mikeszekely

I got Geocron, Optimus, Quake, Slipstream, Soundwave, Armada Galvatron, the Gobots, and the Xaaron & Flame pack. Like I said, Metalhawk isn't all that different (and in my opinion, an inferior deco), Energon Megatron kind of sucked so I don't want the repaint, and I'm not super interested in Animated when the characters were in the show, let alone Motormaster.

Deluxe Optimus Slipstream Quake Soundwave Galvatron Motormaster Metalhawk Geocron Core Galvatron. Gobots Xaaron and Flame

Metalhawk was shown off, and IMHO it's not worth posting pictures. It's Legacy Evolution Metalhawk, but with darker gold and gray. Some people are saying it's more toy-accurate, and the darker gray is, but the gold is more like a caramel than the metallic gold that was on the G1 toy, and I personally think the Evolution one looks more cartoon-accurate. And since Metalhawk was a Japan-exclusive back in the day but I have actually watched Masterforce, cartoon colors all the way for me. More interesting is that Hasbro's going into the Marvel UK deep cuts for their new comic book two-pack, with Emirate Xaaron and Flame. Xaaron is a heavy retool of Siege Refraktor, while Flame is a new head and chest on Gamer Edition Megatron. Hopefully with the knees fixed. EDIT: Oh, and here's Armada Galvatron. Guess we're just waiting to see Animated Motormaster. EDIT AGAIN: As I was typing, guess what popped up on Mark's Instagram? EDIT A THIRD TIME: Forgot that we're also getting Soundwave in this wave. There was some talk that he'd be marketed as a Leader-class, but the box won't say "Leader" on it and it might be more expensive than a standard Leader. It's the Netflix toy, modified from Siege to turn into a tape deck. To fill out the budget, he'll come with yet another Ravage, Rumble (based on the Studio Series version, but with a more toy-Frenzy deco), and the reason the people who did get the Netflix one will likely still buy this one, Buzzsaw.

Early next year there will be a 5th wave of Legacy United before Hasbro moves on to the next trilogy in the spring. Cosmos should be in that wave, along with G1 Sureshot, G2 Breakdown, Armada Wheeljack, Overcharge (a Diaclone repaint of Blitzwing), and package refreshes of Tarn, Ramjet, and Galaxy Shuttle.

Oh, BTW... one final word on Springers, with a quick look at the remaining official Springers before Siege. Time has muddied some of the details in my head, but there was a period where Hasbro was expanding in Asia, especially China, and they released a few retools under the label "Global Development Organization," or simply GDO. But in late 2012 Toys 'R' Us thought it'd be fun to release a bunch of GDO figures as store-exclusives. The fellow you see on the left is GDO Springer, who is a retool of Hunt for the Decepticons Tomahawk. And on the right we have a figure I'm betting a lot of you might be familiar with, as it's the first official figure actually designed to be Springer rather than repurposed as Springer- Generations Thrilling 30 Springer, released the following year. I don't think it was ever explicitly stated that Hunt for the Decepticons was a movie line, but I always thought of it as one. Many of the figures were, in fact, repaints of Revenge of the Fallen figures, and even the ones that weren't (like Tomahawk) were clearly influenced by the Bayverse designs. So while the mix of grays, greens, yellow and certainly Springer's colors, and the head is a bit stylized but clearly based on G1 Springer, the digitigrade legs and large, toed feet practically invite you to consider GDO Springer less as G1 Springer and more as a hypothetical Bayverse Springer. Thrilling 30 Springer, on the other hand, with his gray arms and legs, green thighs, and yellow slab of a chest is the most G1 Springer we'd gotten to this point. Which makes sense, since it's the first mold intended as Springer in the first place. However, like much of the Generations line at the time, Thrilling 30 was based more on IDW comics than Sunbow. In Springer's case, it's Nick Roche's design from Last Stand of the Wreckers. And, y'know, the forearms could be a bit tidier, and the shoulders are a bit different, but it's pretty accurate to the comics. GDO Springer comes with a pair of missile launchers, just like Tomahawk did, but he also get a brand new sword unique to Springer's version of the mold. Thrilling 30 Springer also comes with a sword, and a large rifle that also fires missiles. GDO Springer's head is on a hinged ball joint, so it had pretty good up/down tilt and at least some sideways tilt. His shoulders are ball joints that swivel and get a bit under 90 degrees of lateral movement. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend a hair over 90 degrees. No wrist or waist articulation. Hips are ball joints that go over 90 degrees forward and backward, and a little under that laterally. His thighs swivel. His knees bend a little under 90 degrees, and his digitigrade ankle bends 90 degrees forward. His toes have a ton of up/down tilt, but there's no pivots. Springer can hold his sword in either hand. His missile launchers give you a few options. First, there's a 5mm peg on them that can plug into a port under either wing on his back. The launchers also have a ball-jointed c-clip. This clip can latch onto the molded guns on the tips of his wings, or onto rails on his arms. Finally, it's not an accessory, but the tail boom attached to his right arm has hinges in the vertical stabilizer, allowing it to act like a pinching claw. Thrilling 30 Springer's head is also on a ball joint with a little upward tilt, plenty of downward tilt, and not much sideways tilt. His shoulders swivel, and they can move laterally a little over 90 degrees, but he has Hot Rod shoulders. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees on ratchets. His wrists bend inward slightly due to transformation, and they swivel. His waist swivels a bit, though his backpack stops him at about 45 degrees. His hips can go 90 degrees forward or laterally, but only about 45 degrees backward. His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees on ratchets. His feet can tilt down, but not up, and he lacks ankle pivots (which wouldn't be standard for another six years). He can hold his sword or gun in either hand. The gun has a 5mm port on it, so you can store the sword on the gun, and a 5mm port on his back allows you to store the combined weapon on his back. As with yesterday's repurposed Springers, GDO Springer has just the one mode, a helicopter. The canopy opens so the front of his torso can fold up over his head. The sides of his chest rotate to line up with his back. The sides of the tail fold out from his arms, then his arms hinge backward and join to form most of the fuselage and tail. His hips double hinge forward, his toes and digitigrade ankles fold up against his shins, then his legs tab together and fold up under the belly. T30 Springer's chest comes up over his head, and his shoulder wings angle in and slide downward. His feet fold up, and joints in his thighs push his lower legs together. A flap on his butt locks the legs in place. His hands fold in, and his forearms split in half and wrap up around his shoulders, then his shoulders shift downward on double hinges to sit near his waist. I'll note here that there are clearance issues getting his chest up over his head, and they seem worse going from alt mode back to robot. I frequently wind up popping his head right off the ball joint. GDO Springer is an interesting helicopter, with molded missiles and guns on his wings, large intakes, a two-seat cockpit, landing gear, and a swiveling camera thing under the nose. However, nothing about the predominantly gray helicopter really is particularly notable as Springer. Sure, with the head and more prominent green in robot mode you can tell, but if you were unfamiliar with this figure and simply saw the helicopter I don't think you'd recognize it as Springer. His rotors spin. As before, you've got options for the missiles; under the wings, on the guns on the win tips, or on the rails that are now on the tail boom. With the 5mm pegs on the sword's hilt, though, the only thing you can really do is stick it under one of the wings, which means if you want the missiles to be attached symmetrically you're going to have use one of the c-clip spots. It's not a huge problem, but it's a reminder that the mold wasn't designed for the sword in the first place. Thrilling 30's helicopter mode is also a bit removed from Sunbow Springer or G1 toy Springer, but the colors are at least ones I'd more associate with Springer. It's a tad awkward, though. There's nothing securing the stabilizers on the tail in place, and his wings look more like folded-up kibble than anything purposeful. What's more, his wings are held in place entirely by friction, as his shoulders don't tab into anything after they shift. Springer's sword transforms and plugs into the top to form his main rotor. He's knee pads have little non-rolling wheels molded onto them, and he's got folding landing gear under his nose for him to perch on. Or, you can leave the nose gear folded in, and awkwardly clip his gun to the underside. But hey! As a toy that was designed to be Springer instead of repainted as Springer, Thrilling 30 Springer is our first official Springer since the G1 toy to actually be a triple changer! From the helicopter mode, fold up all his landing gear. Double hinge his entire backpack backward, then unravel his arms so that the windows on them line up with the cockpit. Take some bits that are on the sides of his shoulders, swivel them 180 degrees, then push them into his arms to reveal the front tires. Split his legs below the knee pads and fold them up alongside his legs to form the rear. T30's Springer is not G1 accurate. That said, this is the best car mode Springer has ever had. It looks even more like a Batmobile than Fansproject's Defender, with big wheels for all sorts of terrain and an armored appearance, while maintaining a the look of a vehicle that could also be driven fast on paved roads. I love it! My only real complaint is that I wish it fit together just a bit better. In car mode, you've got a pair of 5mm ports you can use to plug the gun into the roof. As I mentioned before, the sword can actually plug into a 5mm port on top of the gun. However, I've found that you can wedge the handle between his knees, with the knee pads clamping down on the hilt and the blade running up through a gap near the nose, and store pretty securely out-of-sight under the car. Like I said at the start, GDO Springer might work for me as a Bayverse Springer, but not a G1 Springer. Even in 2012 he wouldn't have usurped Universe Springer on my shelf, and he's definitely not worth picking up instead of Siege or SS86 Springer, so there's no reason to pick up this figure unless you're a masochist like me or a completionist. Thrilling 30, on the other hand, absolutely replaced Universe Springer and served as my Springer until Siege. He looks great in bot mode, as long as you're into that IDW style, and I love his car mode. In his time, I'd have said he's an excellent figure. Indeed, many people will argue that he's still the best Springer. However, those people might be remembering him with rose-tinted glasses. The fact is, he's got some fit and tolerance issues, and his helicopter mode (which, again, I think is the more important of his alt modes) isn't particularly good. For a modern, post-Siege collection, you really should go with Studio Series Springer, or at least Siege Springer. But, like I said, this was still a great figure in its time, and likely one some of you have fond memories of.

Is it a bad time to mention a little piece of plastic around the backpack hinge fell off?

Here's the Wave 4 Cores. Like I said, I thought Megatron was kind of crappy, and I actually prefer the Megatron colors, so Galvatron's a pass for me. Geocron swaps the red paint for purple, and the reddish brown for a less reddish brown. But hey, new head! I'll put him in the "maybe" column. Honestly, if Bandai weren't notoriously litigious, I'd suggest an unlicensed third party just side-step all that. And, sure, I'd like a lot of the Gobots I had as a kid, but for starters I'd rather they focus on the core cast (Leader-1, Scooter, and Turbo for the Guardians and Cy-Kill, Crasher, and Cop-Tur for the Renegades).

Agreed, but... That's kind of the thing. The Hasbro team is referencing the e-Hobby set, and the work they've done here (and with the previously-released Road Ranger and Bugbite, who were also part of the e-Hobby set) is accurate to that e-Hobby set. It's Takara's fault that they used some pretty random colors in the first place. BTW, I kind of want a new Deluxe-class Powerglide as much for a Bad Boy repaint that would complete the e-Hobby repaints as for Powerglide himself.

Yep. It's your standard $25 Deluxe that could end up on shelves at Walmart or Target if they weren't still clogged with Arcees and Crosscuts.

Legacy United Gobots (Pathfinder, Treads, and Smallfoot). It's a three-pack, and a BBTS exclusive. "Hey mom, can we get MIssing Link Convoy?" "We have one at home, dear." Yeah... it's Legacy United Deluxe-class Optimus Prime. Friendly reminder, preorders for these (and Quake and Slipstream) will go up tomorrow at 1:00pm EST. Probably also the rest of the line, which isn't anything super exciting- Cores Energon Galvatron and a repaint of Bouldercrash, Voyagers Animated Motormaster and Metalhawk, and Leader Armada Galvatron. I'm in for Quake, Slipstream, Optimus, and Armada Galvatron, but that might be it. I'm not into Animated designs as toys, and while they said the deco will be different I already have Metalhawk. I thought Energon Megatron was kind of trash so I'm not doing the repaint. I guess the Bouldercrash repaint depends on the color. Oh, I'm in for the Gobots. I'm hoping we'll see a few more store-exclusives soon, Target's Summer Geek Out starts Friday, and both SDCC and Walmart's Collector Con are at the end of June.

That'd work... If my desk wasn't actually an IKEA table without any drawers.

Mind you, that was after I removed a whole box of stuff to make room for the new monitor. Mostly Transformers.... I had all for Studio Series Dinobots on there, just waiting for Swoop, among others I'd been fiddling with.

I think, if I have to go mad looking at all those Springer toys, I'm going to share that madness with you guys. But what about all those official Springers that came before the current Siege one? Well, there are four of them, but I'll spare you guys a little and do this in two parts. The first two Springers we got we repaints of Cybertron toys. In 2007, Cybertron Defense Hot Shot was repainted and sold as part of a souvenir two-pack at BotCon. A year later, Evac was repainted and sold in a Universe Target two-pack. Now, the thing is, I don't actually have BotCon Springer, and I couldn't bring myself to spend over $100 on what was very likely a $10 toy when it was Hot Shot. Nor do I have Hot Shot. But I do have Universe Roadbuster, who was also sold in a Target two-pack and also uses the Cybertron Defense Hot Shot mold. From a sculpt point of view, I guess I can see how Hot Shot's head is a little like Springer's. But, even with all the brown plastic done in gray, with green thighs, green forearms, and a some green on the head and chest (along with black and, surprisingly, some blue), I don't know that I'd say there's anything about him that's particularly Springery. By and large, that's true for Universe Springer, too. Evac's helmet does have a similar shape to Springers, and the green and gray deco (this time accented with yellow) is suggestive of Springer, but the sculpt from the neck down lacks details that make you go, "oh, Springer!" As far as accessories go, BotCon Springer would have come with a knife like this one, but with a bit more green paint on the blade. Speaking of blades, we have these permanently-connected, definitely not a sword ones for Universe Springer. As repaints of Cybertron toys both would come with red Cyber Planet Keys like the one here. Universe Springer also came with a pair of gray missiles, but after two moves since getting the figure and never being big on missile firing gimmicks in the first place, I couldn't find them. Overlapping as it did with the start of the Classics line, there's a part of me that lumps Cybertron with everything between Classics and Siege as semi-modern, but I should point out that Cybertron did just come right after Energon and Armada, which weren't exactly pioneers in engineering and articulation. In the case of BotCon Springer/Hot Shot, his head swivels, no tilt. His shoulders rotate, but they only get about 45 degrees laterally and then only when his arms are straight down at his sides; he's got Hot Rod shoulders. He's got no bicep swivel, no wrist swivel, and his elbows only bend about 60 degrees. He's got no waist swivel. His hips can go 90 degrees backward, but less than that forward and only about 45 degrees laterally. There's no thigh swivel. His knees bend 90 degrees. His feet can kind of tilt up, due to his transformation, but they don't tilt down or have ankle pivots. His knife has a 5mm handle, and he can hold it in either hand. However, both of his arms have another 5mm port on the front of his fists, and you can put the knife there like an arm blade. When not in use, the knife can store in a clip on the slide of his left leg. His backpack has a hinge so it can lift up, pointing the guns over his shoulders. Each gun has it's own up/down swivel. There's also a slot for the Cyber Planet Key, which causes the guns to pop open to reveal a barrage of missiles inside. Further missiles can be exposed by open flaps on his shoulders and spinning some panels on this thighs. Finally, though they don't activate any gimmicks, he's got a port on each of his forearms for Armada Minicons. Universe Springer/Evac fared a little better. His head swivels, no tilt. His shoulders rotate on ratchets, and move laterally 180 degrees on more ratchets. He does have a bicep swivel this time, and his elbows bend 90 degrees on ratchets. No wrist swivel, but his wait can... on ratchets. Hips go 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally... all ratcheted. His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees on ratchets. His toes point down, but no upward tilt, and no ankle pivots. The blades plug into the engine housing permanently attached to his left arm, where they kind of just get in the way. Under his right arm he has a big hook with a gimmick; you can pull the rope out on a hook, and pressing a button will cause it to reel back up. It's kind of cool. The Cyber Planet Key isn't super useful in this mode, as it just causes some thruster on his backpack to flip around to fire missiles... straight into the air. The tail boom on his back has swivels that you're supposed to swing out like wings for his "attack mode," but you have to do that manually. A downside to just repainting random figures is that only one of these guys has a "car" mode, and it's BotCon Springer/Roadbuster/Hot Shot. Transformation is pretty simple; his head flips up, his arms collapse into his shoulders, and the shoulders fold up over his head. His hips bend forward as his pelvis actually folds back, then they collapse over his thighs. You finish it off by doubling-hinging his backpack backward and tucking his feet into his shins. The result is an APC, and it's pretty cool. It looks even better in the mostly-gray with green trim used on the BotCon toy. My only complaint would be that the heels are still sticking straight out the back, though since Cybertron used CGI based more closely on the toys than G1 ever was one could argue that it's accurate for Hot Shot. Except, I don't associate Hot Shot with APCs, even when he briefly was one. Sports car or GTFO. As for Springer... it's a more realistic ground-based military vehicle than his G1 car. But then again, it's not his G1 car, so... The backpack-turned-turret can swivel, and again each barrel can swivel up/down independently. The Cyber Planet Key still pops the guns open to reveal the missiles, but the front bumper also pops open with still more missiles molded inside. The knife can fit into the same clip as bot mode, but it's actually designed to fit into a groove on the inside of his legs, sandwiching inside them with just a bit of the 5mm port poking out the back. Universe Springer is also cursed to have a solitary alt mode, but instead of the ground vehicle he goes for the helicopter mode. His waist rotates, then double hinges forward to form the cockpit and nose, and his arms unclip from his sides then fold in front of his chest to make most of the rest of the fuselage and engine. His backpack comes up to form the rest of the engine and nacelles, and the tail simply folds back behind it all. Is it Springer's Cybertronian/futuristic helicopter? No. As the mold began life as Evac, what we get is actually a fairly realistic helicopter that borrows heavily from Aérospatiale/Airbus's Eurocopter line. And, I'll remind you, at the time Classics/Universe figures were often more reimagining than copying G1, so a realistic helicopter wasn't necessarily out of place. Excellent helicopter, then, no notes, save for a passing mention that in the same year Universe Springer came out this figure was also used for Universe Blades, but Blades had an even better Coast Guard deco. Universe Springer has landing gear that can fold out from under the nose, or tuck in if you prefer. The hip skirts make the rear landing gear, and it folds up if you prefer a more in-the-air look. The winch can rotate and the hook can still be pulled out, then retracted at the press of a button. Speaking of buttons, there's one on the side of the engine that causes the rotor to spin, which is cool. The Cyber Planet Key plugs in behind the engine, and the nacelles swing forward to fire missiles. It makes a lot more sense in helicopter mode, where they actually point forward. That was basically it for Springer until 2012. I think that gave collectors with the cash and inclination real incentive to pick up Fans Project's Warbot Defender. For me, though, Universe Springer served as my Classics/Universe/Generations Springer. Unless you were actually at BotCon in 2007, BotCon Springer is too expensive and extremely dated, so I wouldn't recommend him. As for Universe Springer, well, his robot mode enjoys more articulation and his alt mode is actually a very cool helicopter toy. And I think, for me anyway, I associate Springer more with his helicopter mode than his car mode, so if you can only keep one alt mode helicopter would be it. That said, there are better Springers in modern times, and if you really want to experience this mold the Blades version not only has a better deco, it seems to be cheaper on the secondary market. Go for that one instead.

That's what I figured. Not the end of the world, especially since they included a cable in the box (not always a given these days). Nah. If I wanted to do that, I'd have definitely gone with a taller 21:9 display. The idea was maximum immersion in gaming. (and for simple web browsing I can just size a centered Chrome window to approximate my old 27" display anyway). I switched from left-aligned to centered icons on the taskbar. If I wanted to get serious work done, I can always use a different computer (I set my old monitor up as a display for my M1 Macbook). Also, if I wanted to get serious work done, I'd probably have attempted to so by now.

I went with the G9 OLED (yes, my desk is a mess). In the store, they had it displayed right next to an LG Ultra Gear OLED that was 21:9. I admit that, in the store, I was kind of into the extra height. But I had to remind myself that the monitor I had was already the same height, and that height was pretty ideal at my actual desk at the actual distance I sit from it. Samsung's QD-OLED panels are supposed to be better than LG's, too, and I still liked the idea of running one monitor that was basically the same as two 16:9 27"-ers. Got it setup, and was kind of freaking out because the display was glitching. I notice that it was only glitching when it was displaying my PC, though; the menus and junk were all fine. I replaced the nice braided Display Port cable I'd been using with the one that came with the G9, and the glitching stopped. So far, I've noticed that even at max brightness it's not as bright as the IPS display I was using, but that's expected with OLED, and it's a fair trade off for the better contrast and deeper blacks. Going in I was a little worried about text fringing; Windows does or didn't support ClearType, but it looks totally fine to me. I can see why, even with the extra space, this monitor is a tad too big for productivity. I have to turn my head to focus on the edges. But I think filling my periphery will make for much more immersive gaming.

Slipstream is exactly what I expected. I'm not sure what to make of Quake. It's a more extensive remold of Skullgrin than I thought, but despite that it's still kind of an awkward tank and the bot mode has some wrong colors.

BMac posted on Instagram that they'll be doing some kind of reveals all week long, including the "final wave of Legacy United this year." (My sources tell me there is one more wave, but it's technically scheduled for early 2025 while the first part of the new post-Legacy trilogy will be condensed to three waves, sort of like the transition from Kingdom to Legacy). I don't know if that means press releases, Instagram stuff, or if there will be a stream/streams on Pulse's Youtube channel, but the important thing to know is that preorders will open Thursday at 1:00pm EST.

Did you think we were done with Springer now that we've covered the MPs and Legends? I'm afraid we still have one more unlicensed third-party Springer, though this one may be one of the most important 3P figures ever to be released. This one is Fansproject's Warbot Defender. Defender is an old figure, from the long ago days of 2010. I think the dated engineering on him would leave him out-of-place in a modern collection even if he weren't so stylized, and boy howdy is Defender stylized. Details we've come to accept as "iconic" elements of Springer's design like his shoulder pads are missing, while new elements like the busy shins and the yellow cannisters on his hips and forearms are Fansproject originals. And yet, I do think the design is recognizably Springer. Sure, maybe the predominantly gray arms, yellow chest, and green thighs hearken a bit more to the G1 toy than the Sunbow art, but that's fine. There's the square chest, and the hint of what could be his tummy vent. The helmet is more aggressively angular, but has the general shape you'd expect. His backpack is still mostly his cockpit and roof, and while they're black and stylized he's even got the engine nacelles. His calves flare out and curve in slightly, but the impression is very akin to the fins on the backs of Sunbow Springer's legs. And, again, it's important to remember the the era this was released in- in 2010, Hasbro was just transitioning from from Universe to Generations, and most of what we got that year was either from Animated, Revenge of the Fallen, or the then-current War for Cybertron game. The stuff that wasn't, like Reveal the Shield Jazz, Darkmount/Straxus, and Blurr was at least as stylized from their G1 incarnations as Defender is from Springer. So, accessories. I had to double check this one, but Defender comes with a sword and two pistols. The definitely-used copy I was able to pick up also came with these little translucent bits. I thought that they might be adapters for a flight stand- the instructions even mention using one. But no, I don't have any flight stand adapters and I can't find any reviews from back then that talk about them. What they actually seem to be are 3D-printed heels that plug onto tabs on the backs of his feet. So, I'd say that if you were to track down a copy of Defender today you shouldn't expect to have them with yours, but you might want to look at getting some if you're going to display him in bot mode, as he is a tad back heavy. With the extra heel support, Defender's head is on a ball joint that doesn't have a ton of room to look down, but he can look up a decent amount and can tilt his head sideways more than you'd really need. His shoulders rotate. They can move laterally 90 degrees, but they're a bit weird. They move out on what feels like friction to 45 degrees, then they click through three detents on the way from 45 to 90. His biceps rotate on soft ratches, then he bends his elbows 90 degrees on ball joints. His wrists swivel. His waist swivels, but due to his backpack we're talking a bit under 45 degrees either way. His hips go forward or backward 90 degrees on very soft ratchets, then laterally 90 degrees on tighter ones. He's got ratcheted thigh swivels, and soft-ratcheted knees that bend over 90 degrees. His feet can tilt up on more ratchets, largely due to his transformation, but nothing really down, and he lacks ankle pivots. A chunk of his lower leg (from the yellow details down) is hinged to provide him with a too-slight ankle pivot. The pistols fit snuggly in either of Defender's hands. Despite being ridiculously thin, he holds his sword well, too. Three weapons for two hands leaves at least one as the odd one out, but Fansproject considered that. There are cavities just to the side of Defender's knees where his pistols can slide into, like a holster. Meanwhile, a pin coming off one side of the sword's hilt can fit into a small hole on the right side of Defender's backpack. The transformation to car mode isn't particularly difficult. Honestly, I think it's probably easier than Siege Springer. A flap on his chest opens so his head can pass through as you lift it up. His shoulders use a double hinge mechanism to line up properly with the front of the car, his shoulders turn in so the wheels face down, and his arms tuck into the void his chest left. His sides open, his waist turns 180 degrees, his feet fold up to his shins, and his legs fold back over his thighs. Some of the backpack double hinges to fill in the rear, and little flaps near his ankles fill in a gap between his feet legs and shoulders. I actually really dig Defender's car mode. The sides of his legs have a flow to them that blends nicely with his roof in such a way that it looks very purposely like some kind of ground vehicle, and not a helicopter cosplay as a car. The extra wheels in the back combine with the cockpit to suggest more of an armored military-type vehicle than a literal car. Heck, paint it black and I could buy it as a post-Nolan Batmobile (and Defender's release puts him right between The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises). My only complaint would be the visible fists on the sides. That complaint, mind you, is mitigated somewhat by the intended weapon storage. See, Fansproject tells you to attach the pistols to the car by simply plugging them into his fists. The sword can stow on the car, too, or rather, under it. There's a slot on what is actually Defender's butt, and gaps between his knees and tucked-up arms. The hilt, pin and all, jam between his knees, so that the blade runs through Defender's butt crack and into the gap between his arms. Going to helicopter is a bit more frustrating than the car mode. To be clear, I don't think it's that much more complicated; the shoulders shift on the double-hinged mechanism so they're behind the nose of the vehicle, his arms stuff into his torso in different configuration, the backpack folds up and a flap folds off of it over the cockpit, his hips shift a bit and the sides of his legs swing around to form the tail. The catch is folding the arms up. Things need to be angled a certain way, and even when you kind of got it the instructions make things look more flush than you can actually achieve due to molded details on his arms pushing them out slightly. The helicopter mode is the weaker mode, I think. His feet and forearms leave some gaps that the car had filled better, and there's pretty obvious tires sticking out of his wings, one of which on my copy is a little droopy due to the joint tolerance getting a little loose in the last 14 years. His tail's a little thigh, and a little short, and the flowing lines that worked so well for the robot mode don't really come across as effectively as horizontal or vertical stabilizers, to say nothing of the fact that there's not even any molded detail that suggests a tail rotor. I'll tell you what, though, I love how the backpack gives the top of the helicopter a different shape than the top of the car, and how it changes the look of the cockpit. In all the years and all the Springers since, I think only Open and Play's Big Spring made the effort to make the car cockpit and the helicopter cockpit visually distinct from each other. In copter mode, Defender's sword splits entirely in half and one half swivels on the pin (oh, so that's where MechFansToys got the idea), then the pin plugs into the top of the helicopter to form the main rotor. The guns plug into ports that are revealed when you swing the wheels out to become the wings. The ports angle the guns, and I suppose they're trying to pass the guns off as the landing skids. I'm not sure it works for me. In 2024, I don't think anyone would actually recommend Defender over Siege Springer (or the upcoming Studio Series version) for your Generations/WFC/Legacy collection. The ratchets are a bit wonky, the materials feel a tad brittle, the engineering and articulation are dated, and the aesthetics are too far removed from Sunbow G1. However, Defender is an extremely important figure whose legacy can't be understated. Prior to Defender, the unlicensed 3rd-party market was almost entirely upgrade kits. Fansproject themselves had cut their teeth on a trailer for Classics Optimus that was pretty much just a stylized version of the G1 toy's, a trailer for Classics Hot Rod that armored him up into Rodimus Prime, and a trailer for Classics Ultra Magnus that armored him up into something more akin to the character we saw in the cartoon and not simply a white Optimus. Defender, while not actually the first entire 3P figure, was the first major one, the release that really cemented the idea that these companies could get away with selling unlicensed original designs of Hasbro's characters. You might considering owning Defender for the history he represents. At the very least, Defender deserves respect.

I don't know how to feel about Xbox right now. I mean, I'm primarily a PC gamer, but I subscribed to Game Pass because I can use it on PC, but bought an Xbox to get the most out of my Game Pass subscription. And I do like how seamlessly Xbox Cloud saves work between PC and console. Stuff like the new Doom, Indiana Jones, Perfect Dark, and even the Starfield expansion have my attention. On the other hand, it sure seems like Microsoft wants to make PlayStation games, which kind of makes me wonder why anyone would want to buy another Microsoft console in the future. Not to mention that they recently closed a bunch of studios.

Ugh, I didn't notice the ports on the G8. That might be the deciding factor right there; the G9 at least has a regular HDMI and Display Port. If I did my math right (not guaranteed), 32:9 @ 1440p is nearly a million pixels less than I'm currently driving on a 16:9 4k screen, so I'm not super worried about that. Right now I'm playing Ghost of Tsushima, and with DLSS and frame gen I'm still getting 100-ish fps on 4k High.

So... a few years back I bought an LG monitor. Thought I might do more creative-type stuff, so I bought a 27UK850... 27", 4K IPS LCD, nice metal frame, great color accuracy, only 60hz refresh rate. And... yeah, I don't really do anything more creative than write Transfomer reviews here. I browse the web some, but I've got laptops for that, too. Mostly I use my desktop for gaming, and I've come to realize a few things: -60hz is fine... but faster would be better. I should have got a display with a higher refresh rate. -Well, assuming I can go faster. Turns out driving a hair over eight and a quarter million pixels is hard, even for an RTX 4070. I'd have been better off with a 1440p. -While 27" does seem to be the ideal vertical height for a display you're sitting around two and a half to three feet from, it leaves plenty of space in your peripheral vision that isn't monitor, and ultrawides are becoming more popular for that reason. -I think IPS is ideal for doing work-stuff on a PC, but how awesome would games like Cyberpunk and Ghost of Tsushima look in OLED? Long story short, I'm 99% sure I want to replace my monitor with an ultrawide OLED. The question though, and what I'd like you guys' input on, is whether I should go 12:9 or 32:9? I'm specifically looking at Samsung's Odyssey OLED G8 and Odyssey OLED G9. Both display have an 1800R curve. I measured, I should have just enough room for the G9. I feel like the the 32:9 display on the G9 will better fill my field of view, and therefore make for more immersive gaming, and on the occasions when I am using my computer for other stuff I like that a 49" 32:9 display is basically the same as a pair of 27: 16:9 screens. The G8 is cheaper, and 21:9 seems more widely supported in games than 32:9 right now, though. But a 34" 21:9 display doesn't feel like as big of an upgrade/change.

Ok, three seasons down, one to go, and it might be the best show I've seen since in years. Dang, I might actually want to check out Dune: Prophecy, but I already decided that I'm canceling Max. EDIT: I know it's said that the Butlerian Jihad is about 10,000 years before Dune, and they're advertising Prophecy as also about 10,000 years before Dune, but if Prophecy is about the founding of the Bene Geserit it should be roughly a decade after the end of the Butlerian Jihad.

Meh. Street Fighter is fine, but Kunitsu-Gami, Power Rangers, and Civ VII are what caught my attention.

It's a shame that four good-to-great figures is all we're likely to get out of Transformers: Reactivate. Word on the street is that it's been canceled. Honestly, I'm not surprised. I mentioned months ago that they said they were scrapping what they had and starting over with a new engine. From what I know of the game industry, "canceled" comes after "started over with a new engine" way more often than "released to universal acclaim."

Surprise! They did! This time we've got Falcon, the 29th release in their Mech Soul line that began with Samurai, though I think this one was worked on by Mechanic Studio, who have also collaborated with Dr. Wu. In any case, what we have here is a robot that's roughly the same size as Samurai, but significantly more cartoon accurate. The gray on his legs is a bit bluer, and (from the front) free of kibble. The face, hands, and thighs that were white the first time have that greenish tinge now. His shoulder pads, with their yellow fronts, wrap around his shoulders as you'd expect. The yellow chest vent is more than just a small cutout. And though the face sculpt is a little mushy (forgivable at this scale), the shapes and proportions are tweaked to be that much more Sunbow. The sides of his legs have the wheel well seen on the Sunbow art, and his backpack has the little engince nacelles the previous version omitted. You may also note that the backpack sits a bit higher and doesn't hang down over his butt. His calves aren't hollow. My only real complaint is the folded fins on his calves, but it's a minor complaint on what is clearly a huge improvement on Springer's robot mode. Falcon doesn't have as many accessories as Samurai, but he's got what he needs without stuffing the box with Diaclone knock-offs. You've got a sword, and this one is more solidly built and works more traditionally than Samurai's. You've got a rifle that's similar in sculpt to the G1 toy's. You've got the catapult missile, because apparently it's very important to include that thing from the movie even though there's no real way for the toy to interact with it, and you've got a flight stand adapter. Note that the gun and missile are silver paint over green plastic. The silver coat is a bit thin, so the green plastic winds up giving the silver paint a bit of a gold tint. In person it is NOT as bad as my camera's processor is making it out to be. I'm happy to report that aesthetics are not the only improvement here. Falcon's head is on a ball joint that has ok-ish up/down/sideways tilt in addition to swiveling. His shoulders are ball joints that swivel and move 90 degrees laterally- no Hot Rod shoulders this time. His biceps swivel, and his double-jointed elbows could bend 180 degrees if his shoulderp ads weren't in the way. No wrist swivels, though. His waist can swivel, and this time it's unobstructed- he can swivel his waist a full 360 degrees. His hips are ball joints, and they can go about 90 degrees forward and backward, though the lateral movement is limited to about 60 degrees. His thighs swivel, and his knees bend a little short of 90 degrees. His feet can't really tilt up, but they can tilt nearly 90 degrees downward, and his ankles can pivot over 90 degrees, plus he has ankle swivels. He can hold his sword and gun just fine by sliding the handles into his static fists. He doesn't appear to have any storage for them aside from holding them, though. Falcon's transformation is a bit more involved than Samurai, but still simpler than any of the MP options or even the Siege toy. Begin by pulling the entire front of his torso away and opening up his backpack. That will allow you to free a little sliver of the cockpit window, tuck his head into his torso cavity, and lift his chest up to become the front of the vehicle. His shoulder pads unfold, then the front wheels fold out from his chest and tab into the underside of the shoulder pads. The sides of his legs open up, allowing you to slide them up over his thighs as well as folding out the rear wheels before closing them back up. The smaller fins near the tops of his legs remain folded flat, but the large ones angle outward, and his feet spin around and fold onto the backs of his legs. Once his legs are set and tabbed together, the backpack can hinge down and back, sliding over some tabs on this thighs to lock into place, then his arms simply peg into the backpack to finish it all off. Falcon's car mode is pretty solid, and fairly Sunbow accurate. My biggest complaints are that the fenders don't really reach in front of the nose the way they should for this mode, and that the fins on the back are pointing in the wrong direction. I'll also note that the back is a bit messy, but that's almost par for the course on Springers, even for the big MP-style ones, and that I'm not a fan of his visible fists, but if Hasbro can't manage that on a $50 Leader why should I expect MFT to do it on a much smaller $30 figure? The wheels roll, but on this size we're not getting gimmicks like headlights or a cockpit that can open. Honestly, I'm not even sure if the car mode has intentional weapon storage. That said, both of his fists are still accessible so you can plug his weapons in there... although the sword will look kind of stupid, as it's sticking straight up. Like with Samurai, the gist of the helicopter mode is to unfurl the tail boom from his legs, curl his arms up alongside the fenders, and split the sword to make the rotor. In practice, there's a bit more going on this time. The wheels tuck back under the nose, which leaves space for the shoulder pads to fold up a bit, shortening them to sit well behind the nose. While his arm curls up, the inside of it folds back out, and futher allows you to fold out the landing skids. While unfurling the tail boom, you have to rotate his waist and then rotate his thighs 180 degrees, which brings them close together so they can tab in properly. Finally, in a step I missed for these photos, his feet do swivel around and still tab into each other. Falcon's helicopter mode is a definitely improvement over Samurai's- better colors, engine nacelles on the top, landing skids that don't require partsforming, horizontal stabs on the tail, and they did work in a way to change the geometry of the fenders/wings. However, I think it's probably his weakest mode. We've still got the visible fists. There's a little gap in the fuselage, where his chest vacated his torso that's not being hidden by his arms anymore. There's a larger gap on the back of the tail (and under it), and the entire tail boom seems a bit too large for the fuselage. My biggest gripe is one that actual returns from Samurai, and that's that there's nothing locking the fenders/wings in place; they can rotate and move freely on the shoulder ball joints. While we can trust the sword to form a nice rotor, again there doesn't seem to be any deliberate storage for his gun. Of course, there's still the visible fists, if you don't mind the asymmetry. As for the flight stand, it plugs into a screw hole on Falcon's butt, currently on the underside of the helicopter. Like I said yesterday, Iron Factory, Magic Square, and NewAge haven't done a Springer. So, by virtue of being better than Samurai, Falcon is the Springer I'd recommend for your Legends collection. And for your money you'll be getting an excellent robot mode, a decent car mode, and an adequate helicopter mode, as well as the knowledge that if Iron Factory ever gets around to doing a Springer it'll certainly be too stylized for a Sunbow G1 Legends collection anyway. The real threats will be Magic Square and NewAge, who I imagine will almost certainly do a better Springer, but at the cost of being more complex and more expensive.