The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

I didn't know we HAD a downvote button.

Upvote for you, then!

[JB0]

Hooray!

[anime52k8]

2 hours ago, JB0 said:

I didn't know we HAD a downvote button.

we didn't until the most recent theme update. before that it was upvote only.

[JB0]

I see it now.  What I thought was just a reskinned upvote button(hearts instead of up-arrows) is now a flyout menu.

That's... not very good interface design, really. Not that anyone in charge here made that decision.

[M'Kyuun]

Never heard of up or down voting- seems petty.

I was checking out some pics of the Volcanicus in-hand pics on TFW2005. I hope the final product allows Sludge's head and neck to snug up against his back in leg mode. There's something almost obscene in how it looks in those proto shots.  I see they're still using the robot legs for elbows ; I get why, but it doesn't look good and with ball joints, there tends to be a bit of looseness, unwanted torsion, or both. At the very least, it would have been nice if the hip joints swiveled a la G1 Sludge so they can tab together to make a more solid joint. I do have to say I like how the upper torso looks. I intend to get these guys just b/c they're the first full set of G1 inspired Dinobots we've gotten, and they look decent on their own. The combiner thing is a nice plus, but my Dinos will likely remain as themselves.

[Scyla]

9 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

Just call me Kuma and there's no need to downvote me, man. I didn't know.

No worries, just want to let you know that there is a dedicated thread for it.

FYI I didn't downvote it (I hope).

 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Huh, I never noticed those voting buttons before.  Not that I'll use 'em; seems kinda pointless imo.

As far as subject matter is concerned, last night was the first time in years that I bought a TF in-store.  I was in a TRU for my own kids when I saw a fully stocked TF section, even MP-10 was in stock.  Nothing Hasbro has been releasing recently tickles my fancy, but I did note that if I ever saw the new Sky Shadow in person, I'd give it a closer look.  Well, I ended buying one after picking the best of the bunch.  He looks very cool, I can't wait to open him up once I get home.

[mikeszekely]

8 minutes ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Huh, I never noticed those voting buttons before.  Not that I'll use 'em; seems kinda pointless imo.

As far as subject matter is concerned, last night was the first time in years that I bought a TF in-store.  I was in a TRU for my own kids when I saw a fully stocked TF section, even MP-10 was in stock.  Nothing Hasbro has been releasing recently tickles my fancy, but I did note that if I ever saw the new Sky Shadow in person, I'd give it a closer look.  Well, I ended buying one after picking the best of the bunch.  He looks very cool, I can't wait to open him up once I get home.

Did you happen to notice if they had MPM-04 (the movie MP Prime)?  They started showing up in stores, and I've been checking my local one from time to time, but I haven't seen it. 

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Nope, I didn't see that Prime on the shelves.

[M'Kyuun]

I was at my local TRU this weekend, but they had neither of the Bay-verse MPs. They did, however, have Sixshot; it was the first time I'd seen him anywhere, but as he doesn't interest me, I left him on the shelf. I looked for price stickers for MPM Prime and Bumblebee, but didn't see any, although I have no intention of buying either. Now, if they do a decent Blackout some time down the road, or even Brawl, I may consider those. I'm always on the lookout for the latest Generations figs, esp deluxes, but our TRU here never has them when I go in, or they have one or two older wave figs, which really peeves me when I see other folks post fully stocked pegs at their TRU. (not that I begrudge them, but it just irks me that our store here seldom has them) Alas, they're in my stack at TFSource. The hunt is pointless when there is no prey.

[Silverstreak]

11 hours ago, Valkyrie Hunter D said:

Huh, I never noticed those voting buttons before.  Not that I'll use 'em; seems kinda pointless imo.

As far as subject matter is concerned, last night was the first time in years that I bought a TF in-store.  I was in a TRU for my own kids when I saw a fully stocked TF section, even MP-10 was in stock.  Nothing Hasbro has been releasing recently tickles my fancy, but I did note that if I ever saw the new Sky Shadow in person, I'd give it a closer look.  Well, I ended buying one after picking the best of the bunch.  He looks very cool, I can't wait to open him up once I get home.

Sky Shadow is great. He has, for me at least, broken the streak of (at best) mediocre leader class TF figures released in the last 4-5 years. He is certainly not without his faults but on the whole, everything he does, he does very well. He's decently posable, has a simple and fun transformation (I love how the tank turret hides in the legs) and while the jet isn't super, both his alt modes look good.

I picked Sky Shadow because I have zero interest in Overlord (I have Carnifex. Enough said) but given how fun the mould is you can't go wrong with either.

[mikeszekely]

I think someone said that the Bayverse MPs have a November street date. Which, if true, is possibly the most glaring example of why Hasbro should stop doing these exclusives with TRU. November is far too late to capitalize on any extra interest drummed up by the Lost Age in theaters, and gives everyone else way to much time to import the Takara versions instead.

[sh9000]

Amazing!

[jenius]

Every time I see these I'm so impressed I can't help but think they must be photoshop faked.

[M'Kyuun]

Talk about a transformation! That's an impressive paintjob.  I wonder why they didn't paint the interiors of the feet; gunmetal with some black apps would have looked great.

 

[JB0]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Talk about a transformation! That's an impressive paintjob.  I wonder why they didn't paint the interiors of the feet; gunmetal with some black apps would have looked great.

 

Concession to jet mode, I'd wager. They look like they are colored for a lit thruster effect when closed, like the rest of the nozzles.

[M'Kyuun]

Thanks for pointing that out; I didn't even notice the lighting effect, but I see what you mean. They kept it a light color to amplify the LED. 

[Scyla]

Moviebob takes an in depth look at the Transformers 86 movie:

 

[dizman]

That may be the most in depth examination I've seen on TFTM yet. I've known for a long time it was just a cynical way to sell new toys but I still love it to death, I even like Hot Rod.

[derex3592]

that review was good, but the presentation annoyed the crap out of me.

[sh9000]

http://news.hisstank.com/2017/09/19/arah-g-joe-vs-g1-transformers-custom-box-sets-64205

These look cool.

[mikeszekely]

I'm going to do things a bit differently today and write about an official toy for a change.  I picked up the Hasbro version of MPM-4 Masterpiece Movie Optimus Prime.

Size-wise, I put Fans Hobby's Gunfighter II in there, but to the head Gunfighter is about the same size as MP-10, and MPM-4 is of similar height or slightly taller, depending on how you play with his hips.  The comparison a lot of people are interested in, though, is with the Revenge of the Fallen Leader mold.  This could be due to the fact that many consider that mold to be one of the best toys from all the movie lines, or it could be because the engineering that went into MPM-4 is similar in the way that MP-10's engineering is similar to MP-01's.  I have to say, though, there's really no contest.  As you'd expect from a toy with the Masterpiece branding, MPM-4 has far more paint than probably any version of the ROTF Leader outside of Buster Optimus, and a ton of mostly-accurate molding.  Even if you have Buster Optimus, MPM-4 has better proportions, better articulation, extensive use of diecast, and he doesn't have the huge forearm panels hiding the annoying hair-trigger blades/hooks found on the ROTF mold.  It is quite possibly the best-looking movie Optimus Prime toy that still transforms... which makes the spots Hasbro left unpainted stand out all the more.  Some spots, like his biceps or around his collar, don't really bother me because the dark gray plastic Hasbro used do make for a nice contrast with the silver.  But in other spots, like the bottom half of his thighs, the inside half of the fuel cans on his back, or the front-facing part of the cylinders on his shoulders, it looks extremely unfinished.  From what I've seen, though, the Takara version has more paint and also uses a lighter gray for the unpainted parts that blends better (but still leaves the underside of the forearms unpainted... grrr...).

MPM-4 doesn't come with a lot of accessories.  He's got a pair of arm swords, in translucent orange plastic with silver paint, and a gun.

Tabs on the blades fit into slots on the sides of the gun, then a tab on the bottom of the gun's handle can plug into his back for storage.  That part of his back happens to be his trailer hitch, and although I forgot to take a picture in truck mode, you can store it on the hitch in truck mode as well.

With previous movie Optimus toys, designers had to choose whether they wanted to give him his more-screen-time-mouth face or his more-recognizably-Optimus masked face.  With MPM-4, the choice is yours!  The top of his head can fold upward, and you can spin Prime's face around to go between masked and unmasked.

I think, by law, you can't have a Masterpiece (or MP-style, if you're 3P) Optimus without a Matrix, and MPM-4 is certainly no different.  You can open up his belly to find a small diecast movie-style Matrix inside.  It's got the general shape, but most of the detail is simply the two peg holes that allow you to secure it in its compartment.

So on to articulation.  His head is on a hinged swivel.  He can look down a bit before his chin and neck collide.  Due to the face-swapping gimmick, though, he can look straight up but you'll have a huge gap in his neck.  If you try to make sure the gap is covered for aesthetic reasons, he really can't look up at all.  His shoulders rotate on ratchets, and can move laterally over 90 degrees.  The armor on his shoulder has a swivel inside his shoulder and a hinge at the top so you can manipulate it and keep it out of the way.  His biceps swivel, and his elbow is a single hinge but it'll get you over 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, and to accomodate his blades they can also bend inward. His thumb is fixed.  His index fingers are individually articulated with a pin at the base knuckle and a second knuckle mid-finger.  The remaining fingers are molded as one piece in a curl, pinned at the base knuckle.  The sunvisor on top of his chest and the headlights on his torso can be manipulated.  His waist can swivel on a soft-ratchet, but the bumper on the small of his back tends to get caught up on his hips.  Speaking of hips, they can go about 90 degrees forward and 45 degrees backward on ratchets.  His thighs slide over the hip joints so you can stretch them out a bit, and if you stretch it so his hip is as long as you can get it he can get a little over 45 degrees laterally on friction joints.  He has thigh swivels.  The wheels on his thighs don't move, but the ones on his hips can be angled upward.  His knees are double-jointed.  The upper joint is ratcheted and gets 90 degrees by itself, but a friction joint below it gives him closer to 120 degrees of bend.  His knee armor is hinged.  His feet have an up/down hinge that'll let him bend his foot up little but natural amount, and 90 degrees downward.  Another hinge provides him with about 45 degrees of inward ankle tilt.  It looks like the joint could theoretically do more, but the red armor on the side of his leg prevents it.

His gun is a pretty standard MP affair.  There are tabs on the sides of the handle that fit into slots on his palm, and it's just a matter of getting his fingers curled into the hand guard while you do it.  As for the blades, there's a tab at the base of each one.  When you bend his wrist down out of the way, you'll find slots above each wrist that the blades plug into.

Transforming MPM-4 into a truck is similar to the ROTF mold.  He sits down, his legs unfold and stretch to make the bottom, his feet make the grill, his arms drop and reach in front of him, his head tucks in, the cab parts of his torso stretch out with his arms, and the truck parts on his back tidy up the rear.  Although it's similar, it's more complex and, at times, finnicky.  I think it's a wonder of toy engineering that they were able to get such a good-looking, well proportions Optimus bot into a truck at all, but the downside of that is that it's not the most intuitive transformation in the world either, even if you're familiar with the ROTF mold.

For all the similarities with the ROTF Leader-class, the resulting truck mode is actually a bit smaller.  The silver paint looks good here, as do the silver-pinstriped painted red and blue flames.  Flames aside, I think some of the blue and red on the truck is plastic but some of it, espeically around the windshield, is paint.  The front grill has a molded Autobot symbol, which is a nice touch.  I feel like some of the gold sunburst on the fenders should have been on the hood, too, but I'd still say it's a very sharp truck mode.

Now, you may be hearing stories about a gap between the windshield and the cab.  I've seen it in pics, I've seen it in reviews, and if you follow the instructions as they're printed you're probably going to wind up with them, too.  However, it is definitely possible to transform him without the gap and without modding him.  The trick is to have his legs tranformed and ready, get his arms transformed and pegged together but not to the legs and leave the shoulder panels with the air cleaner cylinders uppegged and "open".  Extend the cab parts from his torso, tabbing the windshield together but leaving the doors open.  Line it up with the arms, but don't push them together yet.  Instead, line up the doors with the shoulder panels, then push them in place while holding them together.  If you do it right, you should be able to firmly push the arms into the front of the cab without a gap (if you have the gap, pull the arms loose again and try lining up the door and shoulder panels again.  If it's good, carefully connect the cab to the legs, then finish cleaning up the rear.

The hitch on MPM-4 doesn't just have a slot for the tab on his gun.  There are two other slots that are meant to work with MP-10's trailer.  This is fine, I guess, but MP-10's cartoon-accurate trailer isn't Dark of the Moon/Bayverse-accurate.  And, to be frank, I've already got Op Ex competing with MP-10 for MP-10's trailer.  I'd really rather Has/Tak or a 3P make a movie-accurate trailer just for MPM-4.

I really loathe most of the Bayverse designs, and while I maintain that I'd rather the movie had more of an updated G1 look like the IDW comics the fact is that the Bayverse films are 10 years old now.  For a lot of fans, this is Optimus Prime.  MP-10 isn't going anywhere on my shelves, but this Optimus has kind of grown on me over the course of a decade.  While I'm in no rush for MPs of every wretched ball of twisted metal the movies CGI-magicked into a car, I'm actually kind of glad to have this Optimus in a Masterpiece form.  I think he's about as screen-accurate as a transforming movie Optimus toy is going to get.  He's well-articualted, well-built, and (mostly) well-painted.  Yes, the transformation is still a bit complicated, and yes, the Hasbro version had to leave out just enough paint for the Takara fans to gloat, but I'm finding that I really enjoy this figure.  My only complaint is that while they cleaned up his back a lot compared to other movie Prime toys they still kind of don't know what to do with the rear fenders.  If an MP of movie Optimus Prime is something you think you want in your life, then by all means, I do recommend him.  If you're sitting back and saying, "Well, I have ROTF Leader/Buster/Jetwing Optimus, that's close enough," you're kidding yourself.  MPM-4 is so much better than I'm not even going to try to sell my ROTF Prime, I'm just going to give him away.

[HoveringCheesecake]

Hopefully this is the right thread.

 

I've stumbled back to collecting TF, and I'm trying to play catch-up with a few Masterpiece releases. From what I've read, some of the re-releases of the MP-11 Seekers in particular have poor build quality. In addition, I've read about the large number of bootlegs floating around, with some nearly impossible to tell until you open the box.

 

Does anyone have any recommendations on who/where to purchase the legitimate original releases? I just ordered MP-11SW Skywarp from BBTS, but I'd also like Starscream and Thundercracker along with Soundwave and MP-10 Convoy. Starscream is in stock elsewhere, but the reviews I read speak of poor construction with what I think is the 3rd release. Thundercracker is out of stock everywhere except eBay, and I'm a little wary of buying one from Japan and having it end up being a bootleg.

 

Thanks guys. 

[David Hingtgen]

Are you SURE you want the originals?  Because the MP-11 and later releases, tend to cost twice as much as the previous ones and have the worst quality.  Often times the knockoffs are actually better...  (I own a real MP-07, but will sell it soon, as my knock-off is better in pretty much every way)  

However---if you're buying one from Japan, the odds of it being a KO is low.  Now, if you're buying it from HongKong/China on ebay...

[HoveringCheesecake]

I'm not SURE I want the original releases - I just assumed they would be better under the assumption that the mold would have less wear/tear. Which releases are regarded as the best? I'm looking for MP-10 Convoy, MP-13 Soundwave, MP-11 Starscream, and MP-11 Thundercracker. The new Megatron looks killer as well.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, HoveringCheesecake said:

I'm not SURE I want the original releases - I just assumed they would be better under the assumption that the mold would have less wear/tear. Which releases are regarded as the best? I'm looking for MP-10 Convoy, MP-13 Soundwave, MP-11 Starscream, and MP-11 Thundercracker. The new Megatron looks killer as well.

I'm not aware of any problems with any non-KO versions of Soundwave or Convoy.  But, AFAIK, the MP-11 mold was ALWAYS a bit floppy, and the Yes Model/BB7 KOs are supposed to be better.

I don't know how you feel about the unlicensed third parties, but me personally I'm waiting for Maketoys to release Howling Meteor.  Looks to have less kibble and more articulation than the MP-11 mold.

[Smiley424]

On 9/25/2017 at 9:30 AM, HoveringCheesecake said:

I'm not SURE I want the original releases - I just assumed they would be better under the assumption that the mold would have less wear/tear. Which releases are regarded as the best? I'm looking for MP-10 Convoy, MP-13 Soundwave, MP-11 Starscream, and MP-11 Thundercracker. The new Megatron looks killer as well.

Definitely look into the BB7 and Yes Model seekers.  Those are the companies that make the best seeker knockoffs.  Avoid the Kubianbao Starscream, their seeker is just not as nice as the BB7 and Yes Model.  I have a KBB Starscream, BB7 Skywarp, and Yes Model Thundercracker.  The BB7 and Yes Model are pretty equal in quality and much better then the KBB.

I would definitely keep an eye on the Maketoys Howling Meteor.  The lastest hubbub over in the tfw2005 forum is that the latest pics of of it show the wings are hollow on the backside/bottom.

MP-10 is a great Optimus Prime and MP-13 is a great Soundwave.  Both are worth getting and should be easily found.  I think MP-10 just got released again in the US at Toys R Us.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Smiley424
Clarity

[HoveringCheesecake]

Wow, that howling meteor looks great, definitely will pick that up. Will grab Skywarp and Thundercracker MP-11 just in case they are never made in the other mold. Thanks guys! 

[M'Kyuun]

Howling Meteor is just a beautiful Starscream toy, far superior aesthetically than the official MP seeker mold. I wish Takara would make a new seeker mold more in line with this, but, if reviews are positive, I might have to get a copy.

[no3Ljm]

Not sure if this already been posted. MPM-3 Bumblebee Reissue coming out on Feb 2018. I'm planning on getting the KO but I decided to go with this instead.

https://hlj.com/product/TKT89809-2

 

[mikeszekely]

I know I keep saying that I'm not a fan of the Bayverse designs, but apparently the next movie MP (MPM-05) will be Barricade.  And yeah, I kind of do want it.  I think I'd be up for an MPM Starscream that isn't the Leader-class repaint, but that's it, that's where I'm drawing the line.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm also not a Bay-verse fan, but if they make Blackout, and it looks pretty decent, I'd consider getting it. I kinda liked the look of Brawl from the first movie, too. Still kick myself for passing up the leader class toy they made of him. Back then leader class toys, esp the Bayverse designs, had much more complexity to them, as they should. In the past 5 years or so, Has/Tak seem to have taken an opposite approach to design based on size class- deluxes get the most intricate engineering, and they get simpler as they get bigger. Should be the opposite, IMHO. Deluxes should maintain the current level, and they should become more complex with each up-class.

New price hikes on TF toys announced- deluxes are going to be $20. It's a bit much, I think, for what you get. Then again, everything keeps going up in price, and I also consider what we're paying for similarly sized third party figs, so I guess it's inevitable. Miss the $10 deluxe days, though.

Glad to see the G1 love continuing with PotP. While I feel they are hit and miss (most deluxes and legends are hits, while the larger size classes are more miss than hit), I'm happy to be filling gaps here and there on the CHUG shelf. The new Windcharger looks great (huge improvement over the CW figure), and I hope Huffer is in the works for a later release.

[M'Kyuun]

Some MP Dinobot news on TFW2005

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/11/06/takara-mp-41-masterpiece-dinobot-listing-possible-price-353193

Conjecture is that it'll run about $245 USD. I like these MP BW figures, but if that's the going rate, they're getting a little too expensive for my budget.

 

[Scyla]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Some MP Dinobot news on TFW2005

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/11/06/takara-mp-41-masterpiece-dinobot-listing-possible-price-353193

Conjecture is that it'll run about $245 USD. I like these MP BW figures, but if that's the going rate, they're getting a little too expensive for my budget.

 

Oh my, after you said that I had to check the thread on TFW. 50 pages of discussions about the procr. That will be a fun read this weekend.

[Tking22]

9 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Some MP Dinobot news on TFW2005

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/11/06/takara-mp-41-masterpiece-dinobot-listing-possible-price-353193

Conjecture is that it'll run about $245 USD. I like these MP BW figures, but if that's the going rate, they're getting a little too expensive for my budget.

 

Yep, pretty absurd. In BW, he was definitely one of the biggest bots, the only bigger in season 1 was Megatron himself, but that price is crazy, MP-36 was bad enough. I shudder at the thought of what an MP BW Megatron would cost from TT, pretty ridiculous stuff, they are pricing themselves out of my interest area.

6 hours ago, Scyla said:

Oh my, after you said that I had to check the thread on TFW. 50 pages of discussions about the procr. That will be a fun read this weekend.

I've been reading all of that . Indeed, VERY funny stuff! It also re-affirmed my opinion of TFW2005, a complete and utter crap show, a truly wretched hive of scum, and villainy.