The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

While we wait for Hasbro to announce new Studio Series stuff on 10/27, let's not forget that stuff is still coming out.  And right here, we've got Core-class Noah Diaz.

Y'know, when this figure was first revealed I was thinking "he doesn't turn into a plane in the movie, what's up with this?"  Then I get the figure in hand, and he doesn't actually turn into a plane.  Matter of fact, for a smaller figure like this the molded detail is pretty accurate, actually.  He's got the vents on his shoulders, the brake lights on his chest, etc.  I do wonder at the big feet with the toes... looks like they should be on a Maximal, not Noah, but honestly I think the biggest thing working against him is just a lack of paint.  Like the brake lights on his chest should be red, he's missing a lot of his blue accents, and they kind of molded chunks of him in either light or dark gray plastic when the CGI was more blended.

Oh, and he doesn't have Anthony Ramos' face.  That's a licensing thing, I hear.  Instead he's got a visor that goes back to the exo suit's concept art.  If you look at it, it's actually meant to evoke a similar detail on Mirage's chest (that, ironically, didn't turn out on the Studio Series toy).

Spin him around, and you'll see that he's got some hollow spots, and what little paint he has is budgeted for the front side only.  Not a huge deal to me, honestly, given how cheap Core-class figures are.  I do wish that the arm blade was a removable accessory, but it's molded to his right arm.

Onto accessories.  Noah's got his arm cannon, and ironically it has more paint on it than Mirage's arm cannon.  He also comes with a jet drone thing, which is obviously where a lot of the budget went.

Noah's covered in ball joints.  On larger figures, sure, they're not my favorite, but I can't deny that they give Noah some pretty solid articulation.  His head can tilt sideways or down a little, swivel, and look 90 degrees straight up.  Shoulders swivel and move laterally almost 90 degrees.  The ball joints at the elbows bend 90 degrees and pull double duty as bice swivels.  His waist is actually a ball joint, so in addition to swiveling he can teapot lean a little and arch his back 45-60-ish degrees.  Alas, no forward ab crunch.  His hips can go 90 degrees forward, 45 degrees backward, and nearly 90 degrees laterally.  His knees bend 90 degrees and pull double duty as thigh swivels.  His ankles can swivel, tilt up slightly, tilt down almost 90 degrees, and pivot around 45 degrees.

His arm cannon is hollow on the underside with a 3mm peg.  It fits over Noah's left arm, with the peg in his fist.  If I recall correctly, that's the arm he used for his cannon in the film, so it checks out.

The jet, meanwhile, has some pegs, tabs, and slots on the underside.  A pair of tabs got into Noah's back, and a 3mm peg goes into his butt.  Tabs on the tail go into slots on Noah's calves.  Tabs on his arms lock into slots under the jet, and a peg with a 3mm port allows Noah's cannon to plug into the nose.  So again, Noah's alt mode isn't really an alt mode so much as locking him into a the underside of the jet.

Noah doesn't transform, but the jet kind of does.  The tail folds on a double hinge onto the spine of the jet, then the nose double hinges over the tail and the wings sweep backward.  Note that you don't have to remove the cannon from the nose while it's in backpack mode, so I guess that counts as weapon storage.

But an interesting thing is that the jetpack/drone doesn't just have stuff under it for Noah.  There's actually a 5mm peg on a hinge that you can fold out, allowing the drone to be plugged into the 5mm ports on larger figures.  Here I stuck it to Sideswipe's back, but with Noah's arm cannon attached to the nose it could even plug into a fist and pass as a weapon.

So, Noah turned out to be kind of weird case.  To be movie-accurate they made a little action figure, then to be a Transformer they give him a jetpack that was probably half his budget.  Now, ultimately, the jetpack is fine, but I'm kind of surprised at how well Noah himself actually works for me.  I mean, it's not like I needed a representation of him, not anymore than I need a Studio Series Shia The Beef or Marky Mark.  But it's a cool little dude, and I can't help thinking how cool a Samus Aran remold might be.  Actually, I'm not really a G.I. Joe guy, I don't collect either the retro or Classified G.I. Joe figures... but if Hasbro used Noah's base engineering and made a line of Joes intended to go with Transformers I'd buy them all.  Oh, or maybe MASK?  Yeah, Noah's definitely a figure worth checking out, I recommend him and sincerely hope Hasbro finds other uses for the mold.

 

[Old_Nash_II]

POWER XTREME!!!!!!
XD

[sh9000]

Nice review for Ultra Magnus @mikeszekely.  Looking forward to receiving mine.

[M'Kyuun]

On 10/16/2023 at 4:41 PM, Hikuro said:

My SS86 Magnus just arrived this afternoon, and boy do I like it. I'm very much happy that I entirely passed on either the Seige or Earthrise versions as this guy is just fantastic. I do agree with what a lot of people think about the width of the arms being so far out from the upper body, but I can forgive it since there's a lot of panel compression going on as well....you gotta have some kind of a compromise I suppose. 
I didn't get to play to much with my MP variant I bought a couple of months ago, but to me, the SS86 release feels more solid, not the least bit flimsy or loose in any way. I'm going to be really looking forward to the Toyhax labels that I'm sure will really enhance the overall look of the figure 10 fold, namely around the cab, it's very drab and plain. 

Mine arrived today, a day earlier than expected, thank you Fed Ex. I mentioned my anticipation for this fig earlier, and overall, he exceeds expectations, especially in bot mode where he really shines. The wide arms don't bother me at all. My gripes are primarily for the vehicle mode- ground clearance isn't the best on my copy, as some of the wheels float; the lack of integrated storage for his guns despite having a large alt mode with options for the designers beyond just pegging them onto the outsides of the forearms; unpainted fuel tanks and exhaust pipes; extremely limited turn radius for the cab (they did a much better job with the CW version), top deck is pretty narrow compared to Autobot cars, and forward part of lower deck, i.e. the accordioning panels that form his shoulders, is also too narrow for most of the Autobot cars to pass through limiting the trailer's overall carry capacity. However, being pragmatic, the bot mode was the obvious focus here, and in virtually all aspects, Has/Tak nailed it. The only real negative I have is the lack of ratchets in the shoulder abduction joints; while the flexion joints have nice strong ratchets, the abduction joints are merely pinned which provide far too little friction to maintain the arms' poses. It's a crappy oversight in an otherwise incredible figure.

I'll also say the instructions have really small illustrations and I initially missed the part where you position the double knee joint for trailer mode, so things on the trailer weren't lining up for me. I figured it out and then consulted the instructions for verification, but I'll admit it had me stumped for a minute.

Despite a few warts, I think this will go down as the best official G1 version of the character for many years to come.

[Old_Nash_II]

Hasbro showing first 2 figures from TF: Reactivate

https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/10/18/first-look-at-transformers-rise-starscream-bumblebee-2-pack-496772?fbclid=IwAR2pcgfmtNGxtJe5knQmUoHZTuE04MzoiFKQmCf-863UT3-3UKtV2pNF_lE

 

And why I see a future Legacy Animated Starscream in this figure?

[mikeszekely]

9 hours ago, Old_Nash_II said:

Hasbro showing first 2 figures from TF: Reactivate

https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/10/18/first-look-at-transformers-rise-starscream-bumblebee-2-pack-496772?fbclid=IwAR2pcgfmtNGxtJe5knQmUoHZTuE04MzoiFKQmCf-863UT3-3UKtV2pNF_lE

 

And why I see a future Legacy Animated Starscream in this figure?

My first thought was Bumblebee Starscream, but yeah, I can see it.

The alt mode, though, not so much.

It's an interesting design (I'm not as into Bumblebee's), but $72 USD seems kind of expensive.  Maybe just because the Canadian price is higher than a simple dollar conversion.

Anyway, apparently the second set will be Optimus and Soundwave.

[mikeszekely]

When I heard that Prowl was getting an Earthspark Deluxe I figured (especially since I haven't even seen Prowl in the show) that Hasbro was going to redeco or maybe retool Cyberverse Prowl, kinda like how Starscream and Shockwave are repaints or Prime and Grimlock share parts and engineering with their Cyberverse selves.

Man, I did NOT see this one coming.

(In case it's not clear/you're not familiar, Prowl is a Cyberverse repaint... but not of Prowl.  Instead, they repainted Hot Rod.)

[mikeszekely]

It's not even Halloween, but I was looking at my preorders and their release dates, and unless Legacy Unite starts hitting early this could be my last or second-to-last review of the year already.  What I've got for you tonight is Studio Series Deluxe-class Nightbird.

Not gonna lie, I'm a bit underwhelmed.  I thought Prime, Primal, Cheetor, and Rhinox's mainline figures were decent enough, but across the board the Studio Series figures were noticeable improvements.  ROTB Nightbird wasn't an amazing figure, but surely, I thought, her Studio Series figure would be an improvement, right?  And yet, in a lot of ways the ROTB figure is more accurate.  She doesn't have a gap in her chest.  Her feet are closer to the CGI model.  While she lacks most of her skirt armor, her pelvis is at least correct while the newer figure has a weird feathered look.  Her calves have more of the gold color, and she's got her forearm claw.  I guess at least the arms of the newer figure are more accurately colored.

Of course, the ROTB figure had its share of issues, too, but what gets me is that the Studio Series figure doesn't really do anything to resolve them.  The armor on her hips is still too large.  She's still got a backpack that's made from the rear of the car folding up onto the roof, but now it's even messier.  About the only thing the Studio Series figure did try to resolve is to give her wings, but I almost wish they hadn't as they're comically small, as if someone highlighted them in Photoshop and reduced them by 85-90%.

Nightbird comes with a sword... and that's it.  They took her forearm claw away (technically, if you look closely it's sort of molded on, but meh), and it's really a shame that the Studio Series release couldn't come with two swords like she had in the actual movie.

Nightbird's articulation is familiar, if you already have the ROTB figure.  Head's on a ball joint that has a swivel limited by her hood, and a little up/down/sideways tilt.  Her shoulders are ball joints that can rotate and move 90 degrees laterally.  Her biceps swivel and her elbows bend 90 degrees, but she lacks wrist articulation.  Her waist swivels, but is limited by her back and hip kibble.  Speaking of hips, they can go forward 90 degrees and backward nearly that much.  For those keeping score at home, so far the articulation between the figures is identical.  Studio Series Nightbird's hips can move laterally 90 degrees as well, her first and only victory over her mainline counterpart.  Her thighs swivel, and her knees are kind of double-jointed for transformation and bend nearly 180 degrees combined.  No up/down foot tilt, but due to how she transforms her ankles pivot 180 degrees... just like the mainline figure.

Nightbird holds her sword just fine in either hand.

In what is possibly her first definitive victory over the mainline ROTB figure, SS Nightbird has robot mode weapon storage.  You can use a tab to store it on her back... kind of awkwardly, with the blade sticking far out to one side.  A better option is to store it on her hip armor.  I'll remind you that she has two hips and could have stored two swords like this.

At the beginning of this review I talked about how the Studio Series versions of Prime, Primal, Rhinox, and Cheetor were improvements over their mainline ROTB figures.  Whether you agree or disagree, you'll at least have to admit that they're very different, at least.  Which brings me to what is, perhaps, Studio Series Nightbird's biggest issue; at it's core, it's actually the same figure as the ROTB one.  Oh, sure, there are some differences in the engineering here; on the mainline figure a panel inside her chest folds up to cover the gap her head goes through when you lift her chest, while that some part of the hood and some of the nose is part of the backpack on the Studio Series figure.  Speaking of the backpack, on the Studio Series toy the backpack rotates 180 degrees, and the wings have to tuck up under the tail.  But that's the extent of the differences; the arms tuck in the same way, the rear window and tail fold off the backpack the same way, the feet fold up the same way and make the same rear wheel arear, the legs spin 180 degrees on both and fold up the same way, and the hip armor unfolds the make the doors and front fenders the same way.

I'd be lying, though, if I tried to claim that the alt mode wasn't an improvement.  Unlike the vaguely last-gen Pontiac GTO-ish unlicensed alt of the mainline figure, the Studio Series toy has a license from Nissan and the result is a far more accurate reproduction of the GT-R R33.  It's even got a little Terrorcon badge on the front and a GT-R badge on the rear.  The door still has a big hinge running through it, but it's at least the same color as the door; no caramel-colored plastic hinge there, nor the roof, and none on the hood, either.  That said, there's still a gray hinge in the roof, and I wish they'd have painted part of it black to blend better with the rear window.

OK, I guess there's one other major difference.  Studio Series Nightbird's rear spoiler is much more accurate to the film, because it's just a spoiler.  Instead of turning her sword into the spoiler, the sword uses a small tab on the hilt to attach to a notch near one of the rear tires.  Somewhat infuriatingly (again), you'll note that both sides have the notch, so she could have stored two swords without any issue.  She had two swords in the movie, and this toy could hold two swords, wear two swords on her hips, and store two swords in alt mode.  It's kind of inexcusable, then, that she only comes with one.

Studio Series Nightbird is a disappointment.  Her colors are a little bit better, and her alt mode is licensed and greatly improved over the ROTB figure, and I guess that technically makes the SS figure slightly better and probably the one you want if you're building a display for ROTB toys.  But she's really like 90% the exact same figure, and I needed her to be a lot better.  If they'd taken a different approach to her engineering they could have made bigger, more accurate wings out of her roof and doors and simultaneously reduced her hip kibble.  At the very least, if they were going to cheaply copy their other Nightbird design so much, they should have at minimum included a second sword.  Sadly, this is likely as good as we're going to get, so here's hoping for a DNA kit or something.

[mikeszekely]

Time for a quick, likely final for the year, Repaint Roundup.

Up first we have Core-class Novakane, who's a slight repaint of Freezer with a barely altered head.  It's hard to tell in photos, but the dark gray plastic is basically the same, while the lighter gray plastic is a slightly lighter shade on Novakane.  Likewise, the painted rust on Novakane is more of a gold color, while Freezer had more of a copper color.

The main difference is their head.  Novakane is missing part of his left antenna, and has a black scar over his left eyes, while Freezer has a "normal" head.  Fun fact, now that the movie's been out and have more info about development available, I can tell you that these guys are supposed to be Sweeps.  Yeah, Scourge gets an upgrade via Robots In Disguise for ROTB, but his Sweeps get the shaft.  What's more, there was a generic Sweep model that was supposed to be used for the swarms of them in the film, but Novakane and Freezer were both named; Novakane was missing an antenna, and Freezer had two scars.  The animators used all three models interchangeably, and IIRC none of them were called out by name in the movie, so here we are.

Anyway, Novakane has the same two "cover the head with the backpack and twist the arms around until they can lock into each other" alt modes as Freezer.  Honestly, Freezer was kind of crappy, and Novakane is no better (aside from having noticeably tighter ball joints, go figure).  If you're building a nice ROTB shelf and really want variants of the mold, cool I guess, but honestly I don't think either are worth picking up.

While that concludes the live action Studio Series stuff for the year, we've got some 86 left, starting with Core-class Frenzy (Red).  Frenzy (Red) is a straight redeco of Rumble (Blue), which means he has the same improvements over his Siege Micromaster version; slightly taller, improved proportions, more accurate deco, and accessories.

Accessories, of course, being the removable back guns and the pile drivers.  But being a straight redeco means he also has the same issues I had with Rumble (Blue).  Aside from the ball joints at the shoulders, his arms have no articulation- no biceps, no elbows, no wrists.  His fists also do not have peg holes, so while you can remove his back guns and even peg them into his forearms, he can't hold them in his hands.  The lack of fist holes isn't a dealbreaker, but as cheap as Core-class is I'd have still liked working elbows.

Alt mode has more paint on the front side, to sort of pass as a cassette, and his head is better hidden on the back, which is cool.  But he's designed to be the same size as the Siege Micromasters, so he can still fit into Siege Soundwave's chest.

Frenzy (Red) is definitely a necessity for the Rumble (Red) crowd.  Beyond that, I mean, his is improved over the Siege Micromaster, but the changes in deco are less significant than Rumble (Blue)'s, and his vastly reduced screen time in the cartoon vs Rumble (Blue) makes him feel like less of a necessity.  If you don't have a Frenzy in your collection SS86 Frenzy (Red) is the one to get, but if you already have the Micromaster you'll have to decide if that's good enough or you need to upgrade.

Finally, we have Voyager-class Ratchet.  He's exactly what we've expected since Voyager Ironhide released; Ironhide, with a new head.  He's even got the same pair of pistols, which is fine because that's actually movie-accurate for him.  But it'd be cool if he had some doctor tools.  Happily, we've got red on the hands and pelvis without me having to bust out the paints.  This being a Hasbro toy in the era of a highly litigious Red Cross, we've got an even less infringing variant of the symbol we saw on MP Ratchet.  And speaking of his head, I like that it's not just Ironhide's but with the mohawk swapped for a crest.  Their faces are quite different in ways that reflect their personalities; Ironhide's got narrow eyes and a stern face like he's ready for a fight, while Ratchet's got bigger eyes and a softer face that give him a less angry, more caring expression.

Ratchet's alt mode is the same as Ironhide's, which means we get the same great all-in-one transformation and rims you don't have to paint yourself... but we get the same odd lack of alt mode deco, as if the Voyager budget ran out at that point.  No stripe on the side, no little red cross on the skirt, and weirdly they didn't even paint the rear bumper this time.  Looks like there's a Reprolabels set in my future...

Ratchet has the same under-the-van storage for his pistols that Ironhide did, but you sort of can't store them on the roof the way Ironhide could.  That's because those tabs, as speculated, are the mounting point for Ratchet's lightbar.

I know there was more than a few people who complained that SS86 Ironhide was a Voyager that was the same size as his previous Deluxe release, but c'mon.  The new Voyagers are huge upgrades that do away with the partsforming roof (and the need for aftermarket feet to fix the rear of the van).  They've got better decos (in bot mode) and better proportions.  So as with Ironhide I strongly recommend picking up Ratchet.

[mark-1s]

MP Rinox ?!

I don’t recall anybody posting this up or even seeing/ hearing anything about it. Almost came out of nowhere 

Looks good, but pricey 

https://tfsource.com/masterpiece-transformers/mp-59-rhinox-transformers-masterpiece-beast-wars/

[lechuck]

[Tking22]

Yeah I'm in for Rhinox despite the ridiculous price, Beast Wars was my first, and will always be my favorite, Transformers series. Just need a Rattrap and we're looking good for OG Maximals I believe. 

[mikeszekely]

Finally, the Transformers part of 10/27 started (preorders are at 5:00pm EDT for Pulse Premium members, 6:00 for everyone else).  And they're coming out swinging, with Commander-class Magmatron.  It's interesting that they're not only investing the Commander slot for the year on a Japanese-only series, but that they're saying that they're specifically going for cartoon over toy colors.  Hopefully we'll get a Big Convoy to go with him.

Voyager (Beast Wars) Silverbolt.  Takara leaked it as Wave 1 for Legacy Unite in Japan, but they're confirming what I told you guys awhile back, it'll be wave 2 in the US.  Don't expect preorders for Silverbolt until Hasbro reveals the rest of wave 2, they just wanted to confirm that you don't have to import the Takara one. 

Stranger Things X Transformers Code Red.  This one was revealed awhile ago and I kind of forgot about it.  Limited quantities at Pulse, it's actually destined to be a Target exclusive.  Comes in a pizza box.

The Studio Series announcements won't be coming until tomorrow at MCM Comicon.

[M'Kyuun]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Finally, the Transformers part of 10/27 started (preorders are at 5:00pm EDT for Pulse Premium members, 6:00 for everyone else).  And they're coming out swinging, with Commander-class Magmatron.  It's interesting that they're not only investing the Commander slot for the year on a Japanese-only series, but that they're saying that they're specifically going for cartoon over toy colors.  Hopefully we'll get a Big Convoy to go with him.

Voyager (Beast Wars) Silverbolt.  Takara leaked it as Wave 1 for Legacy Unite in Japan, but they're confirming what I told you guys awhile back, it'll be wave 2 in the US.  Don't expect preorders for Silverbolt until Hasbro reveals the rest of wave 2, they just wanted to confirm that you don't have to import the Takara one. 

Stranger Things X Transformers Code Red.  This one was revealed awhile ago and I kind of forgot about it.  Limited quantities at Pulse, it's actually destined to be a Target exclusive.  Comes in a pizza box.

The Studio Series announcements won't be coming until tomorrow at MCM Comicon.

I'm a Stranger Things fan, so I POed a copy of the Surfer Boy Pizza vanformer. It's a bit of a weird crossover (I actually would have expected them to do Hopper's truck, but IMHO this has more personality). love the packaging they did for this- great presentation. $44 is a bit steep for a deluxe fig, but 'exclusivity' has its price. 😒 At least it's an original mold.

As a BW fan, I'm also down for Silverbolt when he's eventually available. I never cared for the Fuzors overall, but Silverbolt was such a standout character in the show that he's a must to put alongside Blackarachnia.

I like dinosaurs, but I have no familiarity with BW: Neo, so my interest is a little low for Magmatron. I do think they did a pretty amazing job on those dino modes, though. The bot mode is kinda so-so to me, but I appreciate what was required engineering wise to make him a three-part combiner. It's a given that a Big Convoy fig is coming, so that's cool for fans. Sounds like the upcoming titan class fig is likely coming from Neo as well.

Looking forward to revelations from London Comic Con this weekend. Hopefully SS86 Swoop will be among them. I'd love to see Omnibots revealed, but I'm not holding my breath. There are still a number of G1 Minibots MIA in the deluxe upscaling, so Gears, Windcharger, Powerglide, and Seaspray are welcome additions. A new improved SS86 Seeker with a more accurate F-15 mode would be great, too. I'd love a Fall of Cybertron game version of Optimus in voyager scale (still love my little deluxe fig from years ago, but an upscaled and hopefully more detailed version is most welcome). I'd also love an improved G1 Mirage fig in Legacy, as the WFC fig left somewhat to be desired. Til then, my beloved Classics Mirage is filling the void, just as my nigh-perfect Classics Hound is filling that position. While I think the Legacy Hound mold is really well done (and I wish Target would just release the damned thing already!!!), I still have a preference for the Classics fig- it was just so brilliantly executed that it always remains in my mind as the Hound to beat. Anyway, I hope there are some pleasant surprises coming in the G1 and Animated realms.

Edited October 27, 2023 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

I preordered Magmatron and Code Red.  I have no attachment to Magmatron, but he's such a weird concept.  Plus, if they do eventually do Big Convoy I'll want Magmatron to fight him, so... yeah.  

I'll be getting Silverbolt, too, eventually, but aside from the second Deluxe-class rock dude he might be the figure I'm least interested in from that second wave.  Spoilers, one of those G1 minibots you're waiting for is coming, as well as a G1 Targetmaster and a G1 triplechanger. 

36 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

It's a given that a Big Convoy fig is coming, so that's cool for fans.

I mean, I want that, but it's not on the regular release schedule.

36 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Sounds like the upcoming titan class fig is likely coming from Neo as well.

No, it's Armada Tidal Wave.  He's featured in the artwork from Pulsecon.  I know some fans are a bit upset that he's "too big" (and may very well be, based on Armada's scaling), but parts of him will still be able to come off and attach to Megatron/Galvatron, and as someone who has fond memories of the PS2 game I'm very down for Tidal Wave being huge.

39 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I'd love to see Omnibots revealed

In Studio Series?  Wouldn't they have had to appear is some form of Transformers media?

40 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Looking forward to revelations from London Comic Con this weekend. Hopefully SS86 Swoop will be among them. I'd love to see Omnibots revealed, but I'm not holding my breath. There are still a number of G1 Minibots MIA in the deluxe upscaling, so Gears, Windcharger, Powerglide, and Seaspray are welcome additions. A new improved SS86 Seeker with a more accurate F-15 mode would be great, too. I'd love a Fall of Cybertron game version of Optimus in voyager scale (still love my little deluxe fig from years ago, but an upscaled and hopefully more detailed version is most welcome).

Hate to burst your bubble, but I wouldn't count seeing any of that tomorrow.  If they reveal the whole first wave, it should be:

Spoiler

Core-class The Last Knight Mohawk
Core-class Bumblebee Rumble
Deluxe-class Rise of the Beasts Wheeljack
Deluxe-class Rise of the Beasts Scorponok
Voyager-class 86 Scrapheap
Voyager-class War for Cybertron Starscream
Leader-class Bumblebee Megatron

Don't lose heart, though.  That's just wave 1, currently scheduled for February.  Wave 2, hitting in April, should have 86 Swoop.

[M'Kyuun]

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I preordered Magmatron and Code Red.  I have no attachment to Magmatron, but he's such a weird concept.  Plus, if they do eventually do Big Convoy I'll want Magmatron to fight him, so... yeah.  

Not surprised in the least😄, and knowing you're a Prime collector, I'm sure Big Convoy is on your eventual 'want' list.

9 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

 Spoilers, one of those G1 minibots you're waiting for is coming, as well as a G1 Targetmaster and a G1 triplechanger. 

Hmm, interest piqued, especially for the Mini and the triple-changer. I believe there's a rumor that we're getting G1 Sandstorm, so that's my expectation then. We haven't had a proper triple-changer of that character since the T30 Generations fig back in 2013, which, of course, was a heavy retool of the IDW-inspired Springer figure, arguably one of the best triple-changers Has/Tak has ever made. Apropos of nothing, Joe Kyde was a designer at Hasbro who worked on T30 Springer; he would later work for LEGO and design the Optimus Prime set.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

No, it's Armada Tidal Wave.  He's featured in the artwork from Pulsecon.  I know some fans are a bit upset that he's "too big" (and may very well be, based on Armada's scaling), but parts of him will still be able to come off and attach to Megatron/Galvatron, and as someone who has fond memories of the PS2 game I'm very down for Tidal Wave being huge.

Ah, ok, I misheard or misinterpreted what Mark and BMac were saying about it. In that case, easy pass, money and space saved.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

In Studio Series?  Wouldn't they have had to appear is some form of Transformers media?

Oh no, not in SS86. Sorry if I gave that impression. As part of Legacy, though, yes. I have for Omnis at some point given that Evan Brooks also mentioned an interest in doing them during PulseCon, IIRC. I figure if the designers are interested in characters enough, they'll eventually convince their superiors to let them realize them as toys. My digits are doubly crossed.

10 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Hate to burst your bubble, but I wouldn't count seeing any of that tomorrow.  If they reveal the whole first wave, it should be:

  Hide contents

Core-class The Last Knight Mohawk
Core-class Bumblebee Rumble
Deluxe-class Rise of the Beasts Wheeljack
Deluxe-class Rise of the Beasts Scorponok
Voyager-class 86 Scrapheap
Voyager-class War for Cybertron Starscream
Leader-class Bumblebee Megatron

Don't lose heart, though.  That's just wave 1, currently scheduled for February.  Wave 2, hitting in April, should have 86 Swoop.

Well, out of that entire list, only WfC Starscream holds any interest, and only minor interest at that. For the most part, I wasn't too jazzed for the majority of the game character designs; I like Bee, FoC Prime (my fave of all the game designs), and the Dinobots.  I didn't bother getting the new Legacy WfC Bee, as I prefer the original fig over the new one, and I never really cared for the WfC Prime design, although I'll admit the Legacy fig's bot mode looks pretty nice. I bought Thundercracker back in the day, the only WfC game Seeker I own and I think it's an ok fig. I like its Macross VF-1-ish transformation, where the arms tuck between the legs rather than just hanging out alongside the fuselage like most of Has/Tak's crappy jet modes. I'm curious, not really in a good way, to see how the new fig differs in its approach. Folks are already complaining about the size of its canopy, so I'm guessing it's not going to be seen as favorably as Bee or Prime . I'm curious about the transformation schema and whether or not they hid the arms like the OG toy. Shouldn't have to wait too much longer, and with that, I'm off to bed. A pleasant good Saturday morning to all!

[Hikuro]

I'm somewhat invested in the beast wars stuff after doing a few episodes of the japanese series in english as Tasmanian Kid back in the day. Seeing that I think they're releasing that character as a core figure, I'm gonna have to try and get it. With that I did order Magmatron, and at some point I'm gonna finally pickup Lio Convoy....really would like to see other characters as well. 

Something that kind of surprises me right now, I hadn't seen much of squat of the Gamer figures, I'm guessing they're either not really being released in the same manner as other SS figures, or people are snagging them fast. I've really only come across cliffjumper, that's been about it. 

[mikeszekely]

The new Studio Series reveals at MCM Comicon were exactly what I said they'd be, but it's nice to actually see them.  I'll try to post pics later when people aren't just sniping blurry photos from Twitter, but here's my initial thoughts:

Mohawk: Decent Core-class motorcycle bot, but the robot is typical Bayverse.

Rumble: bot mode is OK-ish, alt mode is just a cube.

Wheeljack: his chest is a little more accurate, but it doesn't look like a big improvement over the mainline deluxe.  Details like the lights on his thighs are still unpainted.

Scorponok: Can't really complain, since we don't have a good figure for him yet.

Scrapheap: Probably my favorite reveal.  Sure, it's another Junkion retool of SS86 Wreck-Gar, but he's a pretty extensive retool that, combined with the bright yellow, will make him stand out from Junkyard/heap.

Starscream: The colors look more accurate, and the jet mode seems to have proportions close to the CAD model than the older Deluxe, but yeah that canopy is huge and the wings look kind of tiny.  I'm more curious to get it up against Planet X's than the old Deluxe.

Megatron: I like the robot and tank modes just fine.  The jet mode looks like an afterthought.

Preorders don't up until 1:00pm EDT on Halloween, and they're scheduled for February.  I think I'm in for all of it; the least interesting stuff is the Core-class stuff, but Core-class figures are cheap enough to say screw it and get them anyway.

[Old_Nash_II]

More imagens from Seibertron

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/official-images-for-ss-triple-changer-megatron-rotb-scorponok-wheeljack-and-more/47945/

[M'Kyuun]

I think Evan is mitigating a bit when he says they made WfC game Starscream's canopy "slightly" larger than the game art; it's notably quite larger than it should be compared to the game art, and to the OG toy, which was more accurate. I may still get a copy, but the canopy is too big and the wrong shape and the wings look too small. Evan explains that the canopy was enlarged to accommodate the head, which beggars the question of why they didn't follow the OG's transformation schema to keep that forward fuselage looking more accurate to the game art. 

[sh9000]

Only interested in Scrapheap so I'll probably preorder it from Hasbro Pulse.

 

[mikeszekely]

On 10/18/2023 at 11:07 AM, Old_Nash_II said:

Hasbro showing first 2 figures from TF: Reactivate

https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/10/18/first-look-at-transformers-rise-starscream-bumblebee-2-pack-496772?fbclid=IwAR2pcgfmtNGxtJe5knQmUoHZTuE04MzoiFKQmCf-863UT3-3UKtV2pNF_lE

 

Ok, so here's a look at those two figures, who will be sold as a two-pack.

The line will also have a two-pack of Optimus Prime and Soundwave.  Nothing on Soundwave yet, but this is apparently the Optimus:

Expect an announcement from Hasbro soon, like mid-November.

[Old_Nash_II]

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/transformers-reactivate-optimus-prime-toy-first-look/47947/

First look on Prime

[mikeszekely]

Just a reminder that the new Studio Series figures went up for preorder today.  All but Scrapheap are still available on Pulse, I preordered the whole lot on Amazon.

[mikeszekely]

Looks like Deathsaurus is getting ready to ship.  I got an email this evening telling me that I have until November 24th to make changes to my shipping address.

[sh9000]

[mikeszekely]

4 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Word on the street is that it's going to be the official reveal of the Transformers Rise/Reactivate figures, three of which have been leaked.  Well... I guess it'll be cool to see Soundwave (I have it on authority that he'll have a G1-ish robot mode and a truck/SUV alt mode (ala his evergreen design), and maybe get some preorders in.  If we get really lucky maybe they'll announce a few more characters, or provide an update on the game.

[Swann]

These were free. When K mart was around. So I took as many as I could.

[sh9000]

The next GI Joe x Transformers Collaborative is Kup Triple T Tank with Sgt. Slaughter and Leatherneck.  I think I'll keep collecting this line.

[mikeszekely]

Meh.  Kup's not one of my favorite characters, I'm not a GI Joe fan, and frankly the GI Joe collabs have been kind of terrible.  I'm still not sure why I preordered Soundwave, except Soundwave is cool.

Kind of curious about this Optimus Prime Target collab, though.

[Hikuro]

On 11/1/2023 at 10:33 PM, mikeszekely said:

Looks like Deathsaurus is getting ready to ship.  I got an email this evening telling me that I have until November 24th to make changes to my shipping address.

Oh crap, I think I ordered mine via TFSource....I need to change the payment on there to a different card, no way I can afford it on my standard stuff. 

 

On 10/31/2023 at 1:42 AM, mikeszekely said:

Ok, so here's a look at those two figures, who will be sold as a two-pack.

The line will also have a two-pack of Optimus Prime and Soundwave.  Nothing on Soundwave yet, but this is apparently the Optimus:

Expect an announcement from Hasbro soon, like mid-November.

Optimus doesn't look bad at all....heck I don't even see much for plastic mold gaping except in the biceps. Right now I'm sort of naw though for Bumblebee and Starscream, mainly Starscream....I'm not digging his look, it's to.....I dunno, Cyberverse looking maybe? I don't know yet, I really don't want to be buying a wholenother set of TFer toys for a different lineup...I've got enough figures as it is and I'm still trying to finish collecting all the G1 revamp stuff. 

[Old_Nash_II]

https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/11/14/transformers-stream-11-14-23-recap-reactivate-toys-and-more-498992

 

[sh9000]

They look cool but I think I'm going to mainly focus on SS TFTM releases.

[mikeszekely]

They're available to preorder now at the usual places.  I grabbed both sets.

[JB0]

It is really weird that Optimus doesn't have a bunch of random black pieces. He looks like he's from another line.