The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[M'Kyuun]

I agree; it still has good presentation overall. The only two things that ever bugged me were the wheel housings on the legs and the slightly too-long arms. But, it's not gappy and has an honest transformation, unlike V3 which is quite gappy, and has a large backpack to contain the panels that comprise his cab shell. V3's strengths are foremost, excellent range of articulation throughout, good proportions with his limbs, hidden back wheels and more cartoon accurate shaping of his lower legs. I just can't get past the need for shellforming his truck mode. Moreover, I don't like how the fuel tanks look, as well as the kibbly nature of his cab mode. I definitely like MP-10's truck mode better. They could have re-engineered his legs to hide the wheels and maybe addressed his arms somehow, and kept the rest of him the same and I would have been happy.

Still, I'm looking forward to seeing reviews of V3, as Takara is doing some impressive engineering with some of these latest figures, and I find that aspect appealing, even if I'm not completely taken with the final product.

[Scyla]

6 hours ago, vlenhoff said:

I am sorry, i don't get how the MP-10 looks "old", now. I am on board with a new OP mold, but i am not going to down on the old one. I know it is not perfect, but you can't say it hasn't aged well. It is perhaps the most copied version, for a reason. 

 

I think "it looks old" is that the design of MP-10 was rooted in the idea that a Masterpiece toy should be the amalgamation of all aspects of the character. It was basically the physical representation of the idealization of Optimus Prime. 

The new idea behind that toy line seems to be that Masterpieces need to be an accurate representation of the G1 cartoon. 

Now both ideas are a valid approach (I prefer the first one) but MP-10 doesn't fit with Masterpiece Megatron who is very toon accurate (MakeToys Despotron is an excellent fit for MP-10 and to me he is also the superior Megatron compared with MP-36) . But that's why I would classify him as old. He belongs to the old idea of what a Masterpiece toy should be.

Personally I think the toy has aged very well. Almost no criticism arose that weren't there in the beginning like the limited movement in the elbows and knees and the floppy ankles. I think the only criticism that arose in the meantime is that the proportions, especially of the arms, are a bit wonky.

To me MP-10 is still the best Masterpiece toy I have in my collection (at least from Takara) and he holds up remarkably well.

[mikeszekely]

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

Now both ideas are a valid approach (I prefer the first one) but MP-10 doesn't fit with Masterpiece Megatron who is very toon accurate (MakeToys Despotron is an excellent fit for MP-10 and to me he is also the superior Megatron compared with MP-36) .

*nods in agreement*

[no3Ljm]

 

[M'Kyuun]

Cute vid. As much as I'm pretty much over Bayformery stuff, the MP version of Bee Movie Bee looks intriguing, much better than the Studio Series. I'm already down for Studio Dropkick when he finally releases.  Still hate the Bayformer Bee face, though; I wish they'd changed it, given him a faceplate or at least a mouth like the rest of them.

[mikeszekely]

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

the MP version of Bee Movie Bee looks intriguing, much better than the Studio Series.

Given the difference in price and the level of engineering a premium price point gets you that's pretty much a given, just like MP-10 is better than Combiner Wars Optimus.  But, we're only seven into the MPM line and MPM-02, MPM-03, and MPM-07 are all Bumblebee.  I get that Bee is the kid-friendly casual face of the movieverse, but the Bay films are old enough now that there's a generation of fans that associate the brand with the movieverse more than G1, and depending on how old they were when they started watching the Bay films they may be old enough to want to collect a more premium line.  I think with Barricade and Ironhide Takara was offering some hope that those fans might be able to get MPM versions of the main cast of at least the first film.  But, after the first three releases after the soft reboot of the MPM line things went pretty quiet (we're still waiting for Ironhide), then have yet another Bumblebee thrown at us.  I mean, Studio Series has a couple of Bumblebees now, too, but they're lower-priced figures on Target shelves where kids are as likely to go for them as adult collectors.  And even then they're a lot closer to completing the cast of the first movie, since we're just missing the confirmed Barricade on the way and a rumored Bonecrusher in the works (although I do wish they'd do a modern Camaro Bumblebee).  That's ultimately why I'm not bothering with MPM-06 but I paid a pretty ridiculous markup on Amazon for SS Ironhide.  Studio Series is giving me a good-looking (for the price) in-scale movie 1 cast.  I don't feel like I can count on MPM to do that, at least not any time soon.

[JB0]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

there's a generation of fans that associate the brand with the movieverse more than G1

That sound you hear is me sobbing uncontrollably.

[mikeszekely]

I wound up paying scalper prices, but I managed to snag me a Studio Series Ironhide.

Like most of the Studio Series figures thus far Ironhide's quite a bit smaller than his original movie 1 Voyager release.  With previous releases I go the impression that the higher price and smaller size would often lead to better paint, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.  I think Ironhide's got a pretty good-looking sculpt, but he's missing a lot of the silver and gold accents that his character model has. in his legs and arms.  Even more frustrating is the fact that what paint is applied isn't applied particularly well.  The silver around his headlights is chipped, the yellow light on his left pec has some serious overspray, and it looks like they painted his left eye neatly then glommed way too much on his right eye.

As long as I'm criticizing, I might as well point out that he's got some thin proportions and a big bumper across his belly that the CGI model doesn't.  For all his flaws, though, he's probably still the best Voyager-or-smaller Ironhide toy to date.

Ironhide comes with his two arm cannons.  Both cannons have some nice paint on them, and they do appear to be much more screen-accurate than previous attempts, right down to the faux truck kibble on them.

I'm honestly not sure what kind of joint Ironhide's head is on, but due to the kibble around his collar he can look about 45 degrees to the left or right and that's about it.  His shoulders are also a bit funky.  Due to his transformation he's got a swivel in his chest and two hinges.  If you rotate the swivel one way then it's his shoulder rotation, limited to a little under 90 degrees forward and less backward due to his truck kibble.  The first hinge is a butterfly joint and the second hinge gives him a little over 90 degrees of lateral movement.  Turned another way his whole arm is a little lower and a little farther forward.  The first swivel is purely a transformation joint, and the butterfly hinge becomes his lateral shoulder joint (a little under 90 degrees).  The lateral hinge switches to providing the shoulder rotation (about 90 degrees either way).  Both positions seem to have their advantages and disadvantages.  Regardless, he doesn't actually have a bicep swivel, but his arm does swivel above his elbow.  That elbow bends about 90 degrees.  He has wrist swivels, which is a little odd because they don't seem to necessary for transformation and Hasbro hasn't been big on including them.  No waist swivel, though.  Hips can move about 90 degrees forward and laterally, and about 60 degrees backward.  His thighs can swivel, and his knees can bend 90 degrees.  Sadly no ankle pivots, but due to his transformation he's got some upward toe tilt.

His arm cannons peg onto the outside of his elbows, which is nice because it makes the peg hole look like it's part of the sculpt and not a random hole.  His fists are molded into 5mm pegs if you want to dig up something else for him to hold.

Real quick shot of the movie 1 Autobots all together.  I still wish we had a new Camaro SS Bee, and SS Prime's deco is a bit off, but I think they look pretty good together overall.  I'm not sure about official listed sizes, but based on scenes where they're together this looks mostly right scale-wise, too.  Prime could possibly stand to be a little taller, but it's interesting how similar Ironhide and Ratchet are in height despite one being a Deluxe and one being a Voyager.

Onward to truck mode... and it's kind of nothing to write home about.  The black rims are screen-accurate.  The silver paint around the headlights and grill, the yellow lights on the fenders, the red GMC logo, and the 4x4 tampo are proper, but nothing the movie 1 toy didn't have.  The only thing that's really new is the silver on the vent and exhaust pipes, which I do appreciate, and yellow on the roof lights instead of blue, and a silver plastic bumper instead of black.  And those last two things are actually supposed to be blue and black, so movie 1 toy wins there. 

He's also got some shards of robot kibble hanging out on his underside, but at least his arms aren't visible so you don't have to stick his weapons under his running boards to hide them.  Aside from that, yellow light instead of blue, and the silver plastic bumper instead of black, think he came out pretty well.  He's got the molded Autobot symbol on the tailgate, and even a molded GMC logo on the tailgate and a molded Road Armor logo on the front bumper.

Not sure how well it's showing up in my photos, but I also dig how Ironhide's kind of peaking out of his own windshield.  I don't know if it's intentional or coincidence, but it's a cool homage to the original G1 Ironhide toy, I think.

Ironhide's a tall truck shot from fairly low angles in the movie, so I couldn't honestly tell you if he's supposed to have a covered bed or not.  I do know that if he did have a bed cover it didn't stop abruptly, revealing mechanical robot junk inside.  Not ideal, I but I can live with that.  especially if you want him to carry his arm cannons in truck mode, as they tab into little slots on the bed and help cover or at least distract from that gap.

One final shot, in case there was any doubt, no, the alt modes aren't in scale.  The GMC Topkick was a pretty mammoth vehicle, for a pickup,  Yes, even bigger than Ratchet's Hummer alt mode... but honestly not that much bigger.  He's bigger than Prime, for crying out loud.

Anyway, as Studio Series figures go, I think Ironhide's somewhere in the middle of the pack.  He's not the best, he's not the worst.  I have a few issues with him.  I think he's fine for what he is, though, and worth picking up if you're into the Studio Series line and you see him in a store..  Just maybe don't buy him from a 3P seller on Amazon at scalper prices like I did.

[mikeszekely]

My time with the Studio Series didn't end with Ironhide (nor is it on hiatus while I wait impatiently for that Barricade).  I happened to run into this little guy at Target.

That is, of course, Studio Series Bumblebee.  Technically so is the guy on the right, whom we've already talked about.  Our new friend in the middle represents Bumblebee as he's supposed to be in the upcoming Bumblebee movie.  And with that in mind... well, I'm not super familiar with the that version of Bumblebee so it's harder for me to say how screen-accurate or not this SS version is.  But after a quick glance at the trailer I'd say this guy definitely has some issues.  His limbs are too long and thin.  Most of the silvery plastic and paint looks like it should be darker, gunmetal in some spots and maybe even black in others.  And some of the molded detail on his shoulders and thighs are left yellow when they should have been painted.  But the big issue is that, like the other SS Bee, he's got big door wings with the wheels lying on the front and the rear passenger windows folded down below... but Bee doesn't seem to have door wings in the new movie.  Interestingly, the upcoming MPM-07 looks more like an OS Studio Series Bee with better paint than what I've seen of Bee's on-screen character model.  Could be that, like the movie 1 toys, they're based on older designs that were refined before ending up in the movie.  Or it could be that Bee does have door wings in the movie, but they fold up and the trailers only show him with folded up wings.  Who knows?  For now, I think he looks ok.  Aesthetically he fits with the other SS figures, and he's recognizably Bumblebee.  I'm just not sure how screen accurate he ultimately is.

Compared to other SS figures, he does come with a lot of accessories, though.  Like the previous SS release he does have his arm gun.  But, unlike that release, this one also comes with a battle mask and an arm blade.

Bee's head is on a ball joint that can look up and down a little as well as rotate, but you have to be mindful of the kibble behind his head.  His shoulders have ball joints for rotation and a little over 90 degrees of lateral movement.  There's a transformation hinge that you can use for more lateral movement, though.  Mushroom pegs above the elbow give him bicep swivels, and his elbows can bend slightly over 90 degrees.  His wrists can swivel, but they're hinged so they can bend inward about 90 degrees.  His waist can swivel.  His hips are ball joints and can swing a little under 90 degrees laterally or backward, and well over 90 degrees forward. He has thigh swivels, but not 360 degrees worth.  His hip armor prevents him from turning his thigh inward at all, and to about 90 degrees outward.  To be fair, that's a pretty natural range.  Knees bend 90 degrees.  Happily, hinges on his feet give him 90 degrees of ankle pivot, plus he's got some up/down tilt too.  For a Deluxe-class figure I really don't have much to complain about articulation-wise.

Like the previous SS Bee, you can pull his right forearm off and replace it with his arm cannon.  Both arms have the tabs for the arm blade, though.  Technically so does the arm cannon, and you can if you like stick the arm blade on the arm cannon.  As for his battle mask, you pull half of Bee's regular head off and tab the mask in its place.

It's not pretty, but Bee's even got storage for all his accessories.  The blade and the gun can stick to tabs on his backpack, and his mask can tab upside down on the lower part of his door wings.

It's no secret by now that in the new movie Bee's going to be a VW Bug instead of a Camaro (or in addition to Camaro, I'm not clear on that).  The silver and yellow plastic definitely doesn't have the premium look a painted toy might have, but all the molded detail down to the VW logo is right, and he's got painted lights and windshield wipers.  Interestingly the tires seem to be molded silver plastic with black paint.  Honestly, I'd say it's a pretty good alt mode, but getting everything tabbed in proper is a huge pain on the rear.

I do think it's kind of interesting that this new SS Bee has very similar alt mode dimensions to MP-21.  Seems like MPM-07 will be bigger.

As with robot mode, Bee's got alt mode storage for his accessories.  His arm gun tabs onto his butt and sits between his legs.  His arm blade just sits on either of his arms.  And his battle mask tabs just behind his front bumper.  His head is visible on the underside, which some people might not like, but at least this time it's movie accurate.

I think it's hard for me to recommend this SS Bee.  The frustration of getting his alt mode tabbed together doesn't really endear him to me, and while I do think he's a better toy than the previous SS Bee the previous SS Bee fits better with Prime, Ironhide, Jazz, and Ratchet and helps make a complete set of movie 1 Autobots.  I just don't have any attachment to this version of Bee yet.  That said, he's got pretty good articulation for a Deluxe-class figure, and maybe this version of Bee will grow on me.  

[M'Kyuun]

While Bee Movie Bee hasn't grown on me yet, I'll give Takara credit for cramming a lot of stuff into a small space. Seems like there are more moving parts for both articulation and transformation mechanics in the Studio Series compared to the Generations deluxes of late. I guess that justifies the $20 price tag, although I'm increasingly finding the price tag on deluxe figs, and moreso voyagers, to be a bit high for what you get.  I wish the engineering was more complex on voyagers instead of less, or at least a improvement in articulation over deluxes, as it should be.

[no3Ljm]

 

[no3Ljm]

Masterpiece Movie Series MPM-7 Bumbleebee. Photos courtesy of TagHobby.

 

Hope it scales with MPM-3 Bumblebee.  

By the way, is anyone here have both MPM-3 and MP-21 Bumbleebees? If so, can you share a photo of them both in Alt Mode and Bot Mode if that's ok? I don't have MP-21 and I'm considering it somehow but I can't find pics of them together online to have an idea. I know MP-21 is small but just want to see how small it is besides MPM-3.

Thanks in advance.

 

[tekering]

8 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Wow, the yellow and orange don't match AT ALL.  This will require a complete repaint.  

8 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

I don't have MP-21 and I'm considering it somehow but I can't find pics of them together online to have an idea.

Apples and oranges, man, but here you are:

[mikeszekely]

8 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

By the way, is anyone here have both MPM-3 and MP-21 Bumbleebees?

It's MP-21G, but you get the idea.

Regarding MPM-7, I'm really not impressed.  He's got better paint, the flip-open chest, and  more advanced engineering, but the overall result is awfully similar the Studio Series version.  They both have the same inaccurate MPM-3-style door wings, same thin proportions, and similar folded up panels on his back.  And it's one thing to drop a $20 for a Deluxe-class Studio Series, it's quite another to pay $90 when I'm not really into started a whole movie MP collection.

[Scyla]

I wonder if the inaccureate door wings are a result of a late change in the CGI model and the decision to make the whole movie look more G1.

So to me it wouldn’t make much sense for a regular retail toy to change that given all the involved costs.

However for a Masterpiece toy that wasn’t revealed after we saw the design on screen seems a bit lazy to me.

[JB0]

In non-Masterpiece news, my Primes  Punch & Counterpunch came in today. 

I think they could've done more with the legs, but all in all, they did a pretty good job. He even has a tab on the underside of his car mode to latch his (single) gun to for storage. And the clear window pieces for the car mode are JUST the windows. The blue frames and panels are actually separate pieces  of plastic, not painted.  Either they learned from Primes Jazz, or they took just advantage of this being sold at a high price for the size.

 

Since he has to be "prime armor" compatible because that's the current line's entire gimmick, there's little folding plates under his faction symbols. When he's in Punch mode, you can fold down the decepticon logo on his back so it isn't showing, and reverse for Counterpunch's autobot logo. After three decades, they figured out a way to protect his cover from people walking behind him!  

...

Yes, he does come with a combiner fist. No, he doesn't turn into a limb. You may roll your eyes at Hasbro now.

 

 

The only thing I REALLY wish they'd done differently... If his gun was larger, the "prime armor" fist could clip onto the gun, enabling him to have different guns for the different robot modes without actually packing a second weapon in.  Similar to Classics Sunstreaker and Sideswipe, where the parts that became Sunstreaker's jetpack could fold over Sideswipe's gun. 

Sadly, Hasbro's engineers either didn't think of it, or couldn't fit a larger gun mold into the budget. 

 

And in a case of absolutely hilarious car-cabin crowding,  the false windshield that makes up Counterpunch's chest is pressed right against the car mode's windshield.

Edited September 27, 2018 by JB0

[mikeszekely]

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

I wonder if the inaccureate door wings are a result of a late change in the CGI model and the decision to make the whole movie look more G1.

So to me it wouldn’t make much sense for a regular retail toy to change that given all the involved costs.

However for a Masterpiece toy that wasn’t revealed after we saw the design on screen seems a bit lazy to me.

Yeah, that's was my thinking. I remember a lot of the movie 1 toys were pretty inaccurate because they were based on not-final CGI designs. But what are you gonna do if you want the toys to get it in time to promote the movie, right? 

Even though we've seen MPM-7 only recently it's probably been in development for awhile. However, that's still unacceptable for something you're going to slap the word "Masterpiece" on. They didn't have to rush MPM-7 for the movie. They could have done an MPM Jazz, Ratchet, Blackout, Megatron, Brawl, Bonecrusher, or Shockwave, waited for the CGI too be finalized, and held off on Bee until the Blu-ray release.

[Scyla]

I agree that they didn’t had to release the MP Bumblebee for the start of the movie since it would’ve sold with a later release date.

Might have been a upper management decision to this next. If you have no idea about collectible toys you probably think it is a good idea to sell all the Bumblebees with the release of the movie. That’s business 101 right?

Out of curiosity where will this MP be sold in the States now that TRU is gone?

[mikeszekely]

53 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Out of curiosity where will this MP be sold in the States now that TRU is gone?

It's not known if it's going to be an exclusive, but Amazon.

[M'Kyuun]

JBO- did your Punch/CP have an issue with the arms tabbing? In anticipation of receiving mine (it's late, just got an update this morning), I've been reading up on him over on TFW and on Seibertron, and apparently the ball pegs that form the shoulder joints were installed upside down thus preventing the arms from tabbing in properly. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/how-to-fix-your-transformers-prime-wars-trilogy-punch-counterpunch/42039/

Anyway, nice to talk about something other than Bumblebee. 

[JB0]

Yeah, mine had that issue. I was going to chalk it up to poor part tolerances, but then I saw something about the little swingbars. Reversing them made a world of diffrence, even though it doesn't look like it should.

[M'Kyuun]

 

10 hours ago, JB0 said:

Yeah, mine had that issue. I was going to chalk it up to poor part tolerances, but then I saw something about the little swingbars. Reversing them made a world of diffrence, even though it doesn't look like it should.

Hmm. Got mine yesterday, and the arms don't tab in very well on mine, either. I'm a bit resistant, as it seems like quite an oversight for all of them to have the shoulders misassembled. My POTP Brawn came with two left thigh pieces, but I figure that's a human error one-off; however, to have a whole batch of a toy be misassembled seems fishy. My own two cents is that it is assembled correctly, but that tolerances weren't just so in the correct configuration, as with any number of TF figs over the years, and it just happens that inverting them has the unintentional bonus of providing the necessary clearance for the arms to tab. My theory, anyway. I'm curious to see if Has/Tak will release any kind of acknowledgement of the issue. In the meantime, although my copy's arms don't want to stay tabbed very well, I can still get it into car mode with a minimal of fuss, so for now, his shoulders will remain as they came.

Another issue I have with mine is that the car fender on the right shoulder does not like to stay tabbed-in in his Punch mode. I wish they'd made those shoulder ball pegs just a bit longer, as Punch's shoulder mobility is severely hindered with the fenders tabbed; untabbing them allows them to swing about, so the issue became a serendipitous boon to achieving greater arm movement.  I also wish they'd found a way to give him actual toes in either bot mode, as his feet look a little odd as-is. Overall, despite the tabbing issues and other minor nitpicks, he's a pretty decent update to the original (which I had as a kid), and one I've been awaiting for a long time. I love the car mode they created for him (the original was a Pontiac Fiero), and both bot modes are close enough to the source to be recognizable while still imparting today's level of detail and poseability. Is he worth $25 as a deluxe? not really, but given that this is a character that seldom gets updates, I was willing to bite the bullet, likewise for POTP Grotusque, whose original I also had as a kid. Nostalgia is a powerful influence. Just the same, I'm not a fan of exclusives, as they're just a way of taking advantage of the fandom. 

[Kanedas Bike]

Ugh

That MPM-7 looks so...cheap.

I actually enjoy MPM-3, I liked the movie Bumblebee so I was happy to see a Masterpiece release. That's the only movie Bumblebee figure I have so I can't compare it to any others, but based on those pictures MPM-7 is a huge pass for me.

When is the new Masterpiece Prime going up for pre-order? Sorry if I missed it posted already.

-b.

[JB0]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Hmm. Got mine yesterday, and the arms don't tab in very well on mine, either. I'm a bit resistant, as it seems like quite an oversight for all of them to have the shoulders misassembled.

It wouldn't be the first time the factory got incorrect assembly instructions.

Honestly, what sold me on the subtle difference being an assembly error is that once you flip the swing bars, the shoulder assembly actually locks into the car position when you push up.

[M'Kyuun]

Yeah, I saw that on one of the how-to vids for swapping the shoulders around. Intriguing, I must confess.

For what it's worth, the arms on mine tab in fine in bot mode; I only get resistance when I have the hood all snapped together. Ah well, as long as I can get him into car mode, I'm happy. Glad the fix worked for you, though. Nice to have options.

[JB0]

I'd honestly expected very little difference, just from how subtle the diffrence is between the unflipped and flipped bar. I did it because it was easy to do, easy to reverse, and couldn't really make things worse. I was surprised how much more pleasant he was to work with afterwards. 

 

Also, I popped the thumbs off the "prime armor" and declared it a jetpack, in line with the louvers on the knuckle end. I think the jetpack helps the character concept, since it makes his unused chest not stare everyone in the face. But it is less faithful to the original. 

 

I never had Counter/Punch as a kid, but I always loved the concept, and I'm  very pleased to have him now. I should dig out Generations Doubledealer and let the two hang out. 

[no3Ljm]

On 9/26/2018 at 6:40 PM, tekering said:

Wow, the yellow and orange don't match AT ALL.  This will require a complete repaint.  

Apples and oranges, man, but here you are:

On 9/26/2018 at 6:42 PM, mikeszekely said:

It's MP-21G, but you get the idea.

Regarding MPM-7, I'm really not impressed.  He's got better paint, the flip-open chest, and  more advanced engineering, but the overall result is awfully similar the Studio Series version.  They both have the same inaccurate MPM-3-style door wings, same thin proportions, and similar folded up panels on his back.  And it's one thing to drop a $20 for a Deluxe-class Studio Series, it's quite another to pay $90 when I'm not really into started a whole movie MP collection.

Thanks @tekering and @mikeszekely!  

In Bot mode, I was kind of forgiving looking how small Bumblebee is. But seeing it in Alt Mode, not sure if I'm liking it. I was hoping there will be in scale somehow with each other esp in Alt Mode. I was kind of looking forward on getting the MP-21 since it was on sale. Now, I wish the upcoming MPM-7 will somehow be in-scale with MPM-3 since they're both came from the same line and series.

 

[tekering]

7 minutes ago, no3Ljm said:

I was hoping there will be in scale somehow with each other esp in Alt Mode. I was kind of looking forward on getting the MP-21 since it was on sale.

There is another option for you to consider, my friend...

...if you have no moral objection to unlicensed third-party knock-offs, that is.  

[no3Ljm]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

There is another option for you to consider, my friend...

*snip*

...if you have no moral objection to unlicensed third-party knock-offs, that is.  

Thanks Tekering. To be honest, I'm all good with any third-party stuff as long that it's to my liking.  If that's more in-scale Bot and Alt modes with the MPM-3, then' I'm all good.

 

[Numbninja]

does TF-source charge cc upfront for po items?

[mikeszekely]

46 minutes ago, Numbninja said:

does TF-source charge cc upfront for po items?

No.

[Numbninja]

11 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

No.

thanx sir

[obakesan]

PSA - if anyone is after MPM-7 seems to be up for PO. 

[mikeszekely]

Thanks, Walmart!

[M'Kyuun]

Nice haul, Mike. Other than the cassettes and Jetfire, these old toys aren't really for me, but I get it from a nostalgia angle.

Bringing things up to the present, there was a display of the War for Cybertron: Siege figures at NYCC this past weekend and pics are popping up on the various TF sites. I pulled the link from TFW2005: http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/10/04/nycc-2018-transformers-siege-figures-high-res-on-display-images-373346

Hasbro's milking G1 hard in this line, at least in their bot modes. Alt modes seem to be all over the place. They're supposed to have a war-torn look, but to my eyes, many of them look like they've been held next to a candle just a little too long. Starscream is interesting, as they went with a tetra-jet alt; however, he's basically a bot under a plane, as both his arms and legs can be seen hanging under the jet. Not much of a Transformer when 50% of the bot isn't involved. They finally made a Reflector, consisting of three deluxe figs; from the pics I've seen, they weren't displayed in their alt mode, but the bot modes are based off the toon look. Pretty stoked for these guys; been waiting a long time. I just hope they actually turn into a camera and not some weird space vehicle.

Soundwave can dispense pseudo-cassettes from his chest, although they look smaller and less complex than the G1 cassettes. Soundwave turns into some sort of space barge.

I'm generally not a fan of Cybertronian alts, as more often than not, they look like robots doing yoga, or the alts are so far removed from anything relatable that the transformation is moot. I see a bit of both in this line, not to mention lazy transformations where bits of the bot stick out like a sore thumb rather than being integrated into the transformation. Megatron's feet, for example- ok tank mode with big robot feet sticking up from the back.  That's fine for the preschool line, but at $20, I think the Generations line should be more refined than that regardless of the aesthetic. 

I love the G1 look of the bots in Siege, but most of the alt modes are pretty off-putting to me. It makes me hope there'll be a follow-up line that puts them back on Earth.