The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[M'Kyuun]

8 hours ago, hkj711 said:

@M'Kyuun I'm glad you got your order in for Blaster.  I've been around for a while just haven't had a chance to post recently, but thanks for the welcome!

NP, and thanks again for the link. Just the nudge I needed. 😊

6 hours ago, Wolf-1 said:

I had always been under the impression that Skids was one of the "Mail In" figures....he's not complete w/o the minibike in the trunk

Nope- the Omnibots and Reflector, but not Skids.  I wish the bike was included with the Skids MP release too, but whatever. 😒

[Wolf-1]

9 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Nope- the Omnibots and Reflector, but not Skids.  I wish the bike was included with the Skids MP release too, but whatever. 😒

Never saw one in the actual wild as a child, either on the shelves or in someone's collection but vividly remember him on the fold-out-poster/checklist.  

So MP Skids doesn't get the mini-bike either but the release of Reboost does?  BBTS is showing Reboost with a clear human and mini-bike as accessories currently.

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, Wolf-1 said:

Never saw one in the actual wild as a child, either on the shelves or in someone's collection but vividly remember him on the fold-out-poster/checklist.  

So MP Skids doesn't get the mini-bike either but the release of Reboost does?  BBTS is showing Reboost with a clear human and mini-bike as accessories currently.

Pretty much every recolor of MP Skids comes with the bike, just not Skids himself, since the G1 toy didn't come with it either, but the Diaclones did. Sucks, but that's the reasoning. Honestly, I'm not as bummed by the omission as I would be if the bike actually turned into a weapon or usable accessory for bot mode. It's more an accessory for the car mode, as the Honda City Turbo came with a folding Motocompo, hence the addition with Diaclone. Skids just doesn't rate. apparently.

So, I decided I was going to go ahead a get a copy of Buzzworthy BBM Bee to go along with the rest of the cast, so off I went to Target. I went to a different Target than this past weekend, and of course, they didn't have it. BUT, what they did have was miles better: Buzzworthy Silverstreak, AKA blue Bluestreak!!!  "Oh frabjous day, callooh, callay!", I chortled in my joy (under my breathe, of course- didn't want to frighten fellow shoppers and alert security).  As this is a Target exclusive, I figured it'd be as elusive as the Holy Grail or the Lost Ark, and that I'd end up paying too much for it from one of the popular e-tailers, so, I'm quite pleased. Target also had a single copy of Legacy Arcee, whom I considered bringing home, but, like Bulkhead this previous weekend, I left on the shelf, hopefully for a kid to take home.  I have all the Legacy figs POed with Pulse, and I'm willing to wait for them.

[Wolf-1]

8 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Pretty much every recolor of MP Skids comes with the bike, just not Skids himself, since the G1 toy didn't come with it either, but the Diaclones did. Sucks, but that's the reasoning. Honestly, I'm not as bummed by the omission as I would be if the bike actually turned into a weapon or usable accessory for bot mode. It's more an accessory for the car mode, as the Honda City Turbo came with a folding Motocompo, hence the addition with Diaclone. Skids just doesn't rate. apparently.

So, I decided I was going to go ahead a get a copy of Buzzworthy BBM Bee to go along with the rest of the cast, so off I went to Target. I went to a different Target than this past weekend, and of course, they didn't have it. BUT, what they did have was miles better: Buzzworthy Silverstreak, AKA blue Bluestreak!!!  "Oh frabjous day, callooh, callay!", I chortled in my joy (under my breathe, of course- didn't want to frighten fellow shoppers and alert security).  As this is a Target exclusive, I figured it'd be as elusive as the Holy Grail or the Lost Ark, and that I'd end up paying too much for it from one of the popular e-tailers, so, I'm quite pleased. Target also had a single copy of Legacy Arcee, whom I considered bringing home, but, like Bulkhead this previous weekend, I left on the shelf, hopefully for a kid to take home.  I have all the Legacy figs POed with Pulse, and I'm willing to wait for them.

Congratulations on the find, could have made for an interesting video. My copy arrived today as well, just not with the MSRP joy to boot.

[M'Kyuun]

18 hours ago, Wolf-1 said:

Congratulations on the find, could have made for an interesting video. My copy arrived today as well, just not with the MSRP joy to boot.

Congrats to you as well.  Kinda bummed they didn't mold his hands in blue. I  gotta wonder what's up with Hasbro and their insistence on always improperly coloring this or that on many of these figs.  The shoulders are actually molded in white and painted blue, which is also a little odd; why not just mold them in the right color? Maybe white plastic handles stress better? IDK. Odd choices that make you shake your head and go "Hmmm".  I wish they would've spared a little additional silver paint for the wheels, but, y' know, Hasbro.🙄

[no3Ljm]

I just stumbled to this old video on my YouTube feed. Looks great.  

 

 

[sh9000]

When does eyeless Spike become available to order?

[mikeszekely]

😔

No luck hunting my way.  My Target has a couple of dino Megatrons, a Tigatron or two, several Wreck-Gars and Sweeps, a few Wheeljacks, a regular Studio Series Kup and a couple of Jolts, and a ton of Origin Bumblebees.

My Walmart's just a joke at this point.  A Hasbro rep should secret shop them and rip them a new one, because they have a 4' section for Transformers and the entire space for Voyagers was filled with these things that look like alien Stretch Armstrongs, and the spot for Leaders was filled with Batman stuff.  What space was actually being used by Transformers was mostly Cyberverse, plus a ton of Tracks.

I might take a trip to the next town over tonight, they often have stuff my local stores don't.  But hey, if anyone sees a Silverstreak I'll reimburse you for cost and shipping if you want to grab one for me.  I'm not too worried about the Legacy stuff, as I have it all preordered, but I'll say same goes for Laser Prime.  I do NOT want to wait until July for that one.

[Wolf-1]

So Hasbro offers a transforming Spike and D.N.A. is offering a transforming Daniel with their Slag/Slug upgrade kit.  If I'm being honest, DNA did a better job on the alt-mode. Sculpt is a toss-up, given the differences in the approaches. 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Wolf-1 said:

So Hasbro offers a transforming Spike and D.N.A. is offering a transforming Daniel with their Slag/Slug upgrade kit.  If I'm being honest, DNA did a better job on the alt-mode. Sculpt is a toss-up, given the differences in the approaches. 

More or less.  I'll pick up Spike if I see him, and I preordered the DNA kit for the red horns, sword, and Daniel.

EDIT: And checking the other Target and Walmart was still a bust.

Edited April 1, 2022 by mikeszekely

[sh9000]

I’ll definitely still buy Spike.

[mikeszekely]

Silverstreak is on Pulse now. I got an order in.

EDIT: Core-class Iguanus, too.  Both seem to be in-stock merchandise, too, not pre-orders.

Edited April 1, 2022 by mikeszekely

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Silverstreak is on Pulse now. I got an order in.

Let me know if you get tired of waiting; I bought an extra today.

[mikeszekely]

1 minute ago, M'Kyuun said:

Let me know if you get tired of waiting; I bought an extra today.

I definitely appreciate it, and I would 100% have taken you up on it had Hasbro not put him on Pulse today.  But I'd guess buying one of yours probably wouldn't be much faster now, since Silverstreak looks to be in-stock and not a preorder, and since I have Pulse Premium I'm guessing that's going to save me $10 or so on shipping.

If you see a Laser Optimus, though...

[M'Kyuun]

1 minute ago, mikeszekely said:

I definitely appreciate it, and I would 100% have taken you up on it had Hasbro not put him on Pulse today.  But I'd guess buying one of yours probably wouldn't be much faster now, since Silverstreak looks to be in-stock and not a preorder, and since I have Pulse Premium I'm guessing that's going to save me $10 or so on shipping.

If you see a Laser Optimus, though...

Yeah, definitely save the shipping; not like it carries the excitement of a new mold, either. I'll keep my eyes peeled for Laser Prime for ya. 

 

To anyone on the board looking for Buzzworthy Silverstreak, I have a spare unopened copy that I'll sell.

[sh9000]

Ordered Silverstreak from Hasbro Pulse.  They had Cliffjumper again as well but sold out fast.  I don’t have Premium membership so I had to cancel an older order and reorder the figures along with Silverstreak to maximize the shipping cost.  Too bad stores like Dorkside and Hasbro Pulse no longer offer free shipping after a certain purchase amount.

[mikeszekely]

Even though I was just at my local Target I had to go back today to pick up a prescription.  Instead of walking a circle around the main aisle, as I'd normally do, I cut straight through the kitchen stuff and came at the toy section from the back, and I noticed something very curious.  Kingdom Megatron, some Tigatrons, a lone Rhinox, several Wingfingers, and a boatload of Tracks were all spread over a back endcap.  They weren't marked clearance, but it seemed likely that that they will be soon.  So what was in the regular spots, you ask?  Some Origins Bumblebees, a few Studio Series Kups, Blurrs, and Jolts, several Sweeps, and a Wreck-Gar or two.  Oh, and a solitary Legacy Arcee, a solitary Blaster in Legacy packaging... and like a dozen Legacy Voyager-class Bulkheads (sadly no Kickback, Dragstrip, or Laser Prime).

When Hasbro designer Mark Maher first unveiled Bulkhead, he specifically stated he was "honored to make Bulkhead look like he belongs in the G1 universe."  Personally, I think that's exactly what we got here.  He's got a head that's like a halfway point between the Animated and Prime versions.  His torso is still dominated by the front of his alt mode.  He's got the silver pelvis and knees plus actual hands like Prime Bulkhead, but silver thighs, green feet (with trapezoidal cutouts) like Animated Bulkhead.  I am hearing a lot of complaints about Legacy Bulkhead.  One is that this isn't a straight up new toy of Prime Bulkhead, and while I feel for Prime fans we have to accept that a more G1-ish, unified aesthetic is part of Legacy's mandate.  The other complaint I'm hearing is that, like Arcee, Bulkhead's Legacy design is a tad generic.  He's clearly traded a lot of the roundness of his Animated and Prime forebearers for a more typically G1 boxiness, but it's not just that.  His arms are shorter and less bulky.  His legs, too, have shed some bulk but got taller, as Prime and Animated Bulkheads' entire legs come no higher than Legacy Bulkhead's knees.  This criticism is more subjective, and I can sympathize with the notion that "squat and round" is part of Bulkhead's character.  Legacy Bulkhead's form does have a certain shape to it that could almost pass for Inferno, Grapple, or Optimus Prime.  However, G1 doesn't really have the luxury of having Derek Wyatt's cartoonishly round alt mode, or the shifting of panels to take a fairly angular SUV hood into a rounded shape the way Prime Bulkhead did.  While I probably wouldn't have complained if his legs were a little shorter or his limbs a little thicker I'm forced to conclude that this is indeed pretty much what you'd get with a G1-ified Bulkhead.

And it's not like he doesn't have Bulkhead's signature beer gut.  It's not immediately obvious from the front, but from the side you can see that his torso actually extends pretty far out in front of him.  So no, my biggest complaint isn't that he has more typically-proportional limbs.  What's kind of bugging me are those two wheels on his back, behind his head.  I can't figure out the point of them; they're not the tires he rolls on in alt mode.  Perhaps its an homage to Prime Bulkhead?

I realize that comparing Bulkhead to other Bulkheads is useful for aesthetics, but not necessarily how well he fits with the toys he's intended to go with.  So here's a quick snap of him with Netflix Optimus Prime.  That works pretty good, for me.

Bulkhead's got a few accessories.  He's got a tarp-ish thing, which will be important in alt mode.  We've got his signature mace fist.  And we've got a gun.  The gun is made of translucent blue plastic, which we've established is the gimmick in this line (Siege had Micromasters with pegs that allowed them to stick to larger characters, Legacy has weapons made of Energon... if the next trilogy opens with keys that activate extra built-in weapons refer back to this post and know that I saw it coming).  Unlike Skids and Arcee, though, Bulkhead's weapon has some gunmetal paint on it as well, so it doesn't look like a total waste.

A note about the tarp... it can plug into a 5mm port on Bulkhead's back.  While some may not care for the extra kibble, I think it's worth pointing out that it can stay on through his transformation.  No partsforming is actually required.

Bulkhead's head is on a ball joint.  He's got some downward tilt, not much up or sideways.  His shoulders swivel and extend laterally 90 degrees.  His biceps and wrists swivel, and his elbows bend a bit over 90 degrees on a single hinge.  His waist swivels.  His hips go 90 degrees forward and backward on friction hinges, and 90 degrees laterally on a soft ratchet.  His thighs have mushrooms swivels inside the silver part, although the shape of the thigh around the joint limits him to only about 45 degrees or so.  His knees bend slightly over 90 degrees.  His feet can tilt just a bit upward, but he's got decent downward tilt plus the front half of his foot folds over for transformation so you can fake even more, and his ankles pivot nearly 90 degrees.

With his tarp on his back, Bulkhead's free to hold his gun in one hand.  The mace opens up to reveal a 5mm peg inside; you can slide that peg into the other hand, with half the mace covering the top of his hand, then you close the other half over the bottom, trapping his fist inside.

The tarp is meant to be used as a shield, too, with a window to peak through like a Gundam shield or a riot shield.  To hold it out in front of him you have to first put the mace on one hand.  Then, a peg can fold out from the top of the tarp and plug into one of the bumps on the mace right over Bulkhead's knuckles.

You can also plug the tarp directly into Bulkhead's forearm.  If you do, the sides can fold around and plug into the roof, encapsulating most of his arm.  If his arm is encapsulated, though, he's going to have a hard time holding his gun.  Lucky for him, the butt of the gun has tiny pegs, and there are tiny peg holes near the wheels behind his head.  This allows Bulkhead to use his gun as a shoulder cannon, which is a nice option.  I dunno about the tarp as a shield, though, and I'll probably just leave it on his back.

In addition to his hands, forearms, and the middle of his back Bulkhead also has one on the outside of each leg, one in each heel, and two on each calf.  While the tarp might be occupying the peg hole on his back, it also adds a new peg hole plus a pair of pegs.  The wheels on his shoulders and legs technically have a 5mm port in the middle, however since the wheel spin anything you plug in will droop, so the usefulness of those peg holes is debatable.

Bulkhead's transformation isn't super complicated, but it was surprisingly less simple and more engaging that I was expecting.  I absolutely love the way his calves open up and the fuel tanks fold out from the inside.

While Bulkhead's packaging refers to him as "Prime Universe Bulkhead," his military truck alt mode is arguably more like Animated Bulkhead's armored truck than Prime's extended cab, off-road kitted pickup.

Actually, cab front, six wheels, covered rear... Legacy Bulkhead's truck mode has shades of Hound's in Age of Extinction.  While I might like to forget that movie, Hound did have a real alt mode (an Oshkosh FMTV, I believe), and the similarities between Legacy Bulkhead and AoE Hound then lend a certain realism to Bulkhead.  I'll also note that AoE Hound also had a mostly-green body, rounded "helmet" head, and a round beer belly body.  The wheels behind Bulkhead's head wind up on the back of the cab*, and the shield tarp and fold-out fuel tanks due a mostly good job hiding his fold-up robot bits.  And despite the very different alt mode, Bulkhead is still sporting some similarities like the black bumper with a tow winch and headlights consisting of two small round lenses.

*While I don't think Hound specifically had spares behind his cab in AoE, carrying a spare behind the cab is absolutely something Oskosh FMTVs can do.

Going tarpless in alt mode isn't really advised.  For one, half the cargo space you'd think the truck should have is occupied by Bulkhead's pelvis, hips, and much of his thighs.  The black hinged part the tarp plugs into is just hanging there, and Bulkhead's feet stick up too far to be a tailgate.  So don't remove the tarp, but do take a peak in there because there is some storage.  In fact, a pair of pegs between the quartet of peg holes in there allow for discreet storage of both his gun and his mace.  That said, if you prefer a more guns-out approach to his alt mode you'll have a usable 5mm port on either side of the truck, between the rear wheels, one 5mm port on the top of the tarp, a 5mm peg on either side of the tarp, plus a fold out 5mm peg on top.

I think Bulkhead's going to be a polarizing character.  As I've noted, there are people who are upset that this isn't a straight up new version of Animated or Prime Bulkhead, and even the ones who accept that Bulkhead was going to get a G1 makeover may have gripes with how far that makeover went.  For me, though, this is exactly what I wanted.  Unlike Prime Arcee, Bulkhead was a non-G1 character that I welcome as a retroactive addition to G1.  While a part of me might have liked him to be a bit rounder, I appreciate the constraints of giving Bulkhead an aesthetic that better matches with WfC-trilogy and a more realistic alt mode.  I'd love to see a few other non-G1 characters get this sort of Generations makeover like Slipstream, Shadow Striker, Knockout, Prime Breakdown, Strongarm, Lugnut, Lockdown, Blackout, Drift, Windblade, and at least Tarn if not the entire DJD).  So while I'll understand if you decide the Bulkhead's not for you, I'm actually going to give him a recommend.

[pengbuzz]

45 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Even though I was just at my local Target I had to go back today to pick up a prescription.  Instead of walking a circle around the main aisle, as I'd normally do, I cut straight through the kitchen stuff and came at the toy section from the back, and I noticed something very curious.  Kingdom Megatron, some Tigatrons, a lone Rhinox, several Wingfingers, and a boatload of Tracks were all spread over a back endcap.  They weren't marked clearance, but it seemed likely that that they will be soon.  So what was in the regular spots, you ask?  Some Origins Bumblebees, a few Studio Series Kups, Blurrs, and Jolts, several Sweeps, and a Wreck-Gar or two.  Oh, and a solitary Legacy Arcee, a solitary Blaster in Legacy packaging... and like a dozen Legacy Voyager-class Bulkheads (sadly no Kickback, Dragstrip, or Laser Prime).

When Hasbro designer Mark Maher first unveiled Bulkhead, he specifically stated he was "honored to make Bulkhead look like he belongs in the G1 universe."  Personally, I think that's exactly what we got here.  He's got a head that's like a halfway point between the Animated and Prime versions.  His torso is still dominated by the front of his alt mode.  He's got the silver pelvis and knees plus actual hands like Prime Bulkhead, but silver thighs, green feet (with trapezoidal cutouts) like Animated Bulkhead.  I am hearing a lot of complaints about Legacy Bulkhead.  One is that this isn't a straight up new toy of Prime Bulkhead, and while I feel for Prime fans we have to accept that a more G1-ish, unified aesthetic is part of Legacy's mandate.  The other complaint I'm hearing is that, like Arcee, Bulkhead's Legacy design is a tad generic.  He's clearly traded a lot of the roundness of his Animated and Prime forebearers for a more typically G1 boxiness, but it's not just that.  His arms are shorter and less bulky.  His legs, too, have shed some bulk but got taller, as Prime and Animated Bulkheads' entire legs come no higher than Legacy Bulkhead's knees.  This criticism is more subjective, and I can sympathize with the notion that "squat and round" is part of Bulkhead's character.  Legacy Bulkhead's form does have a certain shape to it that could almost pass for Inferno, Grapple, or Optimus Prime.  However, G1 doesn't really have the luxury of having Derek Wyatt's cartoonishly round alt mode, or the shifting of panels to take a fairly angular SUV hood into a rounded shape the way Prime Bulkhead did.  While I probably wouldn't have complained if his legs were a little shorter or his limbs a little thicker I'm forced to conclude that this is indeed pretty much what you'd get with a G1-ified Bulkhead.

And it's not like he doesn't have Bulkhead's signature beer gut.  It's not immediately obvious from the front, but from the side you can see that his torso actually extends pretty far out in front of him.  So no, my biggest complaint isn't that he has more typically-proportional limbs.  What's kind of bugging me are those two wheels on his back, behind his head.  I can't figure out the point of them; they're not the tires he rolls on in alt mode.  Perhaps its an homage to Prime Bulkhead?

I realize that comparing Bulkhead to other Bulkheads is useful for aesthetics, but not necessarily how well he fits with the toys he's intended to go with.  So here's a quick snap of him with Netflix Optimus Prime.  That works pretty good, for me.

Bulkhead's got a few accessories.  He's got a tarp-ish thing, which will be important in alt mode.  We've got his signature mace fist.  And we've got a gun.  The gun is made of translucent blue plastic, which we've established is the gimmick in this line (Siege had Micromasters with pegs that allowed them to stick to larger characters, Legacy has weapons made of Energon... if the next trilogy opens with keys that activate extra built-in weapons refer back to this post and know that I saw it coming).  Unlike Skids and Arcee, though, Bulkhead's weapon has some gunmetal paint on it as well, so it doesn't look like a total waste.

A note about the tarp... it can plug into a 5mm port on Bulkhead's back.  While some may not care for the extra kibble, I think it's worth pointing out that it can stay on through his transformation.  No partsforming is actually required.

Bulkhead's head is on a ball joint.  He's got some downward tilt, not much up or sideways.  His shoulders swivel and extend laterally 90 degrees.  His biceps and wrists swivel, and his elbows bend a bit over 90 degrees on a single hinge.  His waist swivels.  His hips go 90 degrees forward and backward on friction hinges, and 90 degrees laterally on a soft ratchet.  His thighs have mushrooms swivels inside the silver part, although the shape of the thigh around the joint limits him to only about 45 degrees or so.  His knees bend slightly over 90 degrees.  His feet can tilt just a bit upward, but he's got decent downward tilt plus the front half of his foot folds over for transformation so you can fake even more, and his ankles pivot nearly 90 degrees.

With his tarp on his back, Bulkhead's free to hold his gun in one hand.  The mace opens up to reveal a 5mm peg inside; you can slide that peg into the other hand, with half the mace covering the top of his hand, then you close the other half over the bottom, trapping his fist inside.

The tarp is meant to be used as a shield, too, with a window to peak through like a Gundam shield or a riot shield.  To hold it out in front of him you have to first put the mace on one hand.  Then, a peg can fold out from the top of the tarp and plug into one of the bumps on the mace right over Bulkhead's knuckles.

You can also plug the tarp directly into Bulkhead's forearm.  If you do, the sides can fold around and plug into the roof, encapsulating most of his arm.  If his arm is encapsulated, though, he's going to have a hard time holding his gun.  Lucky for him, the butt of the gun has tiny pegs, and there are tiny peg holes near the wheels behind his head.  This allows Bulkhead to use his gun as a shoulder cannon, which is a nice option.  I dunno about the tarp as a shield, though, and I'll probably just leave it on his back.

In addition to his hands, forearms, and the middle of his back Bulkhead also has one on the outside of each leg, one in each heel, and two on each calf.  While the tarp might be occupying the peg hole on his back, it also adds a new peg hole plus a pair of pegs.  The wheels on his shoulders and legs technically have a 5mm port in the middle, however since the wheel spin anything you plug in will droop, so the usefulness of those peg holes is debatable.

Bulkhead's transformation isn't super complicated, but it was surprisingly less simple and more engaging that I was expecting.  I absolutely love the way his calves open up and the fuel tanks fold out from the inside.

While Bulkhead's packaging refers to him as "Prime Universe Bulkhead," his military truck alt mode is arguably more like Animated Bulkhead's armored truck than Prime's extended cab, off-road kitted pickup.

Actually, cab front, six wheels, covered rear... Legacy Bulkhead's truck mode has shades of Hound's in Age of Extinction.  While I might like to forget that movie, Hound did have a real alt mode (an Oshkosh FMTV, I believe), and the similarities between Legacy Bulkhead and AoE Hound then lend a certain realism to Bulkhead.  I'll also note that AoE Hound also had a mostly-green body, rounded "helmet" head, and a round beer belly body.  The wheels behind Bulkhead's head wind up on the back of the cab*, and the shield tarp and fold-out fuel tanks due a mostly good job hiding his fold-up robot bits.  And despite the very different alt mode, Bulkhead is still sporting some similarities like the black bumper with a tow winch and headlights consisting of two small round lenses.

*While I don't think Hound specifically had spares behind his cab in AoE, carrying a spare behind the cab is absolutely something Oskosh FMTVs can do.

Going tarpless in alt mode isn't really advised.  For one, half the cargo space you'd think the truck should have is occupied by Bulkhead's pelvis, hips, and much of his thighs.  The black hinged part the tarp plugs into is just hanging there, and Bulkhead's feet stick up too far to be a tailgate.  So don't remove the tarp, but do take a peak in there because there is some storage.  In fact, a pair of pegs between the quartet of peg holes in there allow for discreet storage of both his gun and his mace.  That said, if you prefer a more guns-out approach to his alt mode you'll have a usable 5mm port on either side of the truck, between the rear wheels, one 5mm port on the top of the tarp, a 5mm peg on either side of the tarp, plus a fold out 5mm peg on top.

I think Bulkhead's going to be a polarizing character.  As I've noted, there are people who are upset that this isn't a straight up new version of Animated or Prime Bulkhead, and even the ones who accept that Bulkhead was going to get a G1 makeover may have gripes with how far that makeover went.  For me, though, this is exactly what I wanted.  Unlike Prime Arcee, Bulkhead was a non-G1 character that I welcome as a retroactive addition to G1.  While a part of me might have liked him to be a bit rounder, I appreciate the constraints of giving Bulkhead an aesthetic that better matches with WfC-trilogy and a more realistic alt mode.  I'd love to see a few other non-G1 characters get this sort of Generations makeover like Slipstream, Shadow Striker, Knockout, Prime Breakdown, Strongarm, Lugnut, Lockdown, Blackout, Drift, Windblade, and at least Tarn if not the entire DJD).  So while I'll understand if you decide the Bulkhead's not for you, I'm actually going to give him a recommend.

I have no issues whatsoever with Bulkhead's joining the G1 crew, or his G1 design. I think this works quite well; I'd love to see a "1984 toy" version myself, but I may have to design it on my own to see that!

[Hikuro]

I just scored Dragstrip and Kickback at my local target which was a surprise cause they hadn't had much of anything for several months....they and walmart have had nothing but last years studio series figures and kingdom. But I also mean this location had the entire 1st wave still which REALLY surprised me. I really only cared about Dragstrip and Kickback and for 25 bucks a pop....yeah. 
Kickback is really simplistic, can't hope for much since he's based on his G1 instecticon self so yeah....that was a tad disappointing but I get it. 
Dragstrip though is fun! His transformation is pretty simple but inventive, and both his robot mode and vehicle mode are pretty neat! The only issues I have is the empty back of head to look like a seat, and that my rear spoiler halves don't line up at all. His left foot sits lower than his right causing there to be s shift in appearance.

BUT, overall, between the two I think I do like Dragstrip a heck of a lot more. 

[mikeszekely]

On 4/1/2022 at 3:21 PM, M'Kyuun said:

I'll keep my eyes peeled for Laser Prime for ya. 

Calling off the search for that one. More on that tomorrow.😉

[sh9000]

I’m curious how the rest of the Stunticons and Menasor will look.

[M'Kyuun]

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Calling off the search for that one. More on that tomorrow.😉

Gotcha; looking forward to your thoughts on it. I'll just say that I lost interest in the fig due to the immobility of the shoulder stacks. Had they been able to rotate as part of the arms, I'd be far more inclined to get him. Too, I have zero familiarity with the character beyond seeing the various iterations of the toy over the years, none of which have ever interested me. Laser Prime just never grabbed me like other bots with whom I had no familiarity have. 

I'm also curious to see how the rest of the Stunticons pan out, especially Motormaster. I have CW Menasor, but most of those figs left somewhat to be desired, especially in their wobbly combined mode. Judging by how Dragstrip comes apart, it's a fair bet they're going to make Motormaster the gestalt's frame to which the carbots all just attach- essentially, he'll wear them, rather than their actually becoming the limbs. Not really crazy about that approach, but it's toon accurate, and apparently that's what they're aiming for. The major positive from going this direction, one hopes, is far greater stability in combined form. I'd love to see some A-tier engineering applied to Motormaster where the cab and trailer have an all-in-one transformation, and the cab can still rotate in tractor-trailer mode (like CW Ultra Magnus). 

Personally, I wish they'd started with the Combaticons or a new Devastator, but I'm sure they'll come eventually. SS86 gives them the opportunity to redo Devastator at least. I've never had much interest in any of the Autobot combiners. The Aerialbots would be up my alley, but I detest the boxy G1 designs, especially the atrocious jet modes. If they actually put forth some effort to make the jets sleek and more real-world accurate while approximating their G1 bot modes, I'd be down, but we all know that'll likely never happen with Has/Tak. Heck, the third parties rarely stray from that look. So frustrating for anyone who likes planes.

Edited April 4, 2022 by M'Kyuun

[Wolf-1]

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Gotcha; looking forward to your thoughts on it. I'll just say that I lost interest in the fig due to the immobility of the shoulder stacks. Had they been able to rotate as part of the arms, I'd be far more inclined to get him. Too, I have zero familiarity with the character beyond seeing the various iterations of the toy over the years, none of which have ever interested me. Laser Prime just never grabbed me like other bots with whom I had no familiarity have. 

I'm also curious to see how the rest of the Stunticons pan out, especially Motormaster. I have CW Menasor, but most of those figs left somewhat to be desired, especially in their wobbly combined mode. Judging by how Dragstrip comes apart, it's a fair bet they're going to make Motormaster the gestalt's frame to which the carbots all just attach- essentially, he'll wear them, rather than their actually becoming the limbs. Not really crazy about that approach, but it's toon accurate, and apparently that's what they're aiming for. The major positive from going this direction, one hopes, is far greater stability in combined form. I'd love to see some A-tier engineering applied to Motormaster where the cab and trailer have an all-in-one transformation, and the cab can still rotate in tractor-trailer mode (like CW Ultra Magnus). 

 

Still on the fence with Laser, like you, not a fan of the shoulder (blind spots) but I don't know it's enough to deter me off the figure.  It's another Prime mold is how I view it, with a trailer so swapping things between Nemesis and Laser only adds to the "leave it in the preorder pile".

I'm actually hoping the trailer is a separate thing.  While I know in the cartoon and the original G1 toy, truck-and-trailer made up Motormaster.  I'm hoping they go two separate pieces to keep things "uniform" across both modes.  While Motormaster approaches Leader height, he's not quite there, and since we already have several versions of E.R. Prime/Nemesis/Laser/U.M.; they have kept both modes to a universal length,minus length, height differences in actual cab's..  Now if they perhaps made Motormaster a "small" double-trailer, like UPS or FedEx trucks we might both be happy, but otherwise I see our wonderful scale going right out the window or one heck of nasty backpack, which I think we all want to avoid.

[mikeszekely]

Every other Sunday I get together with a group of friends and we play some tabletop RPG (for almost the last year we've been playing the Dungeons & Dragons 5e module Rime of the Frostmaiden).  Since my wife and daughter left well before I did to take a painting class, and since I had luck finding some Legacy stuff at my local Target, I decided to stop at the other Target on my way to my friend's place.  Still no luck finding Kickback, nor did they have any Silverstreaks.  But they had Leaders!  I passed on Galvatron in Legacy packaing; it's the same toy as the Kingdom version, just without the Siege-style dirt.  But you better believe I picked up Legacy Leader-class Laser Optimus Prime!

Generally speaking, I'm a fan of Laser Optimus' design.  I love how it retains some classic Optimus features like the chest windows and grill abs, but gives him some added mass.  And I like the tweaked colors; he's still sporting the red and blue you've come to associate with Prime, but there's something striking about taking the light gray on his thighs and pelvis and spreading it over his entire torso, with a bright blue grill to break it up.  Plus, the addition of black into the mix lets you know that this Prime means business.

The new Legacy mold does a pretty great job capturing the aesthetic of the original Laser Prime toy, far more so than the Reveal the Shield figure or the Chaos on Velocitron box set repaint of Titans Return Optimus Prime.  From the waist up the only criticism of the sculpt I can offer is that his forearms are a bit more squarish than the slightly-rounded arms of the original, but I'll note that the linework on his forearms does portray the indented section.  The head is a dead ringer, and he's even got some molded detail on his tummy wher ethe original toy has screw holes.

His shoulders sport some yellow paint, but I think they could have used some red, too, to better mimic the stickers on the original toy.  Speaking of, there's no red on his knees.  While the inside of his chest has red, the windows themselves are clear and do not say "Optimus Prime".  Actually, I'm ok with that last change, but here's hoping Toyhax will do a set to add the missing details to his shoulders and knees.

Ditching the RTS and TR versions, we can take a closer look at the sides and back.  Again, not a lot of me to complain about.  The orientation of the wheels on his legs are a bit different, and his heels are black, but that's pretty minor.  There's no skid plates on the backs of his arms.  That probably for the better, though.  The cab on his back is accurate, but could use a little silver and yellow paint.  I'm not loving the hollow calves, though.

Here's a comparison with more contemporary figures, Earthrise Optimus and Studio Series (Dark of the Moon) Optimus.  What's interesting here is that there are small tweaks to the crotch, the vented area on the shin, and the calves, sure, but for the most part from the waist down this is Earthrise Optimus again.  This means that Legacy Optimus loses some details of the original, like the round hips, the "U" shapes on the waist, larger knee pads, and tracks running up his thighs.  However, the new crotch does give him the "U" shape there, and the new bits on the shins mostly resemble the original toy and keep him just distinct enough from the Earthrise/Siege versions.  It's pretty impressive how well Hasbro made the old parts work on the new mold.

As Hasbro is wont to do, to make a Voyager-sized figure hit that Leader price point means accessories, accessories, accessories.  With that in mind, you get a Matrix, because Matrices are apparently required by law on all new Prime figures.  You get a double-barreled pistol that kind of evokes the original toy's gun, were it rounder and flatter.  Because this is Legacy you have to get the translucent blue weapons.  There's a sword, but that's actually appropriate because the original toy had a translucent sword.  You also get an axe, because Prime used on in one episode of the cartoon and now axes are standard gear for him too.  Finally, for the first time in a long time, we get a tanker trailer that isn't actually part of his body because he's not an Octane pre-mold.

I'm honestly not 100% sure what kind of joint is used for Prime's head.  It doesn't tilt at all, and even swiveling it is quite difficult.  His shoulders are a bit disappointing.  As has been mentioned, on the original toy/RTS/TR/Fans Hobby versions the entire shoulder, including the pylons, rotated as one piece.  Here, though, they don't move.  The bit with the yellow paint is on a hinge and can flip up to give him a bit more clearance, but the shoulder inside is all that actually moves, 90 degrees backward and slightly more than that forward on a soft ratchet, and 90 degrees laterally.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  Although his wrists are technically on ball joints they're not cut to allow any bend, only a swivel.  His waist swivels.  From the waist down he's identical to ER Optimus, but real quick that's 90 degrees forward/backward/laterally on the hips, thigh swivels, slightly over 90 degrees of knee bend, toes that tilt down due to transformation, and 90 degrees of ankle pivot.

Prime can hold his sword and axe in either hand.  The fit for the axe is a bit tight.  There's a tiny tab on the pommel of the sword, so it only fits in one way.

If you prefer, there's a port at the top of the axe and you can plug the sword into it to make a bigger, weird-looking sword.  I don't prefer, but you do you.  If it's long-range firepower you're after Prime can also hold his gun.  The holes on his shoulder pylons are compatible with Siege blast effects.  Or, they can swing open to reveal some molded, non-firing translucent blue missiles.

Prime's got a number of 5mm ports on him.  There's one on each shoulder pylon, just in front of the wheels.  There's one in the middle of his back and one on the back of each forearm.  He's got two on the back of each leg, two under each foot, and one on the outside of each leg between the wheels.  While all this is good if you want to use Weaponizers or Fossilizers on him, or even to store his gun, storing his sword or axe on his body isn't really an option.  They don't really have 5mm pegs on them, short of their handles.  They do have other storage, though... we'll get to that in a minute.

As for the Matrix, I was a bit surprised to find that it's a new mold and they're not just recycling the one that came with Earthrise Optimus/Hot Rod/Galvatron/Rodimus Prime again.  The new one's handles are shorter and a bit rounder.  The front of Prime's chest flips open to reveal the storage space.  Prime can hold it, but rather than having the articulated hands that Earthrise Optimus, SS86 Hot Rod, and Kingdom Rodimus got Legacy Prime's hands simply aren't closed the whole way.  This allows you stuff the Matrix's handles through.  A bit cheap, I'd say.

Lastly, Prime's trailer opens up similarly to the original toy's.  Inside you'll find numerous 5mm ports if you wanted to add some more accessories, and special slots that work with the tabs specifically on the sword and axe.  There's that storage I was talking about!  The gun plus into a standing bit to make a turret, and there's a repair claw sitting over a small ramp.  As trailers go, given how anemic ER Optimus' trailer was I'm not really surprised that this is all a Leader budget gets us today.

That said, it's tiny and dull compared to the original toy's trailer.  There's no spring loaded missile launcher, no disk launcher, and no air-pump missile launcher.  The ramp is tiny, and there's no walls for all the missing sticker details.

At least the turret part with the repair claw can be detached.  Indeed, it's plugged into a 5mm port, so you can actually plug in onto any other 5mm port, including on Prime himself.

I think that segues us nicely into the truck mode, yeah?  I was surprised by how involved the transformation is, actually.  The original toy is pretty simple, but it was pretty close to modern standards already; it just needed bicep, wrist, waist, and thigh swivels plus ankle pivots, stuff that all would have still worked with the original transformation.  Instead, Legacy Optimus tries to stuff his arms into the cab (but only gets the shoulders and biceps), folds up his chest and tummy, then collapses his pelvis and waist into the gap to shorten the rear instead of collapsing his thighs into his legs.  The resulting cab is slightly smaller than the original, much larger than the RTS Deluxe.  The trailer is significantly smaller than the original, but because it's separate from Prime himself the entire truck winds up being much larger than the TR mold.

It's also far more accurate to the original than either the RTS or TR molds.  The shape of the cab and the colors are mostly spot on, with black canisters, square headlights coming off of the fenders, smokestacks behind the doors, and a trio of running lights flanked by two horns on the top.  His blue feet still wind up hanging off the back.  The trailer has a fairly accurate mold, too, with the hatches on the top of the tank (even if they don't launch disks) and the red piping on the sides.  The big differences are gray fuel tanks instead of red, since they pop out of his thighs and aren't part of his arms, a small red step instead of the larger silver on the original, and his forearms just chilling on the back of the cab.  But even that I don't hate as much as I thought I would.  Aesthetically, the red front of the cab is done in move-style flames instead of fading into the black; not my preference, but I can live with it.  There's an Autobot symbol on the door instead of "Optimus Prime."  I think that's fine, too, and I actually like that it's the G1 Autobot symbol instead of G2.  I never cared for the insignia changes in G2.  The big one for me is that the trailer is just silvery-gray plastic.  That'd be fine if this was Scourge, but Laser Optimus need a picture of himself burning down a forest.  Well, that's one more thing Toyhax can do.

Another comparison with the other Voyager-plus-trailer-equals-Leader Primes.  Legacy Prime's little trailer is less out of place when everyone's got a little trailer, eh?  Any of these three Primes can pull Earthrise or Legacy's trailer (as can SS Bumblebee Prime), however the bits of the ring dangling under SS DotM Prime's trailer prevents it from fitting on ER or Legacy Prime.

Prime's main accessories can all fit on the cab.  You can use the 5mm ports on the roof or on the sides near the tires to stow his gun.  And there are slots behind the port for the trailer hitch that the axe can store on- just fold up the handle first.

As for his sword, it uses little tabs on the hilt to plug into the underside of the truck, on the backs of his legs.  I really appreciate this feature, as it's how the sword stores on the original G2 toy.

Of course, the cab is really mean to pull the trailer.  And everything actually stores on the trailer, too.  The sword and axe store on the inside, where they did in base mode.  The whole thing will close up with them there, no issues.  As for the gun, it actually makes one of the hatches on top of the trailer.  Just plug it into the port.  There are also two additional 5mm ports on the front of the trailer, on the back of the trailer, and one near the wheels on each side of the trailer.

As a big fan of Laser Optimus Prime I get excited and then let down every time Hasbro gives us a new one.  The Deluxe RTS one was OK-ish, but too small and lacking a trailer.  The TR one was actually done up like G1 Optimus for the mass retail release, and you had to buy an expensive box set of recolors (or buy an expensive loose on on Ebay, like I did), and as a Headmaster pre-tool of Octane wasn't that good int he first place, when all I really wanted was the original G2 toy with better articulation.  Legacy Prime comes so close to that.  The aesthetic is super close, he's got mostly the right accessories including a detachable tanker trailer, he's got articulation that's basically on par with Siege or Earthrise Prime.  The lack of articulated hands, the fixed shoulder pylons, the trailer's small size and lack of gimmicks, and some missing details (especially on the trailer) are all that's keeping Legacy Prime from being the Laser Prime of my dreams.  So I weirdly am somewhat disappointed by Legacy Prime even as I love him.  If you had the original G2 toy and nostalgia for it then I recommend Legacy Prime, but if you're on the fence you might be better off waiting for the inevitable Scourge repaint.

[Hikaru Ichijo SL]

That Prime looks good, except the head seems to be rather small.  But wow he is short compared to the original version.  Maybe I will get the Black Convoy version when it comes out.

[Scyla]

I’m just glad that it’s not just the original toys transformation rehashed.

The Fans Hobby one did that and I’m not a fan of that. 
Looking forward to the Scourge repaint.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

Ugh.  Just renewed Pulse Premium, but I'm having second thoughts on that.  I ordered Silverstreak and Iguanus last Friday, and they took payment for Guard on Thursday.  All three are showing paid but still unfulfilled.  Ship my stuff, Hasbro!

[sh9000]

Saw 2 Silverstreaks at my Target today.

[M'Kyuun]

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Every other Sunday I get together with a group of friends and we play some tabletop RPG (for almost the last year we've been playing the Dungeons & Dragons 5e module Rime of the Frostmaiden).  Since my wife and daughter left well before I did to take a painting class, and since I had luck finding some Legacy stuff at my local Target, I decided to stop at the other Target on my way to my friend's place.  Still no luck finding Kickback, nor did they have any Silverstreaks.  But they had Leaders!  I passed on Galvatron in Legacy packaing; it's the same toy as the Kingdom version, just without the Siege-style dirt.  But you better believe I picked up Legacy Leader-class Laser Optimus Prime!

Generally speaking, I'm a fan of Laser Optimus' design.  I love how it retains some classic Optimus features like the chest windows and grill abs, but gives him some added mass.  And I like the tweaked colors; he's still sporting the red and blue you've come to associate with Prime, but there's something striking about taking the light gray on his thighs and pelvis and spreading it over his entire torso, with a bright blue grill to break it up.  Plus, the addition of black into the mix lets you know that this Prime means business.

The new Legacy mold does a pretty great job capturing the aesthetic of the original Laser Prime toy, far more so than the Reveal the Shield figure or the Chaos on Velocitron box set repaint of Titans Return Optimus Prime.  From the waist up the only criticism of the sculpt I can offer is that his forearms are a bit more squarish than the slightly-rounded arms of the original, but I'll note that the linework on his forearms does portray the indented section.  The head is a dead ringer, and he's even got some molded detail on his tummy wher ethe original toy has screw holes.

His shoulders sport some yellow paint, but I think they could have used some red, too, to better mimic the stickers on the original toy.  Speaking of, there's no red on his knees.  While the inside of his chest has red, the windows themselves are clear and do not say "Optimus Prime".  Actually, I'm ok with that last change, but here's hoping Toyhax will do a set to add the missing details to his shoulders and knees.

Ditching the RTS and TR versions, we can take a closer look at the sides and back.  Again, not a lot of me to complain about.  The orientation of the wheels on his legs are a bit different, and his heels are black, but that's pretty minor.  There's no skid plates on the backs of his arms.  That probably for the better, though.  The cab on his back is accurate, but could use a little silver and yellow paint.  I'm not loving the hollow calves, though.

Here's a comparison with more contemporary figures, Earthrise Optimus and Studio Series (Dark of the Moon) Optimus.  What's interesting here is that there are small tweaks to the crotch, the vented area on the shin, and the calves, sure, but for the most part from the waist down this is Earthrise Optimus again.  This means that Legacy Optimus loses some details of the original, like the round hips, the "U" shapes on the waist, larger knee pads, and tracks running up his thighs.  However, the new crotch does give him the "U" shape there, and the new bits on the shins mostly resemble the original toy and keep him just distinct enough from the Earthrise/Siege versions.  It's pretty impressive how well Hasbro made the old parts work on the new mold.

As Hasbro is wont to do, to make a Voyager-sized figure hit that Leader price point means accessories, accessories, accessories.  With that in mind, you get a Matrix, because Matrices are apparently required by law on all new Prime figures.  You get a double-barreled pistol that kind of evokes the original toy's gun, were it rounder and flatter.  Because this is Legacy you have to get the translucent blue weapons.  There's a sword, but that's actually appropriate because the original toy had a translucent sword.  You also get an axe, because Prime used on in one episode of the cartoon and now axes are standard gear for him too.  Finally, for the first time in a long time, we get a tanker trailer that isn't actually part of his body because he's not an Octane pre-mold.

I'm honestly not 100% sure what kind of joint is used for Prime's head.  It doesn't tilt at all, and even swiveling it is quite difficult.  His shoulders are a bit disappointing.  As has been mentioned, on the original toy/RTS/TR/Fans Hobby versions the entire shoulder, including the pylons, rotated as one piece.  Here, though, they don't move.  The bit with the yellow paint is on a hinge and can flip up to give him a bit more clearance, but the shoulder inside is all that actually moves, 90 degrees backward and slightly more than that forward on a soft ratchet, and 90 degrees laterally.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  Although his wrists are technically on ball joints they're not cut to allow any bend, only a swivel.  His waist swivels.  From the waist down he's identical to ER Optimus, but real quick that's 90 degrees forward/backward/laterally on the hips, thigh swivels, slightly over 90 degrees of knee bend, toes that tilt down due to transformation, and 90 degrees of ankle pivot.

Prime can hold his sword and axe in either hand.  The fit for the axe is a bit tight.  There's a tiny tab on the pommel of the sword, so it only fits in one way.

If you prefer, there's a port at the top of the axe and you can plug the sword into it to make a bigger, weird-looking sword.  I don't prefer, but you do you.  If it's long-range firepower you're after Prime can also hold his gun.  The holes on his shoulder pylons are compatible with Siege blast effects.  Or, they can swing open to reveal some molded, non-firing translucent blue missiles.

Prime's got a number of 5mm ports on him.  There's one on each shoulder pylon, just in front of the wheels.  There's one in the middle of his back and one on the back of each forearm.  He's got two on the back of each leg, two under each foot, and one on the outside of each leg between the wheels.  While all this is good if you want to use Weaponizers or Fossilizers on him, or even to store his gun, storing his sword or axe on his body isn't really an option.  They don't really have 5mm pegs on them, short of their handles.  They do have other storage, though... we'll get to that in a minute.

As for the Matrix, I was a bit surprised to find that it's a new mold and they're not just recycling the one that came with Earthrise Optimus/Hot Rod/Galvatron/Rodimus Prime again.  The new one's handles are shorter and a bit rounder.  The front of Prime's chest flips open to reveal the storage space.  Prime can hold it, but rather than having the articulated hands that Earthrise Optimus, SS86 Hot Rod, and Kingdom Rodimus got Legacy Prime's hands simply aren't closed the whole way.  This allows you stuff the Matrix's handles through.  A bit cheap, I'd say.

Lastly, Prime's trailer opens up similarly to the original toy's.  Inside you'll find numerous 5mm ports if you wanted to add some more accessories, and special slots that work with the tabs specifically on the sword and axe.  There's that storage I was talking about!  The gun plus into a standing bit to make a turret, and there's a repair claw sitting over a small ramp.  As trailers go, given how anemic ER Optimus' trailer was I'm not really surprised that this is all a Leader budget gets us today.

That said, it's tiny and dull compared to the original toy's trailer.  There's no spring loaded missile launcher, no disk launcher, and no air-pump missile launcher.  The ramp is tiny, and there's no walls for all the missing sticker details.

At least the turret part with the repair claw can be detached.  Indeed, it's plugged into a 5mm port, so you can actually plug in onto any other 5mm port, including on Prime himself.

I think that segues us nicely into the truck mode, yeah?  I was surprised by how involved the transformation is, actually.  The original toy is pretty simple, but it was pretty close to modern standards already; it just needed bicep, wrist, waist, and thigh swivels plus ankle pivots, stuff that all would have still worked with the original transformation.  Instead, Legacy Optimus tries to stuff his arms into the cab (but only gets the shoulders and biceps), folds up his chest and tummy, then collapses his pelvis and waist into the gap to shorten the rear instead of collapsing his thighs into his legs.  The resulting cab is slightly smaller than the original, much larger than the RTS Deluxe.  The trailer is significantly smaller than the original, but because it's separate from Prime himself the entire truck winds up being much larger than the TR mold.

It's also far more accurate to the original than either the RTS or TR molds.  The shape of the cab and the colors are mostly spot on, with black canisters, square headlights coming off of the fenders, smokestacks behind the doors, and a trio of running lights flanked by two horns on the top.  His blue feet still wind up hanging off the back.  The trailer has a fairly accurate mold, too, with the hatches on the top of the tank (even if they don't launch disks) and the red piping on the sides.  The big differences are gray fuel tanks instead of red, since they pop out of his thighs and aren't part of his arms, a small red step instead of the larger silver on the original, and his forearms just chilling on the back of the cab.  But even that I don't hate as much as I thought I would.  Aesthetically, the red front of the cab is done in move-style flames instead of fading into the black; not my preference, but I can live with it.  There's an Autobot symbol on the door instead of "Optimus Prime."  I think that's fine, too, and I actually like that it's the G1 Autobot symbol instead of G2.  I never cared for the insignia changes in G2.  The big one for me is that the trailer is just silvery-gray plastic.  That'd be fine if this was Scourge, but Laser Optimus need a picture of himself burning down a forest.  Well, that's one more thing Toyhax can do.

Another comparison with the other Voyager-plus-trailer-equals-Leader Primes.  Legacy Prime's little trailer is less out of place when everyone's got a little trailer, eh?  Any of these three Primes can pull Earthrise or Legacy's trailer (as can SS Bumblebee Prime), however the bits of the ring dangling under SS DotM Prime's trailer prevents it from fitting on ER or Legacy Prime.

Prime's main accessories can all fit on the cab.  You can use the 5mm ports on the roof or on the sides near the tires to stow his gun.  And there are slots behind the port for the trailer hitch that the axe can store on- just fold up the handle first.

As for his sword, it uses little tabs on the hilt to plug into the underside of the truck, on the backs of his legs.  I really appreciate this feature, as it's how the sword stores on the original G2 toy.

Of course, the cab is really mean to pull the trailer.  And everything actually stores on the trailer, too.  The sword and axe store on the inside, where they did in base mode.  The whole thing will close up with them there, no issues.  As for the gun, it actually makes one of the hatches on top of the trailer.  Just plug it into the port.  There are also two additional 5mm ports on the front of the trailer, on the back of the trailer, and one near the wheels on each side of the trailer.

As a big fan of Laser Optimus Prime I get excited and then let down every time Hasbro gives us a new one.  The Deluxe RTS one was OK-ish, but too small and lacking a trailer.  The TR one was actually done up like G1 Optimus for the mass retail release, and you had to buy an expensive box set of recolors (or buy an expensive loose on on Ebay, like I did), and as a Headmaster pre-tool of Octane wasn't that good int he first place, when all I really wanted was the original G2 toy with better articulation.  Legacy Prime comes so close to that.  The aesthetic is super close, he's got mostly the right accessories including a detachable tanker trailer, he's got articulation that's basically on par with Siege or Earthrise Prime.  The lack of articulated hands, the fixed shoulder pylons, the trailer's small size and lack of gimmicks, and some missing details (especially on the trailer) are all that's keeping Legacy Prime from being the Laser Prime of my dreams.  So I weirdly am somewhat disappointed by Legacy Prime even as I love him.  If you had the original G2 toy and nostalgia for it then I recommend Legacy Prime, but if you're on the fence you might be better off waiting for the inevitable Scourge repaint.

I appreciate the review, Mike. I fear I remain unswayed in my earlier opinion of the fig.  Those immobile shoulder stacks just bug me, but beyond that, I just don't really find him all that appealing, and never have. Glad you like him, although I'm sorry that he's not quite the definitive figure you were hoping for. 

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ugh.  Just renewed Pulse Premium, but I'm having second thoughts on that.  I ordered Silverstreak and Iguanus last Friday, and they took payment for Guard on Thursday.  All three are showing paid but still unfulfilled.  Ship my stuff, Hasbro!

What bugs me is that for the price of admission, members should get their toys before they appear on shelves.  Seems a poor way of doing business when retailers are getting their stock before the manufacturer's store. I've had the opportunity to pick up two figs that I have POed and aren't currently due out until next month on Pulse; I left those toys in the store, willing to wait, but the fact that I have to wait for the source's store to send me my toys when I could have cut them out and bought from the retailer at potentially lower prices seems counter to a good business model. I guess they're doing well enough from all the goddamned exclusives and retail contracts that Pulse is really just a write-off side-hustle of no real consequence.  It certainly seems to be the low priority for receiving stock, which makes premium membership feel lesser than.

[sh9000]

Found Silverstreak at Target yesterday and Hasbro Pulse ships my order of him out today.  Could have saved a little bit.

[mikeszekely]

13 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

What bugs me is that for the price of admission, members should get their toys before they appear on shelves.  Seems a poor way of doing business when retailers are getting their stock before the manufacturer's store. I've had the opportunity to pick up two figs that I have POed and aren't currently due out until next month on Pulse; I left those toys in the store, willing to wait, but the fact that I have to wait for the source's store to send me my toys when I could have cut them out and bought from the retailer at potentially lower prices seems counter to a good business model.

Or at least around the same time as retailers!  I preordered all six new figures (the other two being Galvatron and Blaster repackaged), and so far I've gotten two from Amazon and three from Target.  If you look at my order history on Pulse probably around half my orders have been canceled because I secured a preorder there after Pulsecon or a Fan First event only to get my stuff elsewhere sooner.

Of course, there was that one time I didn't preorder on Pulse, only Amazon, and that one time Pulse really did get their stuff first.  You just can't win.

13 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I guess they're doing well enough from all the goddamned exclusives and retail contracts

This is why I ultimately stuck with Pulse Premium.  While I haven't had too much trouble getting the Target-exclusives, Walmart-exclusives have been a bit hit or miss.  Most of the exclusives I did manage to find were in-store, and I don't think I've ever pre-ordered an exclusive at Walmart.com that they actually fulfilled.  Walgreens-exclusives are even worse.  I managed to get Siege Ratchet from Walgreens.com, but I haven't seen an exclusive Transformer there since Titans Return.  I wound up over-paying for Bluestreak.  But I had very little difficulty securing Red Alert- on Pulse.  And with shipping for a single Deluxe sitting around $8-9 for me without Pulse Premium, I'd say I did get enough stuff from them in the last year that Premium did pay for itself.

That said, the only other premium service I pay for like that is Amazon Prime.  And Amazon gets my stuff to me within two days of me completing the order.  Maybe Hasbro could consider prioritizing fulfilment on Premium customers.  I just today got emails today that they shipped Guard and Silverstreak, and I'm still waiting on them to ship Iguanus.  3-4 business days (and more like 5-6 actual days) just to stuff my orders into a box and slap a label on them is kind of ridiculous after I just handed them $50 for Pulse Premium.

Anyways...

I'll probably hit up my local Target again tomorrow.  We keep running out of stuff, so I've got a shopping list beyond Transformers, but I'm hoping I'll find a Kickback.  For now, though, here's Legacy Deluxe-class Dragstrip.

So, fun fact... there was a time when I thought that I was more likely to get a complete G1 cartoon cast at the MP due to unlicensed third parties than if I waited for Hasbro to do it in Generations.  Around the same time Hasbro was having distribution issues.  There were several figures, including Thrilling 30 Arcee and Windblade, that I never saw in stores.  Others, like Thrilling 30 Jhiaxus, I never found at Target or TRU only to pick him up at a Gabriel Brothers long after.  These difficulties had me swearing I was going to quit collecting the mainline stuff, but then Combiner Wars came along and the lure of combiners had sending my cash Hasbro's way still.  

And yet, what we actually got was stuff like the Dragstrip on your left there.  And that's what actually caused me to quit collecting official (until War For Cybetron drew me back in).  When you have the new Legacy version with the Combiner Wars version side-by-side, it's no wonder why the current team at Hasbro though the Stunticons needed a do-over.  I mean, aside from being predominantly yellow these guys look nothing alike.  The new Legacy figure is far, far more cartoon-accurate (and honestly, swap out a different head and add some stripes on his feet and he's more toy-accurate, too).  He's got a bit more molded details than the animation model as Hasbro is wont to do with the mainline, but that molded detail includes the knee pads and the bump outs over the rear wheels that the animation model has.  He's got the orange head with purple ears and top, silver face, and red visor of the cartoon.  He's got two wheels on each shoulder, and one on the outside of his legs.  He's got silver engine parts in the middle of his torso, and his body is devoid of almost all color that isn't yellow.  He's got spoiler feet.  Really, the two biggest areas where he diverges from the animation are the bits of spoiler around his shoulders (which, with maybe two more hinges, could have folded onto his back), and the overall shape of his torso.  In the cartoon he's drawn as either very rectangular or possibly getting wider as you move top to bottom, while the Legacy toy gives his torso a very heroic V-shape, and part of that V-shape comes from turning the cockpit so the rounded edge is at his waist instead of on his chest.  While I'd have loved for them to come up with a better solution for the spoiler (especially since at least four different 3Ps have figured it out between CW and Legacy Dragstrip), I don't mind the more heroic proportions so much.  It's still very visibly Dragstrip.

With the spoiler on top instead of on his back, Legacy Dragstrip doesn't have any backpack, which is another big improvement from CW.  I find it interesting that Hasbro's solution to cartoon-accuracy was to have the upper side of the rear of his alt mode on the backs of his legs instead of the fronts, and to leave the engine there.  That's right, the engine you see in his chest is not the alt mode's engine, and it's largely covered by the cockpit when he's in alt mode.  There are a few minor issues I have from these angles, though.  The undersides of his forearms have the Hasbro Hollows™, and the bit that moves the front wheels has one wheel directly attached to his shoulder and one wheel hanging behind it on a panel that looks like it's floating instead of continuous from the back of his arm.  I'm being picky, but I'd have kind of liked if both wheels on each shoulder were attached to a panel that rotated at the mid-point of the panel, leaving both wheels on a continuous yellow piece, plus the more forward wheel would extend in front of his shoulder and the rear wheel would extend a little past his shoulder instead of the entire rear wheel being behind his shoulder.

Dragstrip comes with a pair of guns.  The guns are identical, not mirrored, so one side has a pair of tabs and the other has tab-shaped cutouts, and the tabs are on the same side on both guns.  I think they're black plastic with some gorgeous metallic purple painted on.  The overall shape of the guns is pretty similar to the G1 cartoon, but they could have used the purple on the barrel and scope, too, if they really wanted to be accurate.  And, of course, since Legacy's gimmick is translucent blue Energon weapons we have... wait, what?!  There's no translucent blue weapons!

Dragstrip's head is on a riveted swivel, so he's got no tilt.  His shoulders rotate 360 degree and move laterally 90 degrees, although you might have to fiddle with the spoiler kibble  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly over 90 degrees.  No wrist swivels, though.  His waist swivels, and his hips can go 90 degrees forward and backward and even more than that laterally.  His thighs swivel, and his knees can bend 90 degrees.  His feet can tilt downward for transformation, but nothing up, and his ankles can pivot 90 degrees.

Dragstrip can hold his guns in either hand.

Or, you can plug the tabs on one into the slots on the other to give him a somewhat awkward double-barreled gun.  Unlike most other modern figures, there's no peg holes under his feet, on his forearms, or on his shoulders for blast effects or Weaponizer parts, but he does have a peg hole on each shin, one on each calf, and four on his back you can use for bot-mode weapon storage.

Dragstrip's transformation is one of the more simple ones in Legacy so far, with is arms collapsing above and into his body, his waist spinning 180 degrees, and his legs doing the Combiner Wars collapse.  The most interesting thing about it is the way his cockpit accordions out and spins 180 degrees.  And what we get is a car that's significantly less generic Formula 1 car and more Dragstrip than the Combiner Wars version.

There's a mix of toy and toon going on here.  The vertical stripes on the front and rear spoilers and darker gold for most of the cockpit with no black, that's all cartoon.  The horizontal stripes down the sides are from the toy, though.  I appreciate the shape of the front spoiler, the visible rear engine with eight cylinders, and the four small front wheels and two large rear wheels that are definitely hallmarks of Dragstrip's design, but the rear wheels are a little small and not quit back far enough, and there are these weird scoops along the sides of the cockpit.  Probably just enough to make Dragstrip legally not a Tyrrell P34.  I'll note that on my copy the one side lines up perfect, but the other always has that little gap between his arm and his leg.  And, like @Hikuro mentioned, his feet don't actually line up right no matter how you adjust him so the rear spoiler is always a bit crooked.

There's a cutout space near the front of the cockpit where it hinges that isn't he prettiest, and I'm not a fan of some of the fake chest engine peaking out of the cockpit.  Dragstrip's head is also visible in the cockpit.  Hasbro tried to camouflage it by making the back of Dragstrip's head hollow and molding part of it to look like a seat.  Maybe if the top of Dragstrip's head hinged so the front of the "seat" wasn't blocked in, and maybe if some of the fake engine folded up and had a molded steering wheel it'd look less like the cockpit is occupied by a robot head.  As far as alt mode weapon storage goes there's a peg hole just behind the cockpit on both sides that you can plug in his guns.

On the bottom of the car, no useful for alt mode, you'll find six total 5mm peg holes (blue, and one smaller one*).  There's also a rectangular slit (red).  If you work a fingernail or a spudger into the slit the car splits in half.  This pretty much confirms three things:

1.) No matter how much some people will refuse to believe the rumors until an official announcement, yes, we're getting the rest of the Stunticons, because combined mode is the only reason for him to split in half.

2.) Yes, Motormaster will be a Commander-class.  Because...

3.) ...Hasbro's new Menasor is going to work just like X-Transbots/DX9/Magic Square.  Expect a Voyager-sized Motormaster that turns into just the cab of his alt mode, pulling a trailer that turns into most of Menasor's body that the cars stick onto.  Again, that's the only reason I can see for Dragstrip to split in half- most of the arm, including the hand and elbow joint, will be made from Motormaster's trailer.  Half of Dragstrip will plug into the forearm, half to the shoulder, almost definitely using the six peg holes I highlight.  In fact, using Dragstrip's size to get a quick estimate, I'd say it's a safe bet that the new Menasor will be at least two inches taller than the Combiner Wars version, and I'm expecting far greater cartoon accuracy and stability to boot.  Sure, there are teams like MMC's that are showing that all-in-one combiners can be great, but honestly I don't expect that level of engineering from Hasbro's retail line, and if parsforming is what it takes to make a combiner that doesn't suck then do it.  My only real questions at this point are just how much of the torso Motormater himself will make up- the 3P versions have more or less folded him into a cube that plugged into a nearly complete torso, but I don't think that's the only way this could go- and whether or not the limbs will be Scramble City or not.  Scramble City isn't a feature I need, per se; even when it's an option, I tend to put my combiners in the "official" cartoon combination, but I don't see how splitting in half would interfere with Dragstrip plugging onto Menasor's leg, or why Breakdown and Wildrider couldn't split in half despite forming the legs.  I suppose we'll find out relatively soon... there's a Transformers Fan First Tuesday on April 12th, which seems like a good time for them to reveal the second Legacy wave, which rumors have including Wildrider, or possibly even Motormaster himself.

*I don't think the smaller peg is involved in the combined mode.  I think it's the flight stand peg.

On his own, just as a Dragstrip figure, Legacy Dragstrip is pretty great.  There's a bit of aesthetic choices that I'm not loving, sure, and some cheap hollow spots, but even without Combiner Wars Dragstrip to remind me of just how bad things can be Dragstrip just might be the strongest of the first wave Legacy releases.  It's clear that the designers felt that Combiner Wars did the Stunticons dirty, and it's clear that they wanted to set things right.  Time will tell on the gestalt, but for Dragstrip on his own Hasbro knocked it out of the park.  In fact, they may have done too good of a job; he's setting a very high bar for the rest of the Stunticons to follow, but even more than that he's so good that he doesn't just make the Combiner Wars Stunticons obsolete, he makes the entire line obsolete.  I mean, there's no way I can display Legacy Dragstrip on a shelf with other Season 2 Decepticons and put Combiner Wars Swindle on the same shelf without Swindle looking like trash.  I don't really car what it takes now, if it means more Commander-class figures, more partsforming, if teams can't be mix-and-matched, if Scramble City is ditched entirely, or if it takes years to achieve. I want, at the very least, Superion, Defensor, Bruticus, Computron, and Abominus re-done like this.  And if it isn't obvious, yeah, I highly recommend you pick up Dragstrip.  He's great.

[mikeszekely]

As long as we're speculating on stuff... almost every WFC mold between Deluxe and Leader got at least one repaint, if only as themselves in a slightly different, occasionally store-exclusive deco (the only ones I can think of that didn't were Springer, Apeface, Astrotrain, Snapdragon, Doubledealer, Warpath, Wingfinger, Cyclonus, Rhinox, and Tigatron).  It seems likely that the trend will continue with Legacy, so... what characters do you think we'll get?  Are the Prime-universe characters pre-tools?

As far as the Deluxes go, we're already rumored to be getting Burn Out, which would be Diaclone black.  I'm guessing we'll also see Crosscut at some point, if not Reboost.  I'm guessing Arcee will become G2 Road Rocket.  That'd explain why her front wheel can split and sit behind her head.

Kickback and Dragstrip are iffier.  If I were a betting man, though, I'd suggest Kickback is the odd duck that doesn't get any repaint, while Dragstrip gets a new toy-style head and deco.

Moving on to Voyagers, Blaster's an easy one.  We'll get Twincast.  But what about Bulkhead?  A lot of people have been saying it'll be an Optimus Prime, but I don't know about that.  I mean, sure, Bulkhead's shoulders, forearms, and feet have a very Optimus shape.  I think we can work with those shins.  And a truck cab for a torso seems like a very Optimus thing... but I'm just not seeing it.  I mean, we just had Siege and Earthrise Prime, and ER Prime was re-released in Kingdom.  Those guys are already much more G1 Prime than a retool of Bulkhead.  Plus, Laser Optimus is filling the need for a Prime in every line.  I think it's more likely to be a Prime-ish, not Optimus character like Pyro.  If it is Optimus, I'd look for it to be one that isn't G1, maybe Energon or Beast Hunters Optimus.  But I'd love to see something really out there like the concept Fire Rodimus.

Then we have the Leaders.  Galvatron, previously released in Kingdom, doesn't need any other repaints having already been done in toy deco and a purple reformatting version.  And we have Laser Prime, where nothing's been announced but RiD Scourge is inevitable.

[Magnus]

I would go bananas for a real-life firetruck Rodimus Prime toy.  

[sh9000]

Dragstrip looks good.  I’ll take other updated Gestalts and an updated Devastator.

[JB0]

My Target did their annual stocking of the Transformer section. There was a crapton of stuff there. Whole shelfload of Coronation Starscreams(If, you know, you WANT to pay fifty bucks for what is essentially Classics Starscream in a cape...), shelfload of Bulkheads(all with their heads folded down for some reason), a single Laser Prime(not really my jam, especially not with the trailer being so sad)....

And a single Galvatron and Blaster. Got both of 'em.

 

Blaster is fun, but with a couple missed notes. I don't understand how they thought the buttons should push IN to eject instead of DOWN. The speakers on his legs flip in to make DIFFERENT speakers on the sides of boombox mode, when they could easily form solid panels instead. And if his gun's barrel were simpler, it could make a great "antenna"(which is how I'm using it, pegged into the back of his shoulder and pointed upwards). He's still pretty great, though.

 

Galvatron's a really nice incarnation of the character, though he desperately needs some stickers. I tried to make him do an embarrassed anime girl pose, because I enjoy character assassination. He's now standing like he's about to muay-thai kick the crap outta someone because he absolutely refuses to be demeaned like that. The transformation's involved, but not fiddly, and that genuinely impresses me.

The "blatantly a spaceship for Unicron to eat" guns don't bug me very much. BUT the engine pods and arch are a second piece of plastic. It'd be trivial to remove them if Hasbro hadn't sprung for glue, and that DOES bug me. I'll probably cut the arch off one to see how it looks without before I go whole-hog.