The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[technoblue]

Early bird ER Arcee review is out and... @M'Kyuun was right on every single point .

Like this guy notes, hopefully we'll get some paint on a Netflix version, or when they reuse the mold for Elita. 

Looking at that T30 (Platinum Edition) and ER alt mode comparison shows quite a big difference. It will be interesting to see if Reprolabels/Toyhax will be able to improve the ER alt mode in any way. 

Edited July 10, 2020 by technoblue

[M'Kyuun]

12 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

@M'Kyuun In stock, 10 left, get it by Sunday-ish, no markup.

Earthrise Optimus Prime at Amazon

Thanks Mike! Got one on order. I went with free shipping, so it won't come til around the 20th, but still better than waiting until September. I'm hoping Nonnef will be getting my upgrade kit out about the same time, as he was backed up due to machinery breakdowns and power outages. Something to look forward to.  Thanks again!

Edit: Checked my email after I finished my post, and I had a ship notification from Nonnef. Good timing.  

I've got Earthrise Arcee PO'd, but it's a really underwhelming figure. She has better articulation and a nicer face sculpt than the T30, but it bugs me that no part of her bot mode becomes her alt mode. It's anathema to what makes this particular line of Transformer toys appealing.  I would've been happy if they'd just tweaked the T30 mold to update the articulation and alter the alt mode to make it more like the G1 model. As it is, not the best, and I hope this level of lazy design doesn't become a trend in the mainline.

Edited July 10, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

I'm hoping Nonnef will be getting my upgrade kit out about the same time, as he was backed up due to machinery breakdowns and power outages. Something to look forward to.  Thanks again!

Edit: Checked my email after I finished my post, and I had a ship notification from Nonnef. Good timing.  

You could wait until your Prime and your kit arrive.  Or you could pop into the 3P thread and check out my review of Nonnef's kit. 

[mikeszekely]

So when I reviewed Roadbuster I kind of complained that other more memorable characters still haven't got Studio Series toys yet, and one of the examples I cited was Dino/Mirage.  Well, some new listings popped up in Walmart's inventory system, including-

TRA GEN SS Jolt

TRA GEN SS Dino

So, I guess I'll get my wish for Dino after all.  The prices in Walmart's system are $18.84, so Deluxes.  Which, y'know, every other guy that turns into a car has been.

(Interesting side note; apparently the reason he was called Dino and not Mirage in the movie, that the toys were called Mirage and not Dino, and the reason why the toys were repaints of the very much not-a-Ferrari Sideways was because Mattel had an exclusive deal with Ferrari.  But the deal expired at the end of 2014.)

That's not all that's in Walmart's system.  There's also-

TRA GEN SS Bumblebee

Another Bumblebee, just was the Studio Series line needed!  Well, Bee is the face of the Bayverse.  And by my reckoning the Studio Series could yet do Dark of the Moon Bee (which would really only be a minor retool of RotF Bee), two Bumblebees from Age of Extinction ('67 Camaro Bee and 2014 Camaro Bee, and I'd kill for a good figure of '67 Camaro Bee), or The Last Knight Bumblebee (although the '76 Camaro movie 1 SS Bee was based on TLK Premiere Edition Bumblebee, so that last one feels redundant).  But I'd guess the safe bet is a retool of SS Cliffjumper as Cybertronian Bee from the Knight film.

That said, there is one other Transformers movie that had Bee in it.  And I see that Walmart's system is also showing-

TRA GEN SS Gnaw

Maybe there's something to those earlier rumors that the Studio Series was going to start including characters from the '86 movie.  Come to think of it, we pretty much know what the rest of the Studio Series figures are for this year, and these leaked figures would have be planned for 2021.  And 2021 just happens to be the 35th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie.  Oh, and isn't that Haslab Unicron supposed to start shipping in 2021?  Something tells me that Hasbro is very aware of this anniversary and has plans in the works to celebrate it.  Because Walmart's system is also showing-

TRA GEN SS Jazz

TRA GEN SS DLX Kup

TRA GEN SS Blurr

Gnaw, Kup, and Blurr don't have counterparts in any other movie that I can recall.  And Jazz's sole Bayverse appearance was already covered (I don't recall him turning up in the Knight film).

That being said, while I'm excited for new toys based on the '86 movie I do definitely have my concerns.  For one, if you read my reviews, something I've been commenting on in a lot of Studio Series reviews lately is that Hasbro isn't putting in the same commitment to articulation that they have to the War for Cybertron figures.  While geewunny, movie-accurate releases of the '86 movie characters seems like they'd be a good fit with Siege/Earthrise* there's a chance that they might not be up to that level of quality.  Which brings me to two, for a new line ostensibly created to give fans new, more screen-accurate figures the Studio Series was not above repainting and re-releasing existing figures.  I previously mentioned that the first Studio Series Bumblebee was a retool of TLK Premiere Bumblebee.  Crowbar was a retool of TLK Berserker, and both Thundercracker and the KSI Boss were retools of TLK Nitro (Zeus).  Three, Hasbro's shown a willingness to sell smaller figures as Deluxes, either by taking a Legends-sized figure and giving him a lot of accessories (Cliffjumper) or by selling more than one in a pack (the Arcee sisters).  And four, how movie-accurate can Jazz actually be if Hasbro can't license the alt mode from Porsche?  I can't help but note that Gnaw, Jazz, Kup, Blurr, and Grimlock (who was also rumored to be part of this '86 Studio Series) all had releases fairly recently in the Prime Wars Trilogy.  There's a part of me that's a bit worried that SS versions could turn out to be repaints of the Prime Wars toys (on the plus side, maybe we'll get Titans Return Kup and Blurr with the Takara decos).

*Speaking of Siege and Earthrise, while the line has so far given us some great updates of classic G1 characters mixed with a few "we didn't get to these guys in the Prime Wars, so we're doing them now" releases like Skytread and the Horrorcons, it's curious that we're going to get characters like Arcee, the Alicon, and the Quintesson Judge this year.  Galvatron appeared on Earthrise box art, although no figure's been announced.  Prime's corpse from the movie is getting an Amazon-exclusive release, and there was that leaked Cyclonus that we all figured was for the War for Cybertron line (although, if the '86 SS turns out to be real, and not just repaints, maybe it's a SS Cyclonus?).  Seems like Hasbro's steering the entire Transformers franchise toward the '86 movie just in time for that 35th anniversary, eh?

[M'Kyuun]

If they want to include '86 Movie figures in the Studio Series line, it strikes me as apropos, as long as the branding doesn't effect a downturn in the quality that has been notable in the Siege and Earthrise lines. As I'm not a fan of Bayverse, I've largely steered clear of SS, and to whit, I only own a few figures from the line. From the experience I do have,  I think deco takes a little more precedence than articulation, especially since the majority are licensed vehicles, which puts any number of constraints on HasTak, as we've also seen with the MP line over the years. With the Earthrise figures, they've been skirting the licensing, making alts that are close to the original real world alts, but different enough to avoid the licensing fees and design constraints. I'm fine with that approach. Earthrise, for the most part, has been a very satisfying homage to G1 thus far; barring MP, concerning mainline toys, these are what I wanted in the box when I was 13 years old, watching the show for the first time, and have since wanted in the mainline. So, with the exception of Astrotrain and Arcee, thanks Hasbro, arigato Takara.

The question that remains is whether or not HasTak are going to seek licensing for the alt modes of the potential '86 SS figures that apply. For consistency's sake, I hope not. It would be a bit odd to have that mixture of fictional-but-close alts from Earthrise with licensed alts from the film that most of us are likely going to mingle together in our collections. Too, as mentioned, Porche have been rue to provide a license to Takara, so the chances of an authentic Porche alt mode seem to hover around zero for the foreseeable future. As most of the '86 cast of characters had fictional alt modes, the burden on HasTak is greatly reduced, and hopefully the focus will be on crafting quality figures that homage the characters in the best possible marriage of toy and toon, within the budget, of course. It is a bit unfortunate that, with Hasbro exercising expansive control over the brand, their budget-over-design philosophy is likely driving the direction of the line more than it ever has before, which, IMHO, has manifested itself through reduction of plastic volume and poor or lazy engineering. 

 

[sh9000]

Hallmark Crown Rewards has free shipping and they sent me a $5 off coupon so I ordered the G1 Jazz ornament.

[tekering]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

The question that remains is whether or not HasTak are going to seek licensing for the alt modes of the potential '86 SS figures that apply. For consistency's sake, I hope not. It would be a bit odd to have that mixture of fictional-but-close alts from Earthrise with licensed alts from the film that most of us are likely going to mingle together in our collections.

That's even assuming Studio Series figures from the '86 film would be to scale with Earthrise figures... 'cause they certainly haven't been so far.

Going all the way back to Classics, the so-called CHUG scale has been a fairly consistent 1:35th.  Compare Sideswipes, for example: Universe, Siege, Earthrise, even the Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon deluxes have been equal in robot height and alt. mode wheelbase.  But then comes Studio Series Sideswipe:

Considerably smaller, just as all the Studio Series releases have been compared to Deluxe-class figures of the last fifteen years.  In order to maintain a greater scale-accuracy across the line, most characters that received Leader-class figures in previous lines are Voyager-class in Studio Series, and the smaller characters have been equally downsized to account for it.  The alt. modes hew closer to 1:40, which definitely won't scale properly with Siege/Earthrise figures (or the CHUGs that preceded them).

Has their been any indication that non-Bayverse characters in Studio Series will buck this trend?

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, tekering said:

That's even assuming Studio Series figures from the '86 film would be to scale with Earthrise figures... 'cause they certainly haven't been so far.

Going all the way back to Classics, the so-called CHUG scale has been a fairly consistent 1:35th.  Compare Sideswipes, for example: Universe, Siege, Earthrise, even the Revenge of the Fallen and Dark of the Moon deluxes have been equal in robot height and alt. mode wheelbase.  But then comes Studio Series Sideswipe:

Considerably smaller, just as all the Studio Series releases have been compared to Deluxe-class figures of the last fifteen years.  In order to maintain a greater scale-accuracy across the line, most characters that received Leader-class figures in previous lines are Voyager-class in Studio Series, and the smaller characters have been equally downsized to account for it.  The alt. modes hew closer to 1:40, which definitely won't scale properly with Siege/Earthrise figures (or the CHUGs that preceded them).

Has their been any indication that non-Bayverse characters in Studio Series will buck this trend?

I mean,

It was a fairly common complaint, in fact, that going as far back as whenever Generations Trailcutter came out, that Generations figures were getting smaller.  Presumably, when you say that CHUG scale has been consistently 1:35, you're only talking about cars?  Because the only thing I'd say has been consistent about Transformers and scale is that alt mode scale is never going to happen, especially if you're going for G1 or G1-adjacent.  Hasbro's stated goal (and one they've not always met) for both Studio Series and War for Cybertron is robot mode scaling.  And they're the mainstream lines to even try to have a consistent scale.  With that in mind, since none of the '86 crew belong on the same scale chart as the Bayverse Jazz or Kup's alt mode scale against Camaro Bumblebee is basically moot.  Studio Series Bumblebee's Camaro alt mode might be approximately in scale with Sideswipe's Corvette mode, but it's a coincidence.  They're not in scale with Prime's truck mode.  They're not in scale with Starscream's jet mode.  Their alt modes are whatever size they need to be for the robots to be in scale.  By the same token, even with Earthrise only approximating the G1 alt modes to avoid licensing, Cliffjumper's alt mode isn't in scale with Wheeljack's, who isn't in scale with Prime's, who isn't in scale with Starscream's, and so on.  But they're all in robot mode scale according the the Sunbow scale chart.

With that in mind, while you could theoretically figure out how big G1 Jazz was in most scenes he shared with Spike and Sparkplug and compare that with how big Bayverse Jazz was next to Sam and Mikaela to estimate how big '86 movie Jazz and '07 movie Jazz would be next to each other I think even Hasbro's smart enough to know that people are going to care a lot more about how the '86 movie SS figures scale with the War for Cybertron Trilogy figures.  So, not to dismiss your concern entirely, but it's the least of my worries regarding '86 movie characters in the Studio Series line.  

[tekering]

7 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Well... damn!  

8 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Presumably, when you say that CHUG scale has been consistently 1:35, you're only talking about cars?

Autobot cars, to be exact... I mean, most of them...  

9 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Their alt modes are whatever size they need to be for the robots to be in scale.

Yeah, but we need some shorthand to describe their relative robot mode scales, and the Autobot deluxe cars are the most consistent measure...  So Masterpiece is expressed at 1:32 scale, CHUG is 1:35 scale, Studio Series is 1:40 scale, etc.

This is never going to apply evenly to alt. modes, of course.  

11 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I think even Hasbro's smart enough to know that people are going to care a lot more about how the '86 movie SS figures scale with the War for Cybertron Trilogy figures.

I'd like to think so, but... Hasbro has proven otherwise on too many occasions to overlook.  

I assume nothing with them.  

[sh9000]

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Given how badly Walmart's managed their Netflix-exclusives I really hope they only reveal more repaints of figures I don't really need.  Or if they can't do that, either give me Sunstorm and Nacelle repaints of the Siege Seeker mold, or give me Sunstorm, Nacelle, Hotlink, Redwing, Acid Storm, Bitstream, and Novastorm repaints of the Earthrise Seeker mold.  But, for the love of Primus, please please please don't let the '86 movie be a Walmart-exclusive subline of Studio Series...

[JB0]

I hope in true inept fashion, the big unveil is the Back to the Future Transformer that sold out in seconds a week ago.

[M'Kyuun]

5 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Given how badly Walmart's managed their Netflix-exclusives I really hope they only reveal more repaints of figures I don't really need.  Or if they can't do that, either give me Sunstorm and Nacelle repaints of the Siege Seeker mold, or give me Sunstorm, Nacelle, Hotlink, Redwing, Acid Storm, Bitstream, and Novastorm repaints of the Earthrise Seeker mold.  But, for the love of Primus, please please please don't let the '86 movie be a Walmart-exclusive subline of Studio Series...

Those Netflix exclusives have been warming the shelves at my local Walmart, the longest I've seen mainline TF toys warm the peg/shelf in a long time. Usually they're gone in a week, not to be restocked for weeks to months thereafter. However, there are also regular Earthrise figs mixed in that display, like Wheeljack and Grapple, and they've also been hanging around longer than usual. As I said, it's highly irregular to see mainline toys hang around that long, so I'm not sure what to make of it. I'm surprised scalpers haven't come along and bought it all up by now, but perhaps Covid is taking its toll on them too. I should hope so. Anyway, none of the Netflix figs really interested me, so I haven't bought any of them. I might have sprung for Megs, but I already have the Siege version, so I passed on it. I thought about getting the purple Siege Seeker, as I own the Starscream version, and despite my early invective and dismissal of the mold, I kinda dig it in hand. Certainly, the bot mode is excellent, with probably the best articulation of any figure in the line, and without a doubt, the best articulation for a mainline Seeker ever, which is why the follow up Earthrise Seeker is so incredibly and frustratingly underwhelming and disappointing. 

I wouldn't worry too much about that lackluster Earthrise Seeker mold getting limited release; Seekers are a cash cow, and I'm sure Hasbro will release it in every color of the rainbow before they're done with it. Coneheads will undoubtedly get releases as well. Too, the way this Target Seeker two-pack's been going, I'm sure Hasbro's watching that situation unfolding with unmitigated glee, as we're a fandom that's easily abused, and exclusivity and scarce distribution seem to be their new favorite tools for artificially driving up the value of toys that aren't, practically speaking for what you're actually getting, worth it. It's deplorable, but that's business. 

I vehemently detest exclusives, so on that grounds alone, I oppose the potential SS '86 Movie figs becoming a Walmart exclusive. All it does in the end is limit availability, thus artificially inflating demand, which plays right into the greedy hands of scalpers. The fans of these toys are the losers, as we're forced to constantly hunt the internet for the next availability, scrambling to try and secure an order, with some folks having to travel far out of their way to get their hands on the damn things. The fact that Target is only selling the Seeker two-pack in store just amazes me in a bad way; in an era when most retailers offer their wares via preorders, Target's not providing that option, instead doling it out piecemeal, with availability coming at random times at very low numbers which sell out in minutes flat after they're posted. It makes no sense to me that a retail toy should be that elusive or difficult to obtain, but it's fatiguing to have to maintain FBI-like surveillance on Target's site just to try and catch a fleeting moment of availability and mad dash the thing into your cart before stock disappears. I don't remember toys being this hard to find when I was a kid, that's for sure.

[mikeszekely]

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Those Netflix exclusives have been warming the shelves at my local Walmart

Sideswipe, Chromia, and Hound have been warming shelves at my local Walmart.  I found Mirage at a different Walmart, and I bought the only Hotlink I ever saw.  In three different Walmarts within 20 miles of my house I've yet to see Megatron or Ultra Magnus (not that I actually wanted them) or Scrapface (who I actually do kind of want).

But that's just what's in stores.  I actually preordered Hotlink and Mirage back in February, when they were first revealed.  Walmart never filled my preorder; the ship date was moved from April to June 17th, then after the 17th the status just changed to "delayed."  I canceled both of my preorders after finding the figures in stores.  Now experience has shown me that Walmart wants exclusives, collectors want to preorder them to lock the exclusives in, but Walmart can't actually be trusted to fill those preorders before giving the product to stores while their piss-poor distribution makes finding the figures in stores a crapshoot.

So yeah, in principle I agree that store-exclusives aren't great*, but if we're going to have them give them to anyone but Walmart, please.

*Actually, from working in retail, I can tell you that stores pay for exclusives.  For more popular stuff that's likely to be in high demand (like Earthrise Skywarp and Thundercracker) it's a crappy move on both the store and the manufacturer.  But sometimes it's also a way for a store to shoulder risk that the manufacturer might find unacceptable.  It's quite likely that the Siege Rainmakers would never have seen a release if no stores were willing to take it as an exclusive.

[mikeszekely]

Another Walmart leak.

TRA GEN SS SLAG DANI

The assumption is that it's Slag and Daniel.  And this one is $49, so presumably Leader-Class.  And I'll remind you that these '86 Studio Series figures started with a Leader-class Grimlock, so... Leader-Class Sludge, Snarl, and Swoop please.  Or at least Leader Sludge and Snarl and Voyager Swoop.

[M'Kyuun]

If you want, Mike, I can check my Wally for Scrapface. How many copies would you like?

I despise exclusives, even if I realize that it can be a boon for manufacturer/retailer. But I'd rather they not make core characters exclusives. That just sucks for trying to round out your collection.

The announcement of yet another leader class Dinobot is promising, and I hope they do all five in that scale. Of course, these are going to be voyager scaled Dinos with likely pointless accessories in the box to drive up the price. Thanks Hasbro, you dicks.   On the positive side, though, I hope these are dedicated updates to the G1 characters, minus any combination gimmicks or elsewise that otherwise detract or mar the final figures. I hope these are close to MP level, so far as complexity and imparting ample articulation to both modes. I think that's what most of us old timer fans want- just fairly accurate G1 Dinos  at a proper scale to the rest of the bots for our Generations collection.

As I said over in the TFW forum, I hope with Earthrise and the follow on line in the WFC theme, Hasbro just goes all-out and makes every G1 character under the sun, and then moves on into something completely new and virtually divorced from G1. New characters, new alt modes, maybe even a new planet. Just something original. I think even some of us GeeWunners are starting to feel a little G1 fatigue; it'd be nice to see the franchise expand out into all new territory, storywise and toywise. 

[sh9000]

If they release all of the Dinobots and they look good then I’ll buy a set.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

If you want, Mike, I can check my Wally for Scrapface. How many copies would you like?

One is enough (it'll be my 5th version of the mold, after all).  I do have a preorder on him, still.  I guess technically I'm still looking for the Target clones, too.

In the meantime, lemme know if you found yourself a copy of the Seekers, and until then I'll keep an eye out for you.

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

I despise exclusives, even if I realize that it can be a boon for manufacturer/retailer. But I'd rather they not make core characters exclusives. That just sucks for trying to round out your collection.

This!  I can live with store-exclusive repaints, like most of the Netflix stuff.  But making Thundercracker and Skywarp exclusives is terrible especially since Siege Skywarp was an Amazon-exclusive, and back in the day Classics Skywarp was part of a Target-exclusive two-pack with Ultra Magnus.  The poor guy just can't seem to get a regular release!

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Of course, these are going to be voyager scaled Dinos with likely pointless accessories in the box to drive up the price.

While I don't think they'll be as big as, say, Studio Series Age of Extinction Grimlock, I do think they'll be bigger than your typical Voyager, since the line is about scale.

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

On the positive side, though, I hope these are dedicated updates to the G1 characters, minus any combination gimmicks or elsewise that otherwise detract or mar the final figures. I hope these are close to MP level, so far as complexity and imparting ample articulation to both modes. I think that's what most of us old timer fans want- just fairly accurate G1 Dinos  at a proper scale to the rest of the bots for our Generations collection.

While I expressed some concern earlier that the Studio Series '86 figures could be repaints of Prime Wars figures, even with the addition of a Daniel figure I don't see PotP Deluxe Slag passing for Leader-class.  If we assume new molds, screen-accuracy isn't always perfect on the Studio Series figures (like when they slipped the Bumblebee toy line into Studio Series, or when they reused some TLK molds, or reused parts of RotF Megatron to make Shockwave), but it's generally good enough that you can bank on them being G1 cartoon-accurate.

But, as I noted, articulation hasn't been the feature in Studio Series that it's been in the War for Cybertron Trilogy.  Still, MP-08 wasn't the most articulated of the MP figures, and I'd like to think they could manage at least that much articulation in a Leader-class figure.

Time will tell, though.  All I can say is that you can probably bank on me being in for all of them.  I mean, if I could talk myself into picking up DotM Roadbuster...

[M'Kyuun]

I'll keep my eyes peeled, Mike. I wish now I'd grabbed a second set of Clones the day I got mine at Target. They had five or six sets of them. Sorry, Mike. 

From the descriptions being passed on from these SS listings, the potential for them to be Generations compatible figures seems greater, especially the Dinobots. I hope they turn out well. I'm in for a set,.

Fair point about MP-08's articulation in comparison with many of the SS toys- adequate, but somehow inadequate.   Lets hope they go for the Earthrise standard as a minimum bar. If they manage to give these guys ankle tilts, I'll be pleasantly surprised, although I don't expect any tuck-away limbs. One must check his expectations in the grim face of practical experience. 

[Firefox]

Finally got my hand on Studio Series - 59 Shatter. There are already many reviews on this, so I just want to share a few things I noticed. Since Hasbro has not licensed the official AV-8B Harrier, they make it looks like a Harrier and they definitely brought a few clues from the Russian equivalent, Yak-38 (https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/6538288), the lift engines aft of the canopy and rotating jet exhaust. Besides, this figure is solid and have a good weight in hand. It definitely worth to get.

 

[M'Kyuun]

I was pretty excited that there was finally going to be a Harrier transformer, as the Harrier is one of my favorite fighter designs. This toy, however, leaves much to be desired for its plethora of inaccuracies, and  I'll be taking an easy pass on it. Shame, as they did a good job with the AH-1 alt mode for Dropkick.  However, in keeping with typical form, when it comes to fighter alt modes, HasTak seem at a complete loss as to how to make a convincing fighter without just stapling the robot under a jet, or just making a convoluted mess like this thing. The exhaust augmenters at the tail make me in embarrassment for Takara. Terrible.

 

[tekering]

47 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I was pretty excited that there was finally going to be a Harrier transformer, as the Harrier is one of my favorite fighter designs.

Zeta did a decent job with "Catapult," their Masterpiece Slingshot:

Rotating vector thrust nozzles, starboard-mounted refuelling probe, even the way the cockpit canopy opens...

Oh, and it transforms, too.  

 

[sh9000]

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-generations-top-gun-mash-up-maverick-robot

[sh9000]

[mikeszekely]

On 7/4/2020 at 1:35 PM, Dobber said:

Any new pictures of The Top Gun “Maverick”? Would love to see what they did with the F-14.

Chris

I told you guys I'd post when I had something to share.

 

The variable geometry wings work.  Reports are saying that it comes with four removable missiles, but it's not clear if they mean four separate parts or (as you can see in the picture) two parts with two molded missiles each.   At a glance it looks like a pretty good F-14 ,but I'l leave it to David to tell us what's wrong with it.

The robot is reported to be 7" tall, so Voyager-sized.  Basically the same height as Ectotron.  He looks to have a pair of shotgun weapons and 5mm peg hands, but he'll also come with swappable flatter hands to be used with the included volleyball.  Because of course he has a volleyball.

At this moment, the mold does look to be all-new, although I'm not ruling out the possibility of it being a heavy retool of something like Studio Series Blitzwing until I've had my hands on both.  If it is a totally new mold I'm a bit disappointed that it doesn't seem to have ankle pivots.

A closeup of the face, and another picture showing a little motorcycle accessory.  The product description says that it has a pilot figure on the motorcycle, which is clearly not the case here.  I suspect that the F-14 canopy can open, and there's a little pilot figure that can fly the plane or sit on the motorcycle, but time will tell.

Estimated release date is October 7th, and preorders are available now at Hasbro Pulse for $49.99.

EDIT: looks like @sh9000 beat me too it by a minute.

Edited July 13, 2020 by mikeszekely

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Alt mode looks better than I expected, but I'm not liking the coffee stains.

[sharky]

At 7" would this scale with Hi-Metal R Valkyries?  I preordered it even though I'm still on the fence.  I figured I can cancel before Oct if I change my mind.  If it sells out, and I suspect it will, then I'll be glad I didn't wait.

[Mechapilot77]

pretty good alt mode but yeah, i'll leave it to our resident expert to comment on its relative accuracy.  the weathering job is...not good but i guess not horrible.  would have picked soemthing other than coffee stain brown as the color to do the weathering with.  this would look aces with a custom repaint...at least in jet mode.  we haven't seen the underside bu i suspect its actually cleanish because of the lack of bulk to the robot.  overall i like it.  wroth $50...probably not - but i grew up with top gun X transfomers was in my brain since the 80s so there is that!  preordered!

 

it would be a shame if this doesn't get redeco'd into TF X Gi joe Sky striker btw.  haha  cmon hasbro!

Edited July 13, 2020 by Mechapilot77

[Mechapilot77]

12 minutes ago, sharky said:

At 7" would this scale with Hi-Metal R Valkyries?  I preordered it even though I'm still on the fence.  I figured I can cancel before Oct if I change my mind.  If it sells out, and I suspect it will, then I'll be glad I didn't wait.

a 7 inch robot mode height i assume.  i'm not sure but it looks to grow in alt mode.  in alt mode i assume it'll be a fair bit larger than 1/100 scale.  closer to 1/72 than 1/100 is my guess.

[mark-1s]

I don't know why they gave him a Suzuki (looks like a B-King) when it was a Kawasaki GPZ 900 in the original movie. At least they got the volley ball right   

[tekering]

36 minutes ago, Mechapilot77 said:

in alt mode i assume it'll be a fair bit larger than 1/100 scale.  closer to 1/72 than 1/100 is my guess.

Keep in mind, Masterpiece Starscream is a 1:72 scale jet... and a Leader-sized robot.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

He looks to have a pair of shotgun weapons and 5mm peg hands, but he'll also come with swappable flatter hands to be used with the included volleyball. 

But, those hands are clearly pinned...

You'd have to swap out the whole arm at the bicep joint.

[Mechapilot77]

29 minutes ago, tekering said:

Keep in mind, Masterpiece Starscream is a 1:72 scale jet... and a Leader-sized robot.

 

i thought he was 1/63ish or so that was the common thought at the time.  i've not measured myself.

EDIT**  actually at around 13inches he is a 1/60th scale f-15 as an f-15 is 64' long.  12.8 inches would be 1/60 exaclty

googling got to to a tomcat being 63' long.  756 inches.  1/72 scale would be 10.5 inches.  i could see a 10+ inch jet from that 7" robot guessing the transformation scheme....guess we will see though.

Edited July 13, 2020 by Mechapilot77

[Negotiator]

shoulders are very low

[mikeszekely]

38 minutes ago, tekering said:

But, those hands are clearly pinned...

You'd have to swap out the whole arm at the bicep joint.

My guess is that it's actually a flat panel with a mushroom peg on it that's pinned, and the hands have matching slots. You can see the background through the slots in the last pic I posted. Then you probably swap hands by sliding them off and on the mushroom pegs.

That'd mean he should have wrist swivels.

Well, I pre-ordered, so it looks like you guys will find out in October...

[danth]

1 hour ago, Negotiator said:

shoulders are very low

Looks better here: