I’m back from Asia! Actually, I got back at the beginning of the month. I was just being a little lazy in updating this blog. But now I got some free time.

I was in Asia for some personal business. Altogether I was in Shanghai (China), Siem Reap (Cambodia), and Taipei (Taiwan). For the purpose of this blog I will only go into the toy hunting aspect of the trip. Gemini accompanied me on the Shanghai leg of the trip. This is the first time that Gemini and I have traveled together internationally. Being the collectors that we are, of course we are gonna go hunting for TFs and other goodies. But enough background info. Let’s get into what we uncovered!

Shanghai Anime Street

On Friday, May 27th, we decided to hit Shanghai Anime Street. Gemini discovered this area from someone’s blog post. Friday we had a driver in Shanghai, and so we asked him to take us here. It’s a good thing we had a driver for this. This area is really hard to get to. We came here in a van, and anyone that has seen Shanghai traffic will tell you that traveling in a van is ill-advised. When the driver got to this area, I was thinking we are gonna have to go in on foot since the streets are really small. Then the driver drove the van into the area! I was half freaking out. I seriously thought he was gonna hit something for sure. But these professional drivers in China have gotten navigating big vehicles in small spaces down to an art. Needless to say I was amazed.

We got out once we got to Shanghai Anime Street. I only have pics of the outside, since most stores do not allow photography of any kind inside. I never really understood that rule.

I think we went into about 8 or 9 stores total, looking for various things. Only 2 stores carried enough TF of interest. One store had a set of the Prometheus Combiner by TFC Toys, Gundog by MakeToys, some figures of Nero Rex by MMC, and some other stuff that I don’t remember. The other store had some figures of Gravity Builder by Generation Toy (GT). Looking at these figures, I was really impressed. The amount of detail on them is amazing. Looking at these figs and comparing them with TFC Toys Hercules, it’s mind blowing to see how far 3rd party transforming figures have come. I was talking with the store owner there, and he really liked the GT set of Constructicons. Doing the conversion of RMB to Dollar, I saw that it was a little cheaper to buy in China. And so I tried to buy GT Scavenger. But then I find out those were for display only and he wasn’t selling them. Bummer. In the end I left Shanghai Anime Street with nothing, but Gemini was able to find some nice Gundam sets.

Isetan

On Sunday, May 29th, Gemini and I roamed around Shanghai during the day. The Shanghai Metro is totally cool; very fast and very easy to use. We looked up places that have toys and went to Isetan. (Sidebar: China blocks Google, including Google Maps. So using some other site for map navigation is preferred, such as Baidu.) Isetan is basically a huge department store. Shanghai has tons and tons of department stores. But Isetan is one of the few that has a dedicated toy section. And of course department stores allow photography, so I was able to capture some pics below.

There were some TFs, but nothing that I can’t get here in the States for cheaper. The store had lots of the G1 Platinum reissues, including Trypticon, the Blaster and Perceptor set, the Insecticons set, and others. On the shelves were also the Combiner Wars G2 color Aerialbots and Stunticons sets. Again, all these can be purchased cheaper in the States for less. So we left without buying anything. It was cool to see all the toys though. Isetan had a really impressive Lego section.

On the way back from Isetan to our hotel, we stopped by Jing’an Temple again. Last time I was here I saw a nice display for Age of Extinction. This time Hasbro/Takara had another booth, but not for TFs. It was their new robot building toy line. I didn’t get the name of this line, so just check out pics below.

Toys R Us

On Monday, May 30th, we had another driver to take us around. We went all over Shanghai on this day. While we were in the Pudong district, we stopped by Toys R Us. Now here we hit the mother lode! Lots of TFs here! And lots of other toys too. I was able to find stuff here that I never saw in the States! Check out pics below.

Most of the figures on the shelves are from Transformers Robots in Disguise. But they had Cominber Wars stuff too. Gemini and I looked hard through the CW section for Groove, since we know this to be an Asian exclusive. We didn’t have any luck finding Groove. But looking at the Takara version of CW figs, it’s clear that the paint job is much better.

See the pic above. In the lower right corner, there is a voyager sized green Grimlock from TF RiD. This is something I never seen before. Looking at it close, this Grimlock is a repaint/rework of Generations Fall of Cybertron Grimlock, with a new color scheme, new head mold, and some minor mold reworks. Very very cool! I have the deluxe size version of this fig, and I feel that’s just too small to be Grimlock. I wanted to get this at the store, but the price wasn’t worth it. I later saw a online retailer here taking orders, at a much more reasonable price. I may get this later.

See the last pic above. They had a whole section of approximately Voyager class figs that I never even knew of! And believe me when I say I’m on top of everything that will come out. At first glance I thought they must be from the TF RiD Line, but the packaging more suggests the Generations line. There are 5 figs in all: Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, and two kinds of Bumblebees (a G1-styled version and a movie-styled version). Gemini has never seen these before either, so we both stood there for a long time to examine these closely. We came to the conclusion that these are basically bigger versions of Generations legend size figs, particularly Starscream. I would find out later, after returning to the States, that these are part of the Cyber Battalion line. But at the time I was beyond thrilled of finding something new, and so I bought Starscream. I wanted to buy them all, but didn’t know if these would be any good. I picked Starscream because he would scale well in the Generations line of figs. Legend and Deluxe Generations Starscream are much too small in CHUG, and the leader class way too big. This one is just right.

Starscream

And so here is Cyber Battalion Starscream, my only TF purchase for this Asian trip. I won’t review this too much. He is very much like the legend figure, but bigger and slightly more intricate.

The last two pics above show him next to legend Starscream. Cyber Battalion Starscream has feet transformation that’s slightly different, and the wing edges can be folded back. The figure only cost about $15 US, so I don’t expect perfection here. He’s a nice figure to pick up and play since he’s so easy to transform, but at the same time he scales nicely with the rest of my CHUG line-up. I like to pick up the rest of the Cyber Battalion figs when they arrive here in the States.

So that’s the re-cap of the toy-hunting aspects of this Asian trip. I had a blast! I want to go back there soon.

Transform and Roll Out!

April of 2015 continues with more Combiner Wars and 2 third party figs.

• Combiner Wars Breakdown, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Dead End, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Offroad, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Air Raid, hasbrotoyshop.com, $14.81

• Combiner Wars Blackjack, Target, $9.49

• Combiner Wars Megatron and Armada Megatron, tfsource.com, $89.99

• Mastermind Creations Felisaber, tfsource.com, $75.95

• ToyWorld Roar, gift

The 4 deluxe figures are all from Combiner Wars Wave 2. They are not that different from the Wave 1 figures in the way they are constructed. Individually, I definitely like the CW Stunticons better than the CW Aeiralbots, because there is more variety for the limb figures. Air Raid is cut from the same cloth as Skydive and Firefly. Breakdown and Dead End are different enough from Dragstrip and from each other that it doesn’t feel like buying the same figures over and over. Hasbro came up with another figure called Offroad for the Stunticons, just like they did Alpha Bravo for the Aerialbots. Wildrider would be released later, so there is no reason to buy Offroad just to complete Menasor.

Blackjack is a fun little figure. I like his transformation from car to robot. Both modes look good. He’s not bad for a figure of this size. In combined form, he is meant to attach onto Menasor’s chest like a shield. I mentioned before in another post that he doesn’t connect that well in this form. This can be fixed, however. I will mention this again when I go into the 2nd Motormaster that will come out later (with fixed hips). But even the 2nd Motormaster has the peg problems for attaching Blackjack, so it will require this fix. Sometimes I feel Hasbro really should test these things before they put the figures on the shelves.

Next up are the 2 Megatrons. I love these Megatrons! The G1 version of the figure is especially sweet for a G1 purist such as myself. This is probably the best G1 inspired Megatron that Hasbro has made in quite some time. In robot mode, this is unmistakably Megatron. The head mold, body stylings, and colors are pure G1. Transformation to tank mode is actually fairly simple for a figure of this size, but there is enough to do here that should satisfy even the most hardcore of TransFans. Tank mode is superb as well. Construction of this figure is super solid. This Megatron will easily withstand some rough play. The Armada version of this figure is exactly the same mold-wise, but has different colors and a different had mold.

Next up is MMC Felisaber. I already went into Felisaber back in this post, so I won’t go into detail again here. Felisaber is meant to be Catilla. Catilla has the privilege of being among the first TFs to be named in a Before Carly post on this blog, so check it out.

Finally, there is Roar, TW’s homage to Snarl. I mentioned Roar here, so read that post for more info of Roar’s awesomeness. Roar was a gift from my wife (my fiancee at the time). I put a bunch of figures on my wishlist at TFSource, and she picked Roar. She has good taste!

I will be out of the country for the next 2 weeks, so I won’t be posting. I will be in Asia. Hopefully I will find some good TFs on the trip! Transform and Roll Out!

I love to say I told you so! It’s not something I get to say often, but it’s pretty sweet when it does happen.

Couple blog posts ago, I mentioned that I have a feeling Hasbro is working on a new Rodimus. Well TransFans, behold! I give you Titans Return Hot Rod.

Titans Return is the next label that Hasbro will use for everything in the CHUG-verse (of course the current one being Combiner Wars, which is slowly coming to an end). Everything in the Titans Return line appears to be figure using Master technology, i.e. Headmaster, and perhaps also Targetmaster and Powermaster. Hasbro is making some characters into Headmasters that never were. Such as Hot Rod here (who will probably be released as Rodimus).

I am getting excited just looking at this Rodimus. Hasbro has been hitting it out of the park with some of their latest TF renditions of G1 season 3 characters, such as Ultra Magnus, Arcee, and Springer. If this new Rodimus is on par with those offerings, then this addition is most welcome.

Click here for more details. Transform and Roll Out.

March of 2015 continues with more figures of Combiner Wars. Only 2 CW figs here, but they both happen to be trucks. This is what I call Truck Month (built Transformer tough).

• Combiner Wars Huffer, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Motormaster, hasbrotoyshop.com, $21.79

Huffer is a character that I never cared for while growing up. He’s a total whiner, and is quick to point out the absurdities of any situation. Why Optimus chose him to be one of the original 18 Autobots aboard the Ark is beyond me. Still, Huffer has been around all this time, so it’s finally good to have a figure of him in my CHUG line. In fact, not counting this Power Core Combiners Huffer, this is my only Huffer figure. This fig is a repaint of Generations Thrilling 30 Optimus Prime, so I won’t mention it too much. I know, Huffer gets no love. Hasbro only sees fit to produce Huffer figures when they’re convenient repaints.

Motormaster IS a character I cared for while growing up. Being the leader of the bad-ass Stunticons, you can’t help but like him. He forms the body of the mighty Menasor. I believe this is the first time after G1 Hasbro has made a Motormaster that can combine with other figures to form Menasor. I already talked about how this figure is individually with the Optimus Prime repaint in a previous post. Some differences for Motormaster include the colors, a different head mold, and he comes with sword weapons instead of the Optimus guns. In combined mode, this figure also has the problem with hips that I mentioned before. With Optimus, I didn’t really care that he has the problem, because Optimus is not usually a combiner. But with Motormaster, I see this as a big problem. Also, Blackjack (a CW legend size figure that will come later) is supposed to fit onto Menasor’s chest. The connection for Blackjack is very poorly fitted. As a result, Blackjack does not combine that well. I’ll mention this again when I go into Blackjack. But overall, I like Motormaster in truck mode. In robot and combined forms, the figure suffers from the leg and hips issue. Hasbro will reproduce a fixed version of this figure much later. I will again re-visit this, when I present the fixed version of Motormaster.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I have made 4 posts in my blog in one month. Yay! Blogging back on track. Transform and Roll Out!

February of 2015 was all deluxe figs from Combiner Wars. In fact, the 4 figs below are all from the same wave.

• Combiner Wars Firefly, Toys R Us, $16.99

• Combiner Wars Skydive, Target, $14.24

• Combiner Wars Alpha Bravo, Target, $14.24

• Combiner Wars Dragstrip, Target, $14.24

Firefly here is obviously Fireflight. Hasbro usually only changes names for trademark reasons. If anything, I would have thought that Firefly is a trademarked term. But a quick Google for Fireflight leads me to some rock band, so I guess they took that name. In any case, Firefly is the red and white F-4 Phantom from G1 that forms Superion’s right arm. This Firefly figure is not bad. Kinda simple to transform, but comes together as a jet nicely. Proportions in robot mode is also not half bad. Skydive is very similar to Firefly. Transformation wise, they share the same scheme. Skydive is remolded slightly to look more like a F-16. Firefly feels more robust out of the two, but that may just be the ones I own. Overall, these 2 are fun to play with. They are toys that you can just pick up and play. All the deluxe CW figs can form an arm or a leg. In limb mode, Firefly and Skydive adequately does the job. I plan to do another post about the CW combined forms, so I’ll go into more detail then.

Alpha Bravo is not an Aerialbot from G1. In fact, he does not have any origin in G1. They totally made up this figure for Combiner Wars. Hasbro would later more appropriately repaint this figure into Blades and Vortex. But for now, we get Alpha Bravo. I’m guessing this is just a ploy to sell more figs. Alpha Bravo is not a bad fig. I like both the robot mode and alt mode. His transformation is mechanically a bit more impressive than Firefly or Skydive. I like the toy, but you can pass on this fig if you’re a G1 purist. Hasbro would later release Air Raid in the next wave, and Slingshot (released as Quickslinger) would come later as an Amazon exclusive. So don’t feel like you have to get Alpha Bravo just to complete Superion. Unless you’re a completist.

Last in the wave is Dragstrip. I don’t know why Hasbro decided to release 3 Aerialbots and 1 Stunticon. CW is targeted after G1 Fanboys who want everything 80s accurate. They should have just released all 4 Aerialbots in this wave (and replace Alpha Bravo with Slingshot). Regardless, we get Dragstrip now. He’s pretty cool. The figure feels solid, and transformation from alt mode to robot mode is enjoyable. I like the F1 alt mode, and the robot mode ain’t too shabby. A very playable figure.

So that’s it for Feb of 2015. 4 figs from Combiner Wars. A pretty light month in terms of TF purchases.

Transform and Roll Out.

Much like this previous post from about a year ago, today let’s take a look at some CHUG Autobots from G1 Season 3.

CHUG is an acronym for Classics Henkei Universe Generations. These are all terms that Hasbro or Takara has used to label various Transformers lines that represent a modern update of classic G1 characters. I have also seen some fans refer to them collectively as G3, since it follows G1 and G2. Whatever you call it, they are all modern toy interpretation of Generation 1, though not necessarily in their exact G1 forms.

All characters below are regulars in G1 Season 3. Though they may have had their origins well before that.

I chose these 5, mostly because I have them handy. Let’s look at each of them in detail, in the order of release.

Rodimus, Reveal the Shield, 2011
If you are talking about G1 Season 3, you must include Rodimus. He is the leader of the Autobots for most of the season. Sure, he never lived up to Optimus Prime, but those are big shoes to fill for anyone. Originally in 1986, his name was Hot Rod. And he would become Rodimus Prime after receiving the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. For licensing reasons, Hasbro could not use the name Hot Rod nowadays. So now the Hot Rod incarnation of this character goes simply by Rodimus. The first version of this particular figure came out all the way back in 2006. That Rodimus was one of only 6 figures first released for the Classics line. I have that figure too, but he’s stuck in a box somewhere in the back of the closet. So I am using this Reveal the Shield version instead, only because he was easier to get to. This figure was released in 2011 as part of a 2-pack with Cyclonus. He’s more cartoon color accurate than the initial version, though I’m not sure that’s a good thing here. This figure still holds up well today. The alt mode is nice and sleek while being G1 accurate, and the robot mode is robust with nice poseability. Transformation is also well engineered. In my opinion, this is still the definitive CHUG Rodimus even 10 years later. But he might be due for another upgrade soon. We’ll see what Hasbro does.

Springer, Generations Thrilling 30, 2013
I know I have written about this Springer back in this post. If you read that post, I mention that I was so excited to open this fig that I didn’t even stop to take pics of it in the box. This Springer is one of the best figs that Hasbro has ever produced! That’s a strong statement coming from me. I have limited space for displaying figs. So usually what happens is I display a new figure for a while, then it goes into some storage somewhere. I acquired this Springer back in May of 2013. And almost 3 years later today, I have continuously displayed this on some shelf, never going back into a box! That should tell you how much I like this fig. This figure is hands down the best triple changer that Hasbro has ever made. All 3 modes look good. Transformation is complex enough to satisfy the true fan, while being not overly complex to reduce any fun factor. As of this writing, he’s still very affordable on Amazon. So get one if you don’t have one yet. This mold was later re-worked slightly to be Sandstorm. That fig is good too.

Arcee, Generations Thrilling 30, 2014
This Arcee figure was mentioned in the very last post. I acquired the fig in 2015, but I believe her release was in 2014. Regardless, she is the definitive CHUG Arcee. Mostly because this is the only CHUG Arcee released. As the most famous female Autobot in the history of TF, you would think Hasbro would want to do this figure well before 2015. But better late than never. This Arcee figure is a worthy rendition of the character. I like the alt mode. It well represents the sporty future/Cybertronian car that she transforms into in G1. In robot mode she’s got some back kibble. And transformation wise, she’s a bit of a shell-former. But I can overlook it because I do understand the challenges of making Arcee. Most other TF characters that appear in G1 are toy-first, meaning the designs are based on an existing toy. Arcee is the opposite of that. She was created for the 1986 G1 Movie, and toy makers are now doing a figure based on that design. Overall I am happy with this figure. Not perfect, but pretty solid.

Corelock (aka Grimlock), ToyWorld, 2015
Dinobots are forever favorites among the G1 fandom. By the time Season 3 rolled around, all 5 Dinobots are still kicking butt and taking names. But the only one that made regular appearances in the season is Grimlock. In Season 3, he talks more then ever before, in his classic Grimlock speech. And much like when I made the post for Season 1 Autobots, I am using the ToyWorld version of Grimlock. As a 3rd party, ToyWorld cannot officially call him Grimlock. So he is listed as Corelock (and sometimes Grimshell). Of all the Grimlock toys that I own, this one is hands down my favorite (and I own a lot). In T-Rex mode and robot mode, Corelock captures the G1 look down to the last detail. Transformation follows the tried and true G1 formula for Grimlock, but there are enough engineering differences here to make this figure feel modern. Construction is solid and robust. He is the perfect size for CHUG too. Hasbro has made some CHUG dinos, but scale wise they feel too small. Corelock displays well next to other CHUG Autobots, as you can see in the pics. Large enough to be CHUG, but not so large as the 3rd Party MP dinos. (A sidebar: the FansToys MP style G1 Dinos are awesome figures, which I must write about in a future post.) He can also combine with the other ToyWorld Dinos to form a giant robot. G1 Dinos never did this, so I won’t go into this too much. I know what you’re thinking: how does he compare with MP Grimlock? That is a very tough comparison. I really like that figure too. But I feel Corelock edge him out just a little as the better Dino, only because Corelock is more playable than MP Grimlock. Overall, Corelock gets my highest recommendation. If you need a Grimlock in your CHUG lineup, look no further.

Ultra Magnus, Combiner Wars, 2015
Last but not least, there is Ultra Magnus. I love Ultra Magnus. He never got enough credit as a member in the Autobot leadership hierarchy. Always the 2nd in command, but consistently available to make leadership decisions and fight in tough battles when the Primes are not around. Sure, no one was gonna take the place of Optimus (and rightfully so), but he should have got his chance instead of Rodimus (like Optimus instructed). As a toy, this character never got much love until perhaps the late 2000s. Before that, he was ALWAYS a repaint of the Optimus Prime toy. G1 was nice enough to give him a different trailer at least, so in robot mode he appears completely different. These days, UM always rightfully get his own figure (including a nice MP figure). This Combiner Wars figure is the first full-fledged Ultra Magnus that we get in the CHUG line that is NOT a repaint of Optimus Prime. And boy did they do a good job here. Personally, this is my favorite UM figure of all time, surpassing even the MP. He is Leader class size, like he should be. He looks great in robot mode. One of my complaints about the MP UM fig is that he’s too blocky. CW UM does not have that problem. He appears exactly like he does in the show. In truck mode he looks great too. Some might complain that the cab is a bit small, but if that scales right, UM would be way too big in robot mode. Transformation follows the standard UM formula, but in this case it’s not a bad thing. The cab and trailer is integrated into one when he transforms. He also comes with a Mini-Con, which I don’t really care for. As for this writing, he is lower than MSRP on Amazon. He is released as part of the Combiner Wars lineup, but he doesn’t really combine with anything. Gets your now if you don’t have one already. No true TransFan can live without this UM in their collection.

Below is a pic of the figs in alt mode.

Season 3 Autobots… Transform and Roll Out!

OK, I am now finally getting back to documenting my monthly purchases. I swear to Primus I will finish this and catch up to where I am currently. Might take many posts, but it shall be done!

• Robots in Disguise Grimlock, Toys R Us, $16.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Arcee and Chromia, tfsource.com, $31.99

• Combiner Wars Optimus Prime, amazon.com, $24.99

• Combiner Wars Silverbolt, amazon.com, $24.99

• Combiner Wars Thundercracker, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Powerglide, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Windcharger, amazon.com, $10.99

• Combiner Wars Bombshell, amazon.com, $10.99

• Toyworld TW-H04 Infinitor, tfsource.com, $114.95

• Microblaze Creations MBC002 Military Titans, tfsource.com, $109.95

• Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, hlj.com, $122.77

• Masterpiece Bumble, hlj.com, $44.26.

Here are the stats breakdown for the month:

• 1 fig from Robots in Disguise
• 2 figs from Generations Thrilling 30
• 6 figs from Combiner Wars
• 2 Masterpiece figs
• 2 Third Party figs

First up is RiD Grimlock. I think this was my first figure from the Robots in Disguise line. RiD figures as a whole seems cheap and simplistic. But this is Grimlock, so I gave it a shot. I dunno… he’s not bad, but not great either. Fun to play with for a while, but very forgettable once the fig is put away. I don’t think too highly of the RiD line, and this figure doesn’t do anything to change that perception.

Arcee and Chromia are the last of the Generations Thrilling 30 figs that I would buy. I still don’t know where this Thrilling 30 tag comes from… I am guessing maybe it’s the 30th anniversary of TF. Whatever the reason, I have enjoyed figs from this line. Arcee was one that I waited for. We finally get a good CHUG representation of everybody’s favorite female Autobot in her G1 stylings. Alt mode for Arcee looks awesome. Robot mode wise, she’s got some kibble on the back, but nothing I can’t live with. Transformation wise she’s a bit of a shell-former, which again deals with the back kibble. But I think I’m just so happy to get an official CHUG Arcee that I’m willing to overlook these minor shortcomings. Chromia is an excellent figure. I believe Chromia is a minor remold of Transformers Prime Arcee. In robot mode they look very similar, but Hasbro did enough modifications to the alt mode to make Chromia feel like a brand new figure. She looks like those bikes out of Tron. Very very cool! I actually enjoyed playing Chromia more so than Arcee. But I am glad I have both TF fembots in my collection.

OK – Now on to Combiner Wars! This is a series that I have looked forward to for some time. Combiner Wars officially kicked off in January of 2015. CW is a G1-inspired subline in the TF Generations line of figures. The gimmick here is that one voyager sized figure and 4 deluxe sized figures can combine to form a giant robot. Much like the combiners from G1, the toy limb components can be mixed with any bodies in any combination (like Scramble City). Third parties have been doing combiners for quite some time now. So I guess it’s about time Hasbro got on this trend and make some money off their own properties, instead of letting third parties hog all the action.

I wasn’t able to find any deluxe sized figs this month, but I was able to get 2 voyager figs and 4 legends figs in CW. These won’t combine obviously, but I like all these characters so I bought them all.

To start things off, we get CW Optimus Prime. Yes friends, they made OP into a combiner. Not technically G1-esque, but whatever. They are also using this mold as Motormaster (which I will go into in future posts), so this is more of a way for me to check out the mold. The robot mode is kinda blocky. Truck mode is not bad. I’m personally not too impressed with this mold in combiner body form. There is a problem with the hips of the figure. But between robot and truck modes, the construction is solid and robust. So for me, the CW OP fig is just ok.

Next in the line is CW Silverbolt. The famous G1 Aerialbot leader is finally getting a modern upgrade! Yeah, there was an Ultra Class figure released around 2008 (and later repainted into Skyfall). But that figure did not combine, so he was never a true Silverbolt in my opinion. The CW Silverbolt is a G1 homage through and through. In both jet and robot modes, he looks accurate to his G1 self. Transformation may be a tad simple for mature collector, but is still leaps and bounds more involved than the Ultra Class figure (which in my opinion was one of the simplest figures ever made, especially considering something of this size). In combined body mode, this figure really shines. The body mode looks good, is G1-accurate, and provides good mechanics as the center of a giant robot. He connects easily to other limb components, and mechanically well-serves the weight distribution challenges of a combiner. I guess one can always say that the jet mode has too much bulk on the underside, but all combiner jets in this history of TF has had that problem. Overall Silverbolt is a great figure. No wonder this figure is repainted into Cyclonus and Scattershot later.

CW Thundercracker is just a repaint of Thrilling 30 Starscream, while CW Windcharger is a repaint of Thrilling 30 Tailgate. So I won’t go into them too much.

CW Powerglide is a fun little figure. Both robot and jet modes are nice, and transformation feels adequate for a figure of this size. Powerglide is another figure where Hasbro has released an Ultra Class version. But true G1 enthusiasts will always think of Powerglide as a Mini-Bot, and so a legend class fig is much more appropriate. CW Bombshell is another welcome addition to this line. We already got Skrapnel (Shrapnel), so having Bombshell is a must (now I’m hoping they do Kickback). This Bombshell is a terrific figure in my opinion. Both modes are fun to play with. He comes together really nice in the beetle mode. Bombshell is my favorite Insecticon, so I am glad to see Hasbro give him a proper modern rendition.

Now onto the 3rd party purchases for the month. I still have not opened Military Titans as of this writing in April of 2016 (shame on me), so I won’t go into him. I did open ToyWorld Infinitor. This is an homage to Fortress Maximus, but a much more smaller and playable version. I never had the pleasure of the G1 Fort Max toy. There are re-issues out there, but he’s a huge piece that would take up way too much space for me. In the G1 cartoons, Fort Max is a city-size robot (like Metroplex). However in the comics, Fort Max is a large but ordinary size Autobot. I think that is what Infinitor is going for. Regardless, Infinitor is a solid, well-built figure. I can’t say for certain since I never had the G1 toy, but Infinitor feels essentially like G1 Fort Max shrunken down to playable size. He’s very blocky, like you would expect. The Headmaster gimmick is alive and well on Infinitor. He’s got the robot mode, a space cruiser mode, and 2 different city modes (though admittedly the 2 city modes look and feel similar). Overall I think this figure is ok. Get him if you like Fort Max, but not a must have in my opinion.

Finally, we are getting to the Masterpieces for the month. First up is MP Ultra Magnus, a figure that many fans have praised over and over. Some even go so far as to suggest that this should win figure of the year. Overall I think MP Ultra Magnus is pretty good. The alt mode could not be more G1. He scales well with other MPs in this mode. Transformation to robot mode uses the familiar scheme, but there are enough differences in the engineering to make him MP worthy. The robot mode of this figure is where I’m not as impressed. He’s still too blocky for me, and I was really hoping those brilliant Takara engineers could produce a robot mode that is more true to the G1 cartoon UM aesthetic. I hold MPs to a higher standard. Maybe figs like the MP-10 Optimus Prime set the bar too high, and I was expecting too much. Nevertheless, MP Ultra Magnus is a figure that is worthy of your collection. He’s not perfect in my opinion, but still something you should consider if you collect MPs or if you’re a fan of Ultra Magnus.

And last but not least, there is MP Bumblebee. This is a figure that gets no complaints from me whatsoever. We finally have in our hands the ultimate version of Bumblebee in all his G1 glory. The VW bug is nothing short of accurate. Transformation to robot is pure genius. And in robot mode, he looks like he jumped straight out of the G1 cartoon. Takara gave us another MP perfection in Bumblebee. He’s very well built and have amazing poseability. Oh, he also comes with Spike in his Exo-Suit, as seen in the 1986 G1 movie. This Spike figure is not bad, but I got this for Bumblebee, which is what I play with most of the time. If you could buy only one figure that I listed here for this month, get Bumblebee. You will not be disappointed.

That was a lot of TFs for one month. Things will slow down a bit after this. Til next time… Transform and Roll Out!

As promised, here are more pics of Transform Mission Menasor.

This is a new unknown company in a market where third party products are totally saturated. It remains to be seen if they can compete adequately with the current existing players. I am eager to see color pics of their products. I will of course post those pics as soon as they surface somewhere.

I am really hoping that Transform Mission will do the Stunticons justice. Don’t get me wrong. The existing offerings of our favorite Decepticon racers aren’t too shabby, but none of them are perfect. The FansProject Intimidator set is great in combined form, but I find issues with them individually. The limb pieces are small and too tough to transform for their size, while Diesel (Motormaster) is way too complicated to be any fun. The Hasbro Combiner Wars set has the opposite problem. They are fun to play with individually, but the combined form leaves much to be desired. I am hoping Transform Mission will rectify all these problems and give us the perfect Stunticons.

Transform and Roll Out.

A new company called Transform Mission is doing their version of Stunticons! Yes friends. Our favorite car combiner team from G1 is getting the Masterpiece treatment from a 3rd party.

Feast your optics on some pics below!

Breakdown

Dead End

Scale with MP Sideswipe

I will post more pics later… Transform and Roll Out.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone had a good 2015 and is looking forward to 2016.

A bit of sad news to start the new year though… Michael Bay is back for Transformers 5. 🙁 Can’t say I’m surprised, though still not happy.

About a year ago, I ranted about how I want a new director for TF5. I proposed Justin Lin back in that post, which some of you might have snickered at when you read it. Well now he’s off to doing the next Star Trek! So there! I knew he had potential. But anyways, Bay said he would be done after 3. And now he’s back for 5?!!! WTF?!!!

I’ll let some tweets tell it like it is.

I remember back when all the Michael Bay & Transformers 4 headlines ALSO said it was his "final" one… #Transformers5

— Jordan Maison (@JordanMaison) January 5, 2016

Michael Bay will return for TRANSFORMERS 5.

"Yay!" said no one. pic.twitter.com/6ezv1n3kll

— Jake Hamilton (@JakesTakes) January 4, 2016

https://twitter.com/deni_carson/status/684229507482451968

I really wish he wouldn't. #Transformers5 https://t.co/hoP1SYCRja

— Andie Unson (@AndieUnson) January 5, 2016

Transform and Roll Out.