The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[M'Kyuun]

On 2/26/2020 at 9:11 PM, mikeszekely said:

Hey, @M'Kyuun, did you happen to see this?

It's coming from a company called Matrix Workshop, which I believe makes 3D-printed stuff.  I was hoping for a more professional upgrade, like Dr. Wu or DNA, that would have covered up a bit more, but it's a start.  I'm not sure if Matrix Workshop's stuff is available elsewhere, but their stuff along with a lot of other 3D-printed/garage kit-style upgrades and accessories are available at a place called TF Safari.  I decided to check them out, so I have a pair of Matrix Workshop ion rifles coming for Siege and ER Prime, and kits from a company called Ratchet Studio to fill all the gaps on Siege Ratchet and Ironhide.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Little late in replying, but the short answer is, prior to your post, nope. All the same, it's parts-forming, which I dislike, and it doesn't fix the inherent engineering problem that stems from the design of the toy itself. Moreover, it does nothing for the train mode, which suffers from the front end, including the first set of wheels, being obnoxiously narrower than the rest of the locomotive. It just looks all sorts of wrong, and I can't abide either alt mode for its combined crappy engineering. My hope is that some third party will produce either a heavily modified KO of this toy fixing both the shuttle and train issues, or, preferably, just make a new toy from the ground up that does everything right. And though it may gull David, I don't care if it comes with a tender, so long as it fixes what ails the official toy.  Given the quality of the majority of the WFC line thus far, this really should have been a home run toy; I've been waiting patiently hoping for it to come, and my expectations were exceedingly high that , finally!, we were getting the G1 update in the mainline that we've been hoping for. That it misses the mark by so wide a margin is severely disappointing. Anyway, that's $50 that stays in my pocket until something better comes along.

[sqidd]

Flame Toys Prime

 

This was everything I expected. It's super high quality, beautiful, well engineered, etc. I love it.

 

[JB0]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

I don't think I've reviewed any of the Walmart G1 reissues, although I did pick up several of them (I think all of them, actually, except the minibots).  Should I?  Is that something you guys would want to read?

I'd say if you want to, do it.

But let's be honest, there's a lot less to say about most of them. The transformation is simpler, the articulation is virtually non-existent, and they're very much a "what you see is what you get" thing in most cases. I'm not really sure they NEED a review at this point.

 

It'd be interesting to compare them to their modern remakes, though

Edited March 6, 2020 by JB0

[mikeszekely]

16 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I'd say if you want to, do it.

But let's be honest, there's a lot less to say about most of them. The transformation is simpler, the articulation is virtually non-existent, and they're very much a "what you see is what you get" thing in most cases. I'm not really sure they NEED a review at this point.

Yeah, I definitely wasn't planning on doing just one figure to a post.  Maybe one for the Constructicons, one for Prime and Hot Rod, one for Starscream and Astrotrain, and one for Soundwave and his tapes.

17 minutes ago, JB0 said:

It'd be interesting to compare them to their modern remakes, though

Oh, that'd definitely be part of it.  The question is really which modern remakes... I've got so many Devastators, five-ish CHUG Primes plus MP-01, MP-10, and a detolf full of just 3P Primes, etc.  I'm kind of leaning toward Earthrise Optimus and Starscream (original mainline figures vs modern mainline figures), Titans Return and Power of the Primes Hot Rods (same, but an argument could be made for MP Hot Rod instead of one of the others), DX9's Legends-class Devastator (better scale than the official Devastator), Siege Astrotrain (again, mainline vs mainline), and MP Soundwave and his cassettes (because they both turn into the same things and I like that the tapes are even the same size, vs comparing a microcassette recorder and a spaceship).

[derex3592]

I wouldn't mind seeing some pics of the G1 reissues. As a kid who loved TFers in the 80's more than life itself, I remember getting each and every one of mine for Christmas/BDay's and playing with them for days on end. Some I wore out and my mom was nice enough to buy me another one! Megatron, Soundwave and I think a couple of others come to mind! 

[JB0]

I actually tried to do a family reunion photo set with G2 Optimus, Powermaster Optimus, Cybertron Optimus, and Power Baser. Four 'bots united across space-time by turning into big red trucks with firebase trailers.

 

It fell through when I couldn't find Cybertron's pistol or PM's rifles, then had a significant amount of difficulty getting Baser into combined mode. By the end, I was just done with the whole idea.

[mikeszekely]

You know, between Hasbro's distribution issues pre-Combiner Wars and the fact that the Combiner Wars figures themselves were full of loose joints, too many repaints/remolds, and more than a few questionable designs I kind of quit collecting Hasbro's stuff for awhile.  And I kind of regret that I did, because every so often I find myself trolling eBay looking to pick up a Titans Return figure I missed, overpaying in the process.  I did it with the Monsterbots.  I did it with Decepticon Targetmasters.  Now I've gone and done it with the Deluxe-class Jumpstarters, Topspin and Twin Twist.

Honestly, I think the Jumpstarters were kind of an odd choice for an update.  For one, they weren't in any animation that I'm aware of.  For two, the original toys were kind of crappy.  They transformed by folding in half, and they had almost no articulation.  The only thing that made them remotely interesting was their gimmick: they were spring-loaded and heavier at their big feet, so you could pull them back in their vehicle modes and they'd race forward a bit before popping open and landing as robots in a standing position

Well, these new Jumpstarters don't have the gimmick.  Instead they're Headmasters, like the other Deluxe-class figures from the line.  As with the G1 toys, these guys share almost all of their engineering, and in this case many of the same parts.  However, I think the inverted color schemes, the different heads, and the different paint apps do a pretty good job of making them look visually distinct from each other (likely further aided by the fact that mine seem to have come with Reprolabels).  And aside from Twin Twist having a white crotch and tank treads hanging off his shoulders, they look pretty close to their G1 selves.  In fact, the most major difference is probably how Topspin's alt mode nose and Twin Twists drills fold up.  On the original toys they tucked into the backs of the legs, but on these guys they kind of fold into a backpack.  Thing is, they're not flat against their backs.  They kind of stick out at an angle, and while they're fairly secure they're not actually locked in place.  It feels a bit unfinished to me.

The Jumpstarters are fairly big for Deluxes, standing about the same height as taller Siege Deluxes like Ratchet and a head taller than smaller ones like Smokescreen.  I checked them against a few other Titans Return Deluxes and found that they were often slightly taller, or if they weren't taller they were often at least bulkier.

Topspin and Twintwist come with the same accessories: their Headmaster buddies, and a pair of guns.  The only differences between the Headmasters are that Topspin's buddy (Freezeout) is cast in blue and white plastic, with no paint, while Twin Twist's (Flameout) is cast entirely in white plastic with blue paint on his visor.  Likewise, they have the same guns, but Topspin's are silver paint on blue plastic while Twin Twist has silver paint on white plastic.  The guns tab together along their top sides to make a little seat for their Headmaster buddies, if you're into that sort of thing.

Due to the number of shared parts these guys have the same articulation.  Their Headmasters have ball joints at their necks, which allows the larger robots to swivel their heads and enjoy a slight forward/backward/sideways tilt.  Their shoulders are ball joints, which allows them to rotate and extend 90 degrees, plus a transformation hinge can allow them to go past 90 degrees.  Their biceps swivel, and they've got double-jointed elbows that can curl almost 180 degrees.  No wrist articulation.  Their waists can swivel, and they technically have an ab crunch, although it's really for transformation so it's not the prettiest.  Their hips are ball joints that can bend 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally.  They have cut thigh swivels, and their knees can bend 90 degrees.  No foot or ankle articulation.

Both of them hold their weapons tightly in their 5mm hand holes.

The Jumpstarters' alt modes take a few more liberties over their G1 counterparts than their robot modes, but honestly I think it's for the best.  They look more cohesive, without the big cutouts in the legs where the nose/drills tucked away or visible hands and arms, and they have actual cockpits now.  Yet for all their differences I do think they both retain the spirit and overall colors of their G1 alt modes.  As with their robot modes they do a pretty good job of looking visually distinct despite the large number of shared parts.  They even have different thrusters in the back.  Their engineering, which is a far cry from simply folding in half, is pretty interesting, with the front of their torsos spinning over the back in a way that's kind of similar to Siege Ironhide and Ratchet.

Naturally, the cockpits on both figures can open and their Headmasters can ride inside.  Twin Twist has wheels that he can roll on.  Topspin has a front landing gear, but no wheels.  Twin Twist's drills don't spin, which is a mild bummer.  Both figures have 5mm ports on the sides of what were their legs that their guns can plug into.  Twin Twist has a second 5mm port on the tank treads.  Topspin lacks the treads, and therefore the ports, but he does have some slots under his wings.  You can use tabs on the top or one side of his guns to tab them under his wings.

I find it a little odd that there's something like a big molded tab slot on their shins, just under their kneepads, but nothing actually fits into them.

Recommending these guys is a little tough.  At their original retail prices (which I'm not entirely sure if Twin Twist actually had a regular retail release) then definitely.  The problem is their aftermarket prices.  Topspin isn't too bad, at around $30 as of this writing, and I think he's the better way to check out this mold.  Twin Twist, though, seems harder to come by and can command $70+, and that's a lot harder to justify.

[JB0]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

(which I'm not entirely sure if Twin Twist actually had a regular retail release)

He did. I got both of 'em in stores, somehow. Pleased to have 'em, as I thought the originals looked really cool(possibly just because one was a drilltank).

My only complaint about the modern ones is that I wish Topspin had larger wings, or they deployed farther back. But hey, the original doesn't look credible as a jet either.

[tekering]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

My only complaint about the modern ones is that I wish Topspin had larger wings, or they deployed farther back.

No atmosphere on Cybertron... no gravity in space... no animated depiction on Earth... so, no complaints from me.  

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

The problem is their aftermarket prices.

Just yesterday, I was asked to acquire a set of the Japanese Legends releases, specifically for their Targetmaster pack-ins...  I hadn't realized they'd already doubled in value!  

[mikeszekely]

12 minutes ago, tekering said:

Just yesterday, I was asked to acquire a set of the Japanese Legends releases, specifically for their Targetmaster pack-ins...  I hadn't realized they'd already doubled in value!

Yeah.  I mean, the seller I bought from was having a deal where if you bought three things you'd get 10% off, so I wound up tossing a Titan Master (Ptero) in because because 10% off of the price of Ptero, Topspin, and Twin Twist was less than the full price of Topspin and Twin Twist alone.  It definitely wasn't one of my better buys, but with manufacturing delays due to the coronavirus infections there's not a ton of new things coming that I want.  MMC told us upfront that Volatus (Blast Off) was moved from March to June.  If my other preorders from other companies are similarly delayed then I'll probably pick up UT's Dragoon and Maketoys' Endgame next month* just to fill the gap.

*I didn't blow my entire budget for the month on Jumpstarters, and hopefully I'll have a few more things to write about before the month is out.

[M'Kyuun]

Great review, Mike. Looking back, Titans Return was a really good line, giving us these well-updated Jumpstarters, the Monsterbots, and the other trio of a shared mold, Triggerhappy, Misfire, and Slugslinger, as well as quite a few more G1 updated figs that were done well. Not every figure was a gem, but the line stands out to me more for the number of figs that received good updates, many of them the first since the original toys. HasTak seemed to have caught on that G1 still reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of many a Transfan, and I imagine that had no small part to play in their going extreme G1 with the current WFC trilogy. Since G1 was my introduction to Transformers, it shall always be first place among the varied stories and toylines, and I welcome the current spate of mainline updated figs. (Got the ones I want all PO'd now- not taking chances with the precarious availability in my area). 

I'm curious what part three of the trilogy is going to entail- a return to Cybertron with yet more Cybertronian alts? I hope not. I'd prefer a continuation of the Earth alts, giving us as many updates to G1 figs as possible, as it may be another decade before we see such a line dedicated to G1 updates. Give us everything, and then move on to something new and fresh. I wouldn't be opposed to a whole new continuity set apart from Prime, Megatron, and their respective bots. G1's great, but after 35 years, it's time for something new IMHO, as long as it has nothing whatsoever to do with Michael Bay. Animated turned out to be a great experiment, so something akin to that, maybe not as cartoony, would be great. Maybe take a page from Macross- set it on a giant Earth ship hundreds of years from now where Cybertronian and Earth tech has been combined, and TFs work side by side with their human compatriots to explore unknown space. Adventures ensue with a whole new cast of bots and a few adult humans who aren't obnoxious. I'd watch that, and hopefully the designs would be cool and inspired, and the toys done well in capturing them. Whatever follows WFC, I hope it's cool.

[JB0]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Looking back, Titans Return was a really good line, giving us these well-updated Jumpstarters, the Monsterbots, and the other trio of a shared mold, Triggerhappy, Misfire, and Slugslinger, as well as quite a few more G1 updated figs that were done well. Not every figure was a gem, but the line stands out to me more for the number of figs that received good updates, many of them the first since the original toys.

I think part of that was that between Combiner Wars and the line immediately before it, most of the big-name characters already had a very recent toy in the current style. There was little compelling reason to do yet another Bumblebee or Trailbreaker or Mirage at that particular point in time.

(While they did an Optimus, it was based on the G2 tanker truck instead of the usual Prime)

[mikeszekely]

56 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I think part of that was that between Combiner Wars and the line immediately before it, most of the big-name characters already had a very recent toy in the current style. There was little compelling reason to do yet another Bumblebee or Trailbreaker or Mirage at that particular point in time.

(While they did an Optimus, it was based on the G2 tanker truck instead of the usual Prime)

I mean, that's why a lot of those season 4 and beyond characters got done, yeah.  But what stands out to me isn't just that they got done, but the quality.  I don't know if it's because they had to be to be combiner parts, but the Deluxe figures in the Combiner Wars line felt chunky and simple, but the Titans Returns figures had noticeably better engineering (for the most part) and sleeker alt modes.

[JB0]

28 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I mean, that's why a lot of those season 4 and beyond characters got done, yeah.  But what stands out to me isn't just that they got done, but the quality.  I don't know if it's because they had to be to be combiner parts, but the Deluxe figures in the Combiner Wars line felt chunky and simple, but the Titans Returns figures had noticeably better engineering (for the most part) and sleeker alt modes.

Ohhhhh yeah.

Most of Combiner Wars kinda sucked since everything was built around the big, chunky combiner joint('s why I didn't get much of the line, I think Sky Lynx was it). Which, come to think of it, also cut deeply into Hasbro's notoriously tight  materials budget(torso's not hollow).

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by JB0

[M'Kyuun]

42 minutes ago, JB0 said:

 

Most of Combiner Wars kinda sucked since everything was built around the big, chunky combiner joint('s why I didn't get much of the line, I think Sky Lynx was it). Which, come to think of it, also cut deeply into Hasbro's notoriously tight  materials budget(torso's not hollow).

 

I concur, although I did pick up all the bots for Bruticus (my favorite combiner), Menasor, Abominus, the Dinobots, a couple Aerialbots, and a few others here and there. However I skipped on the vast majority of the main bots figuring something better would come along - and now we have Earthrise, so glad I waited.

I skipped on TR Sky Lynx, since half of him was missing  (the Lynx). Although I've never had much affinity for the character, I can't deny that his various components are pretty cool, and I especially like his combined 'Apatosaurus' mode. I'm glad, once again, that I eschewed the TR version, as the upcoming Earthrise is probably the best version I've seen, and I'm glad they gave the Lynx an additional base mode, as it looks apropos with the shuttle. I think this figure will be remembered years down the road for its execution. I wish Astrotrain had gotten that level of love.

Like Mike said, there was a noticeable uptick in quality moving from CW to TR and PotP for the majority of figures. Between that and the variety of characters being done, notably many who hadn't had a toy since their G1 days, both TR and PotP are stand out lines. I do wish, though, that some figs like the Autobot and Decepticon Clones, hadn't been exclusives. I wanted those guys, but all I ever saw was a pack of one Autobot and one Decepticon Clone together without their pairs. I thought it was poor marketing. Moreover, they were pretty expensive for legends scale figs, but I never understood why Hasbro didn't put them out at retail in boxsets together so you could get the Autobot set and the Decepticon set like the originals. Just odd marketing in my mind. I keep hoping they'll get rereleased in matched pairs at retail. Not holding my breath, though. Those are some figs that I wouldn't mind seeing Newage or MS take a shot at, as they'd most likely be far more detailed, complex, and articulated than their official toys, and since they're already legends scaled, they'd fit, more or less, with my CHUG stuff.

I keep waiting for HasTak to do the Omnibots, as they seem to be doing all the other exclusive bots from the 80's.  I'd love to have official updates to those guys in the Earthrise line. They were arguably cooler than the Powerdashers, who we've previously discussed having received well done updates in the TR line. I still have my G1 Downshift, the only one of the three I owned, and I'd love to have a modern set of these guys complete with 'armored car' modes. Hear me, John Warden!

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

I concur, although I did pick up all the bots for Bruticus (my favorite combiner), Menasor, Abominus, the Dinobots, a couple Aerialbots, and a few others here and there. 

I did all of them, plus all of Defensor, Cyclonus, the red Optimus, and enough of the Autobot repaints that, had I found Sky Lynx, I'd have had enough limbs to complete Optimus Maximus, Sky Reign, and I'd be an arm short of Galvatronus (although later I picked up PotP Jazz, Darkwing, and Dreadwind so I've got more than enough combiner parts).

And as bad as all the repaints were, I kind of wish I'd have picked up Computron, since he's the only Scramble City combiner I didn't pick up.  (I do plan on getting Generations Selects King Poseidon).

[M'Kyuun]

The Seacons are available on Pulse right now. I was POing Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and Hoist, and decided to browse around and see what else might strike my fancy when I came upon the Seacons on the last page, IIRC. Honestly, none of them look that great to me, especially the squid dude, which looks like a Quintesson face placed flat on the back of a bunch of nondescript mechanical stuff with a few tentacles thrown on for good measure. I'm not familiar with the G1 figures, and haven't been sufficiently moved to research them, but I'm assuming, much like the Terrorcons, that these guys were more fantasy creatures loosely based on real creatures, in this case sea creatures. IMO, it's kind of a missed opportunity to make more realistic robo-alts of real sea creatures, as those I would have been all over if the bot and combined modes were good. Heck, if just the bot and animal modes were good, I'd probably buy the lot of 'em, as the combiner aspect isn't as important to me as the overall quality of the individual bots. As they are, however, just not my cup o' java.

But I know you're a big combiner fan, Mike, so I hope you're able to score the whole team, and thus check one more Combiner off your want list. I'll check out your review when you do. 

[mikeszekely]

35 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

The Seacons are available on Pulse right now.

Nah, the listings are still up, but they've been sold out for awhile. I've got Turtler and Gulf coming from an Asian supplier... if said supplier is legit (it's my first order with them, but wired of mouth is good). Kraken and Lobclaw are sitting in my stack at TFSource, and I have preorders for the last two there.

[David Hingtgen]

Fantasy-monster-sea-creatures yes, but Skalor is distinct/detailed enough to peg him as a coelacanth. 

[tekering]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I do wish, though, that some figs like the Autobot and Decepticon Clones, hadn't been exclusives.

Funny, TakaraTomy didn't play those games with the Clones.  Both sets were regular retail releases.

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Moreover, they were pretty expensive for legends scale figs, but I never understood why Hasbro didn't put them out at retail in boxsets together so you could get the Autobot set and the Decepticon set like the originals.

Again, the Transformer Legends releases were sold in boxed sets...

...and while they're as small as some of the Studio Series deluxes, I think they're a little too big and bulky to be called "Legends scale..."  

...maybe...?

 

[M'Kyuun]

I wasn't aware of the TT boxsets at the time, or I may have considered getting them, if they weren't too outrageously priced. It's not like their transformations are really anything to write home about, but the novelty of them is what draws me to them, I think. I think they fit fine along with those third party legends figs, if just a bit chunkier, as most of HasTak's legends are. Given their ingenuity, I almost think I'd rather have a set of these guys made by NA or MS, depending on which tickled my fancy more. I wouldn't be opposed to a little license taken to make the vehicle modes look better. I think the animal ones work better, but again, I think third parties could make their alt modes look sharper with some creative engineering.

Thanks for sharing the info, Tekering.

[treatment]

 

[Kuma Style]

[sqidd]

I've had this guy for about a week now. And.......................I....................can't......................................stop....................looking at it! Man oh man, I really love this toy!

Flame Toys Furai Prime

 

[Scyla]

Their Star Saber, Tarn and both Drifts are good too!!!

 

[mikeszekely]

While Turtler and Gulf haven't arrived yet, I got a packet with some smaller stuff I'd ordered a little earlier from the same store, TF Safari, so they check out.  They're based in China, and they don't have as large a selection as some other Chinese sellers like ShowZ, but their prices are pretty reasonable and they carry a lot of 3D printed upgrade accessories that other stores don't.

[mikeszekely]

Reprolabels are out now for Earthrise Prime.  In a fashion that's all too typical for them the set seems a little pricey (over $15) because they created of labels I won't use including weird stickers for his knees and just below his elbows, colored marks on the tops of his feet, a stripe on his thighs, cell-shaded stickers to cover his windows, and a mirror-finish sticker to go over his mouth plate.

On the flip side, I did order the set, because it does the two things I specifically wanted; darker yellow for the painted spots on his pelvis, a matching sticker for the unpainted bit on his pelvis, and white-backed stickers with darker blue stripes to go over the bare gray and light blue paint on the trailer.  There's also a sticker for the cockpit of the drone, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable about popping the arms off and painting it blue, there's taillights for the trailer, and a very G1-style "GO!" sticker for inside the trailer (among other stickers for the inside of the trailer).

[M'Kyuun]

You'll have to share some pics after you've given Prime his makeover, Mike.

I have the same issue with Toyhax/Reprolabels in that they include a number of labels I'll never use, but I'm still paying for if I get a set. I wish they'd do minimal sets that just cover basics like tail lights, etc, and maybe a specific character sticker like ER Prime's trailer without all the extras. Alas, it is what it is.

Got my ER Starscream and Grapple this week, and Monday I'm expecting Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and Hoist, all from Pulse. I kinda gave up on finding these things at retail, so I've got everything PO'd.  Screamer's a bit disappointing next to his Siege counterpart, which eclipses the ER figure in the articulation dept. I think HasTak just phoned that one in. Grapple, OTOH, is a pretty nice figure in both modes, with all the articulation we've come to expect in the WFC line, and his vehicle mode's crane is functional as well. I wish it had one more extension built in, but that's just being nitpicky. Overall, he's a really good update to the G1 character. I do believe he's my first toy of the character in all these years of collecting, so I'm glad I picked a winner. I'm looking forward to getting the next three, as this line, for the most part, is what I've been wanting from the mainline since G1-  detailed, fairly accurate, and well-articulated figures of those original characters within a lower price range that are just fun to grab off the shelf and transform without worrying about the fragilities and complexities of the MP figures. 

[M'Kyuun]

It's incredible how a microscopic organism can have such a far-reaching and devastating effect on human affairs. As businesses and schools across the country shut their doors for a temporary hiatus to try and combat the spread of Coronavirus infection, so too are the folks at Hasbro.  This definitely won't help their distribution, which is already questionable at the best of times. Alas, I'm glad that their leadership is looking out for their people rather than the bottom line, and I vehemently hope everyone emerges from this thing unscathed. Good health to us all, here and around the world.

[mikeszekely]

39 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

It's incredible how a microscopic organism can have such a far-reaching and devastating effect on human affairs. As businesses and schools across the country shut their doors for a temporary hiatus to try and combat the spread of Coronavirus infection, so too are the folks at Hasbro.  This definitely won't help their distribution, which is already questionable at the best of times. Alas, I'm glad that their leadership is looking out for their people rather than the bottom line, and I vehemently hope everyone emerges from this thing unscathed. Good health to us all, here and around the world.

I'm all for taking precautions, like frequent have washing and social distancing, but I wonder if some of those precautions aren't just a tad panicky. Like my local school district closed all their schools (which in turn caused my daughter's preschool to shut down) and my county declared a state of emergency despite zero cases of infection here or in the sounding counties.

Oh well. It is what it is.

I hope Hasbro still has people working in their warehouse, though. I cancelled my Amazon preorders on Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Hoist and ordered them on Pulse after you mentioned yours are hopefully arriving Monday. Amazon was still saying they weren't getting their until April.

 

[Kuma Style]

[M'Kyuun]

46 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm all for taking precautions, like frequent have washing and social distancing, but I wonder if some of those precautions aren't just a tad panicky. Like my local school district closed all their schools (which in turn caused my daughter's preschool to shut down) and my county declared a state of emergency despite zero cases of infection here or in the sounding counties.

Oh well. It is what it is.

I hope Hasbro still has people working in their warehouse, though. I cancelled my Amazon preorders on Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Hoist and ordered them on Pulse after you mentioned yours are hopefully arriving Monday. Amazon was still saying they weren't getting their until April.

 

Fortunately, FedEx seems to be running unaffected by all the precautions and shutdowns. We have the highest number of fatalities thus far in the country, although they're all on the western side of the state. AFAIK, we have no cases here in Spokane...yet. That said, precautions and shutdowns are in effect here, too, so hopefully preemptive action means prevention, and it never gets a foothold here.  Anyway, as long as FedEx is making deliveries, my Transformers should keep coming from Pulse as they're released. Hopefully, you'll get your copies in short time as well. Moreover, hopefully, the FedEx drivers are practicing good hygiene as they go about their rounds. From my understanding, the virus can survive for up four hours in a cough droplet, so that's a rather long time, and plenty of opportunity for spreading to occur. People just need to be informed and mindful, practice proper hygiene (as they should anyway), and avoid panicking. The species survived the bubonic plague when nothing was known of microbiology, so we have the upper hand in this time. Best we make use of it.

[Kuma Style]

2 hours ago, crackpot said:

I guess Flame Toys are taking liberties to the IDW designs

A S T U T E. 

--------------------------

In reference to posing... I guess I understand the aversion to more extravagant, heroic posing on TF exclusive forums where there is a lot more attachment to the G1 animation and less articulated toys, but on an anime mecha board... it's kind of strange. Can't lie.

--------------------------

For anyone who gets this... the face replacement is the only part that's trickey and frankly it's a PITA. The hard part is getting that front part of the helmet off because it presses tight and absolutely flush... I've found using a spudger under the chin of the face plate and pulling it a bit will loosen up that part on the helmet to pull out and get the face swapped.

The Orion look on this is a nice plus but I don't quite know if it's enough to unbox my other to have it displayed as both Iron and Optimus.

[M'Kyuun]

21 hours ago, Kuma Style said:

In reference to posing... I guess I understand the aversion to more extravagant, heroic posing on TF exclusive forums where there is a lot more attachment to the G1 animation and less articulated toys, but on an anime mecha board... it's kind of strange. Can't lie.

I can't speak to others' experience, but in my own as a mecha anime fan, more in line with Full Metal Panic, Gundam, Aldnoah Zero, Macross, etc rather than super robots, I never really noticed the prominence of the groin thrust, or as in this shot, just a prominent groin area, in hero shots.  Maybe they were there and I just didn't register, but your photos always emphasize it. In fact, I learned of Masami Obari, whose heroic posing of mecha has become a trope in anime, from you. To be honest, it doesn't do much for me, but everyone likes what they like. Transformers and shows like Battle of the Planets were my earliest introductions to mecha, or mecha-like designs, since the Transformers aren't, by definition, mecha (although their Diaclone originals were), and while there certainly were heroic scenes, I just don't recall them being to the Obari level, if that makes sense. I just did a little research before writing this, and was surprised to learn that Obari-san animated Optimus Prime's transformation scene and Megatron's ship in the original three-part opening to the first season, so I was familiar with some of his work without knowing it until now. Along with mecha, he also does hentai. A Freudian shrink would have a field day analyzing that correlation.

Anyway, even if it's not exactly my cup of java, Kuma, knowing where it comes from and how ingrained it is within the fabric of the mecha genre helps me to appreciate it as part of the artform, and thus in your photos, which always elevate your subjects beyond the mere toys that they are. You give them a life-like quality, and certainly a large part of that is posing, so I would encourage you to keep sharing your pics, even if some of us don't get it. 

 

I received my Earthrise Hoist, Wheeljack, and Cliffjumper today, and all three are really nice updates to their G1 originals. There's a nice mix of toon and toy in these guys that I appreciate. Cliffy is a nice update, although the back 1/3 of his car mode part-forms. It's a concession that I don't agree with, but it's what they did, and fortunately it tabs onto the bot mode to make a nice conformal backpack that doesn't look like tabbed on kibble. The car mode, too, looks good- a nice, more realistic, take than his chibi original car mode, which I'm fine with. It makes him fit in with the rest. I love that they included his big cannon from the first episode, as well as his car skis from that other episode.

Hoist, again, is a nice update, and I think the first G1 homage in the mainline since the original toy. A few of the joints were a little loose on my copy (his one knee is almost to the point of floppiness right out of the package), so something to be aware of. But I love how much it captures the look of both modes so well, and the tow deck is functional, although that's partly so he's compatible with all the interlocking ramps HasTak are incorporating into so many of these figures. I'm noticing the drawback to these snap-on plastic tires as his one wheel doesn't like to turn as freely as the others. I miss the rubber tires of the old toys. Unlike the original toy, who had one fist and a tapered cannon in lieu of a second fist, ER Hoist comes with two rotating fists, and his cannon is a separate piece that pegs quite securely into either of his fists. It's huge, completely covering the fist, except from the bottom, but is sculpted to kinda conform to the arm. It's molded in orange, a disappointing departure from the original toy, which had a chromed cannon. Even silver would have been better than orange. The other nitpick with the cannon is it doesn't really naturally fit anywhere on the truck mode, and looks obscenely obtrusive anywhere you peg it on.

Finally Wheeljack. My fave in this batch. HasTak did a nice job making his car mode reminiscent of the Lancia without making him a Lancia. The transformation is similar to the original toy in the way the arms and legs form the back and front of the car mode, respectively.  His upper torso spins 180 deg and the underside of his spoiler halves form his back wings. They just look tiny. It may or may not be to everyone's taste, but it works well enough for me. There's a simple elegance to it that I appreciate. There's some nice racing livery tampoed on him. He comes with his shoulder cannon, albeit shrunken, so that it can double as a hand gun. Not crazy about that, but there it is. I had an issue with one of his wheels barely turning; I popped it off, scraped away the overspray  (his rims are painted orange), and now it spins much better. HasTak separated his windshield at a square cut just above the waistline for rotation, so that's a departure from the original. However, in car mode, he has the rounded front edge to the windshield supplied by two trans-clear bits that attach inside the legs. These things pop off like crazy when handling this guy. They're mounted on a split peg, similar to the wheels, so they can rotate as part of the transformation. But the tolerance on mine is rather poor, and they just come off every time I try to rotate them. Fortunately, they just snap back on, but i think this is a clear case where a screw or a rivet would have been a better solution.

Having recieved ER voyager Starscream last week, one thing that stood out to me was that all three of these deluxe figs have rotating fists and waist swivels whereas SS does not. The Earthrise Seeker mold is a bit disappointing for its articulation omissions, especially when compared to its far superior Siege counterpart. That thing should be the benchmark across the line for articulation.

So far, this line is turning out to be the poor man's MP for G1 figures- they hit enough of the right notes to resemble their G1 original characters/alt modes, even if they're not licensed vehicles. For pricing purposes, I can forgive that if the trade-off is a decently reminiscent alt mode with a well articulated bot mode that captures a good balance of both G1 toon and toy. To that end, I think the line's a success, and I hope they keep churning them out. I'd love to finally have a complete G1 inspired set of Generations figures, especially all of the first season characters, who are near and dear to my heart. Moreover, avoiding the licensing means Jazz is a likely candidate in this line, and that's a good thing. 

[mikeszekely]

7 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I received my Earthrise Hoist, Wheeljack, and Cliffjumper today

Nice!  My order is still listed as "unfulfilled."

8 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Hoist, again, is a nice update, and I think the first G1 homage in the mainline since the original toy

Depends on how strict your definition of "G1 homage" is.  Because there was this guy:

He's a repaint of Trailbreakercutter, who was designed to look a bit more like his appearance in IDW's More Than Meets the Eye, but the old IDW was largely a G1 homage anyway.

There was also this guy:

From when Legends-class figures were much worse than they are today, and weren't just minibots.