Age of Extinction was in full swing back in July of 2014. So naturally all the TFs I got at this time were AoE figs. They appear below.

• Age of Extinction Grimlock, amazon.com, $34.05

• Age of Extinction Optimus Prime, amazon.com, $33.74

• Age of Extinction Silver Knight Optimus Prime and Grimlock, Target, $22

• Age of Extinction Galvatron, Target, $23.74

Age of Extinction Leader class Grimlock and Optimus were both bought from Amazon, when they were a bit cheaper from their regular MSRP of $44.99. In retrospect, I probably should not have even bothered with their purchase. AoE Leader Optimus is a ok mold. But when compared to the awesomeness that is Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime, the AoE figure feels inferior in every way. The truck mode is not bad, but the robot mode leaves a lot to be desired. It is also overly simple for a Leader class fig. Leader class Grimlock is ok at best. I kinda like the robot mode, but the Dino mode gets bashed by almost every true TransFan. He kinda feels like a fish with arms and legs in this mode. I didn’t find the transformation all that exciting either. I only transformed him once from robot to dino, and he stayed like that since July. I will most likely sell both these figs.

The two pack combo of Silver Knight OP and Grimlock is a Target exclusive. I have both these molds already. Silver Knight Optimus Prime is a repaint of Dark of the Moon deluxe Optimus fig, and Grimlock is a repaint of Fall of Cybertron Grimlock. Normally I would not buy repaints, but that Grimlock looked so good in the gold bling. I bought this set for that reason alone. To this day I still have not transformed this Grimlock. He looks kick-ass in robot mode so I left him like that all this time.

Last there is Galvatron. He is one of the few Decepticons that Hasbro released in the AoE line. He’s got a transformation that is pretty unique. The truck mode is solid. The robot mode appears kinda simple and the articulation is not really there, but overall he’s a fun fig. Not great, but not too shabby.

So that’s 4 total purchases for 5 TFs this month, all AoE figs. 2 Optimus Primes and 2 Grimlocks. And a Galvatron. Not much variety. These figs were a fun distraction, but none of them are must-haves by any means. The 2-pack shouldn’t even count as AoE, since they are repaints and not new AoE molds. The 2 Leader class figs can be easily ignored. And you’re not missing much if you don’t buy Galvatron. So yeah, a pretty lackluster month of TFs. Things will pick up soon in August though. Til then… Transform and Roll Out.

Teletraan I Communiques