Happy Holidays! Today I am documenting all the TFs acquired back in Dec of 2014. I fully realize that’s one whole year ago. I know… I’m getting behind on my blogging. It’s just so hard to find the time. I am beginning to think I should make more frequent blog writing my new years resolution. But that’s a story for another day. Here are the TFs for the last month of 2014.

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Prowl, Walgreens, $7.74

• MakeToys M-F-B, BBTS.com, $12.99
• DX9 004 Armor Set, BBTS.com, $44.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Brainstorm, BBTS.com, $26.99

TF Prime Beast Hunters Prowl is a repeat purchase. I got one back in June of 2014. The one this month was a random find at Walgreens. He’s rare, he was only $7.74, so I figured why not. I kept him unopened all this time. Maybe he will be worth something someday.

The DX9 004 Armor is for Age of Extinction Evasion Mode Optimus Prime. That figure is one of the first figs I got from the AoE line, and one of the best from that line. When I heard of a armor upgrade that would make him more like Powermaster Optimue Prime from the fifth toy season of G1, I was immediately intrigued. I never heard of DX9 at the time, but I looked at enough pics online to take a chance on this set. I am happy I bought the set. With the armor attached, the figure feels way more G1 like. I especially like the head mold. There are some tolerance issues though. The feet pieces are way too tight. You will need to either sand down the pegs on the feet pieces, or make the feet holes bigger on the figure. I only tried this upgrade set in robot mode. These same pieces also can attach in alt mode, but I didn’t try it.

The MFB from MakeToys is acronym for My First Blaster. I am told this weapon for Swerve makes an appearance in the comics by IDW. I won’t comment anymore as I’m no authority on the IDW-verse of TFs. The weapon itself is pretty cool. Be aware it does require some assembling. I’m a terrible model builder, so I already broke off one piece when assembling this. Also, this weapon is designed to go with MakeToys Trash-Talk, or their version of Swerve. This weapon will not operate with the official Hasbro Generations 30 version of Swerve (coincidentally also purchased in June of 2014). I bought it thinking that it would. The pegs are not the same size. Should have done my research first.

Last but not least, there is Generations Thrilling 30 Brainstorm. I first saw this at BotCon 2014. I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. I mean… if Hasbro was gonna venture into Headmasters, that opens up a whole world of possibilities on what they are willing to re-make in this modern era. I’m salivating just thinking about it! Anyways, Brainstorm is an excellent figure. He’s fairly simple in transformation, but in my opinion that’s a good thing. Modern TFs are so darn complicated sometimes that I just want something I can pick up and play. Brainstorm fits that bill. If I have the figure handy, I can sit there and transform him back and forth repeatedly, like I did all my TFs when I was a kid. Both modes look nice. As a voyager figure, he’s bigger than some of the third party Brainstorms that have been produced (such as Smart Robin). Oh, by the way, there are two versions of this figure. I got the fixed version, code 42791. Click here for more detail.

OK, that does it for the figs in 2014. Now I can move onto 2015… in 2016. I know… I suck. But I will get this done and get up to date like I used to be. Transform and Roll Out!

October always seem to be a busy month in terms of TF activity. In October of 2012, I set a personal record for most TFs purchases in a month. This month I may have set another new record, of a related but slightly different category. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. This will be a long post.

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

• Age of Extinction Optimus Prime Evolution 2-Pack, Toys R Us, $44.99

• MakeToys Quantron, tfsource.com, $399.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Jetfire, bbts.com, $46.99

• Fans Toys Scoria, bbts.com, $199.99

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Cyberverse Optimus Prime, bbts.com, $4.99

• Skrapnel with Reflector and Tailgate with Groundbuster, bbts.com, $21.99

• Nemesis Prime with Spinister and Cliffjumper with Suppressor, bbts.com, $21.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Waspinator, Skids, Goldfire, Dreadwing, bbts.com, $59.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Crosscut, Nightbeat, Windblade, Jhiaxus, bbts.com, $59.99

Age of Extinction Voyager Drift is a repaint of Skyhammer from Dark of the Moon. It appears they keep using this mold for Movie-verse figs. Skyhammer is one of my favorite figs from DotM, so I had to have this Drift. The figure is exactly the same, other than the head mold, the blue paint scheme, and the swords. Drift’s swords are kinda cool. He can use them separately in each hand, or have them combine into one huge sword.

I bought the Optimue Prime Evolution 2-Pack purely for the repaint of the Classic Prime mold. I love that figure, and this shiny new paint had my attention. The other Prime figure here is a repaint of Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from Age of Extinction. In retrospect, Evasion Mode Prime is one of the only few good figures from TF4, so I’m glad I have this repaint. I did not open this 2-Pack. The collector in me will probably just hold on to this as mint.

When I first head of MakeToys Quantron, I already made up in my mind that I had to have it. Quantron is an homage to the Technobots of G1, my favorite Autobot combiner team to come out of that era. Sure the Aerialbots are the most famous, but I think the Technobots are the coolest. I still remember buying Afterburner, my first fig from this awesome team. I loved his futuritic motorcycle mode. MakeToys Quantron wasn’t cheap. And I’m ashamed to say that as of this writing I still have not had the chance to play with this at all. I barely opened the box a few weeks ago to inspect the contents. Life as a working adult is way too hectic, and all of you reading should rue the day when you don’t have the time to immediately enjoy a $400 toy. But I promise to get to Quantron soon. All reviews I have seen gave it high marks. I know I will not be disappointed.

I have repeatedly mention how cool Generations 30 Jetfire is elsewhere in this blog, so I won’t do it again. Just know that he is awesomeness manifested in physical form. Go out and get yours now.

Masterpiece scale Dinobots is something that many 3rd parties are jumping into lately. These figures are usually $200 each… not cheap by any means. They all look pretty nice. But if I’m to get one, I want to go with a 3rd party that I trust. And so comes Scoria by Fans Toys. I was thoroughly impressed with Quakewave, so I had to give their interpretation of Slag a shot. Scoria does not disappoint. In robot mode he’s big and beefy. Construction is solid, and the transformation to dino feels familiar and refreshing at the same time. Scoria looks awesome in dino mode. I wish I have some pics handy to show him off. Maybe I will in a separate blog post.

I got TF Prime Beast Wars Optimus Prime purely because he was on sale at BBTS. I saw the fig quite frequently on the racks at stores like Walmart and Target and have always wondered if he’s any good. He’s not. A required purchase this ain’t. I already wasted too much time writing about this figure.

Nemesis Prime and Cliffjumper are just repaints of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, respectively. So I won’t talk about them too much. Skrapnel (or Shrapnel) is a cool little G1 Insecticon. This is probably the first time in a long time that Hasbro has made a G1 looking Insecticon. Tailgate is using a mold that will be repainted into Windcharger. This mold is ok. I got this to have a distinct mold for Tailgate, because I think the Reveal the Shield Windcharger is a much better mold and that will be my Windcharger.

The remaining deluxe Generations Thrilling 30 figures I’ll just quickly mention. Goldfire, Nightbeat, Dreadwing, and Jhiaxus are repaints of a figure in the same lineup. I really like Jhiaxus though. I’m liking the color scheme, and Hasbro reworked the mold to be different enough that it feels like a distinct figure. Windblade is a brand new mold. She looks pretty cool in both modes, but the figure itself is kinda flimsy. Waspinator is very cool! This is probably the coolest Waspinator that Hasbro has ever made. I like the wing gimmick. Skids and Crosscut are repaints of each other, though this mold is the first time we’re getting them. I was really looking forward to Skids, since many reviews praised the figure. The car mode is nice, but the robot mode has some poseability issues. There’s so much going on in robot mode that all the features start to block on itself. Still, all the weapons on Skids (and Crosscut) does make for a nice looking figure, when you can get them to pose the way you want.

Ok… that was a lot of figs! 27 total by my count. 23 if you don’t count the Mini-Cons of the Generations Thrilling 30 legends figs. My previous record for single TFs in a month is 24, so this month does surpass that if Mini-Cons are included as separate figures. However there’s one thing that this month sets a record for… and that’s the amount spent! Adding all these up, the total TF spending this month comes to a whopping $885.90! Ouch. That’s a bit much by anyone’s standard. Quantron and Scoria accounts for $600 by themselves alone. I really need to start selling off whatever I don’t play with anymore. Time to list more stuff in my Sales Section.

October is the last month of extravagant TF spending for 2014. Things will die down for the rest of the year.

Oh, one more thing, at the end of Oct 2014 I took another pic of my orange TFs. Check it out.

More to come… Transform and Roll Out!

August is typically not a good month for finding new Transformers. In both 2012 and 2013, this month proved to be unproductive for TF hunting. Not so for 2014. Feast your optic sensors on all the goodies acquired August 2014.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Roadbuster, Target, $22.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Sky Byte, Target, $22.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Tankor, Toys R Us, $14.99

• Mastermind Creations Talon, CapturedPrey.com, $71

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Optimus Prime (Japanese release), amazon.com, $38

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, ebay.com, $21.95

• Age of Extinction Lockdown, Toys R Us, $16.24

• Age of Extinction Bumblebee 2-pack, Toys R Us, $16.25

• Masterpiece Sunstorm, Toys R Us, $76.48

Let’s go over some stats first. 9 purchases for 10 figures total. 3 online purchases and 6 in-store purchases. 3 Generations figs, 3 AoE figs, 2 TF Prime figs, 1 MP fig, and 1 third party fig. 5 are Autobots, and 5 are bad guys from various factions (Decepticons, Predacons, Independents). Pretty good distribution overall.

The Generations Thrilling 30 figures were a pleasant find. In the previous months, there weren’t any TFs on store shelves other than offerings from Age of Extinction. So seeing something from my favorite TF lineup is a sight for sore optics. Roadbuster was one figure I have wanted Hasbro to release for some time now. The Wreckers are always fan favorites, and Hasbro’s Roadbuster takes it one step further to completing this lineup (here’s to hoping they will do Broadside). There has been some third party Roadbusters, but I don’t want to pay those kind of prices on every fig. Hasbro Roadbuster is a solid figure. I like both the robot mode and alt mode. Transformation is simple yet fun. Appearance wise, Roadbuster retains his unmistakable G1 look. He’s got weapons galore! He will give AoE Hound a run for his money.

Sky Byte are Tankor are characters that I do not recognize. Out of all my Transformers, I don’t have any figures that transform into sharks, and that makes Sky Byte one-of-a-kind in my collection. The shark mode is pretty good too. In robot mode, Sky Byte could pass for a G1 Pretender Shell. Not exactly my cup of energon, but I can see some fans dig this. I am not at all familiar with Tankor. And no, this is not the Universe triple-changing Tankor that is a homage to Octane. This is a separate character, which I could tell you nothing about. This toy is… unique to say the least. He doesn’t particularly impress me in either mode. His appearance does not seem to fit into any of the TF continuities. This figure reminds me of an old 80s figure that I have. That figure is not a Transformer or a GoBot, but some other 3rd party line that was looking to cash in around the same time frame. I still have that figure at home somewhere. Maybe I’ll dig out that figure some day and compare it to Tankor in the future at some point.

The only 3rd party figure this month is MMC Talon, which is an homage to G1 Divebomb of the Predacons. If memory serves, I pre-ordered this all the way back in January of 2013. Back then I never even heard of MMC. All I learned was that some new 3rd party is doing Predacons, so I pre-ordered instantly. Talon was supposed to be the first figure released in that lineup. But then I heard that something less than perfect happened with the manufacturing of the wings, and MMC really wanted to get it right, so they delayed it’s release. Props to MMC for their dedication to perfection. I haven’t actually played with Talon that much. He comes packaged in robot mode. Transformation to bird mode is pretty simple, if I remember right. I had both Bovis and Fortis before Talon arrived, and Leo Dux and Tigirs soon followed Talon’s release. So when that happened, I quickly transformed Talon to arm mode to form the fearsome Feral Rex (aka Predaking)! As of this writing I still have them combined. I think I will separate them soon, and play with them individually some more.

This month I got two Beast Hunter Optimus Prime figures from TF Prime, both the Japanese and US release. You might wonder why I did that. Back in May of 2013, I bought the US version of the fig. I really like this fig. Both modes are nice, transformation is fun, and overall construction is sturdy. But furthermore, I bought this fig immediately after meeting the girl who would become my fiancee. I still remember that day well. We met at Starbucks and chatted for 3 hours. And in true TF geekness, right after I met up with her, I went to the nearby Walmart to hunt for TFs. That’s when I picked up this Beast Hunter OP. So yeah, this figure has sentimental value for me. Fast forward to July or August of 2014. I had the sword plugged into the right fist, which is a super tight fit. When I tried to remove the sword, the handle broke off from the sword, and now the handle is stuck in the fist. Apparently this is a common problem. My buddy Gemini had the same issue, and he had to heat up the fist to get the sword out. I wish I did that instead of trying to force the issue. Anyway, the fig is now imperfect. I don’t like any of my figs being imperfect, especially one that holds so much sentimental value for me. At first I looked at possible fixes. I know I can get a third party sword (which is better). But the handle is still stuck in the first, and there’s no way to remove it. And I can’t find any third party hands for this fig. So in the end I decided to bite the bullet and just get a new one. At first I got the Japanese version from Amazon. I chose this over the US version because of the more show-accurate blue sword, and to get the feeling I’m not buying the same thing again. But then I saw a US version of the fig on ebay for a good price, so I bought that too. I guess I went a little overboard.

The AoE figures this month are Lockdown and the two Bumblebees. After watching TF4 with the GF (before she was my fiancee) at the theater, she remarked I should get the black Lambo. Of course she was referring to Lockdown. At the time, I wasn’t even sure if Hasbro would make a Lockdown in the AoE Generations subline. But they did eventually. The figure is not bad. The vehicle mode is nice, but I feel it could have been more black instead of this weird brown/grey color. Robot mode is ok. Arms are a bit too long in my opinion. The deluxe Camaro Bumblebee is not too shabby, but it really doesn’t offer anything new after all the deluxe Camaro Bumblebees that have been made in the first 3 movies. He’s not the best construction-wise, though. I already broke off a shoulder piece that forms the front corner bumper. The little Bumblebee that came in the 2-pack is a repaint of the Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee. This Bumblebee is the one I featured in my last post.

Last but not least, there’s Masterpiece Sunstorm. He is a repaint of the new MP Seeker mold with absolutely no new additions or enhancements. This mold was only released twice previously in the United States, once as Thundercracker and once as Acid Storm. These two were Toys R Us exclusives, and Sunstorm also continues that trend. As Sunstorm, some fans have complained of construction issues, specifically that the wings don’t stay attached to the back in robot mode. But mine seems just fine. I have done enough gushing over this mold in the past, so I will not repeat that here.

OK… that was quite a lot of TFs. Next month it slows down. Can’t have this many figures every month, or I’ll go broke.

Transform and Roll Out.

Today I’m going to feature some figures on the top layer of my Detolf shelf. I have assembled a collection of some of my favorite Season 1 Autobots from CHUG. For those of you that don’t know, CHUG is an acronym for Classics Henkei Universe Generations. These are all terms that Hasbro or Takara has used to label various Transformers lines that represent a modern update of classic G1 characters. I have also seen some fans refer to them collectively as G3, since it follows G1 and G2. Whatever you call it, they are all modern toy interpretation of Generation 1, though not necessarily in their exact G1 forms.

All these characters appeared starting in Season 1 of Transformers Generation 1.

There are a total of 6 figures here. I will describe each of them in depth, in the order of their release.

Optimus Prime, Classics, 2006
This Optimus Prime figure is part of the 6 initial figures that kicked off the Classics line back in 2006. It’s hard to imagine if Hasbro knew what kind of trend they were about to set in motion when these 6 figures took physical form. Hasbro tapped into something that was part of every action figure collector that grew up in the 80s with the launching of this Classics line. Anyway, this Optimus figure was one of only 2 Voyager size figures in the initial 6 (the other was Megatron, duh). To this day, this figure remains one of my favorite Optimus figures of all time. He looks good in both modes, the transformation was clever yet familiar for its time, and his overall appearance evokes instant G1 nostalgia while giving the character some mid-2000s updates. 9 years later as I write this, I still play with this figure from time to time. In the pics above he is holding his iconic G1 rifle that came as part of the BTS-03 G1 Prime Matrix of Leadership Upgrade Set by BTS Toys. I also have the FansProject G3 Trailer that can be added to this figure, but that was not featured anywhere on this blog. Maybe I should.

Sideswipe, Universe, 2008
For whatever reason, people love Sideswipe. I read a caption somewhere that stated he’s never done anything important, but he’s such a fan favorite. Maybe it’s because the G1 toy was such a good piece for its time. Or maybe it’s because he’s a fun loving character who does his job well without taking himself too seriously. Or maybe people just love his sexy Lamborghini alt mode. Whatever the reason, I gotta admit he’s also one of my all-time favorites. When the Universe toy came out back in 2008, I was beyond thrilled. And the toy did not disappoint. I knew Hasbro had no official licensing for Lamborghini, but I was pleased with the fictional alt mode they came up with to represent what would be a Lambo. The transformation of the figure is fun and satisfying. In the pics above, Sideswipe is using is G1 rifle and shoulder mounted missile launcher from the Heroic Duo Custom Kit Version 2.0 by Beelzeboss. I highly recommend this upgrade kit.

Jazz, Reveal the Shield, 2010
Jazz is another one of my all time favorites. Do a quick search for Jazz on this blog, and you will see there are many, many entries. Jazz is a character that has appeared in almost every TF continuity. In G1, Jazz completes missions with so much style and pizzazz, it’d be criminal if he was any cooler. This Jazz figure more than does justice to the Special Operations agent and Optimus Prime’s right hand man. I did a in depth review of the figure in this post, so I won’t do it again here.

Bumblebee, Age of Extinction, 2014
Bumblebee is a character that needs no introduction. He may be the most famous TF of all time, even surpassing Optimus Prime. Hasbro released so many CHUG Bumblebees over the years that I could have used many others for this lineup, but I used this one because I think he scales the best. And no, this is not the Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee. Though this is a exact repaint of the same mold, released as a Toys R Us exclusive 2-pack along with deluxe Age of Extinction Bumblebee (the modern Camero). That’s why I labeled it Age of Extinction above. This Bumblebee is a fun little figure. And I think that captures the spirit of Bumblebee. In the movie lines, Hasbro released way too many Bumblebees that are way too large and way too complicated. To me that is never Bumblebee.

Roar (aka Snarl), ToyWorld, 2014
Not counting the upgrade kits, Snarl is the only 3rd party figure on here. Technically he’s Roar, ToyWorld’s homage to Snarl. This figure is a gift to me from my fiancee. For a long time now, I was wondering why no third parties would do CHUG size Dinobots. Hasbro did do a deluxe size Grimlock, but that figure is not well received by most hardcore TransFans. No other CHUG Dinobots were made by Hasbro. Dinobots are forever fan favorites, so it seemed like a natural fit for third parties to come in and do what Hasbro will not. So it was a real mystery to me why no third party would attempt this. And believe me, there are no shortage of third party these days. But then all of a sudden, starting I think in early 2014, a whole bunch of third party companies announced that they will be making Dinobots. Off the top of my head, I can think of 4 CHUG size lineups (ToyWorld, FansProject, GCreation, Planet X) and 3 Masterpiece size lineups (FansToys, Bullsfire, GigaPower). Anyway I’m getting off topic. I love Dinobots, and I love ToyWorld products, so I had to have their Snarl. The toy comes in dino mode. Transformation to robot mode is well engineered and fun. I love how the hind dino legs can fold into the robot legs. This appears to be the trend with all the modern Dinobots. Construction of the figure is solid. Both modes look very G1 accurate. This is a third party figure I highly recommend. I already have TW Corelock (aka Grimlock) on preorder.

Jetfire, Generations Thrilling 30, 2014
Jetfire is a character with a rather complicated history in the world of Transformers. Originally based on the Takatoku toy of Macross VF-1 fame, Hasbro got the right to the merchandise of this toy and created the character of Jetfire. I’m not sure why he is called Skyfire in the G1 cartoons, or why the show designers decided to give him a somewhat different appearance from the toy. Whatever the reason, Jetfire became an instant fan favorite. As one of the very few Autobots that could fly in Season 1 of G1, the Jetfire toy was sought after by nearly every kid who was interested in Transformers at the time. Very early in the Classics line, Hasbro came out with a Voyager class toy that resembled the G1 cartoon look for Jetfire. That is an excellent figure, but in 2014 Hasbro released a Leader class figure that is even better! This Jetifire is a must-own. Both modes look sweet, and he looks like he jumped straight out of the show. Transformation is fun without being overly complicated. Some might even consider him too simple for his size, but I can easily overlook it due to the sheer fun factor. His massive size scales nicely with other CHUG figures. Jetfire gets the vote for figure of the year from many fans, and it’s certainly very hard to make a case against it. As of this writing, Jetifre can be found in store and online at MSRP (sometimes below MSRP). Make sure you pick up yours while you can!

Autobots… Transform and roll out!

Age of Extinction was in full swing back in July of 2014. So naturally all the TFs I got at this time were AoE figs. They appear below.

• Age of Extinction Grimlock, amazon.com, $34.05

• Age of Extinction Optimus Prime, amazon.com, $33.74

• Age of Extinction Silver Knight Optimus Prime and Grimlock, Target, $22

• Age of Extinction Galvatron, Target, $23.74

Age of Extinction Leader class Grimlock and Optimus were both bought from Amazon, when they were a bit cheaper from their regular MSRP of $44.99. In retrospect, I probably should not have even bothered with their purchase. AoE Leader Optimus is a ok mold. But when compared to the awesomeness that is Revenge of the Fallen Leader Optimus Prime, the AoE figure feels inferior in every way. The truck mode is not bad, but the robot mode leaves a lot to be desired. It is also overly simple for a Leader class fig. Leader class Grimlock is ok at best. I kinda like the robot mode, but the Dino mode gets bashed by almost every true TransFan. He kinda feels like a fish with arms and legs in this mode. I didn’t find the transformation all that exciting either. I only transformed him once from robot to dino, and he stayed like that since July. I will most likely sell both these figs.

The two pack combo of Silver Knight OP and Grimlock is a Target exclusive. I have both these molds already. Silver Knight Optimus Prime is a repaint of Dark of the Moon deluxe Optimus fig, and Grimlock is a repaint of Fall of Cybertron Grimlock. Normally I would not buy repaints, but that Grimlock looked so good in the gold bling. I bought this set for that reason alone. To this day I still have not transformed this Grimlock. He looks kick-ass in robot mode so I left him like that all this time.

Last there is Galvatron. He is one of the few Decepticons that Hasbro released in the AoE line. He’s got a transformation that is pretty unique. The truck mode is solid. The robot mode appears kinda simple and the articulation is not really there, but overall he’s a fun fig. Not great, but not too shabby.

So that’s 4 total purchases for 5 TFs this month, all AoE figs. 2 Optimus Primes and 2 Grimlocks. And a Galvatron. Not much variety. These figs were a fun distraction, but none of them are must-haves by any means. The 2-pack shouldn’t even count as AoE, since they are repaints and not new AoE molds. The 2 Leader class figs can be easily ignored. And you’re not missing much if you don’t buy Galvatron. So yeah, a pretty lackluster month of TFs. Things will pick up soon in August though. Til then… Transform and Roll Out.

This past summer, me and the GF took a trip to Asia. First we went to Japan. We hit several cities while in Japan, including Tokyo, Koyto, Nara, and Kobe. Then we went to Shanghai, China (where the GF is from). After that I went to Taipei, Taiwan by myself (where I’m from). The entire trip was a little over 2 weeks. I had the time of my life! This was the best trip I have taken in quite some time.

While we were in Shanghai, the GF had to show me Jing’an Temple. Actually, we stayed pretty close to the Temple, within walking distance. Jing’an Temple is right in the heart of the city, and it is a must visit if you are in Shanghai.

I was there around June 1st, and wouldn’t you know it, they were doing a Transformers Age of Extinction promotion right next to the Temple! They had a booth set up right beside the Temple. It’s like they knew I was coming! Look at the first pic below and you will see the booth, and parts of the Temple right behind it. In the booth were many TF figures, not limited to AoE toys. I was seeing many of the AoE figs for the first time. Prices weren’t that good though. TFs in Asia are typically double the cost, and this particular location is a total tourist trap. So I didn’t buy anything til I got back to the States. But seeing the AoE booth with a large Grimlock display was still quite cool. Check out pics below.

After seeing Age of Extinction, it becomes obvious why promotion in China is absolutely necessary. I won’t explain it. See TF4 for yourself. And after seeing the movie, check out this Honest Trailer for TF4.

Shanghai is so cool! Transform and Roll Out!

Around May of this year was when Age of Extinction toys started to appear. I started to see them in early May, but I wasn’t able to purchase any until late May. More on this later in the post. Here are my acquisitions for May.

• ToyWorld Hardbone, bbts.com, $69.99

• Age of Extinction High Octane Bumblebee, TRU, $14.99

• Age of Extinction Slug, Target, $14.24

• Age of Extinction Scorn, Target, $14.24

• Age of Extinction Evasion Mode Optimus Prime, Target, $23.74

Other than Hardbone, all figures are from Age of Extinction. The release of AoE toys finally ends a long retail TF drought that lasted for much of the year. I was happy to see some new figs on the shelves, but at the same time I knew that Hasbro’s focus on AoE figures would also equate to less attention on the Generations line, my favorite TF line from Hasbro. Still, seeing something I want on the shelf is always better than seeing nothing.

But before I get into AoE, let’s talk about Hardbone, ToyWorld’s homage to G1 Hardhead. I actually bought this figure late last year, around Thanksgiving I believe. BBTS was doing their Black Friday sale. Only thing I wanted from the sale is Hardbone. As a whole, I’m very impressed with figures from ToyWorld as I think they all have solid construction, nice design, good value, and G1-inspired aesthetics. And I saw good reviews of Hardbone on YouTube, so I wasted no time to buy one at the sale. I always use the Loot feature at BBTS, to save on shipping. However, between then and May, I bought nothing else from BBTS. Any item in the loot can only be held for 6 months, so in May I had to ship Hardbone. I was not disappointed when I received the figure. Both modes look nice and the figure is well built. Transformation is not anything revolutionary, but in this case the tried and true formula works. Hardbone has weapons galore. Obviously he’s got his big shoulder cannon, but the twin guns that he had in G1 are here as well. And TW included some extra weapon accessories for good measure. The Headmaster gimmick itself is not really improved upon for G1, but suffice to say that it’s there. Overall I think this figure is an excellent modern update of G1 Hardhead.

OK, now onto the Age of Extinction figures. In early May I first saw them at K-Mart. I found the first 4 deluxe figs from Wave 1, which are High Octane Bumblebee, Crosshairs (not pictured), Slug, and Scorn. I tried to buy Slug and Scorn, but at checkout they would not ring up a price. So they wouldn’t sell them! K-Mart said they were put on the shelves by mistake. Lame! Anyway, less than 2 weeks later I found them elsewhere (and pretty much everywhere).

When I first saw the AoE figs, I definitely wanted the Dinobots. Robots transforming into Dinosaurs are some of the best ideas Takara has came up with, and the G1 creators were smart enough to personify them as the bad asses that they are. So I’m kinda surprised that Hasbro doesn’t milk this more by making Dinobots all the time, in whatever is the active TF continuity. At least for the 4th movie, Michael Bay was smart enough to include them (minor SPOILER ALERT, highlight over the next sentence to see: they only appear at the very end, for about 15 minutes. LAME!). Anyway, as for the figures themselves, I like Scorn. He’s my favorite of all the deluxe Dinos released so far. I like both the dino mode and the robot mode. Slug is ok. He’s obviously a homage to G1 Slag, being a triceratops and having a oh-so-clever name change. These movie dinos sure are colorful, like Power Rangers. In the movie they are more metallic looking, like G1 Dinobots. I bet in the future Hasbro will make limited editions of these guys in movie colors.

I like the Bumblebee figure. At the core, he’s not anything that we haven’t seen before in a movie Bumblebee. But I’m digging the classic muscle car (it could be a classic Camaro, but I could be wrong). The only other time they made a classic car movie Bee was in the first movie (which I have and broke), so it’s good to see him in this form again after all the modern Camaro Bees.

Last but not least, there’s Evasion Mode Optimus Prime. When I first saw preview pics of this figure, I was beyond thrilled. That alt mode is so G1 it would be illegal for me to not get one. The robot mode is still has the signature Michael Bay look, but with more G1 aesthetics and colors (though in the movie he does not appear in these colors). The transformation of this piece is actually very refreshing. The legs are kinda the same as always for Prime figs, but the upper body transformation utilizes quite a interesting twist. It’s as if the cab folds inside out on all sides to form the upper torso. The result is a nice movie-verse figure that mixes well with G1. I recommend this Prime, and with this upcoming aftermarket accessory to make him look like Powermaster Optimus, I say all G1-ers should get this fig.

That’s all for now. Age of Extinction has arrived… Transform and Roll Out.

It is that time again my friends! Halloween is upon us. Do Tranformers celebrate Halloween? Probably not, since they can transcan and transform, it’s like everyday is Halloween.

Here is another pic where I take my orange plush pumpkin with some orange Transformers.

Click here for the 2012 version. Scroll to the bottom for the pic.

Honestly, there just ain’t that many orange TFs. I tried to find some other than ones I already used in 2012. What you see in the pic is all I can come up with: Generations Scoop, Generations Sandstorm, G1 Wideload, and Prime Voyager Predaking. Some of these are even questionable as orange. Sandstorm is actually mostly yellow, but with enough orange bits. Predaking is probably about half orange and half black.

And of course I gotta mention that the San Francisco Giants is once again world champs! The Angry Bird plush with the Giants cap is to help celebrate that fact. In the last 5 years, Giants win the whole thing every time on the even number years. So are they gonna be champs again in 2016? And it’s always so fitting they win it around Halloween. The Orange and Black is oh so fitting!

Happy Halloween! Transform and Roll Out!

The next Transformers TV show is Transformers: Robots in Disguise. If memory serves, Transformers Animated first came out in 2008, and Transformers Prime was released in late 2011. So a new show now follows this trend where Hasbro presents a TF reboot once every three or so years.

The season 1 trailer appears below.

At first glance the character designs look awfully close to TF Animated. Though looking at it closer, you also see hints of TF Prime. The appearance of Optimus and Bumblebee always seem to include a few designs from the immediate past. At this point, I don’t know if I like these designs. But I know I’ve said that about both TF Animated and TF Prime, and over time they kinda grew on me. Maybe I just need time to digest this new look.

The animation style appears to be cel shading. So I guess the animators are using 3D models, but rendered to have a more cartoony look. Kind of a mix between 2D and 3D. This could work. Another example of a fusion between Animated (2D) and Prime (3D).

Hasbro seems to be continuing the trend of having a small team for the Autobots, like in Animated and Prime. There’s Optimus, who acts like his usual Peter Cullen self. No surprises here. Then there’s Bumblebee. This Bee is back to being able to talk, which I like. The movie blips Bee never really did it for me. His characterization is also reminiscent of G1, but physically he appears tougher. Next in the group is Sideswipe (the red one). His persona reminds me of Hot Rod. I guess he’s the bad boy of the group. Strongarm is the tough and no non-sense fembot of the bunch. She acts like Arcee but has the looks of a female Wheeljack. The Dino muscle on the team is Grimlock, though his colors and behavior more closely resembles Bulkhead. Rounding out the team is Fixit, the small and spunky orange bot who appears to handle medic duties. I dunno, right now I feel like this cast is ripped straight out of a stock character manual. Hopefully I’ll find them more interesting once the show gets going.

Of course with every new show, Hasbro will be making more toys. I’m not aware of any toy info at the moment, but you can bet your boron compressor they will be making their way to store shelves in 2015.

Robots in Disguise… Transform and Roll Out!

I was at Target the other day, hunting for TFs as usual. As a seasoned TF hunter, my optics are quick to notice figures that I have never seen before. This holds true even for TFs that I don’t buy, like Flip and Change figs (or Flip n’ Fails as I like to call them). So imagine my surprise when I saw the fig in the pic below, on the left.

At first I was like “Whoa! A new fig!” Then I picked up the box, and I get the feeling I have seen this box before. Sure enough, comparing with some items nearby on the shelf, I realized someone transformed this Optimus into truck mode, put it back in the box, and returned it to Target. A look at the top of the box confirms it, in the pic below.

I guess some fan out there did not fully appreciate the wonders of the Flip n’ Fail. And he was too lazy to even properly put Optimus back in robot mode for the return… hahaha. Though I do give him credit for the thorough re-package work. It could pass for factory if identical new figs weren’t nearby.

And just to be clear, I do not buy Flip n’ Fails. I would stop collecting TFs altogether if Hasbro only made Flip n’ Fails.

Transform and Roll Out.