eriku

It'll be slick and 'biomechanical'. And most importantly it will have lips.

Well...after puking blood at the idea of a Transformers movie and the new Transformers Animated series, and then finding myself actually liking both of those, very much so, I'm afraid to listen to any of my gut feelings on this one. Yay for more toys I guess?

Some people may miss things reading subs, but it's not really logical to say that everyone who reads subs misses stuff. I'll go so far as to say I never miss anything because of subs.

I honestly don't think I miss anything by reading subtitles. I think a person can get to apoint where they can look at what's going on (be it animation or live action) and simultaneously read the subs. The human brain is amazingly fast in it's abilities of comprehension. For me dubbing almost always is a distraction for me because it's typically done poorly or it just 'doesn't fit'. Most anime sounds so much more natural with it's original voice actors. I think one problem is that English dubs tend to try and 'Americanize' the language or story. Or they change the grammar completely to 'match' the mouth-movements of the characters. Another thing that disctracts me with some English dubs is when the studio pulls out the 'Star factor' and tries to cram as many 'recognizable' names onto to roster as possible. This works occasionally for Disney's treatments of Ghibli films, but it also really mars some of them. I can't even watch 5 minutes of the latest dub of Totoro because of Dakota Fanning. And Billy Bob Thornton in Mononoke was a particularly poor choice for the character he played. A good voice actor has never, EVER needed to be a movie star. And most good voice actors can do a far better job than any Hollywood actor ever could. Take Billy West or John DiMaggio for example, or almost the entire cast of the Simpsons. Although sometimes no matter how good a voice actor is, they just can't beat the original. Like Yasuo Yamada as Lupin III. When I saw the new dub of Lupin on Cartoon Network a few years back and heard Rick Hunter when he opened his mouth I almost cried. I enjoy authenticity with films, too. For example, when I watched Ratatouile, even though it was a brilliant film and I loved every minute of it, I was constantly annoyed throughout it's entirety at the lack of French. All these characters are supposed to be French, living in Paris, and they all sound like the most generic stereotypical caucasian-trying-to-sound-French. And some characters had completely American accents. I was able to forgive this because the movie was so good, but it still bugs me. I would much rather have listened to French voice actors and watched English subtitles. In fact, i'm hoping the DVD has a French dub so I can watch it that way. Some people just can't get used to reading subtitles and watching a show/movie at the same time, and that's fine. But just realise that it's your own personal preference, it's what works for you, and people who don't enjoy it in the same way aren't wrong or 'missing out', they're brains are just processing it differently than yours does.

Hrm...not that I think putting them all in one package is the worst idea in the world, but I'm worried it might knock these things out of my price range. Or it may be cheaper in the long run? I guess we'll see soon enough.

All I want to know is if Pen Pen gets a more prominant role in these new movies. Maybe they could try him out as a pilot. He might work really well submerged in LCL being a penguin and all. Of course he'd probably just go off and use the EVA to exact revenge on some killer whales and walruses.

Anyone see the metallic painted movie Ratchet that is, apparently, a Best Buy exclusive? It looks rather nice, although it's always hard to be sure from online photos. I'm glad I didn't get around to buying the regular version (and I would have if they'd been available more than three weeks) because I'll probably go for this one. I can't find the pics at the moment, they were somewhere on TFW2005 a week ago. There is also a Best Buy metallic Voyager Megs that looks better than the original but is still befouled by his 'ice' trimmings.

Of course the irony here is that we all thought stores were going to have a massive amount of TF toys for a long while because of how the shelves looked when the line first rolled out. Who would have thought that it would go from that to zero so quickly? Well, not really zero since there are so many of those Real Tech things hanging around. A gadget turning into a robot is very cool. A gadget turning into another gadget is a really poorly planned toy idea that never should have made it further than, "That's a terrible idea, Bill, you're fired."

Has there been any difinitive news on wether or not Katamari is coming to the Wii? I see a listing for it on Amazon but that's hardly a solid confirmation. My gut instinct is 'no', but I really hope it does. I'll never buy a 360 or PS3 so it would suck (for me) if Katamari is only released on those systems.

Thanks for the pics Graham, that looks great. I can't wait to get my set! That TC looks enticing, too. I wonder if they'll offer that Chirico figure seperately ever. I'm guessing no, but I hope the do. Maybe a Votoms 'figure pack' down the road with all of the figures that have so far only come with 'Dogs.

The only 'sucky' figure right now appears to be Protoform Starscream. Some Targets look like they wouldn't be able to move that thing if it had a $10 bill stapled to it.

If this release is significantly cheaper, and in a smaller box, I may get one. I have one of the very first Roys from the first issue which doesn't have any problems (aside from the crooked tailfin skull) but the heat sheild hinge busted off during a transformation and that's always bugged me. Battroid doesn't look quite right without the Jolly Roger on the belly. That said, I am MORE than ready for another company to take on the VF-1. I still feel like none of the toy incarnations are 'perfect'.

It's easy to hate scalpers, but they exists for one reason only: Buyers. If there weren't people out there that didn't buy their overpriced goods then the scalpers would cease to exist. I hate scalpers as much as the next collector, but I think the people who buy it are equally as much of a problem. It makes me wonder though, you never really see anyone on the internet posting about how they bought an item from a scalper for an inflated price. Do they just remain silent because of shame? Or is there some other thing going on where people who buy scalped goods don't generally post on forums? It's interesting to say the least. It's also interesting that someone, myself for example, will be happy to pay $35 + shipping for a small action figure from Japan (Yamato 1/12 Chirico, I'm looking at you), yet they wouldn't even dream of paying that much for a similar domestic figure like, say, a Marvel Legends figure. Hell, I don't even like paying that much for a really big domestic figure. But now I'm rambling. I hope that by October 08 Bumblebee is produced in such large quantities that he becomes a totally unsellable shelf-warmer. Every time a scalper sheds a tear over an unprofitable investment, an angel gets it's wings.

I didn't realize the link didn't work, but yeah, it was the 20" figure at a BIN of $388 or something like that. AlphaOTS- that is the figure that came packed in with the VHS. I think it was later offered with the DVD special edition but I'm not 100% sure. I have it, and it's pretty good for such a small figure. Trendmasters was bought by JAKKS Pacific in 2002. I emailed JAKKS and asked about the Iron Giant license and toys. They replied that did not retain the license and if I wanted an Iron Giant I should go to Ebay. Gee, thanks. I found out some Japanese vinyl toys were made of this guy, I'd like to see those. I'm still holding out hope that one of the smaller toy companies will pick up this license and make some new figures. I know they'd sell, at least far better than they did in 1999.

Maybe if they're still crooked HLJ will offer straight replacement tailfins for only $49.99.

Neither Empire or Rbellion for me. I'd most want to be a free-trade bounty hunter who plays both sides and stays the hell away from Sarlaac pits.

You mean 'space' border collies. Oh wait, this isn't Voltron. I've always thought the Megaroad would have been a good basis for an entire series as they travel the universe populating planets and fighting space-crime.

That's right, I just dug up a thread that was 4 years dead. *coughs from dust* Around the time of this thread I set aside my desire for the Ultimate Iron Giant figure, hoping that after a couple years people's interest would wane and the price would slip under $100, effectively allowing the big guy to slip into my home. So I forgot about it for a few years. The other night I watched the DVD which, of course, inspired the old "like movie must have toy!" feelings. I fired up Ebay and see.... This I mean, come on. This isn't even funny. I saw a different auction end for around $400. So, now that this toy has joined up with the Unicorn and the Yeti and all of the other creatures I'll never see in person, I'm left to hope for some toy company to come along and make something new. Who among you would buy a killer new Iron Giant toy? Imagine if Bandai released one in the SOC line, how could you resist? Or what if Aoshima made one similar to their Terminator Endoskeleton? Or Medicom? I'll take any of those, but dammit, I demand satisfaction!

Damn, 2 versions of Fyana?? Not that different, but still. At that price there's no way I'm buying both. Probably go for Udo town version. And Vanilla is out already? I've got some catching up to do.

Saw a Leader Brawl at target today. He does look pretty good in person, but I still wasn't compelled enough to drop $40 on him. I figure if I regret not picking him up I can just get the desert deco version that's coming out later on. I like that one better anyway.

That's pretty much the scene all across the country. The only new stuff trickling in is the G1 repaints of Jazz, Starscream and Thundercracker and the two new Real Gear fellas, Meantime and High Score. If you want some of the first wave Deluxes you should check a Kohls if there are any near you. They seem to be one of the only stores left with some stock. Probably because nobody ever thinks to check Kohls for toys. Also, Fleet Farm should be setting up their X-Mas Toyland soon. They're bound to have a bunch of movie toys this year, at least for the first few days it's open. They had Classics last year before almost anyone else, and they were cheaper, too.

Is Leader Brawl as much of a brick as he looks like? I was excited at the concept of him at first but the more I see of him the more I think he's a large chunk of "looks bad-ass but ultimately isn't that fun". I'd be completely happy with Deluxe Brawl if they'd just retool the shoulders.

Isn't there yet another BT figure coming out in Japan, another repaint? I can't remember the name but it's rather strange.

I've heard that complaint from others, too. Mine seems to be fine but I just got it and haven't tried more than a few poses yet. I'm just happy he doesn't suffer from loose-ankle syndrome which is my biggest peeve with heavy figures that have lots of articulation.

Just picked up the first wave of Legendary Comic Book Heroes myself and I'm really happy that ToyBiz/Marvel Toys is making these. Personally I think these are far more interesting than the current Hasbro Marvel Legends figures. Pitt is far and away my favorite figure, and not only because he's my favorite character out of the group. He's damn huge, about the size of the Marvel Legends 12" Hulk, and really nicely detailed. I like that a lot of the joints are ratcheted because that will help keep him from collapsing under his own weight. I made a stupid mistake while assembling him that I can't fix. I snapped the torso onto the waist piece before I noticed there was a bundle of chains that is supposed to go around his waist. That piece is packed in a different part of the bubble than the rest of the pieces so I didn't even see it there. It's fine though, he still looks amazing. I really, really, really, really hope with magic pixie dust on top that they are able to make a figure of the Maxx before this line dies (which I'm certain it will and fairly soon). He seems like a natural choice and even though the old McFarlane figure is nice he could be done so much better. I suppose the only thing standing in the way is Sam Keith whom I've heard is reluctant to give out the license, but I heard that years ago and things change. And since I'm wishing I'd also like to see a Mr. Gone and a 2-pack with Julie and Sarah.