eriku Posted February 11, 2005 Posted February 11, 2005 If I remember correctly, Hound was the first one to pop up with a miscolored purple Autobot logo. I think his headlights were orange, too.
Deadzone Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 If anybody cares, Valencia TRU has 2 Grimlock, 3 Windcharger, 2 Swindle and 3 Ravage. I only picked up Grimlock because he is the only one I really like. What I don't understand is why Jazz and Tracks are not popping up anywhere. Do you guys think the restock of those two are as dead as the Dodo?
mechatek Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 La Cienega TRU in West Los Angeles also have those same Alts. 2 Grimmies, 3 Windchargers, 2 Ravages and 1 Swindle were left.
GreenGuy42 Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 FINALLY... Gainesville restocks. I found Grimmy and Battle Ravage last night, at Wal-Mart. My friend picked me up Swindle for my birthday, so I'm all up to date again.
GreenGuy42 Posted February 12, 2005 Posted February 12, 2005 If anybody cares, Valencia TRU has 2 Grimlock, 3 Windcharger, 2 Swindle and 3 Ravage. I only picked up Grimlock because he is the only one I really like. What I don't understand is why Jazz and Tracks are not popping up anywhere. Do you guys think the restock of those two are as dead as the Dodo? Yea, they are. A friend of mine who works at Wal-Mart told me that the last Tracks/Meister shipments ended about mid-December.
Deadzone Posted February 13, 2005 Posted February 13, 2005 The last shipments? That means that there will be no more Jazz or Tracks period? That really bites. Jazz and Tracks are two of my favorite alternators to date. Wonderful, the only one that I am finding in stores that I like is Grimlock. Does anybody know if the production run on Jazz and Tracks was low which is why there are no more of them. As I recall, there were a ton of Smokescreens, Hounds, Sideswipes, and Silverstreaks available when they first came out. Now I am seeing a bunch of Grimlocks, Swindles, Windchargers, and Ravages.
GreenGuy42 Posted February 13, 2005 Posted February 13, 2005 The last shipments? That means that there will be no more Jazz or Tracks period? That really bites. Jazz and Tracks are two of my favorite alternators to date. Wonderful, the only one that I am finding in stores that I like is Grimlock. Does anybody know if the production run on Jazz and Tracks was low which is why there are no more of them. As I recall, there were a ton of Smokescreens, Hounds, Sideswipes, and Silverstreaks available when they first came out. Now I am seeing a bunch of Grimlocks, Swindles, Windchargers, and Ravages. From what he told me, the sheer number of shelf warmers prompted a lot of stores to order smaller batches of Tracks and Jazz. These, obviously, sold out quickly (last Tracks I saw was here around, oh, December..) so they're ordering more Grimmies and whatnot. If you want, I'll PM you if I find a Tracks/Jazz around here.
Deadzone Posted February 13, 2005 Posted February 13, 2005 Any help would be appreciated. I wish the ones ordering toys for these stores were transformer fans so they could order the correct volume for these toys. I definitely would have ordered less Ravage and Swindle knowing that Ravage looks kind of ridiculous and Swindle was never really that popular. Oh well, guess I'm asking for too much.
cschell Posted February 13, 2005 Posted February 13, 2005 Nice to see another Tucson person. Thanks for the welcome. I'm a southern California transplant. Not a frequent poster (obviously) but I did make it to two of the MWCons. Chad
Greyryder Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 I'm still waiting on Grimlock to show up around here. I may mod the head, and repaint him into my own character, though. I haven't decided on that, yet. I will be getting Wheeljack. That much is a given. Swindle, Deadend, and Shockwave are going to have their hands full, in my collection. I don't really like Ravage or Dragstrip, and Sunstreaker has already joined the ranks of my Autobot forces.
Valkfan Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 (edited) Sunstreaker has already joined the ranks of my Autobot forces. That's a real nice job on the Sunstreaker. However, being an Alternator/Binaltech, shouldn't the eyes be blue? That is unless you are basing this custom on the G1 toy. Edit: Oh, wait a minute, I see that you've even put red stickers on the shoulders. I guess it is a G1(toy) Sunstreaker. RJ Edited February 14, 2005 by Valkfan
Greyryder Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Yup! He's based on the toy. Sunstreaker was one of the first TFs I had other than some of mini-bots. I kept the red trim for his alt mode too, since the original toy's red shoulders became his fenders. The chrome pinstripe on the side was just to break up all the yellow. Thanks for the compliment. I spent fair amount of time on this guy, and there's still a few things I'm kind of tweaking.
Southpaw Samurai Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Wow. Greyryder, if you ever find yourself short on cash and long on time, I might start begging you to do a clone of your SS. My poor future SS Deadend has been sitting for a few months because I doubt my skills to do a good job on just painting him yellow. Going to have to buy some models for pure practice as it's been ages. You, however, have taken it even beyond just making him into Sideswipe's brother. You have made the car mode very appealing and true to the character. You've made the rose tinted windows work (something I wasn't sure of myself) and have decked him out so he looks like some kind of over-developed underground racer, which would be exactly the type of personality Sunstreaker would be proud of...looking good and being fast. I'm half tempted to find some HasTak email addresses and start sending your pictures with the header "MAKE THIS, DARNIT!" Excellent work. In all seriousness, if you do consider making a copy for sale or ebay, be sure to let me know.
Metal_Massacre_79 Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 So, Greyryder, how much would you charge to do a custom like that for us? I'd be willing to pay for it since Sunstreaker was probably the character I liked the most both in the toon and the toy.
Deadzone Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Great SS! How did you do the racing stripes for it? I am currently trying to do a Grimlock with black racing stripes. I didn't know if I should mask and paint or just use waterslide decals or regular stickers. Yours looks pretty darn good.
Hoptimus Posted February 14, 2005 Posted February 14, 2005 Nice to see another Tucson person. Thanks for the welcome. I'm a southern California transplant. Not a frequent poster (obviously) but I did make it to two of the MWCons. Chad Yo. Tucson MW'ers unite. All 3 of us lol.
Greyryder Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 I doubt I'd want to do one as a comission. I've got comissioned drawings that were paid for a year ago, that I haven't finished yet. I feel bad enough about those. For the record. I picked up one of those $40 airbrush klts from Wal-Mart to paint him. I used Model Master paints, because they thread into my airbrush. The cadmium yellow I used really needed thined down, since it's a figure paint. It looks a little odd under some light, though. I'd suggest Blue Angel Yellow. That airbrush may have been the best 40 bucks I ever spent. Bendy Prime looks much better with his grill painted silver. I cheated on the stripes! I used Monokote dark red trim strip. I used chrome trim strip for the rear wing side damns, and the side pinstripe. Some of the corners don't want to stay down, though. I may have to spray more Future on the hood, to seal the stripes. I've found that a small amount of super glue applied with the tip of a scalpel works well, too. The autobot and Competition Coupe logos are decals I printed out with a Testors decal kit, and Paint Shop Pro. I used two decals for hte nose, and cut them both off center, do that they could wrap a little. Now, if I could just find a Grimlock. I've got a custom character repaint in mind....
cschell Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 Yo.Tucson MW'ers unite. All 3 of us lol. At least that makes planning any MW Tucson get togethers a rather simple matter. But to bring things back on topic, I have a question about Hasbro vs. Takara Gen 1 reissues. I have two Hasbro reissues, and they're both pretty poor quality. Silverstreak whose mold has lost a lot of the detail of my original, and Skywarp who has one wing that is so poorly made it doesn't even want to stay in the socket. Are the Takara versions any better? (Somehow I'm guessing they aren't.) Chad
BoBe-Patt Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 wow, check this out guys. First time I seen an alternator being sold for so much: Alt. Tracks
Deadzone Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 I understand that Hasbro Tracks is rare, but this is ridiculous. The Binaltech Metal version only sells for $40.00 and that has metal in it. BTW does anybody know where I can buy decals to put on my Grimlock alt. I was hoping to find 1:24 decals that said mustang or at least some black racing stripes. It is for a little project I am doing.
areaseven Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 Wow, check this out, guys. First time I've seen an Alternator being sold for so much:Alt. Tracks Well, blame it on the retailers for not ordering enough Tracks. I need a second Tracks to make a better Commemorative Edition repaint. BTW, does anybody know where I can buy decals to put on my Grimlock alt.? I was hoping to find 1:24 decals that said Mustang or at least some black racing stripes. It is for a little project I am doing. You can try ordering replacement decals from Revell-Monogram's website. Many hobby shops also sell rolls of vinyl stripes for car models.
areaseven Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 BTW, that eBay seller's location is pretty suspicious. Pawtucket, RI, happens to be Hasbro's hometown.
VF Strike Valk Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 (edited) Tracks was all over ebay a few weeks ago...they all got bought up? Figures...he's the only one I need till the newer ones come out. Edited February 15, 2005 by VF Strike Valk
wolfx Posted February 15, 2005 Posted February 15, 2005 (edited) Saw this during my visit to singapore 2 weeks ago in a toy shop. Talk about value for money. Edited February 15, 2005 by wolfx
holytoledo69 Posted February 16, 2005 Posted February 16, 2005 Saw this during my visit to singapore 2 weeks ago in a toy shop.Talk about value for money. Hey!!! I want that gun barrel!! Where can I get one?!?!?! I finally picked up windcharger and he's all I ever wanted in a alternator The Vechicle alt mode is flawless. It looks great with or without the roof. I was going to wait on the binaltech version but I gave in (hey, Im weak hehehe) As for the robot mode, it has all the things I wanted in an alternator... The waist turns. It has mid-bicep swivels, mid-thigh swivels and very light on the ball joints. (which are concentrated on the wrists and the ankles of the figure) This isnt neccessarily a bad thing. The swivel joints in the shoulders and thighs guarantees no limbs or panels popping off during transformation!! Its also not hollow like most alternators/binaltechs are and has very little "back pack" kibble. The only complaints that I have about the figure are how stiff his knees are. And when you do get them to bend, its limited because the thigh hits the side panels somewhat. His feet, though on ball joints, seem a little floppy and somewhat limited in movement. ( I had trouble transforming his feet/calves because the instructions failed to mention there was a swivel you had to move ) His head sculpt is ok, his face sort of reminds me of Mr. Incredible (must be his chin Lolz) His weapon/sheild looks kind of blah without the barrel, but doesnt distract too much from the overall look to windcharger. With all that being said, WindCharger isnt a bad figure. Its not on top on my list but I like it. Strongly reccomended!!! eagerly awaits the release of Alternators Shockblast/Shockwave!!
GreenGuy42 Posted February 16, 2005 Posted February 16, 2005 Saw this during my visit to singapore 2 weeks ago in a toy shop.Talk about value for money. Hey!!! I want that gun barrel!! Where can I get one?!?!?! I finally picked up windcharger and he's all I ever wanted in a alternator The Vechicle alt mode is flawless. It looks great with or without the roof. I was going to wait on the binaltech version but I gave in (hey, Im weak hehehe) As for the robot mode, it has all the things I wanted in an alternator... The waist turns. It has mid-bicep swivels, mid-thigh swivels and very light on the ball joints. (which are concentrated on the wrists and the ankles of the figure) This isnt neccessarily a bad thing. The swivel joints in the shoulders and thighs guarantees no limbs or panels popping off during transformation!! Its also not hollow like most alternators/binaltechs are and has very little "back pack" kibble. The only complaints that I have about the figure are how stiff his knees are. And when you do get them to bend, its limited because the thigh hits the side panels somewhat. His feet, though on ball joints, seem a little floppy and somewhat limited in movement. ( I had trouble transforming his feet/calves because the instructions failed to mention there was a swivel you had to move ) His head sculpt is ok, his face sort of reminds me of Mr. Incredible (must be his chin Lolz) His weapon/sheild looks kind of blah without the barrel, but doesnt distract too much from the overall look to windcharger. With all that being said, WindCharger isnt a bad figure. Its not on top on my list but I like it. Strongly reccomended!!! eagerly awaits the release of Alternators Shockblast/Shockwave!! Check ebay. They're going for 14 bucks with shipping
Guppy Posted February 16, 2005 Posted February 16, 2005 hmm, windcharger's growing on me looking at that singapore pic.
1 VF-1 2NV Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 Ok. I read somewhere the diecast content on these TF are getting less and less with each release. True or False? Also could any of you owners let me know specifically where the diecast is on each release? Thanks ! EDIT: GRIMLOCK: Front and rear bumpers, doors, and the front side panels forward of the doors (with the raised GT logo on them). That's it, for Grimlock I think...
Fit For Natalie Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 If you're talking about Binaltech - judging by Grimlock, yes, there is less die cast content compared to 2003 BT Smokescreen. BT Overdrive isn't out yet so we don't know how much die cast it has. A good thing, if you ask me.
Deadzone Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 Don't know about the others, but I specifically bought Meister instead of Jazz because I thought the Hasbro version looked really cheap. Considering Jazz is going for $30.00 on ebay anyway, I didn't mind spending the extra ten bucks for the high quality looking diecast metal. Meister has a metal hood, metal bumpers, metal doors, and metal top. I could not be happier with the diecast content in this toy. For others like Grimlock, I think the alternator version is fine. The plastic is painted on, so it is much tougher to tell between the BT and Alt versions. The one I want to know about is Blue Tracks. The Alt version is too expensive anyway, but I wonder how much diecast is in the Japanese version. Anybody own one, please post.
VF Strike Valk Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 (edited) Don't know about the others, but I specifically bought Meister instead of Jazz because I thought the Hasbro version looked really cheap. Considering Jazz is going for $30.00 on ebay anyway, I didn't mind spending the extra ten bucks for the high quality looking diecast metal. Meister has a metal hood, metal bumpers, metal doors, and metal top. I could not be happier with the diecast content in this toy. For others like Grimlock, I think the alternator version is fine. The plastic is painted on, so it is much tougher to tell between the BT and Alt versions.The one I want to know about is Blue Tracks. The Alt version is too expensive anyway, but I wonder how much diecast is in the Japanese version. Anybody own one, please post. Is the Alternator version supposed to say Jazz on the box? Edited February 17, 2005 by VF Strike Valk
al0324 Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 Don't know about the others, but I specifically bought Meister instead of Jazz because I thought the Hasbro version looked really cheap. Considering Jazz is going for $30.00 on ebay anyway, I didn't mind spending the extra ten bucks for the high quality looking diecast metal. Meister has a metal hood, metal bumpers, metal doors, and metal top. I could not be happier with the diecast content in this toy. For others like Grimlock, I think the alternator version is fine. The plastic is painted on, so it is much tougher to tell between the BT and Alt versions.The one I want to know about is Blue Tracks. The Alt version is too expensive anyway, but I wonder how much diecast is in the Japanese version. Anybody own one, please post. Is the Alternator version supposed to say Jazz on the box? Nope. He's also called meister. I read somewhere on some forum that hasbro had a problem getting it renamed to Jazz. Dont know what the deal was though.
Dangard Ace Posted February 17, 2005 Author Posted February 17, 2005 Short Answer: Honda's got a car named Honda Jazz so Hasbro wouldn've had a conflict if they made a Hondo Alt and it was the Honda Jazz. Longer more in-depth answer: Someone else will answer.
Solscud007 Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 I got TRU Reissue Rodimus Prime for 17.99 last weekend. Onsale of course.
areaseven Posted February 17, 2005 Posted February 17, 2005 Speaking of which, majority of the G1 reissues are on sale at TRU. Autobot Tracks - $9.99 Hoist - $9.99 Prowl - $13.99 Silverstreak - $10.99 Smokescreen - $10.99 Thundercracker - $19.99 I forgot the prices for Autobot Grapple and Inferno. Ricochet is still priced at $34.99.
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