The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[Hikuro]

On 1/31/2025 at 10:43 PM, M'Kyuun said:

All they had to do was make his hands flip out of the arms to give them that extra bit of length. However, seeing as how the forearms are on ball joints, I foresee a definite add-on kit to address that issue. Thing is, though, it's an easy problem to remedy and it should have been fixed by Has/Tak during production.

maybe arms and his hips just like the CW version had an accordian joint to compress his hips closer to look less awkward. Almost wouldn't mind a little more paint breakup but then it wouldn't be animation accurate at that point. 

On 1/31/2025 at 6:26 PM, mikeszekely said:

Are you buying Bonecrusher because you want Bonecrusher, or are you buying Bonecrusher because you want a Devastator that scales with other Hasbro combiners and he needs a left arm?

Well considering it'll really just be him and Scrapper for several months, he'd probably be in his Robot mode for quite a considerable amount of time, which is rather an eyesore. I almost never put my TFers in vehicle mode unless I got some sorta repaint variant.

[David Hingtgen]

Scavanger?  They lost the rights to Scavenger?  He's more angry now? Like hangry, but with scavenging...

[lechuck]

Pre-orders begin end of next week.

[sh9000]

Preorders go up tomorrow.

[Scyla]

Next HasLab Transformers project: Liokaiser

More pictures here: https://news.tfw2005.com/2025/02/07/haslab-liokaiser-revealed-531292

@M'Kyuun won’t be too happy about the way Hasbro engineered the jets  

Edited February 7 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

I'm probably in for Liokaiser, especially if they hit the Deathcobra stretch goal. But I'm kinda disappointed that Victory is monopolizing HasLab while also not existing outside of HasLabs.

[Scyla]

Hearts of Steel two pack:

I find it fascinating that these toys (to me) look worse than their 3rd Party counterparts from MMC released 15 years ago. Especially Starscream (and Optimus in alt-mode). Doubly so because it was the 1st and 3rd release of brand new company and some of the first 3rd party robots ever.

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, Scyla said:

Next HasLab Transformers project: Liokaiser

More pictures here: https://news.tfw2005.com/2025/02/07/haslab-liokaiser-revealed-531292

@M'Kyuun won’t be too happy about the way Hasbro engineered the jets  

😄 You're not wrong! Y'know, at this point it's the expectation that anything that turns into a jet is going to have a sh!tastic jet mode. They've proven me wrong on a few occasions, but I'd say maybe one in thirty or forty jetformers has a jet mode that's actually decent. In recent memory, the three standouts to me are Skyfire, Maverick, legacy Dreadwing/Skyquake, and  Wingtail in the Sonic the Hedgehog crossover set has a really well-done bi-plane mode. I wish it wasn't Sonic, and I wish it was sold separately as I'd be somewhat inclined to pick it up. Hopefully it'll get a retool/repaint.

Notably, Dreadwing and Maverick copy transformation elements from Macross. Maverick is probably the closest we'll ever get to a VF-1 again in Transformers (thanks to Harmony Gold, may they burn in Hell for eternity). It's a hugely missed opportunity that they didn't reissue him in the Jetfire color scheme with an approximate VF-1S head sculpt. I think that would have appealed to fans more than Maverick did. 

As to Liokaiser, I have no interest, so nothing's really lost on my end for the lousy jetformers in the set. I'm glad I popped in here, though, as I was unaware of the new drops. I headed to Hasbro Pulse straightaway and scored a set of Long Haul and Hook as well as snapping up a copy of Legacy Animated Wasp. I sat on the latter, but considering they never sold a version of him that turned into a car back when the show was originally airing, and given my enjoyment of Animated, I relented. After what I thought was a really well-done interpretation of RescueBots' Chase, I was looking forward to Heatwave, but he looks to me like a retool of Legacy Prime Bulkhead, who IMHO, has far more in common with the Animated design than Prime, but whatever. Anyway, disappointed, I passed on Heatwave. No interest in Hearts of Steel or Skybite. Hasbro's just not making much that appeals to me this year, which is good for the wallet and my lack of space.

Incidentally, Iron Factory is making their own version of Liokaiser. Here's their take on the green and white plane dude. If I was gonna get a Liokaiser set, guess which one I'd go with.

 

[Scyla]

13 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

😄 You're not wrong! Y'know, at this point it's the expectation that anything that turns into a jet is going to have a sh!tastic jet mode. They've proven me wrong on a few occasions, but I'd say maybe one in thirty or forty jetformers has a jet mode that's actually decent. In recent memory, the three standouts to me are Skyfire, Maverick, legacy Dreadwing/Skyquake, and  Wingtail in the Sonic the Hedgehog crossover set has a really well-done bi-plane mode. I wish it wasn't Sonic, and I wish it was sold separately as I'd be somewhat inclined to pick it up. Hopefully it'll get a retool/repaint.

Notably, Dreadwing and Maverick copy transformation elements from Macross. Maverick is probably the closest we'll ever get to a VF-1 again in Transformers (thanks to Harmony Gold, may they burn in Hell for eternity). It's a hugely missed opportunity that they didn't reissue him in the Jetfire color scheme with an approximate VF-1S head sculpt. I think that would have appealed to fans more than Maverick did. 

As to Liokaiser, I have no interest, so nothing's really lost on my end for the lousy jetformers in the set. I'm glad I popped in here, though, as I was unaware of the new drops. I headed to Hasbro Pulse straightaway and scored a set of Long Haul and Hook as well as snapping up a copy of Legacy Animated Wasp. I sat on the latter, but considering they never sold a version of him that turned into a car back when the show was originally airing, and given my enjoyment of Animated, I relented. After what I thought was a really well-done interpretation of RescueBots' Chase, I was looking forward to Heatwave, but he looks to me like a retool of Legacy Prime Bulkhead, who IMHO, has far more in common with the Animated design than Prime, but whatever. Anyway, disappointed, I passed on Heatwave. No interest in Hearts of Steel or Skybite. Hasbro's just not making much that appeals to me this year, which is good for the wallet and my lack of space.

Incidentally, Iron Factory is making their own version of Liokaiser. Here's their take on the green and white plane dude. If I was gonna get a Liokaiser set, guess which one I'd go with.

 

I find the jet modes on HasLab Liokaiser laughably bad. Like Combiner Wars bad. 
 

Besides obscurity I can’t comprehend why this is a HasLab project. There is nothing special to the toy that I can tell.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, Scyla said:

I find it fascinating that these toys (to me) look worse than their 3rd Party counterparts from MMC released 15 years ago. Especially Starscream (and Optimus in alt-mode). Doubly so because it was the 1st and 3rd release of brand new company and some of the first 3rd party robots ever.

Because, even 15 years ago, MMC wasn't constrained by budgets the way the bean counters at Hasbro shackle their design teams.

Still... do want.

EDIT: Oh, and it's not the only two-pack...

Liokaiser, Hook, and Long Haul aren't the only new preorders today, BTW.  Age of the Primes Voyagers Sky-Byte and Heatwave are also up.  Sky-Byte looks new, Heatwave is very obviously Bulkhead.

Edited February 7 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

Got these guys recently- Missing Link Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

Unlike Prime, the only G1 version I have is the Walmart Bumblebee reissue from a few years back, so it's kind of interesting that with the black bumper on his toes, unpainted headlights, and original toy-style head that Missing Link Bumblebee is actually closer to G1 than the reissue.

That said, there's going to be some differences, especially given the sheer number of variant releases these two saw during their G1 run.  The most obvious things that stand out to me, though, are the number of visible pins where hinges were added and the mushroom swivels on their head flaps.

That's not the only change, though.  Unlike the G1 toys, the Missing Link versions come with weapons.  They're vac-chromed to better match other G1 accessories.  Bee gets a tiny pistol (top).  Cliffjumper gets a slightly larger pistol, as well as his now-mandatory bazooka.

Of course the biggest change, just like with Prime, is that these guys have far greater articulation than the actual G1 toys.  Their heads can now swivel.  They can look down a bit (so could the originals), but not too much as it's a transformation mechanism that will stuff their faces into their chests.  Their shoulders still swivel, but they can also move about 45 degrees laterally.  Their biceps swivel now, and their elbows bend 90 degrees.  No waist or wrist swivels.  Their hips can go 90 degrees forward, but only a little bit backward and (if I'm being generous) only 45 degrees laterally.  Their thighs swivel, and their knees bend 90 degrees.  They have some slight up/down foot tilt, and 45 degrees of ankle pivot.  All-in-all, much more articulation than the G1 toys but not as extensively so as Prime, and well below modern standards still.

The pegs that make up their guns' handles fit into small holes on their fists.

They also fit into a hole on their backs, for a sort of (awkward) bot mode storage.

Like Prime, transformation is pretty much the same as the G1 toy, but with a few added steps.  The heads still fold down, the feet still bend down and tab together, and the legs still collapse.  When you get to the arms, though, they don't simply collapse into the torso.  You have to make sure the elbows are straight and the biceps turned so that the wheels are lined up, then you use double hinges to shift the shoulders down and in.  Pegs on the inside of the front wheel wells fit into the fists to lock the arms in place.

Aside from the still-visible mushroom hinge on the head flaps their alt modes pass a bit more easily for the G1 toys.  They even have rubber tires like the G1 toys.

Happily, they both have storage for their pistols in car mode.  On the inside of their left feet you find a small peg hole.  There are corresponding pegs on the sides  of the pistols, and they'll tuck neatly into the side of the foot with room for the other foot to close over it.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any storage for Cliffjumper's bazooka, though.

I've been messing with these guys for a few days and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about them.  On the one hand, they definitely fulfil the Missing Link assignment- they're G1-accurate cars with largely G1-accurate robot modes, just with more articulation (and new weapons).  But Prime had a few things going for him that these guys don't; he's one of the most iconic toys ever, Takara managed to get a lot more articulation out of him, and he came with all the accessories the original did, so he seemed like a decent value.  With Bee and Cliff it feels like Takara worked in some very basic articulation, gave them guns they never had, and suddenly they're $40 each.  I know Hasbro has to import these from Takara, and I know that collector stuff is just more expensive in Japan, but I'm having a hard time accepting that these guys are twice the price of their Studio Series Deluxe versions with half the size and half the articulation, just because they're designed to be super similar to ((very cheap at the time) G1 toys.  As a one-off for the novelty you should buy Prime instead.  I'd suggest passing on these guys, unless you've already decided that you're going all-in on this line.

[Hikuro]

Hm, it's a might, a mighty big might on the breast-force figures on the Haslab. I do like me some japanese characters, but that's also a lot of money and 300 is a bit tough right now....

[anime52k8]

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Because, even 15 years ago, MMC wasn't constrained by budgets the way the bean counters at Hasbro shackle their design teams.

Still... do want.

They also weren't constrained by child safety laws.

plus, wasn't their prime prone to catastrophically self-destructing?

[Radioguy]

12 hours ago, Scyla said:

Hearts of Steel two pack:

I find it fascinating that these toys (to me) look worse than their 3rd Party counterparts from MMC released 15 years ago. Especially Starscream (and Optimus in alt-mode). Doubly so because it was the 1st and 3rd release of brand new company and some of the first 3rd party robots ever.

Never thought I'd see the day, really. Even if MMC will be the best, I seriously want to see their Shockwave.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Because, even 15 years ago, MMC wasn't constrained by budgets the way the bean counters at Hasbro shackle their design teams.

Still... do want.

EDIT: Oh, and it's not the only two-pack...

Stunned Shockwave isn't in the wave so far, actually.

24 minutes ago, anime52k8 said:

They also weren't constrained by child safety laws.

plus, wasn't their prime prone to catastrophically self-destructing?

The Cyclops (Shockwave) is prone to breakage if not very carefully transformed. Glorious item though. I'd love a 2nd copy.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, anime52k8 said:

They also weren't constrained by child safety laws.

plus, wasn't their prime prone to catastrophically self-destructing?

That too.  IIRC the Nemesis version was better for QC, but it's been a long time.

From what I can see, there's some stuff that MMC definitely did better... Hasbro's Optimus has hollow gaps around the feet, and the train mode is so stumpy (though it's worth noting that Guidi's original design called for a trailer, which is incorporated into MMC's... maybe DNA will do an upgrade later?).  Hasbro's deco is more accurate, though, and probably sturdier.

As for Starscream, MMC's has more detail, but I'd say Hasbro's fits the current CHUG aesthetic a bit more.  It's hard to tell, but Hasbro's alt mode looks flatter, and therefore better.

Regardless, I know that comparisons are inevitable since Hasbro is doing designs MMC did years ago, but the reality is that Hasbro's gonna Hasbro, while Knight Morpher alone went for $85 back in 2010 (which would be a little over $120 in 2025 dollars) and is basically impossible to find now anyway.  I prefer to simply think it's cool that Hasbro is tackling these designs at all, in what will likely be pretty reasonably priced sets (I can't tell how big they are, but I'd guess between $50 and $70 per set).

EDIT: And I'm with @Radioguy, I'd love to see Shockwave if Hasbro continues the line, and maybe Scourge with his blimp mode.  Soundwave had a pretty cool design, too, and all three Insecticons become one train.  If they do more Autobot's, I think it'd be cool if they did guys like Hound and Ratchet who turned into train cars, not locomotives, and could be connected to one of the Autobots that does turn into a locomotive.  

Edited February 8 by mikeszekely

[davidwhangchoi]

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Got these guys recently- Missing Link Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

Unlike Prime, the only G1 version I have is the Walmart Bumblebee reissue from a few years back, so it's kind of interesting that with the black bumper on his toes, unpainted headlights, and original toy-style head that Missing Link Bumblebee is actually closer to G1 than the reissue.

That said, there's going to be some differences, especially given the sheer number of variant releases these two saw during their G1 run.  The most obvious things that stand out to me, though, are the number of visible pins where hinges were added and the mushroom swivels on their head flaps.

That's not the only change, though.  Unlike the G1 toys, the Missing Link versions come with weapons.  They're vac-chromed to better match other G1 accessories.  Bee gets a tiny pistol (top).  Cliffjumper gets a slightly larger pistol, as well as his now-mandatory bazooka.

Of course the biggest change, just like with Prime, is that these guys have far greater articulation than the actual G1 toys.  Their heads can now swivel.  They can look down a bit (so could the originals), but not too much as it's a transformation mechanism that will stuff their faces into their chests.  Their shoulders still swivel, but they can also move about 45 degrees laterally.  Their biceps swivel now, and their elbows bend 90 degrees.  No waist or wrist swivels.  Their hips can go 90 degrees forward, but only a little bit backward and (if I'm being generous) only 45 degrees laterally.  Their thighs swivel, and their knees bend 90 degrees.  They have some slight up/down foot tilt, and 45 degrees of ankle pivot.  All-in-all, much more articulation than the G1 toys but not as extensively so as Prime, and well below modern standards still.

The pegs that make up their guns' handles fit into small holes on their fists.

They also fit into a hole on their backs, for a sort of (awkward) bot mode storage.

Like Prime, transformation is pretty much the same as the G1 toy, but with a few added steps.  The heads still fold down, the feet still bend down and tab together, and the legs still collapse.  When you get to the arms, though, they don't simply collapse into the torso.  You have to make sure the elbows are straight and the biceps turned so that the wheels are lined up, then you use double hinges to shift the shoulders down and in.  Pegs on the inside of the front wheel wells fit into the fists to lock the arms in place.

Aside from the still-visible mushroom hinge on the head flaps their alt modes pass a bit more easily for the G1 toys.  They even have rubber tires like the G1 toys.

Happily, they both have storage for their pistols in car mode.  On the inside of their left feet you find a small peg hole.  There are corresponding pegs on the sides  of the pistols, and they'll tuck neatly into the side of the foot with room for the other foot to close over it.  Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any storage for Cliffjumper's bazooka, though.

I've been messing with these guys for a few days and I'm honestly not sure how I feel about them.  On the one hand, they definitely fulfil the Missing Link assignment- they're G1-accurate cars with largely G1-accurate robot modes, just with more articulation (and new weapons).  But Prime had a few things going for him that these guys don't; he's one of the most iconic toys ever, Takara managed to get a lot more articulation out of him, and he came with all the accessories the original did, so he seemed like a decent value.  With Bee and Cliff it feels like Takara worked in some very basic articulation, gave them guns they never had, and suddenly they're $40 each.  I know Hasbro has to import these from Takara, and I know that collector stuff is just more expensive in Japan, but I'm having a hard time accepting that these guys are twice the price of their Studio Series Deluxe versions with half the size and half the articulation, just because they're designed to be super similar to ((very cheap at the time) G1 toys.  As a one-off for the novelty you should buy Prime instead.  I'd suggest passing on these guys, unless you've already decided that you're going all-in on this line.

i want these so bad, but 40 is alot

[Scyla]

@mikeszekely, @anime52k8

Of course you’re right. My point was that the MMC releases were very rough when it comes to their design and build quality and yes of course they had a bigger budget.

For example the legs on Knight Morpher Commander are just rectangular slats of plastic that can’t even close properly.

And yes the first release of KM Commander was prone to breaking due to translucent plastic clips in the  chest that hold the arms in place in robot mode.

You can tell that it was (probably) the first design of an aspiring toy designer and the first product of a new company.

What I was getting at was that - putting the constraints of Hasbro when it comes to the production of these toys and the different price points aside - to me the 15 year old design by a novice toy designer still "looks" better than something designed by an experienced design team today.

And I find that fascinating.

PS: In the same way I find it fascinating that Hasbro never managed to release a Galvatron that outshines the Universe 2.0 one (to me).

[mikeszekely]

6 hours ago, Scyla said:

PS: In the same way I find it fascinating that Hasbro never managed to release a Galvatron that outshines the Universe 2.0 one (to me).

The Deluxe that turns into a tank? Really? I hated that one. I thought it was bad even at the time.

[Scyla]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

The Deluxe that turns into a tank? Really? I hated that one. I thought it was bad even at the time.

Yapp. I can recognize that the Titans Return and Kingdom ones are more solid toys but I love the alt-mode (no H Tank!), the creative way it transforms (all in one if you can keep everything attached), the asymmetric nature of it.

I‘m probably the only person that likes this toy and my judgment is blinded by the potential I can see in it (if it only had been a Voyager class as initially planned) but it is still the best retail Galvatron in my collection and I love it!

Edited February 8 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Scyla said:

Yapp. I can recognize that the Titans Return and Kingdom ones are more solid toys but I love the alt-mode (no H Tank!), the creative way it transforms (all in one if you can keep everything attached), the asymmetric nature of it.

I‘m probably the only person that likes this toy and my judgment is blinded by the potential I can see in it (if it only had been a Voyager class as initially planned) but it is still the best retail Galvatron in my collection and I love it!

Respect. I mean, yeah, the design had potential and might have been really cool as a Voyager. But for me, the reality was just so bad. It's why one of the very first 3P toys I bought was Mania King.

[JB0]

5 hours ago, Scyla said:

Yapp. I can recognize that the Titans Return and Kingdom ones are more solid toys but I love the alt-mode (no H Tank!), the creative way it transforms (all in one if you can keep everything attached), the asymmetric nature of it.

I‘m probably the only person that likes this toy and my judgment is blinded by the potential I can see in it (if it only had been a Voyager class as initially planned) but it is still the best retail Galvatron in my collection and I love it!

I like the design, but the implementation is sorely lacking. It is a lot more fidgety than it needs to be for what it does(likely a vestige of the original voyager design, there's a few pieces that make no sense unless it was designed as a triple-changer)

[sh9000]

I only preordered Hook and Long Haul.

I think I'd buy Missing Link versions of all of the G1 Autobot cars.

Looks like I'll be getting Perceptor again but this time from Target for Ratbat and Ramhorn.

Edited February 8 by sh9000

[mikeszekely]

5 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Looks like I'll be getting Perceptor again but this time from Target for Ratbat and Ramhorn.

Same.  It's dumb, I like Perceptor but AFAIK the only difference is that he'll have a solid red chest door instead of translucent with red behind it, and maybe a different shade of blue.  I'm guessing Ratbat won't be any different than the Siege version, aside from colors.  But, just like we can't NOT have Buzzsaw, we can't NOT have Ramhorn.

When I heard that Walmart was doing a Cybertron capsule Excellion would have been an obvious repaint.  Maybe the gold version of Vector Prime or Starscream repaints, too.  Curious to see what we get for Sideways, though... I wouldn't be the first time an entirely new mold popped up in a Walmart line.

I'm told the Ironfist/Carnivac pack will be some retool of either Siege or Legacy Hound (which itself is a retool of Siege) with a repaint of Titans Return Weirdwolf.  Likewise Slugslinger will be some repaint of the Titans Return one, while Sandstorm will be Legacy with a cartoon head.  The Devastation pack will be a repaint of Runabout with a repaint of Ramjet or Dirge, but I dig those colors so I'm probably in. 

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

I am actually interested in the new Galaxy Force Noisemaze. 

[mikeszekely]

While I'm sitting here eagerly anticipating Constructicons, Aerialbots, and an awesome new Star Convoy, Hasbro went and sent me the latest Collaborative... Star Wars X Transformers The Mandalorian.

Years ago Star Wars Transformers weren't merely a one-off collaborative, but a regular thing that I had basically no interest in.  I mean, I like Star Wars, but I don't love it the way a lot of people do.  And an Eta-2 Actis that turns into a robot version of Obi-Wan is kind of weird, really.  But as a Mandalorian the concept kind of works for me... a Cybertronian explorer gets lost in a wormhole or something, ends up in the Star Wars galaxy, and becomes a Mandalorian foundling.  That said, the silver color with the brown "pants" and belt, the brown finger with the blue triangles on the hand armor... it's pretty clear that this isn't a Mandalorian, it's supposed to be Din Djarin, The Mandalorian.  So I guess we are back to the weird "turn the vehicle into the guy that drives it" Star Wars thing again?  I suppose I can ignore the intention and go back to thinking of him as a Cybertronian Mandalorian foundling, but then I can't help wishing for more unique styling.

All that said, I can't really do the whole, "here's how it's accurate, here's how it's not" bit because as a Transformer it's an original character, and as Din Djarin it has to be a transforming robot now.  I'll just point out that the lower legs are a tad hollow, and he's got some kibble wings that I don't really mind too much but for the hinged half-circles.  Size-wise he's roughly a Voyager or short Leader.

He comes with a lot of accessories, though some are a bit questionable.  There's a stand base, a hinged translucent piece, a teeny tiny pistol, another weapon that's made up of a chunk of his alt mode, a capsule, a stand arm, and six rubbery effect parts.

Mando's head is on a ball joint that swivels and has moderately-limited up/down/sideways tilt.  His shoulders rotate, though the spikes on them and his kibble wings can be a limiting factor.  They move laterally about 90 degrees, but in a move that's becoming distressingly common the hinge is on the wrong side of the rotation.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, as does his waist.  His hips can go a little over 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend around 130 degrees.  Due to how he transforms his feet can tilt down 90 degrees, but nothing upward, and if I'm being generous I might say he's got 45 degrees of ankle pivot.

He can hold the pistol and the lance(?) in either hand via 5mm peg handles.  The pistol can store in a holster on Mando's right hip, which is another nod to Din Djarin's pistol and hip holster, except that the pistol is comically tiny in his hand.  The smallest blast effect is meant to go on the tip of the pistol, while there's a peg under the pointy bit of the other weapon for the largest blast effect.  Or, that's what's intended, anyway.  Since they use the same connection, you can use any of the effect parts but the round ones.

The hinged translucent part  has a squarish peg on the gray hinge.  This plugs into a port on Mando's back to give him cape... because, y'know, sometimes Din Djarin has a cape.  It's shorter than Din Djarin's, and Din Djarin's is black instead of translucent blue... but I don't mind the idea of a Cybertronian Mandalorian making an Energon cape.

As for his other accessories, you can plug the stand arm into the stand base, and one of the round effect parts onto it.  There are tabs on the effect part that allow you to plug the pod into it.  Is it supposed to be like Grogu's pram?  I mean, I know what part of his alt mode it is, but for bot mode, why do I need a chunk of his alt mode flying around?  The bubble canopy opens on it, but there's no Grogu to put inside.

Note that there's really nothing left to do with the other three effect parts (the other round bit and the two medium blasts) in this mode.  Technically, the round effect fits onto a 5mm peg on the stand arm, and the pod has a 5mm port on the bottom, so you don't even really need the one round effect that you can use.

If you prefer, you can attach the pod to the back of the lance weapon.  It's where it goes in alt mode, anyway.  It's kind of awkward, sure, but the lance is kind of awkward period.  As a bonus if you're not going to use the stand for the pod you can pull the stand arm off and attach the base to a 5mm port on either of Mando's forearms, turning it into a shield (with Din Djarin's Mudhorn emblem molded onto it).

The Mandalorian's transformation is pretty simple.  Spin him at the waist, open the back of his legs, spin his feet around, and fold them lower legs over the thighs and waist.  Open his chest, fold the flaps on the sides out, spin the front around, and fold it over to tab into his legs.  Pull his arms away from his body, fold in the fists, and tuck his head into the spot his chest vacated.  Then his backpack opens and swivels around to the where his chest was, covering his head, while the half-circles on the back wings cover over his biceps.  The pod plugs into the back of the cockpit, just over his feet, and the lance weapon straightens out and plugs into the back of the pod.

Considering that it has to also transform into a robot, I think it's an OK representation of Din Djarin's modified N-1 starfighter.  The gray color with a bit of gold striping is right.  It's got molded details on the nacelles, fuselage, sometimes with gunmetal paint, where Djarin's fighter was missing hull plating.  Mostly the rear pod is too big, and the front cockpit shortened to accommodate the larger rear pod, plus bits of leg showing from some angles.

The two medium blast effects plug into the molded guns on the front of the N-1... though again, there's nothing stopping you from from using the other ones.  The round bits slid over the exhaust spikes, but they don't slide on all way the and they look kind of dumb to me.  Mando can transform with the small pistol in its holster, so that's covered.

Note that while the canopy on the pod opens, the cockpit canopy does not.

You might have noticed that there are tabs on the sides of the stand arm.  Those tabs fit into slots on the cape.  The hinge then lets you wrap the cape around the stand arm, giving you a place to store it in alt mode.  Mando's N-1 mode has a 5mm port on the underside that allows it to sit on the stand arm.

End of the day, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about The Mandolorian, and I think a lot of that comes down to the price and accessories.  Mando's $55... basically a Leader-class price.  As he's not a particularly large or complicated figure, and Hasbro already has a license to make Star Wars toys, it seems like a lot of the budget went toward accessories.  Now, while a stand is nice for flying alt modes, I honestly think I'd have been happier if they ditched the stand, the cape, all the effect parts, maybe even the undersized pistol and just knocked the price down to $35.  At $35 I'd say something like, "pretty good Voyager figure, the idea of a Cybertronian Mandalorian is kind of cool, I recommend him!"  But Mando doesn't feel like a $55 figure at all, and a bunch of effect parts I'm not going to use don't really change that.

 

[M'Kyuun]

@mikeszekely I appreciate your candid take on The Mandalorian crossover fig, and I'm of the same thought of just ditching all the effects stuff, cape, and shield, and just give us the basic fig for voyager price. I bought this guy, too, after having initially passed on it. I watched PVP's vid review, and that was the nudge I needed to commit. I very much enjoy The Mandalorian show, and the N-1 Naboo fighter has long been one of my favorite Star Wars designs, one of the few things I actually like about the Prequels. I bought any number of the old SW crossover figs but I can't recall ever picking up a Naboo fighter, so this seemed a good opportunity. Mine's due to arrive on Thursday, so something to look forward to in a year that thus far holds very little comparatively of interest to me Transformers-wise.

[JB0]

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I mean, I like Star Wars, but I don't love it the way a lot of people do.  And an Eta-2 Actis that turns into a robot version of Obi-Wan is kind of weird, really. 

It worked better in the earlier releases, when they included tiny pilot figures, so Darth Vader's TIE Fighter turned into a giant robot Darth Vader that was piloted by Actual Darth Vader.

 

I don't know if it was to cut costs, avoid brand confusion, or choking hazard, but after the first few waves they ditched the not-dianauts and the line got weirder. Looks to me like Amanda Lorian was intended to come with a Baby Yoda figure, and it was cut late in the design cycle.

[M'Kyuun]

5 hours ago, JB0 said:

It worked better in the earlier releases, when they included tiny pilot figures, so Darth Vader's TIE Fighter turned into a giant robot Darth Vader that was piloted by Actual Darth Vader.

 

I don't know if it was to cut costs, avoid brand confusion, or choking hazard, but after the first few waves they ditched the not-dianauts and the line got weirder. Looks to me like Amanda Lorian was intended to come with a Baby Yoda figure, and it was cut late in the design cycle.

The omission of Grogu while providing an obvious space for him on the toy is curious and disappointing, especially for those of us who collected the older waves that did come with small pilot figs. I'd rather have had Grogu over the blast effects, personally, as well as an accessible pilot's area and a small Din Djarin. I'm not at all a fan of making the bot modes on these sorts of crossovers look like the characters who operate them. I'd rather they were their own separate characters which would free the designers to be more inventive when crafting the bot modes instead of trying to shoehorn in aesthetics of the pilots. If my old Ford Ranger could transform, I wouldn't want it to look like me. I don't understand that creative direction, but that's probably why I'm not running a multibillion-dollar toy corporation.

[sh9000]

Preorders are up.

Additional pics.

[M'Kyuun]

My copy of The Mandolorian crossover showed up today, two days earlier than tracking indicated, so yay DHL and USPS! In hand, not too shabby. I love the molded gun holster, which is a feature sadly seldom seen on TF figs.  The tail gun is, well, what it is 😄, but I can appreciate the attempt and the use of part of the ship to make a transformable accessory. That's the best kind of weapon storage. Both modes are solid, and yeah, the omission of a little Grogu or a Din Djarin minifig to helm the ship is lamentable. I wish it had double jointed elbows or at least a deeper bend with its single elbow joint, but it's ok as is. I also wish the engine spikes on his shoulders could somehow retract a bit or otherwise swing out of the way, as they're pretty long and due to the crappy Hot Rod/Rodimus-styled shoulder hinges, they can potentially hit his head when raised all the way up and turned outwards. Although it creates a little bit of back kibble, I like how the portions of fuselage form little wings. The little hinged rings that form engine covers over the elbows are a tad unwieldy and unsightly, but ultimately, they make the N-1 mode look better, so it's a reasonable sacrifice to the bot mode. He's still a bit pricey for what you get, but as @mikeszekely pointed out, he comes with no shortage of accessories, except Grogu, and both modes of the main fig are done well. I'm glad I got him, and I have a feeling in the long run, he's going to be one of my favorite crossover figs, as I really love that N-1 design and he has a better bot mode than many of the other crossovers as well, IMHO.

Edited February 11 by M'Kyuun

[sh9000]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TRA-GEN-COLLAB-MANDRAKE/11223004483

I initially passed on it but it's currently 50% off at Walmart so I finally ordered it.

[Radioguy]

10 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Preorders are up.

Additional pics.

Starting to get a good feeling about Shockwave coming.

[mikeszekely]

4 hours ago, sh9000 said:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TRA-GEN-COLLAB-MANDRAKE/11223004483

I initially passed on it but it's currently 50% off at Walmart so I finally ordered it.

Ugh, I should have waited.  It's definitely worth that price.

[JB0]

21 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

The omission of Grogu while providing an obvious space for him on the toy is curious and disappointing, especially for those of us who collected the older waves that did come with small pilot figs. I'd rather have had Grogu over the blast effects, personally, as well as an accessible pilot's area and a small Din Djarin.

Yeah. And even if they're still stuck hard on the "no meatsack pilots in Transformers toys", they could've made a Baby Yoda powermaster or something. Tiny cute green guy that folds into a pod-shaped chunk of starship.

 

But yeah, I'm certain they wanted the kiddo in there and it was vetoed late enough that they couldn't redesign the pod to be in-scale or integral.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, JB0 said:

Yeah. And even if they're still stuck hard on the "no meatsack pilots in Transformers toys", they could've made a Baby Yoda powermaster or something. Tiny cute green guy that folds into a pod-shaped chunk of starship.

 

But yeah, I'm certain they wanted the kiddo in there and it was vetoed late enough that they couldn't redesign the pod to be in-scale or integral.

I hadn't even given thought to a Powermaster approach, although, knowing Has/Tak, it would have been clunky and would have detracted from rather than enhanced the look of the ship, so I'm glad they didn't take that route.

That oversized pod was obviously intended for an occupant, which makes the omission all the more glaring. I'm sure some third party will make a little Grogu to put in there. As big as that pod is, they could probably make his floaty pram as well. Bummer that they didn't sculpt the cockpit to access a small Din Djarin fig as well. Having the Mandalorian's fighter with no Mandalorian seems odd, and no I don't consider the ship in bot form to be the Mandalorian himself, but more like a transforming Batmobile to Batman.

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ugh, I should have waited.  It's definitely worth that price.

Well damn. Wish I'd waited a little longer, too.