M'Kyuun

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Or Swindle and Brawl need to be entirely shin and Bruticus needs some proper feet under them.

I'm of two minds about that: I appreciate that they went the extra mile to make Brawl and Swindle become both legs and feet and that they actually serve the purpose thereof instead of just tacking onto a frame that does all the work. OTOH, it's obvious how foreshortening their vehicle modes to accomplish this detrimentally affected the look of Bruticus by making his legs too short relative to the rest of him. It's unfortunate, as I like it when Takara employ their engineering skills, but something about the finished product here should have given pause. I'm sure the upgrade kit makers will be working on solutions, but that very necessity, and the ever-increasing prices thereof, sticks somewhat in the craw.

Onslaught and Sideways POs are up on Pulse.

15 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Swindle.

Aside from that unsightly arm kibble, Swindle looks good. Very much loving these AotP Combaticons, although I wish they'd managed Vortex's arm kibble better. Of all of them, I'd say he's the weakest, and he's still much better than CW Vortex, at least insofar as G1 accuracy is concerned. I imagine there'll be several solutions at hand to fix Bruticus', erm, shortcomings, but otherwise, he's not shaping up too badly either. I do wish, however, that in this instance they'd abandoned the frame system for the arms and engineered the bots themselves to take on the roles they're supposed to occupy rather than just be relegated to accoutrement. As for how Takara approached the legs, in practice, I don't mind that there's a small bit of framework to help with strength, as the leg bots are doing a fair chunk of the work, as they should. This, IMHO, is a good compromise, and if they're going to continue to rely on a frame system, I'd rather see them embrace a minimalist frame over what they did with Menasor or Superion, where the combiner bots aren't even necessary to form the gestalt. At that point, the combiner bots become superfluous, as they're little more than decoration, and that's not what I want in a combiner.

48 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

Another view.  I would have preferred it if Swindle and Brawl didn't transform into Bruticus feet and Onslaught transformed into taller Bruticus feet instead.

Yeah, he definitely suffers from ape arms syndrome. Taller legs would've evened out the proportions.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Confirming pre-orders for 1:00pm EST/10:00am PST.

Huge thanks, Mike!

13 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

The Hasbro panel was for all their brands, so the Transformers part was real short. They showed off the leaked Sideways and Onslaught. Nate said someone about making sure Bruticus has black hands- until I hear differently I assume he actually means Onslaught, since gray is already correct for Bruticus, but I pointed out yesterday that green is wrong for Onslaught.

Yes, pre-orders for those two open tomorrow, still confirming the time.

The only other thing they mentioned is a brief glimpse at Swindle. Sorry for the poor quality.

Bot looks fine, not loving the black winch. Jeep is a little long. The trailer is a reference to an episode; I'm hoping the guns mount without it. The arm cannon and trailer will combine to form Bruticus' gun. I don't think preorders for Swindle will be tomorrow, as he's scheduled for the third wave right now.

PO time is Greatly appreciated, as no one else seems willing or able to provide it. My appt ran long, but I was trying to keep abreast via my phone bouncing between here and the TFW Bruticus thread.

So tomorrow. If they hold to precedent, it'll be 1300 PST, but I'll keep checking in to see if you get any clarification.

Regarding Swindle, despite the blurriness, he looks alright. Considering he has to match Brawl, at least in terms of length to form the other leg, a little extra length on the jeep mode is acceptable. While I could also live without the winch, it's apparently a cartoon touch, and unfortunately, Hasbro's leaning ever more into the toon.

7 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

 

While the walking actions are a still a bit janky, everything else about these Robosen figures astounds continually. Never imagined I'd ever see anything this sophisticated regarding Transformers in my lifetime, but I'm glad I'm here to see it. They're a bit on the pricey side, and rather large besides, so I don't own any, but I enjoy them vicariously.

I'm curious if this will accommodate MMC's full sized cassettes? If Robosen was able to make their own fully self-converting cassettes, that would truly be next level. I'd consider picking up Ravage if they made him.

6 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

why does this one have two heads?

 

 

I didn't even notice it. Yeah, if you leave Vortex's tail halves splayed open per instructions, his head is exposed. You can't see it from looking straight on, but from that angle, it's clearly visible. I keep the tail halves closed on my copy.

It's not a perfect figure, but for the size, it's quite solid and well-articulated, especially for a gestalt. Unlike the Taka-bro version, no frame required- the bots serve as the limbs, as they should. It doesn't hurt that it's pretty much all plastic, and so much easier on the joints over the long run. I prefer that over die-cast heavy figs that become weak and floppy over time. Too, at legends scale, it delivers, for me, an excellent set of Combaticons and, IMHO, a great-looking Bruticus at space friendly scale compared to both Hasbro's and especially MP scales. I hope at some point (I may have to check about now that it comes to mind) for a toy-version legs and chest-piece set to convert him over. I'm not crazy about the toon look of Bruticus, especially that shuttle-like chest.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Not sure, but CCXP25 starts tomorrow.  The Transformers team is there and will have a panel at 3:00pm EST.  I expect we'll hear more about Onslaught (and a few other recent leaks) then, and if there are going to be preorders this week we'll get tipped off then.

 

EDIT: BTW, I'll have more to say in the near future.  Probably not before the holidays, though.

Thanks for the info, Mike. I have an appointment in the AM, but between the predicted snow and time spent at the doctor's (waiting-he's a busy guy), hopefully I'll make it home before noon to catch the panel and any potential POs.

The MMC does look good, no argument. Too, I'm generally a fan of MMC's work, as I have more of their MP scaled figs than any other third party. I would've gotten these guys, too, Bruticus being my favorite combiner, but I just didn't have the space for another MP scaled combiner. So, I've mostly contained my collecting now to Hasbro and 3P legends. I have the MS legends scaled toon-style Bruticus right in front of me as I type, and his proportions look good to me. I'd rather have had the toy version, but FOMO made me act before they were sold out, as I made my decision to get him rather late in the game.

Funny, even this bottom pic makes his shins look stubbier than they are. The knees on my copy are right at eye level on my desk, and from that perspective, the thighs and lower legs appear appropriately proportional.

Regarding the Taka-bro version, I prefer the direction they took giving both leg bots a minor transformation into legs and feet instead of just tacking them on to a frame like Menasor and Superion. At least the leg bots are performing their functions with the assistance of a much smaller than usual frame system. I'm hoping the proportions will look better in hand, as pics don't always do toys proper justice. Regardless, at this point, I'm in for the whole team.

Someone on the TFW boards said that Onslaught's PO will start at 10 AM PST on Friday. Can anyone confirm?

Well, the angle of the photo doesn't help, as the thickness of Brawl from back to front makes his leg look even thiccer than it is if viewed from directly forward. Add to that the ankle position nearly halfway up the leg, which also makes the leg itself look shorter, all which conspire to make him look rather chonky and squat. I appreciate that the leg bots, at least, are doing their due diligence more than the arms in this case, but it sems that the overall execution could have been improved.

I look no further than Magic Square's Bruticus: 

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Oof.

I'll let Onslaught's feet have a pass.  They're ugly, but kind of becoming a standard for Hasbro; they're basically the same as Silverbolt's.  And the truck mode looks pretty good.  But this is a Commander-class toy.  At that price, they should be able to afford enough plastic colors to make his thighs and hands black instead of sticking them on the same runner as the green/brown parts.

And don't get me started on Bruticus.  He's got terrible proportions that look like half his legs are missing.  It's funny that after buying a DNA upgrade for Menasor I was debating if I think such upgrades are necessary for Superion and Devastator, but I'm already praying for DNA to fix Hasbro's mess on Bruticus.

Also, I strongly prefer Bruticus to have a silver chest plate and blue thighs.  I'm not getting that, because Hasbro wants to go Sunbow.  OK... then why doesn't Blast Off connect via the top of the shuttle, as is cartoon-accurate?  It's like Hasbro figured out the frame system works, then made a one-size-fits-all design that clearly doesn't work for Bruticus.

I saw a pic of this this morning, not knowing it was Hasbro's, and thought it was some chibi version. I woke up late today and was confronted with pics of Bruticus everywhere, so the realization set in that this is what we're getting. I don't necessarily hate it, but I'll agree that the legs look disproportional. I'm sure DNA or one of the upgrade kit makers will sort us out.

I'm still quite pleased with how Onslaught turned out, and I'm both relieved and glad that they integrated a turning mechanism for his trailer, a necessity that is often missing with Onslaught toys. I realize it'll likely be limited, but at least it's there in part.

Mike, you're not wrong about their over-reliance on the frame system and the concessions the use thereof entails. Bruticus epitomizes those concessions, alas. I wish, like the Constructicons, they'd found a way to use the bots themselves as limbs. And like you, I prefer Bruticus' toy look over the Sunbow. I never understood the Blast Offish shuttle-like chest, especially when the toy's chest piece was completely different and far better looking, IMHO. 

Gripes aside, I'm eagerly awaiting the preorder windows for Onslaught and Swindle.

6 hours ago, Test_Pilot_2 said:

Outstanding! I hope you and the family are well, sir!

You're too kind. All good things to you and yours this holiday season!

7 hours ago, Swann said:

Of course it will and hundred percent agreed.  They got the wrong person to play He Man and other issues 

Never was a fan of MOTU, so I've no dog in the race, as it were. However, I think it's fair to say that, like all fans, they deserve a good film to carry on the legacy of the brand (at least we TF fans got Bumblebee, which was just good, not great). As such it's disheartening to see the negative inclination of the comments here. That said, I'm at a loss as to how Jared Leto continues to get work, as he seems to carry the Touch of Death to anything he's in. 

3 hours ago, Test_Pilot_2 said:

Nice! I've been punting Soundwave around... It's just a matter of time before I cave.

It's a well-done set. Unfortunately, it's designed with hips that only rotate outwards for transformation, but it does have knees. I modded my copy to give the legs fore and aft movement. The opening chest function is butter and never gets old.

Here's my mod:

I got the Long Haul kit (I forget the designator). I wish they'd make a kit with only their more articulated arms for Bonecrusher, Mixmaster, and Scavenger, as I'd jump on that in a heartbeat. Bonecrusher and Mixmaster, especially, could use those arm upgrades.

8 hours ago, sh9000 said:

The SS 86 Hot Rod will be reissued and recolored and released at Target.  I'll be getting one.

I'm happy with my first issue and won't be double-dipping, but It's a great figure, and there's an excellent argument to be made that it's the best official, and perhaps just simply the best ever, version of the character in toy form. That said, as mentioned earlier in the thread, while his bot mode is nigh perfect (needs better shoulder engineering), his vehicle mode is definitely his weakest and could use some work. But it still stands as one of the best figs thus far to come out of the SS86 subline.

On 9/25/2025 at 10:35 AM, Old_Nash_II said:

What Roland Emmerich couldn't do in 2012 (a series that continued the events of the film)
LionsGate goes and does it

These extinction films do so very little for me. Too much bombast, too much stuff happening too quickly, overdramatically, and unrealistically. They're pure spectacle, and not in a good way in my eyes. So very Hollywood. 😏

2 hours ago, davidwhangchoi said:

Walmart has Transformers G1 Autobot Hot Rod Collectible on sale for $15.

I understand nostalgia, but why would you ever want the old one when the new one looks like this? There's just no comparison.

8 hours ago, JB0 said:

I'd make him an XB-70, but that's reserved because I still want the Valkyrie to be Silverbolt some day. 

I've long advocated for Silverbolt to be a B-1. the XB-70 would be cool, too, but the B-1 has far more in common with the Concorde, is an active military aircraft (I used to work on them- no picnic for hydraulics techs), and has plenty enough real estate to easily hide a robot in disguise.

8 hours ago, JB0 said:

I've said before I don't see Megatron as a STEALTH bomber. He wants you to know he's coming, and know there's not a dang thing you can do to stop him. Less B-2, more B-1. 

We can agree to disagree. I dig the B-2ish alt mode that Don Figueroa cooked up for Megatron. I see where you're coming from with the B-1, but honestly, I'd rather that alt mode choice went to Silverbolt. Moreover, the B-2's not exactly quiet - granted it's no B-1 in full burner on takeoff- you can feel that in your chest from 2-300 yards away, but it makes some noise.

56 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Tyrant's great, but I want one that scales with SS86 Megs, not MP-36 Megs.

Likewise. I've just about quit on MP scale due to my severe lack of space. I'm running out of space for my mainline stuff, and there's still more coming that I want and will get, like the rest of the Combaticons (Bruticus is my favorite combiner). That said, if they start dipping once again into IDW designs and Megatron is on the table, as I mentioned, I wouldn't mind seeing his update upscaled to voyager or leader scale. I know those labels now refer more to budgets than actual sizes, but most of us have been in the game long enough to understand my meaning.

5 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I'd love to see Hasbro explore lots of designs for lots of characters, but they seem fixated on Timelines doing endless versions of Optimus vs Starscream and Bumblebee vs. Megatron.  And sadly, at a sort of "Deluxe+" price.  I'd personally love a version of the IDW stealth bomber Megatron that scales with the SS86 toy.

Yeah, I'm a bit fatigued with the same handful of characters getting iteration after iteration. however, when introducing a new line apart from others, it would be refreshing, IMHO, to introduce all new characters, but they just seem to want to stick to Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, Starscream, and a few other main or popular characters. I get it, but I think we're well beyond time for some fresh characters with their own personalities and stories.

I still very much like the old deluxe IDW stealth bomber Megatron, which was well done, but I'd welcome one at the voyager or leader class scale/price point.

21 minutes ago, Hikuro said:

I still have G2 Optimus Prime, Megatron and Sideswipe. I used to have Starscream, Constructicons, some laserods and color changers when I was a kid.....most of the TF figures I had back in the day were G2. And the majority of them were bought at KB Toys except Megatron....I think I got him at a Bi-rite or a Big Lots.....it was somewhere rather random and just saw him at the top of a shelf with a few other toys and my mother bought it. Prime and Starscream I remember my dad buying me Optimus and Starscream at KB Toys. INFACT the day I got those figures was the same day Star Trek DS9 had first aired. 

That's impressive recollection. I struggle to remember what I bought let alone where I bought it a week ago. My memory was always terrible, but when you accumulate as much crap as I have, it kinda gets lost in the fog of time.

Regarding G2, I can't say I feel a sense of FOMO. I far, far prefer the color schemes of the G1 toys- I never was a fan of gaudy color schemes- pastels and such. Yuck!😄

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

G2 Swoop & Sludge as well as Timelines samurai Optimus & Starscream are available to preorder on Pulse.

 I applaud Takara, and Hasbro by extension, for doing something different. That said, I'm just not moved by the Timelines stuff. However, I wouldn't mind a Grimlock that turns into a Mark V tank (actually, I'd rather it was its own character without having to conform to Grimlock in any way shape or form, but it's already a thing). That said, I'm sure these will find an audience, especially among Japanese collectors whose history they embody. For those fans who complain that all Hasbro does is rehash G1, this is something new and different and definitely not G1, and that's a good thing, IMHO, even if it doesn't strike a personal chord.

Rodriguez, Cameron, and Co. should have been gearing up for the sequel immediately following the original. It stands, IMHO, as one of the best anime adaptations in a very short list thereof, and with all that a film of this nature requires, it would have been awesome had they actually been shooting scenes in anticipation of a sequel. I'm glad to hear that it hasn't been shelved or forgotten, but there doesn't really seem to be any real momentum either. That said, I loved the first film and I hope there's a second to give some sense of completion to the story.

As to Alita's eyes, I thought they looked a bit much in early photos, but in the film, I thought they worked for the character. I thought her overall design was excellent- visible joints, the overlarge eyes- it sells the point that she's not exactly human but looks human enough to be acceptable in human society. And in her world, she looks downright normal, if boringly so, next to some of the other cyborg monstrosities running about. To, it's a nod to her animated look.

Anyway, at least there's some hope for a sequel now. At the rate they were going, I was afraid it'd be more like the Star Wars sequels where all the main actors are in their 60s or 70s.

18 hours ago, aaajin said:

I did click on “see more coupons” & it brought me to a page that showed other unrelated toys on Amazon which are not sold by Tamashii with their discounts by different Amazon sellers … funny how the 30% only applies on the YF-21 from Tamashii … a glitch in the matrix? Maybe … anyhoo, got the toy today - shipping was unusually fast for non-prime. Will read lots and lots reviews (esp. anymoon) & transformation videos. Life, work & a house purchase made me pause on collecting for a while - but here I am, back on it again. Really glad that MW is still around. Cheers & hope I’ll enjoy the 21. I used to owned a couple of gamlin’s vf-22s and boy were they fragile - plastic-wise, near the hips, if I recall there were stress marks all over near the inner hips … & both were unable to stand on their own in batt mode, so I had to make a customized adapter to keep one in “floating pose” with a plastic Bandai/gundam stand - sold both some time ago. Hopefully Bandai’s 21 offers more playability than the old Yamato - sounds like it, based off some reviews Ive seen so far (including jenius’s anymoon) … cheers!

Regarding playability, IMHO, it's superior to the old Yamato. The Yammie's strength is its gorgeous and extremely accurate fighter mode; beyond that it's not a very good toy to handle, especially its battroid with the too-skinny legs, loose ball-jointed hips, and tiny feet, all which contribute to making it rather unstable and difficult to pose. Contrarily, what the DX sacrifices in accuracy and concessions, it makes up in tight joints throughout making pose ability not only possible, but fun to experiment with. I display my valks in battroid mode, so this was a welcome figure for my display since retiring my Yamato to its box years ago. Anyway, congrats on the acquisition and I hope you enjoy it!

24 minutes ago, Chronocidal said:

I'm still a young'un with TF stuff, since I missed out on G1 entirely, and until G2 all I had was the deluxe Spay-C Gobot shuttle, and a Robotech-branded Bandai Joke Machine VF-1.

I fell down the rabbit hole when I saw the fancy G2 commercials though, and asked for a G2 Starscream for Christmas of 93.  He wasn't available, so I got a Ramjet instead.. which confused me for years, since he was essentially colored like Skywarp.  G2 is also why I thought Megaton was always a tank.  

My younger brother got pretty into Beast Wars, so he had a bunch of them, but I think the next actual TF I picked up was the Walmart MP Skywarp.

The very interesting thing about a 40+ year old franchise is the varied points of entry into fandom and collecting. I consider myself fortunate to have been there at the beginning- just the amazement of experiencing this whole concept of realistic vehicles and things turning into nifty looking robots, as well as the story being told through the animation, not to mention through the bios included with the package art. It was such a well-done roll-out for the toys, as all that info made them feel like characters and I think that was the real brilliance to Transformers in those early years and why it maintained longevity. Prowl was my entry toy, and he's still one of my absolute favorite TF designs. I'm ever grateful to Hasui-san for the gorgeous MP figure, a dream come true for me.

I also consider myself fortunate to have experienced Saturday cartoons. There was just something cool about it, as there was so much choice, even with the limited channels back then. I was always checking out the TV Guide to determine what shows I could watch (pre-VCR days), as I had to channel hop back and forth between the three or four networks we had to catch my shows. It was a different time, but I look back upon it fondly.

I still remember a lot of the G1 commercials, and a lot of them have been preserved via YouTube and such, but I was out of the loop, I guess, when it came to G2, as I have no recollections of the commercials from that time. Likewise, I only vaguely remember the toys. I still had my G1 stuff, but as I've mentioned over the years, my interest in G1 pretty much started and ended with first season, as I felt that the show became much sillier in S2, losing the more focused and mature storyline of the first. I had pretty much lost all interest in the show come seasons three and four, and to this day, I've not watched either in their entirety, nor do I wish to. First season is where I live and breathe when it comes to G1 Transformers, with a little S2 bleed over when it comes to the toys. After that, Beast Wars, Animated, and Prime remain my favorite entries in the franchise, both shows and toys. Transformers: Robots in Disguise, which directly followed Prime, was also pretty good, so I guess I can include that, too. Bad voice acting choices made the WFC series unenjoyable for me, and while I tried to get into Earthspark, it just didn't grab me like previous series. I need to sit down and start it from the beginning and watch it straight through, I think. I'm still pretty peeved that deluxe Earthspark Soundwave, arguably one of the best toys in that line, never released in my area, and he goes for way too much on eBay and the like. Grrr

I kinda dropped out of TF collecting during the G2 era, and while I was back in the US for the latter part of G2, I didn't really become interested again until some of the small ball-jointed jets started appearing (the Cyberjets). I bought the orange-tiger-striped F-14ish  one, but I've always wished I could have gotten the black F-117. Anyway, Beast Wars was what pulled me back into TF collecting- just a different direction, something new, and the level of articulation astounded me (bots with hip and knee joints!!!!). I laugh now in hindsight, as they were still pretty limited, but frame of reference is everything.  While my druthers would be for vehicle/inanimate object alt modes, or robotic animals like the Dinobots, the show sucked me in and I became a fan. All this is to say that G2 doesn't really register on my radar as my interest had waned and, yeah, so far as I can remember, the toys at the time didn't appeal to me all that much. I honestly have very little recollection of the early 90s so far as Transformers goes. Those little jets are the things that stick out to me more than anything. Imagine that.😉