Kre-O

[Dominic]

And, after ~4 hours total, Megatron is done and partly disassembled and put back in the box

I just cannot justify wasting my limited shelf-space on a Kre-O. Megatron looks better than the other Kre-O sets that I have, but is still not display worthy.

One thintg that struck me while putting together Megatron, (and to a less degree the other sets), is that most of the parts that are clever, well engineered or look better than something you would find at a community crafts fair are purpose moulded rather than being standard bricks. Megatron fingers look look really solid. Megatron's head sculpt is a good mix of TFA, Bayformer and CHUG. But, the hands are on the ends of arms that look like a pile of bricks.

This toy retailed for ~$40, which is just shy of the price of a Leader class figure, or more than enough to get a proper Ultra class figure or a couple of Deluxes and a Scout. 4 hours is a good chunk of time that I could have spent customizing something that would look good. Granted, I would not likely finish it in 4 hours (I recently spent more than 4 hours on a Legend class figure.) But, the results are better.

The simple fact is that Lego type sets do not produce anything that looks good. Even if I enjoyed the process of putting something together, I could spend that time and money on a model kit and still end up with a better result. ($40 would be enough top get a good sized GW model.)

[Shockwave]

I don't think it's really fair to compare Kreos to other regular Transformers. Especially when it comes to aesthetics. It's a little bit like saying "this 8 bit Nintendo doesn't look as good as this xbox 360 game". I tend to regard it as a different genre entirely. I would never try to compare the Lego AT-AT with the toy designed for the action figures. I think the best comparison that could be made here is measured against Lego sets. In that vein, they do pretty good, but I take points off for not using all the parts in both modes. Say what you will about the Built To Rule line, at least those were transformable and did use all the parts in both modes.

[Dominic]

A better comparison would be looking at a toy from the mid to late 80s (Nintendo in your analogy) and comparing it to a modern action figure (the 360).

Kre-O has the same problem that Lego does, specifically that the medium does not lend itself to building anything that looks good. Even RTS Jazz (one of the more flawed figures from the last few years) looks better than Kre-O Jazz. There is no credible question. (Though, I suppose Kre-O Jazz gets points for being the only vaguely Bayformer Jazz toy that can be torn in half without compromizing any moulded parts.) Kre-O is simply not going to display as well.

And, even if somebody wants the building process, a model kit will yield a better looking product once it is assembled.

[Shockwave]

Yeah, the 8 bit analogy is probably a bad one. The Star Wars one works better. Lego is a different aesthetic that can't really be compared to actual action figures. This is why there are both lego Star Wars toys and Star Wars action figures. Lego tends to be one of those things where you either love it or you hate it. Personally, I love it, but again, I would never compare Kreo Prowl to Universe Prowl.

[Dominic]

it is a question of being able to get both better representations of a character and better building/model kits. Lego type stuff loses on both counts.

[Shockwave]

it is a question of being able to get both better representations of a character and better building/model kits. Lego type stuff loses on both counts.

Then I would argue that you're not the target audience for this (other than it being a "Transformers" item). It's still like comparing a bike to a sandwich. Yeah both are awesome but the appeal of one doesn't have the same appeal as the other. They just ain't the same thing. People don't buy Legos because they like building model kits. And they don't buy Legos for accurate depictions/representations of characters. It is it's own demographic completely with one not really bleeding over into anything else.

Shockwave
-Loved Legos as a kid, but hated model kits.

[BWprowl]

Dom, you're missing the point pretty badly here. First off, yeah, Lego/Lego-ish sets like Kre-O are their own aesthetic that a lot of people like for what they are. Now whether you like that aesthetic or not is entirely up to you, but considering the ongoing epic success of Lego (outside of toys, even; remember that there are whole VIDEO GAMES of universes reimagined in this aesthetic), I think it's clear that a lot of people do like the look. (I still would like to get Diablock Convoy because I think he looks cool.)

Also, comparing them to model kits isn't quite right. Yeah, you could (presumably) build a kickass looking Jazz out of a dedicated model kit, but could you (relatively) quickly and effortlessly strip that model down to its base components, rebuild it into, I dunno, a dinosaur, then re-disassemble it and rebuild it back into one of its 'official' configurations, all without glue or paint? Didn't think so. It's the universal, interchangable, rebuild-ability of the system (via all the modular, non-dedicated pieces) that makes Lego/Lego-ish sets such a popular option, and you can't get that with just a model kit.

Say what you will about the Built To Rule line, at least those were transformable and did use all the parts in both modes.

Wait, could the BTRs transform? I thought they still had to be disassembled/stripped-down and reconfigured to go from mode to mode.

[Dominic]

BTR toys did not use all of the pieces in both modes. I had more than one of them.

And, while a dedicated model kit may not be as flexible as a Kre-O set. But, at least the dedicated model kit (whatever it may be of) is going to look good. Lego gives the option of making a bad looking model of one thing, or a worse looking model of something else. In other word, why would I bother to make that dinosaur?

[BWprowl]

And, while a dedicated model kit may not be as flexible as a Kre-O set. But, at least the dedicated model kit (whatever it may be of) is going to look good. Lego gives the option of making a bad looking model of one thing, or a worse looking model of something else. In other word, why would I bother to make that dinosaur?

Because it's *fun*. You remember fun, right?

[Onslaught Six]

And, while a dedicated model kit may not be as flexible as a Kre-O set. But, at least the dedicated model kit (whatever it may be of) is going to look good. Lego gives the option of making a bad looking model of one thing, or a worse looking model of something else. In other word, why would I bother to make that dinosaur?

Because it's *fun*. You remember fun, right?

This.