The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[JB0]

Dang. That's a really impressive Tarn for Hasbro.

[Scyla]

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

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?).

Instead of Evo Leader Prime Skyquake I'd love to see the repaints like Prime Dreadwing, Machine Wars Starscream or  G2 Skyquake. All those are more appealing than Prime Skyquake.

Nice review on Tarn. Can’t wait to get mine. I probably will buy the purple redeco of the DJD to complete the Tarn trifecta. 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Scyla said:

Instead of Evo Leader Prime Skyquake I'd love to see the repaints like Prime Dreadwing, Machine Wars Starscream or  G2 Skyquake. All those are more appealing than Prime Skyquake.

The new Skyquake toy will be labeled as "Prime Universe" and definitely has elements of the Prime design, but like Arcee, Bulkhead, and Knockout they're giving him that Legacy pseudo-G1-ification, and they're doing it by borrowing heavily from G1 Skyquake (which is what I assume you meant by G2 Skyquake... he wasn't really G2, he was one of those very late European G1 toys that we wouldn't get on this side of the pond until they recolored them all for Machine Wars).

No word on a Machine Wars Starscream repaint, but Prime Dreadwing is coming in the last wave of Evolution.

[mikeszekely]

Opening with SS Bumblebee, Battletrap, Arcee, Airazor, and Cheetor.  Y'know, a bunch of stuff you've been able to preorder for at least a week on Pulse.

 

Leaked yesterday, but technically a new official reveal, it's Leader-class Scourge.  And it turns out the the previously-revealed Freezer is basically a Battlemaster.  Sorry, they haven't give us a good look at Freezer's alt mode, just what you could see in the video.

Evolution Core-class Grimlock.  He's a chunky boy, but given how compromised Sludge was it could be worse.  And oh, he's a leg... just like I predicted.

Core-class Nemesis Prime.  Surprised it took so long.  Also surprised to see it at all right now.  I knew it was coming, but I thought it was coming in a later wave.

And Thundercracker, who I was expecting.  I guess we're going from two to three a wave?

Deluxe-class Crashbar.  Another Junkion.  I like that this one is a bike, he seems more traditionally Junkion-y. But I'm less thrilled that so many slots in this line are being given to OG characters at the expense of getting stuff like Breakdown right.

Shrapnel.  Looks pretty good.  Like how his bug legs become weapons, so you've still got a clean cartoon look.

Crosscut.  Oof, those red wheels.  Well, they gotta milk those repaints.  It's not exactly a surprise.

Animated Prowl.  It's like Animated from the neck down, but with a G1-ified head.  I don't hate it, but let's say that Legacy and Evolution are a lot less exciting to me than War for Cybertron.

Voyager-class Metalhawk.  Like I said, it's a heavy retool of Cyclonus, which I'm cook with.  Cyclonus was a very good mold.  Jet mode is a little sloppy, but the bot mode looks great.  I'm glad that they went with the anime look instead of trying to work the Pretender shell in the way did with the Decepticons.

Twincast with Rewind.  Twincast has a new head.

Leader-class Skyquake.  As I said, a mix of TF Prime and G1 Skyquake.  And so far, it's everything I told you about yesterday.  I think the only surprise for me is Nemesis Prime (whom I knew about, but I thought it was coming later).

Interesting, they're talking about future releases.  I guess they're sort of acknowledging  the leaks by confirming that they're coming.   No product shots, but yeah.  Looks like we can expect Beachcomber, Devcon, a Junkion called Axlegrease, Dirge (a reissue of the WFC version), Nemesis Leo, and Armada Megatron.  Nice to see that G1 is still getting some love, but I need Gears, Brawn, Windcharger, Seaspray and Powerglide more than I need friggin' Beachcomber.  I also have to think that there are more popular characters in G1, and definitely in other Transformers properties, than Devcon.  Megatron will be cool, though, especially when we they reveal Commander-class Armada Optimus.

Another reveal without a reveal, but they confirmed that we're getting a "classics" repaint of the Volvo Holiday Optimus.  The way Evan said "Classics" and the overall G1-but-Santa look of Holiday Optimus makes me think it'll be that figure, but in your regular red-and-blue Optimus.  Bummer for people like me that still want Hero Prime.

Preorders go up at 1:00 for Scourge and the Evolution stuff, the other ROTB stuff has been available.  Despite lack of enthusiasm for much of the reveals, I'm preordering everything but Nemesis Prime.

Edited January 31, 2023 by mikeszekely

[M'Kyuun]

I got Skyquake, Shrapnel, and Prowl. Not much else shown interested me. If I see Crashbar in the wild, I may just go ahead and get him, too, but for now, I'm good.

I'm surprised just how G1 toyish Shrapnel turned out, but looking at Kickback, I guess I shouldn't be. TBF, the animation, both Sunbow and the '86 Movie, matched the look of the toys in insect modes as well. I love how they updated them a few years back and made the insects more real world accurate with actual legs, kickback's abdomen, etc., and part of me wishes that would have carried over to these instead of the weird inaccuracies of the G1 toys. I always say I wish they'd take a more toyish approach, so I guess I got my wish. Despite my slight dismay, I'm still pretty happy to see another Insecticon at deluxe scale. Now we just need Bombshell to complete the team.

It was a bit disappointing that neither Snarl nor Swoop were revealed and made available for PO. The Dinobots simply can't come fast enough.

I'm with Mike; instead of all these OG characters, I'd like to see them finish up the original G1 cast, make a new improved G1 Mirage, reveal SS86 Ratchet, give us a deluxe Powerglide, and maybe do a set of Omnibots. They're making all these other obscure characters so why not the Omnis? I appreciate that Beachcomber's coming, but honestly, I'd rather have Brawn and Windcharger first. Too, I wish they'd complete the cassettes, both Autobot and Decepticon, although at the current scale, they tend to be so compromised and inarticulate that maybe we're better off without. My hope is that Dr. Wu will make the full set, as his are an improvement over the Hasbro offerings just based on the Beastbox/Squawktalk set I own. I'm looking forward to getting his takes on Raindance and Grand Slam (Man, the names of some of these later characters left somewhat to be desired).

So, I guess I'm wrong about Legacy Bulkhead being an Animated-inspired design, as I think it was B-Mac who said Prowl was their first Animated character to be G1-ized in Legacy. To me though, Bulkhead shares far more in common with the Animated model than the Prime model. I own both toys, have done the comparison, and nothing will change my mind.

I'm glad to see the Coneheads being reissued. I managed to get Dirge and Ramjet, but my Thrust PO got cancelled by Target, I believe. They sent me an email to confirm my PO, which I didn't see until it was too late, and they were all sold out by the time I responded to the cancellation notice. Since Thrust is my fave of the three, I was duly miffed. This gives hope that I may get another opportunity to finally complete the team without paying the king's ransom demanded on secondary markets. Despite my desire to complete the Coneheads, I must confess that I'm not the biggest fan of the WfC Seeker mold, which borrowed heavily from the Classics mold, only with more alt mode inaccuracies and the same concessions, like the lack of proper landing gear, the too-small forward fuselage, and the gaping hole that lies beneath, a part of that design which I find deplorable on both toys. I'd love to see them employ a solution akin to Newage's, which has one of the best F-15 alt modes of any Seeker toys along with MP-03. It also has a novel transformation schema that I very much dig. My point is, we need a new improved Seeker, b/c the one we have now is both dated and egregiously compromised.

 

[sh9000]

I haven't bought Kickback but I'll order him and Shrapnel.

[Scyla]

8 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

The new Skyquake toy will be labeled as "Prime Universe" and definitely has elements of the Prime design, but like Arcee, Bulkhead, and Knockout they're giving him that Legacy pseudo-G1-ification, and they're doing it by borrowing heavily from G1 Skyquake (which is what I assume you meant by G2 Skyquake... he wasn't really G2, he was one of those very late European G1 toys that we wouldn't get on this side of the pond until they recolored them all for Machine Wars).

No word on a Machine Wars Starscream repaint, but Prime Dreadwing is coming in the last wave of Evolution.

Yeah you are right about the G1 classification for Skyquake. I think because of the garish colors Euro G1 and G2 just run into each other.

I'm a bit surprised that we didn’t see Nemesis Leo Prime but I guess it was too close to the release of the regular one.

Anyhow, Bishoujo Bumblebee:

 

Source: https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/01/30/concept-design-and-colored-sculpt-reveal-for-kotobukiya-bishoujo-series-transformers-bumblebee-474312

She looks super sassy. Love the way they evoked Bee's chest windows. Well done Kotobukia.

I wonder if she could pull off a Char Aznable cosplay with that cowl.

[edit:] Adorbs…

Edited January 31, 2023 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Now we just need Bombshell to complete the team.

Wave 4, I think.  There shouldn't be as big a gap between Shrapnel and Bombshell as there was with Kickback and Shrapnel.

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

It was a bit disappointing that neither Snarl nor Swoop were revealed and made available for PO. The Dinobots simply can't come fast enough.

I get the fast part, but they are coming.  Snarl is definitely this year, Swoop will be late this year or early next year.  Seems they just don't want to talk about Studio Series that isn't Rise of the Beasts right now.

5 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

They're making all these other obscure characters so why not the Omnis?

Honestly, there's a lot of reasons, some of which they lightly touched on in the stream when they talked about any given TF show being someone's first exposure to the brand.  It's the 35th anniversary of Masterforce, the 20th anniversary of Armada, and stuff like that is getting recognized with toys.  Also, Evan seems to be a JG1 fan, and Mark is weirdly into Machine Wars.  Honestly, I'll be surprised if Skyquake doesn't get a Gen Selects release as Machine Wars Starscream with a new head.

6 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I'm glad to see the Coneheads being reissued. I managed to get Dirge and Ramjet, but my Thrust PO got cancelled by Target, I believe. They sent me an email to confirm my PO, which I didn't see until it was too late, and they were all sold out by the time I responded to the cancellation notice.

I'm like 95% Ramjet is going to get a release, but I can't recall if Thrust is in the lineup.

4 hours ago, Scyla said:

I'm a bit surprised that we didn’t see Nemesis Leo Prime but I guess it was too close to the release of the regular one.

I think Wave 4.  But he's 100% coming.

4 hours ago, Scyla said:

Anyhow, Bishoujo Bumblebee:

I like her better than Prime, but Megatron's still my top gal.

...alas, I don't $150 like any of them.

5 hours ago, sh9000 said:

I haven't bought Kickback

I bought two, and swapped the stock head on the second with the toy-style head from the Buzzworthy set that had Ransack.

[mikeszekely]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

So, I guess I'm wrong about Legacy Bulkhead being an Animated-inspired design, as I think it was B-Mac who said Prowl was their first Animated character to be G1-ized in Legacy. To me though, Bulkhead shares far more in common with the Animated model than the Prime model. I own both toys, have done the comparison, and nothing will change my mind.

Almost forgot I wanted to address this, and the board software makes it a tad difficult to add another quote when you edit a post, so I'm stuck starting a new one.

Anyway... Legacy Bulkhead is going to share a lot of elements with Animated Bulkhead, because Prime Bulkhead shares a lot of elements with Animated Bulkhead.  During the early planning for the show, Bulkhead's character on Prime was going to be Ironhide (hence the jacked up truck alt mode), but a confluence of factors (Ironhide's death in Dark of the Moon, Bulkhead's popularity coming off Animated, etc) made them go with Bulkhead instead.

Legacy Bulkhead does have some features in common with Animated Bulkhead that he doesn't with Prime, like silver thigh and green feet instead of green thighs and silver feet, and the military truck alt mode instead of beefed up pickup.  That said, Legacy Bulkhead's head with the narrow crest and silver, un-toothed jaw is far more Prime Bulkhead, as are other details like the black bumper and silver crotch, the fact that he has actual fingers instead of pincers, and the fact that his mace is more like a punch than a wrecking ball on a chain.

Honestly, though, the detail that would establish him firmly as Prime Bulkhead (if, in my head canon, he wasn't a retroactive G1 Bulkhead), is that he's got those two wheels on his back.  They serve no purpose in alt mode, as the tires he actually rolls on are on his shoulders and legs, they simply fold back into the middle of his back.  Now, if you're comparing with the toys, you might notice that Animated Bulkhead has some tires on his back, half-heartedly hidden behind some folded panels.  Prime RID Bulkhead has tires on his back, but they're kind of flopping to the sides of his back and you might figure it's just unfortunate kibble that wound up there.  But then you look at the animation models.  Animated Bulkhead isn't drawn with wheels on his back.  But Prime Bulkhead...

Yeah, Legacy Bulkhead has two wheels on his back that serve no purpose in alt mode and exist only as a callback to Prime Bulkhead.

[lechuck]

New promo vid for MPG Seizan.

A bit weird that they are only showing off basic articulation, I think Seizan has more to offer. Maybe because they are handling the prototype?

Also nice touch with how they detailed the sword hilt.

 

[Hikuro]

Kinda just skimmed over the broadcast but I already added twincast, metal hawk and shrapnel to my preorders. They were really the only 3 I had any interest in to be honest. 

[mikeszekely]

6 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Kinda just skimmed over the broadcast but I already added twincast, metal hawk and shrapnel to my preorders. They were really the only 3 I had any interest in to be honest. 

This is a sentiment that I've heard rather frequently.  Some are even not super thrilled with Twincast, calling him a "a $40 Rewind."  Now, it could be that the circles I run with skew older... essentially, we're geewunners.  And like I said before, I'm not opposed to fans of other series getting their time in the sun.  As Evan said, every show was someone's first entry into the brand.  But I am curious what the numbers are looking like at this point.  War for Cybertron was exciting, finally giving G1 fans new, cartoon-accurate, articulated figures of most of the main cast, and collectors responded.  I recall Hasbro announcing on year that it was like a record year for the brand.  But I haven't heard much since Legacy, and I know that aside from the Stunticons the first wave lingered on store shelves, making shopping online for the second and third wave practically a necessity.  If sales are down, I hope Hasbro gets the message.  Like I said, I'm not opposed to other series getting their time in the sun, but no more OG characters like Scraphook and Crashbar, no more prioritizing the late G1 deep cuts like Pointblank and Needlenose while making more prominent characters like Breakdown minimal effort repaints and shelving cartoon mainstays like Gears.

Anyway... just a PSA, if you missed Minerva, she's finally available to order directly from Walgreens.com.  Also, if you missed getting earth mode Red Alert, maybe shoot me a PM.  My local store still has a couple.

[M'Kyuun]

20 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Almost forgot I wanted to address this, and the board software makes it a tad difficult to add another quote when you edit a post, so I'm stuck starting a new one.

Anyway... Legacy Bulkhead is going to share a lot of elements with Animated Bulkhead, because Prime Bulkhead shares a lot of elements with Animated Bulkhead.  During the early planning for the show, Bulkhead's character on Prime was going to be Ironhide (hence the jacked up truck alt mode), but a confluence of factors (Ironhide's death in Dark of the Moon, Bulkhead's popularity coming off Animated, etc) made them go with Bulkhead instead.

Legacy Bulkhead does have some features in common with Animated Bulkhead that he doesn't with Prime, like silver thigh and green feet instead of green thighs and silver feet, and the military truck alt mode instead of beefed up pickup.  That said, Legacy Bulkhead's head with the narrow crest and silver, un-toothed jaw is far more Prime Bulkhead, as are other details like the black bumper and silver crotch, the fact that he has actual fingers instead of pincers, and the fact that his mace is more like a punch than a wrecking ball on a chain.

Honestly, though, the detail that would establish him firmly as Prime Bulkhead (if, in my head canon, he wasn't a retroactive G1 Bulkhead), is that he's got those two wheels on his back.  They serve no purpose in alt mode, as the tires he actually rolls on are on his shoulders and legs, they simply fold back into the middle of his back.  Now, if you're comparing with the toys, you might notice that Animated Bulkhead has some tires on his back, half-heartedly hidden behind some folded panels.  Prime RID Bulkhead has tires on his back, but they're kind of flopping to the sides of his back and you might figure it's just unfortunate kibble that wound up there.  But then you look at the animation models.  Animated Bulkhead isn't drawn with wheels on his back.  But Prime Bulkhead...

Yeah, Legacy Bulkhead has two wheels on his back that serve no purpose in alt mode and exist only as a callback to Prime Bulkhead.

First: Thanks aplenty for that link- I got one. I've checked a couple stores in my area to no avail and had pretty much given up on getting her.

As to Legacy bulkhead, I think the wheels on his shoulders are more consequential with this style of military cargo truck than as an homage to either the Prime or Animated bot designs. Neither of those bot designs have wheels on their shoulders, moreover wheels that appear superfluous to the alt mode except as spares as seen in these examples. Animated Bulkhead has a double set of wheels, which are his truck's back tires, on his back, whereas Prime's Bulkhead carries his alt mode's rear wheels on his, at least according to the voyager figure's transformation schema. Legacy Bulkhead's central back tires are his alt mode's front tires, but their appearance on his back correlate to the Prime design, whether on purpose or just as a matter of necessity. TBF, Marcelo Martere took many a liberty with this design, and the final result looks little like either of its inspirations except in little hints. The head sculpt, though, does skew closely to Prime Bulkhead's, and as you pointed out, he has proper fists, like Prime's version, instead of Animated Bulkhead's triple claw-like fingers. The cabover military cargo truck mode as well as the face of the cab becoming the whole of the torso are the main features which sell him as closer to Animated IMHO, but I think bits of both character designs can be seen in the Legacy fig, with a fair bit of license taken as well to give him a more G1 aesthetic.

Edited February 2, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

As to Legacy bulkhead, I think the wheels on his shoulders are more consequential with this style of military cargo truck than as an homage to either the Prime or Animated bot designs.

I'm not referring to the wheels on his shoulders, which become the front tires for the alt mode.  They're there by necessity, as you say, not an homage.

I mean these ones.

Sure, there are some military trucks that have spares on the back of the cab, and that's where they wind up.  

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Animated Bulkhead has a double set of wheels, which are his truck's back tires, on his back, whereas Prime's Bulkhead carries his alt mode's rear wheels on his, at least according to the voyager figure's transformation schema.

But the tires on the Animated toy aren't on the animation model- they just disappear.  But, you can see in the image in my previous post, Bulkhead definitely had wheels on is back on the CGI model for Prime. 

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

Legacy Bulkhead's central back tires are his alt mode's front tires

No, like I said, the ones on his shoulders are his front tires.  The ones on his back are the spares.  And as you've noted, it's a detail that's found on some real military trucks, but one I think Hasbro could have nixed or simplified to save on parts, except that folding them together like that is a Prime homage.

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

The cabover military cargo truck mode as well as the face of the cab becoming the whole of the torso are the main features which sell him as closer to Animated IMHO

Yeah, I've conceded that the alt mode is closer to Animated, but with the sirens and armored rear I saw Animated Bulkhead as something more like a SWAT truck or something MPs would use.  I'm not giving you the cab, though, as it's pretty much the same for Prime Bulkhead. His nose squishes up so it kind of covers his windshield (less so in RID), but the windshield is still on his chest and his grill's still on his abs.

[M'Kyuun]

8 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm not referring to the wheels on his shoulders, which become the front tires for the alt mode.  They're there by necessity, as you say, not an homage.

I mean these ones.

Sure, there are some military trucks that have spares on the back of the cab, and that's where they wind up.  

But the tires on the Animated toy aren't on the animation model- they just disappear.  But, you can see in the image in my previous post, Bulkhead definitely had wheels on is back on the CGI model for Prime. 

No, like I said, the ones on his shoulders are his front tires.  The ones on his back are the spares.  And as you've noted, it's a detail that's found on some real military trucks, but one I think Hasbro could have nixed or simplified to save on parts, except that folding them together like that is a Prime homage.

Yeah, I've conceded that the alt mode is closer to Animated, but with the sirens and armored rear I saw Animated Bulkhead as something more like a SWAT truck or something MPs would use.  I'm not giving you the cab, though, as it's pretty much the same for Prime Bulkhead. His nose squishes up so it kind of covers his windshield (less so in RID), but the windshield is still on his chest and his grill's still on his abs.

Y'know, maybe I should transform my toys before I make commentary on them.  🤦‍♂️ 😄 So, you're right about where the wheels go on Legacy, and I flubbed it. IDK why I was thinking the shoulder wheels went on his back, but chock it up to negligence on my part. What's really sad is that he was right here on my desk the whole time and I didn't bother to check my assumptions, which of course made the proverbial 'ass" of me. Anyway, I agree with everything you said. Regarding the Animation depiction of Bulky's no-tired back, I chock that up to Derrick Wyatt's art style and simplification of the character models, as with Sunbow's G1 toon. The benefit of CG is that much more detail can be captured on the animation models, and Prime was a beautifully animated show.  Not sure if the toys or the animation models came first, but it's nice when the two correlate.

Thanks for setting me straight, Mike.  

So, I was at Wally this morning picking up some odds and ends and as is my wont, I ventured into the toys to peruse their wares. I was pleasantly surprised to see them stocked with a number of figs from Legacy, Velocitron (no Cosmos though- have never seen him once in the wild- huge thanks, Mike), and the Earthspark deluxes (Megs and Bee, anyway- didn't see Twitch, who I already have). Anyway, they had Crasher from the Velocitron series, and since I didn't pick up the ER version of Mirage, I decided to go ahead and get her. I like the mold better as anyone other than Mirage; I very much want a new mold that approximates how the G1 toy transformed. As to the toy itself, she's a simple repaint of Mirage, so her chest doesn't reflect the red vents and tapered cone leading up to her cockpit that make up her character's chest and torso, respectively. A retool would have been nice here, but what she lacks in accurate molding she more than makes up with paint apps. She looks nice if you can overlook the inaccuracies. I can in this instance. Heck she's not even the right kind of car; Porche Robo, the base toy for Gobots' Crasher, was a Porche 956, not a Formula One styled car. Alas, questionable choices. As a toy, though, she's fun, as toys should be, and I'm glad to see some Gobots representation under the Transformers brand. Accuracy, of course, is optional. 

[sh9000]

What are the chances that an updated Superion will get released to go up against Legacy Menasor?

[mikeszekely]

21 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Heck she's not even the right kind of car; Porche Robo, the base toy for Gobots' Crasher, was a Porche 956, not a Formula One styled car. Alas, questionable choices.

I really wish the Gobots got more respect.  I know Bandai owns the Machine Robo brand and the original toys, but Hasbro has the Gobots IP.  If we can have Animated, Prime, Diaclone, Armada, and Comic universes in Legacy I fail to see why we couldn't have a Gobots universe with more-accurate but "legally distinct" toys of at least the main cast.  I mean, come on, a Formula-1 car has about as much in common with a Porsche 956 as the Nissan I drive to my local Target.  Ironically, the one time in recent history Hasbro did make a toy with a very Crasher-esque alt mode it was Jazz, and they didn't bother to do a Crasher repaint (to be fair, I think it'd be hard to get Crasher's bot mode out of Jazz, but maybe not too much more difficult than to get Crasher out of Mirage).

In other news, Evan (the Hasbro designer guy) put up some pictures of the Core-class Dinobots, one of which has a note indicating that Volcanicus knee hinge on Grimlock is off center, so Volcanicus will have clearance for both legs.  This means that Grimlock isn't just a leg, he's specifically the LEFT leg.  And which of Dinoking's legs is the T-Rex?  Left, you say?  You guys know where this is going... Swoop will turn out to be an arm, Snarl will turn out to be the other leg, and the new guy (who will apparently be named Skar) will be an ankylosaurus and the other arm.  Mark my words, the Core-class Dinobots are a pretool for Dinoking.

[JB0]

Well, hopefully the alternate mold parts make for a really good Monstructor to offset the really bad Dinobots.

[Hikuro]

On 2/1/2023 at 2:02 PM, mikeszekely said:

This is a sentiment that I've heard rather frequently.  Some are even not super thrilled with Twincast, calling him a "a $40 Rewind."  Now, it could be that the circles I run with skew older... essentially, we're geewunners.  And like I said before, I'm not opposed to fans of other series getting their time in the sun.  As Evan said, every show was someone's first entry into the brand.  But I am curious what the numbers are looking like at this point.  War for Cybertron was exciting, finally giving G1 fans new, cartoon-accurate, articulated figures of most of the main cast, and collectors responded.  I recall Hasbro announcing on year that it was like a record year for the brand.  But I haven't heard much since Legacy, and I know that aside from the Stunticons the first wave lingered on store shelves, making shopping online for the second and third wave practically a necessity.  If sales are down, I hope Hasbro gets the message.  Like I said, I'm not opposed to other series getting their time in the sun, but no more OG characters like Scraphook and Crashbar, no more prioritizing the late G1 deep cuts like Pointblank and Needlenose while making more prominent characters like Breakdown minimal effort repaints and shelving cartoon mainstays like Gears.

Anyway... just a PSA, if you missed Minerva, she's finally available to order directly from Walgreens.com.  Also, if you missed getting earth mode Red Alert, maybe shoot me a PM.  My local store still has a couple.

I got to work a little with the Japanese headmasters and master force cartoons as Rodimus and then as Cab so there IS a little connection with these kind of figures coming out for me. I’d like to see more of the Japanese characters coming but I won’t be heart broken if that doesn’t happen due to weak sales either.

im still trying to find that blasted Deadend and fearing I’ll probably have to give into the price jacked temptation online to get him.

i have NOT gotten earthmode RedAlert, he’s been fairly elusive in my area of Texas. As for Minerva, it’s tempting but it’s one of those things where she’s not a headmaster which I felt was a wasted opportunity to me. I’ve seen someone post a 3D printed mod to make her more accurate but still no headmaster. 

[mikeszekely]

16 hours ago, JB0 said:

Well, hopefully the alternate mold parts make for a really good Monstructor to offset the really bad Dinobots.

It's Hasbro, so I wouldn't hold my breath. 😒

14 hours ago, Hikuro said:

im still trying to find that blasted Deadend and fearing I’ll probably have to give into the price jacked temptation online to get him.

I've checked three Walmarts and two Targets around here, no dice.  Dragstrip, maybe?

Based on what I've seen, Target has reset their toy section and Legacy is basically nonexistant now.  You might have better luck with Walmarts.  They still have Velocitron (although in the case of my local Walmart, not Crasher, just lots of Road Rockets and Burn Outs), and a peg or two of Legacy (the last one I checked had one Dragstrip, one Kickback, and a ton of Arcees).  At least the Beast Wars repaints are gone, although I think they clogged up the pegs so long that my local Walmart never got any Legacy stuff after the first wave.

14 hours ago, Hikuro said:

i have NOT gotten earthmode RedAlert, he’s been fairly elusive in my area of Texas.

If you want one, let me know.  I'll swing by again sometime this weekend.  Just cost and shipping.

Anyway... because wherever I preordered would be the last place to get new Transformers I started preordering with both Pulse and Amazon, then keeping the one that arrived first and cancelling the other.  Amazon was first with Breakdown, but my copy had an issue- the blue trim was missing from one leg.  So I kept my Pulse preorder, too, and it arrived today.  Having a spare made me feel comfortable experimenting a little.

Based on @M'Kyuun's experience with Ironhide's hip skirt, I used a type-B X-acto handle with a number 2 blade (that is, a slightly thicker handle with a larger blade than the my usual type-A handle with the number 11 blade) to cut a spoiler in half.  I started by lightly scoring the underside until I had a groove deep enough that the blade wouldn't slip, then I pressed the blade into the groove and rocked it while pressing firmly until it cut through.

With the spoiler halved there's no need to remove it for transformation.  If you want to be super technical, it does affect his articulation, but we're only reducing him from being able to bend his knees slightly over 90 degrees to just 90 degrees- I can live with that.  And in car mode the ends line up so well you can barely tell it's two pieces (not that my camera bothered to keep the spoiler in focus).

Bonus!  Since the extra one Breakdown is basically for parts now, I can give his gun to the good one, and Breakdown is now no longer the only Stunticon with one gun.  Although, he's still only got the ability to store one gun in alt mode, so... meh?

The TL;DR is that if you get Breakdown I definitely recommend using a sharp hobby knife to cut his spoiler in half- it's how Hasbro should have made him in the first place.  But I don't actually recommend buying two Breakdowns just to have two guns.

[Radioguy]

20 hours ago, Hikuro said:

i have NOT gotten earthmode RedAlert, he’s been fairly elusive in my area of Texas

He had been available on WG's site for awhile as Minerva is now.

[M'Kyuun]

Updated Breakdowns for 2023 Legacy Evolution/Studio Series Wave 3 & 4 - Transformers News - TFW2005

Down for Deluxes Beachcomber, Bombshell, SS86 Brawn (finally!), Voyager SS86 Ratchet, and leaders SS86 Snarl and Prime Dreadwing. And maybe core SS86 Frenzy.

[Hikuro]

14 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

It's Hasbro, so I wouldn't hold my breath. 😒

I've checked three Walmarts and two Targets around here, no dice.  Dragstrip, maybe?

Based on what I've seen, Target has reset their toy section and Legacy is basically nonexistant now.  You might have better luck with Walmarts.  They still have Velocitron (although in the case of my local Walmart, not Crasher, just lots of Road Rockets and Burn Outs), and a peg or two of Legacy (the last one I checked had one Dragstrip, one Kickback, and a ton of Arcees).  At least the Beast Wars repaints are gone, although I think they clogged up the pegs so long that my local Walmart never got any Legacy stuff after the first wave.

If you want one, let me know.  I'll swing by again sometime this weekend.  Just cost and shipping.

I went to two walmarts and the single target we got here in town and they've mostly reset with the earthspark toys which are not appealing to me at all. The Legacy and SS stuff were almost non existent as well, which surprised me. 1 walmart though did have an 86 G1 Starscream repaint which surprised me, I almost picked it up but said nah in the end.

Quote

If you want one, let me know.  I'll swing by again sometime this weekend.  Just cost and shipping.

9 hours ago, Radioguy said:

He had been available on WG's site for awhile as Minerva is now.

I actually went on their website and was checking things out a little while back after coming home from a quick deal at work. I managed to snag Red Alert but the listings for Minerva were online orders only but RA was available for pickup at every walgreens location around town....Think there's 4 or 5 here. 
So I went to pickup Red Alert but stopped by their toy aisle first to get an idea of what was there, all their Red Alerts in stock were up at the top and they must of had close to a dozen of him! I look a bit to my right and at the end of the stack of Red's was a singular Minerva so I snagged her.

So in the end, I still got Skyfire, Omega Supreme, Skylynx, and Deadend to go for the list. 

[mikeszekely]

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

I actually went on their website and was checking things out a little while back after coming home from a quick deal at work. I managed to snag Red Alert but the listings for Minerva were online orders only but RA was available for pickup at every walgreens location around town....Think there's 4 or 5 here. 
So I went to pickup Red Alert but stopped by their toy aisle first to get an idea of what was there, all their Red Alerts in stock were up at the top and they must of had close to a dozen of him! I look a bit to my right and at the end of the stack of Red's was a singular Minerva so I snagged her.

Glad you were able to find them!

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

So in the end, I still got Skyfire

Jetfire reissue TCP

Jetfire reissue Entertainment Earth

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Omega Supreme

Sorry, you might be SOL there.  Will you settle for the blue and gray Omega Guardian?  It's been part of the rumor mill for awhile.

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Skylynx

Sky Lynx at TCP

Sky Lynx at Entertainment Earth

Sky Lynx at BBTS

8 hours ago, Hikuro said:

Deadend

Dead End at Entertainment Earth

Edited February 5, 2023 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

I'm still getting some clarification on the Studio Series releases for the year- there's some confusion with the Rise of the Beasts stuff being in both the Studio Series and its own separate line.  And I haven't heard much on what sorts of store exclusives or Gen Selects or whatever might be coming (there's a Walmart event in March, though, so we'll see).  But Evolution?  Yeah, this is the entire rest of the line:

Spoiler

Wave 3 - Summer

Core:

Skar
Swoop
Starscream (PR)*
Grimlock

Deluxe:

Beachcomber
Devcon
Axelgrease
Tarantulas (PR)

Voyager:

Nemesis Leo
Dirge (PR)

Leader:

Armada Megatron
Blitzwing (PR)

Wave 4 - Fall

Core:

Snarl
Optimus Prime (PR)
Sludge
Slug

Deluxe:

Shadowstriker
Strongarm
Bombshell
Detritus

Voyager:

Junkion (no name yet)
Bludgeon

Leader

Prime Dreadwing
Laser Optimus Prime (PR)

Commander:

Armada Optimus Prime

Titan:

Nemesis

*PR is "package refresh", that is, it's a figure from an earlier line in a new Legacy Evolution box.  A few of the Cores, you'll note, are from previous Evolution waves, but since they're already Evolution figures they're not technically package refreshed.

[M'Kyuun]

I posted the list and took off for a friend's house this morning so I didn't have a chance to research some of the names on the list I wasn't familiar with. I've done a little searching now, and seeing Strongarm, I'm guessing their dipping their toes into Post-Prime RiD as the next toon to G1-ify. I'd forgotten who Bludgeon was, although I own the RotF toy of him, which IMHO, is the toy to beat. Coming from that era where the toys were much more complex, I'm not sure a modern voyager will unseat it, but I could be wrong. I had no idea who Detritus was, but apparently, he was a repaint of G1 Hound which makes me wonder, incredulously, if he's going to be the first version of Siege Hound's retooled Earth mode we get. If so, grrrr. All in all, though, a pretty good year to fill out more of the G1 roster, especially first season/'86 Movie characters, which is my sweetest of sweet spots when it comes to Transformers. However, while I can appreciate what they're doing to homogenize all continuities into a CHUG aesthetic, I wish they'd just make updated toys of non-G1 toon characters with better articulation in their original aesthetics. Those aesthetics often are what set them apart from everything else and made them unique which was a big part of their appeal. That ship has obviously sailed, but I hold out hope that maybe someday they'll reconsider and return to some of these non-G1 toons giving us updated toys in their original looks like many of us desire.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I posted the list and took off for a friend's house this morning

My bad, I missed that post.  I was out celebrating my birthday with my parents, wife, and daughter, and when I had a moment I checked MW on my phone to see if @Hikuro needed a Red Alert or not.  For whatever reason I saw his post but not yours.

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

seeing Strongarm, I'm guessing their dipping their toes into Post-Prime RiD as the next toon to G1-ify.

I'm really ok with that.  No so much in the sense that I want a G1-ish version of other RiD characters (because I really don't), but because Strongarm was one of the few things actually did like about RiD (with the caveat that I thought it was so bad that I only made it through half of the first season).  I'll gladly buy figures of characters like Strongarm, Shadowstriker (from Cyberverse, btw), and other female Transformers (even if they don't have that classic '80s fembot shape), because I greatly prefer new female characters to gender-flipping existing ones like they did with Skywarp and Frenzy in Earthspark.

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I had no idea who Detritus was, but apparently, he was a repaint of G1 Hound which makes me wonder, incredulously, if he's going to be the first version of Siege Hound's retooled Earth mode we get. If so, grrrr.

Detritus is in the last wave, and I'm hoping that the leaked Earth-mode Hound that was supposed to be in Buzzworthy will be out around late spring (around the time the second wave of Evolution hits).  Still waiting for confirmation, though... the problem with store-exclusives is just how much control over them the store gets.

That said... while it may seem obvious to make Detritus a Hound repaint, since that's what the original was, Detritus is also canonically a Junkion.  Just putting that out there in case he turns out to be remold/retool of Scraphook, Crashbar, or Axelgrease.

3 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

However, while I can appreciate what they're doing to homogenize all continuities into a CHUG aesthetic, I wish they'd just make updated toys of non-G1 toon characters with better articulation in their original aesthetics. Those aesthetics often are what set them apart from everything else and made them unique which was a big part of their appeal.

Yeah, I wonder about that.  Anecdotal, I know, but from what I've seen Legacy Arcee did NOT sell very well, and what I think people were more ok with the G1-ification of a character like Bulkhead without a proper G1 analog, but when it came to Arcee (and more recently, Prowl) there was a lot more complaining about just wanting the original characters with modern engineering and scaling.

I have to admit, though, I'm in the minority that would probably skip any Animated, Prime, RiD 2015, Cyberverse, or Earthspark releases in the mainline if they didn't have the unified G1-ish aesthetic.  I'm not into whatever dimension-hopping story the marketing guys came up with for Legacy.  To me, Legacy Bulkhead is G1 Bulkhead.  Legacy Arcee is a different-but-still-G1 character named Arcee (characters with the same name is nothing new in G1... Marvel UK printed a story back in 1987 where Swoop's original name was Divebomb until the Predacon stole it, and after Hasbro released Generations Tankor (the Beast Machines version) IDW remembered that Octane was released as Classics Tankor and put them both together in the comics, causing other characters to refer to them as "Tall Tankor" and "Fat Tankor.")

[Hikuro]

thanks for the information, man I haven't shopped at Entertainment in over a decade...forget they even exist. There use to be a place called ToysNJoys I would order from since High School and I found out they went out of business years and years ago, was shocked.

I got an old I think year of the dragon or something Omega Supreme that I think was either a slight retool or just a repaint of the Energon Omega....wish I knew where I put him but I guess he'd make a decent substitute. I only came across Skylynx 1 time since his release last year and I almost got him but just didn't feel comfortable with the $75 price tag he was at when I found him at Target. 

I'll have to dig around the piggy bank and make sure I got enough to get Deadend online, probably will order 1 other item to get that free shipping cause man that's spendy on there.

[M'Kyuun]

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

My bad, I missed that post.  I was out celebrating my birthday with my parents, wife, and daughter, and when I had a moment I checked MW on my phone to see if @Hikuro needed a Red Alert or not.  For whatever reason I saw his post but not yours.

No worries. I didn't have time to record my impressions in the morning, so when I returned home, I pretty much went into my second post without further context. I'm bad about posting and then going back and reading what everyone else has been posting- just have to get my thoughts down before they dissipate. I do my fair share of retroactive quoting.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm really ok with that.  No so much in the sense that I want a G1-ish version of other RiD characters (because I really don't), but because Strongarm was one of the few things actually did like about RiD (with the caveat that I thought it was so bad that I only made it through half of the first season).  I'll gladly buy figures of characters like Strongarm, Shadowstriker (from Cyberverse, btw), and other female Transformers (even if they don't have that classic '80s fembot shape), because I greatly prefer new female characters to gender-flipping existing ones like they did with Skywarp and Frenzy in Earthspark.

I liked RiD, at least what little I can remember of it. I'm also not glued to the humanoid woman with small bits of kibble attached serving as fembots; it's one of the biggest issues with G1 Arcee insomuch as trying to translate that lithe spare toon design into a functional transforming figure when there's so little alt mode in her bot mode to work with. If they are, in fact, making RiD Strongarm, as I suspect they are, compared to Animated and Prime, her chunky appearance isn't too far a stretch to fit in with the CHUG aesthetic.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Detritus is in the last wave, and I'm hoping that the leaked Earth-mode Hound that was supposed to be in Buzzworthy will be out around late spring (around the time the second wave of Evolution hits).  Still waiting for confirmation, though... the problem with store-exclusives is just how much control over them the store gets.

I didn't realize Earth-mode Hound was going to be in the Buzzworthy line. Like all my TF toys, I'll try to score mine from Pulse if possible before trying to find it at Target. I get the sense that Hound will be a blasted store exclusive but Detritus, if in fact he's a Hound recolor, will be general retail.  Hate that direction, but that seems to be their modus operandi these days. In spite of their motto to the contrary, it certainly does us fans little good. 

11 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Yeah, I wonder about that.  Anecdotal, I know, but from what I've seen Legacy Arcee did NOT sell very well, and what I think people were more ok with the G1-ification of a character like Bulkhead without a proper G1 analog, but when it came to Arcee (and more recently, Prowl) there was a lot more complaining about just wanting the original characters with modern engineering and scaling.

I have to admit, though, I'm in the minority that would probably skip any Animated, Prime, RiD 2015, Cyberverse, or Earthspark releases in the mainline if they didn't have the unified G1-ish aesthetic.  I'm not into whatever dimension-hopping story the marketing guys came up with for Legacy.  To me, Legacy Bulkhead is G1 Bulkhead.  Legacy Arcee is a different-but-still-G1 character named Arcee (characters with the same name is nothing new in G1... Marvel UK printed a story back in 1987 where Swoop's original name was Divebomb until the Predacon stole it, and after Hasbro released Generations Tankor (the Beast Machines version) IDW remembered that Octane was released as Classics Tankor and put them both together in the comics, causing other characters to refer to them as "Tall Tankor" and "Fat Tankor.")

Interesting. Legacy Arcee's not a bad toy at all, and a relatively faithful interpretation of the Prime character; she certainly has a more cohesive and better looking motorcyle mode than the upcoming Legacy Prowl, IMHO. From my limited PoV, based upon almost weekly trips to my local Wally, but little elsewhere, Arcee sold far better than her Velocitron repaint, Road Rocket, who I passed on, and who warmed the pegs for some time. However, I don't have my finger on the pulse of the community even a fraction as much as you, so my perspective is, to say the least, limited. Poor sales could be chocked up to resistance from the fan community unable or unwilling to accept the current direction in Legacy of CHUGifying everything outside of G1 to a similar aesthetic. It's not my preference, either, but I don't hate it. I have the figs, and I plan to continue picking up the ones that appeal. IIRC, Arcee was the first fig to adopt this new direction, so being the inaugural release as such, I could see sales suffering at the onset; we're a fickle and ever-aging fandom, slow to adopt to change. Alas, Legacy's here to stay for the meantime and the foreseeable future, which dashes hopes of rereleases or updates of prior toys in their original forms but does open up some interesting interpretations like the upcoming Skyquake/Dreadwind, whose mold, IMHO, far outshines the original Prime toys, especially in jet mode, which suits me just fine. 👍 Like you, I'm not in the least interested in any manufactured lore they've conjured to explain the crossover figs; it's all about the toys and how well they're executed. I'm curious to see what other characters and continuities they mine- seems like nothing's off the table.

[sh9000]

Red Alert is available on Walgreens' site.

https://www.walgreens.com/store/c/transformers-transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron:-kingdom-deluxe-wfc-k38-red-alert/ID=300419960-product

@M'Kyuun I too am looking forward to Beachcomber, Bombshell, Brawn, Ratchet, Snarl, and Frenzy.

Nice Stunticons reviews @mikeszekely.  Happy Belated Birthday.

[mikeszekely]

9 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Red Alert is available on Walgreens' site.

Huh, I'd have thought he'd have sold out by now.

I cut the pelvis flap on my replacement Ironhide.  This time, I grabbed some tools and knocked the pin out of the flap and removed it.  Made cutting it with a hobby knife much easier, and I didn't gouge Ironhide at all!  Stabbed myself in the thumb trimming a little flash, though, so it doesn't look like I'm gaming tonight.

So, I might as well do a review.  We're finally finishing wave 1 of Evolution with Deluxe-class Scraphook.

Well... these original characters are always less fun to talk about, because there's no point of reference for me to be like, "this figure looks pretty good, but...".  What I can say is that Scraphook is supposed to be a Junkion.  But, I dunno... Junkions to me, in the '86 movie, in the third season of the Sunbow cartoon, in the Marvel comics, kind of a biker gang.  They're similarly-sized, they turn into motorcycles (and ride each other), they have "helmets" that look like the front of their bikes, and spikes like you might see on riding leathers.  They also tend to have lots of "rusty" colors like grays, browns, reds, oranges, and yellows to reflect that they live on the Planet of Junk.  Scraphook gets some of that.  Like, he's definitely brown, orange, and gray.  And he's got some spikes, although they're mostly on his legs and feet.  He's shorter, though, coming in around the same size as a standard Deluxe car and well below Wreck-Gar or Junkheap.  He doesn't really have a biker helmet head, either.  Actually, he looks like Ironhide with a goatee and a eyepatch.  Curiously, he also has an Autobot insignia.  While the Junkions were allies of the Autobots (and the original G1 Wreck-Gar toy has Autobot branding) the Junkions didn't have the Autobot badges in the cartoon, and SS86 Wreck-Gar and Junkheap are both faction-free.

That aesthetic continues as we look around the figure, but there's one issue that I'm not sure you can see too well in this picture because of his backpack.  Now, I'm used to Hasbro hollowing out arms and thighs (which the did here) to save plastic, but this time Hasbro went and hollowed out the back of his head, too.  That's a bridge too far, in my book.

Could they have spared the plastic from somewhere else to fill in his head?  Probably, because he's got a ton of accessories.  You get two of these pipes, a crane boom, a hook, a spikey tire, and two bits that I guess are supposed to be pistols.  We'll circle back to this.

Scraphook's head is on a mushroom swivel, so there's no tilting here.  His shoulders have hinges for lateral movement, about 75 degrees or so, and pinned swivels for rotation, but once again the swivel is at the torso and the hinge is on the outside.  Hasbro's gotta stop doing that!  His biceps swivel, and his elbows are technically double-jointed (more for transformation), but he doesn't have the clearance around his massive biceps to get much more than 90 degrees of bend.  His wrists swivel, as does his waist and thighs.  His hips can go forward, backward, or laterally 90 degrees and his knees bend 90 degrees.  His feet are double hinged and can get some decent up/down tilt, plus his ankles pivot around 75 degrees.

Scraphook has several 5mm ports, in addition to his fists.  The default arrangement of his accessories is on the left, with him holding the two pistols.  The pipes plug into the 5mm ports on the wheels on his shoulders, the tire plugs into a 5mm port on one forearm as a shield, the hook goes into a port on the crane boom, which in turn plugs into a port on his other forearm.  That still leaves a port above the wheels on either shoulder, on one each wheel on the side of his leg, on on the front of each shin, one on the inside of each leg, one under each foot, and two on his back, plus each of the pipe accessories has a 5mm port opposite the peg and a 5mm port near the tips.  Feel free to arrange them however you like.

Since Hasbro started releasing the Citybot pack-in guys as Weaponizers in Siege it seems like they've been into this pull apart gimmick.  I'd hoped we were done with it, since Legacy didn't have any, but Hasbro's decided to replace Weaponizers, Modulators, and Fossilizers with... well, Junkions.  No fancy names.  The gimmick is a bit downplayed now, at least with Scraphook.  He doesn't pull into too many parts... basically, his arms can come off at the shoulders, and his legs can come off just below the knees.

And you can pull is forearms off!  This is not actually intended, it's a result of the cheap design.  The elbow joint clips around the bicep with one of these friction hinges, and the connection is a bit loose because the tolerances are a little off, which pushes the clips on the elbow outward.  Your mileage my vary, but I'm betting it actually doesn't.

The reason Scraphook doesn't break into as many pieces as Cog or Paleotrex is because unlike the Weaponizers, Modulators, and Fossilizers, the Junkions (Scraphook, anyway, although I'm lead to believe this will be the case for all of them) do NOT partsform into their alt modes.  Scraphook transforms from robot to tow truck without removing any limbs, and you can pretend the gimmick doesn't even exist if you want... although you might want to remember it when more Junkions come out, as the limb-swapping thing was something straight out of the 86 movie that I wish Hasbro thought to include on the SS86 Junkions.

Speaking of the SS86 Junkions... I know you can sort of rationalize it by saying that the Junkions turn into bikes for other Junkions, not Earth-mode disguises, but Scraphook's truck mode looks kind of ridiculous next to a Junkion bike.  He's pretty out-of-scale next to a car like Hot Shot, too.

Does he look like a Junkion?  He's brown with orange rims and spikes... perhaps too uniformly brown?  While the patches and holes on the sides do seem to fit with the junk theme, the cages on the windows and the spiked reinforcement over the bumper and headlights gives him more of a Mad Max vibe.  Then again, I guess there's not a ton of difference between junkyard biker gang and post-apocalyptic biker gang, so maybe I'm splitting hairs.  The rear of the truck looks the most unfinished, although there's a noticeable gap in the hood, too.

This is, of course, where the accessories come in.  The guns plug into a pair of ports in the hood gap and look like a carburetor scoop with butterfly valves.  The pipes plug into the holes on the sides, just in front of the rear tires, like kitted exhaust pipes.  The crane with the hook attached plugs into one of two exposed arm ports in the bed of the truck; note that the peg is offset so that the crane will be centered.  This makes Scraphook a tow truck.  Lastly, the spiked wheel plugs into a port on the rear.  This still leaves a port on either door, the port on each of the four wheels, and the ports on the exhaust pipes you can use to plug in other, non-included accesories.

Circling back to my earlier question, about filling in the head... yes.  The spiked tire shield.  The bot mode can live without it, the alt mode can live without it, and without any paint on the spikes or the rim it doesn't really match his other wheels anyway.

To get into the gimmick where we turn him into parts for other robots, with Scraphook you want to start from his truck mode.  First, pull the front end off and split it in half.  Then, remove the rear by removing the arms from their shoulder ports.  Unfold the arms so that the wheels are on the ground, pegs up, and the arms are turned so that the hollow bits are facing up.  The instructions suggest that you fold his shoulder ports in all the way on the remaining cab.

But, the cab isn't actually used on other robots.  There's no pegs on him to plug into the ports on another bot, although I suppose if you have a bot with an exposed peg (a quick look at the bots on my desk doesn't reveal any) you might jam him there.  Really, you're just taking all his accessories and his limbs and handing them off to someone else... the instructions use Hot Shot as an example, with Scraphook's arms forming shoes, his guns plugging into the sides of his legs, his shield going on Hot Shot's arm, his crane (with the hook) becoming some kind of odd hand weapon, and his legs becoming shoulder pads with the pipes flaring off like wings.

How do I best some up Scraphook?  Using bits of guys to augment other guys hasn't really appealed to me- what I liked about the Weaponizers was that they were NOT original characters, they were the little guys that came with the G1 Citybots, guys that were kind of neglected since Thrilling 30 Metroplex only came with Scamper but not Slammer or Sixgun, Trypticon came with Full Tilt but not Brunt, and Fortress Maximus and Scorponok were missing Cog and Fasttrack, respectively.  I was far less enthused with Micromaster bases given robot modes (the Modulators), nor was I particularly loving original characters that turned into dinosaur skeletons (the Fossilizers).  Scraphook falls somewhere in between.  I like him better than the Modulators and Fossilizers because he's a decent enough robot with a decent enough alt mode that I don't have to partsform to transform, and as a Junkion he can technically fill out their ranks on a shelf that currently just has Wreck-Gar, Junkyard/heap, and my custom Rubbish.  But as an original character he doesn't have the same draw to me that the Weaponizers did, and he feels somewhat unnecessary.  This is compounded by feeling a bit cheap, what with his loose elbow hinges that pop off and the hollow back of the head.  That, in turn, brings me to the complaint I feel I'm making rather often, where I wonder why Hasbro is wasting slots in their regimented line up on guys like this while G1 cartoon characters like Gears are still overlooked and more desirable (probably) releases like Breakdown can't even get enough remolded parts to look like the right car.  I guess I'd have to ultimately say that you're not missing much if you pass on Scraphook, but at the same time, if you don't mind smaller original Junkions that don't turn into bikes he's not really a bad figure, either, and he can help fill out the Junkion's ranks.

[no3Ljm]

Action Toys Ultimetal S GALVATRON
3Q 2023
Y29800

[no3Ljm]

Action Toys Ultimetal S RODIMUS PRIME/HOT ROD
3Q 2023
Y29800

[M'Kyuun]

First look at the upcoming SS86 Snarl

The front legs are a little skinny on the Stegosaurus mode, but considering they and the head halves all fit into the bot's lower legs, it's forgivable. Snarl, unlike Slag and Sludge, skews much closer, by all appearances, to his G1 transformation schema. His back plates appear to have a shiny metallic gold sheen that I wish the head, legs, and tail all shared, but they appear to just be a yellowish-orangish plastic.  I've never been much of a fan of robots with melee weapons, especially Transformers; if you have the tech to transform, why take a club when you can wield a cool shooting weapon? Indeed, the G1 Snarl toy came with both a rifle and a rocket launcher, as well as a sword. I'd rather have the shooters, but I'm sure some third-party company will help us out on that count. All things considered; I'm looking forward to adding this fellow to the team. After his arrival, only Swoop is left to complete a rather faithful G1 Dinobots collection in the mainline since the originals nigh 40 years ago. I'm a happy fan.

[mikeszekely]

3 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Action Toys Ultimetal S GALVATRON

Eh... I know it's supposed to be Studio OX, but that big helmet, small face is killing it for me.

3 hours ago, no3Ljm said:

Action Toys Ultimetal S RODIMUS PRIME/HOT ROD

That looks much better than Galvatron.  Especially Rodimus Prime.

49 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

First look at the upcoming SS86 Snarl

I need that Snarl, and I need it now!

Kinda weird, though, that after giving the first three guns and no swords that they gave Snarl a sword but no gun.   I guess that's what the DNA kits are for.  While DNA is at it, they can replace the sword with a slightly bigger one, with the translucent red they used on Slag and Sludge, that'd be good.  Include one for Grimlock, too, since the one they included with the Grimlock kit was silver.  Can't wait to see Swoop, now.