The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[David Hingtgen]

Well, tripling the price of something does tend to make people question the value of authentic vs KO.

Takara's re-release price is so inflated, that the *cheaper KO* still costs more than the original US release!

[jenius]

Where are the knock-off Grimlocks? I see all the loose ones but I was led to believe those weren't knock-offs.

Gakken, you've told us the Grimlock mold was dust three releases ago! I think it might be holding up better than you expect.

[technoblue]

This news is a couple days old already, but BBTS is advertising a second run of of Red Alert later this year:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11798&mode=retail

I do hope that there is more of a general release this time, but I won't complain if it is a limited reissue either. For now, my pre-order is in. Red Alert is one of the few G1 toys that I still have in my collection and it will be nice to get the Masterpiece version eventually.

[skullmilitia]

Yeah don't wait around for the Japanese retailers.

This isn't a second run, it's just stock BBTS found from dist.

BBTS uses "2nd production" as a term that means we found extra stock.

[Gakken85]

No... it's dust. It was before.

The Chinese exclusive was loose as hell. The arms wouldn't really hold a pose well. I sold mine... luckily before the Takara re-issue drove down the prices.

The new Takara one is falling apart. haha

I'm pretty sure any loose version is a KO of some kind, or maybe a factory reject. But who the hell wants a reject?

Somebody stole the mold at some point and they are pumping out metric crap tons of them.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-toy-discussion/971347-ebay-mp-grimlock-received-ko.html

And hey, not everybody can own everything.

Shrug.

I wouldn't buy another one. The flame sword looks really cheap. It makes me think of the Animated grimlock toy.

Everybody is trying to squeeze every last cent out of this mold because they smelled the demand haha.

Edited January 26, 2014 by Gakken85

[Gakken85]

Apparently the KO doesn't have ratchet joints or the eye switch gimmick.

[myk]

Anyone buying into Mania-King? Galvatron's one of my favorite characters of any franchise and I'm really interested about this product...

[Gakken85]

They are discussing it pretty heavy in the third party TF thread.

[myk]

Cool deal, thanks. I'll probably jump on this when a few more reviews come in...

[Gakken85]

Bluestreak repaint:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11799&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

Edited January 29, 2014 by Gakken85

[Mechapilot77]

Bluestreak repaint:

http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/product.aspx?product=TAK11799&mode=retail&utm_source=Marketing&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Marketing&utm_content=

gotta be blue diaclone colors right? i preordered just in case it is, don't want to miss out on that if thats the case!

[Kanedas Bike]

Interesting, thanks for posting Gakken.

I will wait more info before I commit to $ 90 when it could be available at HLJ or other sources for a more reasonable price.

-b.

[David Hingtgen]

While blue Bluestreak is an obvious choice---"G1 main release all-silver" is just as likely, though probably lower in fan-demand.

[Gakken85]

G1 all silver would suck out loud. I'm thinking it would be blue, blue streak in keeping with their Tigertrack repaint.

It was the first non-cartoon repaint for the lambor mold, so I'm assuming they would do the same for the fairlady's.

It would be cool to have a diaclone MP collection, as the colors are so boss. Def, more fun than the G2 Lambor and the Soundblaster.

[Mechapilot77]

While blue Bluestreak is an obvious choice---"G1 main release all-silver" is just as likely, though probably lower in fan-demand.

Interesting, thanks for posting Gakken.

I will wait more info before I commit to $ 90 when it could be available at HLJ or other sources for a more reasonable price.

-b.

Gosh I really hope they don't go "look here is an all silver G1 toy accurate version!"....that would be the biggest waste of a repaint i can think of. please be blue. i want an mp diaclone collection! i can't help but think magnus will also be repainted in the diaclone colors too. how cool would it be to have a daclone magnus, yellow lambor, and a blue daiclone bluestreak? i may be getting ahead of myself but IF they ever do a sunstreaker i REALLY hope they do a diaclone red repaint. it'd be an awesome tribute to the first transforming car toy ever!

FWIW As far as committing $90, BBTS is one retailer that lets you cancel a preorder until it arrives so you'd have plenty of time to see if other sites put it up.

[Valkyrie2008]

I was hoping for a MP Blue Bluestreak, hopefully this will be it. I'm not placing my preorder until I know for sure, besides, $90 plus S&H is a bit much.

[mikeszekely]

I'm sure it's been mentioned before, but Shout! Factory is finally releasing Transformers Animated Season 3 (as well as a Transformers Animated Complete Series) in the US in June.

[M'Kyuun]

Already pre-ordered. Wish they could've done a couple more seasons, as I liked where the story was going, and I loved the toys. I remember groaning way back when the pics of the artwork and proto pics of the toys were shown at SDCC, IIRC. Then I started watching the show, and picked up a few of the toys, and I was hooked. My TFA toys are still all displayed on my desk. Prowl, designed by Alex Kubalsky, still stands out to me as one of the best motorcycle transformer designs. I wish he still worked for Takara-Tomy, as he created some of the best TF toys.

[David Hingtgen]

Animated is the best overall series IMHO. Beast Wars has a greater story/arc, but Animated is just plain FUN. It redefined Blitzwing (in a good way) and introduced Bulkhead who is now a staple. That's a big accomplishment.

And heck, Animated Shockwave is more "G1 Shockwave" than the actual G1 toon was!

[mikeszekely]

I was at Walmart, and I saw that they marked down Ultimate Beast Hunters Optimus Prime to $25. What the heck, I figured.

Well... Bot mode doesn't look too bad. He's not really any more detailed that the Voyager one, though, and his legs deem disproportionately large for his torso. Articulation is ok, with lots of ratcheting joints, but again not really an improvement from the Voyager version. He's got a huge backpack that he lacked in the cartoon, and he doesn't have the cartoon/Voyager toy's wings. On the plus side, he's huge, dwarfing MP-10 and RotF Leader Prime.

He really falls apart in truck mode, though. From the chest up, he transforms almost identically to the Voyager one. The front end of the truck doesn't fold up into his back, though; it splits and folds into his legs (which might be part of the reason why his legs are so big. It also means that the fenders don't actually touch the cab, and the whole thing is weirdly tall. Another big strike is that, without the folded up wings on the sides, it does an even worse job concealing that the bulk of the truck is robot arms resting on robot legs.

All in all... if you like huge Optimus Primes and were planning to keep him in bot mode, $25 isn't expensive. On the other hand, the Voyager version is better in pretty much every way, and I'd have a hard time saying the Ultimate version is worth even $25.

[skullmilitia]

I picked up the Leaderclass Predaking Dragon dude for 7.89$

At Target yesterday. Still debating if it was worth it. Lol

[mikeszekely]

I picked up the Leaderclass Predaking Dragon dude for 7.89$

At Target yesterday. Still debating if it was worth it. Lol

I like the big Predaking.

I managed to snag Generations Armada Starscream and Scoop today. They had the minicon dude, but I have no interest, and Skywarp, who I passed on. Too bad, Hasbro. I passed on Thundercracker, too, all because I NEVER saw FoC Starscream (and Kickback).

Speaking of never saw, I'm a little worried because none of my local stores have had Skids, Goldbug (fire), or Waspinator. I can live without Goldbug and Waspinator, but I'll be pretty pissed if I missed my chance at Skids because Hasbro's distribution sucks.

Anyway... Scoop is pretty cool. The toy does a good job of capturing the aesthetic of the G1 toy in both modes, but gives way more articulation to the bot mode. Head, shoulders, and hips are all on ball joints, and only his head is really limited. Biceps rotate, waist swivels, and knees bend. He's also not very kibbley, either. His tires are on his shoulders and legs, the cab of his alt mode is on his back, and his shovel actually folds up and over the cab in bot mode. That gives him a backpack, but really I've seen much worse. Really, my complaints about Scoop are pretty minimal. I wish his shovel were yellow like the G1 toy... that doesn't even seem to be a paint issue, because I assume it could have been molded in the same yellow as his other yellow parts. Like oh so many recent figures, he's got some hollow spaces on the backs of his lower legs where they fold over his thighs in alt mode and on the insides of his forearms where his fists fold in. And his Targetmaster guns are just stupid. In robot mode, they can rotate their arms, and that's it. in fact, the handle is fixed between their legs. They become guns by rotating the handles around, flipping the barrels up over their heads, and folding their arms onto their backs. The result looks less like a gun and more like a guy wearing a stupid hat contorting his arms behind him as he squeezes an outboard boat motor between his legs. They're supposed to have a combined mode, which is one gun unfolding his arms and letting the other gun lay on him, face to arse. There bottom gun's arms just hang freely, and they don't peg together well.

As for Starscream, I love him. Aside from a waist swivel, he's got all the same joints as Scoop (although instead of ball joints, his shoulders have separate joints for rotating and swiveling in/out). Even his wings are on ball joints.

Some changes from the original toy, aside from the size, are that his engine-guns don't flip over, but they do still fire missiles. Also, his wing doesn't detach and then unfold into a sword. Instead, he's got a pair of swords that fold up and neatly clip onto the bottom of his wings. Oh, and he can totally do gerwalk. In fact, the overall look is much more dynamic than the brick that was the original.

Again, minor complaints. Like most Hasbro deluxes, he's got the hollow plastic on the arms and the backs of his legs, and like Scoop you could argue that it's to accommodate his transformation. The inside of his thighs also have some hollow spaces, though, and that's just not called for. Also, I feel like Hasbro skimped on the paint. The original toy had more silver around his ankles, gray/silver/white on the backs of the engine-guns, and black around his chest and shoulder intakes. Lastly, like Jetfire or Thunderwing, and Cyclonus, his arms just sort of peg onto his sides in jet mode. Although, I think that's actually an improvement from the way they hung off of the original.

[skullmilitia]

Rumor is...

We are getting the Tak MP Grimlock at TRU for 75$

And MP-11 Sunstorm.

It's a rumor, but it does explain why all the BBTS and TFsource MP reissued Grimlocks

Are being shipped in Hasbro shipping cartons.

Prepare for a war.

[David Hingtgen]

Hunh.

He's an F-14/F-15/F-18/VF-1...

The tailplanes having a greater span than the wings looks really really weird with the wings swept back though.

[skullmilitia]

That's actually a really good looking bird.

I'll definitely drop the money for the Tak version.

[Dangard Ace]

Bot mode looks good and the head sculpt just destroys all those 3p head "upgrades" for the 1/55. Curious how the kibble looks underneath but this may replace the classics jetfire as the best jetfire.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Not too shabby, I'm really liking the helmet. Is this a voyager or leader class size?

[David Hingtgen]

Said to be Leader class.

[anime52k8]

Hunh.

He's an F-14/F-15/F-18/VF-1...

The tailplanes having a greater span than the wings looks really really weird with the wings swept back though.

nothing a sharp knife and an emery board can't fix.

I've been trying to stop buying new transformers but that's pretty sexy overall, especially that alternate head option.

[Twoducks]

That robot mode looks super great but I wonder about the back kibble. The nose and canopy of the plane are not used in bot mode.

Was going to get the 3p version called Titan but this guy will not eat as much display space as the other huge bot. And then there is the price.

[Scyla]

Everytime I see images of a robot that transforms into an aircraft that doesn't show the underside of the plane I get highly suspicious. The robot mode shows nothing from the top and/or the front of the plane so I have to assume that it will look like the TFC not Silverbolt.

So do they call this Skyfire or Jetfire?

I guess I wait for the Fans Toys images.I would love to have a Masterpiece Skyfire as he looked in the cartoon.

[Black Valkyrie]

Hmmm,,,,,,,,,, looks nice but better waiting for the final product and review.

[mikeszekely]

I don't know, it looks kind of fake to me. Toon-accurate bot mode that transforms into neither the toon jet nor a VF-1, but an F-14-ish jet painted like the toy? Unless it's fake jet parts on robot mode, the cockpit and nosecone don't match in form or paint. It's also kind of weird that this is supposed to be Leader class in a line that, since 2006, hasn't had a Leader class, or that Hasbro would decide to use Jetfire for the first CHUG Leader instead of more marketable characters like Optimus or Megatron.

[Dangard Ace]

Speculating. Looks like the canopy/nose folds onto the back. The legs swing down, arms swing out. The intakes swing up and the head and fake chest fold down from the engine area.

[Twoducks]

Robotkingdom says this on their FB:

Hasbro generation leader Jetfire! Each case comes with another excellent generation leader figure too, case of 2. Will announce the other leader character after authorization, keep close to robotkingdom Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=733635719988479&set=pcb.733636676655050&type=1&theater

Could that be a Megs? Looking how Jetfire looks so far I really hope so!

BTW, what is Megatron in the comics now? I saw a pic of him as a stealth bomber long ago and we got the sadly tiny but nicelly engineered deluxe toy in that form. Toywold is supped to be making a bigger version to go with their Orion/Prime. Hope it is a tank Megs.