The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[RD Blade]

Thanks! Just finished emailing them. Hopefully, they'll have mercy on me.

Update:

They refunded me the difference. Now Trypticon's price is steadily rising again.

Edited December 20, 2015 by RD Blade

[M'Kyuun]

New photo of prototype MP Optimus Primal has been released on TFW2005: http://news.tfw2005.com/

My first impression is that it looks alot like the Voyager Primal toy, which was a really good figure, but not really MP quality. I was really hoping they'd bust out some new tech know-how to hide all the joints and give him a more accurate screen look. But, this is still a very early render, so things may change, hopefully improve, as time goes on.

[Dangard Ace]

Yeah, the original Optimus Primal was pretty spot-on animated wise. This one looks like it's refined even more but is it refined enough to warrant MP pricing? We'll see.

[UN Spacy]

[Silverstreak]

^Lol.

Good to see the rubber ducky made an appearance

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

that's so silly to have robot transform into a gorilla.. at least make it a dinosaur that turns into a city, that's more realistic.

[JB0]

that's so silly to have robot transform into a gorilla.. at least make it a dinosaur that turns into a city, that's more realistic.

Hey, at least the dinosaur-city transformation has two distinct modes. Optimus Primal doesn't even make sense, he's got two different animal forms and no machine form. Not even distinctly different animals, they're both primates!

[treatment]

Hopefully, it'll finally make the always-obnoxious bw-fans to stop their insufferable and incessant whining once and for all...

[Mechapilot77]

god i hate beast wars/era....wasted takara resources as far as i'm concerned. just let them release it fast and be done with that era. lol

truck not monkey!

[mikeszekely]

Beast Wars was a great show.

...but I don't want any robots that turn into realistic animals.

[VF-Zer0S]

I don't understand the hate but I'd love an MP Dinobot and Cheetor

[M'Kyuun]

I love BW; heck I even like BM. However, when it comes to the figures, I'd much prefer my TFs turn into vehicles and other machines.

That said, my curiosity is piqued to see what MP Primal's, and Megatron's, final designs look like. I was actually really hoping Takara'd develop some sort of fur/skin coverings to make these things more closely resemble animals. It's the kind of thing they would have tried in the 80's. Say what you like about the cheesiness and clunkiness of some 80's toys, but the sheer amount of experimentation and variety in toys was awesome. We just don't see that too much now.

[Dio]

Masterpiece as a line pretty much amounts to roughly Ultra size class versions of old figures with better articulation and truer-to-TV details. The problem getting into the Beast era chronologically is that the detail and articulation of toys at the time was much closer to the current standard (barring the BM line that was pretty much just given up on).

Primal is probably not going to be as much of an upgrade as the G1 MP's, relatively speaking, so I'm tempering my expectations on it.

[Kanedas Bike]

Beast Wars was a great show.

...but I don't want any robots that turn into realistic animals.

+ 1

*I know this is 3rd party but I prefer the aesthetic of the Perfect Effect Leonidas when thinking of robots that turn into animals.

-b.

[JB0]

+ 1

*I know this is 3rd party but I prefer the aesthetic of the Perfect Effect Leonidas when thinking of robots that turn into animals.

-b.

I was going to say "Predaking or GTFO" but that actually DOES look pretty cool.

[treatment]

Charles recently posted video-reviews of the latest Masterpieces (MP-14C, MP-21R, MP-26):

MP-14C Clampdown:

MP-21R Red Bumblebee:

MP-26 Roadrage:

[sh9000]

Blast from the past.

[jenius]

Some jerk drew all over your Optimus! Jk. My 3.5 year old was given two transformers by extended family in Japan, both are way too complex for him so I've been playing with them. One is an Optimus that has red flames on the side and a huge sword underneath, the other is a blue police truck with a gun on top.

[mikeszekely]

Some jerk drew all over your Optimus! Jk. My 3.5 year old was given two transformers by extended family in Japan, both are way too complex for him so I've been playing with them. One is an Optimus that has red flames on the side and a huge sword underneath, the other is a blue police truck with a gun on top.

Pics?

[jenius]

You recognize them? I'm pretty sure the Optimus lookin' fella is missing a shield... I think I left it on the cruise ship (oops).

[mikeszekely]

Yep. Leader-class Age of Extinction Optimus Prime, and Warrior-class Strongarm from the current Robots in Disguise cartoon. In Japan, I think Age of Extinction might have been called Lost Age, and I'm certain that Robots in Disguise is Transformers Adventure.

And while we're talking Transformers... I finally got to Toys R Us, and I was happy to find all the Deluxe Combiner Wars Combaticons (no Legends Shockwave, sadly, and the only Voyagers they had were a handful of Cyclonuses and a crap ton of Hot Spots).

The worst of the lot is Blast Off. By now, it's pretty common knowledge that he's a jet now and not a space shuttle. I could let that slide... I mean, the jet mode actually fits the military theme better, and they nailed Blast Off's colors. But his head is totally wrong. And it sadly could have been avoided... all they needed to do was use Fireflight's mold instead of Slingshot's. Or even better, Vortex/Alpha-Bravo's head. I might actually look for a spare of one of those to repaint that head. Or see if I can find my Fall of Cybertron Blast Off.

Vortex isn't bad. I mean, if you've got Blades or Alpha-Bravo, you know what to expect from the mold. The mold works fine for Vortex, and while the colors are a little more vivid than I remember the cartoon being, they mimic some of the sticker details from the toy serve to make him very visually distinct despite having zero changes from Alpha Bravo.

Brawl's sort of a mixed bag. He's got a lot of details right, like the face and the treads on his shoulders. He can either wear his tank's cannon on his back, or detach it and use it as a hand weapon. His tank mode is solid, although the turret doesn't move. In fact, he's got a peg you can flip out to mount his hand/foot weapon thing on top. And his leg mode is pretty solid, too. His arm mode is adequate, but I'm not as fond of it. His shoulders and hips are a little weird in bot mode, though. Finally, he's a little more brown and less green than I'd prefer. I guess that's in line with the cartoon, but not the comics or the original toy.

Swindle's easily the best of the bunch. He's got the right mustard color, and the overall look of the bot-mode is spot on with a great head mold and touches of purple detail (at least for the G1 toy, not the animation model with the windshield chest). His alt-mode is still a jeep, but it's a bigger, tougher-looking jeep, and although it's not the most colorful it's got lots of molded detail like cargo containers and headlights. He's good as a leg, but he's also a pretty great arm, too. He basically works the same as Rook, whom he's remolded from, but somehow feels totally fresh. I'd actually recommend him even if you didn't plan on getting any of the other Combaticons. My only tiny complaint is that his weapons can only be held in his hand (or shoulder). Toy-accurate, I suppose, but my absolute favorite thing about Swindle in the cartoon was that he had an arm cannon like Megatron, so it'd have been nice if you could peg his weapon into his forearm.

[sh9000]

Some jerk drew all over your Optimus! Jk. My 3.5 year old was given two transformers by extended family in Japan, both are way too complex for him so I've been playing with them. One is an Optimus that has red flames on the side and a huge sword underneath, the other is a blue police truck with a gun on top.

Yeah back in 2004 this jerk in the cowboy hat just scribbled on my MP Optimus box.

[VF5SS]

Here's my (really long) look at Unite Warriors Devastator.

Warning: a dead media format approaches.

[M'Kyuun]

I want to like this so bad, but too much was sacrificed for the combined mode. For voyager sized figures, I would have expected the individual bots' arms to be far better designed and better proportioned , esp Long Haul. I also would have expected the vehicle modes to have better working features, such as Scavenger's cab section capable of rotation. I really would have loved to have seen them figure out a way to make Long Haul's bed actually dump. Not sure if any of the third parties have even been able to manage that, but it'd be a nice bit of polish. I'm not crazy about Mixmaster's front dispensing cement truck mode; the old rear dispensing truck would have made a better looking Mixmaster, not to mention it'd be true to the source. I'm actually surprised Takara didn't produce a different Mixmaster figure for their version, since they seem obsessed with cartoon accuracy.

I was seriously thinking about grabbing the Unite Warriors version, but having watched two reviews, there are just too many compromises that I can't get past, esp since my Constructicons would spend most of their time in their individual bot modes on the shelf due to space restrictions. I will say, the Devastator mode is about as good as it can possibly be, minus Mixmaster's odd little foot. All things considered, I'm disappointed in this set. For those who love it, I'm happy for you...it's just not hitting the mark for me.

[dizman]

All things considered, I'm disappointed in this set. For those who love it, I'm happy for you...it's just not hitting the mark for me.

I got my UW Devastator a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Have you seen one in person and played around with the set? I have seen most of the reviews and the toy still wowed me when I got it out of the box and started fiddling with it. If you want perfection I keep hearing 3p Hercules is pretty good if you want to spend $100 per figure. There's also a new 3p company (generation toy) making a bigger Devastator which is looking good so far.

[jenius]

Here's my (really long) look at Unite Warriors Devastator.

Warning: a dead media format approaches.

What did that warning at the end of your post mean? VHS?

[VF5SS]

"Constructicons, MERGE FOR THE KILL!"

[M'Kyuun]

I got my UW Devastator a few days ago and have been loving it so far. Have you seen one in person and played around with the set? I have seen most of the reviews and the toy still wowed me when I got it out of the box and started fiddling with it. If you want perfection I keep hearing 3p Hercules is pretty good if you want to spend $100 per figure. There's also a new 3p company (generation toy) making a bigger Devastator which is looking good so far.

I've not actually seen it in person, although TRU had a CW set. The poor, or lack of, articulation on several of the figs' arms just turned me off to the Hasbro release. Articulation is of huge importance to me, esp in a voyager sized figure; Mixmaster, Long haul, Scrapper, and Hook are just exceptionally poor figures, IMO. The Takara version had me slightly interested, but after looking at pics and reviews, they still do not appeal to me. Devastator, OTOH, looks brilliant, and seems to have been the greatest focus of the design, which is understandable, I guess. But I've always been partial to Long Haul and Scavenger, and I had high anticipation to see how they looked when Devy was first announced and shown. When the pics finally came of the individual Constructicons, it became readily apparent that their designs were secondary and lacking. Big letdown.

I've been considering third party releases, but they're all fairly costly. With lots of new LEGO, Macross, and other TF stuff coming out in 2016, I'll probably just live without Devastator. Plus I owe escrow on my house. Priorities. Shrug.

[mikeszekely]

Plus I owe escrow on my house. Priorities. Shrug.

Stupid priorities, always getting in the way of stuff. In my case, it's the baby we had this summer.

My wife still got me the Hasbro Devastator about a month before our daughter was born, though. The differences between it and the UW version, especially when they don't fix things enough, didn't really justify the extra price or waiting six months for me. And I think that, for the most part, your complaints are totally valid and if those are things that bother you you're right to pass (I take exception to the notion that Scrapper is exceptionally poor, though... he's actually pretty good, and if he just had elbow articulation he'd easily be the best of the six). For what he cost, though, I can live with the individual bot mode's flaws because as you've noted the gestalt mode is actually pretty great. And there's always 3P stuff to fix some of it... like I'll probably pick up Dr. Wu's Mixmaster replacement, and possibly one of the kits that improve the individual bot arms.

If you do go 3P, I personally like Giant better than Hercules, but I'd probably wait and see how Gravity Builder shakes out.

[M'Kyuun]

Considering 3P Devies, it's a tough choice. I also favor Giant over Hercules. Gravity Builder's bots have some amazing looking construction vehicle modes, which appeals to me, but they took serious license with the bot modes. Toyworld's bots are pretty plain in their alt modes, although I absolutely love that their Scavenger and Bonecrusher have actual rolling treads. That kind of engineering is what I think of in terms of MP quality...it's tough to pull off, but I think they did it beautifully. And, their Long Haul is the most evocative of the G1 toy, which I also love. All their bot modes are pretty faithful to G1, actually. However, I'm not sure their Long Haul's legs form the legs in combined mode; it looks to me like they're add-ons. Anyway, I'm waiting for reviews on this guy to see if he's worth plunking down $600+.

I'm hoping MP Ironhide will be shipping soon; I've got him and a LEGO set sitting in Private Warehouse, and the LEGO set's time is almost up. I also preordered the Takara version of Warrior Class Fracture in Earth motorcycle mode from RiD. Hopefully, they'll all ship together.

[lechuck]

The only thing I would like to know is if CW/UW Devastator has killed any notion of there being a proper MP version from Takara - I hope not.

[Scyla]

Shogo Hasui said that he wanted to work in CW Devastator because he figured that this would be the only opportunity for him to work on a Masterpieceish Devastator. So he tried to incorporate as many ideas he had for Masterpiece Devastator into the CW toy.

I don't think this would make a Masterpiece Devastator impossible but highly unlikely as long as Hasui works for Takara.

[David Hingtgen]

So, TFCC makes Needlenose, AKA "the G1 jet that was an F-16, that's not Skydive", on the Firefly/Slingshot mold, not the Skydive F-16 mold. WTF?

It's mind-blowing how much that particular CW-jet-limb mold is used, vs the Skydive and Air Raid one.

I still hold out hope that someone at Hasbro (or Takara) sees the uber-obvious, amazingly appropriate and awesome recolor pairing that MUST be done:

[Guest davidwhangchoi]

It's the New year! can't wait for shockwave to come out.

[Scyla]

So, TFCC makes Needlenose, AKA "the G1 jet that was an F-16, that's not Skydive", on the Firefly/Slingshot mold, not the Skydive F-16 mold. WTF?

It's mind-blowing how much that particular CW-jet-limb mold is used, vs the Skydive and Air Raid one.

I still hold out hope that someone at Hasbro (or Takara) sees the uber-obvious, amazingly appropriate and awesome recolor pairing that MUST be done:

I still have my hopes up that MakeToys will make an appropriate Dreadwind and Darkwing in their masterpiece line. Maybe they can do an F-16 and Tornado transforming robot that actual look like the jets.

[edit:] I hope the subscription service is able to release the Armada Skywarp figure teased at Botcon before their license gets pulled by Hasbro.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Scyla