FansProject is currently developing an add-on kit for Classics/Henkei Rodimus. I first reported this add-on kit back in April of this year. FP have recently released color pics of the set. Appearance wise, this kit is shaping up to be excellent. If the quality of this add-on is anywhere close to the usual high standards of FP products (and I have many), then we can assume we have another winning product on our hands. But enough talking. Check out the pics below.

Many reputable dealers are already taking pre-orders for this set. Get yours now! Transform and Roll Out!

Optimus says a lot of cool things. Most of it is very inspirational and motivates you to achieve beyond your full potential. Occasionally he’ll spew out a wacky line or two that seems kinda funny when it wasn’t meant to be.

The great Autobot leader has a bunch of famous quotes that you can use in your everyday life. I have compiled 10 such lines and they appear below in no particular order. Use them at your own risk.
 

“Fate rarely calls upon us at a moment of our choosing.”
Source: Transformers Revenge of the Fallen
Context: Sam Witwicky, being the whiny little bitch that he is, just wants to party his head off at the local U in the middle of a Decepticon invasion. Prime urges Sam to answer his calling and help the Autobots save Earth and everyone on it.
When to use: If you are in charge of a project and your whiny staff members are just watching the clock and waiting to go home, inspire them a little by using this line. Suggest that the project is their calling and they are the only ones who can see it to completion. You can always fire their sorry ass if they are still unmotivated.
 

“Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.”
Source: Optimus Prime’s motto on his Tech Spec bio since G1
Context: N/A
When to use: If your boss wants you to work overtime on nights and/or weekends with no overtime pay, throw this line in his face. Freedom is a right, including freedom to not work.
 

“Sometimes even the wisest of men and machines can be in error.”
Source: Transformers (1984), SOS Dinobots
Context: After the Dinobots saved Optimus and most other Autobots, Prime admits his previous error in judgment of locking away the Dinobots.
When to use: This is an excellent line to use when you have made an error and people have found out about it. Not only do you man up to the mistake you made, you also make the implication that errors are bound to happen and they will be made by everyone given enough time. Almost makes you look good for making the mistake in the first place.
 

“We lost a great comrade, but gained new ones. Thank you, all of you. You honor us with your bravery.”
Source: Transformers (2007)
Context: After the battle with the Decepticons, Prime laments the loss of Jazz, but simultaneously acknowledges their new found friendship with their human allies.
When to use: Management loves to save dollars by slashing the jobs of senior level personnel and replacing them with cheaper workers of less skill and less experience. The thinking here is that the company can pay less and still get the same quality of work as before. Those of us that have been in any industry long enough know that this is rarely the case. But we all know management just loves bad decisions so this is a practice that will continue til the end of time. And when it does happen and you are welcoming the new substitutes into the fold, you can greet them with this line. Losing the great comrade refers to the senior member that was let go, and the new personnel does indeed honor you with their bravery because they have no idea what they’re getting into without the senior member present.
 

“Like us, there’s more to them than meets the eye.”
Source: Transformers (2007)
Context: Optimus ponders on how amazing the humans can be.
When to use: Let’s say you suspect a rival company is up to something. Or let’s say there’s some bad blood going on between your dept/team/group with another one in the same company and you suspect they’re up to no good. That will be the perfect time to whip out this line. You are implying they can be just as crafty as you are, and this is a light warning that you should take heed of their activities.
 

“I will accept this burden with all that I am!”
Source: Transformers War For Cybertron
Context: Cybertron/Primus has chosen Optimus to inherit a portion of his Spark to take with him to the stars. Optimus bravely steps forward and receives the Autobot Matrix of Leadership.
When to use: You have just been handed a project and you want to let your boss know he has made the right choice in letting you hold the reins. Show your enthusiasm by uttering this line, loud and clear. Don’t be shy. Management loves people who appear to take responsibility. If the project really does suck, turn around and give it to one of your underlings.
 

“There’s a thin line between being a hero and being a memory.”
Source: Transformers (1984), More Than Meet’s The Eye Part 3
Context: Ironhide tries to battle the Decepticons all by himself and sustains damage. Optimus shares a bit of wisdom with this impulsive warrior that is way past his prime.
When to use: In every office, there are individuals that love to volunteer the entire team into taking on more assignments or doing more work. While that’s great for these over-caffeinated workaholics, you rather spend your spare time napping or playing golf. Curb their enthusiasm by using this quote. Pretend you care by letting them know that if they do too much too soon, they may burn themselves out and not be able to work at all.
 

“We’re putting your company into bankruptcy.”
Source: Transformers (1984), Make Tracks
Context: Prime and company attack a Decepticon installation that was converting stolen human cars into Decepticon drone warriors.
When to use: You are negotiating with a rival company. Thing’s aren’t going well and you’ve had enough. Threaten them a little with this quote. Show them the meaning of “Hostile Takeover”, Transformer style.
 

“Until that day… till all are one.”
Source: Transformers The Movie (1986)
Context: A dying Optimus Prime addresses the Autobots with these final words as he hands the Matrix over to Ultra Magnus.
When to use: A delivery date is fast approaching and your boss wants an update on the status of the project. If the project is not going well, or if you simply don’t have any freakin’ clue on how it’s going, then it is time to answer with this line. This response is cool enough that it sounds like you have given the update and taken responsibility for its status, but at the same time you didn’t actually say anything. Your boss is free the interpret the meaning of this response. More often than not, he’ll just be too embarrassed to ask you what you really mean because he’s afraid he might look stupid. Use that to your advantage.
 

“It’s been an honor serving with you all.”
Source: Transformers (2007)
Context: Optimus addresses his troops before their next battle, where he plans to sacrifice himself against overwhelming odds.
When to use: When you’ve been fired for using any of these quotes in the manner listed above.
 

For even more great Prime quotes, visit The Quotable Optimus Prime.

And here is one quote that you won’t ever hear in the workplace… “Transform and Roll Out!”

I love the Masterpiece line. Figures made in the MP line are most definitely worthy of the Masterpiece designation. They are well-designed, show accurate, large, robust, and possess complex transformations that would appeal to the mature Transfan. MPs are the ultimate interpretation of G1 characters in their G1 incarnations. The only exception to this rule I can think of is Movie MP Starscream. In the US he is released as a Leader class ROTF figure. I’m not sure why Hasbro chose to release him as a MP in Japan. Maybe they just want to milk the MP brand.

The next MP to be released is Rodimus Prime. News of his upcoming release came out either last month or the month before. But at that time we only had very early prototype pics that were not colored. I’m happy to report that there are more finalized pics of MP Rodimus Prime. Click here for the full report. The post is in Japanese but you can still drool over the pics.

Go Rodimus! He’s getting some big time love in 2010. In addition to this, there is the FansProject Protector add-on for Classics/Henkei Rodimus that I reported earlier in the year. There is also an Animated Rodimus Minor toy that many people have already reported sightings of. 2010 is looking like the year of Rodimus! I must have all of these!

Right after Hot Rod became Rodimus Prime, his first directive to Autobots inside Unicron was… Transform and Roll Out!

Today is exactly 2 months after Transformers War For Cybertron was released, and there is already a DLC available for the game. Activision and High Moon wasted no time.

New material from the DLC includes 5 new characters and 4 new maps available for the online multi-player modes. The new characters are Onslaught, Scattershot, Shockwave, Jazz, and Demolishor. I checked PSN last night and this add-on is available to download for $9.99. Not a bad deal considering what you are getting. Check out the trailer below.

I’m glad that this DLC was released so I can have all the new characters. But at the same time, I’m a little peeved that some of these characters were advertised to be store exclusives and now they are available to everyone. I bought the game from Barnes and Noble (who gets it from Gamestop) because I thought that was the only way to get Shockwave. I had a feeling that all the “exclusive” characters were going to be available for download sometime later, but I didn’t think it would be this soon. If I knew the DLC was going to be released less than 2 months into it, I would’ve bought the game elsewhere.

Still, Jazz is one of my all time favorite characters. Onslaught is from my favorite combiner team (the Combaticons). I have a thing for the Technobots, of which Scattershot is the leader. So I will most likely be downloading this. Though I get the nagging feeling that I was nickel-and-dimed over the whole ordeal by Sony and Activision and High Moon and B&N and Gamestop and whoever else got a piece of my hard earned money.

I’ve completed the single player campaigns so its time for multi-player. Transform and Roll Out!

April 24th, 2004. I was browsing Amazon late that night. I don’t remember what I was looking for, but I stumbled upon G1 Transformers re-issues sold by Toys R Us through Amazon. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw them! I loved Transformers when I was a kid, and there were a bunch of figures that I wanted but never had. My allowance was next to nothing, and my parents wouldn’t buy them (money wasn’t the issue, they were just strict). I was not going to pass up the opportunity at owning what I always wanted. So I went ahead and bought Skywarp and Grapple, the two figures that were on sale. That purchase marked the beginning of my TF collecting for the last 6+ years. It might have just started out as G1 re-issues, but then I discovered Binaltechs in the summer at AX2004. From there it went to Alternators and Masterpieces. Then came the classics, the movie toys, and then Animated toys. That one little innocent purchase on 04-24-2004 opened the floodgates to a serious Transformers addiction. It had impacted me in ways that I could not have foreseen.

I started this blog October of last year, and I thought it would be fun to list all my TFs on the TF List page. Last night I updated it and looked at the total. I now have… drum roll please… 300 Transformers. 300! I knew I was coming close to this number, but actually seeing it both amazed and shocked me. That’s a freakin’ boatload of Transformers!

300 Transformers in about 6 years and 4 months. Do the math and rounding up, that translates to roughly 4 figures a month. It doesn’t sound like a lot when you think in those terms. I guess they just add up. Check out my TF list here.

And to commensurate this momentous occasion, I present the following video. G1 Movie trailer cut to the audio of 300. Very cool. This is one of my favorite fan-made TF vids of all time.

Transform and Roll Out!

Transformers: War For Cybertron was finally released last Tuesday on June 22nd. I pre-ordered my copy from Barnes and Noble, who has an arrangement with Gamestop when it comes to fulfilling their video game orders. I had a B&N gift card, and I knew that Gamestop had exclusive content for Shockwave as a playable character. The game was shipped out on the 21st, and I received it on the 23rd.

I’ve had about a week to mess with the game now. Hands down, this is the best TF game ever made to date. In fact, I’m tempted to say this is the best game I’ve played all year, but I’ve only played for a about a week so I will reserve giving out such high praise until I’ve had more time. I’ve completed 5 solo campaigns on normal difficulty so there’s still much to be done. Besides, for this post I’m just going to throw out some random initial thoughts. I might do a full review later.

I love how the campaigns are set up. There are 10 chapters total. The first 5 chapters are Decepticon campaigns and the last 5 are Autobot campaigns. Only Chapter 1 and Chapter 6 are available initially, the first chapters of each faction. Completing one chapter will unlock the next chapter. Story wise, the events in each chapter occur sequentially to form a coherent story. So for the first half of the game, we learn how Megatron and his army set the stage for invasion, and in the last half of the game we see how the Autobots counteract this threat.

There are 3 characters for each campaign. It’s different for each chapter and they are pre-determined. For chapter 1 it’s Megatron, Brawl, and Barricade, while in chapter 6 it’s Optimus, Bumblebee, and Ratchet. You get to choose which one you want to play as in solo mode, and the other 2 will be computer controlled. You can also play the campaign in multiplayer co-op, up to 3 players per game. I can’t wait to try the multiplayer.

Each campaign is freakin’ long! It takes about 2 hours to do one. It’s a good thing the game will save automatically upon every check point, so you don’t have to do the whole 2 hours in one sitting. The game also automatically saves in the middle of a long boss fight (most of them go through multiple modes of attack), so if you die you don’t have to re-start the fight from the beginning.

WFC is essentially a third-person shooter. You move with the left analog stick and aim with the right. The controls are spot on and the gameplay is tight. You transform by pressing down on the left stick. Each character has their strengths and weaknesses. There are a bunch of different weapons in the game. You can only have 2 at a time, and the character you use will determine which ones you can equip. There are also special ability that each character can perform, for example Sideswipe has a spinning melee attack and Breakdown has a knock-down push attack.

Story wise, WFC takes place on Cybertron, long before the TFs arrived on Earth. Character designs and overall look and feel are most certainly G1 inspired, but many elements from War Within are here as well.

Graphically, WFC is a beauty to behold. This, along with FFXIII, are the best looking games I have seen on my PS3. The game only runs at 720p max which is disappointing as far as stats go, but I can’t seriously imagine any noticeable improvements even if they managed to get this to 1080p.

And the voice acting, they need to be mentioned. Those of us that are familiar with anime voice actors will be thrilled to know that this game feature some of the best talent in this industry. Long time anime voice veterans such as Crispin Freeman, Kari Wahlgren, and Steven Blum are here to lend their talents. And of course the great Peter Cullen is back as Optimus. Oh, Johnny Yong Bosch does the best Bumblebee I have heard since G1. They should permanently cast him as Bumblebee for every TF series from this point forward. Even the narrator, I don’t know who was cast in WFC, but he deserves big time props. He totally sounds like the G1 narrator that went “It is the year 2005” in the G1 Movie.

To sum up, I’m very impressed thus far. I might do a full review later. All TransFans go to your console of choice now! War For Cybertron has begun!

One Shall Stand. One Shall Fall.
War For Cybertron will make TransFans of all.
The game is out, so spread the news.
Failure to play, there is no excuse.
Choose your character and prepare for battle.
Get your game on, like Frenzy and Rumble.
Play it solo, dare to make your stand.
Or go for multiplayer, find a helping hand.
Play the game now, all day and all night.
Autobot or Decepticon, it is time to fight.
WFC kicks ass, there is no doubt.
Until All Are One… Transform and Roll Out!

Today is the final part of my 2009 BotCon pics. Part 2 appears here.

Cosplayers

Warpath
 

Sideswipe
 

Now that is one sexy Cobra Agent. I let her terrorize me any day.
 

Contest Entries

I’m not sure what the contest was for exactly, but there were plenty of impressive entries.

I’m not sure what this was so I’m just gonna lump this in here. Looks like some kind of Photoshop tutorial for TFs.
 

Last but certainly not least…

Tyrese! Yes ladies and gentlemen, the one and only Tyrese Gibson! Chief Master Sergeant Epps made a surprise appearance on the last day of BotCon, and the crowd just went wild! The fans stormed around him to get a chance to shake his hand and get his picture taken in the dealer’s room. I don’t know if Hasbro planned this or not, but the whole thing really felt like a surprise b/c it was not advertised at all. The lucky fans who were close enough during the surprise lined up for a chance at his autograph, but he only stayed for like 20 min and they ran out of stuff to sign real quick. I only managed to snap this pic of him from a distance, but it was still cool. Good to know that Tyrese cares about his fans.
 

Well, there you have it, my experience at BotCon 2009. It was unforgettable to say the least and I’m disappointed that I won’t be going this year. It is definitely on my radar for next year. But before I sign off this post, I should mention the stuff I bought at BotCon 2009. No trip to any anime/toy/comic convention is complete without acquiring some loot, and so with that, I proudly present a list of my BotCon 2009 Haul:

Henkei Thundercracker
Alternator Prowl (used)
Alternator Hound (used, and missing gun)
Alternator Skids
Sound Label Soundwave (spark blue)
Revoltech GR-2 (no. 021)
a Decepticon pillow
… and probably some other stuff that I can’t remember now.

TransFans unite… and heed this call… Transform and Roll Out!

Part 2 of my BotCon 2009 pics continues today. In case you missed it, Part 1 is here.

“Unreleased and Upcoming” Toys

hehe… I put that in quotes cause at the time all these were not released, and planned for the rest of 2009 and part of 2010 (I think all have been released as of this writing). As such, they were all behind glass display cases, standing prominently for the eager TF fan to drool over.
 

The toys in the middle and bottom rows are 2009’s BotCon Exclusives, the “Wings of Honor” set of 5 figures. Don’t remember who they are, but all repaints. I think it was about $200 for the whole set. Not sure who are the guys in the top row.
 

Various “upcoming” ROTF Deluxe and Scout class figures. I still don’t have any of these 🙁
 

ROTF Leader class Prime, Meg, Jetfire. I have Prime.
 

Same toys, different angle.
 

Various “upcoming” ROTF Voyager class figures. Again, I don’t have any of these 🙁
 

Various “upcoming” ROTF Voyager class figures out of the box.
 

Various “upcoming” ROTF Deluxe class figures. I have Sideways, Sideswipe, and Breakaway.
 

Various “upcoming” ROTF Deluxe class figures out of the box.
 

ROTF Devastator!
 

Human Alliance Bumblebee. I really wanted these at the time, but I’m not feeling the robot mode.
 

Human Alliance Bumblebee and Sideswipe.
 

25th Anniversary Soundwave re-issue! He comes with 4 cassettes, one of them (Ratbat) never re-released in the US since the 80s. Being the G1 purist that I am, I knew I had to have this set, despite the fact I already have two other Soundwave re-issues. He ended up being a SDCC Exclusive, but that would not stop me. I ended up getting him thru ebay. I paid $64 shipped, but he’s worth every penny.
 

G1 and ROTF Soundwave and Ravage, side by side. Cool.
 

Fast Action Battlers. I don’t care for these at all.
 

Here we have various store exclusives. Titanium Thrust and Prime were Target Exclusives and they appear on the bottom shelf to the left. I have Titanium Thrust. Next to them are Ultra Class Powerglide, Hardhead, and Skyfall, Walmart Exclusives. MP Skywarp on the top shelf is another Walmart Exclusive. Next to him is the TRU Exclusive Whirl and Roadbuster 2-Pack. Not sure if Ultimate Bumblebee was an exclusive, I know I’ve seen him around and I think at a bunch of places.
 

25th Anniversary Insecticons and Perceptor, and a ROTF Fallen figure.
 

As I look at these now in June of 2010, I’m amazed at how many of them I actually managed to find and buy. Nothing stops me when I want my TFs.

Stay tuned for Part 3… Transform and Roll Out!

BotCon 2010 is coming up in about a week. To celebrate this upcoming event, I thought I post pics of BotCon 2009.

Last year I attended my first BotCon. It was in Pasadena, in Southern California, not too far from where I grew up. Now I live in Northern California so in a way it was kinda like a homecoming, but of course I’m there for the robots.

BotCon 2009 was awesome! To be surrounded by people as passionate about Transformers as I am, the feeling was just overwhelming. I would love to go again this year in Florida, which also gives me a chance to check out Walt Disney World. However, going cross country would require some planning ahead of time, which I never really got around to. Maybe next year.

I did not have a blog in the summer of 2009, so this is as good a time as any to post the pics. Enjoy!

Convention Displays

“Revenge is Coming!” At the front entrance.
 

From a different angle.
 

That little girl snuck in there when I was taking this pic :).
 

Real life movie Optimus Prime in alt mode!
 

How did they get this truck in there?
 

Close up of the Autobot insignia. Now that’s bling.
 

Movie Bee!
 

Bee’s about to pee on that guy. I call it Bee Pee.
 

Dealers

This was one of the first dealer’s booths near the door. I think this was the official Hasbro booth where they sold toys (they had another bigger booth for events). At the time the TF figures you see here were all either unreleased, or just barely released.
 

Same dealer but to to left. I was feasting my eyes on these deluxe figures for the first time.
 

This is the “Gears of War” set, all accessories to make Classic figures more G1. I really wanted a set, but at $45 it was kinda hard to justify. Also a preliminary figure of Optimus in his Hearts of Steel incarnation, later released as Knight Morpher.
 

Same dealer, just slightly panned up in angle to show their nice statue of G1 Optimus. Looks like this was the RobotKingdom booth. I do not buy from them online b/c their shipping is simply ridiculous.
 

Stay tuned for Part 2… Transform and Roll Out!

2010 is looking to be a banner year for FansProject. Their next offering are two figures called Explorer and Munitioner. Hardcore G1 purists should instantly recognize them as Blastoff and Swindle, respectively.

Late in 2009, Hasbro released a Target exclusive Bruticus Maximus set under the ROTF line. This is a set of 5 Combaticon figures that will combine and form Bruticus Maximus. The toys are essentially a repaint of Energon Bruticus Maximus. Target retailed the set at $29.99. Some stores even sold them at clearance prices over the Holidays, I’ve seen with my own eyes the price dropped to either $24.99 or $19.99. Apparently they weren’t flying off the shelves if Target felt clearance was necessary. I did think about buying the set during that stretch, considering that the Combaticons are my favorite combiner group, something that I’ve mentioned repeated on this blog. However, being the G1 purist that I am, I decided against buying it because I felt the figure did not at all resemble the G1 Combaticons. And to make matters worse, not all molds in the set are distinct. Onslaught, the leader figure that forms the body, is a unique mold. However, Brawl and Blastoff are both tanks with identical molds, and Vortex and Swindle are of the same helicopter mold. This was a complete turnoff. There is also a similar set released under the Universe line (in slightly different colors). I’m not sure when it was released and if it was a store exclusive.

I should have known by now that whenever I complain about a certain aspect in TF figures, the people behind FansProject would have the same complaint. So right after Target sold out of the Bruticus Maximus set, FansProject announced the figures “Explorer” and “Munitioner”. Explorer is a space shuttle while Munitioner is a jeep. FansProject is not affiliated with Hasbro so it’s not like they can outright advertise what these figures are meant to be. But G1-ers immediately recognized them as Blastoff and Swindle, and the fact that only these 2 are produced is to properly give the ROTF Combaticons the right molds for these 2 characters. But yeah, right as I learned of this new development, I started to kick myself for not buying the ROTF Bruticus Maximus set.

FansProject have recently released more finalized pics of Explorer and Munitioner. The figures themselves look great and are obviously G1 inspired. But it also looks like the figures will come with accessories that will make Bruticus look more G1 as well. Words can’t even start to describe how kick-ass this set looks with the FansProject add-on. I’m posting a few select pics below. For all the pics check out this blog entry on the FansProject site.

You can bet your boron compressor that I will be buying Munitioner and Explorer when they are released. I would’ve done that anyway, but after I saw these pics, I knew I had to go track down the ROTF Bruticus Maximus set. Of course all dealers from every website I can think of would mark these up. Getting it at the clearance prices, or even at MSRP, was now extremely unlikely. And so last month I bit the bullet and bought the set from an ebay seller for about $50. This price was actually quite reasonable. I see many dealers ask for much more. I picked up the set at my local PO last weekend and below are some pics.

I won’t be opening this set until Explorer and Muntioner are released. Then I will give them all the proper review it deserves.

And since we’re on the subject of Combaticons, I want to take this opportunity to show off my G1 Combaticons. I still have them all to this day. Onslaught is getting loose in some of his joints, and there are obvious sticker wear to all 5 figures. But other than that they are all complete and in pretty good shape.

Sharp G1 observers will have noticed that Onslaught appears without his blue chest shield. I have the piece, I just forgot to put it on him when I took the pic.

I also have some repainted Combaticons from Robots in Disguise. Technically they’re not called Combaticons in RiD. They are called Commandos, and the names of all the characters have been changed. This is the Urban Camo set (I believe there is also a Desert Camo and a Snow Camo set). The combat trailer is Mega-Octane, the tank is Armorhide, the space shuttle is Movor, the jeep is Rollbar, the helicopter is Ro-Tor, and the combined form is Ruination. Pics appear below.

Let’s face it, all the combiners post G1 have been lame. Hasbro just doesn’t want to properly do one for some strange reason. So once again it’s FansProject to the rescue. I can’t wait for Explorer and Munitioner.

Combaticons… Transform and Roll Out!