Eaglemoss Transformers Chess set

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Ultra Magnus
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Eaglemoss Transformers Chess set

Post by Ultra Magnus »

I was wondering if anyone is looking at this?

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ea ... -chess-set

I have some issues with the execution of it, but thought I would ask what you guys think before unleashes with both barrels of my gripes.
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Re: Eaglemoss Transformers Chess set

Post by Time Traveller »

Lol! Let's get Trance's dad in here, he's the owner of a professional chess set company. Besides, I already have a Transformers chess set: https://www.transformerland.com/store/i ... G_0396.JPG
I'll pass until Chess 2 drops.
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Re: Eaglemoss Transformers Chess set

Post by Ultra Magnus »

I am definitely not buying this one. Here is my laundry list.

Made of "Metallic Resin." That means glorified glue and glitter. So, $20 per piece on no moving parts HoC glued on a permanent stand. Were they PVC, I would think they were more worth it. But "metallic resin" means that it cost maybe 35 cents per figure and the bases being maybe another 20. That better be one hell of a paint job.

The indicators for who what piece is on the back row is only a tiny emblem on the front and back of each piece. That is a bit too much brain work when there is little rhyme/reason put into who the pieces are supposed to represent as there is little rhyme nor reason for who achieved what rank.

And my main gripe. Character/rank assignment. Arcee, is a pawn? 4 seekers all in different ranks? And the flex goal is to get a replacement piece for a knight that is the same character as the replacement king so it would be weird to have them both on the board at the same time (self made problems).

So, let us talk about rank assignments. First, let us fix the queens. Elita-1? If this was supposed to be devoted to the G1 cartoon, just put Arcee in the role. Elita-1 was in how many episodes, after all? I know that Arcee is not that high in rank, but when people think of the queen of G1, they think Arcee. Starscream, as the queen... I will forgive that he is not a female, due to the fact that they are not going to find female Decepticons in the G! cartoon (and he is a huge drama queen). He damn sure should have had his crown and cape, though. It fits the royalty theme. That would differentiate him enough from the other seekers, so they could be knights. Autobots get an F. Decepticons get a "see me after class, needs revision"

Now, let us look at the other positions. Firstly, these should almost always be mold mates or follow a theme. So, most of these pairings need to go. Secondly, we need to look at the characters available and their motivations.

Bishops: These guys should be the most trusted and devoted to the cause. Those that are most trusted by the leaders. For Decepticons, It should easily be Sound and Shock, the Wave brothers. For the Autobots, Magnus is a no brainer. Thus if we need to have HotRod in the mix (we should not if RP is the replacement king), we put him in this role. The Matrix demands it. If Rod is not in the mix, then I would give it to Grimlock just because he has been mandated to be in everything, and I do not see another place for him. So, Autobots get an A+ on this round. Decpticons get and D as the pieces are in the game, but they are wrongly assigned.


Knights: Knights should be seen as loyal soldiers. Not necessarily the most trusted, but those that like to get in the fight. The other two of the original 3 seekers should be knights, no question. No brainer. I like the idea of mold mates in this role especially. So, for the Autobots? Jazz and Prowl. or IronHide and Ratchet. Either is fine for me. Both sides get and D. Once again, the pieces are in the game, but wrongly assigned.


Rooks: Okay, WTF? This should have been so much more thought out by the guys putting this set together. Who is the natural choice for the towers? The bases. Fort Max, Metroplex, Trypticon, and Scorponok. What? The headmaster bases were not in the cartoon enough for your tastes? Fine. Combiners. Devastator, Brutacus, Superion, and Defensor. Both sides get and F.


So, finally, we have pawns. I am not even going to pretend to entertain what they did here. It is a mess, and the choices make no sense. It is better to leave some of these characters out completely than to put them in the set in this role. Jazz (second in commend for seasons 1 and 2) and Wheeljack as pawns? On a scale of one to even, I just can't.

So, for Autobots, it is an easy fix. The minis. Bee, Jumper, Brawn, Powerglide, Seaspray, Beachcomber, Warpath, and Cosmos/Wheelie (or to save money, just the four sets of "twins"). The minis were the stars of the show for many episodes, as their price point made them very collectable. Of course the show that is a commercial is going to push these guys up front for the daily episodes. For some kids, these guys were "The Transformers."


Decepticons.... If you use the bases for Rooks, you do the six Constructicons with Rumble and Frenzy. If you do the Combiners for Rooks, then you just use all of the cassette regulars from the cartoon (Frenzy,Rumble,LB,Ravage,Ratbat) and the three Insecticons. Any of these choices are great, because these guys were used this way in the cartoon. After season one, they were the on screen "army builders" to make the Decpticons have more numbers. Either combination makes sense in canon as well as being lower price points than their contemporaries in stores.


Long story short, the only roles I see good as is are would be the 4 kings, and the Autobot Bishops (with the understanding that you have to throw in Grimlock somewhere as he has been mandated as to be in everything). And the Decepticon queen, if they had remembered to accessorize. Essentially that is a batting record of 6 out of 35, and 2 of those are add-ons that replace two of the others out of the 6.



If they had put this much thought into the set, and not had the random mess that it is, I would have possibly considered it. Probably still not a "must buy" at $20 per piece ($700 for the full set with the replacement pieces... no mention on if Wreck-Gar is still "extra"). But, since they just threw pieces in at random, I just have no desire to even think about it.

This is such an easy pass....

Your thoughts on the line up?
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Re: Eaglemoss Transformers Chess set

Post by Time Traveller »

One word: Megatronia. Now LISTEN. I know she just came out of Unite Warriors a year ago, but this sexy ladder lady is being harshly scorned by the Western patriarchy. Behind every Destron leader has been a strong Destron wife... Megaempress, Lyzack, Esmeral, uhhhh... Crasher...

No, I wholly agree with your analysis of piece assignment. It's a poorly thought-out mess, and I sincerely doubt anyone serious about the game chess would even consider it. That leaves only the art value to TF fans, who could probably collect the entirety of Hard Heroes or Palisades statues for the same money at this point.

I guess I couldn't see this one as taking off, given that the crossover between Transformers fans and chess fans has kept the price of the Movie set I pointed out at a whopping $15-20... and that set's pieces are a bit more identifiable, even though they rely on faction emblems for pawns. And don't go saying that's because Movieverse fans don't spend money on non-toy memorabilia or art, when those Prime1 studios statues sell for thousands! This whole thing seems like more of a stretch compared to a 20lb transforming figure for less money (initially, anyway).

At the risk of beating a dead Mach Kick, one last thing they could have done to save the piece design would have been to have the piece icon molded on the TOP of the milk-crates or whatever they're standing on instead of the faction symbols. I think the faction symbols got enough play on the set. I don't think anyone's liable to forget which team Prime is on. And then make the milk-crate things all the same height. They look arbitrary and stupid once scattered on the board, especially with the invisible chess icons not clarifying the height to rank correlation.
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