The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

That’s funny breakdown for me came from Amazon.

Yeah, weird, mine still hasn't shipped but it's supposed to arrive tomorrow?  I'm skeptical.

I actually went out for a bit today, since I needed to pick up a prescription.  It's weird, last time I was in Target they restocked with a bunch of Buzzworthy stuff (NEST Bonecrusher, Jetwing Prime, and the Bumbleswoop set from Cyberverse) and Earthspark stuff.  Today, they had a few Studio Series Arcees (the one from Bumblebee, not 86) and some Earthspark 1-step changers, but the rest of the Earthspark stuff and all the Buzzworthy stuff except Bumbleswoop was gone.

Walmart had a lot more stuff, but they're still choking on those Kingdom repaints (Sandstorm, Buzzsaw, and Nightprowler), and weirdly, a few Legacy Arcees from way back in the first wave.  I think those Kingdom repaints have been pegwarming for so long that my Walmart didn't even bother to get the other waves of Legacy Deluxes, so sorry, still no Dead End.  The rest of their Transformers section had a few leftover Velocitron Blurrs, Road Haulers, and Burn Outs, a couple of Blitzwings, and a ton of Jhiaxuses, then a ton of Core-class stuff.

I'll still keep an eye out, though.  There's another Walmart out by my buddy that I stop at sometimes when I go over to play D&D, they usually have a better selection (my Walmart is like the worst one in the area).

[mikeszekely]

To continue with Legacy Evolution, we're going to need a Repaint Roundup.

Up first isn't Evolution, but rather from Walmart's Velocitron Speedia 500 line we've got Leader-class Galaxy Shuttle.  He's mostly Siege Astrotrain with a new head.  And... well, the best thing you could say about Astrotrain was that the robot mode was a pretty good Astrotrain, but aside from both turning into a space shuttles and both having wings on their backs, Galaxy Shuttle and Astotrain aren't all that similar.  I mean, the nose of the shuttle should be Galaxy Shuttle's torso, which is not the case with Astotrain.  Velocitron Galaxy Shuttle is missing a lot of the markings you'd expect, too, and the new head has the exaggerated ear points of the box art that neither the toy nor the Victory cartoon really had.

As a Leader-class, Galaxy Shuttle comes with all the accessories Astotrain did- four guns, a missile launcher, and a box to store them all in.  I wonder if the used so much blue plastic on the box because they wanted it to represent the Autobot's Shuttle Base?  But the real question is why three of the guns and the missile launcher are red plastic, but one rifle is black?  None of them have the engine bell or tail that G1 Galaxy Shuttle's gun did.

Galaxy Shuttle has the same "wear all my accessories" gimmick Astrotrain did.  But I don't recommend it- on my copy, at least, the knee joints are far too weak, and the weight of the box on his back makes him fall backward.

I think, maybe because Galaxy Shuttle rarely appeared in robot mode and spent most of his time hauling the Autobots around in shuttle mode, that it was their priority mode for this release.  The colors, the placement of the Autobot symbols, even the hints of blue and yellow on the sides are a lot more accurate than the robot mode.  Unfortunately, the weird gaps and exposed hinges made the back of Astrotrain's shuttle mode look extremely unfinished, and it's not something they fixed for Galaxy Shuttle's release.  You could mitigate that a lot by keeping Astrotrain's chest in its robot-mode position, filling in that section, and filling in the back with a 3D-printed part with a new tail.  Unfortunately, I don't believe such a part exists for Galaxy Shuttle yet (although I suppose you could buy an Astotrain one and repaint one yourself).

Train mode was Astrotrain's weakest mode- it's almost ok, but for whatever reason instead of making the front of the train flush with the bottom of Astrotrain's legs they felt some need to put the swivel point for the shuttle nose in the middle of a larger part, which means that the front of the train looks like a smaller train that isn't even touching the ground bursting out of the front of a larger train.  Oh well, Galaxy Shuttle isn't a triple changer and isn't supposed to have a train mode anyway.  But... seeing the black locomotive, and the white-and-black shuttle, kind of makes me think this release should have had an all-white head with a red visor, and it could have been Astrotrain in his original Japanese toy colors.  But mostly this release reminds me that Hasbro kind of over-engineered Astrotrain in ways that totally worked against his alt modes.  Really the only thing I do like about this mold, the robot mode, doesn't really work for Galaxy Shuttle anyway.  I'm glad that Hasbro is paying attention to Japanese G1, but you can definitely skip this release- all it really does is make me want Hasbro to do a new SS86 Astrotrain that doesn't suck.

OK, now we can get to Evolution, with Deluxe-class Breakdown.  Breakdown is my favorite Stunticon, so why is he the one that keeps getting screwed?  The Combiner Wars Stunticons weren't the best molds in general, but Breakdown was probably the worst of the five.  Legacy Breakdown fixes some of CW's issues, like his whole pelvis is white now, his fists are blue, and he's got better proportions without those weird hips.  But why are his feet white now?  Why are his eyes yellow instead of purple?

But my real complaint is just how much Hasbro reused parts from Wildrider's mold.  I mean, I figured that they'd reuse the engineering, just like Dead End used Dragstrip's.  In robot mode, you can see that he's got a new head, chest, and waist- and those parts look great!  But the arms, the crotch, the thighs, the shins, and the feet are all Wildrider.  Now, the shins I can almost forgive.  Wildrider had a vented pattern that really belonged to Breakdown in the first place, and although he's got Wildrider's protruding knees if I squint I can imagine it's the flatter squares normally drawn on Breakdown.  Breakdown's wheels should be on the insides of his legs instead of the outside like Wildriders... but that complaint applied to Dead End, too, and I think it might be a bit much to expect from a Hasbro Deluxe.  I can forgive the arms- the linework doesn't really belong to either Stunticon, who had smooth arms in the cartoon.  I might point out that Breakdown is missing his shoulder wheels, but that complain would also apply to Wildrider.  Again, maybe it's a bit much to expect from a Hasbro Deluxe.  But I don't really understand, given that his waist and crotch are on the same part, why they only remolded his waist?  They could have keep that lined pattern on his crotch, too, and it would have been more accurate.  I also wish they'd have remolded the thighs.  I get that it's probably one of the parts that most people wouldn't care too much about, but the octagonal bit is 100% Wildrider, and to me the rectangle with the two circles is one of his more memorable traits.

Well, one thing Breakdown didn't reuse is Wildrider's guns.  Instead, Breakdown gets a totally new one... but just the one, where the others had two.

Instead, Breadown's other accessory is... his spoiler?  Like, I'm glad that means his alt mode has its spoiler, but you have to remove it for robot mode and then, do what?  Have him hold it in one hand like some kind of boomerang, apparently.  Alternatively, his gun's barrel is 5mm peg-shaped, and there's a port on one side, so you can combine his gun and spoiler into a pickaxe.  Still, I don't know why they didn't just make the spoiler two pieces.  Then it could have stayed in exactly the same place it goes for alt mode- no need to remove it for transformation.

Speaking of transformation... to quote Sesame Street, "one of these things is not like the other."  Hasbro painted the trapezoid on the hood, and the blue around the skirts and bumper (well, they actually missed the blue on the back on one side of mine), and he's got his spoiler, but that's so not a Lamborghini.  Like, not even a "legally distinct" Lambo like Combiner Wars Breakdown or Earthrise Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.

They actually did remold part of the back of the car, so the vents over the rear wheels and the engine are more Lamborghini-esque, and the position of the 5mm peg holes is different so the spoiler can plug in.  But from just in front of the rear wheels to the front the rest of the car is 100% Wildrider, and he looks more like Wildrider in white than Breakdown.  Could Hasbro really not have found the budget to have at least remolded the nose to look more like a Countach?  Heck, even painting some extra lines on the side windows to look more like a Countach's would have helped.

Oh, if you're thinking, "hey, Wildrider stored his guns on the 5mm ports on his rear, but Breakdown needs them for his spoiler!" don't worry.  Hasbro's still got that covered.  There's a protruding chunk on one side of his gun, and it fits into a cutout on the nose's armature to fit just under his front end.

The gun can even stay plugged in when Breakdown is combined to Menasor.  Speaking of Menasor... I'm guessing Hasbro held Breakdown for last because we'd be the least satisfied with him as an individual, but a lot of people will plug him onto their now-complete Menasor and forget about it.  Speaking of Menasor, although he's just now complete I think I covered him pretty well when Motormaster was released, since he basically transformed into a 90% complete robot just waiting for cars to stick to his limbs.  Suffice to say that he's a huge improvement over Combiner Wars Menasor, but his shins look a bit plain and his proportions are a bit off.  I'm not usually a fan of this much of the gestalt not coming from the limbs members, but I think it works for Menasor to use the trailer in this way.  I just wish they'd used all the trailer instead of leaving that gun tower.  At least it gives you a place to store the cars' weapons.

But as for Breakdown himself, you kind of have to buy him if you want to complete Menasor, or even if you just want to complete the team.  But Hasbro really pulled a fast one on us here, by releasing their better efforts first then half-assing it once we'd bought Motormaster, figuring at that point we'd buy Breakdown even if they didn't retool Wildrider at all.  But it leaves me very angry.  Even more so because Hasbro will undoubtedly use budget as an excuse.  Fact is, Hasbro found the budget to scrape the bottom of the G1 barrel with Needlenose, to start catering to Armada fans with Hot Shot, and to create brand new characters no one asked for with Scraphook, and they cheaped out on Breakdown because they knew he's sell anyway, even they could have made Breakdown a totally new mold then retooled and repainted all five Stunticons with G1 toy and G2 decoes to get their repaints out of them.  In a just world, no, I would NOT recommend buying Breakdown and rewarding Hasbro for this farce, but four out of five Sunticons in and Hasbro's got us all by the short and curlies.  Hopefully someone like DNA will make a new nose for the car and a split spoiler, even if replacing that nose is going to require removing a pin.

[Scyla]

Great reviews as always @mikeszekely.

A couple of comments:

I think the reason why the Leo Prime lion head looks so off because the sculpt reaches uncanny valley levels of almost correct but not quite right so everyone finds it off putting. 
The designer probably looked at some lion images on the internet and did his best to capture the look but with the missing shading and the yellow eyes without pupils it just doesn’t look right.

While the MP or the show model doesn’t really look like a lion our brain is capable to parse it as such.

Legacy Menasors robot mode looks really off in the proportions department the combination off the ginormous arms and the tiny shoulder joint just throws it off.

I have to look at the Combiner Wars one again. Maybe it looks better? 

I wonder of some 3rd party company is already working on a trailer replacement that will yield a better robot mode.

[mikeszekely]

12 hours ago, Scyla said:

I think the reason why the Leo Prime lion head looks so off because the sculpt reaches uncanny valley levels of almost correct but not quite right so everyone finds it off putting. 
The designer probably looked at some lion images on the internet and did his best to capture the look but with the missing shading and the yellow eyes without pupils it just doesn’t look right.

While the MP or the show model doesn’t really look like a lion our brain is capable to parse it as such.

Could be.  I definitely think they'd have been better off with a cartoonier lion face, like the original BWII toy.

12 hours ago, Scyla said:

Legacy Menasors robot mode looks really off in the proportions department the combination off the ginormous arms and the tiny shoulder joint just throws it off.

The shoulder joints don't bother me too much.  I guess I'm too used to modern Japanese mecha designs like Gundam Barbatos and Gundam Aerial with thin, sometimes exposed joints.  But yeah, the proportions are goofy.  I don't know if it's just that the arms are too big or if the thighs are too short.

12 hours ago, Scyla said:

I have to look at the Combiner Wars one again. Maybe it looks better? 

I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinions.  But no, definitely not.  I suppose you could try using some Perfect Effect kits, if you have them, but it's kind of a lipstick/pig situation.  I mean, CW Menasor also has weird proportions, but compounded by weird joints and stability issues.  And, for those that it matters to, Legacy is definitely more cartoon-accurate.

The Stunticons themselves have better articulation, accessories, and cartoon accuracy.

CW Breakdown might actually have the better alt mode than Legacy Breakdown.  But Legacy wins the other four.

All-in-all, the Legacy Stunticons are by no means perfect.  I definitely have my issues with them, and the biggest is Breakdown being so minimally retooled from Wildrider.  But, especially given the constraints of Hasbro's budgeting, they're miles better than Combiner Wars.

I still love the original G1s, though...

13 hours ago, Scyla said:

I wonder of some 3rd party company is already working on a trailer replacement that will yield a better robot mode.

I don't know about an entire new trailer/Menasor skeleton, but DNA has an upgrade kit that just released.  I'm waiting for TCP to get it in stock, but I'll be taking a look for sure.

[M'Kyuun]

20 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Could be.  I definitely think they'd have been better off with a cartoonier lion face, like the original BWII toy.

The shoulder joints don't bother me too much.  I guess I'm too used to modern Japanese mecha designs like Gundam Barbatos and Gundam Aerial with thin, sometimes exposed joints.  But yeah, the proportions are goofy.  I don't know if it's just that the arms are too big or if the thighs are too short.

I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinions.  But no, definitely not.  I suppose you could try using some Perfect Effect kits, if you have them, but it's kind of a lipstick/pig situation.  I mean, CW Menasor also has weird proportions, but compounded by weird joints and stability issues.  And, for those that it matters to, Legacy is definitely more cartoon-accurate.

The Stunticons themselves have better articulation, accessories, and cartoon accuracy.

CW Breakdown might actually have the better alt mode than Legacy Breakdown.  But Legacy wins the other four.

All-in-all, the Legacy Stunticons are by no means perfect.  I definitely have my issues with them, and the biggest is Breakdown being so minimally retooled from Wildrider.  But, especially given the constraints of Hasbro's budgeting, they're miles better than Combiner Wars.

I still love the original G1s, though...

I don't know about an entire new trailer/Menasor skeleton, but DNA has an upgrade kit that just released.  I'm waiting for TCP to get it in stock, but I'll be taking a look for sure.

Concerning Leo Prime's lion face, I much prefer the more realistic take over the derpy cartoon face. I thought it looked awful on the MP and was pleasantly surprised to see the more realistic lion head on the Legacy fig. I will say, however, that some additional paint, esp to the eyes, would have gone a long way towards improving the look.

Appreciate the side-by-sides of the various Menasors. I think it goes without saying that the Legacy is the best overall take, although it's not without its warts. I never cared for the G1 combiners as they all looked stiff, lifeless, and generally lacked articulation, one of my major gripes about the vast majority of G1. The CW figs, accepting that liberal license was taken with their designs as opposed to being G1 updates, weren't too badly done in the bot and vehicle modes, but that combined mode, as with the majority, just left somewhat to be desired, especially in a line that was all about combining. I'm not a big fan of the frame with bots tacked-on approach, but it's more aesthetically pleasing and imparts a stability and strength to the joints that were woefully lacking in the CW line.

[Scyla]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:46 PM, mikeszekely said:

Could be.  I definitely think they'd have been better off with a cartoonier lion face, like the original BWII toy.

The shoulder joints don't bother me too much.  I guess I'm too used to modern Japanese mecha designs like Gundam Barbatos and Gundam Aerial with thin, sometimes exposed joints.  But yeah, the proportions are goofy.  I don't know if it's just that the arms are too big or if the thighs are too short.

I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinions.  But no, definitely not.  I suppose you could try using some Perfect Effect kits, if you have them, but it's kind of a lipstick/pig situation.  I mean, CW Menasor also has weird proportions, but compounded by weird joints and stability issues.  And, for those that it matters to, Legacy is definitely more cartoon-accurate.

The Stunticons themselves have better articulation, accessories, and cartoon accuracy.

CW Breakdown might actually have the better alt mode than Legacy Breakdown.  But Legacy wins the other four.

All-in-all, the Legacy Stunticons are by no means perfect.  I definitely have my issues with them, and the biggest is Breakdown being so minimally retooled from Wildrider.  But, especially given the constraints of Hasbro's budgeting, they're miles better than Combiner Wars.

I still love the original G1s, though...

I don't know about an entire new trailer/Menasor skeleton, but DNA has an upgrade kit that just released.  I'm waiting for TCP to get it in stock, but I'll be taking a look for sure.

I kid, I kid. Obviously Legacy Menasor is the better of the two options. And the better toys too. I currently have CW Cutthroat on my desk at work and those combiner limbs are rough to play with.

I still hope FansToys will come through with their toy style Menasor since it looks the best to me. Maybe NewAge could make a smaller version that looks equally as nice, since all these 3P MP combiners are too big to my liking.

@M'Kyuun I think Lio Convoy's face will look much better in black. Generally speaking I prefer more mecha-like looking beasts like the Perfect Effect ones. The MP implemented the flip from cartoon lion to mecha lion head which it didn’t need to do in my opinion.

Speaking of MP Lio Convoy the black version is coming out soon and I’m looking forward to it, even if the verdict on the mold is pretty negative and the last black repaint - MP-49 - was a big letdown for me.

[M'Kyuun]

I did some painting. I also separated Ironhide's uni-skirt, which IMHO, improves the look of the fig in dynamic poses. I waited for Toyhax's set, but it was replete with labels I didn't want or intend to apply; all I wanted was his yellow stripes, the red bits to fix his overpainted bumper area, and some grey decals for the top of his torso which didn't even come in the set, surprisingly. So, I took up brush and did my best to bring him a little closer to his toon look. I think he looks ready to start bustin' Deceptichops. 😉

Edited January 23, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[Hikuro]

 Alright so a review is out for the what seemed to be a much anticipated Upgrade kit from DNA Design for Menasor. After watching it I'm gonna be straight up honest, disappointed puts it mildly. There's a little bit of parts forming, some awkward decisions on transformation, and the torso being a swap out between modes is a deal breaker for me. When I want an upgrade I want functionality and purpose. So those of us who've got Motormaster know that the chest piece rotates and swings from robot to trailer and the design of it isn't horrible, it's just not "Geewun" in appearance. DNA went and gave us a new chest where the gray collar bits set just a little to high and don't tab into anything to secure in place. You also have to swap it out and return to the Legacy chest piece for transformation from combiner to cab piece. There's also complaints that the trailer hitch and a few little pieces don't plug in very well or at all. I mean it seems like I would be paying 70 bucks for thigh extensions and articulated hands to be honest...and I feel like I could probably just wait until a nice 3D printable set show up. There's certainly been some options but nothing that feel right to me yet. 
With this though, I'm sorta glad I canceled the order....I don't wanna pay 70 bucks just to use a few pieces. 

[mikeszekely]

4 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I did some painting. I also separated Ironhide's uni-skirt, which IMHO, improves the look of the fig in dynamic poses. I waited for Toyhax's set, but it was replete with labels I didn't want or intend to apply; all I wanted was his yellow stripes, the red bits to fix his overpainted bumper area, and some grey decals for the top of his torso which didn't even come in the set, surprisingly. So, I took up brush and did my best to bring him a little closer to his toon look. I think he looks ready to start bustin' Deceptichops. 😉

 

What paints did you use?  And how did you cut Ironhide's skirt?  I was thinking about buying the Toyhax labels, but if I can get Ironhide looking that good with just paint...

[mikeszekely]

Well, I've had the photos for these guys shot for awhile and I've just been sitting on them, hoping that Scraphook and Tarn would come in and we could finish the first wave of Evolution first.  Unfortunately, Targets around me have been stocking up on Earthspark stuff while there's still no sign of Legacy Evolution, and neither Amazon nor Pulse seem in a hurry to send out those last two.  Just like Cyberverse, I'll probably ignore most of the line unless a particular Warrior-class catches my eye, but I think we will take a look at Deluxes.  And, going in the order they're listed on the back, first up is Bumblebee.

At a glance, Earthspark Bumblebee seems similar enough to Cyberverse Bumblebee that you'd almost think Earthspark is a sequel.  I'm not really complaining, though- I liked Bee's Cyberverse design.

That said, there's definite differences, though.  Earthspark uses more black for his biceps and thighs- Hasbro used gray plastic to represent what was really more of a gunmetal color on Cyberverse Bee.  And one of my main complaints about the Cyberverse Deluxes was that they often lacked enough painted details to be cartoon-accurate, but that's fortunately no the case with Earthspark Bee.  Really, the only missing deco I can find is that there should be a little more black on his toes, and those vents on his forearms should be painted silver.

There are other, mechanical differences between Earthspark and Cyberverse as well.  Cyberverse Bee's wings are on a hinge that keeps them on his back, while Earthspark's are connected to his shoulders like the old Thrilling 30 Bumblebee.  And Earthspark's got a much messier backpack.

Earthspark Bee comes with a bit fewer accessories- just his blaster and an arm for a build-a-figure.  I'm not complaining in the sense that I actually want more, but I feel compelled to mention that Cyberverse Bee also came with a stinger and blast effect for his price tag.  See, what you get for your money is going to be a theme here.

Bee's head is on a ball joint that swivels but has minimal up/down/sideways tilt.  His shoulders are on ball joints for swiveling.  They also give him minimal lateral movement- transformation hinges give him nearly 90 degrees of lateral movement, but only when his arms are down at his sides.  No dedicated bicep swivels, but his elbows are ball joints that act as swivels and bend a little over 90 degrees.  So far, that puts his articulation almost exactly on par with the Cyberverse Deluxe, but Earthspark Bee lacks wrist swivels and a waist swivel, something Cyberverse Bee does have.  Below the waist things are pretty even again... hips are on ball joints that go forward 90 degrees, backward 45 degrees, and laterally a little under 90.  His thighs swivel and his knees bend a little over 90 degrees.  His feet can tilt up and down somewhat, and his ankles pivot about 30 degrees.  If you're keeping score, Earthspark can't move his hips backward as far but has slightly deeper knee bends, and he has more up/down tilt on his feet but much shallower ankle pivots.  He's otherwise tied with Cyberverse below the waist.

Bee's blaster is hollow on the underside, and it has a 5mm peg under there, so the peg fits into either either fist and covers over his forearm such that it looks like his arm transformed into the blaster.  The slightly asymmetric design is mostly cartoon-accurate, and meant to go on his right arm, though.  It's mostly fine, but it should have a lot more gunmetal paint on it.  When he's not using it, you can use a pair of tabs on the bottom to plug it onto Bee's backpack.

Cyberverse Bumblebee didn't necessarily have the most complicated of transformations, but it's certainly a bit more complex than Earthspark's.  Both used their shoulder pads to make up much of their front ends, and their wings to make their doors.  But the rest of Cyberverse Bee's front end was folded neatly inside his torso, along with his head.  His legs folded over to make the entire rear and part of the roof, leaving just a small section of roof and windshield as a backpack for bot mode.  Earthspark Bee's lower legs simply bend out to the sides 180 degrees to make those big intakes.  This means that the middled section of his nose and grill, where the stripes are, his entire roof and windshield, and the back between the intakes is all unfurled from his backpack, and on the underside of the car you can plainly see Bumblebee's robot body from his knees to his head, including his arms tucked above his head.

I'll say this though... while he could use a bit of that paint that's on his grill over the intake vents on his rear, as well as some gunmetal paint on his rims, he's really very cartoon-accurate.  Love 'em or hate 'em, those big intakes are a part of the design.  Heck, even that gap on his rear between the taillights, as ugly as it might look, is present in the cartoon.  Those raised pentagonal shapes are supposed to be his exhaust.

You have a lot of options for storing his blaster on the car, as there are slots for the tabs on his hood, on his roof, and on his rear. 

For reasons I may never know for certain (but, given the timing, the answer is most likely the box office success of Revenge of the Fallen) in 2009 IDW soft-rebooted their Transfomers comics after All Hail Megatron, and artist Guido Guidi gave the Transformers some pretty extreme makeovers that borrowed heavily on the faceted, almost organic faces and overlapping panels designs of the Bayformers.  While at first Guidi kept Bumblebee a VW, by issue 5 he'd given Bee a muscle car for an alt mode.  Guidi would eventually tone down the mechnorganic aspect, going for a more traditional G1 style, but Bee would retain his new alt mode through the rest until after the Chaos event that split The Transformers into the separate Robots in Disguise (and later simply The Transformers after the RID 15 cartoon launched) and More Than Meets the Eye, and Hasbro made the not-so-great toy of it in 2013.  Guidi's design proved influential; while you could certainly make the case that it and later Bumblebees were directly influenced by the Bayverse Bumblebee, it's worth noting that Guidi's Bumblebee appeared in the comics a few months before Transformers Prime.  And while pretty much every Bumblebee since has had door wings and a sports car for an alt mode, both Cyberverse and Earthspark seem to draw more directly from Guidi's design with things like parts of the front of the car for shoulder pads and taillights on their knees.

Why do I bring up this little history lesson?  Well, the thing is, I do like Earthspark Bumblebee, and if you're enjoying the new show you might want to pick this one up.  However, even as Hasbro raises the prices on Deluxe-class figures, it seems like you're getting less bang-for-your-buck than you did with Cyberverse Bee.  And I'm sure I've pointed out in several Cyberverse reviews that, despite being called "Deluxe-class" and sporting the same price tag, War for Cybertron (and now Legacy) Deluxes sport more advanced engineering, fewer ball joints, and a higher parts count, and I don't think that should be the case.  If I buy a Deluxe-class from Earthspark, and it costs the same as a Deluxe from Legacy, then I think it's reasonable to expect the same level of quality, which objectively isn't the case here no matter how much I subjectively like this toy.  And ultimately, no matter how much I like this or Cyberverse Bee, they both make me want a Legacy Bumblebee that uses the evergreen design that Cyberverse Bee is based on, but with engineering and aesthetics on par with Legacy.

[M'Kyuun]

8 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

What paints did you use?  And how did you cut Ironhide's skirt?  I was thinking about buying the Toyhax labels, but if I can get Ironhide looking that good with just paint...

I used Testor's 1150 flat red enamel, Testor's flat yellow (Testor's Hobby and Craft acrylic 18 pack with a series of colors both gloss and flat), and a mix of Vallejo 70.991 Dark Sea Grey (FS36231) acrylic mixed with a bit of Testor's acrylic flat black (also from the 18-pack) to darken it to the approximate plastic color. I didn't get it exactly, but pretty close. I would have used flat red acrylic from that 18 pack, but both the flat and gloss red paints inexplicably cured into rubbery blobs that wouldn't resuscitate with water. It's quite odd, as they are the only paints in that set to have done so and both had their lids snapped closed. The only other comparable red I own is the flat enamel, so that's what I used. In hindsight, given the glossy appearance of Hasbro's paint, perhaps a gloss red would be a better choice.

To cut the skirt, I used a brand-new X-Acto hobby knife; it still took a bit of work- ABS is tough stuff, but I managed to cut both sides while preserving the bits on either side of the center crotch piece that the pin goes through. I just followed the molded lines and kept scoring it while trying to keep the blade as perpendicular to the cutting surface as possible. Fortunately, I managed it successfully and without any impromptu blood lettings or amputations. I recommend caution if you attempt it. Too, if you go ahead and paint yours, I wish you more success than I had; initially, I masked the lines on the right side of the van but became overconfident and careless in my application and had to go back and do some clean up. After that, I free-handed everything else to better effect. Trying to get the paint looking right around those wheel wells is challenging, and I wish I'd done a better job of it. I suck at painting, though.

 

Concerning your Earthspark Bee review, I don't think it's a bad looking fig overall. The huge intakes on the sides are a little detracting from the front, but otherwise look good from just about any other angle. Still, I think I like the Cyberverse design better, especially the bot mode. I don't own the Cyberverse fig and likely won't pick up the Earthspark version, so I get to enjoy them vicariously. I completely support your argument on the pricing of these figs as opposed to the superior Generations main line stuff. The price should reflect the quality, and anyone who's handled figs from Cyberverse or Earthspark and Generations knows there's a notable difference there in the build and engineering between them. Good review, Mike. Every success in your Ironhide improvements. 

[mikeszekely]

I hope it's the next wave of Evolution, with an SS86 Snarl for good measure.

[mikeszekely]

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I used Testor's 1150 flat red enamel, Testor's flat yellow (Testor's Hobby and Craft acrylic 18 pack with a series of colors both gloss and flat), and a mix of Vallejo 70.991 Dark Sea Grey (FS36231) acrylic mixed with a bit of Testor's acrylic flat black (also from the 18-pack) to darken it to the approximate plastic color. I didn't get it exactly, but pretty close. I would have used flat red acrylic from that 18 pack, but both the flat and gloss red paints inexplicably cured into rubbery blobs that wouldn't resuscitate with water. It's quite odd, as they are the only paints in that set to have done so and both had their lids snapped closed. The only other comparable red I own is the flat enamel, so that's what I used. In hindsight, given the glossy appearance of Hasbro's paint, perhaps a gloss red would be a better choice.

Ah, see, I'm kind of lazy, so I thought to maybe just make the stripe with a yellow Gundam Marker.  But that's easy, since there isn't any existing yellow to match.  Red might be trickier.

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

To cut the skirt, I used a brand-new X-Acto hobby knife; it still took a bit of work- ABS is tough stuff, but I managed to cut both sides while preserving the bits on either side of the center crotch piece that the pin goes through. I just followed the molded lines and kept scoring it while trying to keep the blade as perpendicular to the cutting surface as possible. Fortunately, I managed it successfully and without any impromptu blood lettings or amputations. I recommend caution if you attempt it.

See, I was thinking about trying a rotary tool with a thin saw blade.  But I'm thinking that the cut might still end up too thick.

Anyway... still no sign of Tarn and Scraphook, so we're moving on to number 2 of the Earthspark Deluxes, and that's Megatron.

SPOILERS if you haven't watched Earthspark for the next paragraph or so!

So, yeah, in Earthspark Megatron is on the same Ghost team as the Autobots.  Megatron as a good guy isn't entirely new- during IDW's "Dark Cybertron" storyline Megatron found himself allied with Bumblebee against Shockwave, and after Bumblebee's death at Shockwave's hands he formally switched sides and would remain an Autobot for the rest of the original IDW run.  There's a lot of fertile ground there for stories... what was it that made Megatron want to start a revolution in the first place, how continual violence and the pursuit of power as a means to an end desensitized him to his own growing tyranny, and how he struggles to reconcile what he's become with what he wanted to be, etc.  So far, Earthspark has only barely touched on that, kind of glossing over the idea that he war ended because he realized he was in the wrong, with a growing sense that Megatron distrusts Ghost and is concerned that the Decepticons are being treated unfairly by them.

Of course, we're not hear to talk about the show, we're here to talk about the toy, and... I dunno.  In broad strokes he looks like he does on the show, but something seems off.  Like, maybe his eyes are too big and his face too small, and the lines on his face kind of blur together so he looks like he's got a wide, straight mouth and a vacant expression.  His shoulder armor lacks the layered, sharp edges of the cartoon.  There's splashes of red on his forearms that should properly be on his biceps instead, and there are small protrusions on his knees that belong on the sides of his legs.

Most egregious are the wings and rotors on the sides of his arms.  Like, I get that they need to go somewhere, and this is just a Deluxe, but I feel like they didn't even really try.  Honestly, I wish they were at least partsforming and could be removed.  Or, failing that, that they actually locked into place instead of spinning all-too-freely on the outside of his arms.  And your mileage may vary, but I'd have loved it if they weren't so sloppy with that gunmetal paint.

Like Bee, Megatron comes with just two accessories- his fusion cannon, and an arm.  Because build-a-figures.

Megatron's head is on a ball joint.  He can look up, but not really down, and has the slightest of sideways tilts.  His shoulders rotate on ball joints and can move laterally around 30 degrees.  There is a transformation hinge that'll let him get nearly 90 laterally, but it's on the wrong side of the ball joint.  No dedicated bicep swivel, but his elbows are ball joints that act as swivels and 90 degrees of bend.  No wrist or waist articulation (again).  Hips are on ball joints that go 90 degrees forward, backward, and laterally.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend nearly 180 degrees.  His toes can tilt downward due to his transformation, but nothing up, and his feet have a too-slight ankle pivot.

Megatron's cannon attaches to a 5mm port on the kibble on the outside of either forearm, but again it's not symmetrically designed and intended to go on his right arm.

Megatron's transformation is barely that.  His torso shifts upward, covering his head, then his shoulders come together to form the nose while his arms curl back to his sides and the wings spin 180 degrees to put the propellors on the outside.  His hip skirts splay out to the sides, then his legs turn and fold over the thighs, and that's pretty much it.  The most interesting thing about Megatron's transformation is how his fusion cannon splits in half with half plugging onto each wing behind the propellor to form the engines.  Megatron's chest, arms, hands, and pelvis are all very visible on the underside.

I do want to applaud the Earthspark team for a minute, though.  Once it was accepted that Megatron just can't be a gun anymore, it seems like a tank just became the default for him (when he isn't some kind of alien spaceship).  I love that Earthspark went in a different direction, and his VTOL alt mode seems like a nod to Transformers Animated Megatron, intentional or not.  And as near as I can tell, it is fairly cartoon accurate... I just wish they'd put a little more effort into it, actually using the cockpit on the front of his torso instead of having a second one on the backs of his shoulders. and having his wings come from somewhere besides hanging off of his forearms

Megatron has little molded wheels on his underside, near the back, and rests on them and bumps on the front of his shoulders, under the VTOL's nose.  The propellors spin.  And, if you were curious, here's how he looks without the fusion cannon attached.

Yesterday I expressed some disappointment with Hasbro for calling these figures Deluxes and charging the same Deluxe price while failing to deliver a product on-par with a Legacy or Studio Series Deluxe.  With Bumblebee, that argument was more of an academic one- like, maybe I am getting more bang for my buck with something like Evolution Needlenose, and maybe there wasn't really any reason they couldn't have given him a waist swivel, but I still liked Bumblebee so I wasn't exactly mad about it.  I am mad now, though.  Megatron is like 80% screen accurate, and that missing 20% is because this figure is a lot closer to being a Warrior-class* or an over-sized Core-class than a Deluxe, and the lazy engineering just drags this figure down.  Put another way, this is the single cheapest Deluxe-class figure I've reviewed since before Siege, and winds up being one of the worst "Deluxe-class" Hasbro figures I've bought in years.  Don't waste your money, and demand that Hasbro be better.

*Hasbro actually does have a Warrior-class Megatron coming... the transformation seems only slightly less complex than this, and although the alt mode is definitely less accurate than this one I think the robot actually looks slightly better.

[JB0]

I think that head looks less like Megatron and more like Kup.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

I think that head looks less like Megatron and more like Kup.

What are you talking about?  He doesn't look anything... like...

...nope.  I see it now.

Hmm.  Megatron does play the role of the grumpy veteran in Earthspark, too...

Anyway, I have no idea how the distribution for Evolution is supposed to work.  Seems weird that Amazon sent me two Cores, three Deluxes, and a Voyager one at a time over the course of a week, then just stopped with two to go.  But then I get a payment notification at Pulse for Tarn, and only Tarn.  And knowing Pulse, he won't arrive until maybe the weekend anyway.

[M'Kyuun]

7 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Ah, see, I'm kind of lazy, so I thought to maybe just make the stripe with a yellow Gundam Marker.  But that's easy, since there isn't any existing yellow to match.  Red might be trickier.

See, I was thinking about trying a rotary tool with a thin saw blade.  But I'm thinking that the cut might still end up too thick.

I didn't even think about Gundam markers, but that might've been an easier way to do it.

I wouldn't use a rotary cutter for the reason you mentioned- too large a gap. I think a thin sharp hobby knife is the most effective means to keep the gap to an absolute minimum. Too, if your rotary tool slips, then you've permanently marred the hip skirt. I was a bit reluctant to cut mine, but I vehemently dislike how the single piece looks in a pose, and being inspired by a few others who cut theirs, I pressed on. Glad I did- time and effort well-spent.

I figured one of the third-party upgrade makers would produce a three-part skirt to replace the single piece, but AFAIK, nobody has. I also figured they'd make a detachable back cannon. Hasbro made one for the WfC Siege Ratchet/Ironhide figs, but it would have been nice to get it with the version of the character for whom it's actually known.

 

Oh, and I got payment notifications from Pulse for both Tarn and Leo Prime. I'll probably receive them early next week.

Edited January 25, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

Ok, last of the Earthspark Deluxes (for now).  Number 3 is Terran Twitch.

Out of the gate, I know Cyberverse sort of went and made all the Transformers basically the same size, and I think that and the fact that they don't share a lot of scenes together is why I accepted that Earthspark Megatron and Bumblebee are the same size (even though, in the cartoon, Megatron is actually a lot bigger).  But Twitch is in plenty of scenes with Bee, enough that I'm acutely aware that she and Thrash are significantly smaller than him.  So now I'm kind of bummed that the Earthspark line isn't in scale the way Legacy is.  I think it would have been cool if Bee were exactly the size he already is, but maybe Twitch could have been a Core-class that only came up to just under his Autobot insignia, and Megatron could have been a (better-engineered) Voyager, coming up to around even with the blue cockpit on his torso.

I digress.  Twitch's proportions seemed a tad off to me, with a short torso and long legs, but that actually checks out with the cartoon.  Still, I wonder how early in production her toy was designed, because it's probably the least-accurate of the three.  She's missing the gunmetal color on her ears, and she only has a stripe of it on her knees instead of covering the whole knee.  The gunmetal around the yellow circle on her chest should match the silver on her legs and face, I think, and it should cover her fingers, too.  The "silver" blue plastic on her waist should be black, and the vents on her chest shouldn't be present at all.

I'm also not loving how the silver on her thighs doesn't go the whole way around.  Nor do I like those bits dangling on the backs of her forearms.  But, I suspect the kibble (and the chest vents) are concessions to her alt mode.

Twitch comes with the most accessories so far... a cartoon-accurate blaster, a human head, and some gear that looks like it belongs to Doctor Octopus.  Only the blaster is for Twitch, though- the rest of that stuff is part of the build-a-figure.

Twitch's articulation feels like a step up from what we've been getting so far... her head is on a ball joint with a little bit of downward and sideways tilt, but tons of upward tilt.  Her shoulders are also ball joints, but this time they're cut right so she can get 90 degrees of lateral motion in addition to swiveling.  She has dedicated bicep swivels and elbows that bend 90 degrees.  No wrist articulation, but in a first for the line she actually has a waist swivel.  Ball-jointed hips go 90 degrees forward, backward, and laterally.  Her thighs swivel, and her knees bend over 90 degrees.  Her feet are on hinged ball joints, so they can tilt up and her ankles can pivot around 45 degrees.  Additionally, her wings and rotors are on ball joints, so you have some leeway over how you position them.  Despite having the better articulation, I still found Twitch to be a bit frustrating, because the joints on my copy are so loose she can barely stand.  We'll see how she does after some floor polish.  Less of a problem, but still annoying, is that her chest does not stay plugged it at all.

Like Bumblebee, Twitch's blaster fits over her hand so it looks like her arm transformed into the blaster.  There's also storage on her back.

Of all the Earthspark Deluxes so far, Twitch has the most finnicky transformation.  It's not that it's hard- it's actually pretty simple to figure out what's supposed to go where.  Thing is, her legs are what holds everything together.  Slots under her feet tab onto her hips, slots on the edges of her feet lock her chest into the alt mode position, and tabs near her ankles lock into her arms.  That's tricky enough to line up with all the ball joints involved, but if the fanless rotors in her shins aren't fully deployed her leg can't fold over her thigh enough.  And again, not all the connections are super solid and you may find that just as you've got her foot tabbed into her hip that trying to get her arm tabbed in will pop her foot back off.

I'm not even sure the frustration is worth it, as her alt mode isn't even all that accurate.  The nose, formed by her chest, is fine, as is the the light wing running down the middle and the four rotors.  But the drone's smooth sides in the cartoon are gappy legs and feet, and her arms are entirely visible underneath.  She does have the little antenna array on her underside that she does in the cartoon, but it's totally lost sandwiched between her arms.  Then there's those landing skids, which I complained about in bot mode.  You do see them on the drones when Optimus launches them from his trailer, and they're on Twitch's control art, but I don't think you actually see them on her in the cartoon.  So mostly they just get in the way without any real payoff.

Well, at least they give her something to rest on in alt mode.  And, as in bot mode, you can use the ball joints to move her larger rotors.  It's a bit of a tight fit, but you can also attach her gun to the nose of her alt mode by plugging a small tab on the top into a notch on the underside.

For me, Twitch is one of my favorite parts of the new Earthspark cartoon, but her toy is stuck in a middle ground between the good (if a little basic) Bumblebee and the not-so-good (and entirely too basic) Megatron.  It's a shame, because the potential is there.  I mean, she is only a Deluxe, so I can forgive some things like her messy alt mode with the visible arms, but Hasbro really should have ironed out the tolerances to make her less finnicky, to keep her chest tabbed in for robot mode, and to have spent just a little more on the paint required to make her more screen accurate, at least in robot mode.  Unless you're actually watching the show and fond of the character, she's probably a pass for most of you.

EDIT: BTW, the boxes tell you every figure you need to finish the BAF.  Figures 4 and 5 we've seen prototypes of, they're Optimus Prime and Shockwave (with Shockwave appearing to be a repaint of the Cyberverse toy).  So far, so good, right.  Two more will complete the BAF: Grimlock and Nightshade.  And, um... yeah.  Now, I like Shockwave and Grimlock.  And although it's just a headshot, the art for Grimlock is a new design, so probably not a repaint of Cyberverse.  So... are Shockwave and Grimlock make appearances in season 2?  Will Nightshade have a bigger role than "that one non-binary Transformer that showed up for like a minute in the season 1 finale"?  Because it seems to me like there are already characters in season 1 we're missing, like Elita-1, Arcee, Wheeljack, Skywarp, Novastorm, Swindle, Soundwave, and... oh yeah, THRASH!

Edited January 26, 2023 by mikeszekely

[M'Kyuun]

Twitch is the only Earthspark fig thus far released that has interested me enough to buy. I think she's an alright fig, but I have the same complaint about her chest not locking into place, as she's a little back-heavy with her rotors and the merest touch causes her chest to swing up and back. Not a good design by any standard. Her shoulders sit a little too low for my taste as well, but again, her design could have used tweaking before finalization. Regardless, as with Animated, I think her toony look has its charm, and though her alt mode is a made-up drone that looks like nothing real-world that I'm aware of, I still like it. It's different, but in an appealing way, I guess. Compared to Legacy deluxes, though, she reeks of simplicity and likely a lower budget despite her price tag being equal to those higher quality main line toys which in my mind doesn't make for good practice. Alas, that's life in the early twenty-first century it seems.

[mikeszekely]

15 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

though her alt mode is a made-up drone that looks like nothing real-world that I'm aware of, I still like it. It's different, but in an appealing way, I guess.

Yeah, and too be clear, my issues with her alt mode aren't that she's a fictional drone, it's that even though the drone is fictional they still couldn't manage to get her toy accurate to the cartoon.

Speaking of accuracy...

She looks pretty good under normal lighting, but under the harsher glare from the LED lamps in my workspace you can tell the GM22 Gun Metallic Gundam Marker I used is a bit darker than the gunmetal paint Hasbro used.  But I used it anyway on her knees, wrists, waist, ears, and antenna, plus some silver on her fingers.

As for Ironhide... I tried the yellow Gundam marker and didn't like how it looked.  So I tried a yellow oil-based Sharpie paint pen, and I don't like how it looks.  Ironically, the red Sharpie from the same set as the yellow looks pretty good.  Then I cut the hip skirt, didn't really like how jagged the cut looked, and the knife slipped and I gouged his chest.  I think I'm just going to order a new Ironhide and the Reprolabels...😩

EDIT: Tarn's on the way, and also, because I have issues, I was putting the three Bumblebee toys that featured in my Earthspark Bumblebee review into a box for storage simply labeled "Bumblebee."  There's around 20 different Bees in there, but I realized there isn't one for RiD 2015, so I tracked down a copy of him and Optimus in the Warrior class, and they're on the way.

It gets worse, though.  While researching which RiD 2015 was the best for my personal tastes, I was reminded of a very short Japanese series that was, ostensibly, a sequel to Transformers Prime before RiD 2015 was a thing, called Transformers Go!  Long story short, I have the Go! version of Optimus coming, too.  Thank Primus there wasn't a new Go! version of Bumblebee, just the Takara version of Beast Hunters Bumblebee.

Edited January 26, 2023 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

OK, this one is kind of dumb, but until Tarn and Scraphook get here I don't have much else to talk about.  This the now Target-exclusive Buzzworthy Bumblee* Bumbleswoop set.

*This set was previously released in the regular Cyberverse line, which is no longer really available, but this particular set is back on shelves in Buzzworthy, almost as if they knew people like me with four out of five Cyberverse Dinobots would throw in the towel and buy this just to complete the team.

This is a set that comes with two figures, and the first up is Bumblebee.  And, yeesh.  This guy is looking more like a Rescue Bots toy than Cyberverse.  The head's a little soft, btu fairly recognizable, and he's got molded detail that looks like the details you'd expect on hi chest, waist, pelvis, thighs, knees, shins, and feet, but aside from a splash of silver on the fronts of his thighs and some blue on his faux windshield he's largely devoid of color.

Of course, from the sides and back we see he's more or less wearing his entire alt mode on his back like a turtle shell.  And just like real turtles, Bumblebee's got seriously poor articulation.  His shoulders are hinged so they can move laterally, but they do not swivel.  His hips technically have some lateral movement, but it's less articulation and more closed for car, open for robot, and there's no forward/backward movement.  He doesn't have any joints in his neck, biceps, shoulders, elbows, wrists, waist, thighs, or knees.  His feet tilt downward for transformation, but nothing up and no ankle pivots.  And he has no accessories. 

Transformation is super basic- open his chest to tuck his head in, then squeeze his arms and legs together before folding his feet down.  That's it.

The car mode isn't great.  It's got harder edges that remind me more of RiD 2015 or Earthspark than the rounder Cyberverse.  There's some molded lines on the front to indicate the car's lights, but no paint to give it color.  That goes for the black stripes, too, they're just not there.  Near the back there are little raised hexagons, as if the car had scales.  Much of the rear is made of Bumblebee's feet, and that's what it looks like, the bottom of robot feet.  Silver painted claws peak over the roof like some kind of weird lightbar.  And there's a large chunk of black stuff jutting from the front of the car... it's a shame it couldn't have folded away with his head.

All-in-all, Bee is very not-good.

Thing is, he comes packed with Swoop.  And unlike Bee, where you had a plethora of options, this is the only Swoop in the Cyberverse line.

Swoop isn't very cartoon-accurate.  Like the other Dinobot toys in the Cyberverse line this toy seems to be based on Eric Siebenaler's concept art, which featured a mostly G1 Swoop with a bit of the Cyberverse aesthetic, and not the final cartoon model where they gender-flipped Swoop into the team's sole female.  Now, I'm all for more female characters in Transformers, and creators over the last 10-15 years have given us plenty of new ones to enjoy like Windblade, Slipstream, Shadowstriker, Strongarm, Nautica, Flamewar, Nickel, Anode, Airachnid, Twitch, Slash, etc.  I'm not a fan of gender-flipping existing characters, though.  And frankly, given that three of the other four are also more Siebenaler's art than final cartoon anyway, I think I prefer this more G1-esque Swoop than the goofy Cyberverse design that looks like she's wearing a WWI-era flight helmet and googles.

Swoop's sporting more colors than Bumblebee, with cartoon-accurate reds on her arms.  Her legs should actually be gray, though, with red stripes, and ironically the red paint they did put on his knees is the one spot that should have been blue.  He doesn't need the black on his head (either head), and he could use a little more color on his wings

His articulation, or lack thereof, is nearly as bad as Bumblebee's.  His shoulders are the same as Bee's, moving laterally but that's it, with no additional arm or waist articulation.  His legs are a little better.  He doesn't have the lateral movement that Bee does, and he's still lacking thigh swivels, but his hips can go 90 degrees forward and 45 degrees backward, plus he's got 90 degrees of knee bend.

Swoop does come with a sort of whip weapon that can plug into either of his fists.

Transformation is, again, super simple.  Lift the dinosaur head up over his face, then fold his head back so he's facing forward.  His arms tab into his sides, then fold his feet down.  Flip his butt plate over so you can bend his hips and his knees 90 degrees, so his legs are on his back, and you're done nearly done.  The last step is to take his whip and plug in into his butt, forming his dino feet and tail.

Swoop doesn't do a lot in this mode.  There's really no articulation.  His robot hands are visible.  He could use a more accurate paint job.  But... it's kind of not that bad.  I mean, that's mostly what Swoop looks like.  So, Swoop could be a lot better, sure, and I'd have loved for him/her to have gotten a Deluxe or at least a Warrior-class figure.  But Swoop at least fared better in this set than Bumblebee.

Of course, there's one final gimmick here.  Remove Swoop's tail, then plug that big black chunk on the front of Bumblebee into Swoop's butt.  A spring-loaded gimmick will cause Swoop's sides to lift up and away from his body, and a second head will pop out of his back.  Unfold Swoop's legs, and with little fists molded into his heels they'll become arms.  Fold down Bee's feet and spread his legs, but leave his arms folded in, and voilà, Bumbleswoop.  Well, now the claws on Bee's heels and the weird scaly look makes more sense.  Bumbleswoop looks ok-ish from the front (like, where are his knees?), but the visible arms and on his shoulders and more or less Bumblebee's entire robot mode make him look goofy from behind.  Articulation is still poor, with hinges at the top of the bicep and the elbow and that's about it.  At least he can still hold Swoop's weapon.

Let's be honest, Cyberverse was meant to be a kid's cartoon.  It was good enough that adult fans like me could enjoy watching it, but we're not the target audience.  Now as simple as this set is, in a vacuum, I don't have a problem with it.  It's two simple figures with a neat combining gimmick perfect for younger kids to play with.  The reality, though, is that adult collectors can and do watch these shows, they can and do like the characters and want them in their collection, and they can and will buy the toys.  The trouble here is that Hasbro had released four of the five Dinobots.  Collectors would definitely want to complete the team.  So, while this set is totally fine for kids, it's inadequate for collectors, but it's the only way to complete the team.  That shouldn't have happened.  Now, I'm not saying Hasbro was obligated to cater to the collectors, but Swoop should have at least had a Warrior-class release on his own.  As it stands, I can't really recommend this set.  The combining gimmick isn't worth it, and Bee is such a crappy toy that I let my 7yo daughter take it- she's happy just to have a simple Bumblebee to play with.  I think the most positive thing I can say about this set is that Swoop is at least better than Bee, and he at least looks ok in static poses with his teammates.

[M'Kyuun]

8 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Yeah, and too be clear, my issues with her alt mode aren't that she's a fictional drone, it's that even though the drone is fictional they still couldn't manage to get her toy accurate to the cartoon.

Speaking of accuracy...

She looks pretty good under normal lighting, but under the harsher glare from the LED lamps in my workspace you can tell the GM22 Gun Metallic Gundam Marker I used is a bit darker than the gunmetal paint Hasbro used.  But I used it anyway on her knees, wrists, waist, ears, and antenna, plus some silver on her fingers.

As for Ironhide... I tried the yellow Gundam marker and didn't like how it looked.  So I tried a yellow oil-based Sharpie paint pen, and I don't like how it looks.  Ironically, the red Sharpie from the same set as the yellow looks pretty good.  Then I cut the hip skirt, didn't really like how jagged the cut looked, and the knife slipped and I gouged his chest.  I think I'm just going to order a new Ironhide and the Reprolabels...😩

EDIT: Tarn's on the way, and also, because I have issues, I was putting the three Bumblebee toys that featured in my Earthspark Bumblebee review into a box for storage simply labeled "Bumblebee."  There's around 20 different Bees in there, but I realized there isn't one for RiD 2015, so I tracked down a copy of him and Optimus in the Warrior class, and they're on the way.

It gets worse, though.  While researching which RiD 2015 was the best for my personal tastes, I was reminded of a very short Japanese series that was, ostensibly, a sequel to Transformers Prime before RiD 2015 was a thing, called Transformers Go!  Long story short, I have the Go! version of Optimus coming, too.  Thank Primus there wasn't a new Go! version of Bumblebee, just the Takara version of Beast Hunters Bumblebee.

Your Twitch came out alright; the extra bit of paint helps. It's a shame that she, and other figs, don't come more fully painted from the factory, but I'm thinking they're squeezing every last drop out of the budgets as it is.

Sorry to hear your Ironhide painting and cutting went awry. I wish you success without incident next time. If it's any consolation, I had started painting the stripe on my Ironhide prior to the Toyhax set being revealed. I wanted it to look smoother (I don't own a good airbrush and the old cheapy I do own is probably gummed up with old paint at this point), so I wiped the paint off and waited for the sticker sheet. Upon perusing said sheet, there were far more I didn't want than I did; a basic sheet with the stripes, some back windows, some red stickers for the bumper, and maybe some lights and license plate decals would have been perfect. But I get that some folks want the full G1 look, which, in most cases, looks too dated to me, especially a lot of the robot stickers. Anyway, I passed on the stickers and hand painted it, which looks a little rough, especially upon close inspection, but still better, IMHO, than he did prior. No one else has to look at it but me, so that's ok.  

[mikeszekely]

Just in case you were curious...

[M'Kyuun]

3 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Just in case you were curious...

Having only used the fine tipped Gundam markers for panel lines and such, I think hand brushing may be a more effective means of achieving a smooth homogenous track of paint. It's laborious and frustrating, but I think it's easier to manipulate the paint into smaller areas, like those wheel wells. Too, I use a fine tipped brush, which helps immensely for precision, although it makes for a slow job. I'm fortunate also, despite my coffee habit, to have a fairly steady hand, which is helpful. I still suffer from overruns, smears, and the like, but I keep a supply of tiny hobby swabs handy as well as the old hobby knife when scraping or just running the paint out of those panel lines becomes necessary, as often is the case. However, if time is of the essence, or you don't feel like expending the effort, the Toyhax set does a good job of providing all the details without the frustration of painting. In my case, I'm cheaper than I am lazy, at least in this instance. I just couldn't justify the price of the stickers for all the more of them I planned on using.

Oddly, while I don't exactly enjoy the act of painting, there's still a fulfillment to be had when the job goes well, or well enough for my taste. I'll never be an expert; I simply lack the patience and talent, but like anything else, I guess it comes down to reasonable expectation of result per the amount of time and effort expended, and in some cases, I'm willing to put in the hours or days to try and spruce up these lovely little chunks of plastic.

Most unfortunate, that cut on the grill. Alas, another battle scar for the old-timer. Better that than a finger, though. I wonder if a box cutter might not be a better tool than an X-acto for separating that skirt?

[Scyla]

In hand images of MP Skyfire:

I'm happy with my FT Phoenix. 

More images: https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/01/28/transformers-masterpiece-mp-57-skyfire-in-hands-images-474118

[anime52k8]

not gonna lie, other than the face I think it looks better than the 3rd party options.

[Scyla]

50 minutes ago, anime52k8 said:

not gonna lie, other than the face I think it looks better than the 3rd party options.

I think that depends what you are looking for. I think the Transformers G1 cartoon looks poorly dran and poorly proportions so I prefer something more stylized; an idealized version of the character.

However this bears the risk of looking out of style pretty quickly, while I don’t think my thoughts about the look of the G1 cartoon will change any time soon.

I like how the side chest pieces flare out. Not sure about the rest

[lechuck]

MP-57 looking impressive, crucially he has good articulation and is not just an expensive big toy brick – can't wait for mine to arrive.

[technoblue]

I like MP-57, even the goofy bits that shine through. There’s an honesty to it. But that’s easy for me to say since I skipped Phoenix. The only other versions of Skyfire I have are Legends scale, and Takara is giving bonus pieces and added articulation to add to the play value. Those are both pluses in my book.

But yeah, the old G1 show was very much a vehicle to sell toys and that still resonates here. The one collab I’m sad that we won’t get is an official remake of the G1 toy with Takara and Bandai.

I skipped the KitzConcept GoF release, so those who went the unofficial route are twice blessed, I guess. HaHa! 

[mikeszekely]

I don't hate it, but I don't like it better then Phoenix.

[anime52k8]

I'm having a hard time articulating what I like about it tbh. There's something about the lines and shapes of MP-57 that I like more than the blocky, chunky shapes of FT-10. I've also never really liked the way animation Jetfire looks anyways. I'm not sure.

[derex3592]

This is one of my most desired toys since I was a kid.  Never understood why I got a Robotech Veritech that said "Jetfire" on it as Skyfire but annnywhooo..Rick Hunter flew a LOT of missions in that Autobot!  I missed out on Phoenix and the absolutely stunning metallic color reissue so I'm looking forward to this! MP-36 was my last MP Transfomer so I'm certainly picky as to what I buy, I hope they don't screw this one up! 

Edited January 29, 2023 by derex3592

[technoblue]

So far so good from those overseas who have their copies. Hoping that trend continues, for sure. I have a couple more weeks to wait. 

But photos show MP-57 appears to be more triangular in bot mode than FT-10. It’s also a head shorter. Curiously, alt mode scale is a good match between the two. Hm…I want to see how Takara pulled that off.

[M'Kyuun]

21 hours ago, derex3592 said:

This is one of my most desired toys since I was a kid.  Never understood why I got a Robotech Veritech that said "Jetfire" on it as Skyfire but annnywhooo..Rick Hunter flew a LOT of missions in that Autobot!  I missed out on Phoenix and the absolutely stunning metallic color reissue so I'm looking forward to this! MP-36 was my last MP Transfomer so I'm certainly picky as to what I buy, I hope they don't screw this one up! 

Likewise, which is why I snapped up a copy of Phoenix after watching reviews and realizing what a well-done Skyfire toy he turned out to be. I was initially excited when the Daca-Toys version came out, only to feel disappointed when it just wasn't that good. I was equally excited when Hasbro released their WfC: Siege commander class Jetfire, AKA Skyfire (wish they'd actually used that name for him- I do regardless), which itself turned out to be a really well-done take, certainly one of the stand-out figs from that line. Heck, I was happy to get the Generations leader Jetfire, as, at the time, I believed that was the closest we were ever going to get to a toon accurate Skyfire toy in the main line. I remain happy to be wrong. Concerning MP-57, I like it a lot; I think Takara did an excellent job, and as has been pointed out, Takara skewed closer to the toon look, as is their wont these days, than Fans Toys did with Phoenix, as Fans Toys took some liberties with the design, especially the waist. But, I love how FT integrated the arms into the jet mode instead of tucking them away inside the backpack like MP-57, even if it hurt the accuracy a bit. Both are effective solutions, but the engineering of the FT arms wins my heart. I don't mind the liberties taken with his waist sculpt. Contrarily, having just watched vids for both toys, Takara did some amazing stuff with the articulation as well as imbuing him with a full GERWALK mode. The little articulated figs of Prime, Wheeljack, and Jazz are nice additions, and I also like how the gun stows between the legs in jet mode a la Macross Valkyrie style, a nice throwback to the Takatoku VF-1 originally released as G1 Jetfire. I don't remember if Phoenix can carry his gun like that or not- been years since I transformed him, and it didn't appear to stow as such in the vid review I watched. Too, favor goes to Takara for such a smooth transformation schema for such a large fig. It looks like a joy to transform, unlike some of their more complex designs from the past. Too, maybe it's the aircraft fan in me, but I love the landing gear Takara put on this fig, especially those mains with their little bogies- they sing to my soul. 😍

I was going to pass on MP-57, but there are enough differences between the two figures, and what each brings to the table, that I got a copy. It's another dream toy that's been realized after decades of wishing and wanting. I'm not sure what I'm gonna do with the big guy- space is sorely limited these days for my ever-expanding toy collections, but we're living in a golden age for Transformers toy collecting, and my fear of regretful non-purchase outweighs my logistical situation for display. It's a first world issue, to be sure, but it's my reality so I'm gonna whine about it a little.  

 

[mikeszekely]

It's a snowy-rainy winter mix here, but I'm starting my week off feeling good.  Pulse emailed me to say Scraphook is shipping soon and Legacy Evolution Voyager-class Tarn is here now.

Given the budget constraints that I know Hasbro's designers have to deal with, I have to say that the design team really did a good job with this guy.  When you compare him to Alex Milne's concept art and actual art in More Than Meets the Eye you'll find that Hasbro's design team did a great job capturing a lot of Tarn's little details like the extra armor on the outsides of his forearms, the silver and gold on his feet, the little chevrons on his crotch (sometimes colored int he comics, sometimes not.  Heck, there are details that Evolution Tarn gets right that neither MMC nor Iron Factory did, like the direction of the grooves on his treads and the exact shapes and lines of the light purple on his abs.  He also has clawed fingertips, but to be fair to MMC that detail was not present in the concept art or earliest appearances in the comics.  Likewise, you'll note that there are more pink lines on the chests of the Iron Factory and MMC versions, but they're also details that appeared inconsistently.

I wouldn't say Tarn is perfect, though.  The light gray plastic on his arms and thighs is that ugly unpaintable gray kind.  Milne's concept art does use a grayish color of that, but it's definitely a white or possibly silver in all his comic appearances.  Also, while I think the color oh his feet and pelvis looks dark gray and almost matches his treads under normal lighting, if you examine it closely my camera isn't lying here, it's really a dark purple.  I'd have preferred dark gray or black.  Finally, there are tiny missing details like the silver bands near the tips of the guns on his back.

There's a question of scale, I suppose.  Evolution Tarn is very slightly shorter than Earthrise Megatron.  I don't know why, but Tarn sort of struck me as a bigger guy, but comparing their limited appearances together I think this is actually fairly accurate.  Maybe Tarn could be slightly taller, more even with Megatron.  That's how MMC did theirs.

As great a job did as Hasbro did with Tarn himself, they got a little lazy with his cannons.  I mean, I do like that they cast them in translucent plastic and painted the barrels, which gives them the glowing pink lines seen in the comics.  The paint used on them is kind of grayish, though, when again I'd have preferred black.  The one cannon (on the right of the above image) is mostly fine otherwise, it's just missing a dot of gold on that raised bit on the back and some silver for that gear-shaped ring between the back and the barrel.  The other one is a bit more messed up.  The barrel is the right shape, but it should be rotated 90 degrees so that the pink lines are on top and the raised bit of armor plating (which should be painted silver) should go underneath.  The real problem is that the back of the cannon should be round, not a box shape.  I suspect that it's boxy with a raised bit, though, because that's how Milne's drawings of Tarn's alt mode are.  The middle part that they connect too is too wide and lacks the fin, but I do have to give credit where it's due- sometimes Tarn's drawn so that his cannons are even, sometimes he's drawn so that one sticks out further than the other.  Hasbro placed two ports on either side, so you can have it either way.

Tarn's head is on a hinged ball joint, so he's got excellent upward tilt and passable downward and sideways tilt in addition to the usual swivel.  His shoulders rotate and can move laterally 90 degrees, but Hasbro made the mistake they've been doing entirely too often where the lateral hinge is to the inside of the swivel, which means you can't swivel his shoulders and move them laterally at the same time.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly over 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, and his fingers are pinned at the base so he can even open his hands.  His waist swivels.  His hips can move 90 degrees backward, slightly more than that forward, and slightly less than that backward.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend slightly over 90 degrees on a single joint, but if you pop his lower leg loose you can use a transformation joint to get nearly 180 degrees of knee bend.  His feet have tons of up and down tilt, and his ankles pivot a little under 45 degrees.

The thing about his cannons is that the central part they connect to doesn't just have two ports on the sides for the cannons.  The whole thing rotates around the center of its base, while the peg it uses to attach to his forearm is set behind the rotation point and plugs into the port on his forearm closer to his elbow, otherwise the base doesn't have the clearance to sit under his shoulder treads.  But, you can use this rotation in conjunction with the placement of the cannons, and the fact that the 5mm pegs on both the cannons and the base swivel in 5mm ports, to plug the whole setup into his back and have his cannons be over his shoulders.

Alternatively, you can remove the cannons from the base, and you'll find Tarn has several 5mm ports they can plug into- one on the outside of either shoulder, two on the outside of his right forearm, one on the outside of his left, one on the outside of either leg just below the knee, one on his back, and one under each foot.  Also, the 5mm pegs on the cannons can be held in his hands, plus the barrels themselves are 5mm ports.  When used with the 5mm peg on the back of either cannon you can combine them into one really long cannon/rifle.

If I'm being honest, Tarn's Transformation is something like a cross between MMC's and Iron Factory's.  Tarn's shoulder's shift from being near the top of the treads in his chest to the bottom, like Iron Factory's, although they do this by rotating the entire chest tread instead of opening to let an armature spin around.  His arms bend in toward his waist more like MMC's, though, and his legs fold up and over his back like MMC's without the extra odd bends of Iron Factory's.  I do wish that the knee pads folded down the way MMC's do.

The result is honestly a more accurate tank than MMC's, with the larger treads at the wider back and his chest treads being at the narrower front.  The cannons sit back further by default, too, which is accurate.  The official Tarn is also the only one that doesn't use the round bits from his chest on the nose of the tank, which is comic-accurate, too.

On the flip side, due to the way his backpack rotates his head is nearly visible- you can see most of the gray hinges it moves on plainly, and his hands are visible.  That's in addition to the color issues I've already gone over.

Although they actually have slots that fit over tabs to keep them in place, you can swivel the smaller guns outward.  Because the base of the cannon mount rotates he winds up with a rotating turret, although the cannons themselves don't have a ton of clearance for up/down elevation.  You can get a little more and move the barrels forward a bit if you ignore the default and set them in the more forward ports, or move the barrels more forward still by leaving them in the default ports but rotating the base 180 degrees and flipping the cannons over.  Or, combine them into one big cannon and plug it into the top of the mount; you'll lose any elevation, but you'll have a barrel longer than the entire tank.  The mount itself doesn't attach to any 5mm ports, it instead uses a pair of tabs that plug into slots on his shins, with the 5mm peg under it just fitting into a gap where his shins get a little narrower.  If you want to get more creative with the cannon placement, or just plug other weapons onto him, he's got two ports on the sides of the rear treads, on port near the back above his left treads, two ports above his right treads, on port on either side of the rear of the tank, and one port on top of the tank near the two small guns.

I've said multiple times that More Than Meets the Eye is one of, if not the, best pieces of Transformers fiction available, and since his introduction Tarn has been a fan-favorite villain, and I'm excited to have one that fits the scale and aesthetic of the War for Cybertron/Legacy figures.  Even if you're not really sure who he is, this is a really solid figure with only a few minor quibbles, and I'd definitely recommend checking him out as he's easily the highlight of Evolution so far for me.

[mikeszekely]

Don't forget, there's a Hasbro Pulse Transformers livestream tomorrow at 11:00am ET.  I don't know everything that's going to be shown, but I do expect the next wave of Evolution will be revealed, specifically Voyager-classes Twincast (a repaint of Blaster, with Eject repainted as Rewind), and Metalhawk (a heavy retool of Kingdom Cyclonus).  Then, I'm guessing, but Core-class Grimlock and Thundercracker, Deluxes should be Animated Prowl, Crosscut, another Junkion, and I think either Bombshell or Shrapnel, and then our first new Evo Leader will be Skyquake.  There will probably be some Rise of the Beast reveals... they've been trickling out (Arcee, Freezer, Cheetor, Battletrap, Airazor, and Bumblebee have already been up for preorder, and I believe Scourge goes up tomorrow, all in the Studio Series line, but there are apparently non Studio-series versions coming too), maybe one or two SS86 figures (I'm hoping for Brawn and Snarl).  Outside chance there might be some Velocitron or Generations Selects stuff (whatever happened to toy-colors Hot Rod?).