This is something I wanted to do for a while now. I rounded up Optimus and all my Season 1 Carbots in some kind of MP form and assembled them for a group photo! I had almost all of them in alt mode in pure happenstancce, so I only had to transform a few into their vehicle forms to get them all ready to roll out!

Feast your optics on the pics below.

This is the lineup, in order of purchase:

• MP-12 Lambor (aka Sideswipe)
• Optimus Prime (US Version, equivalent of MP-10 Convoy)
• MP-17 Prowl
• MP-18 Streak (aka Bluestreak)
• MP-20 Wheeljack
• MP-27 Ironhide
• MP-30 Ratchet
• MakeToys Gundog (aka Hound)
• MP-39 Sunstreaker
• MakeToys Downbeat (aka Jazz)
• X-Transbots Aegis (aka Trailbreaker)
• Transform Element Phantom (aka Mirage)

Some of these characters can be represented by other MP style figs that I have. Such is the case with Optimus and Mirage. For Optimus, I could have used Transform Element OP Leader. But he was in robot mode and I didn’t feel like doing the work to get him in alt mode. I have done one round trip transformation with OP Leader so I know it’s a challenging process. Plus I would’ve had to use the MP-10 trailer anyways. For Mirage, I also have DX-9 Invisible. But Transform Element Phantom is the newer figure, and most would agree it’s the superior figure. So Phantom wins.

I have some new MP figs on pre-order that will update some of these. One figure is Fans Toys Jive, who is their version of Jazz. Another is MP-56, the official MP Trailbreaker. The pics of both of these look excellent, and I’m curious how much superior they will be to Downbeat and Aegis, respectively. I can’t wait to get them.

I like to get all the Season 1 Minibots in some kind of MP form as well, so all my Season 1 Autobots would be complete in MP form. I got Bumblebee, Brawn (Fans Toys Hunk), Huffer (Fans Toys Rig), and Cliffjumper (X-Transbots Toro). I just need Windcharger and Gears. Time to look at some 3P MP options for these 2.

I’m gonna transform them all into their robot selves and then assemble them again for another group photo. That may take a while. But it shall be done.

Autobots… Transform and Roll Out!
 

Today I am going to show off even more of my 3rd party TFs using these awesome decals.

Fans Toys Grenadier – clear backing
 

Fans Toys Hunk – clear backing
 

MakeToys Downbeat – white backing
 

A quick word about Hunk – I’m not sure why the contrast between the decal and chest is so bad on the pic. Must be bad lighting. The contrast of the red decal against the light orange chest is much more evident when looking at the fig in person. Here is a review of Hunk – see the pics there.

Links to previous decals:

• MP10V, Big Yellow Bee, Mercenary
• Gundog, Sovereign, Gewalt

Transform and Roll Out.

 

CHUG Lineup

• War For Cybertron Earthrise Optimus Prime
• Studio Series 86 Grimlock
• Studio Series 86 Jazz
• War For Cybertron Kingdom Warpath
• War For Cybertron Earthrise Trailbreaker

 

3P MP Lineup

• Transform Element OP Leader (TE-01)
• Fans Toys Grinder (FT-08) with Dinohead
• MakeToys Downbeat (MTRM-09)
• Fans Toys Sheridan (FT-41)
• X-Transbots Aegis (MX-8T)

 

Who wore it better? You decide.

Transform and Roll Out!
 

September 2018 is full of TF goodies. I bought products of all kinds: official, 3rd party, and 4th party!

• Power of the Primes Novastar, amazon.com, $16.99

• Power of the Primes Rodimus Unicronus, Target, $44.99

• Power of the Primes Quintus Prime, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Solus Prime, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Megatronus, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Punch-Counterpunch, amazon.com, $24.99

• Bumblebee Bumblebee, Walmart, $4.93

• Cyberverse Shockwave, Target, $14.99

• Masterpiece Movie Series Barricade, tfsource.com, $79.99

• NBK Excavator, eBay seller, $11.81

• NBK Crane, eBay seller, $12.74

• MakeToys Downbeat, tfsource.com, $99.99

• DX9 Richthofen, eBay seller, $62.17

When I first started tracking my monthly purchases, back in Feb of 2012, I pretty much just listed the TFs along with where I got it and for how much. Somewhere along the line, I thought it would be cool to also include pics of each fig opened. Then I kinda went into mini-reviews of each fig. One of the more recent purchase post that I did was for July 2018. These kind of posts take way too long to do. Digging out the figures, taking pictures of them, then writing about them takes a lot longer than one realize. I’m never gonna catch up to where I am currently (July 2020) at this rate.

So today I’m going old school. Much like Feb 2012, I’m just gonna say a few bits about each. These posts are more about what I bought, and not reviews. Here we go.

Novastar

Novastar will always be Firestar for those of us hardcore enough in G1 to know better. I’m guessing the name change is for legal trademark reasons, as I can easily see the term Firestar used elsewhere. Power of the Primes Novastar is a repaint of Moonracer from the same line. And as such, this figure has all the same strengths and weaknesses. The biggest weakness is that giant kibble of a backpack in robot form. She’s also a bit of a shell-former.

Novastar does get a new unique head mold and different weapons, so there are some redeeming features here. Of course G1 enthusiasts like myself will be buying this figure, if purely for G1 nostalgia. Seeing physical manifestation of something designed in the 80s is more than enough reason to reach nerdgasm.

Go to the post for Moonracer for a more detailed discussion of the figure.

Rodimus Unicronus

The 2nd repaint this month is Rodimus Unicronus. This is a repaint of Power of the Primes Evolution Rodimus Prime. I sort of reviewed Evolution Rodimus Prime in that post, but I did kind of skimp on the details. This figure does need a more detailed treatment, but that’s for another day.

Fans seem to be very divided on Evolution Rodimus Prime. There are those that love the figure, like me. And then there are the haters. If you’re like me, you like how the figure has 4 molds, representing all the forms of both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. The depiction is G1 accurate, and while the figure is not perfect, all forms are more than decent. If you’re a hater, then you don’t like the giant shoulders and giant back kibble in Rodimus Prime robot mode, the long arms of Hot Rod robot mode, and the puzzle-forming.

With Rodimus Unicronus, I thought I was getting the same fig as Evolution Rodimus Prime, just with different colors and a different head mold. That would have been sufficient. I’m sad to point out that Rodimus Unicronus is constructed so poorly that this feels like an entirely different figure. The prime (pun intended) culprit is the super loose hips of the large robot mode. Rodimus Unicronus weighs quite a bit with all pieces attached in robot mode, and the weak hips can barely support it in A-stance. Never mind posing him in any other stance in this mode. In the RV vehicle mode, pieces don’t seem to come together as well, when compared to Evolution Rodimus Prime. Connecting the car to trailer takes more work, and attaching the arms on top of the trailer is literally a chore. Getting everything lined up and flush seems impossible.

I cannot recommend this figure. Bad build has deemed this unplayable. Get Evolution Rodimus Prime, but stay away from this.

Quintus Prime, Solus Prime, Megatronus

This month features 3 more Prime Masters. I normally don’t pay much attention to “Master” figs. I feel like they’re not fully qualified figs, more like accessories. But I love Prime Masters, something I’ve mentioned repeatedly on this blog. I like that they’re both Targetmasters and Pretenders rolled into one. Yes I hate Pretenders, but only for full-sized figs. For accessory figs, I actually think it’s kinda cool.

I gave stellar reviews to Prime Masters in months past (see Jan 2018 and July 2018), and the 3 featured this month is no exception. I love how the shells are homages to G1 Pretenders. Quintus Prime is Bludgeon, Solus Prime is Octopunch, and Megatronus is Bomb-Burst.

Mechanically, these 3 don’t offer anything beyond a painfully simple transformation scheme, similar to all Prime Masters before them. But again, I see them more as accessories. So any transformation is better than none, no matter how simple. And at $4.99 each, you really can’t lose.

Punch-Counterpunch

Power of the Primes Punch-Counterpunch is a fig that I have been waiting for some time. I’m partial to figs that I own, and yes I have G1 Punch-Counterpunch. I still remember the day that I bought him. My parents dropped me off at the mall while they had some business to attend to. They gave me some spending money, which was rare. I ran straight to the toy store (I think it was KB Toys, but not sure anymore). I looked long and hard at all the Transformers, and after about 2 hours I decided to buy Punch-Counterpunch. Even the check-out clerk commented to me about my long decision.

For those that don’t know, Punch-Counterpunch is a “Double Agent”. He has both an Aubobot robot mode and a Decepticon robot mode, named Punch and Counterpunch respectively. And one car alt mode. (Sidebar: The only other fig in the entire TF-verse that has this twin robot feature is TF Animated Shockwave.) Punch is in reality an Autobot, but he transforms into Counterpunch to infiltrate the Decepticon ranks and gather intel. He had a very short appearance in Season 4 Rebirth episode 1. As Counterpunch he stumbled on Pounce and Wingspan up to no good, and tried to take them down as Punch. For that effort, he got his ass handed to him.

PotP Punch-Counterpunch is a fig that was worth the wait. As far as I can tell, he’s a brand new mold, designed specifically to be the character. The overall transformation scheme is similar to G1, but more advanced. The legs have panels that extend and wrap around the car mode. That’s probably the biggest difference.

As Punch, the robot mode looks pretty good. I think the car bits that form the shoulders are too long, and they could have perhaps did a better job to compact them in a bit more. But that’s my only gripe about this mode. The car alt mode is absolutely gorgeous. It feels solid and cohesively formed. There is room under the car to store the weapon, and even with that there’s enough clearance to have the car roll on a flat surface. As Counterpunch, I find no weaknesses in the robot mode. Even the red Autobot hands are flipped in for the blue Decepticon hands to flip out. Very very cool. Of course in G1 he had a completely separate set of forearms, but I like this interpretation equally well.

Punch-Counterpunch comes with another Prime Master, Prima Prime. He also comes with another Combiner War style accessory, that forms either the hand or feet for a Combiner. It’s a mystery to me why Punch-Counterpunch would need such an accessory. It’s possible that Punch-Counterpunch can be used as a limb to a Combiner.

My only gripe about this whole package is that he only comes with one weapon, the yellow pistol. In G1, that was only the weapon for Punch, while Counterpunch had a black rifle. Also, in G1, the yellow pistol was twin-barrel, while this new PotP version is single barrel. A minor gripe, but something to point out to all the G1 purists.

I recommend PotP Punch-Counterpunch with no reservation.

Bumblebee

I only got this Bumblebee because I was looking forward to the movie Bumblebee. And this is the first time in a LONG time that we got a mass retail Bumblebee that transforms into an official VW Bug. Plus at this small size, it reminds me of G1 Bumblebee. To this day, this figure remains the only figure I bought from Bumblebee. Yes I got Studio Series 38 Optimus Prime, but I consider that more Studio Series, and not Bumblebee.

All in all, this is an ok fig. Nothing wrong with fig itself, but nothing to write home about either. How you think this fig would transform is exactly how it does. Purchase of this is fig is completely optional.

Shockwave

The whole Cyberverse line of toys caught me completely by surprise. I was not expecting them at all, then one day at Target I saw Cyberverse Ultimate Class Optimus and Megatron. Warrior Class figs appeared soon after that. Many online reviewers gave glowing reviews to Shockwave, so I bought one.

I already went into this figure in this post. Overall, he’s ok. To summarize, he’s easy to transform. The gimmicks are kinda entertaining. The robot mode is unmistakably Shockwave, but the alt mode could be more G1 if you ask me. I’m not really feeling this walking tank. Cyberverse figs reminds me of Robot in Disguise figs. They feel like cheap plastic held together by even cheaper ball joints. Good for young children to mess with for a few hours, but collectors need not bother.

If you have a thing for Shockwave, then this fig should do you no wrong. For everyone else, this is not a required purchase by any stretch of the imagination.

Barricade

Masterpiece Barricade is a figure worthy of your time. I gave my thoughts in that same post mentioned earlier for Shockwave. Movie Masterpieces are designated MPM. I guess that’s short for MP Movie. To this day, MPM Barricade remains the only fig I have from this line. I am tempted to buy more MPMs, but I’m a G1 guy at heart and MPMs just aren’t a priority.

Truth be told, I only bought MPM Barricade because he was on sale. But I’m glad I did. MPM Barricade is the only Barricade you need in your collection. I have 3 other deluxe Barricades, and none of them are all that good. MPM Barricade fixes all that and more. He feels weighty in your hands, with high quality plastic used throughout the fig. There could be some die-cast, but I’m not sure. The alt mode is a great representation of the Ford Mustang as a police car, and the robot mode is the most screen accurate Barricade that HasTak has produced. The paint job on this figure is superb. Transformation is tad challenging, but nowhere near impossible. He only comes with one accessory, which is that spinning blade thing we see him use in the movie. The arm does need to be transformed a bit to attach the accessory.

MPM Barricade gets a strong recommendation from me. If you love movie figs, this is a required purchase.

Excavator, Crane

Here are two more 4th party NBK Constructicons. The first one I got was Bulldozer, and the next one I got was Scraper. At this point, I think I was buying them more to complete the set. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad figs. Not in the least.

Excavator is another fine addition in this NBK line. He’s not quite as good as Bulldozer, but better than Scraper, in my opinion. Both modes look good and the transformation is fun. The overall transformation scheme is fairly G1 accurate. My only gripe about this figure is that the excavator arm in robot mode is way too big. When attached, the fig becomes back heavy. It can be removed, but I didn’t try it. However it should be noted that this is a common problem among all modern Scavenger figures.

I would say Crane is the weakest figure in this line so far. The alt mode is quite solid, everything coming together with no issues. The crane arm works too, which is a plus. The robot mode is where this thing falls apart. Bad construction hurts this figure. Some parts of the robot becomes a floppy mess. Of note is the crane arm in robot mode. It doesn’t really stay in place on the back, and having it angled over the shoulder is even worse. I do wonder if the genuine article of this figure is better constructed.

Downbeat

As of this writing, if you want a Jazz in your MP collection, then go with Downbeat. There is not a better G1 MP Jazz on the market right now. I sort of featured Downbeat back in this post. Jazz is my favorite TF character of all time. I had to have him in MP form, and I got sick of waiting for HasTak to do it. So it’s MakeToys to the rescue.

Downbeat gets a strong recommendation from me on all counts. He looks good in both modes. Transformation is a pleasure, just challenging enough to be fun yet not frustrating. Overall transformation scheme follows the G1 paradigm, and not something out of left field. The looks of the figure is completely G1 accurate, in both modes. The aesthetics of the robot mode is simple, much like the animation. The door panels in robot mode can be hidden or flipped out, so you get to configure Jazz like the show or the toy. He comes with plenty of accessories (rifle, shoulder rocket launcher, grappling hook, and more). Downbeat is the perfect Jazz package.

Some fans complain about the alt mode, where from the back you can see bits hang down below the rear bumper. Honestly, when you see the figure in hand, it’s not that bad. It looks worse than it is in pictures. Personally I would not let this issue keep you from buying an otherwise great figure.

As of this writing, Fans Toys have announced their plans for Jazz. Fans Toys is generally considered the best in the business for 3P TFs. But FT’s plans for Jazz could literally be years away. FT announced their plans for Blitzwing more than 2 years ago, and so far we only see renders. Only Primus knows how long before FT Jazz really materializes. In the mean time, go with MakeToys Downbeat. I’ve had mine for almost 2 years now. FT Jazz may indeed be better, but Downbeat is already at the party. How long you want to wait for FT Jazz to show up is up to you.

Richthofen

Richthofen is another great 3P MP figure this month. I featured DX9’s Powerglide here and here.

Richthofen is the best MP Powerglide on the market now. And I’m not aware of any future attempts on a MP Powerglide. Richthofen has a fun, intuitive transformation. Both modes look extremely good and very G1 accurate. The build is super solid. Perhaps too solid, as some joints are a bit too tight. On the first run of this figure, some fans complained of loose tail fins. So on the 2nd run (which is what I have), DX9 may have over-corrected. But I rather have joints too tight than too loose.

Richthofen comes with a figure of Astoria, and his chest panel flips up to reveal a molded-on heart pattern. Powerglide is such a playa. He gets a girl on Earth, but still has his piece back on Cybertron (Moonracer).

That’s a lot of figs this month. Sometimes I don’t realize how much I buy in a month, til I do these kind of posts. The must-haves this month are Downbeat, Richthofen, Barricade, and Punch-Counterpunch. Everything else is optional.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

Only official products were purchased in July of 2018. No 3rd or 4th party products. Most figs come from the Power of the Primes line. That’s the flavor of the month.

Also, with the exception of the Terrorcons, everything came in pairs. Read on below.

• Power of the Primes Blot, Walmart, $16.82

• Power of the Primes Sinnertwin, Walmart, $16.82

• Power of the Primes Cutthroat, Walmart, $16.82

• Power of the Primes Alchemist Prime, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Alpha Trion, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Outback, Target, $9.99

• Power of the Primes Cindersaur, Target, $9.99

• Studio Series Jazz, Walmart, $19.87

• Studio Series Lockdown, Walmart, $19.87

• Cyber Battalion Jetfire, Walgreens, $17.99

• Cyber Battalion Sideswipe, Walgreens, $17.99

Blot, Sinnertwin, Cutthroat

Power of the Primes Terrorcons were featured back in this post. Read all about them there. In short, I highly recommend them. If you can only get one combiner team from the Prime Wars Trilogy, get this team.

Alchemist Prime and Alpha Trion

I have mentioned that I really like Prime Masters. They are inexpensive, fun, adds play value to other TFs, and is a great homage to their G1 roots. Alchemist Prime and Alpha Trion continues this trend. G1 purists will immediately recognize their shells as Submarauder and Landmine. Sidebar: the only other time I have mentioned Submarauder is in this post. Landmine was never mentioned on this blog, til now.

There’s really not a whole lot to say about Prime Masters, because they’re all kind of the same. I’ll just let the pics below do the talking.

Outback

Power of the Primes Outback is a repaint of Titans Return Brawn. Read that review for all the details. As for mold variations, the only difference is the head.

In G1, Outback was also a repaint of Brawn. Outback appeared in G1 Season 3. I personally don’t remember him all that much. Get this toy if you don’t have TR Brawn, is a G1 completist, or if you feel for the character. I’ll present some pics of Outback here, in robot and alt modes.

Cindersaur

Power of the Primes Cindersaur is a repaint of Power of the Primes Slash, which I sort of reviewed here. I recommend Slash, and so I recommend Cindersaur as well. Cindersaur gets a new head mold. Other than that, these 2 molds are exactly the same. This smells like another Hasbro cash-grab repaint. The raptor alt mode bears no resemblance to his G1 monster form, other than being a bipedal beast. I can’t comment on the G1 accuracy of the new head mold.

If you already have Slash, then should you skip Cindersaur? That may be a wise choice if you are basing this purely on the toy. Keep in mind, however, that Cindersaur was a G1 character, while Slash was not. Though Cindersaur never made it to the G1 US cartoons. Cindersaur is part of a little known sub-group called the Firecons. The only other time I even mentioned Firecons on this blog is in this post. Will Hasbro release updates to the other 2 Firecons? That all depends on what else they can find to repaint.

Pics below.

Jazz

I have already reviewed Studio Series Jazz, so I won’t repeat any of that here. To summarize, I give him a weak recommendation: this is a fun figure with a nice paint job and an awesome alt mode, but ruined by a robot mode with way too much back-kibble and small size. Read that review to get all the details.

Here I will show off SS Jazz with the cardboard movie backdrop.

Lockdown

At first glance, Studio Series Lockdown looks like he may be a slight tweak off of The Last Knight Hot Rod. But comparing the two side by side, it’s obvious that SS Lockdown is a brand new mold. In fact, I wrote that Hot Rod post after I received SS Lockdown already, and in the post I mentioned that this is brand new.

In robot mode, SS Lockdown resembles his movie designs. He’s not that poseable, and I don’t like that the hands are molded onto the forearms/car-side-panels. But he makes up for it with the amount of detail. He also comes with two weapons: a sword, and a retractable claw type thing. He’s got very little kibble. The side robot profile below shows that the back cleans up very nicely.

Transformation to alt mode follows the same scheme that TLK Hot Rod does, so I won’t go into too much detail. I like the way the alt mode comes together though. This figure works just as well as TLK Hot Rod does in alt mode. Below are some comparison pics: SS Lockdown on the left, TLK Hot Rod on the right.

In short, I recommend SS Lockdown. This figure is several times better than Age of Extinction Lockdown. If you already have AoE Lockdown, sell that figure and get this one.

Jetfire and Sideswipe

I was first introduced to Cyber Battalion when I was in Shanghai. Me and Gemini were exploring the city, when we found a Toys R Us inside one mall. Of course we had to stop by. I purchased Cyber Battalion Starscream on the trip.

I opened the figure after I got back to the States. Cyber Battalion Starscream is definitely on the simple side, but I thought the figure wasn’t too shabby. He’s fun to play with, is very durable, and most importantly, scales nicely with other CHUGs. It’s possible that last point only applies to Starscream (and other Cyber Battalion Seekers, if they exist). For CHUG, he’s too small as a deluxe. But he would be the same size as Megatron at voyager. So this Cyber Battalion size is perfect. I looked forward to possible Cyber Battalion releases in the US.

As it turns out, Cyber Battalion figures would be released in the States as Walgreens exclusives. Why Walgreens is getting into exclusive TF action is beyond me. And the term Cyber Battalion is never used in the US; the boxes simply say Transformers with a Generations logo in the corner.

I bought Jetfire and Sideswipe from Walgreens, because my impression from Starscream is positive. I hate to say it, but Jetfire and Sideswipe aren’t very good. Jetfire is a slight remold of Starscream. This mold as Jetfire just doesn’t work. It makes Jetfire way too simplistic. And the scale is completely off; Jetfire should be much, much bigger. And as for Sideswipe, he feels too big to be in Cyber Battalion scale. This is a very simple Transformer, even more so than Jetfire and Starscream. At this size, with this minimal complexity, I feel like I’m playing a Fisher Price Transformer. Also, he does not come with any weapons. Articulation for both is a non-priority. Maybe the target audience of these figs is preschool to 1st grade. Mature collectors need not bother.

As of this writing, I have already sold these 2 on eBay, so I’m not adding them to my TF Count. Gemini has Jetfire. He agrees it sucks, but he kept it for his son to play with. I’m thinking I should have kept these for my baby girl. On well.

I mentioned that all TFs came in pairs, other than the Terrorcons (which came in 3). All pairs were bought on the same trip to their respective store. In case it wasn’t obvious enough, these are the pairs:

• Alchemist Prime and Alpha Trion – Target
• Outback and Cindersaur – Target
• Jazz and Lockdown – Walmart
• Jetfire and Sideswipe – Walgreens

Will this ever happen again? Who knows. Everything was actually bought in store this month. That’s becoming more and more rare, given the internet shopping age that we live in.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

MP Optimus returns with a different team of MP Autobots to give the Decepticons some serious beat down.

This is Team 4. Here were the previous teams: Team 1, Team 2, Team 3.

• Optimus Prime
• Grapple
• Downbeat (aka Jazz)
• Toro (aka Cliffjumper)
• Sunstreaker
• Artifex (aka Hoist)

With the exception of Optimus Prime, all other MP figs were acquired in the last two years. Not only that, half these figs are 3rd party. Just goes to show how far the 3Ps have come.

The only one that I will not wholeheartedly recommend here is Artifex (Hoist). He’s a good display piece in both robot and alt modes, but during transformation the figure is somewhat flimsy. I intend to get a different representation of MP Hoist at some point.

I transformed Optimus a bunch of times. Downbeat I transformed several times. Sunstreaker, Grapple, Toro, and Artifex I have only transformed once, from alt mode to robot mode. I need to give these figs more love.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

We are finally at the end of 2017. Long time coming, but better late than never.

Unlike last month, this month is all official Hasbro products. This month also sees the introduction of the new Hasbro Generations line: Power of the Primes!

• Power of the Primes Jazz, amazon.com, $15.00

• Power of the Primes Dreadwind, amazon.com, $15.00

• Power of the Primes Windcharger, Walmart, $9.84

• Power of the Primes Slash, Walmart, $9.84

• Power of the Primes Beachcomber, amazon.com, $12.00

• Power of the Primes Starscream, amazon.com, $24.99

• Titans Return Cosmos, Target, $5.14

• Titans Return Shuffler, Target, $2.48

Power of the Primes is the 3rd arc in the Prime Wars Trilogy, the first 2 being Combiner Wars and Titans Return. This is the current line in the universe of what fans label CHUG (Classics, Henkei, Universe, Generations). I sort of went into the timeline history of Power of the Primes back in this post for the Terrorcons. Anyway, the first Power of the Primes figures appeared this month. I also first previewed Power of the Primes figures back in this post. Now that I have them, how does each of them fare? Here are my grades:

Recommended:

• Beachcomber – Nice homage to G1 Beachcomber. Fun transformation with good robot and alt modes. Solid construction and nice paint job.
• Windcharger – This figure is better than Combiner Wars Windcharger. It’s more G1 accurate.
  I like this as much as Reveal the Shield Windcharger.
• Slash – Good little Dino. Slash was not part of the original 5 G1 Dinobots, but I like that they took a Movie-verse character and made him in G1 style. Since he’s a raptor, a legend size figure makes sense. The toy is well built and has a fun transformation. Both modes are solid.

Not Recommended:

• Jazz – PotP Jazz is disappointing. Decent robot and alt modes, but nothing spectacular here. Transformation is derivative and lackluster. The panels behind the fists in robot mode really bug me. Construction is poor with some loose joints in robot mode and some REALLY bad connections in combined mode. As a limb Jazz does not connect well to both CW body components and the fist/feet add-on piece.
• Dreadwind – This is yet another re-work of old figures. He has some new mold bits, but nothing that hides the overall motif of the CW Aerialbot. He does combine with Blackwing (to be released later) in alt mode, but the combined super jet seems forced and tacked-on. As a limb, the connections are poor too.
• Starscream – Weird body proportions in robot mode, and way too bulky in jet mode. Decent as a body component for a combiner. This mold is really meant for Elita-One (to be released later). Get that figure instead.

I did not open Cosmos and Shuffler. I bought these two only because they were half off. I have Generations Thrilling 30 Comsos, which is the exact same thing with minor paint app differences. See this post for in-depth comparison. I imagine Shuffler is not terribly different from the many Titan Masters out there. There was a G1 Shuffler, in Japan only and supposedly super rare. I know nothing about Shuffler the character.

Some group pics of the opened TFs this month.

This is the last of my purchase posts for 2017. Time to move onto 2018. Transform and Roll Out!
 

Welcome to my first review of a Movie Studio Series figure. And what better figure to do than Jazz, my favorite TF of all time! OK, maybe he’s not my favorite in the Moive-verse since he dies on the first outing. But he’s my favorite from G1, so there.

As always let’s first take a look at the mode he comes packaged in.

Jazz looks pretty good in robot form. Love the silver paint.

Articulation is not the greatest. Shoulder movement is quite limited, and there is no waist swivel whatsoever. Leg articulation is decent.

He comes with one radar looking gun type accessory. We have seen this before on other movie Jazz figures. The Human Alliance Jazz figure comes to mind.

Back view of Jazz. That’s a bit too much kibble for my liking.

Up close and personal. The head sculpt is ok.

There’s no sugar coating this: Jazz is a small figure. Yes I know they did this for scale reasons, but I’m not sure he’s supposed to be this small. And considering Jazz is priced the same as other deluxe figures, this kinda feels like a rip-off. SS Jazz is with PotP Outback in the pic below. Jazz is just a tad bigger than legend size.

I enjoyed Jazz’s transformation to the Pontiac Solstice. This figure is well built, and the transformation implements satisfying folds and clicks throughout the process. He’s not terribly difficult to do, which makes the figure a good piece to just pick up and play.

Jazz looks amazing in alt mode. The silver paint really comes through in this mode.

One complaint I have about the alt mode is that it’s hard to get everything flush. In these pics, you can still see lots of gaps between the panels. I fiddled with this for a long time and this is the best I can get it. It’s not MP Rodimus Prime bad, but I feel like it could have been better.

Underside of the vehicle (yes I said underside).

SS Jazz with HA Jazz. Again, notice how small he is.

There is room for the weapon in alt mode, but it just looks plain silly.

Overall, I give movie Studio Series Jazz a weak recommendation. There are a lot of positives here: the nice silver paint, awesome looking alt mode, fun and satisfying transformation, and solid construction. But that’s countered by some negatives too: the back kibble, the limited articulation, panels in alt mode that are hard to align, and most importantly, the small size. Still, I think the good here outweighs the bad, and so the scales tip in Jazz’s favor. And this figure does score high on originality points. There are not many other toys in the entire Transformers line that remind me of this figure.

Jazz is here to remind you to “do it with style or don’t bother doing it.” I’m here to remind you to “Transform and Roll Out.”

 

Hasbro recently released these images of their next batch of figures, after official completion of Titans Return. Apparently the next line will be called Power of the Primes. I don’t know if I care for that name, but these rendered images are looking awesome! Check it out.

These are beautiful renders, and the images are big enough to double as wallpaper at 1920 x 1080. Very nice job Hasbro!

Here are some of my initial thoughts as I look at these:

Beachcomber – looking great. This figure will complete the last of the G1 Season 2 Mini-Bots. Both modes look good, and a Titan Master can ride in alt mode. Must get for me.

Dreadwind – it’s good to see Hasbro bringing back more Powermaster characters. This mold is really just a re-worked Aerialbot fig from Combiner Wars, but they did enough changes to justify this release. Plus they also plan to release Darkwing. And if you’re the G1 purist asking if the jets will combine into a super jet -the answer is YES! Hasbro did not forget their roots. I saw a vid of someone on YouTube doing this. The super jet does look kinda awkward, but I’m not sure the guy did it right. Another must get for me.

Jazz – I love Jazz. Don’t know how many times I mentioned that on this blog, but Jazz was my favorite Autobot growing up in the 80s. Any Jazz figure released in the CHUG-verse is an automatic purchase for me. Now the only question is how he will fare against Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz. I know Hasbro can’t call him Jazz on the package for licensing reasons, so they go with Autobot Jazz. I never liked that. Calling him Special Ops Jazz was much better.

Liege Maximo – I normally don’t care for Titan Masters as an individual purchase, but this guy is obviously Skullgrin so I might make an exception here. The name Liege Maximo may have its origins in a Marvel or IDW continuity.

Rodimus Prime – Finally! A worthy update of everyone’s Autobot leader not named Optimus Prime! This is the leader class Rodimus Prime we have been waiting for. This figure is both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime, kind of like the Classics Rodimus figure with the FansProject Protector add-on kit. This is the figure that everyone will be buying. At leader class, I guess he won’t scale so well with TR Galvatron. But maybe that means a leader class Galvatron is coming? I hope so.

Starscream – I love Starscream. At voyager class he is finally the right size. They’ve made voyager class figures for the Movie-verse, but this may be the first in CHUG-verse. And a F-22 Raptor no less! Robot mode looks awesome, but the jet mode may have a lot of bulk underneath. I’ll reserve final thoughts for when I see the figure.

So yeah, all are required purchases for me. Maybe not Liege Maximo, but you never know.

Here’s a good look at these figs at SDCC. Man I wish I could go to SDCC. I will get there one day.

It’s time for Power of the Primes! Transform and Roll Out!

 

June of 2015 is Robots in Disguise month! Check out all the RiD figs below. There are some third party items here too.

• Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime, Walmart, $14.97

• Robots in Disguise Drift, amazon.com, $12.80

• Robots in Disguise Jazz, Target, $14.99

• Perfect Effect Perfect Combiner PC-02 Upgrade Set, tfsource.com, $32.99

• Before & After Alpha Launcher for MP-18 Bluestreak, tfsource.com, $14.95

• ToyWorld Grimshell (Corelock), tfsource.com, $149.95

Before this month, I only bought one RiD figure. That was Grimlock from back in January. I was not terribly impressed with RiD Grimlock. So you might be wondering why I bought all these RiD figs here. Truth be told, I only bought them because there wasn’t a whole lot of other TFs on the shelves. Combiner Wars was in a slight retail pause, and my 3rd party orders haven’t come in yet. But I’m glad I got the RiD figs here. Drift is a great one. If you can only get one RiD fig here, get Drift. Both modes are good, transformation is fun, and build construction of the toy is solid. I love his twin swords. Jazz is a nice one too. I don’t know if I’m feeling that spear/gun weapon, but the figure itself is a worthy addition to Jazz. The Optimus Prime figure is not great, but not bad. There’s some fun stuff going on here, but overall he’s too simple and too small. It’s kind of the same gripes that I have for Grimlock. Though Grimlock is getting (or has gotten) a bigger, beefier version for the collectors. I hope OP gets the same treatment.

Now onto those 3rd party accessories. Perfect Combiner PC-02 Upgrade Set is meant to enhance Combiner Wars Menasor. I got some picks from back in this post. Most fans seem to be gushing over these sets, which is why I got them. I don’t know. I think they’re ok, but in my opinion they don’t add that much to the combined form. Maybe I’m expecting too much. Alpha Launcher for MP-18 Bluestreak by Before & After is an excellent upgrade! I got one pic below that shows it off. I like how the MP toy designers incorporated launchers as part of the transformation. But they are more reflective of Bluestreak’s cartoon look, and they look a tad small. With these Alpha Launchers, Bluestreak now has the firepower to be the true gunner that he’s meant to be. This upgrade set also comes with decals for the MP that are much like the decals of the original G1 toy. I did’t put them on. But know that it’s an option for those that like their figures all decked out with decals.

I have written about ToyWorld Grimlock several times already. He’s officially listed as Grimshell on the box, but sometimes he is listed as Corelock on store sites. Anyway, I have raved on and on about this figure here and here. So I won’t repeat my G1 fanboy praises yet again. Just go read those.

Below is a group photo of the bunch (minus the upgrade set for Menasor).

Transform and Roll Out.