In the past I have assembled all my Optimus Prime figures for a group photo. Similarly, the leader of the Decepticons deserves a group shot of his own, and that’s what I’m doing today. I dug out all my Megatron figures, scattered across shelves and closets, and combined them for one pic. If all these Megatron really joined forces, they would take over the world, if not the universe. That’s of course if they don’t start fighting among themselves.

With the exception of the Masterpiece (MP-05) and Classic Ultimate Battle 2-Pack, all my Megatrons are in alt modes. They appear in the pics below.

From left to right:
Top shelf: Titanium (GIJoe vs TF), Titanium (War Within), Generations Deluxe (War For Cybertron), Reveal the Shield Legend G1, Classic Voyager, TF Prime Voyager, TF United Voyager, DOTM Voyager, Hegemon
Bottom shelf: TF Animated Leader, TF Animated Voyager

Below is a pic of my unopened Megatrons.

Alternity (top left), Japanese G1 Re-issue (bottom left), Encore G1 Re-issue (right)

Two of my Megatrons are in storage, so I’ll just use pics that I took before.

Masterpiece MP-05 (the gun, duh)

Classic Deluxe G2, in the Ultimate Battle 2-Pack, top left

Some random thoughts as I look at all these Megatrons:
• I only have one Megatron from the Movie-verse. That tells you how much I like Bay’s re-imaging of the character. I only got the DOTM Voyager version because the toy itself is kinda cool. And that cape gimmick is unseen in the TF World.
• Most of these figures are pretty good, if not exceptional. The only one that I would not recommend is the TF Animated Voyager Megatron. This is one of those figs that I wish I could take back to the store, if I didn’t buy him online. Both alt and robot modes are weak, and there are constructions issues galore. Get any of the other Megs on here before this one.
• The Titanium GIJoe vs TF Megatron is also not that great, but his tank mode looks cool. And he’s quite heavy, something sorely lacking in today’s TFs. And for those reasons, I put him above the TFA Voyager.
• I can’t say which is my favorite Megatron on here. The MP is just a brilliant piece in TF engineering. Same goes for Hegemon. The TF Prime Voyager, TF Animated Leader, and WFC Deluxe are all very impressive figures. These are probably my top 5. Hard to put a rank on them, though.
• As for having multiples, I got 2 of the TF Animated Leader, 2 of the Japanese G1 Re-issue, 2 of the MP, and 2 of the RtS Legend fig. I got a 2nd TFA Leader fig because TRU was clearing them out one time for $20. As for the Japanese Re-issue, I was forced to buy 2. You can see the $130 price tag in the pic, which is for 2. I got this set from a dealer at AX. I figure at $65 per Meg, it’s still a good price. I got 2 MPs purely for the purpose of selling one later. I don’t even know if the MP has gone up in price. The RtS Legend Megs was only found at discount stores, for $3.99. First time was at Marshalls, and then some months later at Tuesday Morning.
• The most difficult of these to transform is without a doubt the MP, which I mentioned in this post (BTW, that post seriously needs an update).
• And speaking of transformation, maybe one day I’ll transform them all into robot mode and make another post. No time for that today.

Here are links to my other collection posts:
Optimus Prime
More Optimus Prime
Cliffjumper
Ratchet

Long Live Megatron! Transform and Roll Out!

I knew this day was coming. One purchase here, another one there, and before you knew it, I have amassed an army of 500 Transformers.

As of 8/13/2010, the TF count was 300. Almost 22 months later, I bought 200 more TFs. Doing the math and rounding down, that’s about 9 figures a month in this time span. That also translates to about 2 figures a week, or roughly 105 figures for a year.

9 TFs a month in about the last 2 years is definitely more than 4 a month in the 6+ years prior to that. What exactly accounted for this increase? I’m trying to draw some conclusions by looking at my TF List. It’s too bad I didn’t keep records of the dates of my purchases until this year, but I can still determine approximately what were the figures bought since August of 2010. There were about 43 DOTM figures, 23 TF Prime figures, 16 PCCs, 34 Reveal the Shields, and 31 Generations. All these I’m pretty certain came at or after Aug 2010. That brings the total to almost 150. Add in some misc purchases here and there, such as Star Wars and Marvel crossovers, the later figures from ROTF, some newer MPs, and 3rd party products, it’s easy to see how that brings the total to 200.

So what does this all mean? Well for one thing, it means that Hasbro released a freakin’ boatload of Transformers in this time span. The 3rd Transformers movie probably has something to do with that. And it also means I decided to buy many of the figures released. But looking back, I can’t think of that many TFs that I regret buying during this stretch. Sure there are some figures here and there that I wish I can return to the store, like some PCCs and some Star Wars stuff. But for the most part, I’m glad I bought most of these 200. In the last 22 months, it was rare for me to be sorely disappointed with a purchase. The logical conclusion to draw here is that the quality of the figures have really gone up.

Another big reason for all these TFs is I started hunting for them at discount stores (eg. Ross, Marshalls, TJMaxx, etc). Generally speaking, deluxes are usually $6 or $7 at these places, while Voyagers typically run for $10. Scouts or smaller are at $5 or less. At these prices, I don’t even blink and just grab the figure to checkout whenever I see something I want. And I found just about everything that was in mass retail at the discount stores, like the Movie figures, PCCs, Generations, the Crossovers, and Reveal the Shields (RtS). In fact, for RtS, very often I only found them at discount stores. At such low prices, I bought multiples of many figures, mostly from the CHUG-verse. Movie figures are generally very affordable regardless of where you buy them. However, with some TFs, there’s no getting around paying full MSRP. This is the case with TF Prime figures, the MPs, and of course the 3rd party products.

Still, 500 TFs is a lot. So this year I’m making an effort to not buy as many. As a rule, I stopped buying multiples (unless there’s a good reason, like for example the Vehicons, which sadly I still haven’t found any as of this writing). However, there are some good stuff on the horizon, such as the upcoming FOC figures, more TF Prime toys, and some Asia only exclusives. Keeping that count from growing will be difficult.

In the comments for the 300 post, Gemini said it won’t be long before I have 400, and danbugman said 300 won’t be nearly enough. Oh how right they were. 500 and growing… Long Live TFs! Transform and Roll Out!

I am a big fan of War For Cybertron. Later this year, perhaps around fall, the sequel Fall of Cybertron will be released. But what’s even better is that there will be figures from FOC! Just like WFC, figures from the sequel will be released in the Generations line.

The following pics are previews of all the deluxe figures planned for FOC. While we only got 5 figures from WFC (Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Cliffjumper), we’re gonna get so much more for FOC! That’s right TransFans. Hasbro loves you. They’re even doing a combiner team that really combines! No release dates are given yet, but most likely the 1st wave will hit store shelves around the same time as the game. Fall of 2012 will be the Fall of Cybertron! Hey, that makes me wonder if there are seasons on Cybertron.

All pics are courtesy of the Transformers Facebook page.

Jazz

Optimus Prime

Shockwave

Blast Off

Brawl

Onslaught

Swindle

Vortex

Bruticus

Kickback

Starscream

Sideswipe

Ultra Magnus

Fireflight

Fireflight doesn’t look right to me. I think this figure makes a better Strafe, with that head mold, alt mode, and the colors. But I like Aerialbots too, so I can live with it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting all of them. Transform and Roll Out!

Back in August of 2011, I featured this customized Generations Red Alert done by my buddy Gemini. He brought me the figure and the gun weapon, but he left the engine accessory at home in his possession. Some time later, he painted the engine piece and mailed it to me. I also did not take any pics of Red Alert in alt mode in that post. So Today I’m going to show off the painted engine on Red Alert in his sporty Lamborghini-inspired race car mode.

The silver paint and red and gold highlights on this particular accessory really adds that extra something. If you don’t believe me, take a look below at the painted with the unmodified, side by side.

After the custom paint, anyone can easily see just how dull the engine accessory really is in its original factory default colors. Hasbro should take a cue and learn from these pics. Some little paint touch up here and there can really add a lot.

The pic above shows off how the gun weapon is attached to Red Alert in alt mode. The gun basically becomes the exhaust. This piece is painted silver. Check out how much better this looks over the dull factory colors in this post.

Transform and Roll Out!

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone got what they wanted this Holiday season. There’s no better way to celebrate the Holidays than to get some new TFs! OK maybe there are, but new TFs are worth celebrating any time of the year. Below are some TFs that I received or found in the past week or so.

The pic above are the 3 Transformers Prime figures that are now out in mass retail. I went into TF Prime figures in this earlier post.

TRU Exclusive Rodimus appears in the lower left in the pic above. I have yet to open this, and I’m hoping this version is equivalent to the Japanese MP Rodimus Prime 2nd Release since the 1st Release is not without its faults. It will be interesting to see if this US version can attach the Japanese trailer in alt mode. In the lower right of the pic is PCC Double Clutch. Haven’t opened this either, but he seems promising for a PCC. In the upper left is the Walmart Exclusive Deluxe DOTM Optimus Prime. I opened this figure and he’s not half bad. The alt mode comes together well, transformation is not overly difficult, and I like the MechTech weapon. And last but not least, in the upper right is Skywarp. Did any of you out there think this is the Japanese Exclusive Takara DOTM Skywarp? Look carefully. It is inside the Japanese packaging, but it is actually a custom made by my buddy Gemini. He took a DOTM Deluxe Starscream and painted it into Skywarp. Very cool. Look for a review of this custom in a future post.

And finally, yesterday I found some Generations Junkheap. Wreck-Gar was such a pain in the ass to find when he was released. In fact, I didn’t find any in retail until this past November at discount stores. So I kept my eyes open for Junkheap. Last year a new Target opened near my home in SoCal that is within walking distance. I had some free time yesterday so I walked over. The trip paid off with these 2 Junkheaps.

This is probably the last post I will make for 2011. Looking back on 2011, I think I bought a record number of TFs for the year. It’s hard to say what Hasbro has in stored for us next year, but I’m curious to find out. See y’all in 2012! Transform and Roll Out!

About a year ago, I reviewed Generations Thunderwing. A repaint of this figure was finally released recently, also in the Generations line. Today we’re looking at Sky Shadow. Longtime TransFans already knew this was coming, because in the instructions for Thunderwing, the diagrams was illustrated with Sky Shadow’s head (go look at it if you don’t believe me). We didn’t expect Hasbro to take a year to do it, though.

I won’t go into the mechanics of this figure. Read the Thunderwing review to get my thoughts. I’ll just say that I really like the look of Sky Shadow. The black color fits well for a stealth jet fighter. I like the head mold, as its different from Thunderwing’s. The only other mold difference I detect is in the chest. Check out the pics for yourself.

Joints on Sky Shadow seems to be a little tighter than Thunderwing. Other than that, they are virtually the same mechanically.

If you missed your chance on Thunderwing, or if you just really like this mold (like I do), then by all means pick up Sky Shadow. It’s good to see Hasbro return to the Generations line. And I like the recent trend of making minor modifications when they release a repaint, so it doesn’t feel like you’re buying the exact same thing in a different color.

More TFs to come on Christmas… Transform and Roll Out!

EDIT 01/04/2012
Here is a pic of Sky Shadow with his arms raised completely forward. To do this you must rotate the shoulder guns to the side.

As the most recognizable character in the TF franchise, it’s no wonder that Hasbro keeps churning out new figures of the great Optimus Prime. Sometimes they are new incarnations, a brand new design of the Autobot leader that deserves to be made into a figure. Sometimes they are simply repaints or slight retools of a previous figure, in which case purchase of the figure is questionable. And sometimes Hasbro/Takara goes back to the drawing board, and gives us new and improved versions on a previous design of Optimus Prime.

On Nov 23rd, 2009, I made a post about all my Optimus Prime figures. That was more than 2 years ago, so I think it’s time for another update. Below are the Optimus Prime figures I have bought since that time. And just like Nov 23rd, 2009, I have nothing better to do today than watch football and make this post.

From left to right:
Front row: Reveal the Shield (G1, legend class), Dark of the Moon (commander class, with 3D glasses)
Middle row: Reveal the Shield (G2, deluxe class), Generations War For Cybertron (deluxe class), Animated (Cybertronian mode, deluxe class)
Top row: Dark of the Moon (voyager class, Walmart exclusive), Dark of the Moon (voyager class)

Below is a pic in their alt modes.

Below are two more Prime figs that I never opened.

Hunt for the Decepticons, Battle Hooks leader class (left), Hunt for the Decepticons, Battle Blades voyager class

I seriously thought I bought more OP figures in this 2 year span, but I guess this is it. Most of these were bought on the cheap too. The G1 legend figure was found at Marshalls for $3.99. The DOTM commander class figure I got for free. Deluxe Animated Prime I got from TRU when they were clearing them out, I think for $7.99. The Walmart exclusive DOTM OP figure was $18.77, but he came as a two pack with Comettor. As for the unopened Primes, Battle Hooks leader OP I got for $19.99 from Ross (you can still see the price tag in the pic). As for Battle Blades voyager Prime, I first got him when he was only $10 at HasbroToyShop.com. That one was defective however, so I returned it and I got him again from BBTS.com at regular price.

Interestingly enough, the only figure here that I have multiples of is the Reveal the Shield G2 Laser Optimus Prime. I guess it’s because I keep finding him at discount stores for cheap, and I need at least one extra to turn into Nemesis Prime / Scourge (in case Hasbro does not do one). It also helps that FansProject is releasing Battle Tanker. When that happens, this figure may be a sought after item.

In the words of Optimus Prime, Transform and Roll Out!

When I went to BotCon 2011, one of the TFs that I learned will be released is the 25th Anniversary Unicon. This is the same figure that was released in the TF Armada line, but slightly repainted to be more G1 Movie accurate. At the Con it was indicated he will be an Amazon exclusive, but I didn’t notice that from all the TF excitement so I actually didn’t learn this fact til later.

I saw some Armada Unicron figs when I first got back into TFs in 2004. Some stores were even clearing them out at around $50. At that time, spending that kind of money for TFs were unthinkable. Plus I really didn’t want figures this massive. So I missed my chance to get Unicron, a decision I’ve come to regret. Well no more! 7 yrs and 400+ TFs later, I’m almost completely immune to TF spending. Opportunity was knocking once again for me to get a Unicron, this time in a new color scheme that looks better than Armada’s if I dare say so. This figure was most definitely on my radar.

Being an Amazon exclusive meant I had to check the website often, especially with all the scalpers out there these days. This figure went up for sale late Aug and the scalpers quickly bought them all. I was beginning to think I would miss out again. But Amazon did release more later on, and so I got one last week as soon as I saw it was available. MSRP is $59.99.

Unicron is huge! He is without a doubt the biggest TF figure I own. Check out pics of him in the box below.

Gimmicks galore! Glowing eyes, light up fist, chest opening for missile, leg missiles, Kranix as Mini-Con, and much more.

Those are some insane stats!

• Strength: ∞
• Intelligence: ∞
• Speed: 10
• Endurance: ∞
• Rank: 10
• Courage: 10
• Fireblast: ∞
• Skill: 10

I threw in Rodimus in that last shot for size comparison. The star of the G1 Movie that destroys Unicron has to make an appearance if we’re talking about the Harbinger of Chaos.

Check Amazon often for Unicron’s availability. Do not pay dealer prices! As this very moment, he is available at MSRP direct from Amazon. Sometimes Amazon will sell out and there are no stock except from greedy scalpers, but don’t give in to their demands. I think Amazon withholds inventory to be released in phases for whatever reason, but they made more than enough. Just wait until its available again if you don’t see it.

I plan to open this soon. Unicron cannot be stopped! Transform and Roll Out!

One of the biggest differences between the US version of Generations Red Alert and the Japanese Henkei equivalent has to do with the color of Red Alert’s head. The Henkei figure has a red head, accurate to the G1 animated series and to the G1 toy. The US Generations figure, however, comes with a black head, same as Universe Sideswipe. So once again, fans on this side of the Pacific gets the less show accurate version. Personally I don’t think it’s a big issue, but many other G1 fans other than myself feels strongly against the mis-coloration.

And so my friend Gemini comes to the rescue (much like Red Alert himself). As a customizer he did an excellent job of painting Red Alert’s head red for me. While he was at it, he painted the gun silver. Check out pics below.

Customized and uncustomized version side by side.

With his good buddy Inferno.

I think a black head on Red Alert has a charm of its own, but as a G1-er I certainly appreciate a red-headed version. Now if only someone will make his G1 missile launcher…

Transform and Roll Out!

Here is a quick review of Generations Thundercracker. Much like the quick review for Generations Dirge, I’m just gonna point out some differences between the recently mass-released Generations Thundercracker and the semi-limited Henkei Thundercracker. I think all TransFans who are even remotely interested in Classics-verse figures are already familiar with this mold, so there’s no need for me to go in-depth.

As far as I know, the Generations figure is the third Thundercracker released in the Classics-verse. The first one was a Botcon 2007 exclusive (released with exclusives of Thurst and Dirge) and it was extremely limited. The second one produced was the Japanese only Henkei version. The price of the Henkei was more reasonable, but the figure still had a limited status so it wasn’t cheap either. I bought mine for about $60 to $70 at Botcon 2009 from BBTS so I could complete my Seeker squadron.

TransFans who bought Henkei Thundercracker will tell you that, construction wise, this is the worst figure produced by Hasbro/Takara of all the CHUG Seekers. The joints on this figure is way too loose. In jet mode its not too bad since everything comes together as one, but in robot mode the problems become obvious. The leg/hip joints swivel way too easily. The back wings do not stay up. And worst of all, the cannons do not stay on the arms! Seriously, shaking the figure just a little in robot mode, and the cannons come right off. Either the pegs are too small or the holes on the arms are too big. Many fans have resorted to buying the KO version of this figure even after they got the Henkei, simply because the KO version is better built. At one time I thought about buying the KO also. But then I kinda forgot, and before I knew it Hasbro announced they will be doing a mass release Thundercracker in the US in the Generations line. I got mine for about $12 and received it early this month. I’m happy to report that Generations Thundercracker have no quality issues. This is the figure to get. But there are paint and color variations between the two. Below I point out some key differences.

JET MODE:

• Generations is a darker shade of blue. I think Generations is more G1 accurate to the toy. More on this later.
• Generations has the nosecone painted black which is accurate to the G1 toy. Nosecone on Henkei is blue and that’s G1 accurate to the show. No preference from me here.
• The Decepticon symbols on the Generations fig have the crown towards the rear, while Henkei has it in the opposite orientation. I like the orientation on Generations better because when you transform into robot, the symbol will be right side up. Generations also has a silver outline around the symbols so they look better. Generations wins here.
• The red and white stripes on the wings and tail fins are slightly different. See the pics above. They both look good.
• Henkei has a small Decepticon symbol on the nosecone and Generations does not.

Check out the pic above with the 2 CHUG figures next to a G1-reissue. I know it’s hard to tell from this pic, but it looks to me like the blue on the Generations fig matches closer to G1.

ROBOT MODE:

• Henkei has chrome on the guns while Generations does not. This is about the only thing that is hands down better on the Henkei.
• Shoulder stripes on Generations are painted red while on Henkei they’re painted white.
• There’s a little bit of red painted near the waist on Generations. The same area on Henkei only has the base blue color.
• On the legs of the Henkei, there are panels near the knees that are painted silver and black. This same area on Generations is unpainted.
• Pattern on the shoulder/intake are different. Generations has little triangles painted red. Henkei has the base design painted black.
• I didn’t take a pic of this, but Henkei also has Decepticon symbols on the back of the wings (wing underside in jet mode). Generations does not.
• The launchers on Generations are mostly black. Henkei launchers are mostly blue.
• In the chest area near the cockpit, Generations is colored silver. The same area on Henkei is colored blue.
• There is a small Decepticon symbol on the chest of the Generations. Henkei does not have this.

One last thing that I wanted to point out are the missile launchers. On the Henkei, the missile shoots farther, but its kinda hard to press the button. Sometimes it feels like its stuck. With Generations, the missiles don’t fly as far, but pressing down on the button is not an issue.

Below is a pic of all my opened Thundercracker figures.

From left to right: Generations, Titanium, Henkei, Movie

In conclusion, I definitely recommend buying Generations over Henkei. It’s way cheaper and way better built. Only buy the Henkei if you must have that particular Thundercracker color scheme. Back in 2009, I had a feeling Hasbro would eventually mass produce Thundercracker, but wasn’t 100% certain so I bought a Henkei anyway. I should have more faith in my own TF instincts.

This reminds me, I still need to buy a MP Thundercracker. I’m hoping Hasbro will do one here in the US like they did Starscream and Skywarp (both Walmart exclusives). Transform and Roll Out!