The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[lechuck]

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

I don’t know. I own a lot of Masterpiece toys and they frequently populate the bottom of my least favorite toys list in my collection.

MP-24 Star Saber is probably the worst toy I own. Other notable toys are MP-48+ Dark Amber Leoprime, MP-49 Black Convoy or MP-11 Lambor.

They are so bad that I stopped buying Masterpiece toys after Raiden (another contender) altogether.

Like I mentioned above, the higher standards for MP didn't kick off until around the second half of the line with MP Inferno, although personally I would also include MP-28 Hot Rod in there, mainly due to the greater degree of articulation that's implemented. I'm perfectly fine with MP-49, what's the issue – lack of paint?

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

The main line Hasbro toys are at least cheaper and mostly more fun to play with. There is a good chance that Studio Series 86 Optimus turns out better than MP-44.

That's going to be highly subjective based on personal experience and preference, a price point doesn't automatically equate to or dictate a certain value a toy should hold for everyone or over other toys. My argument was never that SS86 OP can't be a good or fun toy to someone because it doesn't have MP DNA in it.

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

If I didn’t collect MP I probably be much happier with collecting the main line. As a bonus you actually get the characters you want.

The thought of wave after wave of 4th, 5th, ... n-tier characters that in one way or another are mostly sharing same base-bodies is not enticing – this constant chasing for team X, season Y or comic book Z line ups is lost on me. I prefer MP release pacing and selectiveness.

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

Takara just can’t deliver a consistent baseline on their collector Transformers line.

Not sure what you mean with by this, Takara strives for unified robot size/scale amongst characters, their designs are based from animation, if possible they will go for a licensed alt-mode and there is dedicated focus on maximising articulation. Some of these points have been a baseline since MP-10.

9 hours ago, Scyla said:

And I find it funny that the MP line is not part of the new T-Spark branding that ought to be the equivalent to Tamashii Nations.

Actually MPG does belong to the T-Spark by being part of the Transformers sub-brand, just like Zoids and Diaclone. Takara states this in their product announcement pdf over at https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/. As these three lines are already established, they weren't part of the marketing push for T-Spark and the new lines.

Also for a little more background, there is a short interview that HobbyJapan did with the person in charge of T-Spark and the various lines.
https://hjweb.jp/article/1602914/

[sh9000]

Studio Series TFTM Optimus Prime.

[sh9000]

Got my orders in for Agent Knight at Amazon.  It's $49.99.

Edited July 30 by sh9000

[mikeszekely]

Amazon links

Agent Knight

Gamer Edition Ratchet

TFOne Megatron

Bumblebee Frenzy

Bludgeon & Ruckus

GI Joe Kup Triple T

Reactivate Bumblebee

Revenge of the Fallen Anniversary pack

Core-class Bumblebee Starscream

Pulse links are live now too, but you have to be a Pulse Premium to order before 2:00pm EST.  Check out what's new here.  Alas, the Supercop Pax/Gladiator Megatron pack isn't up for order.

Edited July 30 by mikeszekely

[Negotiator]

Thanks.  Argg.  Wish they integrated a front spoiler to look more natural on kitt.  Megatron looks like a good figure, gonna PO for now until I find more videos of it.  Have to be especially picky these days.  

[mikeszekely]

I ordered Ratchet, Megatron, the Bludgeon & Ruckus Pack, Agent Knight, and (against my better judgement) Frenzy (because I have Rumble, so why not?).  Core Starscream doesn't interest me at all, the Joe collabs are too expensive and kind of crappy robots, and I already have the individual figures in the ROTF anniversary pack.  Likewise, I didn't order Reactivate Bee because I already bought the back with him and Starscream when it was first released.  That said, if you don't have him, $25 is a heck of a good price.  In terms of parts/complexity and size he's closer to a Voyager than a Deluxe.

[M'Kyuun]

On 7/27/2024 at 9:12 PM, mikeszekely said:

Pensburgh... as in Pittsburgh, home of the the Penguins (hockey team).  If you want to find me on Google Maps, I'm actually in North Huntingdon.

Yup.

I actually have some sympathy for the Bayverse fans.  Studio Series started as pretty much nothing but Bayverse figures, but for the last two or three years it's been kind of overrun by 86, Gamer Edition, the Cybertronian designs from Bumblebee, Rise of the Beasts, and now Transformers One.  In 2021 only five of the eighteen Studio Series releases were from Bay films, 2022 was six out of twenty, and 2023 was zero out of seventeen (not counting core classes, package refreshes, and store exclusives).  So far there's been zero this year, too.  With Hook & Long Haul in 2025, every Commander-class release in Studio Series is 86.  And with Revenge of the Fallen celebrating it's 15th anniversary this year, the reality is that there's a whole group of fans with no connection to G1, for whom the Bayverse is their G1, and it's gotta suck feeling like a line made for you is suddenly going to the G1 crowd.  But I also think the number of Bayverse characters to put in Studio Series is dwindling (hence the expansion into 86 and Gamer Edition), and some of those characters are extremely obscure.  Some people just don't seem to get that just because there are Bayverse characters big enough to need a Commander Class that Devastator, who appeared in a very memorable scene during the attack on Autobot City in the 86 movie, will move twenty times more units than a guy like Devcon, a guy who had about 17 seconds of screen time in Dark of the Moon, none of which were in alt mode, and whom all but the most ardent fans will have to look up on TFWiki.  So, yeah, every time I hear, "aw, G1 again, screw that, they should Devcon!" I lose some of that sympathy.

I will say, though (and not for the first time) that with the volume of characters that could benefit from the extra budget, Hasbro should really consider doing more Commanders a year.  Heck, if Silverbolt and Long Haul/Hook turn out as good as Motormaster, then Onslaught, Hot Spot, Scattershot, Hun-Grrr, and Razorclaw alone could take the rest of the decade, and that's still only G1.

 I've remained forthright about my deep disdain for the Bayformers films. However, I appreciate that they're the G1 for some fans and I very much appreciate what that subset of the franchise did financially to buoy up the franchise as a whole. From Bayformers fans' perspective, the decline of Bayformers characters appearing as toys in the very line they originated must be frustrating and I can sympathize. That said, at least as long as us old fogies from the 80s are alive and remain influential through our championing G1 in the myriad ways we do, it's likely going to remain the most popular theme given its age and pervasive influence. Bay fans can complain all they want, but even they, once exposed to G1, can't deny the influences gleened from the G1 show, toys, and comics. That's the reality; nearly any main character from G1 will trump a non-Prime or Bumblebee Bayformer character in popularity and sales, especially if that character is less than first tier, and when profit drives what characters or themes get the most toys, the fact that G1 makes up a majority portion of Hasbro's offerings tells the tale.

I agree with your commander class assessment, and given the slow rollout of combiners, I imagine your observation is their plan. CW didn't exactly give us the most stellar toys, nor were they G1 faithful representations which seems to be the prevailing want within a large swathe of the fandom. Ignoring demand of that level would be negligence on Hasbro's part. I think combiners will be filling out various slots in both mainline and SS86 for the next few years as they've just about exhausted all the G1 main characters between those two lines and there's obvious need for better combiners to fill the voids in the current uber-G1 Legacy/SS86 lines. I'm here for it, especially a shiny new Bruticus.

[sh9000]

It would have been extra special if Agent Knight was released on the same day that Knight Rider first aired, September 26.

Edited August 1 by sh9000

[sh9000]

Transformers One Leader Class Optimus Prime.

[Scyla]

On 7/28/2024 at 5:55 PM, lechuck said:

Like I mentioned above, the higher standards for MP didn't kick off until around the second half of the line with MP Inferno, although personally I would also include MP-28 Hot Rod in there, mainly due to the greater degree of articulation that's implemented. I'm perfectly fine with MP-49, what's the issue – lack of paint?

That's going to be highly subjective based on personal experience and preference, a price point doesn't automatically equate to or dictate a certain value a toy should hold for everyone or over other toys. My argument was never that SS86 OP can't be a good or fun toy to someone because it doesn't have MP DNA in it.

The thought of wave after wave of 4th, 5th, ... n-tier characters that in one way or another are mostly sharing same base-bodies is not enticing – this constant chasing for team X, season Y or comic book Z line ups is lost on me. I prefer MP release pacing and selectiveness.

Not sure what you mean with by this, Takara strives for unified robot size/scale amongst characters, their designs are based from animation, if possible they will go for a licensed alt-mode and there is dedicated focus on maximising articulation. Some of these points have been a baseline since MP-10.

Actually MPG does belong to the T-Spark by being part of the Transformers sub-brand, just like Zoids and Diaclone. Takara states this in their product announcement pdf over at https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/. As these three lines are already established, they weren't part of the marketing push for T-Spark and the new lines.

Also for a little more background, there is a short interview that HobbyJapan did with the person in charge of T-Spark and the various lines.
https://hjweb.jp/article/1602914/

It was not just the missing paint on MP-49 (and MP-44 was fully painted) but also the quality of the black plastic (feels terribly cheap) and the plastic choices for the teal inlays on his waist. Basically the toy feels like a bad knockoff of MP-44.

That‘s what I meant with a missing baseline for the Masterpiece line. Some releases are fully painted, others are not. Some are devoid of details, the next release is not. Some sacrifice everything for cartoon accuracy others just give up midway. Some have all the articulation you would need and then some, while others miss basic joints.

The other "high end" lines I collect (Metal Build, Kuro Kara Kuri, DX Chogokin)  usually center around a certain set of aspects that all their releases fulfill. Certain releases have spikes in both directions from the baseline but they are not as extreme as the ones in the Masterpiece line.

I understand that it is more difficult for a converting toyline to keep it consistent but I have the feeling that Takara has no idea how to do that or that they even care. You say that Studio Series 86 Optimus has no MP DNA in it but what is the MP DNA that all Masterpiece releases have in common? There is none.

My expectation as a collector for a high priced collector focused toy line is that they keep their releases consistent with the president the manufacturer set with the first releases. If you want to change the DNA of the line just do a new one. Takara had the chance with MPG but three releases in (Raiden, Super Ginrai and black Ironhide) it is already a hodgepodge of different aesthetics and design approaches.

Maybe I am the weird one and an atypical collector but I love to collect unified sets of finite things. Both because to keep me sane and not to overspend and because it soothes my need for whatever went wrong with me as a child (for example I hate it when season 5 of a physical media release suddenly has a different box style).

Thanks for the links to the press releases. I‘ve read it more like T-Spark can use characters from Transformers/Zoids/Diaclone for T-Spark but it makes sense to include them. Time will tell what it is going to be.

[mikeszekely]

TFW2005 staff apparently got some face time with the Hasbro crew.  You can check it out here, but here are some highlights...

It takes roughly two years to go from planning to release, so while I know most of what's coming in 2025 the team actually has 2026 planned out and are starting to think about 2027.  The various lines have an internal storyline, Legacy is about a multidimensional battle bringing Transformers from different universes together.  The Legacy story is not a guarantee going forward, but the brand will still touch on multiple eras of Transformers.  2025 and 2026 are linked together (I'm calling it now, Commander-class Onslaught for Bruticus in 2026).

When asked about completing "sets," Evan says he and Mark keep tallies on who's been done and who needs doing.  No specific examples were given, but given how the question was asked, I'm taking it to mean something along the lines of Red Alert, Demolisher, and Cyclonus will come eventually to round out the main Armada cast, for example (AFAIK Red Alert is actually coming in 2025, but Demolisher and Cyclonus aren't in the lineup yet).  John says later that their priority is less about doing whatever cool character he or another team member likes and more about fleshing out teams, and uses the RID Car Brothers and the G1 microcassettes as examples.

Core-class isn't dead, but it's not getting fixed numbers in every wave anymore.  The team is confident that they won't run out of Titans, either.

SS86 Devastator won't be robots stuck to a nearly-complete frame the way Menasor was, but they talked a lot about how that approach allowed for greater stability and articulation than the Combiner Wars stuff, so we should expect that there will be some kind of kibble frame.  SS86 Devastator will also be smaller than Combiner Wars Devastator, closer in size to Legacy Menasor.

They talked about Yuki wanting to do a new Megatron/Gigatron to go with Haslab Omega Prime.  They pointed out, though, that he should be nearly as tall as Omega Prime, and wonder if he'd be a Commander or Titan.

When asked about a Jetfire to go with Armada Prime, John says he's aware fans have been asking about it and to stay tuned.

Studio Series could continue to expand to other media, and John reiterated that they want to keep doing G1, to keep improving on older releases and pushing for better screen accuracy.

John was asked about if a transforming cab version of Ultra Magnus that might be compatible with SS86 Magnus' trailer would be possible.  His answer was pretty evasive, but suggests that Takara wants to do something like that and it could be possible.

It's not necessarily in the plan, but John would like to do new versions of Whirl and Roadbuster, and a bigger Overlord.

A new G1-accurate Titan Metroplex is a possibility, if the team gauges enough interest in it, but there are other Titans already in the queue.  I'm not saying he confirmed it any time soon, but John namechecked Animated Omega Supreme.

Time is less of a factor when determining what character to do an updated version of than scale and what slots for a given class are available.  The line is extremely governed by price point.

There are more concept designs coming to Studio Series, and the Bayverse was specifically mentioned.  John says "fans who are close to that universe know what I'm talking about."  Pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if they're finally going to give the Bayverse fans a Commander-class Devcon in 2026...

Hasbro has to be able to reliably sell a certain number of units to justify putting a figure into production, and that's why we've seen so few redecos of Commanders and Titans.  That said, they feel like SS86 Optimus has a lot of redeco potential.

Not saying it's happening, because the queue is what it is, but John is very interested in doing more IDW-universe characters, especially the cast of More Than Meets the Eye/The Lost Light.  He mentions the rest of the Decepticon Justice Division, Nautica, Rodimus, and Fortress Maximus specifically.  He also suggests that comic-accurate designs might find a home in Studio Series, rather than the post-Legacy mainline.

The team is looking into getting the Minicons out for the Armada characters that didn't come with them.

The team has decided on what the next Transformers Haslab will be, but no time frame yet.  It will apparently, "be amazing, and it's probably going to melt people's faces."

 

[J.T. Silversmith]

Here are some pictures I took  with Fire Convoy, God Fire Convoy, Gigatron Magmatron, and Jetfire.  as well as the Scale guide from TF wiki.

By the Scale guide Gigatron should be bigger than Super Fire Convoy and smaller than God Fire Convoy.  So if he is Jetfire size that would be about correct.  The Haslab Set is a little larger than the original figures.  It is theoretically possible that a Commander class could be big enough. But i don't know if the number of moving parts for a 10 changer pushes it into another class.  In my opinion the transformations are relatively simple, even though there are many modes they are all using basically the same parts.  Basically reproducing the original toy, there are no need for faux parts or tiny fiddly swingarms, so it might be possible.

[Scyla]

2 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

TFW2005 staff apparently got some face time with the Hasbro crew.  You can check it out here, but here are some highlights...

It takes roughly two years to go from planning to release, so while I know most of what's coming in 2025 the team actually has 2026 planned out and are starting to think about 2027.  The various lines have an internal storyline, Legacy is about a multidimensional battle bringing Transformers from different universes together.  The Legacy story is not a guarantee going forward, but the brand will still touch on multiple eras of Transformers.  2025 and 2026 are linked together (I'm calling it now, Commander-class Onslaught for Bruticus in 2026).

When asked about completing "sets," Evan says he and Mark keep tallies on who's been done and who needs doing.  No specific examples were given, but given how the question was asked, I'm taking it to mean something along the lines of Red Alert, Demolisher, and Cyclonus will come eventually to round out the main Armada cast, for example (AFAIK Red Alert is actually coming in 2025, but Demolisher and Cyclonus aren't in the lineup yet).  John says later that their priority is less about doing whatever cool character he or another team member likes and more about fleshing out teams, and uses the RID Car Brothers and the G1 microcassettes as examples.

Core-class isn't dead, but it's not getting fixed numbers in every wave anymore.  The team is confident that they won't run out of Titans, either.

SS86 Devastator won't be robots stuck to a nearly-complete frame the way Menasor was, but they talked a lot about how that approach allowed for greater stability and articulation than the Combiner Wars stuff, so we should expect that there will be some kind of kibble frame.  SS86 Devastator will also be smaller than Combiner Wars Devastator, closer in size to Legacy Menasor.

They talked about Yuki wanting to do a new Megatron/Gigatron to go with Haslab Omega Prime.  They pointed out, though, that he should be nearly as tall as Omega Prime, and wonder if he'd be a Commander or Titan.

When asked about a Jetfire to go with Armada Prime, John says he's aware fans have been asking about it and to stay tuned.

Studio Series could continue to expand to other media, and John reiterated that they want to keep doing G1, to keep improving on older releases and pushing for better screen accuracy.

John was asked about if a transforming cab version of Ultra Magnus that might be compatible with SS86 Magnus' trailer would be possible.  His answer was pretty evasive, but suggests that Takara wants to do something like that and it could be possible.

It's not necessarily in the plan, but John would like to do new versions of Whirl and Roadbuster, and a bigger Overlord.

A new G1-accurate Titan Metroplex is a possibility, if the team gauges enough interest in it, but there are other Titans already in the queue.  I'm not saying he confirmed it any time soon, but John namechecked Animated Omega Supreme.

Time is less of a factor when determining what character to do an updated version of than scale and what slots for a given class are available.  The line is extremely governed by price point.

There are more concept designs coming to Studio Series, and the Bayverse was specifically mentioned.  John says "fans who are close to that universe know what I'm talking about."  Pure speculation on my part, but I wonder if they're finally going to give the Bayverse fans a Commander-class Devcon in 2026...

Hasbro has to be able to reliably sell a certain number of units to justify putting a figure into production, and that's why we've seen so few redecos of Commanders and Titans.  That said, they feel like SS86 Optimus has a lot of redeco potential.

Not saying it's happening, because the queue is what it is, but John is very interested in doing more IDW-universe characters, especially the cast of More Than Meets the Eye/The Lost Light.  He mentions the rest of the Decepticon Justice Division, Nautica, Rodimus, and Fortress Maximus specifically.  He also suggests that comic-accurate designs might find a home in Studio Series, rather than the post-Legacy mainline.

The team is looking into getting the Minicons out for the Armada characters that didn't come with them.

The team has decided on what the next Transformers Haslab will be, but no time frame yet.  It will apparently, "be amazing, and it's probably going to melt people's faces."

 

I really wished they would ban questions like: "will you do character X".

I can’t remember when there was extracted usefulness information out of it. Of course every character is a possible release in the future. 

And it takes away slots for useful questions like what is the decision process for the Commander Class releases, or why there was no remolding on Cyberverse Tarn.

[JB0]

35 minutes ago, Scyla said:

Of course every character is a possible release in the future.

After Revenge of the Titans, anyways.
There were a lot of characters I was sure would never see another release that made it in during "everybody's a headmaster now". Hasbro gave us HOPE with that line.

[mikeszekely]

Anyone else get the SDCC Fractured Friendship pack ordered today? Sorry I didn't post about it before hand, today's been rough for me. It's still available as of 2:25pm ET, though. 

 

Edited August 5 by mikeszekely

[Black Valkyrie]

 

https://news.tfw2005.com/2024/08/06/takara-tomy-transformers-listings-for-august-2024-transformers-legacy-518090

 

[kanedaestes]

[mikeszekely]

6 hours ago, kanedaestes said:

I know that Takara doesn't like doing the bad guys, but Megatron could really use some help there...

No MPs, but I got a few repaints/retools in.

First up we have Studio Series Bumblebee Voyager-class Skywarp.  And... I mean, he's ok.  I think of Skywarp more as the "the black one," than "the purple one," but he's predominantly gray and purple.  I believe that's accurate to the film, though.  He's got the same gas mask face as Skywarp and Thrust, and while any of the Seekers can technically pose their wings either way (and their guns, too) I believe the way I have them is film-accurate.

Because there's been no changes to the mold aside from the head (and the pointed hump on Thrust), transformation is the same, accessories are the same, alt mode is the same, except for colors.  So on the one hand, it's nice to have all three of the "main" Seekers (sorry Thrust).  On the other hand, I'm a geewunner and this isn't G1.  There's a sense of "been there, done that" that isn't as overpowered by the "gotta have a complete set!" like the Earthrise and Siege molds.  And to be frank, I don't care for the base mold as much as the Earthrise and Siege molds.  So, recommended if you're collecting the movie toys and want to complete that Bumblebee Cybertron scene, otherwise I think one of this mold is enough.

Going back to Walmart's exclusive Star Raiders line, I got two more of the Deluxes  (still need Filch, who somehow sold out immediately, and Road Pig, who hasn't been released yet).  So, we'll start with Lockdown, who's honestly been done a bit dirty.  Since his introduction in Animated he's been a popular character, with a movie toy for Revenge of the Fallen (right), appearances in IDW comics (based largely on the movie toy), an actual movie version with Age of Extinction, and an appearance in Cyberverse.  I think a lot of fans would love a new large Deluxe/Voyager Lockdown mold, but all he's managed to get is a new head on a repainted Axlegrease.  Even the accessories are the same, which does kind of allow you to fake a hook hand.  But with loose elbows and poor shoulder articulation this wasn't a great mold to begin with, and it feels small for a character like Lockdown.

The front of the alt mode looks pretty great as Lockdown, which is why I think a lot of us saw this repaint coming.  But the fact that Axlegrease was herself a retool of Scraphook, who turned into a truck, is doing Lockdown no favors.  The Mad Max armor cage molded onto the windows, tall cabin, and rear that only isn't a truck by virtue of using accessories to make some kind of massive engine is a bit removed from Lockdown's traditional sleek muscle car.  There's nowhere to store his hook that isn't just out there, and it's kind of weird that Hasbro only used gold paint on one of the engine/cannon bits.

If you don't have a Lockdown in your collection and want one this might be your only choice, but it's kind of lame that a movie toy that's almost fifteen years old is kind of better than this one.

The other Deluxe Star Raider I got would be Cannonball.  Cannonball is another retool of the Skids/Crankcase mold, and bewteen five of this mold already in hand (Skids, Crankcase, Crosscut, Burnout, and Medix) and the more limited popularity of the character (a late repaint in the Cybertron line that didn't appear in the cartoon), you'd think Cannonball would be fighting an uphill battle.  And yet, Cannonball, who began life as a repaint of Cybertron Red Alert, is fairly extensively retooled.  He's got a new gun hand on his left, new shoulders with faux doors to better match the original toy, a new chest, new head, and at least a partly-new roof and backs of the legs.

He's also got totally new accessories.  There's some roof kibble with a light bar, a Cyber Key, a claw, and a hammer.  The roof kibble plugs into a slot on Cannonball's back, and itself has a slot on one end for the Cyber Key.

The hammer and claw both have 5mm pegs and can be held in his normal hand or plugged onto one of the 5mm ports on his arms or legs.  But they also have 3mm ports on them, which allows them to be plugged onto the tip of his gun hand in a manner very reminiscent of the original Cybertron toy.

Going a step further, there are spaces on the inside of his partially-remolded lower legs where the claw and hammer can be stored, again like the original Cybertron toy.  So the only gimmick that Cannonball is missing is the shoulder guns that were activated by the Cyber Key.

Transformation is basically the same as Crankcase, minus the need to turn his gun into a grill.  You can see that the remolded chest, which wasn't super accurate to the original toy, becomes a more-accurate front of of the car, and the lightbar kibble even has a gold spot that mimics the head of the original toy poking through the roof.  I'm not sure why, but the green skeletons on the doors of the original toy have been replaced by skulls meant to look a bit like the Vok from Beast Wars.  Some of the silver paint on the original is gold here, and he's a little narrower and taller, but it's interesting how a little remolding turns Skids into something fairly close to Red Alert/Cannonball's alt mode.  The claw and hammer can stay in his legs while he's in alt mode.  Again, the only thing that's really missing is the guns that pop out of the sides when the Cyber Key is plugged in.

Cannonball is probably the best use of this mold since Skids himself.  The retooling they did was smart, the accessories manage to capture most of the gimmicks of the original toy.  Might just be me personally, but the joint tolerances are also improved since my pretty-loose Crankcase.  So far, I'd say that Cannonball puts the "star" in "Star Raiders," and is the one most worth checking out.  I dare say I'm even hoping for a Cybertron Red Alert repaint.

[M'Kyuun]

I haven't been keeping an eye on this thread this week so I'm just catching up. Referring back to @mikeszekely's Saturday post concerning TFW's face time w/ Hasbro, the possibility of a TFA Omega Supreme in the pipeline is good news. I hope it's true, and I really hope it's well-done. I was hoping the entire team of Constructicons would be voyager scale which would make their vehicle modes scale more appropriately with deluxe scale cars. The OG Constructicons were woefully underscaled and looked awkward next to Autobots in their car modes. But then, that was a similar issue across the board for G1 combiners and one would hope they'd remedy that in modern times. However, it sounds like Long Haul and Hook will likely be voyagers and the limbs merely deluxes if the combined mode is comparable to Menasor. Disappointing. New versions of Whirl and Roadbuster would be most welcomed if Has/Tak were able to reacquire the license for the OG Dorvack models and we got proper updated Gazette and Calibur toys. I know it likely won't happen, but I can dream. I really want a nice, updated version of Mugen's Calibur.

Mildly curious about the upcoming Haslab, although I admit my interest only extends to G1 or possibly Animated and I'm not sure what they'd do at this point that isn't covered under Legacy or Studio series.

Just got the new Lockdown fig earlier this week and while it's so-so, it definitely doesn't compare to either the OG Animated figure or the well-done RotF figure. I also had to shake my head when I saw that only one of his boosters was painted- I mean c'mon Hasbro, would it really have killed your budget that much to paint them both to match? Pretty crappy.

[JB0]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

New versions of Whirl and Roadbuster would be most welcomed if Has/Tak were able to reacquire the license for the OG Dorvack models and we got proper updated Gazette and Calibur toys. I know it likely won't happen, but I can dream. I really want a nice, updated version of Mugen's Calibur.

They don't actually need a Dorvack license unless they want to sell them as Dorvack toys. Copyright on toys isn't particularly strong. The molds are copyrighted, so they'd need a license from the owner of the molds to make a reissue of the originals, but beyond that it is mostly a free-for-all. 

 

They redid both characters a few years back. I was surprised at the time, just because they're not characters that usually get attention. 

[M'Kyuun]

18 hours ago, JB0 said:

They don't actually need a Dorvack license unless they want to sell them as Dorvack toys. Copyright on toys isn't particularly strong. The molds are copyrighted, so they'd need a license from the owner of the molds to make a reissue of the originals, but beyond that it is mostly a free-for-all. 

 

They redid both characters a few years back. I was surprised at the time, just because they're not characters that usually get attention. 

They did and I have them. Whirl was actually pretty well done and harkened somewhat back to his G1 counterpart, although he was more of an amalgamation of the IDW and G1 designs. IDK what they used, if anything, as a basis for Roadbuster, but it most definitely wasn't the Dorvack design and I was quite disappointed after Whirl was released. Honestly, if no one holds the license for Dorvack designs, with Tatsunoko's demise decades ago, then there should be nothing stopping Takara (b/c let's be honest, Takara does all the design heavy lifting- there would be no Transformers toys without them, at least not as good as what we get from Takara) from recreating that design with modern articulation in a, hopefully, voyager scaled fig. That would truly be awesome (I say with cautious optimism).

[JB0]

16 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

They did and I have them. Whirl was actually pretty well done and harkened somewhat back to his G1 counterpart, although he was more of an amalgamation of the IDW and G1 designs. IDK what they used, if anything, as a basis for Roadbuster, but it most definitely wasn't the Dorvack design and I was quite disappointed after Whirl was released. Honestly, if no one holds the license for Dorvack designs, with Tatsunoko's demise decades ago, then there should be nothing stopping Takara (b/c let's be honest, Takara does all the design heavy lifting- there would be no Transformers toys without them, at least not as good as what we get from Takara) from recreating that design with modern articulation in a, hopefully, voyager scaled fig. That would truly be awesome (I say with cautious optimism).

I'm told that Roadbuster was based on his appearances in IDW at the time.

 

Tatsunoko's still around, somehow. But I don't believe they're any sort of legal obstacle. (Especially since they seem to be owned by Takara now?)

[tekering]

31 minutes ago, JB0 said:

I'm told that Roadbuster was based on his appearances in IDW at the time.

That ugly-ass head is a dead giveaway. 😅

[treatment]

Robolabo J retro-reviews 2013 Takara G1 Constructions/Devastator:

 

 

[M'Kyuun]

23 hours ago, treatment said:

Robolabo J retro-reviews 2013 Takara G1 Constructions/Devastator:

 

 

Do we really need a review when a picture says it all? It's a wonky, mostly static and all-around pretty craptatstic toy. It had the novelty of being the first combiner TF fig back in the day, but the individual Constructicons and the combined robot Devastator were mostly immobile janky toys that left much to be desired. I was 13 when Transformers premiered in Sept 1984, and after getting Prowl, my first TF toy, I was thereafter mostly disappointed with the toys due to the lackluster robot modes and the overall lack of articulation. I had to wait nearly thirty years for the toys that I wish had been released when I was a fervent cartoon-watching teenager indulging in the first season of Transformers. The toon went downhill after that and I quit watching, but I still bought a toy here or there hoping for improvements that never came in any of the G1 lines. I get the nostalgia aspect, but it holds no appeal for me regarding the old TF toys, with few exceptions. I do, however, confess a mild interest in seeing where Takara goes with the Missing Link line. I've never owned a G1 Megs, and for some reason, that toy has always appealed to me. Likewise Soundwave, who I do own, which was already a pretty darned good figure but would be really cool with additional articulation. I wouldn't mind a ML version of Prowl to hit my personal nostalgia sweet spot. Perhaps that's a bit hypocritical of me, but I'll own it. As much as I'm down on the G1 toys, even I have my fanboy kryptonite.

On 8/11/2024 at 6:03 AM, tekering said:

That ugly-ass head is a dead giveaway. 😅

IDW makes sense since Whirl also took inspiration from the same. I didn't mind the 2014 Generations Whirl, but I'd love to see some honest to goodness G1 updates for both Whirl and Roadbuster.

[mikeszekely]

My Fractured Friendship set arrived today.  Let's take a look.

On the one side, we have Gladiator Megatron.  Folks on a certain other board are being pretty hard on this figure, because a) it's yet another reuse of the Siege Megatron mold, and b) it's a straight repaint of last year's Amazon-exclusive Miner Megatron, no new tooling (on the figure itself).  So there's a sense of been there, done that, and with the darker grays and caution stripes some people feel that Miner Megatron was already the superior deco.

While the base figure might not have any new tooling, he does come with two new accessories that are pulled straight from the IDW comic Transformers: Megatron Origin #2.  You get a sword (that he used to stab the Cy-Kill stand-in, and again later in the issue) and a sort of Energon hammer (that was actually Cy-Kill's weapon, but Megatron uses to to finish him off).

Megatron's instructions mention (and I don't know if i covered it or not last year) that the pickaxe and drill can be combined into a sort of spear.  The pickaxe and drill can still be stored on Megatron's back, while the sword and hammer have tabs that allow them to plug into his shoulders.

Transformation is, naturally, the same as Miner Megatron, into a sort of drill tank.  So, I guess you'd better not loose his drill, and pickaxe, eh?  With no changes to the mold, though, there's no place to store his sword and hammer.

Coming with Megatron is Supercop... er, Security Officer Orion Pax.  Similar to Megatron, we just got toy representing this IDW take on the character in an Amazon pack last year.  Unlike Megatron, this isn't a repaint meant to represent a slightly different phase of the character's life, it's basically a do-over of the exact same Orion Pax as a cop before he became Optimus Prime using a heavily remolded Gamer Edition Optimus Prime instead of Siege Hound with a new head and chest.  Pax has a new head, new shoulders, new forearms, a new chest, new alt mode kibble on his back, new legs from the knees down (minus the pipes), and new forearm guns/pipes.

It's kind of impressive that more of Pax hasn't been retooled, because while not totally perfect the retooled bits go a very long way toward making Pax significantly more accurate.  The new legs and feet boost Pax's height, reigning in the gorilla arms of the Gamer Edition figure and bringing him up closer to Earthrise Prime in height.  The bigger size coupled with proper shin vents, blue hands, a non-blue crotch, pipes on the shoulders and legs, arm guns on his forearms, and a mask on his face really highlights what a poor choice it was to use Siege Hound for Pax in the first place.

Pax comes with the same gun that the Gamer Edition figure comes with.  However, as his arm didn't transform into a gun in the comics, a new part has been inserted into it to add a 5mm handle.

Despite being Orion Pax and not Optimus Prime (although, if you read Stormbringer, you might notice that that only real differences between Pax and Prime prior to scanning an Earth mode are mostly color tweaks), Pax's chest still opens up to reveal a Matrix.  And his right forearm can still be removed.

If it pleases you, Pax can swap his right forearm with Gamer Edition Optimus...

...and his right stump is compatible with Gamer Edition Prime's gun.  Or, you can remove a screw from the bottom, take out the new part, and Pax's gun is Prime's gun.

Pax's severed forearm still has the 3mm peg on it that allows you to store it on his butt.

Transformation is very like the Gamer Edition figure, with the backpack forming the cockpit and nose, his sides rotating around to form the sides and front wheels at the front, his shins and the sides of his legs folding up to fill in some gaps, his arms tucking under the vehicle, and his feet filling in the spaces vacated by his shins.  His rifle pegs onto the back of the vehicle the same way, using a pair of tabs under the gun to grab into slots on his feet.  His arm guns, unfortunately, need to be removed and partsformed onto the sides of the vehicle.

Honestly, Pax's alt mode was barely seen in the comics, so I don't think it's the end of the world if it's not 100% accurate.  And in many ways, it's fine- red at the front, blue at the back, arm guns and leg pipes on the sides, cockpit on top with a louvered nose and chest-windowed lights/fenders.  I'd be remiss in my duties if I didn't point out, though, that in the comics Pax's rear was more obviously folded-over legs, that there was a vent of sorts that's missing here, and that the front tires were so large that the fenders didn't cover the tops of them.  That said, the blockiness of the figure lends itself well to a Cybertronian truck, and again it's extremely impressive that they got something this different out of the Gamer Edition mold with a few remolded parts as they did.  Pax even has a new trick that GE Prime doesn't; after folding up over his shin cavities, the feet actually split in half like slices of bread, with the lower slice folding back down over the rear that the GE figure simply left with exposed fists.

Like I said earlier, Megatron's getting a lot of flack in this set, but I don't think it's totally justified.  Like, yeah, they've reused the Siege mold a lot... but the Siege mold was pretty good in the first place!  And this version, despite the lack of new tooling, has a deco that fits him neatly into the progression from a miner struggling under an oppressive caste system to gladiator beginning to rebel against that system to warlord fighting to overthrow that system to the tyrant invading other planets to fuel his ambitions.  I like Gladiator Megatron just fine!

That said, though, people aren't wrong when they suggest that Pax is the star of the show here.  This is one of those cases where the remold might just be better than the original, as it addresses some of the flaws I had with the Gamer Edition Prime figure.  He's a "sorry guys, we messed up" from Hasbro, because he demonstrates rather definitively that Hasbro never should have used Siege Hound for this character.  I mean, I put Toyhax labels on him, and got aftermarket shoulder pipes, forearm guns, and a face mask for him, and the new version is still far more accurate and better-scaled.  If you have that Pax, you can pretty much throw him away, he's trash now.  This is the Pax that should have come with Senator Shockwave.

All-in-all, a very solid set and well worth picking up.

[no3Ljm]

 

[Hikuro]

My local walmart has several Transformers One studio series Optimus Primes......along with the DLX variant. Almost picked one up but then sort of shied away. I'm not really all that sold on this film and why I need ANOTHER Orion Pax/Pre Earth Optimus Prime. 

[sh9000]

 

 

 

Agent Knight unboxing, transformation, and review.

[Radioguy]

The whole time I watched all three, I was thinking on what I had to do to make him a KARR. I imagine dumping that EEPROM and flashing Cullen clips on it would be the biggest hurdle.

Kept thinking changing the transparent red visor and scanner to yellow would be obvious, but putting a Megatron head on him in black might be even more apropos.

[JB0]

39 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

The whole time I watched all three, I was thinking on what I had to do to make him a KARR. I imagine dumping that EEPROM and flashing Cullen clips on it would be the biggest hurdle.

Kept thinking changing the transparent red visor and scanner to yellow would be obvious, but putting a Megatron head on him in black might be even more apropos.

Paint a goatee and moustache on the Knight head, so KARR transforms into Garth/evil Michael.

[Radioguy]

12 minutes ago, JB0 said:

Paint a goatee and moustache on the Knight head, so KARR transforms into Garth/evil Michael.

I thought that's for Motormaster?

[JB0]

9 minutes ago, Radioguy said:

I thought that's for Motormaster?

Good point. 

[68whiskey]

https://www.threezerohk.com/product/premium-shattered-glass-optimus-prime/

out of curiosity, were any of you able to get this ThreeZero Premium Shattered Glass Optimus? It just popped up and disappeared everywhere

[treatment]

Just saw this over at TagHobby:

 

https://www.taghobby.com/archives/802211

 

web-translated:

Quote

September 13 to September 29, 2024 40th Anniversary TRANSFORMERS EXPO 2024@Tokyo Shinagawa Terada Warehouse – TAKARA TOMY is on sale at the venue: Transformers Missing Link C-01S Sentinel Prime 18,000 Yen including tax