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When it comes to trying to put together the perfect Masterpiece G1 line up of figures there are some which are obvious stand ins until something better comes along, but others we can never imagine being replaced...until they are.

Third Party Round Up

For a long time there's been speculation that the third party bubble is about to pop with many thinking we're seeing that starting to happen now. There's been a huge number of announcements recently, in fact nearly too many to keep up with, so let's have a look at who is bringing out what.

Badcube

At TF Con Badcube's Evil Bug Corps value pack went on early sale exclusively through Ages 3 and Up. While existing releases were on display there was no sign of the Sunstreaker inspired Sunsurge which Badcube really need to get right after the overcomplicated and easily broken Wardog. It's been a rocky road for Badcube from day 1 but slowly they are winning people over and Sunsurge is their big chance to put their past behind them. 

Beelzeboss

Returning from obscurity with a bang, Beelzeboss appeared at the China Joy event showing off their new upgrade set for Generations Nightbeat, a set of weapons for Generations Chromia and Windblade along with an upgrade set for Generations Trailcutter. Their big reveal was a huge add on set for Combiner Wars Optimus Prime which looks a little similar to another company's work. Beelzeboss and their other brand, Guilty, do good work although they aren't afraid to copy existing designs.

So. Much. Want.

Cloud 9

Already causing a huge fuss are newcomers Cloud 9 with their first release - an MP sized Shockwave called Quake Blast. Fans Toys have claimed that the figure is heavily based on their own Quakewave and is essentially stealing their design, which is interesting coming from a company who essentially steals Hasbro designs. Also alleged is that Cloud 9 is Gigapower under a different name.

Corbot V

Also returning after a long break are Corbot V with their first full figure - an Allicon named Project Reyes.

Dr Wu

Following on from the upgrades for Wheeljack, it made sense that the Doctor would be back with more Masterpiece upgrades - this time a jetpack compatible with both versions of MP-21 Bumblebee.

At TF-Con Dr Wu also unveiled 'Companion', a static Carly figure which scales with Masterpiece figures.

Also revealed is Dr Wu's first full figure Vigourous Mixer which is intended to replace Mixmaster in the Titan Devastator team of Constructicons. It's more detailed and gives a better proportion to the cab.

DX9/Unique Toys

 DX9 continue to impress and seemingly outdo their parent company Unique Toys. UT showed Provider (Masterpiece Octane) and Buzzing (Blurr) at TF Con and teased a Blitzwing release but many seem indifferent to these releases and the knee issue with Seigfried has done them no favours.

On the other hand, DX9 have built on the successes of Invisible, Chigurh, Cocomone. their Megatron upgrade kit and War in Pocket line with the upcoming Carry, the impressive Hulkie which is a small scale Devastator and their new legends scale Megatron, Mightron.

Bolstering the line further is a Legends sized Arcee known as Leah!

Fans Toys

Bizarrely at TF-Con Fans Toys didn't have much to show other than prototypes of their Insecticons which are bigger than expected. With FT-04T and FT-04X Scoria repaints shipping, Fans Toys have announce further Scoria repaints in G2 and Diaclone colours. Sever will also be getting Diaclone and G2 editions while an extra dinosaur head piece is being sold separately for Scoria to give the toy the "smoked" G1 look.

There has been no further news on their Jetfire project but with a Quakewave reissue, a G1 toy coloured reissue and a clear version, plus a distinct possibility of Diaclone coloured Insecticons and Willy, a Masterpiece style Hound,  it wouldn't be advisible to hold your breath while waiting for it.

Fansproject

One of the big things with third party is the constant "I know someone in the know and he told me..." statements. The recent one was that Fansproject were giving up on Transformers style designs and moving on to other projects which did seem possible given that Fansproject had been eerily quiet since the titanic flop that was MADLAW. As usual the rumour mongers were proved totally wrong.

At TF Con the remaining Exo Lost Realm figures (aka Dinobots) were unveiled: Snarl, Grimlock and surprisingly, a female Raptor with ridiculous breasts.

Picture courtesy Ages 3 and Up

In addition to the convention exclusives Knight and Combes Robin, the rest of the Function X line was unveiled. The major news from Fansproject was that they'd be tackling the Japanese G1 combiner Dinoking, and teased Monstructor by showing a Wildfly figure.

Picture via TFW2005 who stuck their logo over Fansproject's.

Generation Toy

Warbotron's designer is on board for Generation Toy's first release - a huge Warbotron sized Devastator called Gravity Builder! All 6 parts are scheduled to be out by the end of the year but more likely are the same delays and 18 month wait that we saw with Warbotron.

Gigapower

Some people just can't get a lucky break and Gigapower seem to be in that category. A nice group of guys who have had a number of issues to contend with are seemingly preparing to release the chrome version of their spectacular Guttur. However, their competitor, Fans Toys have alleged that they have hired away Gigapower's designer. Considering Fans Toys lost their own designer of their Iron Dibot line it's expected that Giga's designer will now be in charge of getting FT's last Dibot together. The seemingly never ending soap opera of Gigapower and Fans Toys looks to carry on...

Guilty

Strangely, Guilty appeared at China Joy showing off Data Disc designs compatible with War For Cybertron Blaster and Soundwave. Data Discs had been solicited by Guilty two years ago and then were dropped by retailers when the designs turned out to be stolen from Shapeways. Are these new designs, will they see the light of day this time around, does anyone care? The answer to all three is 'probably not'.

Iron Factory

Yup. Miniature Overlord. 'Nuff Said.

KFC

Following the release of Transistor KFC went very quiet and the release of Fader seemed to quietly vanish as KFC concentrated on their X-Transbots brand instead. KFC have now reappeared touting their Transistor repainted as Broadcast and the cancelled Junkion designs. Will the Junkion designs see release this time?  Prototype pictures of their version of Reflector have appeared but with stiff competition from Fans Toys and Maketoys, will KFC's vision get a look in?

Maketoys

Floundering since their ill thought out double whammy of Quantron and Utopia last December, Maketoys only released repaints exclusive to their own store since then. However at TF-Con, Maketoys brought a rocket launcher to the proverbial knife fight as they simultaneously launched Cupola, a massive MP scaled version of Chromedome.

On show were the first 3 parts of their Guaria (Defensor) combiner and their Visualizer (Reflector) set. There were teases of MP scaled Targetmasters and the Powermasters Darkwing and Dreadwind along with Megatron and Starscream!


However, it's safe to say that of the imminent releases, one of the most anticipated is their version of Tailgate with add on parts for Universe Cyclonus.

MT have been on a serious roll as they also unveiled prototypes of Hardhead and Wrestle (Grapple), Hellfire (Inferno) and Gundog (Hound). Not to be outdone by Fans Toys, Gundog will be released in two colours - cartoon accurate and G1 toy accurate.

Mastermade

Hot on the heels of their Super Deformed Metroplex, comes the Super Deformed Trypticon, Diabolus Rex! The SD style isn't a major hit outside Asia but it's hard to deny how cool this Zoid-like figure is.

Mastermind Creations

Since Feral Rex, MMC have seemingly struggled after making a ton of announcements but then being very slow to follow up on them. Some questionable releases and the hugely over budget which in turn made it very expensive, Cynicus, plus parting ways with Ceno Kibble and using Cassie Sark less, both of whom were with the company from day 1, has jeopardised their arguable position as king of the third party mountain.

Finally we got to see pictures of their massive Carnifex (Overlord) figure though which was announced close to two years ago!

Continuing the IDW theme, we've seen more pictures of Commotus (Turmoil), Anachus (Kaon) and Kultur (Tarn). Considering the limited readership figures of IDW's Transformers comics, it's hard to see these figures translate into big money for MMC. Commotus hasn't been in the IDW universe for the last 18 months, Anachus will have reasonable success but it's hard to see Kultur getting to market as Hasbro is likely to hammer all retailers with cease and desists over the Decepticon logo which is the character's mask.

Also announced were Alpha and Beta (Decepticon Drift and Drift respectively), Sphynx (Mirage) and hopping on the bandwagon, more Insecticons.

Mayhem Mekanics

While not Transformers related as such, these transforming robots are worth mentioning. Cassie Sark and Ceno Kibble are two of the most prolific workers in the third party industry, famed mainly for their work for MMC from the company's start through to their most significant release, Feral Rex and the upcoming Carnifex. Now the two are teaming up to create their own vision. Mayhem Mekanics announced their Unrustable Bastards line at last year's Auto Assembly but then in the year since, there's been silence. At TF-Con pictures were shown of the UB toys and the idea is certainly a unique one.

The transforming robot bikers all share the same base body and colour scheme as the idea is that a motorcycle club would have a uniform look, but instead of multiple figures there is only one figure with multiple accessories so you can choose which of the seven characters you want to display. If you decide you want all seven then you'll need to buy seven figures. As the Bastards travel to different planets in their accompanying stories, their colour schemes will be changed for each release.

While this seems to be a continuation of the repaint syndrome we see so often, there is potential here. If MM include sticker sheets to customise the robots more or perhaps release accessory packs, the Unrustable Bastards line has the possibility to continue the idea that Stikfas used successfully for a number of years.

Megasteel

The bizarrely named Generations scaled Megatron, Granville, has been retitled a much more suiting, 'Tronus'. This impressive and heavy figure is apparently good quality and seems set to surprise when it hits the market in August.

Perfect Effect

With Leonidis about to be released, it seems Perfect Effect are content to carry on releasing add on kits for Combiner Wars including an Optimus kit that Guilty seem to have been 'inspired by' and an impressive add on set for Devastator.

Shadow Fisher Studios

As it's impossible for only one company to release a product, Shadow Fisher are joining in with the Devastator upgrades.

TFC Toys

For a company that was virtually dead in the water, TFC's versions of Ratchet and Ironhide were expected to be the death knell of the company. However they've announced their own version of Hound (what is it with Dinobots, Devastator add ons and Hound?) and in a move that took everyone by surprise, revealed Minos and Thanatos, the first two parts of the G1 Japanese combiner Liokaiser!

Warbotron

Unfortunately for Warbotron, the reveal of the final combined mode of their Computron homage was met with a cool reaction as fans complained that the arms were way too big. So far nothing past the current combiner has been announced but with a rift in the camp, will Warbotron be carrying on?

X2 Toys

Another company returns from oblivion! X2 are offering an upgrade kit for Masterpiece Ultra Magnus to give wider shoulder movement and a new weapon.

X-Transbots

The test shots of Andras (Scourge) have begun appearing as have pictures of the resin prototype of Eligos (Cyclonus). Digital versions of Boost and Hatch (Windcharger and Tailgate) have reappeared but the only mini seemingly close to production is their version of Beachcomber.

There are plenty of other releases out there but very little to report on them. Voodoo Robots seem to be forging on with their Ironhide and Ratchet inspired releases, Omnigonix's version of Sunstreaker is increasingly unlikely it seems to see light of day with Transform and Rollout's Hova (Jazz) is looking more impressive as time goes on. Play With This Too continue to show impressive prototypes after their very nearly successful crowd funding effort. That's it for now and remember most of these can be bought at www.masterforce.co.uk

Ceno Kibble Interview

Masterforce had the opportunity to sit down with Mastermind Creations writer Ceno Kibble about his work, but to make things interesting we turned the questions over to our customers on Facebook and posters on TFW.

Q. Does the name Ceno Kibble mean anything?
A. The pseudonym is a reference to the company aim of reducing kibble as much as possible.

Q. What have you worked on altogether?
A. My first work for MMC was the Hexatron comic dialogue, although the Airborne Squadron (MMC steampunk) seeker comics came out first. We've still not seen the release of the fourth seeker, the Vehicon-esque drone, and that concludes the Lenin story. All six issues of the Feral Cons comics are written by me, as well as the Mech Ideas profiles.

Q. Is there any place where your stuff can be found collected together? Any plans to put together a .cbr archive?
A. So far, we have collected all the releases on my Facebook page, but a .cbr file would be great. There has also been talk of collecting story arcs with extra content as small run graphic novels at some point, if the fandom are interested.

Q. How does the process start between you and the toymaker? Who approaches who? 
A. They approach me for the most part, although I have really pushed to make the Techno Toon Titans line happen. More on that later.

Q. How much time on average do you spend researching a toy/character's heritage and history before deciding how to approach their story for the products you work on? 
A. I'm already familiar with most of the characters, but a new project does give me an excuse to hit up Tfwiki or re-read old Marvel UK comics.

Q. What's the balance between retreading our shared source material (G1, IDW) and bringing something new to the table? 
A. Just that, a fine balance. With the IDW comics it is a growing concern which could very easily lead to contradictions, so we used the end of the Furman run (Devastation) as our jumping off point. The stories have to be new, but the characters have to feel familiar.

Q. How long do you get from the 3P companies to produce your material for them? 
A. It varies massively. The Feral Rex comics I've had over a year to think and plan them, which might end up with them being massively over-thought yet, we'll have to see, (laughs). Other stories have been full of constraints and time limitations and that can often lead to happy accidents.

Q. Of the projects you have worked on, which has brought you the most satisfaction and why? 
A. The Airborne Awakening Squad comics, because I got to play around with Russian history. If I had Bluster and Trench action figures on my shelves right now, that would have been my answer.

Q. Which figure that you worked on do you think came out the best? 
A. Feral Rex, the best is yet to come.

Q. What change to a figure from the original concept most disappointed you?
A. Thankfully, I don't think we've had this happen at MMC.

Q. Of the main G1 Combiners, which ones would you like to make, and in which order? 
A. (Laughs) I'm rejecting the premise of this question. If I answer this, people are going to take it as fact or conjecture that we're following up Feral Rex with another combiner, so I'll skip this one.

Q. Is there any character from comic continuity (current or older) that you'd personally take a lot of pleasure in helping to bring to the 3rd Party scene? 
A. Emirate Xaaron, Flame (the crazy zombie master) and Scrounge (with his magic hand of course).

Q. Which random/obscure character that MMC or even other 3Ps are unlikely to tackle anytime soon would you most like to work on? 
A. I love most of the G1.5 /G2 Turbomasters and Predator jets, especially Boss.

Q. If you could have worked on the story of one TakaraTomy/Hasbro product released in the last 3 years, which would you have chosen to be a part of? 
A. I think the best official Hasbro product at the minute is the IDW MTMTE comic by James Roberts and Alex Milne, and I would love to play in that universe, but those guys are doing more than fine as it is.

Writing 
Q. What kind of limits are there for 3rd party companies in regards to their stories? Has this eased up? Do you find you can get away with more now than in the past? 
A. MMC have been very good at giving me free reign.

Q. Is a 3rd party stand alone transformer comic series something you would consider doing on your own or perhaps just one full comic that isn't a pack in with a toy?
A. The best thing that could happen would be for a multitude of 3P toy companies to trust me with their characters and products, and let me write a monthly/quarterly shared universe 3P comic book. But unfortunately I don't feel there is a lot of trust between the companies and they would fear one company would try to undermine the other, and I feel some companies would get very, very precious with their products.

Q. Is a collection of the Feral Rex comics something that could happen? 
A. Fingers crossed. If people want it to happen, make your voice heard.

Q. If you were in charge of the next transformers show, what would be your general plot and who would be your central cast? What's the main thing that you would put an emphasis on doing differently from previous shows? 
A. Ooh, wow. That is a huge question. I have two concepts but that'd be telling (laughs) and at the moment I'm more focused on creating original characters for original IPs.

Q. Any comics of your own in the works? 
A. Three separate novels I'm working on command most of my time, a TV show concept and a few half thought-out comic series ideas which mostly sit in a folder without much happening. I've been let down by artists in the past which is why I've started to work with prose a lot more.

Mech Ideas
Q. Are there any other members of the Wrecking Crue in development and are they based off the IDW Last Stand cast or the classic lineup? 
A. Nothing I can talk about at the moment. These things are all decided between the designers and engineers before I get involved. They're the real talent.

MMC
Q. Do you get much of a free hand with the likes of MMC in terms of what you can write or does the company have a plot/plan you have to use already? 
A. Penguin One always has some very interesting ideas to contribute, and we have a big picture and an end game in sight which would wrap up phase one of the MMC fiction.

Q. Which, if any, of the MMC toys have you named yourself? 
A. Honestly, it is very collaborative. I really pushed to change the name from Ferocicus to Feral Rex because I really disliked that original name, but coming up with all the names for the characters and agreeing on the final name for the team and gestalt literally took an entire day of back and forth emails with the whole team.

Q. How has MMC's direct line of approach with the consumer affected your view of the fandom? 
A. think the question should be “how has MMC's direct line of approach with the consumer affected their view of our company?”. And I think the answer would be “very positively indeed”. I think it is safe to say we have gone out of our way to engage directly with consumers and retailers alike. We don't just say “by the fans, for the fans”, we show we really mean it.

Overlord 
Q. When is MMC's Overlord scheduled to come out and will he have "those" lips? 
A. There will be a choice of heads, for those who want traditional G1 and for those who want Nick Roche's Roman nose and luscious lips.

Looking forward
Q. How are the Techno Toon Titans coming along? 
A. Slowly. But good things come to those who wait, right?

Q. You're launching your own company soon and own toy line, tell us more about that. 
A. Yeah, a bunch of third party designers and myself have come together as “Mayhem Mekanics” to create a universe we call “Robo Dominion Saga”, and our first story and toyline “Unrustable Bastards” is coming together nicely. There is a blog which was once weekly, but we've been so busy with other projects and finalising the designs of the main characters that the blog hasn't been updated for a while.

Q. How does working on a project like the Unrustable Bastards stack up to working for an already established third party? 
A. Well, I've said “by the fans for the fans”. This project is more “by the fans buying”. We're looking to sell this as a kickstarter or other type of crowd-sourcing project, as it is a completely original IP, and we would like to see the universe expand into other mediums. If the support for the project isn't there, it won't happen. It is that simple. A lot of fans talk about new and original projects, with strong supporting fiction, well, that is exactly what we're attempting to do.

Q. Boxers, briefs, or boxer-briefs? 
A. I'm English, so I'll go with pants. We wear pants underneath our trousers you see, and because of that it is a much funnier word.