User talk:Inkblot

Hi, Inkblot! Welcome aboard! Welcome to TFWiki.net, one of the foremost resources on all things Transformers! If you're new, we recommend you read through our help documentation before you start editing. Here's some links to specific areas of interest: Example articles and New Pages - For our article structure. Style guide - More about our article structure. Official info - Appropriate sources for information. Images - Our rules on uploading images. Captions - The funny stays/the funny is not the main goal here. Spoilers - How to handle them. This will help you understand how TFWiki.net works, and help ease you into our odd little place. Once you feel you're accustomed, feel free to remove this message!

Keep up the good work. Alientraveller 07:04, 10 December 2011 (EST)

RPMs

While investigating RPMs/Speed Stars, I saw that RPM Metal Heroes Sideswipe came out in Australia, which must mean it came out elsewhere in the Asian market. However, the only cardback photo I can find is European. I don't suppose you remember coming across it? I'm trying to figure out whether RPM Metal Heroes Lockdown was confirmed by by the listing on the back. --Monzo 03:28, 15 December 2011 (EST)

Yes, I did remember coming across Sideswipe, but sadly I can't recall whether Lockdown was present on the list, and RPM Soundwave's cardback only lists six of the vehicles. Inkblot 07:00, 15 December 2011 (EST)

Curses! Thank you for the information, though. I think we can safely consider Lockdown the eighth RPM Metal Hero, given the other evidence.

By the way, one area that we've been lacking in is Dark of the Moon Speed Stars information, especially things like the Stealth Force 2-packs with figurines. I have no idea what's out and what isn't; the vast majority of the smaller items never hit United States mass retail. In fact, I only just had my first sighting of the Mini-Vehicles - in a drugstore! I can fill in more info on them once I check more of the stores to see what's out locally, but any help you could provide otherwise would definitely be appreciated.

(As an aside, please sign your responses with four tildes at the end of your message, or hit "sign your username" by the Insert menu below the edit summary.) --Monzo 06:54, 15 December 2011 (EST)

Toy sections

We only group by size class when a character has many many toys, like on Movie pages of main characters. --ItsWalky 09:53, 20 December 2011 (EST)

Oh dear... sorry about that. Guess I'll just edit the toyline article to lead to those specific toys, then. Inkblot 09:56, 20 December 2011 (EST) The toyline article seems to be formatted for "when a character has many many toys", linking to "Cyberverse" and "____-Class toys", which would require a pretty significant rewrite to link to each character's individual toy. I'll just fix that tense issue that I came there for at first, then. Inkblot 10:08, 20 December 2011 (EST)

Asian Hasbro market releases

Monzo tells me you're helping out with toyline pages, so maybe you can help fill out details here. Sadly, it seems only a few crazies like us are even interested in chronicling unusual non-US market Hasbro releases. I bet a lot of the recent multi-packs released in Europe were available in more countries, but it's usually just UK fans that bother reporting them to the US fansites, and if it wasn't for me, Germany wouldn't be added to the list either.--Nevermore 08:27, 26 December 2011 (EST)

Packaging photos

For future reference, all packaging photographs of toys are heavily airbrushed. It is not helpful or informative to list the perceived differences in color scheme between these and the final toy. --ItsWalky 21:22, 2 January 2012 (EST)

I don't mind not mentioning the heavily airbrushed shade of blue the toy in the photos have, but the twin cannons and hands are definitely shown to be black in the photos. If they were white, the heavy retouching would probably have made them look silver instead of black. I would also like to mention that the shield not mounting via the tab on his arm is quite apparent in the photos and is most certainly not related to color. Inkblot 21:34, 2 January 2012 (EST)

They likely wanted to show off his arm and not have it be obscured by the shield, and so stuck it on some other way for the photo. It happens. --ItsWalky 21:35, 2 January 2012 (EST)

But what about the black cannons and hands? Inkblot 04:42, 3 January 2012 (EST)

Optimus Prime Vs Shockwave

Inkblot, where did you buy the Optimus Prime vs. Shockwave with Cybermetal Armor set? It never came out at US CostCo stores, just Canadian ones, and I know you aren't in Canada...

Also, I know a guy or two who might want one. Are they still available? --Monzo 13:45, 5 January 2012 (EST)

I live in the Philippines, and the set inexplicably arrived in large numbers in the Toy Kingdom store in SM Megamall. Unfortunately, they sold/cleared out sometime in December to make way for Prime stock. It's really a bit strange, the Transformers toys here are on a consignment and sell for the same (higher) price on any toy store, some large amounts of stock can end up in one store but not at all in others, Transformers 2010 Unicron was released here, and whatever doesn't sell here gets placed on "withdrawal carts", and I'm not really sure where all of those go. Inkblot 19:07, 5 January 2012 (EST)

Sense of taste

That's a line from Futurama. --Detour 05:01, 1 June 2012 (EDT)

Oh, okay. I still want to keep it, though. It complements the image well. Inkblot 05:06, 1 June 2012 (EDT)

I never said it'd never get kept. I'm just informing you of the source. Seriously, if you want a good laugh, go Netflix or something the episode 30% Iron Chef. --Detour 05:14, 1 June 2012 (EDT)

Toy photos

You are presented with this Gigantion Award

In recognition of users who help in ways both big and small.

Just wanted to say, solid work, man. It's appreciated.--Rosicrucian^Talk 14:55, 16 August 2012 (EDT)

Sysop

'Cuz, hey, it probably wouldn't hurt to have more folks to delete spam and whatever, and you're a heavy contributor. --ItsWalky 00:56, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Congrats! :) -- spyder^{Use this!} 09:35, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Thank you. 8) Inkblot 09:37, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Beast Hunter OP

Where is the term "Firebreath Cyclocannons" from? --Monzo 02:29, 12 February 2013 (EST)

Right here. Inkblot 04:20, 12 February 2013 (EST)

Interesting. The press release says this: "The TRANSFORMERS PRIME BEAST HUNTERS OPTIMUS PRIME figure features a revolving Dragon Head Cannon, electronic lights, sword and shield". Maybe the name changed at some point? --Monzo 04:45, 12 February 2013 (EST)

Skyquake?

It's looking more and more like Voyager Skyquake isn't coming to the US, Inkblot. I don't mean to impose, but I don't suppose there are any remaining in your area? I know we heard about it coming out in the PI... -Monzo 08:21, 18 February 2013 (EST)

He's an occasional sight, depending on the store. Not as overly well-stocked as the other (still full-price) PRID Voyagers, though. The stores which still have him here often contain maybe one to two Skyquakes on the shelves, and four to five of nearly everyone else. Inkblot 09:45, 18 February 2013 (EST)

Hm. What's the local cost of a PRID Voyager work out to in USD? I know both me and M Sipher would be interested in Voyager Skyquake (I don't think there's a single one going for less than $50 on eBay), so if the cost is equitable and you'd be willing to pick them, maybe we could work something out? Might want to take this to email - I'm at either monzo12782 at gmail dot com or hyperion at gte dot net. --Monzo 10:03, 18 February 2013 (EST)

Hey, uh, Inkblot? I didn't offend with that last comment or anything, did I? Just curious, since I haven't received a follow-up... --Monzo 13:06, 27 February 2013 (EST)

Sorry for not replying, just didn't know how to respond, but I don't think I'll be able to help you. I've never really made these types of deals before, so I don't know how to work these things out. Once again, I apologize. Inkblot 17:06, 27 February 2013 (EST)

Beast Hunters

Sorry about that. I was trying to make sure that all the Beast Hunters images showed up in the category, and in my rush I kind of...forgot that stock photography meant, duh, stock photography.KrytenKoro 10:25, 22 February 2013 (EST)

Beast Hunters Smokescreen

Could you add a detail view of the burrito-storage to the image?KrytenKoro 01:30, 21 March 2013 (EDT)

Thanks! Also, um, feel free to revise that caption I added, it's a stinker.KrytenKoro 11:28, 21 March 2013 (EDT)

Database dump

Before my question I apologize if I did something wrong, or if I contacted you the wrong way or the wrong person regarding this topic. I have abso-lutely no idea how to use this wiki in the sense of contacting other people and commenting - you really ought to do a guide for dummies - I googled for a good hour for an explanation XD

Anyhow, my question is about a possible database dump - this wiki is truly brilliant but I have a rather big issue with internet availability. So I am downloading database dumps of all wikis I need on daily basis for miscellaneous purposes and import them in WikiTaxi. I see that this wiki is functioning on the wikimedida system but on your special: statistics page there isn't any database dump for download. Is there possible to request such a dump or is creating it impossible? If so, do you have any suggestions how to make the whole wiki available offline - I'd rather avoid mirroring software as it would no doubt cause problems -.-'

Thank you in advance,

NocteDraconis

Er, I'm afraid you're going to have to ask one of the other admins about this. Inkblot 18:43, 24 March 2013 (EDT)

Beast Gear

Does this look like a good start, or should I scrap it?KrytenKoro 23:47, 3 April 2013 (EDT)

Hmm, never dealt with this kind of article before. It's a widely-used gimmick, such as MechTech, but I really don't want this page to be filled with duplicated toyline lists. I'm also not sure how the Beast Gear of larger figures should be written, or if Cyberverse should even be included...

Actually, is an article on Beast Gear really needed if the Beast Hunters and Cyberverse pages already list these weapons? Playing the game again, I noticed how random the Beast Gear list is, and how the list doesn't really emphasize the weapons. Is it possible that "Beast Gear" is more of a one-off title than anything else? Inkblot 03:31, 4 April 2013 (EDT)

Maybe just have a main link for the toys? I mean, ignoring the redundancy issue, it still is a fictional concept.KrytenKoro 04:04, 4 April 2013 (EDT)

The Beast Gear list doesn't mention the "gear" in question, it focuses more on the characters rather than the equipment, and it is alternatively referred to as "Autobot Armor" at the bottom when the in-game window is closed. In its current state, "Beast Gear" is not much of a concept. As Ratchet indirectly refers to it as "new hardware" designed to combat Predacons, it could, at best, be referenced in the main Beast Hunters page as what the game calls the weapons. Believe me, if more information on "Beast Gear" was given, then we could definitely make an article for it ala MechTech. Inkblot 04:38, 4 April 2013 (EDT)

Okay, thanks. I'll just leave the draft alone until we get more info, then.KrytenKoro 10:19, 4 April 2013 (EDT)

Toy photos II

As long as we're doing articles on the weapons themselves, what are your thoughts on new images solely for the weapons, possibly with the inset views depicting how they can be equipped? I think it might help the articles focus more on the weapons than just the Cybertronians who wield them, although I'm not sure whether it would be an abuse of fair use or just general redundancy.KrytenKoro 14:43, 14 June 2013 (EDT)

I'd have to say it would be redundant. The named weapons/equipment, even in stock photos, are already quite visible. --Inkblot 21:34, 14 June 2013 (EDT)

Tales

I found transcripts of chapters 20 and 21; I started articles but they probably need a copyedit. [1]KrytenKoro 16:29, 30 July 2013 (EDT)

Thanks. I'll see if they need any modifications. --Inkblot 23:51, 30 July 2013 (EDT)

On a related note, Inkblot, if it's not too much trouble, would you mind transcribing the Arcee chapter? It's the only one from that wave I've not found elsewhere. Thanks. Jalaguy 08:11, 31 July 2013 (EDT)

Done. --Inkblot 09:10, 31 July 2013 (EDT)

Cheers! Jalaguy 11:05, 31 July 2013 (EDT)

Really sorry to bother you about this again, but would you perhaps be able to transcribe the Night Shadow 'Bee chapter too? It's the last one that isn't widely available. Cheers. Jalaguy 08:07, 20 August 2013 (EDT)

Done again. --Inkblot 08:49, 20 August 2013 (EDT)

Thanks once again! :) Jalaguy 10:13, 20 August 2013 (EDT)

About Beast Hunters Movie

Hey Inkblot.

I know this may be belated, but thanks for the warm welcome you gave me.

I am sending you this message since I'm not sure who else to turn to. I recently saw the FULL upcoming Prime TV movie on a website. Since this is what you could call a VERY early unofficial "release," I'm not sure if the plot information is ready to be posted on this wiki.

Do you have any connections with any admins so I can inquire about this? Also, if me posting the web address link is against the rules, could you please let me know?

Thanks.

--Dean3 00:58, 17 September 2013 (EDT)

Hmm, most of your questions have apparently been answered already, so I'll just answer one of the others. For your information, we can only add the plot details and update the needed entries when the movie has been officially aired/released, so no updating until around October 4 or 5, depending on your timezone. :) --Inkblot 01:10, 17 September 2013 (EDT)

Click Help on the left hand side menu. One of the FIRST links on the page is to an article about Official Information. --ItsWalky 01:13, 17 September 2013 (EDT)

Thanks for editing Customizing

i wanted the 2 Galvatron pics on either side of the text like you have, and i couldn't figure out how to make the page do it. So that's what the { and } are for... Thanks! Rhymus (talk) 06:44, 18 November 2013 (EST)

You're welcome. :-) --Inkblot (talk) 07:23, 18 November 2013 (EST)

Thanks

Thanks for the warning, mac. I'm not too good with computers, but I'll try to be more careful :)

--Starscreamsfan (talk) 09:14, 18 November 2013 (EST)

No problem. And thank you for responding well. <:-) --Inkblot (talk) 09:18, 18 November 2013 (EST)

You're quite welcome, pal. I just have a tendency to be respectful, because that's the only way to get respect. :)

But still I would love if the main character pages had the original Mangiat box art. :) --Starscreamsfan (talk) 08:56, 23 November 2013 (EST)

Makes it look retro, doesn't it? ;-) You should know, though, that our policy on main images is to use the first "Earth mode" of the character (if possible), and that the image should have elements that best depict the character's personality (take Blades, for example). As for why we don't always use old package art, it's not just so that pages have a bit of variety, but also because some images fit them better and/or are better drawn. --Inkblot (talk) 09:26, 23 November 2013 (EST)

Hmmmm. I think you got a point there. And thanks again about the caption warning :)

--Starscreamsfan (talk) 09:29, 23 November 2013 (EST)

Who's the Don of this wiki??

I wanted to know who's the boss of this wiki, just so I could ask him if I could add a gallery to my page of G1 artwork (box art, Universe profile art, Ark character models painted by me with toy accurate colors). Just so I could have an archive of my own. :)

--Starscreamsfan (talk) 08:04, 25 November 2013 (EST)

I do believe ItsWalky owns this site. --Inkblot (talk) 17:04, 25 November 2013 (EST)

Site rules say you can only have one personal image uploaded for your user page. --abates (talk) 17:54, 25 November 2013 (EST)

We are not a personal hosting space. --ItsWalky (talk) 20:22, 25 November 2013 (EST)

Timelines

All FP toys are not Timelines by default. The stuff from the Club tends to be, but not always the stuff from the convention. We use the toyline shown on the instructions to determine what toyline something is from, which is why the combiner dudes who form Nexus Prime are from Cybertron and Classics. The instructions for the three-jet MW set have a modern TF logo with the old Machine Wars logo next to it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/G1-Transformrs-BOTCON-2013-exclusive-RAINMAKERS-Seeker-set-of-3-w-SUNSTORM-/350938918591?pt=US_Action_Figures&hash=item51b596eebf Nuffin' bout Timelines. --ItsWalky (talk) 10:02, 1 December 2013 (EST)

Oh, okay. Thanks for correcting me. --Inkblot (talk) 10:32, 1 December 2013 (EST)

Optimus Prime aka the Thirteenth Prime

tnaks for explain inkblot, I won't edit is and can't wai this this amzing imformation to be added to Optimus Prime (WFC) page--Jekogan (talk) 10:47, 1 January 2014 (EST)

AoE First Edition Prime Thrilling 30 status

I added First Edition Optimus Prime to the Thrilling 30 list because both this Hasbro press release and the official Transformers Facebook page claim that FE Prime is #14 of 30. AutoDecept (talk) 10:22, 3 February 2014 (EST)

Woah! Whoops, sorry, my bad. Still, the lack of T30 numbering on the box should probably be noted once the article is made. Thanks for correcting me. --Inkblot (talk) 16:52, 3 February 2014 (EST)

Possible usage of your toy pictures?

Just a quick question. I was wondering if you would give me permission to use some of your toy photos in the toy database on Transformers-Universe.com. Full copyright credit will be given, of course. Thanks in advance. Philister (talk) 08:06, 27 August 2014 (EDT)

Sure. Do you just need the wiki photos, or do you want me to somehow send you the full-sized images? --Inkblot (talk) 10:06, 2 September 2014 (EDT)

Just the Wiki pics are fine for now, I'll come back to you on the bigger pics if I need them. Thank you very much for your permission. Philister (talk) 08:02, 3 September 2014 (EDT)

Question

Hey,

how good are you at image editing? I may need some help with several instances of the "merging multiple incomplete versions of the same image into one complete image, plus editing out the background" variety.--Nevermore (talk) 07:12, 2 January 2015 (EST)

Pretty decent, but I guess it depends on how the photos were set up. I'll see what I can do. --Inkblot (talk) 01:14, 3 January 2015 (EST)

One of my ideas was to clean up this image by using a scan of the original catalog page as well as the cardboard inserts of the individual figures. Sadly, I no longer have my old scans due to a data loss I suffered a few years ago, so I'll have to ask around. Meanwhile, in a non-Transformers example, I have this image and this one, and the goal is something on par with this.--Nevermore (talk) 19:00, 6 January 2015 (EST)

How's this? --Inkblot (talk) 02:57, 7 January 2015 (EST)

A good start. Some of the edges are still a little rough (especially the orange section in the upper right), but overall much better than my botched attempts. Thanks!--Nevermore (talk) 04:41, 7 January 2015 (EST)

Alright dude, sorry it took me that long, but I finally got all the source images I could find. Sorry for the varying quality:

• Energon Superion Maximus from Energon Storm Jet's cardboard insert, scan by me
• Energon Superion Maximus from Energon Terradive's cardboard insert, scan by Tigerpaw28
• Energon Superion Maximus from the Energon catalog #4, scan by Monzo
• Energon Superion Maximus from the Energon catalog #4, scan by me

All of these are cropped differently. (Unfortunately, the saturation is also of varying quality.) Hopefully, you should be able to salvage as much image information from these four scans as possible. I know there will be some parts missing (especially the Windrazor leg), but anything that's an improvement over the current version is appreciated.--Nevermore (talk) 13:10, 25 January 2015 (EST)

Regarding to the images of the Hasbro MP Soundwave reissue

After seeing the pics of the promo, it seems that Hasbro is taking your photos without permission. FigureGunplaFan (talk) 11:15, 16 August 2016 (EDT)

Wiki watermark file

Hey, I've noticed you've been a pretty big contributor when it comes to toy photography for the wiki and was wondering if you were aware of the watermark file that's available. It's algood if you don't wanna use it, I just thought I should point out that it is there if you weren't aware because it has been tucked away in one of the community portal archives for the longest time lol. I've since added a link to it in our wiki image policy page too, to try and help point more eyes towards it. -- Fanofcoolstuff27 (talk) 08:27, 29 October 2021 (EDT)