The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

C'mon Hasbro, you've already done better:

Agree to disagree.  That was a great figure for its time, but the legs are kind of wonky, I don't like the mandatory door wings or the flaps with the wheels, and the alt mode isn't a Porsche 935.  The Studio Series figure isn't perfect (those hollow forearms!), but it's a lot closer to G1 Jazz.  After Earthrise that's what I want in my mainline figures now.

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Jazz is looking pretty good, except for the feet hanging out the back of his car mode...

...Shame they cocked up the car mode, which could also do with some paint apps on the rear fenders to complete the look

Paint has been an issue with Studio Series.  I'm not surprised to see it's still an issue with Studio Series '86.  Hopefully Toyhax will whip up some Reprolabels.

As for the feet... I mean, on the one hand, the car looks fine from most angles.  But yeah, it's unfortunate.  Maybe Hasbro thought it'd make the car different enough to avoid dealing with the Volkswagen AG?  I mean, I know Volkswagen eventually relented on Bumblebee, but I've heard that licensing the alt mode is the biggest reason why their hasn't been an MP Jazz.

Well, I think it's worth remembering that Jazz is still a mainline Deluxe-class toy.  I made arrangements for my wife to take our daughter to kindergarten tomorrow so I can watch Hasbro's stream tomorrow and jump on the preorders right away, because I'm in for the whole first wave.  Truthfully, if future SS '86 figures are half as good as these first six I'm in for the whole line.

[JB0]

16 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Jazz is looking pretty good, except for the feet hanging out the back of his car mode. C'mon Hasbro, you've already done better:

Man, I miss my Classics et al Jazz. He was on a coffee table for Reasons(tm), and a then-new large puppy decided Jazz looked highly mouthable. She cleaved him in twain, in what I assume was a desire to re-enact his big scene in Bayformers. Dog's lucky we'd already named her, or she'd be Megatron now.

(She got Animated Blackarachnia at the same time. I had been unaware she was a chewer until that day.)

[sh9000]

 

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

Man, I miss my Classics et al Jazz. He was on a coffee table for Reasons(tm), and a then-new large puppy decided Jazz looked highly mouthable. She cleaved him in twain, in what I assume was a desire to re-enact his big scene in Bayformers. Dog's lucky we'd already named her, or she'd be Megatron now.

(She got Animated Blackarachnia at the same time. I had been unaware she was a chewer until that day.)

Aw, man, that sucks. The vast majority of my collection is on shelves, although I do keep a few on the coffee table for hand candy when I' watching a show. My cat, a Manx, is a bit of a chewer, more than my dog, rest her soul, ever was. She's eight now, and her proclivity was waned slightly, although she still likes to go after pointy bits from time to time. She has yet, knock on wood, to do any major damage to any of my figures. 

RtS Jazz remains one of my favorite CHUG figs, and until the '86 SS fig, was the most faithful rendition of the character. While I like the SS' bot mode for all it does right, it makes me wonder why they wouldn't go the extra mile to make those feet fold into the car mode. It'd be nice if a third party rectified that ill bit of engineering slackery.

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Agree to disagree.  That was a great figure for its time, but the legs are kind of wonky, I don't like the mandatory door wings or the flaps with the wheels, and the alt mode isn't a Porsche 935.  The Studio Series figure isn't perfect (those hollow forearms!), but it's a lot closer to G1 Jazz.  After Earthrise that's what I want in my mainline figures now.

Your points are valid, especially if you want toon accuracy. The RtS is still a really good Jazz fig, but definitely has its liberties. And yeah, the leg are wonky. I still love it, though.

[mikeszekely]

No surprises with the Studio Series reveals.

My heart sank when they said they were doing more Walmart exclusives.  But it's just a reissue of the Takara versions of Titans Return Chromedome, Brainstorm, Hardhead, and Mindwipe in G1-style boxes.

Another Amazon-exclusive Galactic Encounters pack.  It's just Micromasters, though.

Thrust and Runabout are Target-exclusive. 

Also announced the Studio Series Devastator box set, if you missed the individual releases, and an Optimus-decoed My Little Pony called "My Little Prime" if you're into that.

 

Edited October 16, 2020 by mikeszekely

[Negotiator]

good luck on thrust, guys

[M'Kyuun]

My heart sank when they said "exclusive". I've come to despise that word. 

Fortunately, I have all but Brainstorm (missed that one), so I'm going to try to get him. Def want Thrust (my fave Conehead) and Runabout from Target. And all the "86 figs from Pulse.

[mikeszekely]

I'm not preordering any of the Walmart Headmasters, but if I see some of them in stores I might buy Hardhead and Chromedome for the more Headmasters anime-style heads.  Maybe Mindwipe.  I'm also not getting the Micromasters.

I have Target already open and logged in.  I want both Thrust and Runabout.

And yeah, I'm in for the whole first wave of SS '86.  I'll probably preorder at Amazon.

[Negotiator]

https://www.target.com/p/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-earthrise-voyager-wfc-e26-thrust/-/A-79621341#lnk=sametab

got all the 86' and thrust. i'm happy.  surprised thrust is still up.

Edited October 17, 2020 by Negotiator

[mikeszekely]

Got my orders in.  Here's the Target links.

Thrust

Runabout

EDIT: If you need them

Galactic Encounters Micromasters

My Little Prime

Devastator

Edited October 16, 2020 by mikeszekely

[M'Kyuun]

Thanks for the links; they weren't coming up for me at all, even directly searching by name.

Having the same issue on Walmart's site. None of the new figs are showing up on their TF page.

 

[sh9000]

[M'Kyuun]

I'm still not seeing the Walmart exclusive Headmasters anywhere. If anyone has a link, I'd appreciate it.

Edit: Apparently Walmart hasn't listed them yet, as the links aren't posted on TFW, either.

Nice lineup of figs, but I was hoping they'd announce the Ark dude as a surprise reveal. Guess we'll have to keep waiting for it.

Edited October 16, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[treatment]

Yo!

new po-pricing for MP-52 at amazon-japan!!!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B08KJP2N4S/

 

if you already got a preorder from amzon-japan last week, it should've been lowered right now to reflect the new po-pricing.

 

[mikeszekely]

I take it preorders for Walmart's Headmasters never went up?  Oh well, it's not like they fill their preorders anyway.  I got another email from Walmart pushing Soundwave back to mid-November, and a second pushing Bumblebee back to the same.

[lechuck]

5 hours ago, treatment said:

Yo!

new po-pricing for MP-52 at amazon-japan!!!

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B08KJP2N4S/

 

if you already got a preorder from amzon-japan last week, it should've been lowered right now to reflect the new po-pricing.

 

Thanks for the heads-up! My PO has sunk to as low as 19.4K Yen now.

Looking forward to getting this in my hand next year.

[M'Kyuun]

6 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I take it preorders for Walmart's Headmasters never went up?  Oh well, it's not like they fill their preorders anyway.  I got another email from Walmart pushing Soundwave back to mid-November, and a second pushing Bumblebee back to the same.

It's 0619 PST, and the Wally POs have yet to be posted.  When they finally do get around to posting them, it'll probably be O'dark thirty in the AM and only scalper bots will end up getting them.   All I want is Brainstorm, which I missed when TR was still running. I have all the rest, and don't feel the need to pick up repaints. Nice that Hasbro is reissuing these, but they picked a lousy marketing partner. At least Target and Amazon post their new products on time.

@Negotiator, @mikeszekely, thanks for the links, guys. Thanks to you, I was able to get my figs. Now if Wally would just post theirs...

[mikeszekely]

On 10/8/2020 at 11:37 PM, mikeszekely said:

As for me, well, I'm 3 out of 5 on MPM Autobots now.  Plus digging out that old Ratchet figure made me recall how satisfied I was to have the characters from the first movie together, even if those toys were pretty bad.  Even though I'm going to have to look beyond Target I have a feeling I'm going to have to track down at least Jazz and Ironhide.

Uh... yeah.  So...

MPM Ironhide was apparently an Amazon-exclusive.  And he's been marked down a bit, I guess, because he's significantly cheaper than Ratchet despite being a similar size.

Comparing Ironhide to the Studio Series toy is kind of interesting, because the expectation is that of course the bigger, more complex, more expensive figure must be better, right?  I mean, I liked the Studio Series versions of Prime, RotF Bee, Ratchet, Barricade, and Starscream, but for all five of them the MPM is a better figure (at least in robot mode- looking at you, Starscream).  And at first glance there's definitely things about MPM Ironhide that are better than the Studio Series version.  There's more details picked out with paint, the proportions are closer to the movie model, and the truck halves that make up much of his upper torso seem oriented better, like they're really part of his chest and not big shoulder pads.  His rear wheels end up in his hips, like the movie model's, instead of simply having faux molded wheels in his hips while the real things winds up under his feet. On the other hand, the wheels on the Studio Series version are better tucked into his body, and while his shoulders are set back on his body (which seems to be movie accurate) they don't seem like they coming out of his back like the MPM version.

Like most of the the line, Studio Series Ironhide has a bit of backpack, although it's just the roof, front windshield, and rear window, and it's one of the less egregious examples.  MPM Ironhide has a less obvious backpack, made mostly from the rear window and exhaust pipes.  It's not any more screen-accurate, though.  Worse, it's not that MPM Ironhide has less kibble- I think he actually has more, really.  A backpack is, at least, mostly out of the way.  No, the designers of the MPM toy moved the kibble to his arms, with the roof and windshield split in half and carried on the insides of his biceps.  Meanwhile, the doors of the truck are folded up onto the backs of his forearms (the SS version only had the windows).  The results don't just look messy, they'll cause other problems as we'll see in a bit.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's look at his accessories.  He comes with his signature big ol' arm guns.  They are indeed big, but lacking somewhat in details.

Ironhide's head is on a hinged swivel, and he can look up a lot but not really down.  His shoulders, as previously noted, are kind of coming out of his back.  As such, they rotate laterally on ratchets, theoretically 360 degrees but practically the kibble on his arms will catch on his back a little past 180 degrees.  A soft ratchet allows his shoulder to bend 90 degrees backward, but forward motion is effectively non-existent.  His biceps swivel, and the roof/windshield kibble can swivel around his bicep.  His ratcheted elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, plus they have a hinge for some upward and a small amount of downward bend.  His fingers and thumb are pinned at the base and middle knuckles, with the index fingers and thumbs being individually-articulated while the other three fingers are molded together.  His waist can swivel.  His hips can ratchet forward and backward about 90 degrees.  Double hinges (friction) provide for some lateral movement, but only about 45 degrees.  His thigh rotates just above his knees, which are also ratcheted and also limited to about 45 degrees.  His feet tilt up slightly and down a lot on a ratcheted joint, and they can pivot but the pivot is pretty limited.  Plus, like Ratchet and Starscream, Ironhide's mouth can open and close.  All told that gives MPM Ironhide more points of articulation but far better range in important joints like shoulders, hips, and knees on the Studio Series toy (ankle pivots, too, if you have the DNA kit).  Plus, on the Studio Series toy you can manipulate his arms easily and the figure is still solid, while moving the arms on the MPM toy is going to continually move the truck parts that make up his chest.

Ironhide's weapons use 5mm pegs to plug into the kibble under his forearms.  The placement isn't entirely accurate and it attempts to use hinges on the kibble to make up part of the guns' look (mostly unsuccessfully, if you ask me).  More troubling is that the kibble panels have a slot that's supposed to meet with a tab under his wrist.  The tab is too small, or the slots are too big; there's zero friction and the door slides right off even without the guns, and the kibble relies on some hinge joints to stay mostly in place.  With the guns the weight pulling them down you can pretty much forget about the kibble staying anywhere near where it's supposed to.

Transforming Ironhide is an exercise in frustration.  The back half isn't so bad, but the rest involves getting everything transformed and in place but not locked into place, then getting the kibble in place to form the roof, windows, and doors while sandwiching an attached strip with part of the hood, grill, and bumper between the parts of the truck that were his chest and praying that nothing moves out of place as you do so.  The result doesn't feel particularly sturdy.

Ok, so the truck mode does have the 4x4 marking on the side, silver around the grill and headlights, red-painted GMC badge on the grill, silver on the vent on the one side of the hood, orange marking lights on the front fenders, and molded door handles... as did the SS version.  The paint on the taillights has more colors, there's paint on the GMC badge on the tailgate, and the running boards are painted silver, plus the bed is covered more thoroughly.  Is that enough to make the MPM the superior truck?  Fun fact, although the movie model's chest appears to have the front bumper prominently featured in gray the bumper is black on the actual truck.  Same for the rear bumper.  MPM Ironhide also has his entire rear window as unpainted gray plastic.  End of the day, I kind of think the Studio Series truck looks better.

You may have noticed a peg hole above the running board.  The peg hole is on both sides, and you can use it to store the guns while in truck mode.  Is that a better method than sticking them on the bed?  Debatable.

I haven't bought a lot of official Masterpieces lately, but Ironhide has to be one of the worst.  Granted, I get the impression that Hasbro is more hands-off with the main MP line, letting Takara make what they want and charge what they want while importing a few to sell through Pulse, while they're more involved with the MPM line and actively trying to sell it in the US (hence Bee, Prime, and Barricade on TRU shelves before they closed, Barricade and Ironhide being sold through Amazon, and Ratchet and Starscream turning up at Target).  Hasbro's involvement probably means limiting the price and lowering the quality to meet that price, sure, but even then Ironhide is by far the worst MPM figure I've bought (and at this point I guess I'm just missing Jazz and Megatron).  He doesn't feel solid in either mode, his articulation is limited in the arms, hips, and knees, and he's a pain to transform.  If you're building an MPM display he'll look pretty good alongside the other Autobots, but he's just not fun to pose or transform.  I can't really say that I recommend him- an upscale KO of the Studio Series figure with the DNA kit would be better.

[F360]

a HK custom painted ver of TOP GUN "MAVERICK"  

 

 

 

[sh9000]

I missed the Target preorders and good deals on the Transformer The Movie Studio Series figures because I was at work so I’ll hold off on getting them.  I might order a few of them at a later date

[David Hingtgen]

Anyone want Earthwise Bluestreak? If the car mode pegged together well it'd be awesome.  But it doesn't, and it disappoints the heck out of me.  

Transformed twice, now back in the box.  Found it at Walgreens this weekend.  

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, David Hingtgen said:

Anyone want Earthwise Bluestreak? If the car mode pegged together well it'd be awesome.  But it doesn't, and it disappoints the heck out of me.  

Transformed twice, now back in the box.  Found it at Walgreens this weekend.  

I wish I'd have known sooner.  On Wednesday I went to the Walgreens by my parents' place, nothing.  Friday I went to the one by my house, nada.  Saturday my wife and my mom wanted to look at leaves up in the mountains and I stopped at two different Walgreens on the way back, zilch.  Since I never found their last exclusive (Siege Ratchet) in local stores I got a bad case of FOMO and bought a Bluestreak on ebay at stupid scalper prices.

[ErikElvis]

Who’s ordering the latest starscream.  I wasn’t but bot mode looks pretty good. Alt mode.... eh

[technoblue]

1 hour ago, ErikElvis said:

Who’s ordering the latest starscream.  I wasn’t but bot mode looks pretty good. Alt mode.... eh

I am. And there are a few others lurking about here on MW.  I like seeing the historical progression in my collection, so I'm not as bothered by changes in the aesthetic as other more vocal members are on site. One historical footnote which I find really cool and that was shared on twitter is the same designer who had a hand in the G1 Toy/Diaclone helped design MP-52. Over on TFW, the thought is that this could be Kojin Ono.

 

[jenius]

I'll get it... Might be my first transformers review in a very long time.

[lechuck]

4 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

Who’s ordering the latest starscream.  I wasn’t but bot mode looks pretty good. Alt mode.... eh

I have one on pre-order with Amazon Japan.

Edited October 20, 2020 by lechuck

[Jeremy007]

Pre-ordered with amiami. I think it looks fantastic. 

[ErikElvis]

Yeah I got out of collecting  transformers a while ago but I’m a sucker for starscream. He’ll likely only see bot mode anyway. 

[mikeszekely]

6 hours ago, ErikElvis said:

Who’s ordering the latest starscream.  I wasn’t but bot mode looks pretty good. Alt mode.... eh

I'm passing. I think the robot mode is a big improvement over MP-03 and MP-11 and I'll be curious to see some reviews. I hope I get a chance to check it out, like I did with MP-44. But I don't think it looks like it's a $275 improvement over Maketoys' Meteor.

[Jeremy007]

Mp-52 isn't $275. Amazon Japan and Amiami have him for $202.  Hlj has him for $230 and the most expensive I saw was $265 at bbts. You can get it shipped from japan for less than what bbts is charging.  I see these comments all over tfw....”I'm not paying $275-$300 for mp-52”. Why would you? No one is charging that much.  
 

it seems like every time a new MP is announced, the detractors like to add a non existent $40-$70+ to its pre order price simply to complain that the price is too high.  With Mp-44, so many people were saying “i refuse to pay $500 for a toy”. Again, why would you when no one was charging $500 for it.  Its like they look for the most expensive pre order price simply to complain...while completely ignoring all the much cheaper options. 

[Chronocidal]

They might be working current shipping into the total, because the additional charges there are not something you can really just shrug off at this point.

[Jeremy007]

I'm not talking about extra fees. I'm talking about pre order prices.  Even if they were talking about extra fees, they would be charged that amount on top of what ever figure they bought. Fees are not exclusive to Takara products.   I believe Meteor was around $170 or so. Mp-52 is available for around $200 without shipping.  That is only a $30 difference in the base price...not $275. 
 

if you don't like mp-52, thats fine. You don't have to. But don't add $75 to the pre order price and say its too expensive or not worth the extra money. 
 

I know there are huge price differences in canada and australia and other parts of the world. I am just talking about shipping to the states and paying with the dollar.  No one is charging $275 for mp-52. 

Edited October 20, 2020 by Jeremy007

[sh9000]

I wish they were G1 reissues in retro packaging.

[Kanedas Bike]

^Chromedome and Brainstorm were two of my favorite Transformers as a kid. I absolutely loved playing with them.

-b.

[technoblue]

Brainstorm in that retro packaging is very tempting. I may keep a look out when release day comes 'round.