The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[mikeszekely]

So, I'm pretty sure I already listed leaks for basically the entire Age of Primes line (though I'm not entirely sure what's going in what waves anymore)... at least in the Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader categories (it's possible I didn't get all the Leaders).

I got word today that the Commander-class is definitely Silverbolt.  That's probably not surprising anyone, given that four of the Deluxes were Aerialbots.  But I also got word today that the Titan-class is Star Convoy, and that's a huge surprise.  I thought for sure it'd be something like Animated Omega Supreme or something.

At some point in 2025 we're going to get some G2 Dinobots through Pulse.  It's one product number (G1375).  My source says he's not sure if it's Leaders or Cores, but given that G2 Grimlock is already a mainline retail listing for Age of Primes and I really don't see Hasbro releasing a $275 five-Leader boxset the safe money is on Cores, maybe with some of the extra accessories in the Dinoking set.

Walmart will have exclusive "retro-inspired" Deluxes, Brawn and Seaspray.  Given that they're actually listed as Deluxes I don't think they're part of the same retro line that's been shoving out G1 reissues in cartoon colors.  I'm guessing Brawn is probably the SS86 toy with a new toy-style head, but Seaspray?  Hopefully it's a new mold, and hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a shortpacked nightmare to get like Cosmos was.

As for Target's exclusives, they're going to fall under the Studio Series banner.  SSGE WFC Optimus and Megatron are going to be part of the line, but they have the word "variant" in the listing.  It's not clear what that means, if it's just variant packaging, if they're repaints, or retools.  The other two are listed as Devastation Sideswipe and Devastation Wheeljack.  Again, it's not clear if these are new molds (we know a Deluxe-class Devastation Optimus is also coming, but in the regular retail lineup), or if they're be repaints/retools of the Siege/Earthrise toys.

[sh9000]

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TRANFORMERS-GEN-RETRO-3/6403109485

[shazam]

Edited October 2 by shazam

[Radioguy]

9 hours ago, sh9000 said:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TRANFORMERS-GEN-RETRO-3/6403109485

Seriously, first thought was "Fugu did a Prime???" 😄

[mikeszekely]

I guess people are buying them, and more power to them, but I don't see the appeal of the G1 toys in cartoon colors.  Personally, I want G1 toy reissues to be as close as possible to the original releases, and when I want cartoon accuracy I'll buy newer Transfomers.

[M'Kyuun]

21 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

So, I'm pretty sure I already listed leaks for basically the entire Age of Primes line (though I'm not entirely sure what's going in what waves anymore)... at least in the Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader categories (it's possible I didn't get all the Leaders).

I got word today that the Commander-class is definitely Silverbolt.  That's probably not surprising anyone, given that four of the Deluxes were Aerialbots.  But I also got word today that the Titan-class is Star Convoy, and that's a huge surprise.  I thought for sure it'd be something like Animated Omega Supreme or something.

At some point in 2025 we're going to get some G2 Dinobots through Pulse.  It's one product number (G1375).  My source says he's not sure if it's Leaders or Cores, but given that G2 Grimlock is already a mainline retail listing for Age of Primes and I really don't see Hasbro releasing a $275 five-Leader boxset the safe money is on Cores, maybe with some of the extra accessories in the Dinoking set.

Walmart will have exclusive "retro-inspired" Deluxes, Brawn and Seaspray.  Given that they're actually listed as Deluxes I don't think they're part of the same retro line that's been shoving out G1 reissues in cartoon colors.  I'm guessing Brawn is probably the SS86 toy with a new toy-style head, but Seaspray?  Hopefully it's a new mold, and hopefully it doesn't turn out to be a shortpacked nightmare to get like Cosmos was.

As for Target's exclusives, they're going to fall under the Studio Series banner.  SSGE WFC Optimus and Megatron are going to be part of the line, but they have the word "variant" in the listing.  It's not clear what that means, if it's just variant packaging, if they're repaints, or retools.  The other two are listed as Devastation Sideswipe and Devastation Wheeljack.  Again, it's not clear if these are new molds (we know a Deluxe-class Devastation Optimus is also coming, but in the regular retail lineup), or if they're be repaints/retools of the Siege/Earthrise toys.

I hope Silverbolt and the Aerialbots are done better than in the past and that their plane modes are an improvement over the usual box o'bot with plane bits attached, but I have little faith.

I wish they'd done Animated Omega Supreme, but let's face it, any version of Prime is a money maker. The Japanese cartoon toys aren't really my cuppa, but I'm happy for those who've been wanting a Star Convoy for their collections. I had to look him up as I have no familiarity. Easy pass on my part.

I wish they were doing FOC Optimus. Between the two games, the FOC version really struck a chord with me. I still play with my little deluxe, but like the upgraded Legacy WFC fig, FOC Prime needs his due.

Seaspray is the only other thing mentioned that holds any interest for me. As Mike said, hopefully he won't be another short packed fiasco like Cosmos. I get that these store exclusives are money in Hasbro's pocket, but I really wish they'd find another avenue or leave the exclusives for the redecos or less popular characters.

[Hikuro]

Hmmmmm.....Titan size Star Convoy, I guess that's not terrible I mean he was supposed to be a rather large size Transformer and I wonder if he'd be paired up with probably a core class repaint of Rodimus. But I think I would pass on that to be honest.

I really want these G2 dinobots though, curious on how they'll tackle that if it's just gonna be Grimlock, Slag and Snarl and which colors cause there were at least 2 decos that came out, blue/turquiose for Grimlock, Green/Red both for Snarl and Slag. Or will they also re-release Sludge and Swoop with some sort of interesting deco? 

[mikeszekely]

The Mayhem Attack Squad... anyone remember that was the Amazon-exclusive line this year?  Everyone was excited for Deluxe Insections, though perhaps not as enthusiastic for Breakdown and Windsweeper, when they all hit way back in June.  Now I'm getting my Halloween decorations out and Hasbro's suddenly remembering, "Oh yeah, we're supposed to have one more two-pack in that line!"

While ostensibly a retool of Legacy Evolution Beachcomber, Deluxe-class Ruckus is pretty much worth a review all by himself.  Yes, they share some parts... they have the same thighs, hips, pelvis, the same hands, shoulders, and biceps, and the same wheels.  That's basically it, though.  New forearms, a new head and torso, a new lower legs with some crazy long feet practically make him a brand new figure.

OK, so technically he has the same calf flaps, too.  But really, if you saw these guys standing on a shelf and didn't know better, would you realize that Ruckus is a retool?  Sure, it's pretty obvious that the engineering is going to be pretty similar, but that'd apply nearly as well to Titans Return Full Tilt.

Just a few nitpicks, I promise.  Hasbro put some incredible molded and painted details on his shins and forearms, as well as part of his backpack.  These details are clearly meant to represent the stickers on the G1 toy, but they're a little off.  The blue-and-silver details on his backpack and the outsides of his arms are fine, but the blue/silver/purple details on his forearms should actually be on his hips/pelvis.  Not enough room, I guess, but it also suggests that Mark or the Takara team may have been working from an image that, as near as I can tell, was on the TFWiki until July of this year that had the stickers incorrectly places on his forearms.  That doesn't explain, though, why the springs on his shins seem to be upside down vs the G1 stickers.  The G1 toy also had spring stickers on his shoulders, but I supposed that wasn't an option when they recycled Beachcomber's.

Alright, last time, I swear... Ruckus does come with the gun that Beachcomber comes with... but no birds of paradise!  Instead, he comes with a pair of brand new guns.

Ruckus' head is on a ball joint and can swivel, but up/down/sideways tilt is fairly limited.  His shoulders rotate and can move about 75 degrees laterally when his arms are at his side, or significantly less if he raises his arm first.  The fact is, Ruckus has a bit more bulk around his collar and backpack that the tires on his shoulders just can't clear.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend slightly over 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, as does his waist.  His hips can go 90 degrees forward and slightly over that backwards or laterally.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees (more, if you open the flaps on his calves, but the flaps will be visible depending on the angle).  There was some fear that the new feet wouldn't have ankle articulation, and while it's true he lacks any up/down tilt, he actually does have 90 degrees of ankle pivot.  It's just that the pivot is right below the springs at the top of the windows, giving him the appearance of wearing high-heel boots.

Ruckus can hold the two new guns via 5mm pegs on them...

...but they also have 5mm ports on their backs.  These plug into the 5mm pegs on little swiveling blocks on his backpack, giving you shoulder cannons that can flip behind him and tuck away in the backpack, just like the G1 toy.  Well, not exactly like the G1 toy... they're not spring-loaded, you have to flip them out manually.  But as a tradeoff they can fold out to be a lot closer to straight ahead than the G1 toy.

As for the Beachcomber one, that's the gun that Ruckus should hold in his 5mm port hands.  He's also go 5mm ports on the outsides of his forearms, the backs of his shoulders, and one in the center of his backpack that happens to be a great place for him to store his Beachcomber gun when he's not carrying it.  He's lacking 5mm ports below the waist, which is unusual for a Legacy toy, plus the ones on his shoulders are effectively vestigial ports from Beachcomber rendered useless on Ruckus due to his large backpack covering them from most angles.

Transformation is mostly similar to Beachcomber.  You're still essentially laying him on his tummy, opening the flaps on his calves, folding his heels toward his toes, and folding his legs over his thighs.  The pistol still plugs into the front to act as a grill for the buggy.  Ruckus doesn't have the extending torso, though; you just turn his head 180 degrees and hope his backpack kind of hides it.  His new legs don't really flare out the way Beachcomber's do, but instead have little protrusions that act like pockets to cover his hands.  It's a bit of a pain to open his calves and fold his legs over enough to work the hands into the pockets without locking his legs entirely into alt mode, which doesn't leave you with enough clearance to get the hands into the pockets.

I know they're both dune buggies, but it's impressive how faithful Ruckus is to his G1 toy despite being a retool of Beachcomber.  A lot of this is because, in alt mode, aside from the tires you're basically looking at new parts.  Well, the gun-grill is the same, but G1 Ruckus didn't have a grill, so you could really toss it and be even more accurate.  Maybe his front end is a little too wide, and the vents beside the cockpit a little thin, but that's really about it.  The new flip-out guns can even sit a bit more flush into the sides if I hadn't put them on upside down while taking pictures and not realized it until editing said pictures...

Again, no actual trigger mechanism, but the guns do still flip out in dune buggy mode.  If you really want, you could remove the grill and plug it into the ports on his sides (forearms) or roof (backpack).

No bones about it, for a C-list late G1 character like Ruckus this is a very good toy that barely counts as a retool.  It's so good that I'm retroactively disappointed that his fellow Triggercons Crankcase and Windsweeper got significantly less extensive retools that omitted their flip-out gun-gimmick entirely.  If Ruckus were being sold on his own I'd definitely tell you to buy him, but to get him you also have to get...

...Voyager-class Bludgeon, a figure we kind of already got last year in Legacy Evolution.  And even then, as a retool of Tarn based on Alex Milne's rendition of Bludgeon in later IDW issues, it was kind of a stretch.  Like the colors were mostly in the right spots (in bot mode), but they didn't retool anything but his head so the sculpt was pretty far off.  But at least Tarn was another Milne design.  The new chest, crotch, and jawless head as well as the more green-and-yellow, less orange-and-red colors indicate that this is supposed to be Bludgeon's much earlier IDW Stormbringer design by Don Figueroa, which bears even less resemblance to Tarn than Milne's design.  They messed up the colors, even, painting his face silver and wires yellow instead of the other way around, giving Bludgeon the unfortunate appearance of being in the middle of slurping up some noodles.

Transformation is the same, and all the accessories are the same, which again just goes to make a tank mode that's straight up Tarn's and not any version of Bludgeon's.  And this is where our decision becomes a lot tougher.  Ruckus as a solo $25 Deluxe is a definite buy, but $60 for Ruckus plus another version of a Bludgeon retool that wasn't very good in the first place?  If you don't have any version of Bludgeon, I suppose you can use this one as a placeholder and enjoy Ruckus.  But the Legacy Evolution release, despite not being remolded nearly enough, is probably closer to what you have in mind when you think of Bludgeon, and still not as good as the old Revenge of the Fallen toy.  I know that Bludgeon wasn't in the G1 cartoon, but he was a fairly major villain in both the Marvel and IDW comics and even made an animated appearance in Transformers Cyberverse.  Bludgeon deserves a better toy.  We deserve a better toy.

[sh9000]

https://www.target.com/p/transformers-x-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-party-wallop-mash-up-pack-action-figure/-/A-90257545

Party Wallop is on sale for $29.74.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

https://www.target.com/p/transformers-x-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-party-wallop-mash-up-pack-action-figure/-/A-90257545

Party Wallop is on sale for $29.74.

Dang, I should have waited before I bought 4 of them.

[M'Kyuun]

I had no interest in the Amazon two-pack, but wow, that Ruckus is a pretty impressive retool from the standpoint that one could be forgiven for not recognizing it as such. I wish more  retools were that extensive.

On 9/29/2024 at 10:58 PM, mikeszekely said:

Dang, I should have waited before I bought 4 of them.

Welcome to my world where I consistently miss deals and sales and generally always pay full price. The ouch is ouchier when you multiply it by four, though. Sorry, Mike.

Edited October 2 by M'Kyuun

[Axelay]

21 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

No bones about it, for a C-list late G1 character like Ruckus this is a very good toy that barely counts as a retool.  It's so good that I'm retroactively disappointed that his fellow Triggercons Crankcase and Windsweeper got significantly less extensive retools that omitted their flip-out gun-gimmick entirely.  If Ruckus were being sold on his own I'd definitely tell you to buy him, but to get him you also have to get...

Thanks for the review of this. I know I am in the crazy minority, but I genuinely *really* want that Ruckus. He was one of the last G1 Transformers I remember buying back when I was still in high school. Good memories of actually having my own car and money and not have to beg mom and dad for a Transformer. Old habits die hard - oorah.

[JB0]

22 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Dang, I should have waited before I bought 4 of them.

Look on the bright side. If you get a fifth to make Metalhead, it will be cheaper!

[mikeszekely]

I skipped over the first two comic packs Hasbro released.  The boxes with the classic Marvel covers were cool, and I did kind of want that Prime head that came with Shockwave, but I've already bought the Grimlock mold three times (regular, Shattered Glass, and yellow G2), I already have Siege Shockwave and the Shackwave repaint, and I'm really not a fan of the black scribbles.  When Hasbro stopped putting the popular characters in the packs and started using them for obscure Marvel G1 characters, though, I was in.

So up first we have Voyager-class Flame.  Flame is extra-obscure, as he only appeared in the UK Marvel G1 run.  The gist of it is that he was an Autobot scientist that wanted to build giant engines to turn the whole of Cybertron into a spaceship.  Emirate Xaaron shot down the idea on the grounds that the reactors to power the engines were too unstable, so Flame went underground and spent a few million years developing the reactors, nursing a grudge against Xaaron, and turning dead Cybertronians into a zombie army. And the end of the brief arc where he's introduced he's killed, and that'd be that for him if not for some minor appearances in IDW's Transformers run.

Anyway, Flame was made by retooling Studio Series Gamer Edition Megatron.  He got a brand new head, most of his torso, pelvis, and thighs that are indeed quite Marvel-accurate  The rest of him is straight carried over from Megatron, though.  I think that's fine for his lower legs... sure, they're more angular and have some visible treads, but the colors are right and most panels didn't have his legs in them anyway.  I wish a bit more could have been done with his arms, though.  His shoulders have the asymmetric blocky shapes and the left shoulder kibble carried over from Megatron.  That kibble doesn't even show in the alt mode, and could have been omitted.  His forearms are similarly blocky, lacking the sharp elbows and layered orange-and-yellow fire detailing around his wrists, plus his hands are gray instead of red.

In the comics Flame didn't use a weapon in bot mode, but he's got Megatron's cannon.  The instructions would have you plug it into his arm, Megatron-style.  Alternatively, he retains the gimmick where you can remove his forearm and plug the cannon directly into his elbow.  However, I kind of like having him just carry it like a flamethrower.

Flame's articulation is identical to Megatron's.  He even has the unfortunate protrusions on the backs of his legs that severely hamper his knee articulation.  As with Megatron, the protrusions serve no purpose and can be removed to improve his knee articulation.

Flame's alt mode winds up looking like a Megatron's, but in mostly red and orange, due to the fact that the remolded parts are largely covered by the parts that weren't remolded.  On the one hand, Flame's alt mode was a tank, and there's only so much you can do with a remold.  On the other hand... it's not particularly accurate to the comics.

As I alluded to, Flame had a grudge against Emirate Xaaron, another character Simon Furman invented for Marvel UK.  Unlike Flame, though, Xaaron Furman carried Xaaron over to the US comics when Marvel tapped him to replace Bob Budiansky.  So while it made sense for Habsro to package Xaaron with Flame, Xaaron was the figure I really wanted.

On that note, Xaaron is a retool of Siege Refraktor.  All Hasbro really retooled was the the front of the torso on the hinge and his head, and yet for a character who was actually modeled after Megatron in the comics it works extremely well.  Frankly, that has a lot to do with the Xaaron's simple, blocky form in the comics; give him some rectangles for limbs and the head and chest are really doing all the heavy lifting.  The head has Xaaron's Megatron-brown helmet and Ironman mouth, and the flat chest has a little scar on the bottom left.  Those plus the vent on his abs and his gold color were really his only defining characteristics in the comics.  It's actually the colors that I think let me down a bit... they copy the Marvel UK colors, which did give him silver thighs and a slightly darker gold for his pelvis.  But his biceps really should have been gold.

Xaaron never transformed in the comics.  It actually became something of a running joke.  Xaaron was also a politician, not a fighter.  To that end, I feel like Hasbro could have included no accessories and made no reference to an alt mode for him.  It would have been accurate, and if it really bothered you there would still be the option to fold him up into most of Refraktor's bullcrap "spaceship" mode.  However, Hasbro made a whole new set of accessories or Xaaron.  Instead of a shutter, a gun that becomes 1/3rd of a tripod, and a shield that becomes 1/3rd of a telephoto lens, you get an entirely different gun and shield, plus two treads.

The shield can be worn on Xaaron's arm or carried on his back (though it limits his waist articulation a bit there).  The treads can plug into the 5mm ports on the outsides of his lower legs.  The instructions have him carrying the gun like a rifle, but I kind of like plugging it into his forearm.  Yeah, for the guy that's a Megatron retool I want to disassociate him with Megatron as much as possible, but for the guy that's a retool of Refraktor I want to hammer home that Megatron connection.  This all works fine, but I can't help but think Hasbro missed a beat by not devising a way for accessories to connect together and turn into a little drone that could follow Xaaron around.

Articulation is identical to Refraktor.

Well, like I said, Xaaron doesn't transform in the comics, but when even the Quintessons have to have some half-hearted transformations Hasbro went and made Xaaron another tank.  Transforming Xaaron himself works identically to Refraktor- toes down, legs turn sideways with skids that fold out before tabbing together, waist rotates 180 degrees, head folds into his back, fists fold into the foreams, arms fold behind the back so the tabs on the forearms fit into slots on his butt, and his chest unfolds to reveal a little cockpit that locks into his legs.  The rest of Xaaron's transformation uses partsforming with his accessories.  The treads have both a hole and a peg; the hole fits onto the pegs sticking out of his waist, while the pegs fit into the holes on his forearms.  The shield plugs into a 5mm port behind the chest panel, forming a turret, and the cannon plugs into the shield to form the barrel.  It's the most awkward-looking tank I've ever seen, but it kind of fits with the notion that Xaaron is a guy who hasn't transformed in millions of years and needs help doing it now.

As a side note, due to how little is actually remolded on him, you can use Xaaron with two Refraktor's (or a Refraktor and a Scrapface) to make Refraktor's camera mode.  However, without a regular Refraktor's shield and gun you can't finish the telephoto lens or tripod, so you'd realistically still need three Refraktors (or two and a Scrapface), and wouldn't need Xaaron to complete the camera anyway.

Voyager-class Straxus comes in a pack all by himself.  Taking a page from NewAge's book, Straxus is a retool of Galvatron, however, I feel like Hasbro actually put more effort into their retool.  He got a new head, new forearms, new treads on his forearms, new front of the torso, new pelvis flap, minor retooling around his knees on his shins...

...and a new backpack.  The middle section of his torso, his sides, his shoulders and biceps, the pylons on his shoulders, and most of everything from the waist down is carried over from Galvatron.  For the most part, this works fine, as I'd already thought NewAge had done a pretty good job with this assignment.  He's arguably a bit more svelte than the chonker we see in the comics, and I do wish they'd at least painted red triangles on his thighs, but the colors are otherwise accurate (at least to issue #17... in #18, his shoulders and forearms were blue, his biceps silver, and the large red section in the middle of his torso was yellow, for some reason).

As with Xaaron, Straxus replaces the original accessories that came with Galvatron with new ones.  This time, we get a small cannon and Straxus' trademark pickaxe.

The cannon doesn't really work as an arm cannon.  You can plug it into his bicep, but it's too short.  And his new forearms lack the 5mm port that Galvatron's have, so he can't mount it to his forearm.  The instructions suggest simply having him hold it like a gun, or a blow dryer.

Honestly, I prefer to simply plug the cannon into a 5mm port on Straxus' back and imagine it's like some kind of booster.  If you lift the bit on the top of his backpack you'll also find a slot.  This slow allows you to store the pickaxe on Straxus' back, however, doing so covers the 5mm port.  In other words, you can store one or the other on his back, but not both weapons at the same time.

Straxus transforms the same way Galvatron does, for the most part.  The accessories even get parceled out the same way, with the cannon barrel plugging into the front and another part sitting on the back, though in Straxus' case you're not removing the back of the cannon.  The other accessory is his pickaxe.

The pickaxe serves a purpose, though, giving Straxus the fins seen in the comic book.  The new cannon, forearms, and forearm treads also make for a good deal of comic-accuracy.  It's not exact, but I think it's pretty impressive how close they got it (again, closer than NewAge with their retool).  Then again, it's kind of weird how much Straxus' alt mode already resembled Galvatron's despite his first appearance being printed five to six months before Transformers: The Movie hit theaters.  Perhaps the staff at Marvel had seen some early production material and were inspired by Galvatron in the first place?

All-in-all, while not retooled as extensively as Ruckus, I think all three of these figures are certainly retooled well-enough and do a pretty solid job representing a slice of G1 that's often overlooked in favor of the cartoon.  The value in these sets will likely come down to how much of an impact the Marvel G1 comics had on you.  UK fans will likely feel more strongly about Flame than I do, since he didn't appear in the US run and I had to read up on him on the TF Wiki.  However, I was into the original Marvel run, and I absolutely do remember Emirate Xaaron and Straxus.  I think Straxus is a safe recommend; he appeared earlier in the US run (although he was a more important character in the UK), he had minor appearances in both the original and rebooted IDW continuities, and if you want him you only have to buy him.  The other two are a bit more iffy.  Like I said, UK fans might feel differently, but to me the biggest appeal of Flame is that he looks kind of cool.  I have no attachment to the character.  I bought the set more for Xaaron, and I think it's a harder sell to buy a Voyager and Deluxe two-pack when your primary want is the Deluxe.  That said, I'm personally thrilled to have him, and frankly, I'd love to see Hasbro continue using this line to give us obscure comic characters.  These new additions go great with Wreck N' Rule Impactor, Jhiaxus, Ferak, and the G2 Cybertronian Troopers.  I'd love to see them do Rack 'N' Ruin, Spanner, Scrounge, Tusks, Fang, and especially Big Red.

Edited October 1 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

With the store exclusives out of the way, we're coming into the beginnings of the fourth wave of Legacy United.  And so far they're all repaints/retools, so we can get them out of the way fast.

Let's begin with the Leader-class toys, starting with Armada Galvatron.  If you'll permit me a tangent, Megatron changing his name to Galvatron when all he did was change colors, despite Hot Shot, Starscream, Demolisher, and Red Alert also changing colors without changing their names, then going back to being Megatron when he actually gets revived in a new body in Energon, only to change colors and change his name to Galvatron again, is beyond stupid.  The Japanese version did it better... he was Megatron, then Super Megatron, then was revived as Galvatron, then Galvatron General.  So, yeah, to me this is just Megatron in a different colors.  But, Hasbro did retool the head, and it's not just a new face.  The horns are no longer removable, which is fine by me.  I know Mark posed Megatron (regular Megatron) using the horns like daggers, but in my personal experience they come loose from his head too easy, and Super Megatron fixes that issue.

The head is the only change, though, so the engineering and articulation is the same, the tip of his cannon can still be removed and used as a hand cannon, and he can still combine with bits of Titan-Class Tidal Wave to do the Burning Megatron thing.  The colors seem to be accurate to the original toy/show.  If you're an Armada fan and you liked Legacy Evolution Armada Megatron, this is basically the same thing in the colors he worn in the last few episodes of the show.  Frankly, I think regular Megatron is probably enough, and knowing my G1-leaning audience here you're probably skipping both.

Speaking of G1...

The other Leader-class figure in this wave is Buzzsaw.  Buzzsaw is a repaint of Laserbeak, specifically the one with the "normal" head that came with Netflix Soundwave.  The red plastic was swapped for a mustard yellow, they painted the beak yellow, they replaced the gray plastic for the neck and feet with black, and they swapped the silver on the wings for gold.  That's it.

Frankly, we've gotten a ton of Micromaster tapes, and they've even started expanding into Core-class.  I've got two Laserbeaks plus an SG one, plenty of Ravages, a Ratbat that's had a trio of retools, and both Micromaster and Core-class versions of Rumble and Frenzy, but it's taken us (checks math) FIVE YEARS to finally get the one tape G1 Soundwave originally came with.  And, as far as the Micromaster tapes go, Laserbeak's mold was fairly decent, which helps a lot.  But still... what makes a Micromaster balloon to Leader-class?

Well, for starters, he comes with an entire Voyager-class figure, that being Soundwave.  In fact, the packaging seems to suggest that this release is actually for Soundwave, and Buzzsaw is just a pack-in, but that can't be right.  Anyway, unlike the still fairly-recent Legacy Soundwave, which really a package refresh of the Siege toy, Buzzsaw's Soundwave uses the previously Walmart-exclusive Netflix remold.  The differences from the Netflix release are fairly minor.  Silver paint details on his buttons, legs, shoulders, and face have been replaced with a light gray.  The stripes on his gun and shoulder cannon use a thicker, more vibrant red, and that same red was applied to his forearms (so you don't have to do it yourself, like I did).  Finally, the yellow paint on his chest door was replaced with a darker gold that better matches the gold on his knees and the blue part of his chest. 

Honestly... I kind of like the silver on the Netflix release, though I must confess that the gray better matches the unpainted parts, while the red paint and the better-matching gold are net gains for Soundwave.

Buzzsaw does, of course, fit in Soundwave's chest, and in case you needed a reminder, you can fold his legs in and unfold a peg from under his body.  That peg allows him to perch on Soundwave's (or Megatron's) arm.

A Voyager and a Micromaster still isn't quite Leader yet, so we also have Ravage.  As with Buzzsaw, Ravage uses the Netflix version of the mold, which has a doofier-looking snarling face.  The silver deco and yellow eyes are carried over, but they put silver paint on his teeth, and like Buzzsaw the gray plastic used for the legs and 5mm peg have been swapped with black.  Man... paint the forelimbs silver instead of the fangs, and swap the Netflix head with the Siege head, and this would probably be the best version of this mold... not that this mold was particularly good in the first place.

From one side, this Ravage and Netflix Ravage are nearly identical, with just some hinges and a little bit of foot poking out to to indicate which is which.  Flip him over, though, and swapping the gray plastic for more black leaves this new version an entirely black slab.

Let's see now... Micromasters were originally two in a pack for $10, and a Voyager is $35, so we're only at $45.  We need $10 more to hit that Leader mark...

I think Hasbro could have packed in the Micromaster versions of Rumble and Frenzy, made you feel like you were getting all four Season 1-2 tapes.  But I think they also knew that'd be a hard sell when we've got superior Core-class versions, and at $10 a pop for Core-class that meant they could only include Rumble.

Deco-wise, Rumble is basically the same as the regular Studio Series release, but with darker blues and purples.  These colors remind me of the original Japanese MP release.  I feel like, if you only have the Micromaster version or no Rumble at all, that this one will do.  However, the regular Core-class release strikes me as more cartoon-accurate.

Rumble comes with all the accessories of the regular Core-class release- two non-functioning piledrivers I'd have gladly traded for elbow articulation, and two back lasers that can also be mounted to his forearms but not held in his hands.

One last cassette-mode comparison picture.

So, yeah.  I think a lot of people missed out on Netflix Soundwave, and if you're one of those people I think this is a no-brainer easy recommendation to get a good Soundwave that turns into a tape deck plus Buzzsaw, even if you already have Rumble and Ravage.  If you have Netflix Soundwave, though, then you definitely already have basically the same Ravage, and it's a lot harder to suggest paying a Leader price for just for Buzzsaw (especially when you can buy a better Rumble deco separately).  That didn't exactly stop me from paying the Leader price just for Buzzsaw, though.

Alright, after Leaders the next size down is Voyager.  And... I'm not buying any Voyagers in this wave.  One of them would be Animated Motormaster.  I'm already not a fan of the Animated aesthetic, and Motormaster never appeared in the cartoon (the original Animated Motormaster toy was a Botcon thing).  Motormaster gets a new head, and he swaps Prime's red, silver, and blue for black, purple, and more purple, as well as the yellow-painted lights for a neon green.  But otherwise, he's the exact same toy as Legacy United Animated Optimus Prime, and once for that mold was enough for me.  You guys do what you will.

The other Voyager in this wave is Metalhawk, and he's got even fewer changes.  I can't quite call him a package refresh, since they did tweak the colors from his previous Legacy Evolution release, but not a ton.  Bascially, the blue is a little lighter, while the gold and silver is a little darker.  The idea seems to be that Evolution Metalhawk is colored like the Masterforce animation, while the United version is colored like the original toy, except that the United version still uses the simple red bits on the chest and cartoon-placement for the Autobot insignia, and leaves the wings totally bare.  If they were going for a truly toy deco they should have lowered the Autobot insignia to his abs and used more elaborate tampoes on his chest and wings to better mimic the stickers on the G1 toy.  As it stands, if you missed Evolution Metalhawk then I would suggest picking up the United version.  The Cyclonus mold is a really good one, and Evan did a really impressive job retooling it into a decent representation of Metalhawk.  However, if (like me) you already have the Evolution toy, I can't see any reason to buy the United version.  The differences are just too minor.

I don't have any of the Deluxes, so let's skip to the only Core-class from the wave that I bought- Geocron.  Geocron is a retool of Bouldercrash.  He's got a new, uglier head, and sandier brown color, and he swaps some of Bouldercrash's red for purple.  That's about it.

Transformation is exactly the same.  You may recall that I wasn't super into this mold the first time around.  This is still true, plus on a purely subjective note I think that Geocron is the less-interesting deco.  Most people should probably skip Geocron.  I, however, wound up invested in my Infernac headcanon and just had to get that one extra minion for Queen Shard.

And, if you must know, the other Core-class in this wave is Energon Galvatron, a straight repaint of an Energon Megatron that I didn't really like, so I'm not wasting money on the repaint.  Give me Voyager or Leader versions, then we'll talk.

[obakesan]

 

On 9/28/2024 at 5:23 PM, sh9000 said:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/TRANFORMERS-GEN-RETRO-3/6403109485

I don't quite get the 'naming' of this. Like it has popped up in the UK on Hasbro Pulse as a ' Retro G1 Optimus Prime' yet the colour scheme is clearly not the original and is more an anime version. It's also more expensive technically than the TT MissingLink version I have already lol - plus ugh what's with the screw holes on the trailer? Guessing the actual original had a sticker so they were covered up? they couldn't do the same here or plug them maybe. tempting - but I've got enough primes 

Edited October 2 by obakesan

[Wolf-1]

The new Metalhawk will find a home on my "extras" shelf as the GoBot Leader; Leader Cykill maybe, unfamaliar with the character otherwise.  Soundwave and Buzzsaw will replace the slightly yellowing Netflix, which will most likely be given to a nephew or grandson at some point.  Would love to see a Beachcomber, at a reasonable price and state side.  

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, Wolf-1 said:

The new Metalhawk will find a home on my "extras" shelf as the GoBot Leader; Leader Cykill maybe, unfamaliar with the character otherwise.

Japanese G1, he was the leader of the Autobot Pretenders in Transformers: Chōjin Masterforce, and a toy we never got in the West.  He was sort of like the main Autobot leader until Ginrai and the other Powermasters started turning up and the Pretenders were relegated to background characters.

1 hour ago, Wolf-1 said:

Would love to see a Beachcomber, at a reasonable price and state side.  

He's available for preorder at Entertainment Earth, with a January release date.

[mikeszekely]

The other day I was talking about characters that first appeared in the Marvel G1 comics, and specifically made note of Simon Furman and Marvel UK's contributions.  I don't think it's right to bring up Furman and Marvel UK without mentioning one character in particular.  However, that character wouldn't be a Transformer at all, so I had to step outside my usual collecting and pick up Marvel Legends Death's Head.

The packaging lists Death's Head's first appearance as the UK comic Dragon's Claws, specifically issue #5, a series that came from the Transformers UK team of Simon Furman and Geoff Senior.  However, Dragon's Claws started it's print run in the summer of 1988, and Death's Head's own solo series (written by Simon Furman and drawn by Bryan Hitch) wouldn't start until winter of '88.  Now, here's where things get dicey.  Death's Head first appeared in Transformers UK #113, in the spring of 1987, well before Dragon's Claws.  Also prior to Dragon's Claws Marvel ran a one-page story "High Noon Tex" featuring Death's Head in several Marvel UK comics.  I've heard people say that "High Noon Tex" came out first, and that's why Marvel not Hasbro owns the rights to Death's Head, however, the original prints of "High Noon Tex" clearly depict Hitch's signature in the corner of the last panel with an '88 after it, and no one can seem to point to an specific comic book printed before 1988 that had "High Noon Tex" in it.  So, while I'm not outright saying that this is definitely what happened, it seems probable that Furman and Senior created Death's Head and used him in Transformers, Death's Head turned out to be popular with readers, so Marvel worked quickly to establish Death's Head as a Marvel character, not a Transformers character, to secure their ownership before Hasbro could.  Regardless of what did or did not happen or who own's what, to me Death's Head is a Transformers character, so here he is.

And he is... well, not super accurate to his Transformers appearance, where he he wore big brown gloves, green shoulder pads and hip skirts, and red loin cloth, plus he had more rectangular robotic green legs with orange knee pads.

Perhaps, in an effort to distance Death's Head from his earlier Transformers appearances, he got a new look when his solo series began in 1988 that's much closer to what we see here.  The main thing that seems to be off is his hands, which I assume were recolored from another Marvel Legends figure that had long finger nails, something Death's Head shouldn't.  In the comics he's actually drawn with silver robotic hands wearing spiked fingerless gloves.  His yellow shirt is also depicted here as more of a yellow stripe up the front of his torso with some lines in it that it doesn't need.  Again, I believe that this is because of Hasbro re-using parts from other Marvel Legends figures, specifically Colossus.  Still, if you're a fan of Death's Heads' solo run in '88-'89, or perhaps picked up his 2014 limited series, these are likely minor discrepancies.  As a Transformers fan, I'm more bothered by the fact that they went with his solo series look instead of the original green, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.

Death's Head comes with a shield, an axe, a mace, a rocket, and two alternate closed fists.  I'm not sure what Marvel Legends budgets are typically, but for $40 I'd have really liked if they'd have included a gun like the one he shot Bumblebee with in Transformers UK #114.

Death's Head's head is on a hinged ball joint, so he can swivel it and look up and down with a fairly natural range, but sideways tilt is pretty non-existent.  His shoulders swivel, and they're hinged to move laterally 90 degrees. His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel, as they're just pegged into his wrist sockets.  The splayed right hand and both closed fists have hinges on their pegs that allow them to bend in/out, while the left grippy hand is hinged to bend up/down.  His waist swivels, and he's got an ab crunch in the middle of his torso.  I can't quite tell what kind of joints his hips use, but they go about 90 degrees forward, but only a little backward due to his butt sculpt, and about 60 degrees laterally due to the rubbery hip skirts.  His thighs swivel, and his double-jointed knees bend nearly 180 degrees.  He's got another swivel at the top of his boot, and hinged ball joints at the ankles that give him some up/down foot tilt and about 45 degrees of ankle pivot.  On my copy, the hinge is a tad looser than I'd like, and he's prone to leaning or even falling over if you don't pose him with his feet turned out a bit.

To use most of the accessories, including the alternate hands, you grab the hands that are already installed and just yank them off, then peg the weapon or alternate hand into the stump.  His stock left hand is a rubbery sort of grabby hand, and you can also work the shafts of his weapons into it and he holds them mostly ok (the axe blade is a bit close to his fingers).  His shield has a horizontal and a vertical 5mm port on it, and he should be able to hold the shield in his left hand, too.  Unfortunately, he holds it much worse than his weapons.

Thing is, in my admittedly limited experience with Death's Head, I don't recall him ever actually using the shield.  It, and the various hand attachments he's not currently using, resided on his back.  And sure enough, there are a trio of clips on the back of the shield, allowing you to attach all three of his weapons.  Then the horizontal peg plugs into a port on Death's Head's back.

And, well, since Death's Head doesn't transform or have an alt mode... I guess I'm already at the end of this review.  Well, Marvel/Marvel Legends fans might likely have different standards to judge Death's Head by.  From a Transformer collector's POV, I think he should be slightly smaller, I really wish he had his gun, and I really wish he had the green armor, brown gloves, and green boots from his original Transformers appearance instead of his later solo series appearance.  I also don't know if I feel like I'm getting $40 worth of figure here, though to be fair he seems to have a lot more paint and more solid plastic than a similar-sized Transformer.  Ultimately, I think if you're primarily into Transformers collecting because of the G1 cartoon, then Death's Head probably isn't up your alley unless you also happen to be into Marvel Legends and Death's Head's other non-Transformers Marvel appearances.  However, if you're like me, and you've got your Jhiaxus, your Cybertron Troopers, your Straxus, your Ferak, your Flame, and your Emirate Xaaron, then Death's Head is very likely a significant gap in your Marvel G1 collection, and this is likely the best you're going to get to fill that gap.

 

[sh9000]

I like Marvel Legends Death's Head and think it looks close enough to the Marvel Universe Series 2 card.  The Marvel Infinite Series version was also reuse of Colossus.

[mikeszekely]

57 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

and think it looks close enough to the Marvel Universe Series 2 card

Yeah, he's reasonably close, considering he's re-using some parts.  But as a Transfomers fan first, I just wish he looked more like Senior's work on TF UK.

58 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

The Marvel Infinite Series version was also reuse of Colossus.

The Infinite series is 3 3/4", right?  I was thinking the Marvel Legends figure is a tad taller than I'd like, but I was thinking a good fit for Transformers would be maybe a half an inch shorter or so.  Infinite is too small, I think.

[sh9000]

4 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Yeah, he's reasonably close, considering he's re-using some parts.  But as a Transfomers fan first, I just wish he looked more like Senior's work on TF UK.

The Infinite series is 3 3/4", right?  I was thinking the Marvel Legends figure is a tad taller than I'd like, but I was thinking a good fit for Transformers would be maybe a half an inch shorter or so.  Infinite is too small, I think.

Yeah the Infinite Series is 3.75" figures.  Their Death's Head is a little over 4" tall.

[Wolf-1]

21 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Japanese G1, he was the leader of the Autobot Pretenders in Transformers: Chōjin Masterforce, and a toy we never got in the West.  He was sort of like the main Autobot leader until Ginrai and the other Powermasters started turning up and the Pretenders were relegated to background characters.

He's available for preorder at Entertainment Earth, with a January release date.

So what you basically said is, while a Leader he was never really The Leader; which means my intentions for him fit right in line with what was originally done with him anyway.  

 

Appreciate the link; He's been on preorder since he was revealed almost a year ago now.  Keep watching the "expected date" for the figure to keep changing every month.  Eventually it will hit the P.O.L. or I will cave and import while overpaying.  

[mikeszekely]

Nearly five years ago, I said I was "blown away" by Earthrise Leader-class Optimus Prime.  I acknowledged the toy's flaws, but also talked about how excited I was to have that much accuracy in a mainline Optimus Prime toy, the first mainline G1 Optimus to come with a trailer and repair drone (even if it was missing Roller).  Despite my praise for the figure, I started buying accessories to improve the figure.  Stickers added the missing yellow to the crotch, the lackluster paint on trailer stripes, and added color to the repair drone's cockpit.  Multiple kits replaced his rifle with a more proportional one, replaced the weird shield door on the trailer with a more G1-accurate one, added Roller, added the supports for the command deck, etc.  Meanwhile, other issues, like the gray plastic on the insides of Prime's legs, the visible wheels, and the lack of fuel tanks on his legs were left unaddressed.

Now... what if, instead of buying a $50 figure and then dumping a ton more money into upgrades... we simply had bought a Prime with a higher initial price tag that benefitted from a larger development in the first place?  I supposed the result would be Studio Series 86 Commander-class Optimus Prime.

Wow... just, wow.  OK, given that accuracy to the '86 movie is the objective, I'll note that he's got white pants and more of a flat gray for the stripe around his ribs, on his face and forehead, and on his toes rather than silver, and the vents on his shins are more like molded details than actual vents.  These things might not be my personal preferences for an ideal Prime, but they're still an A for this assignment.  The proportions are less svelte than the Earthrise toy, bringing that cartoon chunk.  The molded triangles and lines on his forearms are spot on, and he's even got the little triangles on his shins... so it kind of pains me to point out that the molded details on his thighs are actually not accurate.  There's also a tiny bit of red poking out from behind his shins.  To be fair, you can probably use a little alcohol to remove a line of paint from the part behind his shin without affecting anything.

Whereas all six of Earthrise Prime's wheels were visible, none of them are showing on SS86.  The backs of his legs have that sloped shape the cartoon did, plus he's got his missing fuel tanks.  The blue on his crotch wraps the entire way under and around to his butt.  His smokestacks are taller, and not marred by peg holes.  I'd say the elephant in the room is probably his backpack, which is giving me MP-44 flashbacks.  It's a little large, yes, and gappy in ways that are definitely not cartoon accurate, but I think it's still better than the wheels on the back of Earthrise Prime.

Actually, scratch that.  The backpack's not too bad, the real elephant is Prime's size.  We've been told since Siege that Hasbro has been paying attention to scale, but suddenly Siege/Earthrise Prime are too short?  Too be fair... yeah, kind of?  I think SS86 actually does scale better with most of the Autobots released in the last five years, and SS86 Prime is now about the same size as Galvatron.  However, this does mean that Prime is taller than Siege/Earthrise Megatron, which is not ideal.  Thankfully we're supposedly getting a Leader-class SS86 Megatron next year, which I'm sure will address the height difference with Prime... while simultaneously making Megatron too big for Soundwave, Shockwave, and the Seekers.  I guess it's a good thing that Soundwave and all six Seekers also appeared in the '86 movie.  I have a feeling that upgrades are inevitable.

We're not here to talk about potential SS86 Seekers, though, we're here to talk about Prime.  The bump to Commander didn't just make for a slightly taller, more accurate Optimus.  Some of that budget went to accessories.  Prime's got his trailer/command deck, which is much larger and has a proper ramp door but is as disappointingly barren inside as the Earthrise trailer.  Where are the blue consoles?  We again have Prime's ion rifle, with much better proportions and a nice coat of gunmetal paint.  We've got a Matrix of Leadership, and... actually I think it's the exact same one that Earthrise Optimus came with.  We've got a repair drone.  It's larger than the Earthrise one, accurately done this time with both blue and gray plastic instead of all gray, with a translucent cockpit door, just one arm, and an antenna, making it more accurate to the G1 toy than the Earthrise one.  Then, going beyond the Earthrise toy, we've got an Energon axe and some orange effects parts, plus we've got Roller.  While I prefer a blue Roller, silver does better match the maybe two episodes it appeared in the cartoon.  Roller is larger and less hollow than the one that came with the Centurion Drone.

The trailer has landing gear for staying upright without a cab, but also the side underride guards that were missing from the Earthrise trailer.  Like the MP and G1 toys, the underride guards can swing out to help support the sides of the trailer when it's in command deck mode.  Unlike the MP version, there's no mechanism that automatically lowers the feet as you swing the guards out, instead you have to twist the ends 90 degrees.

Side note, while we're looking at it... yes, I prefer the blue stripes on the trailer.  But the trailer is more screen accurate without the blue, so I can't actually criticize the choice.

I'd already shown that the trailer does in fact open up into the command deck, but I'll mention that you can still stand it up, and the drone does still attach to the end oppose the trailer door.  When the trailer is up like this the repair drone can do, well, repairs on Prime.  Or you can lie it back down and the drone is an AA gun.

The cockpit on the drone opens, and it can plug into Roller to drive around outside the trailer.  There's three hinges in the stem of the drone, a swivel for the antenna to fold down (but no swivel for it to spin around), a swivel for the arm's "shoulder" and "bicep", a hinged elbow, and a hinge in one of the claws so it can open and shut.  The spots where the missiles would go on the G1 toy have little nubs that are compatible with some of the effects parts.

Roller can also roll around without the drone.  You could instead plug in Prime's rifle, which is also compatible with the blast effects.  If you still have some, Roller's seats can accommodate four Titan Masters, though the ones that sit in the back have to face backwards.

Roller's 5mm ports aren't just for attaching Prime's gun or the repair drone.  You can also use one as a hitch so Roller can pull Prime's trailer.

All of Prime's accessories can be stored in the trailer.  The drone plugs in near the front, as I already mentioned, and folds up.  Roller has to notches under it's front end that grab onto two tabs on the front of the drone's base.  There are nubs with clips below them on either side.  The ones closest to the front are for the axe, while the ones next to roller are for the laser beam effects.  There's also tabs near the axe clips that can plug into slots on the sides of Prime's rifle, allowing you to lock it in place as well.

Meanwhile, fold the bumper down and you'll unlock the rear wheels.  You'll find a space between them where you can toss the rest of Prime's effect parts.

Accessories are good and all, but you guys are probably more curious about Prime himself.  So, Prime's head is on a ball joint.  He doesn't have a ton of up/down tilt, but it swivels and he's got decent sideways tilt.  His antenna are separate parts now, and can swivel, though that's really more for transformation.  His shoulders swivel and can technically move 90 degrees laterally, though clearances with his smokestacks and backpack can limit the lateral movement when his arms are raised.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  In what I believe is a first for a mainline toy, not only are his fingers hinged at the base, but they have a second knuckle as well, plus his index finger is separate from the other three for pointing or to pose as a trigger finger.  His waist swivels.  His hip skirts hinge up to give him 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally on his hips.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend about 120 degrees.  His feet can't tilt up, but his toes can tilt downward, and he's got 90 degrees of ankle pivot.  Really, the only things I could wish for are deeper elbow bends and an ab crunch*.

Despite having articulated fingers, Prime's hands are still compatible with 5mm accessories, which is how he holds his rifle.

To use Prime's axe, you have to fold his fists into his forearms like you're going into truck mode, which will leave a peg on Prime's wrist.  You can then plug the axe onto the peg.  While you're playing with gummy translucent orange parts, Prime's smokestacks swivel for no reason except that you might want to pretend that they're guns.  The tips of his smokestacks are even compatible with the beam effect parts (just don't leave them on there, as I've heard that prolonged exposure to the rubbery effect parts can damage the paint).

Most of Prime's accessories will have to go in the trailer when he's not using them.  He can, however, carry his rifle on his backpack.  There are tabs on either side that fit into the same slot that the rifle uses to secure itself into the trailer.  This being a Studio Series release instead of a Legacy one means that Prime doesn't have the abundance of 5mm ports for Weaponizers, Fossilizers, Armorizers, etc.  Aside from his fists, the only ones he has are under his toes.

As for the Matrix, just like Earthrise Prime, you can open the chest on SS86 Prime and wedge the Matrix handles around some tabs you'll find in there.  Unlike Earthrise Prime, SS86 Prime has an additional door that folds down over the Matrix before you close up his chest, similar to what was seen in the movie, though less detailed.  The Matrix is pretty tiny in Prime's hands, but you can take advantage of that finger articulation to pinch his index fingers around the handles.  Plus, Prime's got butterfly joints in his shoulders that serve no transformation purpose.  They're just there so Prime can get his hands close enough together to hold the Matrix.

*You probably thought, "what about butterfly joints?" when I said the only extra articulation I'd wish for was deeper elbow bends and an ab crunch, but Prime had butterfly joints all along.  I was just saving their mention for this part.

Clearly, it's not just that Prime's bigger or has more paint.  There's definitely a higher parts count going on here to help justify the price difference between a Leader and a Commander.  There's even little bits like this, where you have a this extra armor part that fits around the hip joints.

Prime's transformation into truck mode is definitely a more elaborate affair.  If you didn't appreciate the aesthetic improvements a Commander-budget brought, you'll definitely notice it here.  His fists fold into his arms, which then rotate 180 degrees at the bicep and bend backward at the elbow.  The blue part of his butt detaches and folds between his thighs.  The top of his backpack folds up, freeing his backpack to fold away from his back.  He rotates 180 degrees at the waist, then panels on his sides fold up so his chest can rotate 180 degrees back.  Prime's head folds into his back, then another panel that was underneath his head double hinges outward.  His bot-mode grill folds up to hide his face, and his lats double-hinge into the space his grill just vacated.  The flaps on his sides go back down, then his arms do the classic Prime transformation to tuck in.  Meanwhile, back on the front side, the back of his backpack unfolds to the sides so you can fold the backpack further down, revealing the bottom half of the cab.  The grill opens so you can fold out the rest of the grill, then the whole thing hinges up under his chest to fully complete the front of the cab.  Panels on the sides open then fold up to fill in the sides of the cab.  His shins wrap around to the insides of his legs, similar to MP-10's, and a tab swings out from between his left heel and toes while a matching slot folds out from his right foot, allowing you to tab the legs together.  The toes fold down, and you lift the skirts on his butt up, then his hips and crotch detach from the front of his pelvis and swing backward.  The top of the backpack can fold into the space his crotch and hips left, tabbing in between the front wheels.  His calves fold up, plugging into the back of the cab as well as plugging into and covering his thighs, which also frees his heels to fold down.  Finally, the sides of his legs swivel at the fuel tanks, with the part running down his leg below the tank spinning 180 degrees to fill in the bottom of the cab under his arms between the front wheels and the fuel tank, then his rear wheels fold out from the insides of his legs.

I might again decry the lack of a silver stripe on the cab, or point out the molded but unpainted windshield wipers, but there's that pesky cartoon accuracy.

It's not all cartoon accuracy, though.  Whereas, even in the '86 movie, Prime's truck mode is largely devoid of detail, the designers of this toy seemed to look at MP-44 for inspiration.  There are the aforementioned molded windshield wipers, plus a number of rivets and the intake vent, orange paint on the marker lights on the roof, silver wing mirrors, and the rectangular double-square headlights.  There are steps on the sides of the cab, and molded doors and handrails.  More steps are behind the rear wheels, and taillights molded into Prime's heels.  It's still not totally accurate to a real truck, but the rear doesn't just look like robot legs chilling out.  Instead we've got a fairly cohesive (and far cleaner than MP-44) area with a molded hitch.  My only real gripes are that the fuel tanks stick out a bit while the real wheels don't, and the back of the cab is still a bit gappy and unfinished.

The molded hitch has a peg hole that you can plug the trailer into.  The bigger cab means that, even though the trailer is bigger, it's still a tad undersized.  However, I think it's far more proportional than Earthrise Prime, where the entire truck and trailer can fit on SS86's trailer alone.  And for those curious, although I didn't take a picture, I did compare it to the G1 trailer.  SS86's trailer is a smidge shorter vertically, but a bit longer horizontally, and almost the same width.

Prime and his trailer roll, and there's enough clearance for Prime to make tight turns with the trailer... which I'm realizing that I'm only now giving you a proper look at the rear of.  As you can see, more accurate molded doors, painted taillights, and a proper bumper.  The doors don't open like a real truck (or MP-10's), they just fold down like the G1 toy's, which is fine.  The interior of the trailer is wide enough for most Deluxe cars to fit into- I had no issues with Earthrise Sideswipe and Prowl or SS86 Jazz, but be aware that a few like Armada Hot Shot here are a bit too wide.

In case you were wondering, yes, SS86 Prime can pull the Earthrise trailer, and vice versa.  The 86 trailer doesn't look too bad with the Earthrise cab, if it would only sit back a bit further.  SS86 Prime looks ridiculous with the Earthrise trailer, but that's not the point.  The real point is that other figures like Kingdom Huffer that could pull the Earthrise trailer can still pull the SS86 one.

There's nowhere on Prime's trailer to stow any of his accessories, so again, it's fortunate that we have the trailer for that.  However, there are some effect parts that are meant just for alt mode; the one that store in the cubby under the trailer rather than in it.  You combine them to make two bits with flat bases and tabs on the top.  The tabs fit into these slots next to the front wheels, so Prime can recreate that scene from the movie where, after mowing down a few Decepticons, he jets into the air to transform and gun down a few more before landing.

There's one last thing that needs mentioning.  As far as I know, every copy of SS86 Prime is misassembled. Basically, his heels are swapped.  It's almost not noticeable in robot mode, and barely even then in truck mode.  You could probably ignore it, but it's the kind of thing that once you know it's there it might bug you.  Fixing it isn't supposed to be too difficult, but it will require removing two pins to take the heels off, turn flip them over, and then swap them to the other feet.

Oh, one final thing... over then months ago, when the existence of this figure leaked but we didn't know anything about it except it was a Commander, I said:

Quote

I expect that it'll be a new mold- no more reusing Siege Prime's legs.  I expect they'll hide the wheels, both in leg mode and the ones on his butt (comparing with Earthrise), likely with an upper body transformation closer to MP-10 than ER Prime.  I also expect they'll give him the little fuel tanks that were also missing from the Earthrise design, and better smokestacks that don't have 5mm ports.  I'd expect vents on his legs to be blue, not silver, and all the geometric details on his pelvis will be painted instead of just some.  I think the truck mode will lack a white stripe on the cab.  I expect the trailer will be closer in size to the G1 trailer, with, with the fold out supports for base mode, a bumper on the rear, doors that either fold down like the G1 toy or open with an extendable ramp like the MPs, and it'll look like a truck trailer door and not whatever Earthrise's was supposed to be.  The trailer itself will likely not have the blue stripes.  Inside, I think you'll get the repair drone and Roller, and the repair drone will be more accurately painted than ER with a proper claw and antenna.  It'll probably be removable, with either wheels of it's own or an ability to combine with Roller.  Finally, I expect it'll come with a more-accurate, better proportioned ion rifle, a Matrix of Leadership, an energon axe, and some effect parts.

Aside from the upper body transformation being like MP-10's (not that it's like ER's either), boy, did I nail that or what?

Anyway...

40 years after The Transformers debuted Takara celebrated by giving us the toy from 40 years ago, but with better articulation.  Meanwhile, Hasbro celebrated by giving us the most cartoon-accurate Optimus Prime toy to ever hit a regular retail line.  No, it's not perfect, and I did point out a few nitpicky flaws.  And, yes, a Commander-class toy is significantly mor expensive than a Leader-class one, which is going to rub some people the wrong way.  That being said, SS86 Prime is a brilliant figure that addresses the flaws I had with the Earthrise figure that I already loved, as well as some more flaws that I didn't know I had.  Given Hasbro's propensity to keep the money-making characters in rotation I'm hesitant to say that this is the definitive mainline G1 Optimus toy, but this is the first one that makes me feel like I don't need for there to be a newer, better one down the road, and I don't need to shop for some kind of upgrade kit to address my quibbles.  If you're a fan of G1 Transformers, buy this toy.  Simple as that.

[Black Valkyrie]

 

@mikeszekely Excellent review, I was planning to order one but when I saw that the truck is touching the ground, I was a bit put off, like they say nothing is perfect.  However I'll wait what Hasbro & Takara-Tomy have in store.   An improved Seekers, yes . 

 

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, Black Valkyrie said:

I was planning to order one but when I saw that the truck is touching the ground, I was a bit put off

You were expecting a hover truck?

[Black Valkyrie]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

You were expecting a hover truck?

 

😁

[sh9000]

 

 

[M'Kyuun]

19 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Nearly five years ago, I said I was "blown away" by Earthrise Leader-class Optimus Prime.  I acknowledged the toy's flaws, but also talked about how excited I was to have that much accuracy in a mainline Optimus Prime toy, the first mainline G1 Optimus to come with a trailer and repair drone (even if it was missing Roller).  Despite my praise for the figure, I started buying accessories to improve the figure.  Stickers added the missing yellow to the crotch, the lackluster paint on trailer stripes, and added color to the repair drone's cockpit.  Multiple kits replaced his rifle with a more proportional one, replaced the weird shield door on the trailer with a more G1-accurate one, added Roller, added the supports for the command deck, etc.  Meanwhile, other issues, like the gray plastic on the insides of Prime's legs, the visible wheels, and the lack of fuel tanks on his legs were left unaddressed.

Now... what if, instead of buying a $50 figure and then dumping a ton more money into upgrades... we simply had bought a Prime with a higher initial price tag that benefitted from a larger development in the first place?  I supposed the result would be Studio Series 86 Commander-class Optimus Prime.

Wow... just, wow.  OK, given that accuracy to the '86 movie is the objective, I'll note that he's got white pants and more of a flat gray for the stripe around his ribs, on his face and forehead, and on his toes rather than silver, and the vents on his shins are more like molded details than actual vents.  These things might not be my personal preferences for an ideal Prime, but they're still an A for this assignment.  The proportions are less svelte than the Earthrise toy, bringing that cartoon chunk.  The molded triangles and lines on his forearms are spot on, and he's even got the little triangles on his shins... so it kind of pains me to point out that the molded details on his thighs are actually not accurate.  There's also a tiny bit of red poking out from behind his shins.  To be fair, you can probably use a little alcohol to remove a line of paint from the part behind his shin without affecting anything.

Whereas all six of Earthrise Prime's wheels were visible, none of them are showing on SS86.  The backs of his legs have that sloped shape the cartoon did, plus he's got his missing fuel tanks.  The blue on his crotch wraps the entire way under and around to his butt.  His smokestacks are taller, and not marred by peg holes.  I'd say the elephant in the room is probably his backpack, which is giving me MP-44 flashbacks.  It's a little large, yes, and gappy in ways that are definitely not cartoon accurate, but I think it's still better than the wheels on the back of Earthrise Prime.

Actually, scratch that.  The backpack's not too bad, the real elephant is Prime's size.  We've been told since Siege that Hasbro has been paying attention to scale, but suddenly Siege/Earthrise Prime are too short?  Too be fair... yeah, kind of?  I think SS86 actually does scale better with most of the Autobots released in the last five years, and SS86 Prime is now about the same size as Galvatron.  However, this does mean that Prime is taller than Siege/Earthrise Megatron, which is not ideal.  Thankfully we're supposedly getting a Leader-class SS86 Megatron next year, which I'm sure will address the height difference with Prime... while simultaneously making Megatron too big for Soundwave, Shockwave, and the Seekers.  I guess it's a good thing that Soundwave and all six Seekers also appeared in the '86 movie.  I have a feeling that upgrades are inevitable.

We're not here to talk about potential SS86 Seekers, though, we're here to talk about Prime.  The bump to Commander didn't just make for a slightly taller, more accurate Optimus.  Some of that budget went to accessories.  Prime's got his trailer/command deck, which is much larger and has a proper ramp door but is as disappointingly barren inside as the Earthrise trailer.  Where are the blue consoles?  We again have Prime's ion rifle, with much better proportions and a nice coat of gunmetal paint.  We've got a Matrix of Leadership, and... actually I think it's the exact same one that Earthrise Optimus came with.  We've got a repair drone.  It's larger than the Earthrise one, accurately done this time with both blue and gray plastic instead of all gray, with a translucent cockpit door, just one arm, and an antenna, making it more accurate to the G1 toy than the Earthrise one.  Then, going beyond the Earthrise toy, we've got an Energon axe and some orange effects parts, plus we've got Roller.  While I prefer a blue Roller, silver does better match the maybe two episodes it appeared in the cartoon.  Roller is larger and less hollow than the one that came with the Centurion Drone.

The trailer has landing gear for staying upright without a cab, but also the side underride guards that were missing from the Earthrise trailer.  Like the MP and G1 toys, the underride guards can swing out to help support the sides of the trailer when it's in command deck mode.  Unlike the MP version, there's no mechanism that automatically lowers the feet as you swing the guards out, instead you have to twist the ends 90 degrees.

Side note, while we're looking at it... yes, I prefer the blue stripes on the trailer.  But the trailer is more screen accurate without the blue, so I can't actually criticize the choice.

I'd already shown that the trailer does in fact open up into the command deck, but I'll mention that you can still stand it up, and the drone does still attach to the end oppose the trailer door.  When the trailer is up like this the repair drone can do, well, repairs on Prime.  Or you can lie it back down and the drone is an AA gun.

The cockpit on the drone opens, and it can plug into Roller to drive around outside the trailer.  There's three hinges in the stem of the drone, a swivel for the antenna to fold down (but no swivel for it to spin around), a swivel for the arm's "shoulder" and "bicep", a hinged elbow, and a hinge in one of the claws so it can open and shut.  The spots where the missiles would go on the G1 toy have little nubs that are compatible with some of the effects parts.

Roller can also roll around without the drone.  You could instead plug in Prime's rifle, which is also compatible with the blast effects.  If you still have some, Roller's seats can accommodate four Titan Masters, though the ones that sit in the back have to face backwards.

Roller's 5mm ports aren't just for attaching Prime's gun or the repair drone.  You can also use one as a hitch so Roller can pull Prime's trailer.

All of Prime's accessories can be stored in the trailer.  The drone plugs in near the front, as I already mentioned, and folds up.  Roller has to notches under it's front end that grab onto two tabs on the front of the drone's base.  There are nubs with clips below them on either side.  The ones closest to the front are for the axe, while the ones next to roller are for the laser beam effects.  There's also tabs near the axe clips that can plug into slots on the sides of Prime's rifle, allowing you to lock it in place as well.

Meanwhile, fold the bumper down and you'll unlock the rear wheels.  You'll find a space between them where you can toss the rest of Prime's effect parts.

Accessories are good and all, but you guys are probably more curious about Prime himself.  So, Prime's head is on a ball joint.  He doesn't have a ton of up/down tilt, but it swivels and he's got decent sideways tilt.  His antenna are separate parts now, and can swivel, though that's really more for transformation.  His shoulders swivel and can technically move 90 degrees laterally, though clearances with his smokestacks and backpack can limit the lateral movement when his arms are raised.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees.  His wrists swivel.  In what I believe is a first for a mainline toy, not only are his fingers hinged at the base, but they have a second knuckle as well, plus his index finger is separate from the other three for pointing or to pose as a trigger finger.  His waist swivels.  His hip skirts hinge up to give him 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally on his hips.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend about 120 degrees.  His feet can't tilt up, but his toes can tilt downward, and he's got 90 degrees of ankle pivot.  Really, the only things I could wish for are deeper elbow bends and an ab crunch*.

Despite having articulated fingers, Prime's hands are still compatible with 5mm accessories, which is how he holds his rifle.

To use Prime's axe, you have to fold his fists into his forearms like you're going into truck mode, which will leave a peg on Prime's wrist.  You can then plug the axe onto the peg.  While you're playing with gummy translucent orange parts, Prime's smokestacks swivel for no reason except that you might want to pretend that they're guns.  The tips of his smokestacks are even compatible with the beam effect parts (just don't leave them on there, as I've heard that prolonged exposure to the rubbery effect parts can damage the paint).

Most of Prime's accessories will have to go in the trailer when he's not using them.  He can, however, carry his rifle on his backpack.  There are tabs on either side that fit into the same slot that the rifle uses to secure itself into the trailer.  This being a Studio Series release instead of a Legacy one means that Prime doesn't have the abundance of 5mm ports for Weaponizers, Fossilizers, Armorizers, etc.  Aside from his fists, the only ones he has are under his toes.

As for the Matrix, just like Earthrise Prime, you can open the chest on SS86 Prime and wedge the Matrix handles around some tabs you'll find in there.  Unlike Earthrise Prime, SS86 Prime has an additional door that folds down over the Matrix before you close up his chest, similar to what was seen in the movie, though less detailed.  The Matrix is pretty tiny in Prime's hands, but you can take advantage of that finger articulation to pinch his index fingers around the handles.  Plus, Prime's got butterfly joints in his shoulders that serve no transformation purpose.  They're just there so Prime can get his hands close enough together to hold the Matrix.

*You probably thought, "what about butterfly joints?" when I said the only extra articulation I'd wish for was deeper elbow bends and an ab crunch, but Prime had butterfly joints all along.  I was just saving their mention for this part.

Clearly, it's not just that Prime's bigger or has more paint.  There's definitely a higher parts count going on here to help justify the price difference between a Leader and a Commander.  There's even little bits like this, where you have a this extra armor part that fits around the hip joints.

Prime's transformation into truck mode is definitely a more elaborate affair.  If you didn't appreciate the aesthetic improvements a Commander-budget brought, you'll definitely notice it here.  His fists fold into his arms, which then rotate 180 degrees at the bicep and bend backward at the elbow.  The blue part of his butt detaches and folds between his thighs.  The top of his backpack folds up, freeing his backpack to fold away from his back.  He rotates 180 degrees at the waist, then panels on his sides fold up so his chest can rotate 180 degrees back.  Prime's head folds into his back, then another panel that was underneath his head double hinges outward.  His bot-mode grill folds up to hide his face, and his lats double-hinge into the space his grill just vacated.  The flaps on his sides go back down, then his arms do the classic Prime transformation to tuck in.  Meanwhile, back on the front side, the back of his backpack unfolds to the sides so you can fold the backpack further down, revealing the bottom half of the cab.  The grill opens so you can fold out the rest of the grill, then the whole thing hinges up under his chest to fully complete the front of the cab.  Panels on the sides open then fold up to fill in the sides of the cab.  His shins wrap around to the insides of his legs, similar to MP-10's, and a tab swings out from between his left heel and toes while a matching slot folds out from his right foot, allowing you to tab the legs together.  The toes fold down, and you lift the skirts on his butt up, then his hips and crotch detach from the front of his pelvis and swing backward.  The top of the backpack can fold into the space his crotch and hips left, tabbing in between the front wheels.  His calves fold up, plugging into the back of the cab as well as plugging into and covering his thighs, which also frees his heels to fold down.  Finally, the sides of his legs swivel at the fuel tanks, with the part running down his leg below the tank spinning 180 degrees to fill in the bottom of the cab under his arms between the front wheels and the fuel tank, then his rear wheels fold out from the insides of his legs.

I might again decry the lack of a silver stripe on the cab, or point out the molded but unpainted windshield wipers, but there's that pesky cartoon accuracy.

It's not all cartoon accuracy, though.  Whereas, even in the '86 movie, Prime's truck mode is largely devoid of detail, the designers of this toy seemed to look at MP-44 for inspiration.  There are the aforementioned molded windshield wipers, plus a number of rivets and the intake vent, orange paint on the marker lights on the roof, silver wing mirrors, and the rectangular double-square headlights.  There are steps on the sides of the cab, and molded doors and handrails.  More steps are behind the rear wheels, and taillights molded into Prime's heels.  It's still not totally accurate to a real truck, but the rear doesn't just look like robot legs chilling out.  Instead we've got a fairly cohesive (and far cleaner than MP-44) area with a molded hitch.  My only real gripes are that the fuel tanks stick out a bit while the real wheels don't, and the back of the cab is still a bit gappy and unfinished.

The molded hitch has a peg hole that you can plug the trailer into.  The bigger cab means that, even though the trailer is bigger, it's still a tad undersized.  However, I think it's far more proportional than Earthrise Prime, where the entire truck and trailer can fit on SS86's trailer alone.  And for those curious, although I didn't take a picture, I did compare it to the G1 trailer.  SS86's trailer is a smidge shorter vertically, but a bit longer horizontally, and almost the same width.

Prime and his trailer roll, and there's enough clearance for Prime to make tight turns with the trailer... which I'm realizing that I'm only now giving you a proper look at the rear of.  As you can see, more accurate molded doors, painted taillights, and a proper bumper.  The doors don't open like a real truck (or MP-10's), they just fold down like the G1 toy's, which is fine.  The interior of the trailer is wide enough for most Deluxe cars to fit into- I had no issues with Earthrise Sideswipe and Prowl or SS86 Jazz, but be aware that a few like Armada Hot Shot here are a bit too wide.

In case you were wondering, yes, SS86 Prime can pull the Earthrise trailer, and vice versa.  The 86 trailer doesn't look too bad with the Earthrise cab, if it would only sit back a bit further.  SS86 Prime looks ridiculous with the Earthrise trailer, but that's not the point.  The real point is that other figures like Kingdom Huffer that could pull the Earthrise trailer can still pull the SS86 one.

There's nowhere on Prime's trailer to stow any of his accessories, so again, it's fortunate that we have the trailer for that.  However, there are some effect parts that are meant just for alt mode; the one that store in the cubby under the trailer rather than in it.  You combine them to make two bits with flat bases and tabs on the top.  The tabs fit into these slots next to the front wheels, so Prime can recreate that scene from the movie where, after mowing down a few Decepticons, he jets into the air to transform and gun down a few more before landing.

There's one last thing that needs mentioning.  As far as I know, every copy of SS86 Prime is misassembled. Basically, his heels are swapped.  It's almost not noticeable in robot mode, and barely even then in truck mode.  You could probably ignore it, but it's the kind of thing that once you know it's there it might bug you.  Fixing it isn't supposed to be too difficult, but it will require removing two pins to take the heels off, turn flip them over, and then swap them to the other feet.

Oh, one final thing... over then months ago, when the existence of this figure leaked but we didn't know anything about it except it was a Commander, I said:

Aside from the upper body transformation being like MP-10's (not that it's like ER's either), boy, did I nail that or what?

Anyway...

40 years after The Transformers debuted Takara celebrated by giving us the toy from 40 years ago, but with better articulation.  Meanwhile, Hasbro celebrated by giving us the most cartoon-accurate Optimus Prime toy to ever hit a regular retail line.  No, it's not perfect, and I did point out a few nitpicky flaws.  And, yes, a Commander-class toy is significantly mor expensive than a Leader-class one, which is going to rub some people the wrong way.  That being said, SS86 Prime is a brilliant figure that addresses the flaws I had with the Earthrise figure that I already loved, as well as some more flaws that I didn't know I had.  Given Hasbro's propensity to keep the money-making characters in rotation I'm hesitant to say that this is the definitive mainline G1 Optimus toy, but this is the first one that makes me feel like I don't need for there to be a newer, better one down the road, and I don't need to shop for some kind of upgrade kit to address my quibbles.  If you're a fan of G1 Transformers, buy this toy.  Simple as that.

Very comprehensive and enjoyable review, Mike. As to your prognostication skills, pretty much right on the money with this guy. I love the Earthrise fig, and while I didn't invest as much in decoing my copy, I did apply some paint and an upgrade to the trailer to bring it a tad closer to true and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. That said, as close as this is to an ideal mainline Prime (def the best G1 incarnation since, well, G1), it's not quite perfect. And thanks to SS86, no longer the most accurate.

That said, there are still things it does that I like better than SS86- the silver painted and molded shin vents, the painted wipers, I prefer the way its feet taper down in truck mode (purely subjective, but I think it looks better), the cab's silver stripe, and the bot's smaller backpack minus the butt wheels. Despite my nitpicks, SS86 is absolutely a leap forward, and honestly, a bit of paint or some stickers will remedy most. I do wish they would have condensed the backpack down to the size and shape we see in the movie and toon. Magic Square did it perfectly with both their recent legends and MP scaled Primes, both of which I consider the pinnacles of Optimus Prime toys in their respective size classes. As you said, I don't think Hasbro or Takara want to create an absolute perfect representation as that will preclude the need for future toys, so a few flaws are acceptable. In my mind, the 90- degree limited elbow bend at this scale and price point as well as his chonky backpack bring this down from a perfect 10 to a solid 9, but in all other considerations this is certainly the most well-designed and accurate G1 toon-inspired official Optimus Prime toy outside of MP-44. How I wish the technology and mindset had been present forty years ago to put this on shelves instead of the Diaclone toys we got. Outside of the core fig, I'm glad to see as much attention given to the trailer, as it's an intrinsic part of his alt mode, even if it will eventually be chucked aside as a dust collector along with ER Prime's, Volvo Prime's and Rodimus' trailers. My biggest fear is that after dropping $90 on this version Hasbro will release a toy version with all the apropos paint, stickers, and perhaps retooled shins with molded vents. I really don't want to drop another $90 on a fig I already have, but to have it with all those additional details would be sorely tempting, as that's really the version I crave. I guess we'll see. I'm still waiting on BBTS to get their shipment in- I think they exist in a slower timestream than the rest of us, so excruciatingly slow is their receipt of items to fill orders. My anticipation is pretty high for this guy so I hope it ships soon.

 

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I'm still waiting on BBTS to get their shipment in- I think they exist in a slower timestream than the rest of us, so excruciatingly slow is their receipt of items to fill orders. My anticipation is pretty high for this guy so I hope it ships soon.

Try Target. They might have some at your local store, and they have VERY few available for shipping. Plus there's a Target Circle deal this week. $20 off $75 on toys. DCPI is 087-26-4645.

[mikeszekely]

Oh, and an addendum to my review... I was so busy comparing SS86 Prime to Earthrise Prime to show much much of an improvement he is, but I neglected to show how a larger Prime compares to other Legacy trucks.

Well, here's the thing.  I don't know a ton about trucks (maybe @David Hingtgen can chime in), but I do know that Bayverse Prime was a Peterbilt 379, and I think G1 Prime is a Freightliner FL86, which means that in truck mode 86 Prime is way bigger relative to the various Bayverse SS Primes.  Assuming that Laser Prime/Scourge are also bigger trucks, they're also out of scale with Prime... which means the smaller Earthrise trailer and the tanker trailers, while still too small, should be smaller than 86 Prime's trailer.  Well, the movies exist outside of the main G1/G2 continuity, so it doesn't bother me too much that Bayverse Prime and 86 Prime don't scale well in alt mode, but it does make me wish for a bigger (and color accurate this time) Scourge.  Maybe he'll get a Commander-class glow up, with a Gen Selects Laser Prime to follow.  A guy can dream.

I think the bigger concern a lot of people are going to have is "how does 86 Prime look with other G1 COE trucks?"  This is especially concerning if Motormaster was built to scale with Earthrise Prime.  But honestly... not as bad as I feared.

(Forgive the poor lighting, I didn't take these pictures in my usual space.)

Magnus is actually wider than Prime still, and his vertical height is only shorter because he's got rectangular windows instead of squares.  Magnus is also a bit shorter horizontally.  Motormaster, meanwhile, manages to remain taller than Prime even without counting the extra height from the sleeper.  Motormaster is a similar length with Prime, but a bit narrower.

Prime's trailer is the longest, but Magnus' is taller and wider.  Motormaster's is also taller and wider, but comically shorter without any upgrade kits.  Frankly, Motormaster's stock trailer didn't look good next to Earthrise, either.  With the DNA upgrade kit, which I have on here, Motormaster's trailer is maybe half an inch shorter than Prime's.  All-in-all, I think Earthrise Prime might actually scale better with these guys than Earthrise did.

[mikeszekely]

Rathalos Prime is available to preorder on Pulse. 

@Tking22

Edited October 8 by mikeszekely

[sh9000]

They look good together @mikeszekely.  For your last sentence did you mean to say that 86 Prime scales better with these guys than Earthrise did?

[mikeszekely]

8 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

They look good together @mikeszekely.  For your last sentence did you mean to say that 86 Prime scales better with these guys than Earthrise did?

Yeah. I think as a truck 86 Prime looks better with 86 Magnus and Legacy Motor master than Earthrise Prime, but again, I'm not an expert on trucks or anything. I didn't put them together as bots, but given Magnus was already pretty big I think 86 Prime works better there, too. 86 Prime's extra height means he's going to be a head taller than Motormaster now, but that doesn't bother me, either. As a kid I thought it was kind of cool that a bad guy turned into a truck like Optimus, but I never saw them as direct rivals that absolute need to be the same height.

Megatron, Shockwave, Soundwave, and the Seekers need bigger molds, though (and RiD Scourge/Laser Optimus... I'd actually love for a Commander-class Scourge with a similar trailer glow-up to go with Haslab Fire Convoy.

[Tking22]

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Rathalos Prime is available to preorder on Pulse. 

@Tking22

Pricier then I expected, but I nabbed one.