The Unlicensed Third Party Transformers Thread

[myk]

Cannon would be a deal breaker for me, stupid as that sounds. Also, isn't Sovereign due out in late 2016? I can't wait that long lol...

[Ignacio Ocamica]

Yes, it's scheduled to be out late 2016. Guess I'll have to be patient.

I was stated that the cannon will be revised to have both ends of the barrel more rounded/tapered.

[mikeszekely]

Not to dredge up an old topic, but... well, I've been collecting Hasbro's Combiner Wars figures. With Devastator and Bruticus, they've covered two of my three favorites, and Superion, Motormaster, and Defensor cover what would be my second tier. They're not going to give us Computron (aside from Scattershot), Abominus, or Piranacon, and I can live with that. What bothers me, though, is no Predaking.

It seems the consensus on third-party not-Predakings is that MMC's Feral Rex is the the best. However, it's also the most expensive, the most difficult to find in a complete set of five, and while some members are still pretty easy to find others are still listed as preorders while the earlier ones are out of stock, and the individual bots look a little large-ish to be mixing with Combiner Wars. Ares seems more attainable, and I do like their takes on the characters. But he's still around $500, and his combined mode IMO might be the worst, especially with those red-barreled cannons.

So... UT's Warlord. Size-wise, seems like a good fit with the CWs. The individual bots are a little lackluster. And I hear he's a partsformer, although that doesn't bother me too much. Looks like he's got a pretty solid combined mode, which is mostly how he'd be displayed anyway. The fact that UT's Mania King is one of the few 3P figures that I own and I absolutely love it gives me a certain amount of trust in UT. Best of all, looks like he can be had for under $300.

Those of you with more experience with the various 3P Predakings, what do you think? Warlord worth shelling out for at that price? Should I spend the extra money (and effort) to try to track down Feral Rex? I think I should also mention that playability is sort of important. Not so much that I want to make all kinds of cool poses in combined mode... the Hasbro ones pretty much just stand there. But I do like to take them apart every now and then and put them in their individual bot or alt modes.

Seriously, you guys, I'm this close to pulling the trigger on on Warlord. I'm just waiting for a few "Do it!"s or "Don't do it he sucks!"

Oh, not to throw another wrench into the whole thing, but I guess there are some rumblings that Metal Club, a group known for doing high-quality knock offs of Bandai's Saint Seiya toys, is doing a KO Feral Rex with no major differences. Could be as low as $200 for all five. Any thoughts on that? A part of me wants to say that I shouldn't be bothered if a company that doesn't respect Has/Tak's IP gets KOed and heck yes I'd like a $200 Feral Rex, but I can't exactly ignore the fact that 3P figures are often well-designed, high-quality toys made by fans catering to a market that would rather pay $100 for a better toy than accept the realities that come with a mass-market $20 toy aimed at kids. That's worth supporting, isn't it?

[David Hingtgen]

1. I'm a huge Feral Rex fan and think it is by far the overall best.

2. UT Warlord comments:

Mania King and later UT releases are much higher quality than the early members of War Lord. Their Divebomb is pretty poor, but they never reissued/improved it to match the later members, nor gave replacement parts etc.

Also---it's more than a parts-former IMHO. Parts-formers may switch around parts to transform, or need a FEW bits to make one mode viable. 50% of War Lord is combiner-only kibble. The wings for instance, which pretty much goes against the entire Predaking concept of "Divebomb's wings are the combiner wings". Warlord's aren't. Nor are his waist, pelvis, hips, or abs made from Razorclaw.

This is pretty much the defining pic for me---it's half of Predaking, plus Razorclaw!

3. Ares. Just godawful color placement/accents, and some questionable design details IMHO, mainly in beast-mode appearance.

4. Is Feral Rex perfect? Heck no, there's plenty of things I see in the UT and TFC vesions that I really wish MMC had done/copied. THe perfect version would be a blend of all 3. But I see Rex as having a few minor/moderate faults, vs a ton of faults, many of them massive, in the others.

[Silverstreak]

I agree with David, Feral Rex is my favourite. I have zero regrets about dropping the money on him. He's got a few flaws, but overall I think it's the best 3P combiner we've got to date. And when you can pull off poses like these, you can't lose

I know that an oversize KO of Feral Rex has just been released. Some people on a local FB group got it and said the combined mode quality is pretty poor. They weren't impressed.

Ares I have read has some stability issues. I was actually reading earlier today on TFW someone complaining about really weak hip ratchets in Ares making posing quite difficult. That plus the colours look gaudy to me (typical TFC) and they made some (imo) bad aesthetic choices.

Warlord looks great from what I have seen. A very cool update of Predaking but as David said, the individual modes might be lacking and the massive amount of kibble may bother some. I'd suggest some YouTube reviews.

[Scyla]

I think Feral Rex is the best looking combiner out there and most definitely the best Predaking released by a independent robot toy company. I think MMC is pretty good when it comes to doing reruns of the different releases so you should be able to order all 5 (6) members from sources like BBTS.

A few points to keep in mind for Feral Rex. As much as I love the toy the hip design is not its best part. They use the Leo Dux hips and bulk it out with a diaper that does not lock in solidly so every time you have to pose him you have to rearrange the hip armor. Also keep in mind that the feet are a bit unstable on smooth surfaces like a glass table without some rubber padding on the feet. They included some with Felisaber but if you don't have any interest in a 6th member you have to come up with a own solution. Also the legs and the arms are pretty similar toys in terms of transformations. Also the back cannons on Leo Dux are the only point that sticks out as not up to par. They are the only part on the toy that is chromed (no chipping yet) are a bit smallish and don't lock in their extended combiner mode as good as the rest of the combiner.

Besides from this the toy is a blast. MMC was able to pull off a superb looking combiner where each member is roughly the same size without partsforming. Especially with Felisaber you only have to attach the limps onto the torso and that is it because Talon is stored in the back. Even the hip armor can stay on Leo Dux if you want to.

The individual weapons combine to an fierce looking sword and a accurate looking arm cannon. Feral Rex can even do two handed sword poses. Eveything locks together great no dangling arms of the individual bots no thigh gaps in the forearms. Great build quality all around. Even if something should break MMC distributes replacement parts free of charge. Even if the toy is expensive it should be a save investment.

Some more positive points. The individual bots are great toys and fun to play with. Awesome articulation all around in all three modes. Leo Dux has a well proportioned chest lion head due to the way the mane transforms. The combiner feet are well implemented into the play pattern (mortar cannons for the leg bots).

Please take everything I say with a grain of salt because I'm a massive MMC fanboy. To me they can't do wrong with their releases.

Another idea would be to buy the Platinum Edition of the G1 Predaking which seems like a fine toy to me.

TL:DR SWORD!!!!!

[mikeszekely]

Appreciate the feedback, guys. But the thing is, I'm not contesting that Feral Rex is the best. Like I said, that seems to be the consensus pretty much everywhere. But, like I said, he seems a little tougher to get. Talon and Tigris still look like preorders, and while BBTS seems to have the first three in stock other stores are out of Bovis and/or Fortis. And doing some quick math, Feral Rex (without Felisaber) will run me around $525 + shipping from BBTS.

The thing is, I can get all five members of Warlord for around $260 shipped. So the question isn't really whether or not Feral Rex is better, the question is more is Warlord good enough at half the price that he's worth picking up now? Feral Rex could always be a down-the-road sort of thing. Or, having satisfied my need for a CHUG Predaking, I could even do Nero Rex later.

And David, thanks for the pic, but believe it or not that really doesn't bother me much.

[Scyla]

I personally would say Warlord is not worth it. I have enough of looking at thigh forearms and staring at crotches for the legs.

Feral Rex is the best package all around you can enjoy looking at it, playing with it and transforming it in all modes with all members. You get the feeling that your money was worth it.

With Warlord you can look at it. But as David said it was their first release and their Mania King release is worlds better than any bot from Warlord.

I don't know what kind of collector you are but it would bug me to no end to look at the overspray on Divebombs chest. If you are the collector that wants to look at the combined Predaking on the shelf you might be happy with Warlord. If you want to play with them you should go for Feral Rex.

I also think that Warlord fits better with the Generations line prior to Combiner Wars in style and I think that Feral Rex would look better with the Combiner Wars toys.

Take from that what you will but I think the experience you get from Warlord is not worth the reduced price. Holding the Feral Rex Members in hand you can feel that you got your moneys worth.

As I said maybe the Platinum Edition G1 Predaking would be an alternative. Besides the posability he is not that different from CW.

I understand that this is a lot of money so you should do some research. Look up some reviews for the toys and decide for yourself if they are worth it. Just don't watch Optibotimus' review because I don't think he is honest and never finished reviewing it.

Whatever you do: don't bother looking at Ares!

[edit:] As far as alternatives go. MT Quantron was on sale for Black Friday for $250 which in my opinion is totally worth it. Sadly the MakeToys/FansProject style doesn't go well with anything out there besides their own products. . You might keep your money and wait for another sale.

Edited January 1, 2016 by Scyla

[mikeszekely]

Hmm... you really have me thinking about how to come up with the funds for Feral Rex now, Scyla. Mostly because that Leo Dux looks so good.

How's his size? There's a ton of pics of him online, but with MPs or other 3P combiners, not Combiner Wars. Looks like the combined mode is a little shorter than CW Devastator, and the individual bots are between Voyager and Leader-class. That about right?

[David Hingtgen]

They're bulky voyagers. Probably as tall as Gen Springer/Blitzwing, but weigh twice(or thrice) as much.

[Scyla]

I've found a picture with a CW Superion size comparison:

I don't want to make Feral Rex better than he is. He has definitely some issues and some people are thoroughly disappointed by him.

Feral Rex has been available for a while so I don't think you need to hurry if you go for him.

Please keep in mind that I'm a massive MMC fanboy and I don't want to persuade you into buying him because I don't want someone spend half a grand and be disappointed with his purchase. Do some research into the topic and see if the toy has characteristics that you like in transforming toys. The other offerings also have pros (well Ares doesn't ) so you need to be sure Feral Rex is the Predaking for you.

[mikeszekely]

Yeah, I've been reading up (no patience to watch 40-minute plus videos) as much as I can. Ares is totally out of the running. While I think they did some neat things, the overall look is just off.

In combined mode, I might give a slight edge to Warlord. He's got slightly better proportions, I dig the clawed fingers, and the arm-bot thighs showing actually matches the Combiner Wars aesthetic. Feral Rex's limbs are a kind of chunky. But I do like FR's wings and sword, and the details like the lion's head on his chest are sharper.

What really puts FR over the top, though, is that the individual bots look a lot better, especially their take on Razorclaw.

The sticking point is really the price. If they were the same, I'd happily buy Feral Rex and not think twice about it. But like I said, I can buy Warlord complete for $260 right now. If I want Feral Rex, I gotta come up with double the money and buy them separately, possibly from a mix of stores, with Talon and Tigris being preorders.

[David Hingtgen]

I still hold to my mantra of "the torso-bot makes or breaks the combiner".

And THIS is a torso, vs "the leader-bot squatting with some kibble added": http://tformers.com/transformers-mastermind-creations-feral-rex-leo/19868/news.html

That series of images of the prototype is what really sold me. Even from the sides/back, it looks like a torso. Not a massive ton of kibble hanging off the back, or 2D like Quantron.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Mike, I say save your money for something else. I think $260 for Warlord is not worth it. I don't think it's good enough. I took a close look at it a while back, and while it makes a more svelt looking Predaking, it pales in comparison to MMC's rendition.

[mikeszekely]

So do you guys prefer BBTS or TFSource? Or someone else?

I still have no idea where to get the money, but it looks like I can buy Leo Dux and Fortis (and, if I decide to get him too, Felisaber) at TFSource, and they have free shipping for orders over $150, which is nice. I can get the same three, at the same prices (well, $5 more for Felisaber), but they also have Bovis. He looks sold out at TFSource. BBTS doesn't seem to have any shipping deals, though. Neither have Talon or Tigris; both are listed as preorder items.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

During the couple of times I've had issues with an order (broken part and missing parts), BBTS was always receptive and helped me out, so they have my vote. TFSource is good too, I just got freaked out a while back when their online security was breached. Skip on Felisaber and save the money for the other limbs. Feral Rex's "Ultimate Mode" makes him more back-heavy and leaves a gap between his back and wings. Felisaber does come with additional parts for minor cosmetic changes to other Feral-cons, but it wasn't worth the purchase IMHO.

[Scyla]

During the couple of times I've had issues with an order (broken part and missing parts), BBTS was always receptive and helped me out, so they have my vote. TFSource is good too, I just got freaked out a while back when their online security was breached. Skip on Felisaber and save the money for the other limbs. Feral Rex's "Ultimate Mode" makes him more back-heavy and leaves a gap between his back and wings. Felisaber does come with additional parts for minor cosmetic changes to other Feral-cons, but it wasn't worth the purchase IMHO.

But he comes with a transformable skiing penguin!

Regarding the retailers. I would say out of the two I prefer BBTS because their customer service is much more responsive. My order for the whole Fansproject M³ from TFSource got returned because the carrier was to lazy to ring my doorbell. After that I send them an email and had to wait several days for a response.

My last order with them was the Quantron gift set and Blindfire is missing a pin in his shoulder. I mailed them two times after I received the item in the beginning of December and have nothing heard back. The only thing I got was a automated confirmation mail that they received my message.

BBTS always got back to me the next day after I send a mail to their customer service.

You could also try one of the smaller retailers like Toydojo or TheChosenPrime. The downside is they have all five bots on preorder only but I've heard good things about them on the boards. You could also try PlanetSteelExpress which is the closest thing to a MMC owned shop as you can get. They also seem to have Fortis Tigris and Talon in stock:

http://www.planetsteelexpress.com/reformatted/

I've ordered several times from them and they have excellent customers service. My Ocular Max Sphinx had two paint splotches on the shoulder piece and they got me a new piece without any defects free of charge. They are based in China so shipping will probably be expensive and due to the fact that they use the Chinese postal service the package tracking doesn't work correctly. At least to my country.

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

But he comes with a transformable skiing penguin!

That was a cute surprise, I didn't know the little bugger was in there for a while. Regardless, I prefer Feral Rex without Catilla.

[mikeszekely]

That was a cute surprise, I didn't know the little bugger was in there for a while. Regardless, I prefer Feral Rex without Catilla.

If I get Felisaber, it'll be more for his own merits. Catilla isn't part of Predaking.

I'm surprised I haven't received more input on the whole BBTS/TFSource/Someone else thing. Thought about asking in the regular TF thread, but that's going to be mostly Takara fans buying from HLJ, whom I don't think sells 3rd party figures. You guys have pretty much convinced me now to just buy Feral Rex- even though 99% of the time he'll be standing in Predaking mode next to my CW Devastator, I do sometimes like to play with my toys, and it just seems like the Feral Cons are more solid all-around. Right now, it's just a question of money- my wife doesn't really complain if I spend $20-$70 here and there, but more than that and she'll throw a fit that will lead to a big fight that won't be worth it. I think I'm actually just going to ask my dad to loan me the money, then pay him back in amounts that won't set off my wife.

I think I might chance TFSource for Fortis and Leo Dux, to save on shipping (unless BBTS has some shipping deals I'm unaware of?). Then I'll grab Bovis at BBTS, and preorder the other two from BBTS.

[dizman]

I've bought from both companies, though my go to usually is BBTS. Never had a problem with TFSource but the one time I had a problem with BBTS they fixed it right away. I'd say go with TFsource if you are going for the free shipping, closest thing BBTS has is the pile of loot which bundles everything together and TFsource has that too.

[Falcon]

Does anyone know if Igear Skywarp's guns can fit on another Igear conehead like a Ramjet?

[Mechapilot77]

Does anyone know if Igear Skywarp's guns can fit on another Igear conehead like a Ramjet?

IIRC, they should fit on the arms..not sure about the wings

[Scyla]

Mike, I've found a comparison video between all the Predakings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfZu1Y_xb4Q#t=41m01s

I put a timestamp in the video where the more interesting stuff starts. Like shaking them. It is the last ~15 minutes of the video so you can see what you can expect from the three offerings.

You can watch the whole video but the reviewer seems to be a scale-nut so he talks in depth about where the toys would fit in the best.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Scyla

[anubis20]

Im also gonna throw in my vote for Feral Rex. Save up and get him. You wont regret him.

Oh and Felisaber, wait for a sale. I got my mine on black friday for 60 bucks i think. Really like it as its the only member of the team that i can really mess with and transform. The rest of the team is always combined mode.

[Mechapilot77]

feral rex is great...i have it but it IS pricey. i actually might get the KO OS version too. if that happens and i'm happy with it i MIGHT unload the original...might.

Edited January 5, 2016 by Mechapilot77

[Falcon]

IIRC, they should fit on the arms..not sure about the wings

Thanks, Mechapilot! Now to actually get an Igear Destroyer...

[Dangard Ace]

Picked up and having a lot of fun with Gutter (Chrome) and Sphinx this month. Both really awesome fun toys. Add in Apollyon and I think these three are a nice addition to the current Has/Tak MP line.

[David Hingtgen]

but the reviewer seems to be a scale-nut

As is half the fandom it seems...

"All hail Scalechartron his holiness".

Any other size representation is blasphemy to "true Trans-fans".

[Valkyrie Hunter D]

Engraved on the other side of that slab in all caps it states, "ALL ARE SUBJECT TO MASS SHIFTING"

I gotta add to the MMC rah rah party by stating that their Commotus figure is pretty sweet. I know very little about the IDW-verse, but I had to buy Commotus after seeing how a mean looking black bot can transform into something that looks like the cute tank from the Metal Slug games. Like most 3rd party products, the instructions are a little vague, but after watching a video to clear it up, it seems transformation is not overly complex and is quite fun. Overall, it's a great figure-no regrets picking this guy up.

[Scyla]

As is half the fandom it seems...

"All hail Scalechartron his holiness".

*snip*

Any other size representation is blasphemy to "true Trans-fans".

I like to have a variate in sizes in a give line however I think the whole scale argument limits your possibility to handle awesome transforming robots.

I'm gonna enjoy my CW Leader Skywarp when it finally ships from BBTS in a half year.

[JET7]

this is a fun figure.

youre mine Jetfire!

drop it!

NOTHING DEFEATS THE DEVASTATOR! NOTHING!

TFL

Edited January 8, 2016 by JET7

[mikeszekely]

Mike, I've found a comparison video between all the Predakings:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfZu1Y_xb4Q#t=41m01s

I put a timestamp in the video where the more interesting stuff starts. Like shaking them. It is the last ~15 minutes of the video so you can see what you can expect from the three offerings.

You can watch the whole video but the reviewer seems to be a scale-nut so he talks in depth about where the toys would fit in the best.

Thanks. I usually abhor video reviews, because why spend an hour to watch a dude fiddling with toys to get the same info a well-written review will give you in five minutes? But my 5-month-old has a cold, so I put this video on and snuggled her. Watched the whole thing.

Even though he claimed he was being as unbiased as possible it seemed like he had an ax to grind with Warlord, like the -1 point for being a partsformer or awarding points to two Predakings when, by his criteria, there was one clear winner. Still, I got enough information out of it to sort of make my own conclusions. Conclusion 1: Ares is butt. Seriously, I have no clue why anyone would buy him. Conclusion 2: I probably could have been happy with Warlord, partsformer and all, and he's actually a pretty good match for Hasbro's own Combiner Wars figures. But, Conclusion 3: Feral Rex may not be perfect, but he's a pretty solid toy who's compromises seem to stem from the fact that he's made of five solid toys. Warlord might be a better-looking Predaking, but Feral Rex seems solid, well-engineered, and made up of the best individual Predacons. So, yeah, as soon as I can scrape together the cash I'm going to go for it.

Seriously, though. All the time I spent researching Predakings had me looking at other 3P toys. I've said before and I'll say again, it's not really fair to compare them to Hasbro's regulated, mass-market $10-$25 toys, but if you've got the money there are some really nice 3P figures that blow HasTak's stuff out of the water.

Speaking of, it looks like KFC's Tempest (not-Cyclonus) has really come down in price. Any thoughts? It looks pretty close to the cartoon... which I kind of find a little disappointing. In terms of size, overall bot/alt mode presentation, etc, it looks better than either Hasbro release, but I hear he's pretty floppy. Worth $55?

EDIT: Not exactly sure when I'll have the money for Feral Rex, or how I'll come up with it, but I'm committed enough to buy some faction labels from ToyHax/Reprolabels. Y'know, I'd always wanted to order, but something always held me back. It was either their prices, their shipping rate, or maybe they only took PayPal? I don't remember. Whatever gripe I had seems to be gone.

Edited January 9, 2016 by mikeszekely

[David Hingtgen]

Thought/point:

Feral Rex is on like its 3rd wave of release/re-release, and still sells out. All the other Not-Predakings still have 1st-wave leftovers, I believe.

[Scyla]

I've got two new robots in earlier this week: MMC Commotus (Turmoil) and Anarchus (DJD Kaon).

Commotus has an awesome shade of black which looks either like pitch black or has a greenish tint depending on the lighting. I first was worried that he might be too bland and too dark but in hand in is stunning. You can see the difference between pure black and the main color of the body in the tank shovels where a highlight is painted in. Now I wish he would have more pure black markings on him but it is not a big deal. What is a big deal is that so little of the panel lines are picked out in an Allspark Blue color. I've seem some mods that painted more details in and it looks stunning. Especially the lower legs would have needed these highlights. Other than that everything works a-okay. The transformation is simple but rewarding all the articulation you need is present and the toy feels solid holding it in hand. The only minor issue for me would be the design of the double hinged elbows that look odd to me in some poses. The Spartan (Impactor) version of the toy was voted the best 3rd party toy in 2015 (in the not a combiner and not a Masterpiece toy category) and in my opinion rightfully so.

Now onwards to Anachus. In my opinion the toy has issues. Let's start with the biggest issue the missing thigh swivels. The toy is able to rotate the lower legs below the knee but that is just not the same. When I pose the toy I always wish that I could rotate the thighs outward. The missing rotation makes for a more solid alt-mode and the way the thighs are designed there is no place to engineer one in so it is understandable but still a bummer. The arms have all the articulation they need but on the wrong places. Kaon has an even more strange looking double jointed elbow than Commotus has and the biceps rotation is directly over the elbow. To me it would be more aesthetically pleasing if they where located over the biceps. And in this case I don't understand why it isn't the case. Some more negative points are the heels (not the heel-spur) due to a missing joints it is hard to get them posed in a more natural looking way. However since the joint in the heel-spur is tight enough to support the weight of the toy you can pull those poses off but it will look a bit weird. To summarize my problems with the toy: everything you need is there but in the wrong places.

It might seem that I'm not satisfied with the toy which is definitely not the case! Anarchus is insanely fun to play around with. All the joints are super stiff (not overly tight, just enough stiffness) so he can hold every pose you put him in. The weight of the toy oozes quality without the use of die-cast. If you put the toy up it feels almost like a statue due to the feel and weight of the plastic and due to the fact that you can shake it with nothing moving around. The paint applications are sharp and plentiful The accessories are thought out and have a place to go in all modes. Which brings me to the alt-mode. Because the toy is an homage to Kaon it transforms into an torture chair on tank threads. I might sound like a creep but placing different toys in the chair is fun plain old fun. The mode as a few issues. The most glaring one would be the visible hands but your eyes will always focus the seating area so no harm done. In addition I have problems with getting the threads flat on the ground which makes it finicky to pose. The toy has an build in scorpion fan-mode that is not rooted in any fiction and works better than it should. If you can watch Vangelus video review to see some of the fun stuff you can do with Anarchus.

As a verdict I thing that Anarchus with all his issues is the better toy of the two. While Commotus does nothing wrong (and almost everything right) as a transforming toy Anarchus has just that bit more playability and novelty to win this comparison. What unites them both is the expensive price-tag when you compare them with retail transforming toys and to me they are not collector pieces that look good in a cabinet. While you surely can do that they are firth and foremost toys and they are meant to be played with not locked away on the shelves. Although both are pricey they are worth it once you have them in hand. I think they are the essence of what I would imagine Transformers should be. And if you are a toy person that bitches about hollow parts, cheap plastic and missing paint applications on your Transformers I highly recommend the Commotus/Spartan mold. The DJD members (Cynicus and Anarchus) might be too special for your likings and especially Commotus is such a stand alone character that you can buy him on his own. For me the MMC toys made me interested in the IDW universe so after I had Cynicus (DJD Vos) in hand I started to import the More than meets the Eye comics so well done MMC you convinced me to buy official Transformers products.

Mike, regarding Feral Rex. I feel that it might be the best not to buy the whole set at once because than the danger would be that one would combine them immediately and missing out on playing with the amazingly designed and executed individual members of the team.

[mikeszekely]

For me the MMC toys made me interested in the IDW universe so after I had Cynicus (DJD Vos) in hand I started to import the More than meets the Eye comics so well done MMC you convinced me to buy official Transformers products.

As a long-time MTMTE reader, you're in for a good time. MTMTE might be my favorite Transformers fiction of all time. Colorful, complex characters, interesting scenarios, great dialogue.

Mike, regarding Feral Rex. I feel that it might be the best not to buy the whole set at once because than the danger would be that one would combine them immediately and missing out on playing with the amazingly designed and executed individual members of the team.

Well, that might not be a problem. Talon and Tigris are still only available to preorder. I was thinking I'd try to grab Leo Dux, Bovis, and Fortis by the end of the month, then preorder the other two and they'd get here when they get here. Still not exactly sure how I'm going to work that out money-wise, but I have a birthday. At 35, it's silly to expect too much but at the very least maybe I can talk my wife into relaxing the ol' purse strings a little.

*Side note... if you're into collecting expensive toys, doing the stay-at-home dad thing with a wife who works in finance will NOT be conducive to that hobby.