The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[Negotiator]

Waiting for mine still.  I hate that plastic they used.  Going to get a full repaint too.

[mark-1s]

New pics of MP Tigatron are looking really good.

https://news.tfw2005.com/2020/10/29/tfw2005s-masterpiece-tigatron-in-hand-gallery-live-423185

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by mark-1s

[M'Kyuun]

15 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Where's everyone even getting Maverick at already?  I preordered him on Pulse the day they opened the preorders and it says it's not supposed to ship until the end of November.

No idea;  a lot of reviewers seem to have an inside source from which they obtain these things well before release.  I'm in the minority that actually likes this figure, but as I've said, I don't care for the paint job and the plastic they used looks like a milky gray that seems almost semi-translucent. From that perspective, I can understand people's negative feelings towards the toy, but most don't like the design, either. So what do they think about G1 Jetfire? He is a VF-1, and Maverick is heavily based on the VF-1 (looking at closer, it reminds me more of the VF-0, with the rounded biceps and lankier legs). Anyway, Hasbro finally gives us a decent jetformer and the fans just gripe about it. I just don't get this fandom sometimes. Do I think it's perfect- no. Do I think it's a step in the absolute right direction- f**k yeah! And those decrying it as not looking like a Transformer need to brush up on their history.

If Hasbro continues making jetformers along a similar design philosophy, I'll be a one-man cheering section for them until I croak.

 

Concerning Tigatron, part of me wishes this had come before Cheetor, as the engineering is much better. I passed on this guy, as I decided to quit on the BW MP figs; I just don't have the room, I seldom mess with them, and G1 stuff is more my preference. All the reviews I've seen have viewed this guy in a positive light, and I think he looks amazing in bot modes. The concession , especially in the legs, are handled better with this figure , and I'm happy to see his actual beast head forming his chest rather than the faux chest on Cheetor. Every time I see a pic of Tigatron, I feel a pang of non-buyer's remorse, but I've reached a point where I need to scale back a bit, so Tigatron lays upon the altar of restraint. I hope he proves a joy to those who get him, though.

Edited November 2, 2020 by M'Kyuun

[Dobber]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

No idea;  a lot of reviewers seem to have an inside source from which they obtain these things well before release.  I'm in the minority that actually likes this figure, but as I've said, I don't care for the paint job and the plastic they used looks like a milky gray that seems almost semi-translucent. From that perspective, I can understand people's negative feelings towards the toy, but most don't like the design, either. So what do they think about G1 Jetfire? He is a VF-1, and Maverick is heavily based on the VF-1 (looking at closer, it reminds me more of the VF-0, with the rounded biceps and lankier legs). Anyway, Hasbro finally gives us a decent jetformer and the fans just gripe about it. I just don't get this fandom sometimes. Do I think it's perfect- no. Do I think it's a step in the absolute right direction- f**k yeah! And those decrying it as not looking like a Transformer need to brush up on their history.

If Hasbro continues making jetformers along a similar design philosophy, I'll be a one-man cheering section for them until I croak.

Agreed and I’ll be there with Ya’

Chris

[Mechapilot77]

speaking of maverick, i am pretty sure i want to get one fully repainted into something resembling a real F-14 scheme, maybe a jolly rogers scheme (the one that inspired roy fokker's but like the real one) or something completely plain but like an accurate grey.  now where i can i find someone to do that for me as a full repaint is well beyond my capabilities.  haha  would be tricky too because the one custom i've seen the joint areas don't look good.  wonder if its a hard one to work on.  any volunteers or suggestions on where to look?  haha

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Dobber said:

Agreed and I’ll be there with Ya’

Chris

Thanks, Dobber! 

There simply cannot be enough Macross influence in Transformers so far as jetformers go. I have and shall never understand the preference for a blocky robot wearing a jet carcass where the jet mode, in turn, looks like a caricature of a jet carrying a giant blocky robot on its underside like a glorified hang glider. Other than a few decent examples out of the glut of jetformers down through the years, I've never been very enthusiastic about aircraft alt modes in Transformers due to their lackadaisical designs. If HasTak took the same approach with cars, there'd be no stopping the absolute tsunami of complaints from the fandom, but we've been indoctrinated into accepting robots wearing pseudo jets since the 80's as a norm, and I think we've sold ourselves short as a fandom for accepting it. Having been an aircraft fan from my teenage years, I never drank the Kool-Aid.

What I don't get, too, is that we had a fantastic example in '85 with Jetfire to set a precedent going forward for TFs with jet alt modes. Even the original Seeker wasn't too terribly egregious. It's no coincidence that Kawamori had a hand in designing two of the best examples, and a real shame that Takara didn't follow his lead going forward.

Somewhere in a parallel dimension, fans have been playing for decades with TFs with excellent fairly accurate jet modes and all kinds of TFs with excrutiatingly FUBARed ground vehicle modes. I need a wormhole.

[Dobber]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Thanks, Dobber! 

There simply cannot be enough Macross influence in Transformers so far as jetformers go. I have and shall never understand the preference for a blocky robot wearing a jet carcass where the jet mode, in turn, looks like a caricature of a jet carrying a giant blocky robot on its underside like a glorified hang glider. Other than a few decent examples out of the glut of jetformers down through the years, I've never been very enthusiastic about aircraft alt modes in Transformers due to their lackadaisical designs. If HasTak took the same approach with cars, there'd be no stopping the absolute tsunami of complaints from the fandom, but we've been indoctrinated into accepting robots wearing pseudo jets since the 80's as a norm, and I think we've sold ourselves short as a fandom for accepting it. Having been an aircraft fan from my teenage years, I never drank the Kool-Aid.

What I don't get, too, is that we had a fantastic example in '85 with Jetfire to set a precedent going forward for TFs with jet alt modes. Even the original Seeker wasn't too terribly egregious. It's no coincidence that Kawamori had a hand in designing two of the best examples, and a real shame that Takara didn't follow his lead going forward.

Somewhere in a parallel dimension, fans have been playing for decades with TFs with excellent fairly accurate jet modes and all kinds of TFs with excrutiatingly FUBARed ground vehicle modes. I need a wormhole.

Lol, if you get there send me a message somehow!

I had always hoped they would have done a line of accurate looking aircraft like they did with the Alternators line for cars years ago.

Chris

Edited November 2, 2020 by Dobber

[F360]

2 hours ago, Dobber said:

Lol, if you get there send me a message somehow!

I had always hoped they would have done a line of accurate looking aircraft like they did with the Alternators line for cars years ago.

Chris

me too.....  

[mikeszekely]

Repaint reviews-

Earthrise Ironhide is a remold of the Siege version.  The flaps on his legs, the front of his torso, the alt-mode bumper behind his head, his actual head, and his shoulders are the new parts.  I find it a bit odd that the shoulders are new.  They're molded to be very similar to Siege Ironhide's shoulders, but with less greebly details.  Basically the same deal with is head.  But the Siege greebles are ok for his forearms, thighs, pelvis, and feet?  Can't say that I'm a fan of the unpaintable gray plastic hinge on his belly, and I find the decision to use black instead of gray for the shoulders, hands, and pelvis to be a poor decision.

ER Ironhide does at least come with a new gun.  I thought it might be similar to the "tool" that comes with Siege Ratchet, but nope, it's a new mold.  And Hasbro even stuck a little paint on the barrel.  It's not the prettiest, but I like it a lot better than the missile-launching hammer Siege Ironhide came with.

Of course, there's the elephant in the room... a huge partsforming chunk.  A peg on a slider deploys what could be a quartet of cannons on one end.  It's not pretty, but Ironhide can carry it on his back.

Of course, the instructions suggest that it can be mounted onto Ironhide's forearm, either with the points down as the barrels retracted as a shield, or rotated 180 degrees on his arm with the barrels deployed as a kind of arm cannon.  Again, it's not pretty.  I'd be harder on the whole thing except I like turning the whole thing upside down and having him ride it like a surfboard.  Sure, it's smaller, but it sort of evokes the G1 toy's sled that way.

The articulation and most of the transformation on ER Ironhide is the same as Siege.  The only real difference is that you've got a partsforming chunk that forms the roof and some of the windows on the sides.  The result is , from most angles, passingly an earth van, sure.  Again, I'm not big on the fact that they used black for the bumper and grill, you've still got that gray hinge, the hubcaps aren't painted, and the windows on the sides are molded but left red (probably so they show as red in robot mode).  There's also that big black square, but since that's the front of his robot shoulders not much you can do there.  I can forgive (and maybe paint) some of that on a what's basically a $20 toy.  However, due to the re-used feet the back of the van looks awful.  And it didn't have to be this way, either.  All they really needed to do is mold each foot as two parts instead of one.  They could have had the heels made to look like the bottom half of the van's rear.  Then, make the top of the front half of his feet look like the top of the van's rear, and have them rotate 180 degrees during transformation.  His feet would still be flat in robot mode, and could even still have the 5mm peg holes.  Hopefully someone like DNA, Nonnef, or Dr Wu will address it.

Y'know, just in case you were wondering how he looked without his partsforming room.

Speaking of the roof, there is a 5mm port on it so you can plug his gun into the top, like you seem to do with most WfC figures.  However, note the 5mm peg holes on the sides of the gun.  It actually can attach to the underside of the roof, so its stored and hidden in van mode.  That I very much dig.

Unlike some of the better WfC figures, Earthrise Ironhide is far from being a mini-Masterpiece.  Hasbro basically took a Cybertronian mold that wasn't one of my favorites then awkwardly tried to make it work as a Earth-mode van.  The sad thing is, this is probably still the best official toy Ironhide got that isn't the MP.  I probably wouldn't recommend it, as I didn't recommend the Siege version, but if you're trying to get a complete Season 1 cast going this might be as good as it gets for awhile.  Besides, he comes with Prowl.

Speaking of Prowl, we can take a look at him and Bluestreak, too.  Unlike Ironhide, Prowl and Bluestreak are similar to but not really remolds of their Siege versions.  However, they are slight remolds of Earthrise Smokescreen, who I covered in detail, so I actually have less to say about them than I did Ironhide.  They both have different heads than Smokescreen, and their chests/front bumpers have been remolded to look more stock and less racecar.  Bluestreak comes with the same accessories as Smokescreen, but they work better here.  I suggested in Smokescreen's review that you're better off replacing the Earthrise shoulder cannons with the Siege versions, but the Siege ones never felt right for Bluestreak and the Earthrise ones are more cartoon-accurate for him.  Prowl, on the other hand, comes with the same gun as the others but doesn't get any shoulder cannons.  Instead, he's got a lightbar.  As was the case with Siege, the lightbar uses a 5mm peg to fit into a peg hole that already exists on the mold, and that's a pretty smart way of doing things.  And I don't miss the cannons, as cartoon Prowl didn't have them.  But I have it on authority that Nonnef is working on shoulder cannons for the Datsuns and hopes to have them ready early next year.

As I mentioned in my review of Earthrise Smokescreen, I like this mold a lot.  The overall shape and proportions are a big improvement over the Siege mold.  I do, however, have issues with the colors.  If we're going for cartoon accuracy Bluestreak's red biceps should be the shade of gray that his shoulders are.  And his shoulders shouldn't actually be that gray, but rather more of a gunmetal color.  And Prowl should have silver thighs and some silver on his midriff.  None of that's the end of the world, though; I actually kind of dig the red biceps on Bluestreak, and I might just paint Prowl myself.  I'm hoping for some Reprolabels, too, to give him more of the toy's Highway Patrol markings.

Some looks at the car modes.  Not a perfectly accurate Datsun, but probably as close as you could get without paying Nissan for a license.  You can see that, while the front got a remold, the rear is the same as Smokescreen, so Prowl and Bluestreak both wind up with spoilers they they didn't have before.  I'm pretty ok with that, though.  They don't look out of place.  That said, the nose looks a little too thin for the rear, like someone started to stick a rally mod on them but quit halfway.  I think the black around the sides and rear of Prowl helps, though- it doesn't seem as unbalanced as Bluestreak.  I also really appreciate that they painted the lights and the space between them on these guys, which they didn't do with Smokescreen.  Again, I'm hoping Reprolabels do a set for Prowl's alt-mode Highway Patrol livery.

No special hidey holes.  As with Smokescreen, Bluestreak's gun plugs into the roof.  Then you can either plug his shoulder cannons into his rifle and have them all on the roof, or you can leave them in their bot mode spots on the hood.  Prowl's new lightbar is occupying the peg hole on the roof, the but just like the Siege version the lightbar has a space in the middle that acts as a new peg hole, allowing you to plug the rifle in anyway.

I called Smokescreen my second-favorite Earthrise release after Prime, but my least favorite of the Datsuns.  Needless to say, I'm still a big fan of this mold and happy to see it on better (to me) characters.  The execution isn't perfect, but it's good enough that I definitely recommend both of them, even if it means getting stuck with Ironhide, too, in Prowl's case.  I can't wait for Barricade.

[M'Kyuun]

I heartily agree with your assessments. They dun good with the Datsun mold, overall (still wish they'd made the spoiler an add-on for Smokescreen only), but dropped the ball with the earth mode vanettes, who should have had a completely new mold rather than a poorly executed recycling effort of the Siege mold. I honestly like the Siege mold as a Cybertronian alt, except, of course, the terrible feet. It didn't translate well, and that huge roof piece, along with Arcee's car shell, is among some of the most egregious partsforming in any line to date. It makes me miss the days when third parties were still making figs to fit in with CHUG, as both ER Arcee and the van dudes could potentially benefit from a second opinion, so to speak.  I've seen the third party foot "improvement" bits for the vans to try and make the bottom of the feet look more congruent with the rest of the van, but the color doesn't match, at least on Ironhide, and the contours don't quite line up, so they still look awkward. Points for trying, though.

On a semi-related note, I have to chuckle a bit when I watch PrimevsPrime's video reviews of these figs, as he effusively gushes about the quality of the WFC toys as if they're the pinnacle of HasTak's offerings. He may be too young to remember the toys from the mid-2000s, when a $10 deluxe had more moving parts and complexity, little to no hollow areas, more pins and less mushroom pegs, tires that were pinned rather than snapped on, slightly better paint apps (although Hasbro has always been a bit stingy with paint), and generally  higher overall build quality. I may not care for the Bayformer aesthetic, but during that era, especially from 2007-2013 or so, the quality of the figures they produced at the price points they charged (good ole $10 deluxes, $20 voyagers) was unparalleled, and will likely never again be equaled, as inflation continues to drive prices ever upward.  

Hopefully, cheaper, yet equally durable or more durable materials than the current plastics will come about to help bring production costs of these things down. I'm aware that LEGO are already making some of their elements from plant based material, and are looking to make their products more ecologically friendly, so there may be breakthroughs coming. I'm not sure I want my toys to be biodegradable, but the idea of finding cheaper yet durable alternatives to plastics is one I can get behind.

[sh9000]

From Calibre Wings.

[technoblue]

Yeah. Maverick needed a real paint job. Not splotches.

I also cancelled a bunch of my Earthrise pre-orders today, including the Ironhide and Ratchet sets. I think I'm done with this part of the mainline. I'll wait to see what happens with Studio Series 86 and the G1 Kingdom releases. This is definitely not a "collect them all" situation from my side.

Edited November 3, 2020 by technoblue

[danth]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

From Calibre Wings.

It looks legit amazing without the translucent plastic. A real shame they sabotaged it from the start like they did.

Maybe a re-release will fix that plastic and we'll get a Jetfire version or something.

[Scyla]

3 minutes ago, danth said:

It looks legit amazing without the translucent plastic. A real shame they sabotaged it from the start like they did.

Maybe a re-release will fix that plastic and we'll get a Jetfire version or something.

I agree this looks great. Are there any robot-mode images?

[Mechapilot77]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

From Calibre Wings.

man if it came stock like that.....still panel lines are too deep and wide for the size of the toy.  but damn

[M'Kyuun]

That paint job looks really nice. Shame they didn't choose more opaque plastic, or do a nice paint job like this from the factory. I think it would have satisfied a lot more people.

Got my Prowl and Ironhide set today. Ironhide crappiness confirmed. The hollowness of his legs doesn't help in van mode when you're trying to squeeze that roof down flush. It just wants to cave in and come untabbed.  The roof bit attaches with four 5 mm pegs, all four in the arms/shoulders, so that's a fair bit of friction to overcome in either direction.  As Mike pointed out,  the feet are atrocious, and as he suggested, had they made the feet, or at least the toes rotate 180, it would have made it look a hundred percent better. The obvious grey hinge on the windshield also breaks up the otherwise nice looking front end. They couldn't have casted that in red plastic to match? Choices like this are utterly mind-boggling. It's definitely a shame that they didn't just give ER Ironhide and Ratchet a dedicated mold like many of the other figs, as this thing is a steaming heap of bad compromises.

At least Prowl, the main reason I bought this set, benefits from a decent new mold apart from his Siege toy. I kinda miss some of the additional molded detail that the Siege fig enjoyed, but I figure they're probably trying to skirt a fine line between toon and OG toy; while there's arguably more detail than the current spate of MP figs in bot mode, it's toned down  quite a bit for these ER figs. I'm a little bummed that Prowl didn't come with his missile launchers, but yeah, third parties to the rescue. The rub is that it shouldn't need rescuing; G1 Prowl came with two missile launchers, the MP came with one, and now he's the only one of the ER Datsuns to not come with them at all.  What gives? It makes no sense to me, but whatever.  Grrrr Hasbro. 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

The obvious grey hinge on the windshield also breaks up the otherwise nice looking front end. They couldn't have casted that in red plastic to match?

Maybe, or maybe not.  It actually comes down to the type of plastic.  That gray plastic you see there was likely chosen for that hinge (and countless others on an number of toys you may or may not own) because it's a very durable plastic.  The downside to that durability is that it's hard to get it in other colors and paint doesn't take to it well.  Under circumstances they might have used a different color-matched red plastic, but for a double hinge on a mass market toy Hasbro opted to play it safe.

I'm testing a Gundam marker on it, so we'll see how it goes.  I'll tell you right now that it's not a great match for the rest of his chest, but any red is probably better than gray.

Got an email from Hasbro Pulse that the Tigertrack I ordered back in like June finally shipped.  No word on Sunstreaker or Trailbreaker, who I thought are also supposed to be out now, though.  Luckily Amazon hasn't left me hanging on the regular Earthrise figures I had ordered there, so today we can look at Deluxe-class Runamuck.

The Battlechargers were kind of simple toys that I wasn't interested in as a kid.  And I think they only appeared in two episodes of the cartoon.  And yet, I've always been kind of into them as characters.  Maybe because of the ebony and ivory motif, maybe because they were cars in an army that (at the time) included space sleds and dragons, maybe because "Ghost in the Machine" is probably my favorite Season 3 episode and they were in it.  Either way, I was pretty jazzed for Runamuck (and doubly so after securing a preorder for Runabout).

Can't much complain about the robot mode.  The head is spot-on, and the animation model was very much an all-white robot broken up only by the dark windows and Decepticon badge on his torso.  Maybe he's got a few more greebles than he really needs?  I might have some of interior of his "hood" white, too.  I think I could live without the gold on his toes, but that's a toy-accurate detail, so I'll allow it.

He is sporting a bit of backpack, and his calves are pretty hollow.  But I forgive it.  I forgive it all for the heel spurs, which are molded to look like his rear wheels.  I think everyone would have given Hasbro a pass if he'd simply had his two front wheels and basic heel spurs, but it's a detail from the G1 toy that carried over to the animation model, and the worst thing I can say about it is that I wish they'd have painted the rims on the fake wheels to match the real ones.

Runamuck's lone accessory is this pistol.  It's fine... it's got more detail than the G1 toy's did, but it's nothing special.

I think Runamuck's head is on a ball joint, but there's almost no tilt.  The head itself is on a flap for transformation, so you can move the whole flap for a pose if you need to.  His shoulders rotate and extend laterally a bit under 90 degrees.  But, and this is a big pet peeve for me, the rotation is outside of the lateral joint, so you can't lift his arms and then splay them.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly less than 90 degrees.  No wrist swivels.  His waist can swivel, though.  His hips can bend forward over 90 degrees, 90 degrees laterally, but only slightly backward.  His thighs swivel.  His knees bend less than 90 degrees, but if you untab them from his shin as you would for transformation you can engage a second joint for greater range.  His feet can't really tilt up, but they do tilt down, plus his ankles can pivot around 30 degrees.

His gun can fit into the 5mm hole in either fist.  He's also got a port on top of each shoulder, on the outside of each forearm, under each foot, and on his back.

Not going to like, with their car-roof-tummies and front-end-feet I thought both Runamuck and Sunstreaker might be remolds of Wheeljack.  Turns out he's his own thing, though.  Transformation is overall pretty simple and pleasant, although some may be a bit put off by the fact that he's got a faux car roof for a chest.  The real thing is actually on his back, behind his hood.

The car mode is... ok.  Again, I'm not a fan of the gold, but again, it's part of the G1 toy so I'll let it slide.  And sure, Hasbro hates licensing for this line, so they were never going to make him an actual Trans Am.  I guess what bugs me, as a Knight Rider fan, is that Runamuck should be a mid-'80s third-gen Trans Am, but the boxier lines and angular front fascia remind me more of a late '70s second-gen model.

Oh well.  At least they painted the taillights.

His gun can plug into the peg hole on his back, now part of his roof.  There really isn't anywhere else to store it.

Compared to some of the better figures in the Earthrise line Runamuck has some unfortunate articulation issues and an alt mode that misses the mark a bit, at least for me.  However, there's still a lot to like here, and I'm thrilled to have an updated version of the character that isn't club-exclusive repaint.  It's honestly a bit of a shape that Hasbro didn't plan any other remolds, as the same engineering would work for the Throttlebots.  I'll give him a recommend.

[M'Kyuun]

14 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Maybe, or maybe not.  It actually comes down to the type of plastic.  That gray plastic you see there was likely chosen for that hinge (and countless others on an number of toys you may or may not own) because it's a very durable plastic.  The downside to that durability is that it's hard to get it in other colors and paint doesn't take to it well.  Under circumstances they might have used a different color-matched red plastic, but for a double hinge on a mass market toy Hasbro opted to play it safe.

I'm testing a Gundam marker on it, so we'll see how it goes.  I'll tell you right now that it's not a great match for the rest of his chest, but any red is probably better than gray.

In the back of my mind, I know why they used the grey plastic hinge, as they do with any number of figs. ER prime was the same. But if the rest of the toy can be made of the red plastic, including those sketchy hinges on the legs for the front fender panels, why not the windshield, too? I understand it, but I don't have to like it. I also echo your sentiment about the black shoulders; those were always dark grey, so here they could have used the dark grey plastic, on a moving part, no less, and it would have been canon. The whole toy is a conglomerate of bad compromises and odd decisions. I hope something better comes out in the future. 

The separate roof gave them an excellent opportunity to replicate the rolling weapons sled that the G1 toy had (what Kawamori was thinking when he designed the Diaclone vanette, I'll never understand, and I'll always be thankful to Derry and the other animators who gave IH and Ratchet their superior toon forms). It would have been a much more acceptable compromise, as it would have payed homage to the G1 toy while providing a bot that looks similar to his toon model. It's a lost opportunity that would have enhanced rather than detracted from the toy, IMHO. 

15 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Got an email from Hasbro Pulse that the Tigertrack I ordered back in like June finally shipped.  No word on Sunstreaker or Trailbreaker, who I thought are also supposed to be out now, though.  Luckily Amazon hasn't left me hanging on the regular Earthrise figures I had ordered there, so today we can look at Deluxe-class Runamuck.

The Battlechargers were kind of simple toys that I wasn't interested in as a kid.  And I think they only appeared in two episodes of the cartoon.  And yet, I've always been kind of into them as characters.  Maybe because of the ebony and ivory motif, maybe because they were cars in an army that (at the time) included space sleds and dragons, maybe because "Ghost in the Machine" is probably my favorite Season 3 episode and they were in it.  Either way, I was pretty jazzed for Runamuck (and doubly so after securing a preorder for Runabout).

Can't much complain about the robot mode.  The head is spot-on, and the animation model was very much an all-white robot broken up only by the dark windows and Decepticon badge on his torso.  Maybe he's got a few more greebles than he really needs?  I might have some of interior of his "hood" white, too.  I think I could live without the gold on his toes, but that's a toy-accurate detail, so I'll allow it.

He is sporting a bit of backpack, and his calves are pretty hollow.  But I forgive it.  I forgive it all for the heel spurs, which are molded to look like his rear wheels.  I think everyone would have given Hasbro a pass if he'd simply had his two front wheels and basic heel spurs, but it's a detail from the G1 toy that carried over to the animation model, and the worst thing I can say about it is that I wish they'd have painted the rims on the fake wheels to match the real ones.

Runamuck's lone accessory is this pistol.  It's fine... it's got more detail than the G1 toy's did, but it's nothing special.

I think Runamuck's head is on a ball joint, but there's almost no tilt.  The head itself is on a flap for transformation, so you can move the whole flap for a pose if you need to.  His shoulders rotate and extend laterally a bit under 90 degrees.  But, and this is a big pet peeve for me, the rotation is outside of the lateral joint, so you can't lift his arms and then splay them.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly less than 90 degrees.  No wrist swivels.  His waist can swivel, though.  His hips can bend forward over 90 degrees, 90 degrees laterally, but only slightly backward.  His thighs swivel.  His knees bend less than 90 degrees, but if you untab them from his shin as you would for transformation you can engage a second joint for greater range.  His feet can't really tilt up, but they do tilt down, plus his ankles can pivot around 30 degrees.

His gun can fit into the 5mm hole in either fist.  He's also got a port on top of each shoulder, on the outside of each forearm, under each foot, and on his back.

Not going to like, with their car-roof-tummies and front-end-feet I thought both Runamuck and Sunstreaker might be remolds of Wheeljack.  Turns out he's his own thing, though.  Transformation is overall pretty simple and pleasant, although some may be a bit put off by the fact that he's got a faux car roof for a chest.  The real thing is actually on his back, behind his hood.

The car mode is... ok.  Again, I'm not a fan of the gold, but again, it's part of the G1 toy so I'll let it slide.  And sure, Hasbro hates licensing for this line, so they were never going to make him an actual Trans Am.  I guess what bugs me, as a Knight Rider fan, is that Runamuck should be a mid-'80s third-gen Trans Am, but the boxier lines and angular front fascia remind me more of a late '70s second-gen model.

Oh well.  At least they painted the taillights.

His gun can plug into the peg hole on his back, now part of his roof.  There really isn't anywhere else to store it.

Compared to some of the better figures in the Earthrise line Runamuck has some unfortunate articulation issues and an alt mode that misses the mark a bit, at least for me.  However, there's still a lot to like here, and I'm thrilled to have an updated version of the character that isn't club-exclusive repaint.  It's honestly a bit of a shape that Hasbro didn't plan any other remolds, as the same engineering would work for the Throttlebots.  I'll give him a recommend.

I never paid much attention to the G1 Battlechargers, Throttlebots, or the Jumpstarters, as the motorized and spring-loaded gimmicks put me off to the toys completely, so I never noticed that the alt mode for the Battlechargers was a Trans-Am. And yeah, getting Runabout would have been a cool opportunity for a Knight Rider licensed toy. It still may happen if Hasbro pursues it. There's still a lot 80's nostalgia driving the toy market, so I think they'd be missing a big opportunity if they didn't.

I've watched a couple vid reviews for this guy, and I'm pretty pleased with it. While it has similarities to Wheeljack, it's a completely new mold, which again beggars the question, if they will hammer out a new mold for a relatively obscure set of characters, why didn't front-liners like Ratchet and Ironhide get a completely new mold for ER? Moot at this point, but no less dismaying. The lateral shoulder joint is a bummer, and should, at this point in toy evo, be an anachronism, but unfortunately it still crops up from time to time. The rest of the fig's articulation is pretty standard fare, so no big deal. Despite no knowledge of the characters at all (I watched very little of Season 3, as by Season 2, I was already losing interest in the direction the toon was going. By Season 3, I found it unwatchable), I was happy that these characters got a standard toy that eschews the motorized gimmick. Plus it looks like a nice fig on its own merits, a new mold is always welcome, and I'm happy to have scored POs for both of them.

That said, I also have Runamuck, Trailbreaker, and Sunstreaker PO'd with Pulse, and haven't received a ship notification for any of them yet. Hopefully soon.

[sh9000]

[sh9000]

On 11/3/2020 at 7:48 AM, Scyla said:

I agree this looks great. Are there any robot-mode images?

[jenius]

Looks like Leader1!

[mikeszekely]

 

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I never noticed that the alt mode for the Battlechargers was a Trans-Am.

Just Runamuck, actually.  Runabout was a Series 3 Lotus Turbo Esprit, which is far more wedge-shaped.  With Runamuck I complained that Hasbro picked the wrong generation of the right car to make a non-licensed version of, but Runabout will flat-out be the wrong car. 

8 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

That said, I also have Runamuck, Trailbreaker, and Sunstreaker PO'd with Pulse, and haven't received a ship notification for any of them yet. Hopefully soon.

Yeah.

I looked to see if Amazon got them in, but they're saying November 20th for Sunstreaker and the 26th for Trailbreaker, so *shrug*.

At least Amazon got me Runamuck.  And this guy- Deluxe-class Weaponizer Fasttrack.

Fasttrack, as you may or may not know, was a simple drone figure that came packed with Scorponok, similar to Cog and Fortress Maximus, Scamper and Metroplex, or Full-Tilt and Trypticon.  The G1 toy was entirely made of the same unpainted, un-stickered gray plastic aside from his orange wheels and guns.  Interestingly enough, an animation model for Fasttrack was created that gave him red eyes and a purple Decepticon badge on his chest, but it was still a mostly monochromatic dark gray.  Yet here we have a figure that's a mix of a lighter gray and black, with blue "windows" on his chest, red eyes, and silver ears.  However, HasTak didn't just make up this much more visually interesting deco on the spot.  Rather, in the Masterforce anime Black Roritchi (the gold repaint that came with the Black Zarak toy in Japan) is seen leading an army of clones called Guardminders, and this is the exact color scheme used for the Guardminders.  I'm not sure how I feel about it... on the one hand, it is more visually interesting, and has a cartoon precedent.  But on the other hand I had G1 Scorponok as a kid.  I actually might have liked something closer to the G1 toy.

Note the position of his arms.  This is how he came out of the package, but he actually has two peg holes at the shoulder joint, so if you prefer you can use the upper hole to have his shoulders sit lower.

Anyway, Fasttrack does come with his two orange pistols, as well as a pointed bit.  Plus, as a weaponizer, he can break down into these parts.

Fasttrack's head can swivel, but it has no tilt.  His shoulders rotate where they're pegged on, and a hinge in his chest allows him to move his arms laterally about 45 degrees, regardless of which hole you use.  As with Runamuck, that means the rotate it outside of the lateral joint, so he can't raise and splay his arms at the same time.  His biceps can swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  His waist swivels.  His hips can go 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend almost 180 degrees.  His feet can't tilt up, but his toes do tilt up to 90 degrees downward, and his ankles can pivot up to 90 degrees.

His guns have molded bits to cover over his hands, but they really attach via a 5mm peg.  The molded bits have a lip that's designed to fit over his shoulder, where you'll find raised peg holes they can attach to.  This mimics the unused Sunbow animation model.  As for the pointy bit, it has enough of a peg at the base that he can kind of hold it like a knife, but the instructions don't do much but suggest you try using a peg hole on one side of the blade to attach it to a peg on the back of either shoulder, where it most definitely is in the way.  Alternatively, you can try using the peg hole on the blade to attach it to the peg on either shin, or to the fold-out peg on his tummy.  As far as peg holes go, he's got the aforementioned ones his his hands and on top of his shoulders.  He's also got one under each foot, one on the inside of his shin, and one on the back of his head that you can't really get to as long as he's got his backpack on.  Speaking of, if he's got his backpack on there's a pair of peg holes on his back you can use, and one on either side of the backpack you might be able to use.  If you remove the backpack you'll find it was covering a trio of peg holes.

G1 Fasttrack transformed by folding over at the waist and lifting his arms.  Transforming this Fasttrack is a bit more complicated, as it involves ripping him apart and putting him back together again.  Again the instruction seem to favor using the lower hole on the shoulders for connect the the arms, but nothing's stopping you from using the upper ones.  Blue "windows" on the cockpit aside, it's a pretty reasonable facsimile of the G1 toy, aside from the fact that the arms are connected hear the rear instead of mid-cockpit.  On my copy I have a little trouble keeping his toes pegged in, too, but nothing minor.

His arms, of course, can raise up and down while in this mode.  I've sort of thought of it as a maybe an anti-air vehicle for patrolling Scorponok's city mode.  He does have a few new features the G1 toy didn't, though.  For starters, inside his torso is a flip out part with the base connector.  Why you'd want to physically joint a vehicle to a ramp is beyond me, but it's a thing you can do.  Also, if you look on the side of his knife that doesn't have the peg hole you'll find a little slot.  That slot is for the tab on the back of a Titan Master's feet, so if you plug the knife into the back of Fasttrack's head you'll create a little seat for Zarak to ride on.

As a weaponizer there's also the whole bit about ripping him apart and putting him back together in configurations that allow other toys to use them as weapons.  His instruction suggest two "official" modes.  The first is the usual double-barreled backpack gun.  Fairly unremarkable, except that you can take the cockpit, splay it open, and stick the knife into it to form a kind of shield/arm blade that's pretty cool.  I'll remind you that the cockpit is really just a backpack on Fasttrack, and with peg holes on his own arms he can actually make the bladed shield and use it himself in robot mode.

The other mode explains why Fasttrack has the knife at all, and it seems a mode designed more with the Black Roritchi repaint in mind.  See, in Japan the Scorponok repaint Black Zarak came with a spear for a weapon.  So, using all of Fasttrack's parts except his head and the front of his torso, you can create a spear weapon.  It's a little small for the Titan-class toy, and there's nothing that secures it in his claw except friction.  Plus, y'know, Fasttrack is gray and Scorponok didn't have a spear (and Black Roritchi is gold, while Black Zarak's spear was red).  It's still obviously the homage they were going for.

Fasttrack's got some articulation issues, mostly in his shoulders due to the weaponizer gimmicks, but I could say that about most (all?) of the weaponizers.  With an adequate vehicle mode I'd say he's actually one of the better weaponizers, really.  Plus, y'know, I'm just tickled that we're getting updated versions of these citybot pack-ins at all, so sure, I'll recommend him.

[mikeszekely]

Like I said, not a perfect match by any means but the wrong red is still better than gray, I think.  I should also maybe dig up an Autobot insignia Reprolabel to stick on it and give the rims another coat.

[sh9000]

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-studio-series-72-voyager-transformers-bumblebee-starscream

[mikeszekely]

13 hours ago, sh9000 said:

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-studio-series-72-voyager-transformers-bumblebee-starscream

Bot mode looks ok.  Maybe a remold of Blitzwing, but the movie models looked like retools of Blitzwing's in the first place.  Jet mode isn't looking too hot, though.  Looks like the designer saw the bottom fin with the gun on the end and said, "perfect, we'll jam all our kibble down here!"

...I preordered.

What I didn't preorder, but found at the Walmart by my parents' place, is Cyberverse Deluxe-class Thunderhowl.

So... I don't even know who this is.  I only watched the first season of Cyberverse, and Thunderhowl wasn't in it.  What I do know is that he's an Autobot, giving us our sixth in the line and finishing it with just two Decepticons, which begs the question- why couldn't I have had Starscream, Soundwave, Slipstream, Shadow Striker, Lockdown, Clobber, or Bludgeon instead?

To make matters worse, he's not at all screen-accurate.  Even if I allow the bluish color as correct (it's much darker in the cartoon), almost all the yellow on him should actually be blue or silver.  Wolf face?  Silver.  Claws?  Silver.  Knee pads?  Blue.  Helmet?  Blue.  Hip armor?  Same color as his body, with blue outlines instead of gold.  The only thing that should be reddish is his "cape", which you can barely see.

Thunderhowl does come with a few accessories.  Like any good knight, he comes with a shield and sword.  Don't know how well you can see, but the sword's hilt is designed to look like a wolf.  He also comes with an effect part, plus Maccadam's head.

The articulation on Thunderhowl can be problematic.  His head can swivel, but it's limited by his collar, and there's no tilt.  His shoulders are ball joints, and they rotate and can move 90 degrees laterally, although you might have to move the bits above them.  His biceps swivel, but they're kind of tight, which can be a problem because of his elbows.  They're hinged, and can bend just under 90 degrees, but they're not pinned or riveted, just friction clipped.  I've found that rotating his bicep can actually cause you to pull his forearm off.  Moving along, his wrists can swivel, but his waist cannot.  His hips are ball joints.  They can go over 90 degrees forward, but basically nothing backward and only about 45 degrees laterally due to kibble.  His thighs swivel.  His knees can bend about 90 degrees.  His ankles are ball joints, giving him some up/down tilt and a little pivot, plus a swivel.  On my copy they're extremely loose, though, and can cause some trouble for getting the figure to stand.

His sword fits into either fist, no issues, and the effect part fits over the blade.  His instructions show him holding his shield with his hand, too, however he has a 5mm peg hole on either forearm he can plug it into instead.  I think that looks a lot better, but depending on the pose his shoulder pads can get in the way.

Thunderhowl turns into a wolf, and I must admit if there's any reason to check out this figure its the transformation, which is pretty interesting.  Basically, once you get the wolf head off his chest and in place his entire torso, from neck to crotch, splits and splays apart, folding down the middle so that the edges of his cape and coattails meet and form the spine and tail of the wolf.  A mid-shin joint on his robot legs provides the digitigrade ankles on his rear legs.  Sadly, nothing is really done to hide is robot hands, though.

You probably noticed from the previous picture that Thunderhowl's shield tabs into place to form the wolf's back, but there's a space hollowed in his cape for his sword.  You tuck it in there as you're folding his torso, encasing the sword inside the wolf's body.  I dig it.

Sadly, the wolf doesn't have a ton of articulation either.  His arms and legs have basically the same joints as before, but the rotated hip and shoulder armor limits the range a bit.  The wolf's jaws can open and close.  But the wolf doesn't have any neck or tail articulation, which is a bummer.

Bonus round- with the head that comes with Thunderhowl, we can finally complete the Maccadam build-a-figure!

Ok, so basically all of the Cyberverse Deluxes have been the same height.  Ok, fine... to be fair, from what I've watched there doesn't seem to be a huge variance in height for this show's characters.  But, Maccadam was definitely a little taller than Bumblebee and Windblade, but this BAF is a good head shorter than everyone else.

Aesthetically, he could use a little bit of black accents, maybe some silver on his feet, but he doesn't look too bad overall.

As a BAF, Maccadam's got quite a few ball joints to work with.  Head can swivel, look up, and tilt sideways a little.  His shoulders rotate and can extend laterally about 90 degrees.  He doesn't have a dedicated bicep swivel, but his arms can swivel at the ball-jointed elbow.  The elbow is cut to allow it to bend about 90 degrees, but technically it's bending the wrong way (inward).  His wrists can swivel.  He doesn't have a waist swivel, but the top of his torso connects to the bottom via a ball joint, so he can swivel below the chest as well as bend a little.  Ball-jointed hips can go about 60 degrees forward or laterally, but a full 90 degrees backward.  The ball joints have a little room to swivel at the hips, or he can swivel at his ball-jointed knees.  Those knees can also bend 90 degrees.  Sadly, he has no foot or ankle articulation.  Nor does he transform.  He does have a hammer, though, that he can hold in either hand.

At this point, I think it's impossible to talk about Thunderhowl or Maccadam without addressing the line as a whole.  Out of the gate, I thought they came out pretty strong with Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Shockwave.  Granted, the quality wasn't quite up to what Hasbro was delivering with Siege (and I'd have gladly ditched the BAF and effects parts and shifted that budget into better paint and joints), but they were a big step up from the Warrior-class and fairly interesting toys on their own merits.  By the end, though, the quality seemed like it was getting worse with each release, and I'm frustrated by both the dearth of Decepticons and the use of characters like Thunderhowl over any number of more desirable characters, especially if they couldn't even make him cartoon-accurate.  Honestly, I wouldn't have even bothered with Thunderhowl if he didn't come with the last part for a BAF I was already 7/8 on.  And was Maccadam worth it?  No, not particularly.  So, frankly, I can't really recommend Thunderhowl, although his transformation does make him better than I expected him to be.  And if you're not into the Cyberverse show you're probably safe skipping the whole line.  Yet at the same time, because there are so many other characters who were prominent in the show, I find myself hoping they continue to release Deluxe-class Cyberverse figures.  I just hope they ditch the BAF and put that money back into make the figures themselves a little higher in quality.

[M'Kyuun]

I have no familiarity with the Cyberverse toon, but I've bought a number of toys over the years. For this year's lineup, Thunderhowl was the only fig that remotely interested me. I've since watched a vid review, and I read Mike's, and I came away thinking it was still a nice looking fig in both modes, with a clever transformation, and even more clever weapon storage. Hiding the sword between his body panels was a brilliant solution, and I wish they'd put more thought and effort into integrated weapons storage in the main line. Anyway, it's a bit of a shame that the articulation is so limited, but being a toy line targeted at younger, supposedly less-discerning kids, it's not really the focus of the line. I have yet to see this guy in the store, but if I do, I'm not sure if I'm going to pick him up or not.  The limited articulation and those dreadful hand-claws detract. Too, I'm trying to limit my collecting a little, and this fig is a novelty relative to my mainline collection.  I'll likely pass, but not without a pang of non-buyer's remorse.

As for SS Cybertronian Starscream, like most TF jets, it looks good from top down, and every other angle batters the eye with copious robot bits hanging from the undercarriage. Had they given him a clean tetrajet form, I may have considered picking him up, but not with all that kibble.  This looks even worse than the Siege tetrajet; at least the leg kibble looked cleaner. The bottom of the SS toy looks unfinished or mis-transformed.

[JB0]

I... kinda want Thunderhowl just for the sword and lightning effect. 

 

Okay, I also think he's kinda neat-looking in spite of his flaws. Though his puppy mode seems like they were making an alligator and then changed their mind and threw a wolf head onto a gator.

Edited November 6, 2020 by JB0

[mikeszekely]

If you missed out before but still wanted one Hasbro's restocked a couple of things at Pulse.  Lots of basic stuff at their regular prices (SS jeep Bumblebee, ER Wheeljack, ER Exhaust, ER Fasttrack, SS RotF Megatron, SS Sentinel Prime, ER Prime, ER Starscream, SS Scrapper, SS Scavenger, ER Cliffjumper, Gen Selects Hotshot, two of the three Gen Selects Powerdashers, ER Ironworks, SS Mixmaster, SS Crowbar, Gen Selects Nightbird, Siege Smokescreen).  It's probably worth highlighting that they have Siege Jetfire, Siege Omega Supreme, ER Sky Lynx, and ER Scorponok, though, as well as the Gen Selects Spy Patrol.  The real prize, if you missed it, might be Ectotron for $40.

[technoblue]

On Thunderhowl:

I originally thought he might be comparable to 2015 RiD's Steeljaw in some way; however, that isn't the case. Thunderhowl is just an ancillary character that shows up during a short Windblade arc near the end of the series before being relegated to the background. It's too bad because his design was fun and creative. Come to think of it, Cyberverse had a number of side-characters like that. I guess one could call that a thing? 

[mikeszekely]

So even though I'm still waiting for Pulse to ship the Sunstreaker I preordered back in March even though it was supposed to ship a week ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find these guys on my doorstep when I thought they were still around a month out.  It's the first-released, second-announced, third-labeled Galactic Odyssey pack- the Legends-class Autobot clones.

On the left is Cloudraker, on the right is Fastlane, with Pounce in the middle for scale.  For those of you who remember my review of the Decepticon clones, I mentioned that they used the Takara decos instead of the Titans Return deco.  That's not the case here.  This release does ditch the alt-mode rub signs but otherwise appears identical to the Titans Return releases with the "Rebirth"-style Sunbow white faces (the Takara versions had red faces, like the G1 toys).  Aside from a lack of sticker detail on their forearms, shorter legs, and the aforementioned Sunbow white faces they're both pretty G1 accurate.  They also share most of their parts, with the differences coming down to what's attached to their lower legs, what's attached to the back of their heads, an extra armature with a a backpack on Cloudraker, and wheels attached to the arm transformation hinges on Fastlane.  Interestingly, they seem to share at least part of the upper torso with the Decepticon clones as well.

As was the case with the Decepticon clones, the Autobots don't come with any weapons or accessories. (Nonnef did some for them at the time of their original release, perhaps he'll do another run now that they're relevant again?) 

As they're mostly the same figure they have the same articulation- head can swivel, no tilt.  Ball-jointed shoulders rotate and extend almost 90 degrees laterally.  A transformation hinge also allows the shoulders to butterfly forward.  The elbows are also ball joints, providing over 90 degrees of bend and doubling as a bicep swivel.  No wrist or waist swivels.  Ball-jointed hips can go forward, backward, or laterally at least 90 degrees.  They do have thigh swivels, and hinged knees that bend a little over 90 degrees.  No ankle pivots, but due to transformation their feet can tilt down.

If there's one thing I'm not really a fan of, it's Fastlane's head.  There's a hinged pole sticking out of it with his alt mode spoiler at the end.  It's a bit ridiculous, because the whole thing moves with his head swivel.  While the spoiler was connected to the G1 toy's head, true, it sat lower, didn't swivel, and was removable.

One more thing to note- unlike the Decepticons, the Autobot clones have a hinge so that part of their torso opens up.  It's not a part of their transformation, and the instructions don't mention it at all.  It seems to be so that a Titan Master can sit on them in alt mode, with the tab on the Titan Master's feet plugging into the clone's crotch.

The clone's gimmick is, of course, same bot modes but different alt modes.  Cloudraker turns into a jet, Fastlane turns into a dragstrip.  The process is very similar to their G1 counterparts, with the differences being some subtle changes to how the backpack forms the nose and how the wings fold out on Cloudraker and the fact that Fastlane's legs don't collapse.

Both of the clones in these pictured are transformed according their instructions.  However, you can always not rotate Cloudraker's arm 180 degrees for greater G1 accuracy.  On the whole, I rather like Cloudraker's alt mode, but Fastlane's seems a bit lazy.  The fact that his legs don't collapse like the G1 toy leaves a big thigh gap in the alt mode, and it allows his knees to still bend while being a car.  I'm also not loving the fact that their arms don't lock in place at all in alt mode.  Still, they are just Legends-class, and I don't see anyone else running to do updates of the clones.

Ultimately, my feelings on them are similar to the Decepticon clones.  The have their flaws, and the lack of weapons is a downer, but the price is fair for what you get and there aren't any other modern alternatives for the characters.  So if you want them then by all means get them.  You'll probably be happy with them, especially if you have the Decepticon clones.  But if you don't feel a need for these characters in your collection and you already skipped the Decepticons then you're not missing out on much if you skip these guys, too.

[technoblue]

I'm not gelling with this Galactic Odyssey set, but then again I also passed on the clones along with most of the original Titans Returns releases. I was more into Takara Legends back in the day. It's cool that these reissues are something of a TR/Legends hybrid but they're still not for me.

On an unrelated note, I do hope we get more official TFP reissues, or that APC releases more of their improved TFP KOs.

Those old designs are speaking to me again.

Edited November 7, 2020 by technoblue
TR not POTP

[M'Kyuun]

Thanks for the review, @mikeszekely. Mine are due to arrive on Tuesday, IIRC, and I've been wanting both sets of clones since they were originally announced for TR. I didn't end up getting them then, so the latest releases were my saving grace. Having read your review, I think the Decepticon clones are executed better. Having Fastlane's spoiler attached to his head was a poor and lazy decision, even if it is G1 accurate. The G1 toys with their near total lack of meaningful articulation weren't exactly the bastions of great engineering, and the lack of natural articulation oft led to alt mode kibble attachments that would certainly hinder a posable figure today. Fastlane is a  good example where the G1 method should have been abandoned for one that complements the bot mode while still fulfilling its function in vehicle mode. I'm not even going to call it a car because it's such a nondescript thing. I agree that Cloudraker turned out much better and has a pleasing look to it, with shades of the Mospeada Legioss in the way the arms form the dorsal protrusions. Other than the retractable thighs, HasTak hewed quite close to the look and transformations of the OG toys, so I can't fault them for questionable alt modes . Still, warts and all, they have a certain charm to them, and as legends figs at a point in time where official legends figs no longer enjoy complex transformations like they did in the early Bayverse era, they're neat for what they are. I'm sure I'll enjoy them.

[M'Kyuun]

PrimevsPrime reviewed the upcoming '86 SS Grimlock. Aside from the white plastic standing in for chrome on his dino tail and arms, it's a rather impressive figure for all it gets right. He comes with his gun, but no sword, as he was never depicted with his sword in the film. At leader scale, he looks to stand about an inch or so taller than ER Prime, a good scaling for the figure, IMHO. Of all the SS figs, this one hews closest to a MP level of sculpt and detail, and the paint apps are apropos and look crisp in PvP's sample. I wish they'd thrown some silver paint on the dino arms and tail, or molded them in a silver non-swirled plastic, but it should be no trouble to do it myself once I get my copy. Anyway, Grimlock and Hot Rod thus far have been the most impressive of the '86 SS line, with the best balances between bot and alt modes and the least amount of concessions. I wish they'd found a better solution for Jazz's feet, as he would have been third in the running, but they're just hanging out there spoiling the car mode. Anyway, this figure has me rather excited, and the execution only makes me hope harder that the rest of the team are coming, and that they, too, are in the same scale and given as much attention in their designs. All digits crossed that Hasbro will come through , as the potP figs wither in the presence of this Grimlock figure, and we need the rest of them in this line to ensure consistency and for completion.

[technoblue]

Yeah, it's too bad Hastak didn't add silver paint to the tail and arms. Adding a joint to the little dino wrists would have been a nice bonus too. Missed opportunities...still, I have one on order. I can't say that I agree with PvP about these replacing Masterpiece scale toys (official or third-party). Maybe if I had less invested in those lines or was just starting out as a collector it would make more sense. Anyway, my FT 08X Grinder is staying put. 

Edited November 8, 2020 by technoblue

[mikeszekely]

I've caught reviews for Grimlock, Kup, and Jazz now (*grumbles* wish I could score this figs early for reviewing).  Agree on Jazz's feet in alt mode, but the SS '86 line is looking very strong.  So much so that there's some speculation (as @technoblue alluded to) that the improvements on this and the WfC line are a direct shot at 3P- Hasbro knows that Takara is unlikely to ever do the entire G1 cartoon cast in actual MP form, but if their mass-market retail figures are good enough do people still need to spend on 3P to have a complete cast of quality figures?  I mean, I'm personally not going to stop buying 3P, but Hasbro does have me buying a whole line of figures after I swore off the retail stuff a few years back, so they can't complain too much.

58 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I wish they'd thrown some silver paint on the dino arms and tail, or molded them in a silver non-swirled plastic

I wonder if the choice of white is for screen accuracy?  Like MP-44's white legs and pelvis?  Even the gold is more of a metallic yellow than actual gold.

8 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

So even though I'm still waiting for Pulse to ship the Sunstreaker I preordered back in March even though it was supposed to ship a week ago

Speak of the devil.  I just got the shipping notice.  Weirdly, from Georgia, even though Hasbro has a warehouse that's like two or three hours from me.  Trailbreaker is schedule to arrive tomorrow, Sunstreaker doesn't have a date yet (but I'd guess Tuesday-ish).  And then we close the book on Earthrise (except for all the store-exclusive and Gen Selects repaints and remolds).