothing
significant, but enough for people to feel superior about imports
and fansubs. Some of my first experiences of the fandom as an alleged
adult was viewing endless moaning about bricks, bad
dubbing and missing paint apps. I didn't necessarily agree with the
tone of these discussions.
A comic from 2005, its audience older collectors, published by Fun Publications.
Having missed the beast saga entirely,
this aggro passed over my head. Those Armada toys I did get seemed light
years ahead of the G1 toys I had in the attic, and while that's
probably a sampling error, let's think about why that was. Your
average 80's Transformer could only move its arms up and down; in
Armada that was the entry level for Mini-Cons. G1 toys, especially
the early ones, had lots of easily lost bits that were vital to the
experience; in Armada that was limited to missiles and guns. G1 toys
were sometimes held up to be more realistic and less kiddy; I was
around for the Micromasters and Pretenders. Armada toys were regarded
as “Play Skool”, I was amazed they sculpted detail now, rather
than using stickers. It would be Transformers Animated before I
truly started collecting again, six years later, but it was Armada
that got me buying the occasional toy and paying attention to the
fanbase. If I'm thankful for the series for anything, its that.
The Space Mini-Con Team, a notable set of Mini-Cons. Not pictured: their combined gun mode.
Being Fair
There were of course good reasons to
dislike Armada though, and it would be intellectually dishonest of me
to pretend otherwise. The supporting cartoon was pretty poor, and
the western version only made it worse. Animation mistakes and “gotta
catch em all” plot lines abound, although its generally accepted
things picked up in later arcs(2). The comic fared better, and
featured some G1 pandering, but it was a Dreamwave production, so
your mileage may vary. As for the bits that matter, the actual toys,
some were not well-received at the time or aged well. This was
reinforced by Armada being in the habit of releasing recolours with a
frequency not previously seen, and as the same character, rather than
a seeker style new personality. And, even accounting for the marmite
factor, its hard to disagree with much of the criticism for the toys.
For an example, I refer you to noted youtubist TJOmega and his
Plastic Addict series, where Armada toys did tend to turn up. Here's
his harsh-but-fair analysis of the infamous Side Swipe toy. This
probably ruins my argument.
Yeah, he's less likely to do
caustic/comedic reviews these days. Check out the Random Reviews.
Anyway, having some bad toys and
weak media is not the same as having a bad line though. Other
Transformer lines have done similar and worse. Armada's play pattern
was a good one, and while not everything worked, the colour and
variety made up for weaknesses. The undoubted reason for this was the
tiny Mini-Cons themselves. Not only did they make great pocket money
toys, they basically turned larger toys into playsets. You can see
shades of this in the modern Titans Return line, where having a small
partner robot has made the vehicle mode more fun. Mini-cons could and
would trigger just about anything, in either mode, so there was
always something to do. These tiny dudes were also very visually
varied, not always being humanoid, and they've aged very gracefully
too. Compared to modern toys of a similar size, they hold their own,
these toys introducing level of complexity and articulation, yes,
the same traits the larger toys lack, which has yet to be truly
bettered. Some were also headmasters, some were targetmasters, some
combined, some had gears, some had missiles, one was AN ACTUAL BICYCLE, the list goes on.
Mini-Cons proved to be so good, the concept not only persisted in
Armada's two sequels, but in completely new moulds for Classics,
Universe, Power Core Combiners, the Japanese version of Prime, and
the Thrilling 30 bit of Generations. Basically, Mini-Cons rock, and
haven't stopped rocking since 2002.
Also, Armada has a notably good video
game adaptation. I just wanted to work that in somewhere.
The Big Things
Are the larger toys as good? That's
less clear cut. If you are on board with playing with your
Transformers as opposed to merely posing them, there's plenty to
recommend. Armada toys always do as much as they can, as uniquely as
they can, and they pre-date modern cost cutting trends. There's no
end of missiles, spring-loaded mechanisms, geared mechanisms and
electronic gimmickry, if that's your sort of thing. Treadheads got
Megatron and Demolishor. The seekers were back, with this iteration of
Starscream having enduring popularity. Cool cars abounded. There was a
faction switching toy that was also a double headmaster. Optimus
Prime got two different power-up partners. Megatron even got one, the
generally awesome Tidal Wave, a massive toy based around three
different combining ships. Play value can easily match a tranformer
from any other line. Articulation is not a strong point, but many
toys feel only a joint away from being fine. That having been said,
three toys do stand up above all others as examples as both of the
Armada ethos and answering the articulation complaints.
Tidal Wave & Ramjet, an impressive toy from wave 4. Not pictured: everything they do.
The Beast Wars repaints! You know, the
recoloured transmetal moulds they put out as they couldn't make
actual Armada toys fast enough? Because they actually sold really
well?
Ha ha, just kidding. Good toys are
they, but that isn't why I'm here. Coming at number 3 is Hoist, an
excavator whom was retooled into two different Beast Wars characters.
Coming at number 2 was the Supercon release of Optimus Prime, known
as “Bendy Prime”, whom will probably be on display until I die.
And at number 1, there's Unicron.
Yes, Unicron. The star of the 1986
film. Rendered in plastic, as what must be the single greatest act of
fan-pandering ever made in the brands history.
Yes, even more than the Masterpiece
line.
Unicron, A.K.A mecha-satan. Not pictured everything he does.
While, as mentioned, I don't venerate
G1 as much as other people, there was a huge hit of nostalgia for me
with this one. Unicron was explicitly tied to the film which I loved
as a kid, and was a huge part of a comics too. And not to put too
fine a point on it, Unicron was incredible. And he still is.
Gigantic, but articulated down to the fingers. Endless sculpted
detail. Many gimmicks. A missile launcher of such complexity and
noise that it scared my Grandad's dog, and no, it wasn't aimed
anywhere near her. Even the haters had something nice to say about
Armada after that. And this toy has been released four times, later
versions replacing the head with something more G1, with a platinum
edition on the way.
Conclusion
Armada doesn't get enough respect. Its
never quite overcome the bad impression that the cartoon made, and
fans always react badly to a Transformers series doing something
different. The fact is though, the brand would be in a very different
state without Armada selling so well. We'd probably find ourselves
like He-Man or MASK or whatever, known, but no-longer relevant.
Sometimes a hard reset is needed to keep things fresh. Armada got two
direct sequels, and that success eventually allowed for the Classics
line of 2006 and the modern films. And more importantly than that,
the toys aren't as bad as some claim, its just they are designed
differently.
If you are tired of G1 remakes, and
want a change of pace, Armada is the toyline you should look at.
