After a 18+ month blogging hiatus, I am back! My last real entry in this blog was this one, dated around August of 2022. I didn’t think I would be away for this long. I am still very actively collecting TFs. But other responsibilities in life, both personal and professional, has kept me away from TFMatrix. But no more! I am picking up right where I left off, and I will continue to share what I’ve been doing as a TransFan with renewed vigor!

In a well-honored tradition of TFMatrix, I like to do special posts about my green Transformers on St Patrick’s Day. And I always feature green TFs that I have never featured before. So without further ado, for 2024, feast your optics on these green figures!

Quick bits about each figure:

• Masterpiece Hoist – This is the most expensive figure in this group. Hoist needs no introduction, and HasTak finally got around to re-molding MP Trailbreaker into MP Hoist. This figure is solid, and he looks good in both robot and alt modes. There is one part with the shoulder transformation that’s a bit scary, like it could easily be broken. But overall, Hoist is well-engineered and a lot of fun. I had Artifex, a 3P MP-style Hoist by MMC (Mastermind Creations). Artifex is horrible, and I sold it years ago (for a profit no less). MP Hoist is the one you need in your collection.
• Legacy Evolution Armada Megatron – This is the largest figure in this group (if you count his shoulder protrusions). And he’s the easiest one to transform. Armada Megatron in the Legacy Evolution line is a figure you can easily pick up and play, which is not a bad thing in my book. This is a solid figure with a straightforward transformation. I don’t know much about Armada, as that came around during my TF Hiatus. The only other Armada Megatron I own was released back in Combiner Wars. I don’t recall that figure too well, but I should dig it out one of these days and compare it to the Legacy Evolution version.
• Legacy Road Hauler – Road Hauler is a repaint of War for Cybertron Earthrise Grapple. So if you are familiar with that figure, you already know what you’re getting with Road Hauler. A few notable points make Road Hauler worthy of inclusion in your collection. First, I love this lime green. It really pops on this figure, and reminds me of the color of Constructicons. Second, I love that face! He seriously looks like he’s screaming for dear life, as if he’s aboard that doomed shuttle with Ironhide and Prowl in the 86 movie. And finally, Road Hauler may be a tribute to Hauler, a yellow crane vehicle we see in the very first ep of G1 Transformers. When Hound was shot by Laserbeak and fell into a ravine, we see some Autobots come to his rescue later. Cliffjumper looks up to a crane and says, “Hauler, pull him up!” Fans have theorized who exactly is Hauler over the years. Some suggest that Hauler is really Grapple, some thinks Hauler is some kind of drone, while others claim it’s another Autobot. If you subscribe to that last theory, then Road Hauler may be the figure you have long wanted.
• Legacy Cosmos – Legacy Cosmos is perhaps the most sought-after figure in this group. He was released as a Walmart exclusive, in a limited sub-line under Legacy called Velocitron Speedia 500 Collection. Cosmos was the most recognizable G1 character in the collection, and the only figure who had a new mold (the rest were repaints, Road Hauler being one of them). So needless to say, fans and scalpers snatched him up quick. I never saw Cosmos in store. Luckily, my friend Gemini was able to track one down for me at the Walmart near him. Legacy Cosmos is a terrific figure. He has a fun transformation, and both modes look toon accurate. Engineering and tolerances are above par. Scales nicely with other CHUG figures. Legacy Cosmos is going anywhere from $70 to $150 these days. If you missed out, don’t despair. A re-release of Cosmos with some minor paint app differences is coming soon. Wait for that figure instead.
• Legacy Prime Bulkhead – The last figure in this group is Bulkhead from TF Prime, released in the Legacy line. As a figure, Legacy Bulkhead is not bad. He is well-built and both modes look good. The overall transformation scheme is tried and true, but there are bits in the implementation that’s both refreshing and unusual. I will admit that there’s always something about this transformation that stumps me if I haven’t handled the figure in a while. Also, I don’t find this Bulkhead to be too screen accurate. He had a very different alt mode in the show, and in robot mode he looks way too blocky. Still, the figure is solid. Not a must-have by any means, though.

Links to previous St Patrick’s Day posts.

• 2022
• 2020
• 2019
• 2018
• 2015
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011

I can’t talk about St Patrick’s Day without mentioning March Madness. My school, UCLA, has a very dim chance of being selected to the field of 64. But even if they don’t, I’m still gonna try to watch as many games as I can.

Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone! Transform and Roll Out!

I’m finally back to cataloging my purchases for each month. This activity has been on hiatus for some time, and I’m way behind. June 2014 was a busy month in terms of TFs purchased, partially because of BotCon 2014 that took place this month. The convention was in Pasadena, California, and I always go if the event is at this location. I may make a separate post for my BotCon 2014 pics. But that’s getting off topic. Time to showcase the figures for this month. This is a long list. Prepare yourselves.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Swerve and Flanker, Target, $9.49

• Age of Extinction Drift, Walmart, $9.97

• Age of Extinction Hound, Toys R Us, $24.99

• Age of Extinction Slash, Toys R Us, $7.49

• Age of Extinction Strafe, Walmart, $9.97

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Bulkhead and Prowl, Walmart, $12

• Transformers Prime Dark Energon Wheeljack, BBTS (at BotCon), $15

• BotCon Exclusive Depth Charge and Rampage, Hasbro (at BotCon), $62.71

• MakeToys Mobine MB01-SP2 Missile Launcher Marine Type, CapturedPrey.com, $48

• Mastermind Creations Hexatron, CapturedPrey.com, $130

• MakeToys Mobine Paladin/Chaos, CapturedPrey.com, $79

• Renderform Gold Scout Upgrade Kit, CapturedPrey.com, $25

There are a lot of TFs here. 12 purchases in all, for a total of 13 figures and 2 upgrade kits.

Generations Swerve and Flanker were the first finds of the month. These are cool little figs. I don’t care much about the Mini-Con (Flanker), but Swerve is a real prize. He’s fun to play with. I like both his robot mode and alt mode. There’s a redeco of this fig out there as Gears, though as of this writing he’s kinda hard to find. I plan to get one.

Next up are all the Age of Extinction figs. As a whole, I think the AoE figs are rather disappointing. The Dinobots pictured here (Slash and Strafe) certainly attest to that assertion. I’m not particularly impressed with either of these and I’m looking to sell them. However, Drift and Hound are quality figures. Drift is probably my favorite of the deluxe figs from AoE. Hound is a solid voyager figure with weapons to spare. I have kind of reviewed them back in this post, so I won’t do it again. Just know that Drift and Hound are both solid additions to your AoE line.

All remaining figures featured in this post are either bought or picked up at BotCon. First up are TF Prime Beast Hunters Bulkhead and Prowl. Gemini bought these for me a few months before BotCon, but I did not have a chance to meet up with him til this event. He found this pair at his Walmart for $12 on clearance. I was really only interested in Prowl as I already have Bulkhead. At the time, Prowl was really hard to find (and he is still kinda is as of this writing). So I did not mind spending $12 for both figs.

At the BBTS booth I picked up Dark Energon Wheeljack. This is a BBTS exclusive. I could have gotten this from their website (for cheaper), but at the time I had nothing else I needed to buy from BBTS and I was already there so I went for it. Normally I don’t like buying repaints for the same character, but I really like this Wheeljack mold, and I love the transparent blue, so I splurged.

At every BotCon, Hasbro will sell some of their exclusive figs at their booth where they handle registration for Transformers Collector’s Club. This year was no exception. I mentioned back in the BotCon 2011 post that this was how I got the very rare Reveal the Shield Windcharger. In 2014, one of their exclusive figs caught my eye… Depth Charge! From Beast Wars, Depth Charge is one of my favorite characters. He’s a good guy, but at the same time a total bad-ass! Plus I love this mold. Terradive, the original character of this mold, is probably my favorite deluxe figure from Revenge of the Fallen. They repainted this awesome mold once for Space Case (from Dark of the Moon). I guess one could argue if using this mold for Depth Charge is fitting, but I don’t care. Depth Charge was about $20 if you have a TFCC membership, but without one the figure was about $40. So I decided to get the TFCC membership (about $42), which also comes with an incentive figure of Rampage. Hasbro chose to repaint TF Prime deluxe Megatron for Rampage. So for about $62 total, I got the TFCC membership, and two figures. Depth Charge and Rampage are rivals and nemesis of each other in Beast Wars, so it’s awesome having the both of them. To this day I still have not opened these 2. But I already know the Depth Charge fig will be remarkable. I know nothing of the TF Prime deluxe Megatron fig, so it remains to be seen how I will like Rampage.

And now for the figures I got from CapturedPrey. I bought all these earlier, some of them as early as the beginning of 2013. However, they don’t ship anything until your entire order comes in, at least that’s how it was at the time. I don’t know if they have developed some kind of stacking mechanism since then, like TF Source. Anyway, I still had several items outstanding at the time of BotCon, but I really wanted the figures that had already arrived. So I emailed CP and told them I like to pick them up at the booth. They were very accommodating. I picked up the four 3rd party items pictured above.

The Mobine Marine Missile Launcher kit by MakeToys is pure awesomeness! These kits really improve upon the crap that are PCCs. I featured this kit a little in this post. I tried this kit with Heavytread, Steelshot, and Undertow. Out of these 3, Heavytread looks the best, but it’s not bad with the other 2. My only regret is I should have also got the Jungle version. Apparently there were a shortage of the Jungle version, and most of the stock went to BBTS. MakeToys Mobine Paladin/Chaos is a similar toy, but with another smaller figure added in that will combine with the armor. This figure is a tribute to The Fallen (from the comics, not Revenge of the Fallen). The armor portion is more or less the same as the Mobine kits, but having a smaller figure combine with the armor to form The Fallen is an excellent idea. A pic of this figure appears here. This is way better than the piece of crap that Galoob tried to do with The Fallen that was featured in the Titanium line. I highly recommend the Mobine line from MakeToys.

Mastermind Creations Hexatron! What can I say about this piece that hasn’t already been said by others?! In case you can’t already tell, Hexatron is a modern interpretation of Sixshot by MMC. Way back in this post, when I first started this blog, I said I would love it if someone made a modern Sixshot. Well, to this day Hasbro still has not made this a reality, so MMC stepped up to the plate! What they delivered here is nothing short of spectacular. Hexatron is transformation engineering genius brought to life. I still have not transformed this figure to all its modes (I only did the robot mode and tank mode so far), but I have seen enough reviews of the other modes to know that all 6 modes are great. Construction of the figure is extremely solid. MMC cares about it’s products and it shows. And at only $130, this is actually not a bad value for 3rd party products of this size. Speaking of size, Hexatron is probably a better fit for the MP-verse than the CHUG-verse, but I’ll take it anyway I can. Of all the figs featured in this post, if you can only get one, this is it. In fact, if you wanted to nominate figs for Figure of the Year and 3rd party products can be included, then Hexatron would without a doublt be nominated. Many may even argue he would win.

That only leaves the Gold Scout Upgrade Kit, which I have yet to open. This set upgrades Classics Bumblebee to Goldbug. I’ll check this out when I have some time.

Whew… that was a lot. So much so that I didn’t even open them all yet as of this writing, like I mentioned above. But having a deluge of TFs is better than being in a drought. And BotCon 2014 was pretty special. I may report on it in a separate post. Til then… Transform and Roll Out!

Quick post today. I got this little shelf in my bedroom where I like to display my “active” TFs. Usually this refers to the figures that I recently bought and are still playing with, before they get boxed and stored somewhere. Occasionally this could be a TF that I dug out from said storage, for one reason or another. It’s impossible for me to display every single TF that I have, and quite frankly I don’t like having a lot of clutter. So I display my TFs with this more limited approach.

But the TFs are adding up on this shelf, and it does look quite awesome to see them all together.

Same pic, different angle.

From left to right
Top shelf, back row: MP Optimus Prime (US TRU exclusive), FOC Air Raid, FOC Omega Supreme
Top shelf, front row: Reveal the Shield Battle in Space Rodimus, MP Soundwave with Laserbeak, TFP Beast Hunters Trailcutter, Reveal the Shield Windcharger, FansProject Car Crash, FansProject T-Bone, TFP Wildrider, TFP Rumble
Middle shelf: GDO Megatron, TFP Breakdown, TFP Dreadwing, GDO Powerdive, MP Thundercracker
Bottom shelf: GDO Cliffjumper (with G1 head), FOC Kickback, TFP Beast Hunters Wheeljack, TFP Beast Hunters Bulkhead, TFP Beast Hunters Smokescreen
To the side: Spike, Roller, and Trailer for MP Optimus Prime (US TRU exclusive)

Most of these are recent purchases. Reveal the Shield Rodimus and Windcharger are the only two older figures that I dug out from boxes, and even they aren’t that old (2011 I think). MP Optimus, Cliffjumper, and all the figures on the middle shelf were all purchases late in 2012. The rest were acquired in 2013.

FOC Omega Supreme is such an awesome figure! He’s robust, well built, and very playable. Not to mention easy to transform. The details on this figure is also superb. This Omega functions well as both a toy and a collector’s piece. I need to do a full review on this figure soon.

Notice that Spike is sitting inside Roller. And Roller is hauling the Trailer. Optimus can be such a slacker sometimes.

Transform and Roll Out.

When people say March, I think March Madness. It is my favorite time of year as far as sports go. The NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship has my full attention once it gets going. Especially when UCLA does well. But even when my alma mater makes a surprisingly early exit (like this year) or fail to make the tournament altogether (like last year), I still follow it closely to see how well my bracket does in the office pool, or whatever other pools I happen to participate.

As for Transformers, there was a madness this March as well. I didn’t think I was going to get this many TFs this month. In fact, I was kind of counting on a TF drought. So it was a total shock when I added up all the March figures when the end of the month was coming. Ever since I started tracking my purchases every month, this was the 3rd most action packed month, behind only February 2012 and October 2012. I was fairly busy this month too, which makes me wonder when I even had the time to hunt for these TFs. But whatever. Feast your optic sensors on the Transformers below.

• Generations Fall of Cybertron Blaster and Steeljaw, Walmart, $22.96

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Smokescreen, Walmart, $15.47
• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Bulkhead, Walmart, $15.47

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Starscream, Target, $15.99
• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Ripclaw, Walmart, $12.97

• Generations Fall of Cybertron Eject and Ramhorn, Target, $9.99
• Generations Fall of Cybertron Rewind and Sunder, Target, $9.99

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Trailcutter, Target, $8.99
• Transformers Prime RID Rumble, Ross, $5.99

• Transformers Prime Arms Micron Jet Vehicon General, amiami.com, about $23 shipped

• FansProject Car Crash, bbts.com, $59.99
• FansProject T-Bone, bbts.com, $59.99

• Year of the Snake Fall of Cybertron Omega Supreme, bbts.com, $99.99

As you can see, that’s a lot of TFs! Especially since I wasn’t expecting all that much. 7 figures came out of Fall of Cybertron, 7 figures from TF Prime, and 2 independents from FansProject. That makes a total of 16. Certainly a busy month to say the least.

Problem with buying so many TFs in one month is that you just don’t have time to process all of them. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but recently I have become backlogged in opening my Transformers. I’m almost wishing for a TF drought, so I would have the time to properly give each figure the time that it deserves.

As of this writing, I have only opened 4 figures of the 16: Smokescreen, Bulkhead, Car Crash, and T-Bone. I’ll open the rest sooner or later, preferably sooner.

I highly recommend Smokescreen. Bulkhead is ok. Buy him if you got the money to spare, but if you’re on a tight budget then you may want to reconsider.

Car Crash and T-Bone are both smaller than I expected. Early reports of these latest FansProject offerings is that they’re somewhere between scout and deluxe size. They were right. In robot mode they are exactly between these 2 sizes, and in car mode they’re barely bigger than scout. So at $59.99 each, I don’t think they are good value. Also, transformation from robot to car is kind of a pain in the boron compressor. They’re not complex figures, but getting all the tabs to line up to connect takes some effort. They are not figures that I can transform fast for that reason. Still, the figures do look good. They are well articulated and well built. I’ll reserve final thoughts about them after I see the combined Menasor mode.

The only repeat purchase here is RID Rumble. I know I said no more doubles, but I got him purely for the extra pile drivers that I will put on AM Rumble. Besides, he’s so cheap at $5.99. Yes I broke the rule. Sue me.

Year of the Snake FOC Omega Supreme is huge! This is Omega done right! I look forward to some quality time with this piece.

So that’s it for March. There’s a lot more that I wanna talk about, but I think I need to go open these TFs first. Til then, let the March Madness continue. Transform and Roll Out!

St Patrick’s Day kinda just creeped up on me this year. Doesn’t seem like anyone in my circles is really making a big deal out of it. Maybe because this year it falls on a Sunday. On Fri I wore a green shirt to the office, but it was purely by accident. A co-worker assumed it was for St Patrick’s Day, so he makes a snarky comment. Then it hits me.

To continue with the traditions of this blog, I’m assembling all the green TFs I bought since last St Patrick’s Day for a group photo. Why is this weird tradition continuing? Who knows. Guess I’m just bored and have nothing better to do.

The Autobots
Front row (left to right): GDO legend Hoist, GDO deluxe Springer, TF Prime RID deluxe Kup.
Back row (left to right): TF Prime Beast Hunters deluxe Bulkhead, TF Prime First Edition voyager Bulkhead, TF Prime RID voyager Bulkhead

The Decepticons
Clockwise from top: Generations Fall of Cybertron deluxe Brawl, GDO voyager Powerdive, GDO scout Brawl, GDO voyager Megatron

I do have one more green Decepticon, but he’s not opened so I’ll just show him here in the box with the rest of his comrades.
Generations Fall of Cybertron G2 color dexlue Brawl (left leg)

That’s a total of 11 green figures for this edition of St Patrick’s Day TFs. 6 Autobots and 5 Decepticons. Much more balanced than last year. There are 3 Bulkheads and 3 Brawls. Hasbro must really like these characters to do them over and over.

March Madness is also upon us! Today is Selection Sunday, meaning today the NCAA selection committee decides which teams go into the National Tournament. Being a UCLA alumni, I’m always partial to the Bruins. They had a opportunity to go far this year, but the sudden loss of Jordan Adams due to injury in the conference semi-finals will hurt their chances. Still, I’ll be watching as much as I can. Bruins will get a bid for sure since they won the regular season of the PAC-12. This coming weekend (from Thur to Sun) is my favorite weekend as far as sports go. I might take time off from work on Thur and Fri, just to go catch every single game!

Previous St Patrick’s Day posts appear here:
2011
2012

Happy St Patrick’s Day everyone! Transform and Roll Out!

Happy New Year!

Before I say goodbye to 2012, it’s time to count up the Transformers acquired in December.

• DOTM Jetwing Optimus Prime, Amazon.com, $104.99

• TF Prime RID Vehicon, gift from Pax Cybertron

• TF Prime FE Bulkhead, Toys R Us, $24.99

• FOC Soundwave and Laserbeak, Toys R Us, $22.99

• FOC Frenzy and Ratbat, Toys R Us, $10.99
• FOC Ravage and Rumble, Toys R Us, $6.59

That’s a total of 9 TFs for the month. 6 from Fall of Cybertron (FOC), 1 from Dark of the Moon (DOTM), and 2 TF Primes.

The Vehicon is from Pax Cybertron. See this post for full details.

As for Bulkhead, this is my 2nd purchase of this figure. I know, I said no multiples this year. But at $24.99 it feels so cheap compared to what I paid for the 1st one, which was $69.99. I really like this fig too, so I got another. Though it does make me feel stupid for buying the 1st one from eBay. Toys R Us has FE Optimus Prime at $24.99 also. It took a lot of willpower for me to not buy a 2nd one of that fig. This 2nd Bulkhead I’m leaving sealed in the box, and the pic above is of the 1st figure.

The FOC figures I found all on the same trip to Toys R Us. I have opened them all and they are all recommended, especially Soundwave. My only gripe about these is that the discs don’t eject all that well, and that the auto-transform mechanics of the discs more hinders than helps. But don’t let that stop you from buying them if you see them. On my visit, TRU was doing a buy one and get one at 40% off on all TFs. This is why one of the pair of discs was only $6.59. I really wanted to get another TF to pair with Soundwave for another 40% off (again, really considered FE Optimus), but in the end only decided to get the new figs.

DOTM Jetwing Optimus I have not opened. I might someday. I really want to checkout the wings. I believe the base figure is a slight remold of ROTF Leader class Optimus, which is an excellent figure. The only new gimmick here is the wings. Some fans have said that the Japanese version of this fig is hands down the best transforming movie Optimus made. That one retailed for over $200 US, so I wasted no time to pre-order the US Amazon Exclusive version at $104.99. However, around mid-December, Amazon dropped the price of this figure to only $52. That kinda pissed me off. I could’ve got this for half the price. Oh well. At this very moment, Amazon has it at about $100, so I don’t feel too bad anymore.

2012 was the first year where I kept stats on the number of TFs I purchased. Here are the year to date statistics:

• 12 figures from Dark of the Moon (DOTM)
• 32 figures from Transformers Prime
• 3 Power Core Combiners (PCC)
• 1 figure from Cybertron
• 5 Masterpieces
• 19 figures from Generations Fall of Cybertron (FOC)
• 16 figures from Generations GDO
• 1 Alternity figure
• 2 Animated figures
• 3 Star Wars figures
• 7 3rd Party figures

That’s a grand total of 103 figures for 2012. Is that good? Who knows. That’s about 8.5 figs per month. Or close to 2 figs a week.

And as I look at the stats from month to month, I noticed that most of my purchases came at Q1 and Q4. Right after and right before new years. From April to Sept there was a real drought of TFs. I guess this is normal for a non-movie year. It’s also not surprising that most of the figures came from TF Prime, since it is the active TF show.

On a more personal note, I’m happy to be done with 2012. It’s been a weird year for me, in both good and bad ways. I’m looking forward to 2013. I don’t know what kind of TFs Hasbro has planned for 2013, but they come up with something to keep me interested every year.

I’m ready for 2013! Transform and Roll Out!

I can’t believe it’s already the end of June. This month seems to have gone by in a flash. I don’t even know where all the time went. And come to think of it, half the year is over. That’s kinda scary. I can’t quite place how I feel about 2012 so far. When I try to think about some events that occurred this year, I can think of quite a bit. But it feels like nothing really happened. I don’t know. It’s late and I’m rambling. Time to get down to business: my TFs in June. Below I proudly present my acquisitions for the month.

• DOTM Dualor, Tuesday Morning, $2.99

• TF Prime FE Bulkhead, eBay, $69.99 shipped

• Cybertron Unicron, Amazon, $30.72 shipped

• TF Prime RID Dead End, Walmart, $12.88
• TF Prime Cyberverse Ironhide, Walmart, $9.47

First up is Dualor. I found him very early in the month, I think on June 2nd. Anyway, right before that, I stumbled upon a YouTube vid where one guy was totally going nuts over these little Dinos in the DOTM legend line. Can’t remember who that was. I think there’s like 5 of these little Dinos, all repaints in the DOTM line that are obvious homages to the original G1 Dinobots. Anyway, the YouTube guy really liked them, even tho they look like they suck. I was just in awe that I’ve never seen them before anywhere. And wouldn’t you know it, a few days later I see this Dualor at Tuesday Morning. This Tuesday Morning is like 5 min walking distance to my apt. I go there every now and then because I have found good stuff there, like legend Megatron. And once again I find another rare-ish legend figure in Dualor. I got him simply out of curiosity from the YouTube review, and the fact that he’s cheap, kinda rare, and reminds me of Grimlock. My hunch was right. He suck.

Next is FE Bulkhead, which I got from eBay. I already mentioned how cool he is in my last post, so I won’t do it again. Just get him if you can. He’s awesome. Trust me.

Sometime last month, this Unicron caught my attention. I think he looks kinda cool, so I started doing research on the figure. He’s a Japanese only figure in the United line, and most online dealers have him for about $50 to $55. Some dealers advertise him to be deluxe, while others say it’s voyager. I did more research, and turns out, this is a repaint from the Cybertron line. On Amazon, I found a dealer selling the original Cybertron version of this figure for about $30 shipped. So I got this version instead. I have opened Cybertron Unicron, and he’s very definitely deluxe size. I would have felt very ripped off if I paid $50+ for this. But that aside, this is a very cool figure. I’m glad I got him. I remember back in 2006, I bought some other deluxe Cybertron figures. It’s very possible I could have got this Unicron back then for $10. But I only wanted TFs that were G1 insipred at that time, so I paid little attention to Cybertron figures. That is one TF perspective I’ve come to regret. I plan on doing a full review of this figure. Stay tuned.

Last but not least, we have TF Prime Dead End and Ironhide. I found them on the same trip to Walmart. Dead End is a repaint of Wheeljack with a different head. I think out of all the deluxe TF Prime figures, Wheeljack is my favorite. So even tho I have not opened Dead End yet, I already know I will like him. As for Ironhide, I just had to get this figure after I saw him, despite the fact I rarely buy Cyberverse figs. That G1 head and G1 redness has me convinced immediately. I opened Ironhide, and I quite like this figure. I like both the robot and alt modes. Transformation is simple, but doesn’t feel dated. Only turn off is the price. $9.50 is total ripoff for commander class, considering that Movie deluxe figs only cost about $10. Still, I plan to review Ironhide, because he’s so cool.

So that’s 5 TFs for June. 3 from TF Prime, 1 from DOTM, and 1 from Cybertron. I was really hoping I can find some Vehicons in June, but no luck. I better find some in July, or I might have to unleash some pent up TF fury on some of the many unsold Bumblebees you see hanging off the racks. Message to Hasbro: NO MORE BUMBLEBEES!

Let the shopping continue. Transform and Roll Out!

Several weeks ago I went into a post about all my Team Prime figures in the Robots in Disguise (RID) line. Today I’m featuring the same Autobot figures, but in the First Edition (FE) line.

Let me point out real quick right now that Ratchet is not FE. This is the RID version. I don’t think there is a FE Ratchet. I just put him here to be complete. It would not be Team Prime without Ratchet.

I’m going to give some quick thoughts below on each figure between the 2 lines.

Optimus Prime: I definitely prefer the FE version. I think the FE figures looks better in both robot and alt modes. Color wise, I think the FE also looks a little more show accurate. The weapons of the FE figure also looks cooler. The silly mech-tech weapon of the RID just don’t make sense to me. However, I can’t really say which transformation is more show accurate. On the FE figure, the chest plates do not form the cab windshield, which in my opinion is kind of a letdown. From a mechanical engineering perspective, they are both pretty good, but the FE wins out by just a little. There are some little paint touch-ups that I like better on the RID figure, such as the silver around the chest, and how the headlights are colored yellow. But the final verdict is that the FE is the superior figure. Unfortunately the FE is not available in mass retail in the United States, so online dealers are your only bet. I got mine for fifty some dollars, and I’ve seen online dealers ask for more than 100. If that price turns you off, then by all means pick up the RID. It’s not as good as the FE, but still a very good figure.

Bulkhead: Again, this is a figure where I strongly recommend the FE over the RID. In alt mode, I think both figures are pretty good, and I just be nitpicking if I recommended one over the other. However, in robot mode is where the FE really shines. It’s not that the RID is bad, it’s just that the FE is oh so impressive. He’s well articulated and all parts lock into place well where they should. Take a careful look around the chest and shoulder area of both figures, and right away it will be apparent that the FE is a lot more show accurate. Many fans also complain about the wings on the RID version, that they shouldn’t be there. Mechanical engineering on the FE is a great feat in TF design, a lot more so than the RID. And the mech-tech weapon on the RID is just a huge conglomeration of crap that I won’t even bother writing about. But just like FE Optimus, FE Bulkhead is not available in the US. Hasbro loves to stick it to us. I got mine FE from eBay for about $70. Definitely buy the RID figure, because it’s only $20 and it’s very good. But if you’re after true Bulkhead greatness, you will need to get the FE.

Arcee: For these shots, I used the FE pink version since that’s the only one I have opened. I also have the blue FE version, but that one is still sealed in the package. Comparing between the FE and the RID, I think they both have their pros and cons. The FE has a more impressive design, but the RID is better built. I also like the paint apps on the RID figure a little better. FE comes with two blades, while RID comes with one blade and a gun. Transformation is probably a little more accurate on the FE. I think these are both very good figures. I would just buy them both.

Bumblebee: Hasbro has been making way too many Bumblebees that I don’t even feel like comparing the two. A lot of fans bash the RID figure, which in my opinion isn’t that bad. I think the RID figure is very playable, a lot more so than the FE figure. I think of all the TF Prime figures that I bought, I find Bumblebee to be the least impressive (both FE and RID). It’s not that either one of them is bad, it’s just that these figures really don’t offer anything new when compared to the movie Bumblebee figures. Mechanically they feel very similar. Most fans would probably say that the FE figure is better. I guess I’m so sick of Bumblebee that I’m not even interested enough to agree or disagree with that assertion.

Ratchet: Same figure. RID Only. I’ve said before that I think this is the best Ratchet figure I own. That should be your hint to go out and get one now.

There you have it. My thoughts on each Team Prime figure in each toy line. Overall, they’re all really good. Hardcore TransFans would probably get both versions anyway. For the more casual fans, find the FEs if you can, especially Optimus and Bulkhead. But what’s in the stores is very good too, and is a good substitute if you don’t feel justified in spending more than $20 for a TF.

Team Prime… Transform and Roll Out!

The end of the month is upon us once again. The time has come to count up the TFs my friends. What kind of damage did I do in May? Let’s find out…

• TF Prime RID Hot Shot, Target, $12.99

• Alternity Megatron, Craigslist, $45

• PCC Searchlight, CVS Pharmacy, $8.29

• TF Prime RID Bulkhead, Walmart, $19.96
• TF Prime RID Starscream, Target, $19.99

• TF Prime RID Knock Out, Target, $12.89

• TF Prime Zombie Cliffjumper, about $35

This feels like a typical month as far as TF purchases go, not too many and not too few. 5 figs come from Transformers Prime, which is what I would expect at this point in time. 1 PCC and 1 Alternity rounds out the rest. As of this writing, I opened all of these except the 2 Japanese releases: Alternity Megatron and TF Prime Zombie Cliffjumper.

I bought Alternity Megatron off some dude that posted an ad on Craigslist. For this fig, Takara also made a blue one and a black one. But being the G1-er that I am, I had to get the silver, no exceptions. The asking price was $50. I offered $45 and the dude took it. I remember at Wondercon in 2010, a dealer had the same fig for $50. I thought about buying it, but couldn’t make up my mind. This was around lunch time. I said to my friend Gemini that we’ll go to lunch, and if the figure was still there when we return, I’ll take that as a sign and buy it. So we go eat at the nearby Jollibee, and when we came back to the con, Megatron was gone. I was not destined to have Megatron that day. But finding it 2 years later for cheaper is what fate had in stored for me. Just goes to show, sometimes when things don’t work out, it just isn’t meant to be and something better will come along later. Who says life lessons can’t apply to TFs? 🙂

As for the Japanese TF Prime Zombie CJ, Gemini ordered this from a online retailer. We both had to have this since we both missed out on a First Edition CJ. Zombie CJ is the same mold, just all zombified. Most fans seem to suggest that the FE CJ mold is so much better than the RID mold, so I look forward to opening this soon. Another CJ figure for my Cliffjumper collection.

I opened the remaining figures. RID Hot Shot is a repaint of RID Bumblebee with a different head. I like his colors, and I think his goggle gimmick is pretty cool. RID Knock Out is also a very good figure. I like both his car mode and robot mode, and his transformation is quite refreshing. I think Knock Out is actually one of the harder figures from the TF Prime RID deluxe line, but I only transformed him once so far so this assessment may change.

As for the TF Prime RID Voyager figures, I like Bulkhead. I like his alt mode, no issues here. As for his robot mode, overall it’s not too bad. Some fans complain about his wings on the back, but I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. The only thing that really bug me about Bulkhead is his weapon. It has a cool MechTech feature where pulling the switch back moves the spinning ball forward, but the weapon just looks awful when placed on either the vehicle or the robot. Hasbro really believes that we fans love MechTech. Personally, I could do without MechTech if it means getting a better figure (which is basically what First Editions are). Speaking of First Editions, I bought a FE Bulkhead on eBay and it should arrive next month. As for Voyager Starscream, I can’t really recommend this figure. This is hard to explain in words, but something about this figure just seems off. Maybe it’s because the FE was so impressive. A lot of fans complain about the scale too. If you can only get one, definitely get the FE.

That only leaves the 1 PCC figure, Searchlight. I got this near the middle of the month around Mothers Day. I only got Searchlight because there wasn’t any other new TFs to buy at the time. Plus I had a bunch of coins that I needed to take to Coinstar. With that voucher, I had more than enough for Searchlight. I’m really glad I decided to buy him. He’s one of the better PCCs in my opinion. Also, I don’t have that many helicopter TFs, so I’m happy to add more. I only have one gripe where in robot mode his shoulders don’t really lock into place, but that’s a small complaint.

That about covers it. TFs in the month of May. Will I ever have a month where I don’t buy any TFs? Not something I wanna think about.

Transform and Roll Out!

I’ve been watching Transformers Prime Season 1 on Blu-ray. I finally finished the set sometime last week, and let me just say that this is an awesome show! This might be my favorite Transformers series, next to G1. If you’re a TransFan and you have not been watching, it’s time to get with the program! Plenty of fan uploads on YouTube. But for the best HD quality, go out and get the Blu-ray like I did.

Anyway, the core 5 Autobots featured in Transformers Prime are Optimus, Bumblebee, Arcee, Ratchet, and Bulkhead. This group stationed on Earth is often referred to as Team Prime. Last week I found Robots in Disguise Voyager Bulkhead, which completes my Team Prime Autobots in the RID line. Below are pics of them as a group. For reasons that elude me, RID Voyagers are called Powerizers and RID Deluxes are called Revealers. Hasbro needs to stop it with all these terms.

I recommend all of these figures. Yeah I know that there are plenty of TransFans out there that would recommend the First Edition figures over these. For the most part I would as well, based on what I’ve seen. But that doesn’t mean the RID figures are bad by any means. If you’re not willing to shell out the money for overpriced FE figures, then these are very good substitutes. Actually, for Bumblebee and Arcee, I would not say that the FE figures are hands down better. RID versions of these 2 characters have their pros too. To this date I still have not opened my FE Optimus, and I just ordered FE Bulkhead on eBay, so I’ll reserve my thoughts for the Voyagers until I open them. And as far as I know, there is not a FE Ratchet.

After FE Bulkhead arrives, I’ll do group shot of the FE Team Prime (but still using RID Ratchet). Transform and Roll Out!