M'Kyuun

Down for most of the Studio series stuff. Bee Movie Arcee looks good- kinda reminds me of Prime Arcee's design, especially the wheels at the ankles, but there are plenty of differences too, which make her distinct. Hasbro essentially had carte blanche to create the alt modes for most of these Bee Movie G1 characters who only appear in bot mode, and I think they've done a great job of designing fitting alts for the characters. I think a cycle alt works really well for her. Loving Sludge. I was pleasantly surprised to see that neck articulation, pretty much a first in an official toy. The front legs of his Apatosaurus mode don't appear to have knees, though. Kind of a bummer if not, given the articulation of Grimlocks's and Slag's dino modes. Like Slag, his transformation appears to be a bit different from the G1 toy, as his arms are forming the back legs rather than the traditional front. Usually I can work out the transformation from a couple pics, but this one has me scratching my head as to what goes where. I'm kinda indifferent towards the Junkions, but I like the Wreck-Gar mold, and they introduced enough changes to Junkyard to make him appealing. Considering getting the rerelease & slight recolor of Vintage Scorponok. Honestly, I think it was a superior figure compared to the Kingdom release. I don't think I owned the original toy, as I bought very few of the original BW cast, mostly b/c a lot of them had wonky proportions in beast modes. Seeing the old Scorpy toy, it looks pretty cool even by today's standards. I was hoping for a few new Legacy reveals, especially a Brawn, or Gears, or Windcharger, but they didn't really go into Legacy. Too, a sneak peak of SS86 Blitzwing would have been much appreciated; looking forward to it and I sincerely hope it turns out really well. Blitzwing deserves a good toy. So does Astrotrain, and I hope he gets an improved do-over in SS as well.

NP, glad to help. Honestly, I thought the Brickmania guys used solely LEGO as well. However, like I said, Mega makes a lot of very useful parts that don't exist in the LEGO palette, so I wouldn't blame an independent builder selling MOCs if he/she uses parts from other brands to make the end product better, as long as they call out which parts are by what company with P/Ns. It's a shame there's no Bricklink analog for MB parts- I'd be tempted to do a little mixing in some cases.

Kinda like what Mattel is doing with their MotU line. I could get behind a line like that, although I think it'd work better for some than others, especially Ratchet/Ironhide. I don't think the Vannette Bros would translate well, even if you managed to give them some sort of leg articulation, they'd look unfinished and awkward. However, However, I'd be down for most of the '84/85 carbots, Seekers, OP, Megs, Soundwave/cassettes & Dinos. The upcoming Legacy Kickback should be right up your alley, as it looks like an upgraded G1 Kickback. Makes me curious if that'll be the aesthetic direction for the other two Insecticons and other G1 bots to come. Not so sure I'd want a lot of the exceptionally blocky bots like the Aerialbots that slavish to their original toys. I thought they sucked back when they were new, and time hasn't diminished my opinion. A lot of the combiners were such blocky toys that simply would not translate well in the minimal modernizing regard. They've never held any appeal for me, and maintaining that aesthetic, even with articulation, would continue to have no appeal to me. YMMV, however. My opinion is just that, and given the extraordinary nostalgia surrounding this franchise, I think Hasbro would be wise to try it, at least on a limited basis. Start with the obvious G1 OP and Megs and see how they sell. If they do well, move on into the carbots and Seekers, so on and so-forth. If ever they could dip into the deep well of nostalgia, now is the time, and I think they'd probably have a surprise (to them) success.

It's a Mega Bloks element, part number AM19617MM. There are four of them in set 6822 Call of Duty Heavy Armor Outpost, as an example. They also make a version with a shorter bar, part number AM17062AJW, 15 of which can be found in set CNG86 CoD Strike Fighter. I have the latter, and it's a pretty excellent set. Manuals for Mega Bloks Call of Duty (manuall.co.uk) Mega Bloks have a plethora of interesting and useful parts that I wish LEGO would make. They're very slowly making any number of them, but, like the indicated clip piece, there's still room for additions and improvements to LEGO's palette. Too, after handling MB's minifigs, with their superior articulation, I wish LEGO would consider doing likewise. Keep the iconic minifig for its nostalgic value, but develop a more modern and articulate minifig for use in their action-oriented sets. The minifig is such an anachronism, and its limitations are glaring by today's standards. Hope this helps!

Despite being an unapologetic GeeWunner, I'm not a huge fan of the old toys due to their limitations, especially in the articulation department. But, even today, many of the old toys still have presentation value, at the least, to me, and some are just downright cool for their uniqueness, like G1 Soundwave or the Dinobots. There's still an inherent beauty to many of the old toys that I think transcends time, similar to the appeal of most vintage things. They represent something special in a moment of time, and there's an appeal there that's difficult to define. But it's the reason why people collect, and why we have museums dedicated to old things that are obsolete practically, but still have value in one area or another. While I understand and empathize with your objection, @tekering, I also understand the appreciation others have for these toys in the light of newer, ostensibly better, ones. I still feel that tug of nostalgia even if my preference is for something more modern. That's good, especially since my local Wally has been carrying more Generations TFs over the last year or so. I generally PO everything these days, but somehow, there's still a thrill to be had in finding something you like/want in the store- instant gratification, I guess. But it's still fun to pick them up and check them out in their box in the store; it brings back good memories from childhood when that was the norm, especially for kids.

Well, I'm a big fan of the Datsun design, and next to Prowl, my fave of the bunch, blue Bluestreak has the most striking presentation, IMHO. You already know how I feel about the Earth mode vanette bros, and while I think the new Cheetor and Waspinator molds are ok, I don't feel a need for more of either. I know you had a lesser opinion, but I really like the Airazor mold, and I already have her and the Eagle repaint (forget his name), with the splendid looking Terrorsaur remold/repaint POed. Regardless of how you feel about the mold, it's still the best looking official Terrorsaur figure released. Among the BW cast, he doesn't get much love, so I'm glad he turned out pretty well in this line. I'll just throw in a little aside: I've been noticing my local Wally carrying more Generations figs, both deluxes and voyagers, of late, which makes me pretty happy. Of course, I already have the figs I've been finding there, but I sincerely hope the trend of stocking these things continues as we look forward to Legacy hitting shelves soon.👍

Blue Bluestreak is the only fig of this assortment that interests me. I already have Earthrise Ironhide and Ratchet, and I feel no compunction to own any more copies of that lackluster mold. I hope we get a completely new and improved design through '86 Studio Series at some point.

Nice review, Mike. I was glad the gut gun was included, but rather dismayed that, unlike the original toy, it didn't integrate into the beast mode. In a lot of ways, the original toys had better engineering, but the sculpts were a little wonky, as they generally favored the robot modes and looked disproportionate or oddly shaped in beast mode. Most of those wonky proportions got cleaned up by the animation, which like G1, cheated a lot to make the beast modes look natural. Hasbro's trying to strike a better balance, but they still favor the bot mode over the beast in pretty much every case; I appreciate their making the characters look more like their onscreen incarnations, but it still sucks when a beast mode is shortchanged, especially in articulation, to benefit the bot mode. Still, I am glad that, like with MP, Hasbro chose to make Tigatron, rightly, a larger figure. Being a voyager, there are some improvements over the similar Cheetor mold, especially the way the tiger's legs fold up flush in bot mode, better bot feet, the little flap in the calves, and fully hidden hands in beast mode. I also wish they'd found a better solution for the tail, and I really wish they'd found a way to integrate that gut gun into the tiger mode instead of pegging it on to his stomach like a giant tumor. It's a nice fig, but as usual with Hasbro's stuff, there's room for improvement.

I only just started buying Iron Factory stuff last year. So far I have Kagami Shishimaru, Power Falcon (Powerglide), and Bayrazor (Beachcomber). I've never owned a Lio Convoy, and I liked the Eva 01-esque color scheme of Kagami Shishimaru. It's a fiddly fig, and there's really not much of a transformation, but I do like how the fig itself looks. I just don't really mess with it. I do like Power Falcon and Bayrazor, though. Both are a bit of a pain to transform due to how small they are and some close tolerances between moving parts, but I like their bot and alt modes, so I do take them down and mess with them a little more. I currently have their Seaspray and Huffer POed, and I hope they're a little more forgiving. However, also having a few figs by both Magic Square and New Age, I have to say that both companies are putting out a more refined and enjoyable class of transformable figure at legends scale. I think IF retain their popularity by taking a very stylistic approach to the figs, and therein lies the allure. It's why I decided to pick a few of them up. However, in the handling, I find them more limited in articulation, and more difficult to transform than MS or NA.

Michael Lee Aday, AKA Meatloaf, was an unlikely rock musician given his beefy physique in a time when most rockers were whip thin. His partnership with uber-talented musician and lyricist Jim Steinman, who passed in April of 2021, was one of those rare bits of serendipity that left an indelible mark on rock music. I was introduced to Meatloaf's music as a kid in the 80s, and I've been a fan for a good chunk of my 50 years. Although he's known for his bombastic vocals, more than a musician, Meatloaf was a performer. He acted in films and on stage, having even done Shakespeare. A great deal of that acting informed his musical performances as well; the guy was really in his element on stage. In interviews, he was candid and down-to-earth, just a cool guy with a lot of life experience, not all of it good, that he shared nonetheless. It's a sad day for the passing of one of Rock's more unique talents, and the world is poorer for his loss. RIP Meatloaf.

Hey Chris, glad to hear your copy finally arrived. Glad I'm not the only one who had trouble deciphering the instructions; I think if they'd made the pics about another half size larger, it would be far more serviceable. Intuitiveness regarding a transformation sequence is subjective; I thought the transformation made logical sense, and I could pretty much figure out where things went without guidance, except for the double waist twist. I couldn't even make that out from the instructions, and after getting the tail fully formed and working on getting the front end put together, there was about a half-inch gap that I just couldn't account for. I knew something had to move and I had that pelvic slider maxed out, so I knew it was something beyond that, but what? So, YT provided the solution for me as well. The forearm panels were another sticking point: there's simply not enough room given by the ball joints to allow those things to rotate without scraping the forearm- very poor tolerance. Heck, even with the panel rotated, I still found the clearance to be barely capable of allowing the hand to rotate into its alcove in the arm for chopper mode. That whole forearm design could have stood a redesign to ease the process and create better tolerances given the number of moving parts. Going back to bot mode from chopper, the various hinged panels comprising the tail boom tab in very securely and are a bit worrying when trying to unsnap them while transforming the legs. I think the transformation system is brilliant, especially how they hid the feet, how things in one area of the bot end up in an unexpected area of the chopper. I dig that, and one can't argue with the final result; the helicopter mode is gorgeous. But due to some disagreeable tolerances, what should be a fun and satisfying transformation becomes a nail-biting exercise in frustration and overabundance of caution. Nevertheless, I agree that it's a beautiful figure, and I have no regrets. I will add one additional complaint: my copy can't hold her sniper rifle, as it simply will not tab into her hand, and it's too heavy for the finger joints to manage alone. It's a bummer as that thing looks pretty badass, and I would have liked to have posed her with it. At least my copy can double wield her smaller rifles. Anyway, sounds like you like Thunderbolt in spite of her tolerance issues and complexity. I'm glad and I hope I didn't steer you wrong with my assessment. Cheers to a well-done transforming helicopter, warts and all. I hope that, should they finally produce that Flanker they've dangled, it will have a more enjoyable, less tolerance-unfriendly transformation.

Good to hear. Be nice if there comes a day when people have enough respect and courtesy to enjoy the art rather than attempting to claim it as their own. Better for us all. Totally valid. Got a lot of toys that are a PITA to handle, but there's something about them that's awesome that makes you want to have them regardless. Concur; brilliant job @Mog. She should have come like that.

I only own Stiq's ride, but my beef with the pilot fig was its extreme fragility, which made it very frustrating to handle. I don't get as steamed about the paint jobs, or lack thereof, of the pilot figs, as I'm in it for that gorgeous Legioss and feel that's where the bulk of the budget should go. However, for the asking price, it'd be nice if Sentinel made the pilots a little sturdier and gave them full and accurate paint jobs as part of a complete same-quality package across the board. They really stand out next to their mecha for their rather monochromatic looks, almost as if they were an after-market addition rather than part of the original package. And your photos are always top notch, Kuma. It's a shame you have to plaster a watermark across them, but I get it. What a shame that some people have no scruples.😒

I'm not really a super robot fan, but as a fan of robots and mecha in general, I was pretty amazed to see what these guys have on offer, and the quality of it all. I thought it apropos to share it here, as we're all fans of some sort of robots around here, be it Macross, Transformers, Mospeada, etc. For me, that ED-209 looks amazing. I have the Neca, but it lacks all the foot articulation of the Moderoid model. Ripley's Power Loader looks pretty cool, too. And while the SR stuff doesn't really grab me, per se, I'm impressed by the number and complexity of combining bots that they're producing. As intros for new lines go, this one grabs the attention for sure. Hopefully, the quality will live up to the hype; I'd like to see these guys succeed.

MODEROID | GOOD SMILE COMPANY These guys are looking to cement their place in the robot toy market. Some gorgeous models featured. Super Robot fans will rejoice, too, as they're doing models of some characters who've never had figs, or good ones, anyway. Given the breadth of what they're covering now and in the future, I thought this warranted its own topic. If Mods disagree, feel free to remove it. Otherwise, check it out and enjoy!

That's a really nice looking Devastator. I much prefer the look of this over NewAge's take. Likewise the individual Constructicons.

YF-23- I'd LOVE a well-crafted transforming version of that plane. Apparently, the Japanese are producing a new fighter of their own that takes its cues from the YF-23, so with any luck, toys will follow. 👍 And yeah, the Flanker illustration they presented a couple years ago looked good, although there's really been no follow-up, so I hope it's still in the works. As for American planes, have you looked at the stylized Aerialbots being produced by Dreamstar Toys? I'm down for the Harrier and the F-16, two lovely jets that generally get butchered when realized as transforming robots. These look very good. Unfortunately, as well as their limb bots' alts turned out, their Silverbolt ended up pretty much the same as every other Silverbolt. I was hoping this would be the one that would transcend the Concorde-ish plane on a box o'bot trend. Sadly, no. 🤕 Poor Silverbolt.

Yeah, the similarities between the Italian and Chinese choppers is remarkable. But the Chinese would never stoop so low as to copy another country's designs, nor the Russians for that matter. 😇 So, I just finished transforming Thunderbolt back to her robot mode, and I'll add an additional bit of commentary. As I mentioned, this thing has a lot of tight joints and tight panel tabs, so breaking those things loose can be a nail-biting experience. Too, and forgive me, I was up to almost 1:30 AM writing my review and getting tired, some of the tolerances between moving parts beggars more than the allotted space given. For example, the forearm hull panels, are attached via a moving chunk of arm (which itself was pretty tight and tough to rotate) and mount on a ball joint with very little play making their adjustment for clearance to move the hands in or out of the arm during transformation a royal PITA. I think as I manipulate it more, some things will hopefully loosen a bit and become easier, but with its being new and tolerances quite tight in a number of places, transforming this thing is not the most fun experience. However, there are some brilliant solutions employed, and I stand up and applaud the transformation design. Having designed my own transforming mecha with LEGO, I have a unique insight to some of the problem-solving involved in taking one form and contorting it into another, and this thing is brilliant. I just wish it was slightly more user-friendly. I stand by my recommendation, though. We're so rarely treated to well-done transforming aircraft, so when something like this comes along, and it's done so well, at least from an engineering POV, I have to consider it from all angles, and in the end, tolerances be damned, this is a remarkable figure for all that it does right. I hope you enjoy your copy, and I hope you'll share your thoughts on it as well (you needn't go into the detail I did, but, you know, your opinion😉). Cheers!

My copy of SciFigure Industry's WZ-10 Aegopter Craft Series CS-02 (Fiery Thunderbolt) arrived today, and after several hours of handling her, I thought I'd leave a little commentary. For the sake of brevity, I'm going to refer to her as Thunderbolt. Thunderbolt comes packaged in robot mode, and I snapped this pic shortly after extricating her. I didn't take pics of the trays, but she comes in a clear tray along with all her weapons, a clear overlay to keep it all in place and protected, and a second tray that nestles under the weapons containing the base and arched stand, which can be assembled one of two ways depending on Thunderbolt's mode. The base features two pull out drawers which allow for convenient storage of all her weapons. This is her full loadout. The racked missiles are packed individually and feature a runner with a slot cut out which tabs onto one of four tabs on a little cube. The cube also has slots on top for one of two types of pylons (the tabs on the pylons are spaced differently, with two apiece of each type). The missile and rocket launchers are molded in a light grey, almost an off-white, plastic, sans paint. The pylons are painted in gunmetal, and you can see them tabbed into the square rocket launcher and the racked missiles above. The twin rifles are molded in dark grey plastic and have silver paint apps in the grilling on the sides and on a molded hose going from the body to the stock. The ammo magazines can be removed but there's no detail inside them- just hollow boxes that slide onto H-tabs on the bottom of the rifle. The sniper rifle gets more interesting; the barrel section can be removed where it's slotted into the thicker cylindrical bit in the center of the rifle. That cylinder can also hinge down and the barrel section can slot into the main body of the rifle. The end of the barrel where it's thinnest, can retract into the thicker barrel section. The bipod legs are individually mounted on ball joints. The grip on the main rifle body can retract into the body. The stock of the main rifle body has two folding bits; looking at the pic, the top section contains a die-cast knife painted metallic gold on a slider. The lower part is just a curved bit that rotates 90 degrees. As shown in the first pic I posted, the rifle can be arranged as a sort of scythe. It reminds me a great deal of Ruby Red's singular weapon, the Crescent Rose, from RWBY. Moving on to the fig itself, Thunderbolt is molded primarily in a matte black plastic, with the same light grey plastic as the weapons used for the arms, inside tops of the thighs, waist, the detailed bits in the hip armor, some bits in the lower legs and the feet. While I don't believe the majority of the fig is painted, there are painted details here and there, as well as a number of tampoed markings on the skin of the helicopter. Too the judiciously implemented die-cast bits are painted a metallic gold and really pop against the black and light grey comprising most of the figure. Articulation: The head is on a ball peg which attaches to a folded double joint. The double joint tabs at a downward angle such that head can only look straight forward utilizing the ball joint itself. However, untabbing the double joint allows the head to rotate backwards past 90 degrees, although it does look a bit awkward. The head can look down about 30 degrees and tilt a few degrees to either side. The shoulders rotate on a hard ratchet a full 360, abduct over 90 degrees, and feature a butterfly that allows the shoulder to swivel back about 60 degrees, but nothing forward, unfortunately. Bicep swivels 360 on a mushroom joint. The elbows are double jointed and give you about 170 degrees. The hands rotate at the wrist 360. Each finger is fully articulated, pinned at each knuckle. The thumb is on a ball peg which allows for flat hand or opposition to the fingers. The thumb is also pinned at the base and the knuckle. Each hand also has a molded tab that slots into her weapons. The waist swivels 360. It's scary tight on my copy. There's also a secondary waist swivel for transformation which is also very tight. There's an ab crunch that allows about 70-80 degrees forward, however it's limited if the nose gun is deployed in bot mode. The hips are mounted on friction joints which can rotate 360 if abducted a bit to allow the legs to clear the arms. The hips have a few degrees of forward butterfly on transformation joints within the pelvis. The hips abduct on ratchets to just under 90 degrees if the hip armor is rotated high on the hip to allow for more clearance. There are thigh swivels which allow for 360 deg rotation. The knees are double jointed on ratchets but only allow a wee bit over 90 degrees of bend. The feet are attached by a die-cast armature which can rotate 360 degrees. Ankles can rock inboard over 90 degrees, as well as a little up and down. The front half of the foot is attached by a double joint which allows for the toe to rotate down about 130 degrees (part of transformation). Tolerances of the joints range from good to extremely tight, which made some bits difficult to manipulate, especially during transformation. Turning the lower waist was an exercise in frustration, but I finally got it. Edit : Additionally, some of the panels lock very securely and can be both frustrating and a little scary to break the tab, so to speak. Too, tolerances between moving parts are sometimes wanting. For example, the hull panels on the forearms are attached via very limited range-of-motion ball joints to a rotating block that forms the back half of the forearm. Said block was rather tight and tough to move, coupled with a large hull panel that barely has enough room to create the clearance required to insert or extract the hand during transformation. I wish they'd used a different mechanism here that allowed that hull panel to move out of the way more easily. I'll also add that a couple of the cockpit windows popped out on me while handling the fig. I superglued one of them back and tabbed the other one back in, but it continues to pop out, so I'll likely glue it, too. Also, there are panels attached via double hinges to the pilot's canopy on either side which continually pop off on my copy as well. It's a simple matter of snapping them back into place, but b/c of where it's situated, and b/c it has to move around the curved forward nacelle cover, it can prove challenging to keep it from popping off again when manipulating the panel into its place in helo mode. The instructions are printed in color and the affected parts in each step are highlighted with a green line. Instructions are in English. However, the photos are small, and I had difficulty at times trying to sort what was being done. On my first attempt at transforming her, I didn't realize there were two waist sections that swiveled, and I missed the lower section which prevented a bunch of stuff from lining up on the tail. I ended up consulting a video for clarity. All things considered, the transformation, while involved and a little finnicky at times, is fairly intuitive if you're familiar with transforming toys. But, like the waist issue I had, it's the little things that'll get ya. A few comparison pics: Arcadia 1/60 VF-1S Earthrise Optimus Prime (voyager class) Takara Masterpiece Megatron Helicopter mode: Thunderbolt's alt is based on a real Chinese attack helicopter called the CAIC Z-10, also known as the WZ-10 (which is printed on the box). It shares characteristics of both the American AH-64 Apache and the lesser known Commanche stealth helicopter, which never saw production. While there are no details in the pilot's station above, the gunner's station has a seat and a molded unpainted dashboard, as well as an opening canopy; neat details they didn't have to include, but it makes this thing that much cooler. I have her loaded with each type of weapon included (specific to the helo mode). AFAIK, there's no way to attach her rifles, and they wouldn't look right if you could. The sensor ball up front can rotate in all directions as well as the nose gun. The barrel of the nose gun can retract for stowage in the bot mode's chest. On my copy, tolerances vary between the pylons and the weapons, some nice and appropriately tight, to very loose and falling off. Too, I couldn't get my copy to hold her sniper rifle. Not sure if it's b/c of paint on the palm tab or something else, but I couldn't get it to tab-in in either hand. Will have to keep working on it. Final thoughts: SciFigure Industry did a remarkable job of not only capturing the WZ-10, but also crafting an interesting transformation system that results in a striking and highly poseable bot mode. If this is the sort of thing that floats your boat, I definitely recommend her. Now, bring on the Flanker bot!

Too true. The only way we'd get it is if Bandai, Hasbro, and Takara struck a deal to release their 1/48 in Jetfire livery, or Hasbro and Takara struck a deal with Arcadia to produce a 1/60 scale version. In either case, the scale would be a little too big, or a little too small compared to the 1/55 Takatoku VF-1. Personally, I'd go with the Bandai, with its better articulation and smaller price tag. It would be more in scale with the Generations stuff than MP, but with MP levels of engineering. Hasbro needs to start negotiating!

Good points, especially of Bandai's likely indifference to a modern toy based on a lesser-known older toy's likeness like the Deluxe Insecticons. And yeah, the ChopShop repaint of legends Shrapnel turned out very well. IF Hasbro was to go ahead and make close facsimiles of the original Deluxe Insecticons, you'd broker no argument from me: Bring 'em on. It'd be nice to see those old figs homaged in Legacy, and hopefully, Bandai wouldn't bat an eye for lack of care. The VF-1 Jetfire design is of course the one design that will meet with modern contestation, both from Bandai and our old litigious friends, Harmony Gold. Personally, I prefer the Skyfire toy we got with WfC- it's what we saw in the cartoon, and I've always wanted an official version in the main line, so I was extremely pleased when that figure was announced, and even moreso when, having him in hand, I realized just how well-done a figure he truly is. He'll be one of those figs we're still talking about in a decade or so. As to the old Dorvack designs, Generations Whirl came very close to source, and I remain quite pleased with that fig. I do, however, wish they'd take a stab at making a more faithful Calibur inspired toy for Roadbuster. I dunno why, but I just really like that design, and a modern toy that takes strong cues from the original design would be most welcome. Not sure how Bandai would feel about that, though, as there have been Dorvack Calibur toys made in the last decade, so that design still gets trotted out from time to time.

First, that'd be a mouthful, and second, I have a feeling TT would be subsumed as a lower division within the whole corporation. I'd be concerned how much freedom TT would be afforded to continue doing Transformers without interference from Bandai. Of course, having Bandai's financial clout wouldn't hurt, unless they had no interest in keeping Transformers relevant and withdrew all backing. I think we're better off having them separate and doing their own things. Um, well, Commander Jetfire was based on the Skyfire design, which was reimagined from the Takatoku VF-1 due to licensing issues. Generations leader Jetfire also shares the Sunbow Skyfire bot design, while assuming an alt mode that's part F-22 and part F-14, and entirely fictional. As such, there's no infringement upon Bandai, who bought Takatoku years ago, G1 Whirl is a repurposed Ovelon Gazette, also created by Takatoku, from the Dorvack anime. The Generations voyager fig hewed close to the G1 toy's likeness in helo mode and in the method of transformation, but the bot mode was inspired by the IDW comics which looks significantly different from the G1 toy's bot mode.. I suppose Bandai could have made a case based on the similarities in the helo modes, but AFAIK, they didn't. As for G1 Roadbuster, a repurposed Mugen Calibur from Dorvack, no other Has/Tak Roadbuster toy since has come close to resembling the Calibur in either mode, color palette notwithstanding. I wish we would get an updated Calibur in Transformers, as I've always had a soft spot for that design. So, really, with exception of the alt mode similarities between the Gazette and Generations Whirl, Has/Tak have taken plenty of liberties with these characters' designs to avoid IP entanglements with Bandai. If Bandai was amenable to allow Takara and Hasbro to use those designs to make updated toys, I'd be all in favor, but given the liberties in evidence, I doubt that sort of sharing is taking place.

If they do, they'll likely just be repaints of the Legacy figs; Bandai holds the rights to the original Armored Insect Battalion Beetras figs, originally created by Takatoku, who went bankrupt and were subsequently bought by Bandai. With Takara and Bandai being competitors, the likelihood of Hasbro getting the rights to those old toys again is dubious. Shame really, as the Deluxe Insecticons had more realistic alt modes, and there were four of them. The Beetras designs were also part of the Convertors toyline; I still have a blue version of Barrage from that line. Neat toy.

Without clicking the link, I had a pretty good guess to whom you were referring. Indeed, Ekow does amazing work. Not to derail or diminish the previous post, but I built the Chang'e Moon Cake Factory from the Monkie Kid theme yesterday, and not only was it a fun build, minus the numerous stickers, but I was smitten by the level of whimsy involved; it's pure LEGO goodness and imagination, and I was grinning through the whole build. I hope more stuff like this finds its way onto shelves. I also bought the City of Lanterns set, which looks like a scaled down version of the Ninjago City sets, which are some of the most fun sets I've ever built, and I've built thousands at this point. Good stuff!