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Transformers Purchased in March 2019

December 30th, 2021 1 comment

March of 2019 is Siege Month! All figures except for one (and one accessory) are from War From Cybertron: Siege.

  • War For Cybertron Siege Starscream, Walmart, $29.84

  • War For Cybertron Siege Soundwave, Walmart, $29.84

  • War For Cybertron Siege Ultra Magnus and Shockwave, bbts.com, $99.99

  • War For Cybertron Siege Chromia, Target, $19.99

  • War For Cybertron Siege Prowl, amazon.com, $19.99

  • Warbotron WB03-D Double Strike, bbts.com, $51.99

  • Fans Toys FT-08 Grinder Dinohead, bbts.com, $17.99

Starscream

First up in this WFC Siege month is none other than Starscream. And here we have something truly special! Ladies and gents, for the first time in TF history, HasTak has given us Seekers that transform into their Cybertronian alt mode from the very first G1 episode! We all know how that first episode started. Bumblebee and Wheeljack was looking for some energy conductors. On the way back to Iacon, they were intercepted by Seekers of various colors. The Seekers transformed into what fans dub as tetra-jets, and the chase was on!

The tetra-jet is something completely imagined by the show animators, in that this was the Cybertronian alt mode of robot toys that transformed into F-15s. Of course the transformation sequence from robot to tetra-jet was entirely made up and don’t make much mechanical sense. But as fans we accepted the show’s creativity, and welcomed the fact that Cybertronian robots would not have Earth alt modes when they were on Cybertron. The toys’ alt modes were all Earth in origin, and in the 80s it was never conceived that there would be toys that transform into a mode made up by the cartoon artists.

Fast forward 35 years, and HasTak has made a transforming tetra-jet to robot figure a reality! Having this Voyager-sized Starscream as a tetra-jet is something magnificent to behold. The design of the tetra-jet is slightly modified for the War For Cybertron show, but it still heavily resembles the G1 tetra-jet. The overall triangular scheme is clearly seen. What impresses me most about this figure is how the designers are able to take various design bits of the robot mode and have them transform into mechanical elements of the tetra-jet that makes sense. For example, the side shoulder protrusions of the standard Seekers (formed from the front intake of the F-15) comes together and forms the tip of the tetra-jet. And the circular chest design bits in robot mode forms part of the rear thrusters. The toy designers thought through this transformation, and it shows.

In alt mode, Starscream looks great in his standard grey with bits of blue and red. The tetra-jet is a bit bulky at the bottom where the legs go. But the rest of jet mode is a sleek representation of a Seeker dominance vehicle in the Cybertroian skies. Cockpit of Starscream’s tetra-jet is still orange, though why a Cybertronian jet would need a cockpit is anyone’s guess. Guns are attached under the wings. The alt mode is a solid and cohesive whole with no loose or dangling parts.

In robot mode, the figure heavily resembles the look of the classic Seeker that we all know. This is a spectacular achievement by the HasTak toy design team. This robot mode could easily pass for the robot mode of a classic Earth-style Starscream. This resemblance lends credence to the fact that this is the same character on Cybertron, with a Cybertronian alt mode, and later transcanned to have an Earth alt mode. The cockpit down the center chest area is “fake”, in that the module is purely decorative and doesn’t transform into the cockpit of the jet. All other pieces serve a mechanical purpose.

Construction of the figure is also superb. All joints are at the right tolerance. Pieces come together when they should, and separate when they need to. All in all this is a great figure. G1 fans will undoubtedly not pass this up. I give the figure the highest possible recommendation.

Soundwave

Next up in the WFC Siege lineup is Soundwave. This is another character where I was really looking forward to what HasTak would come up with as the origin Cybertronian interpretation.

I’ll start with the alt mode of WFC Siege Soundwave. I was really hoping this origin alt mode would be that statue looking thing that we saw Soundwave transform into in the very first G1 episode. Unfortunately, that is not the case. HasTak chose to go with something more utilitarian for WFC Seige Soundwave in that he transforms into a Cybertronian aircraft. It’s a bit of a bummer, in that I think they could have easily made a Soundwave figure that is able to transform into the statue/lamppost/highway-callbox thing. And I could be wrong here, but I don’t think Soundwave ever transformed in the WFC show. So this flying alt mode doesn’t do all that much for me. But this what we got. It is what it is.

The alt mode looks ok. It’s a Cybertronian form, so the toy designers could fancy this into any appearance they like. If you imagine how Soundwave would look as a jet based on how he looks in robot mode, it probably would not be too far off from the alt mode of WFC Siege Soundwave. The overall shape is very blocky. The tape deck area in robot mode forms the very back of the vehicle. Two wing/thruster bits that I assume are Cybertronian jet thrusters protrude at an angle, and these are the only major bits not found on Earth mode Soundwave. Overall I’m not too crazy about this alt mode. It feels very retroactively forced on a robot design that was not meant to be a starship.

As for the robot mode, it’s classic Soundwave. The blue and grey colors, overall rectangular proportions, the well-known head design, and the iconic chest tape deck, it’s all there. The colors and shape of the arms and legs look like it’s straight out of G1. The battery-formed shoulder cannon mounted on his right is there as well. All other cassette player bits, on the crotch and legs, are all present and accounted for. The only big difference from the Earth form in robot mode is the back, in that the previously mentioned Cybertronian jet thrusters are placed there. But for a robot mode that has to account for flying apparatus bits, that’s where I would expect them to go. The tape deck ejection mechanism works fine and well. In later months I would purchase his infamous cassette minions (released as Master-sized figures in WFC) and they can be placed inside.

As for weapons, WFC Siege Soundwave comes with his twin iconic battery-shaped modules. In robot mode, one becomes a cannon mounted on his right shoulder, and the other one transforms into a hand-held blaster. Also included is another rifle. This weapon can be unfolded to look like a sniper rifle, or folded to look like another hand-held blaster.

And just like Starscream, I find no issues with the construction of the figure. Despite not having an alt mode that I had hoped for, Soundwave still gets a recommendation.

Ultra Magnus

Ultra Magnus and Shockwave were purchased together as one order item. That’s how they sold it. No discounts were offered when bought this way. It is now Dec 2021, and on Amazon you can still get them both at slightly below regular price. I know I have seen both of these in the $30 range, in 2020. TF prices are like stocks. You never know how they will go.

Ultra Magnus is a terrific update. This character was given a great treatment in Combiner Wars. WFC continues that trend and makes even more improvements on everybody’s favorite City Commander. In alt mode, instead of being a car carrier, Siege Ultra Magnus looks like some kind of Cybertronian armor weapon vehicle. It looks close enough to his Earth alt mode, but at the same time different enough to not simply be an Earth-mode derived mode. While we’re on that topic, Ultra Magnus’ alt mode always looked a bit Cybertronian, even in G1. The front cab looks Earth mode enough, but the trailer section is definitely Cybertronian. So is it possible he only partially transcanned? It’s worth exploring.

Siege Ultra Magnus feels very solid in alt mode. The unit feels like one cohesive whole, despite the entire mode being puzzle-formed together like Ultra Magnus typically is in this mode. 5 weapons are attached in this mode for a very impressive look: 2 black blasters, 2 white missile launchers with red missiles that he’s had since G1, and a large silver rifle, all mounted and ready to intimidate some lowly Decepticon scum. The whole thing rides on a total of 10 wheels, and the unit does sit well on a flat surface. The colors are distinctly Ultra Magnus, with the cab white, the trailer blue, and top section red. The shape of the front cab is distinctly Cybertronian. All in all a very nice alt mode.

In G1, Ultra Magnus had 2 robot modes. There was the smaller robot transformed solely from the cab, a white repaint of the famous G1 Optimus Prime toy. This smaller robot was never seen on-screen in G1. Then there’s the bigger robot formed from both the cab and trailer, the appearance that we’re all familiar with from the cartoons. Siege Ultra Magnus faithfully reproduces this scheme. The cab is capable of forming a smaller robot resembling Optimus Prime. (sidebar: part of this Ultra Magnus mold would indeed be reformatted into WFC Siege Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime, to be released later, but that’s for another day) In this mode, Ultra Magus is well-proportioned. Joints are at the right tolerances. For a blocky figure, the articulation is adequate. Transformation from cab to this robot mode is nothing we haven’t seen before. But this tried and true formula works for this character, and I’m never a proponent of messing with what works. I’m happy this mode is included, but we didn’t pay the $50 price tag to have Ultra Magnus in this mode.

To get Ultra Magnus into the robot mode that we all know and love, the trailer disassembles and acts as armor over and on top of the smaller robot mode. 3Ps have implemented such a mechanism already, most notably the FansProject City Commander Add-On Set. HasTak has explored this scheme too, with Evolution Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime. I believe this is the first time that HasTak has done this for Ultra Magnus. In G1, the trailer isn’t really so much an armor for the cab. The trailer gets transformed into the main body, and then the cab gets attached to it behind the back. All other Ultra Magnus figures in the modern day kind of has the cab and trailer transform as one. So it is indeed a nice treat to see that WFC Siege implemented an armor attachment mechanism for the smaller cab robot to fully form Ultra Magnus.

And what a glorious robot mode this is. Fully armored up, Ultra Magnus is every bit his G1 self. There is no mistaking this character for any other. His entire design aesthetic, down the to the last detail, is based on G1. The colors, the overall blocky shape, the shoulder missiles, all G1 derived. Design of the chest, arms, legs, and head, all taken from G1. With this robot mode, it’s clear that there was very much an Ultra Magnus on Cybertron before coming to Earth. Transformation to this mode is very much a puzzle forming adventure, but you kinda expect that with this character. It’s fairly obvious where each armor piece should go, and the entire package comes together really well. Articulation in the mode suffers a bit because he’s so blocky, but what’s offered is sufficient.

I give this Ultra Magnus figure the highest possible recommendation. Yes by now we all know how he ends up in the Netflix War For Cybertron series, but don’t let that discourage you. And maybe you expected a $50 figure to be true leader size. Don’t let that discourage you either. The figure is made to scale nicely with other cast members from WFC. The cost of admission for this figure is paid in full with the number of modes and accessories. He can deal with that now. I know you can.

Shockwave

Shockwave is another character that got a great update in WFC Siege. He is also leader class. Or more accurately, he is sold as leader class. There is the core figure of Shockwave, which is voyager class size. Then there are the accessories that can be added on top of the core figure, in both robot and alt mode. All this in one package is how Hasbro justifies the $50 price tag.

Let’s take a look at the core figure first. In robot mode, Shockwave is every bit his G1 self. All the classic iconic features of Shockwave are present, from the purple colors, the left-arm blaster, the left-arm hose attached to his backpack, the his cyclops eye. At voyager class, he scales well with other Decepticons in WFC Siege. The figure is well built, no joints too loose or too tight. Ample articulation points gives the figure some great poseability, and solid engineering means he can actually hold those poses. Transformation to alt mode follows the standard Shockwave scheme, with some modern variations. Some aspects of the transformation seems borrowed from both Fans Toys Quakewave and MP-29 Shockwave, but on a CHUG figure the overall scheme is way more playable. WFC Siege Shockwave still transforms into the iconic space gun that we all know and love, and it’s good see HasTak did not butcher this into something different (like a Cyberverse Shockwave, the Fall of Cybertron Shockwave, or the Alternator Shockwave).

Now on to the accessories. In robot mode, the accessories can be attached in a number of different ways. But the default configuration is some large flat gun pieces added onto the bottom of the feet, some wing and gun pieces that are attached to the shoulders, and a backpack cover. Shockwave looks quite menacing in this mode, and the overall feel does reflect a mad scientist that decided to perform Frankenstein-ish experiments on himself. In the space gun mode, the extra accessories are attached so Shockwave looks more like a genuine Cybertronian jet. It does look cool, and give more credence to the fact that Shockwave can fly around in alt mode.

So do I recommend this figure? The short answer is yes. The core Shockwave figure without the accessories is a terrific modern day CHUG update of the Decepticon mad scientist. This is probably the first real update of Shockwave in CHUG, and the core figure does not disappoint in any way. Now for the long answer. The extra accessories are kind of unnecessary, in my opinion. They’re cool, but don’t really add that much to the character. In fact, I think it sort of turns Shockwave into a different character, one that wasn’t explored very much in the G1 cartoons or the WFC Netflix series. And speaking of the WFC series, we never saw Shockwave in any of these enhanced modes. It feels like HasTak made these extra things to justify Shockwave being a $50 figure. I would have much rather they released a $30 figure of just the core Shockwave minus all the extras. But like I said already, this is the ultimate CHUG Shockwave that has been produced. So if you want one, you have to buy it with all the extra baggage. And as of this writing, I will emphasize again that you can buy this for less than MSRP on Amazon. Logic dictates you buy this now if you haven’t already.

Chromia

Here we have another rework off of the now famous Fembot deluxe mold. We got Moonracer and Novastar in Power of the Primes, so it’s no surprise that we would get Chromia in WFC Siege. Personally, I would have been ok if they didn’t make WFC Siege Chromia. I would have simply used Thrilling 30 Chromia to complete the Fembots. I think I like Thrilling 30 Chromia better anyways, if only for the variety.

WFC Siege Chromia is a rework because it’s not an exact repaint. The head mold is different. She gets different weapons. Chromia gets something that more resembles a sniper rifle, and we saw her use this several times in the WFC Siege show. Some pieces in alt mode are molded differently too. Chromia gets back pieces that covers the rear wheels, the cockpit piece clearly looks different, and she gets 4 molded-on front headlights. I commend HasTak for providing these variations to the same mold, to counter what would otherwise be a quick cash-grab. WFC Siege Chromia does not come with that Combiner Wars attachment.

G1 purists will undoubtedly get this Chromia to complete all 4 of the original Fembots (along with this Elita-1 or the upcoming Netflix Elita-1). For everyone else, this Chromia is an optional purchase if you already have Moonracer or Novastar. But buy this rework if you want. No judging here.

Prowl

WFC Siege Prowl follows that “Prowl” formula that all TransFans since G1 have come to memorize by heart. By “Prowl” formula, I mean that the transformation is tried and true for this character, the figure is deluxe size, Prowl colors of black and white are used, the alt mode is a police sports car of some sort, and HasTak will undoubtedly repaint this mold into Bluestreak and Smokescreen. WFC Siege Prowl certainly offers no deviation from this formula, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.

WFC Siege Prowl is deluxe size, as you would expect. The alt mode, while Cybertronian, doesn’t offer much originality when compared to his Earth alt mode of a Nissan Z throughout the different decades. In fact, if you told me that this alt mode is a concept Nissan Z, I would have believed it. The writing of “POLICE” that are usually on Prowl’s doors are now replaced with Cybertronian font. The wheels are clear instead of black. The police sirens on the car’s roof is found here as well, but they look at bit too Earth mode if you ask me. The alt mode comes together well as one cohesive whole. All in all, a solid alt mode, but not much originality in that this is supposed to be in Cybertronian form.

Transformation is classic Prowl so I won’t describe it too much. Car hood becomes the chest, arms come out from the sides, rotation at the waist, car back becomes the legs and feet, car doors swing out to form the wings. You’ve seen this script many times.

In robot mode, WFC Siege Prowl is iconic Prowl. No one would mistake this bot mode for any other. I really don’t have much to say about the robot mode, because this is Prowl through and through. That’s a good thing, as this Prowl is supposed to represent the G1 version of this character on Cybertron. This figure does not come with shoulder rockets, and that’s a shame, probably the only aspect that make this less Prowl than usual. The roof sirens in alt mode can be detached and placed on his rifle, or be attached to his forearms to be used as a shield.

If you collect the WFC Siege line, you will undoubtedly buy Prowl regardless of what I say. He’s an iconic G1 character that no true G1-er would pass up. The WFC Siege version does Prowl very well, in that it’s G1 in all the right ways. The only critique I can offer here is that it may be too G1. The alt mode looks too close to what he would be on Earth, and I just can’t imagine Cybertronian vehicles resembling Earth vehicles that much. But as far as having a CHUG Cybertronian Prowl, this fits the bill.

Double Strike

Warbotron Double Strike got a dedicated review already, so go check out that post for all the details. Double Strike is Warbotron’s homage to Strafe from the Technobots. In short, this is a good figure, but not as good as Turbo Ejector (Afterburner).

As of this writing, Double Strike and Turbo Ejector are the only Warbotron Technobots I have. I really want to get the rest. I was overall not terribly impressed with MakeToys Quantron, so I sold that set and re-invested in the Warbotron set. I never got the official Combiner War Technobots set, just Scattershot by his lonesome. That is bizarre, considering how much I love the Technobots. Perhaps another 3P will attempt the Technobots. Would Fans Toys be brave enough to do this? Let’s hope so.

Grinder Dinohead

The last item featured this month is an accessory for Grinder. More specifically, this alternate dino head replaces the default dino head that comes with Grinder. I have mentioned repeatedly on this blog that I feel Grinder’s T-Rex mode make me think of Barney. The problem is the head. Fans Toys has heard your complaints and released this alternate Dino head.

In short, this head is much, much better. I didn’t really look at what is changed on this head, but it certainly doesn’t make me think of Barney anymore when I see Grinder in T-Rex mode. See for yourself. With the alternate head attached, Grinder resembles Grimlock from the G1 movie much more closely. This accessory piece goes for $17.99. At this price, every Grinder owner should get this. However I have seen this marked up to about $100, in this era of global shortages of just about everything. Fans Toys items always gets marked up these days, but this is just crazy! I can’t say if FT will make more of these, but I personally would not pay $100 to get one.

More TFs are to come in the months that follow. This is my last post for 2021. Happy New Year! Transform and Roll Out!
 

EDIT 2021/12/30:

I later found that I took some pics of all the Siege TFs this month. Here they are. Enjoy!

Categories: On The Hunt, Pics

Transformers Purchased in May 2018

September 11th, 2019 Comments off

A recent trend I see among my monthly purchases is that I buy more 3rd and 4th party figures than official products. Some recent examples were June 2016, March 2017, and November 2017. May 2018 further contributes to this trend.

You see that Hasbro? Release quality products, and people will buy. It’s not rocket science.

  • Studio Series Starscream, Target, $29.99

  • Mech Planet Big Yellow Bee, chosenprime.com, $17.99
  • Zeta Toys Air Strike, chosenprime.com, $59.99
  • MakeToys Ironwill, chosenprime.com, $79.99

Starscream

I went briefly into Starscream in my last post, so I won’t repeat all that here. Just know that he’s an awesome figure from the Studio Series. I’ll let the pics below speak for themselves.

With Nitro from The Last Knight, another excellent figure.

Big Yellow Bee

HasTak gave us a marvelous rendition of G1 Bumblebee in the Masterpiece line. However, if you always felt that you needed a CHUG Bumblebee that is G1 accurate in both robot and alt modes, which HasTak is unwilling or unable to do, then you need look no further than Big Yellow Bee by Mech Planet.

Big Yellow Bee is an excellent 3rd party take on everyone’s favorite yellow VW bug from G1. He transforms exactly like you think he would, so I won’t describe it too much. The build quality is superb for a $17.99 third party toy. I don’t have any other offerings from Mech Planet. Big Yellow Bee was my first one, and I was quite pleased.

Check the pics below. The faction symbol is after market, obviously.

Big Yellow Bee scales nicely with his mini-bot friends in the CHUG line.

The way that Big Yellow Bee compacts into his alt mode is actually very impressive. Arms, legs, and head all compact into the body area. It does take some cues from MP Bumblebee, but this is quite a feat nevertheless. If he got any smaller from robot to vehicle, you would think he’s mass shifting.

Scale in alt mode.

Big Yellow Bee comes with some accessories. Again, considering the price, this isn’t bad at all. He comes with a pistol, the spare tire wheel cover, and a chest plate type thing that I’m not sure what it’s supposed to be. And in the poly bag, there’s the instructions, a bio card, and some mystery accessory labeled “HOT”. That’s a lot of stuff in the package. Great value here.

I recommend Big Yellow Bee without hesitation.

Air Strike

Air Strike by newcomer Zeta Toys is their interpretation of Air Raid. I first mentioned Zeta back in this post, when I featured their figure for Fireflight called Flyfire. Zeta Toys is an offshoot of ToyWorld. Or more specifically, toy engineers at ToyWorld felt cheated, so they left the company and formed Zeta. Power to the employees!

As of this writing, I only have two items from Zeta. Air Strike was the first one, and Flyfire was the second. They were released in that order, too.

First let’s take a look at Air Strike in the box.

He comes packaged in a nice soft polystyrene box. I prefer this kind of package. I hate Styrofoam, because you’re bound to have little white bits fall off the box and it gets everywhere. I also don’t like plastic clam shells, because it’s hard to put the figures back into them. This kind of packaging is perfect, for what it is. It’s durable enough to protect the figure, while at the same time being easy to handle. I’m sure this is not environmentally friendly either, but none of them are. All in all, this is a no-frills type of packaging, and that’s how I like it. Some companies like to do extra special type boxes to give the items more of a collector status. I’ve never been into that sort of thing.

As far as accessories, Air Strike comes with 4 missiles and his rifle. Included also are the instructions and a bio card. It’s pretty minimalist for a figure of this size. But considering that the price is only $59.99, I feel it’s more than sufficient.

Air Strike looks great in robot mode. See the two pics above. As far as looks, he feels like a combination of the toy and the animation model. I still have my G1 Air Raid. He’s in pretty good shape. The design of Air Strike’s head feels more like the G1 toy, with the blocky shape and visor eyes. The rest of figure takes aesthetics from both the toy and the show. Overall, no one will mistake this figure for any other character besides Air Raid. The iconic black jet on the back, white body, and red chest all screams Air Raid.

Air Strike is a large figure. Below is a pic of how he scales next to War For Cybertron Siege Galaxy Optimus.

Siege Galaxy Optimus is a leader class figure. And Air Strike is taller than him, if you look at where the top of their heads are. In this pic I forgot to flip out the nosecone of Air Strike. If I did, he would be even taller. Air Strike is this size so we would get an accurately scaled MP Kronos (Superion). But individually, the Zeta Aerialbots are probably too fig for standard MP scale. Zeta is betting that most fans want Kronos to scale well with the rest of their MP collection. To that end, this Zeta team should fit the bill. As of this writing, I only have Air Strike and Flyfire, but I’m told that Kronos is very, very impressive when combined.

Transformation to jet mode follows the standard Aerialbot scheme. It’s more complicated than G1 of course, but nothing that would trip up any experienced TransFan.

That is a great looking Air Raid. Zeta did a marvelous job in capturing the look of this iconic black F-15. I probably should have took a pic of Air Strike next to the standard MP Seekers. They’re about the same size in jet mode. In the above pic, I don’t have the 4 missiles attached, but they go under the wings like you expect them to.

I do want to point out that there’s something weird about the front landing gear. On my copy, it’s not possible to get it out without detaching some other pieces first. It’s a minor annoyance for sure. Also, the figure as a whole feels light. I went into this too when I briefly covered Flyfire. My guess is that the materials used for the Zeta figures is not as high quality as the ToyWorld offerings. At only $59.99, they had to cut corners somewhere. Zeta decided to save on using higher quality plastics. And it goes without saying that there are no die-cast on Air Strike to speak of.

So do I recommend Air Strike? That’s a difficult question. Hardcore G1 TransFans, of which Air Strike is catered to, would look to get the entire Aerialbot team. So I almost need to look at the entire set, and see how they combine, before making a recommendation. Also, as of this writing, Fans Toys have come out with their own team of 3P Aerialbots. To this date they have only released Maverick (Silverbolt), and I have not seen any of the limb components. By itself, Air Strike is not a bad figure by any means. He looks great in both robot and jet modes. The transformation is fun, the engineering is solid. However, individual bot size can be an issue (too large). The plastics used does feel inferior to other 3P figures of this caliber, and there’s the front landing gear issue I mentioned. As it stands, I will refrain from making any recommendation, until I have seen the whole team.

Ironwill

The last figure this month is Ironwill, MakeToys’ 3P homage to Hardhead. I bought Ironwill back in November of 2017 during a Black Friday sale. In this same sale, I got Contactshot and Despotron, all by MakeToys. Chosen Prime must have some kind of working relationship with MakeToys, to be able to offer their figs at such a discount. Anyways, Ironwill was bought back then, but did not become in stock til this month.

Ironwill comes with two rifles, his iconic should-mounted cannon, an extra toy-accurate face plate, and instructions. Surprisingly, he does not come with a bio card. That’s almost standard for 3P MP figs these days. Personally I don’t think it’s a big deal to not have one, but just wanted to point it out for those of you that are expecting it.

In robot mode, Ironwill looks good. MakeToys did a fantastic job in updating the look of this character in MP form. The figure feels solid and hefty, befitting of someone whose name is Hardhead.

The figure has tight and clicky joints, just the way I like them. He’s capable of some good poses, and he can stand vertically just fine without leaning too forward or back.

I do have some gripes about Ironwill in robot mode. I don’t like the way that the main shoulder cannon is attached. It just clicks into place, using the most rudimentary rotation joint. It’s weird, but sometimes the joint feels too tight, while other times it feels too loose. Maybe it’s based on the weather (or the phases of the Cybertron moons). The up-and-down swivel of this cannon also feels a tad too loose. I suspect that, over time, pointing the cannon up and holding it there would no longer be possible.

The back pieces of Ironwill also do not hold too well in place in robot mode. When handling the figure, and especially when transforming, the back assembly can become undone when you don’t want it to. I wish there was more of a click-into-place mechanism here.

Ironwill’s transformation hits all the right notes, and is fun for the most part. Again, where I found it frustrating is the main cannon and the back assembly. They don’t stay in place well during the transformation. It’s probably easier to remove the cannon and re-attach after transforming is done. But that feels like parts-forming, and totally unnecessary given that the cannon doesn’t switch position. If the engineering was better on the cannon attachment, this won’t be an issue.

Here is Ironwill in alt mode. The Cybertronian tank looks great. The Headmaster figure can ride inside.

Fans will undoubtedly compare Ironwill to ToyWorld Hardbone. Honestly, I’m not sure which is the better figure here. Most fans will probably choose Ironwill. But there are a bunch of things I like better about Hardbone. Hardbone scales better with other MPs, in my opinion. Ironwill is too big to scale well with anything (should have taken a pic here). Hardbone does have a superior shoulder cannon attachment, and he comes with some cool accessories.

My final verdict on Ironwill is get it if you can find it at the price that I did. Regular MSPR is over $100, and at that price there needs to be less issues with the figure.

That does it for May. Some awesome stuff is coming next month, so stay tuned. Transform and Roll Out.
 

Categories: On The Hunt, Pics

Random Decepticons, August 2019

August 3rd, 2019 Comments off

Once again, I got a bunch of mostly unrelated Decepticons lying about. I’m gathering a bunch of them together for a feature.

WFC Siege Brunt

I consider myself pretty hardcore G1, and even I had to look up Brunt. In G1, he was a figure that came with Trypticon. Kind of like Six-Gun and Metroplex. However, in G1, Brunt is a tank that transforms into some gun towers for Trypticon. He does not have a robot mode. So it’s a bit debatable if you can even call Brunt an independent figure. But Hasbro did create a profile for him and here we are.

In War For Cybertron Siege, Brunt is upgraded to a modern Cybertronian interpretation. And this figure ain’t too shabby. He gets a full-fledged robot mode. And the original tank mode is still intact. But more importantly, Burnt is what they now call a “Weaponizer” figure in Siege. What this means is that he can separate into bits, and the individual parts can be used as weapons for other figures. It’s kind of a gimmicky feature. Not groundbreaking in my opinion, but marginally cool. Though this does make Brunt very much a parts-former. When transforming from robot to tank, the arms, legs, main gun, and back panel all needs to be removed and reattached. Yikes! The right arm on my copy is also a bit too loose in the elbow.

Still, I like Burnt. Both modes look good. I like the color scheme. The newly designed head mold works great for the character, and the parts-forming transformation actually feels kinda fun. Recommended.

WFC Siege Refraktor

Here is a figure that many hardcore G1 purists like myself have been waiting for. Focus your camera lenses on: Refraktor! Yes all G1 nerds will immediately recognize this as Reflector. I’m assuming the name change was required for trademark reasons.

I have seen the original Diaclone toys in a Diaclone catalog. But they were Japanese only. In the US, I believe these G1 Reflectors were only available through Hasbro’s mail order at the time, using Robots Points that you cut out of the G1 packaging. And they were still in Diaclone colors and not the show colors.

There has been several modern efforts at updating Reflectors. Hasbro has made Mini-Con Reflectors that came packed with Skrapnel, but these Reflectors are hardly G1 accurate. I know there has been a legend size Reflector figure, but those were convention exclusives. And they were simply repaints of Combiner Wars Shockwave, which stunk of Hasbro laziness. There has been many third party efforts as well. But they are not massively accessible, and I’m told none of them are that good. Each set has its issues.

Enter WFC Siege Refractor. This is the most show accurate physical manifestation of an official Refraktor that we have seen to date! This is a brand new mold, designed to be the character. The overall shape and colors of the robot mode screams Reflector. And yes, when you have 3 of them, they will combine to form a camera! G1 TransFans, Hasbro loves you. As of this writing, I only have 2 Refraktors. I got a third one in my Roller’s Stash at The Chosen Prime. I’ll form the camera when I ship the stash. I am told the camera comes together really well.

Build and construction of the figure is extremely solid. No loose bits or dangling parts. All pieces tab in where they should. Joints are of the right tension.

Each Refraktor also has an individual alt mode, that I’m guessing is supposed to be some kind of flying Cybertronian craft. Reminds me a bit of some versions of Shockwave’s alt mode. This mode feels like an afterthought, made up so toy buyers who know nothing about G1’s history don’t feel cheated when buying Refraktor. But you and I know better. The 3 as 1 camera alt mode is where the true action is.

For those of you that remember me saying how lame Reflectors are, this makes them a bit less lame. They almost earned themselves a seat at the cool kids table.

If you’re G1 guy, you already made up your mind that you’re buying 3 Refraktors. And if you’re not a G1 guy, buy them anyway.

Generations Thrilling 30 Skywarp

This Skywarp was purchased back in February of 2014. That was more than 5 years ago. Sometimes I can’t believe how quickly time flies. If I didn’t document the purchase, I would have thought this was only 2 or 3 years ago.

Generations Thrilling 30 Skywarp is based on designs from the Fall of Cybertron game. So he does fit in fairly well with WFC Siege. Though a Skywarp is planned for WFC Siege (as an Amazon exclusive).

This is a solid Skywarp figure. I have written about this mold elsewhere, so I won’t repeat them here. Though, playing with Skywarp after all these years, he does feel dated when compared to the WFC Siege line of figures. TFs as a whole are constantly getting better. And sometimes I need to remind myself of that fact by going back to older figures. It’s a bit like looking at your own children. Sometimes you don’t realize how much they have grown, until you go back and look at old but still recent pictures.

Studio Series Starscream

The last figure here is Studio Series Starscream. I started going into SS figures starting with my last post. Starscream was part of the first wave of SS figures released.

I like this Starscream. Overall, he feels like an up-sized version of Dark of the Moon deluxe Starscream. That figure came around before I started documenting my TF purchases on this blog. And I don’t think I ever featured that figure in anything. I think the closes I came to featuring it somewhere is in this post. Look carefully at the only picture that he’s in. It looks like Skywarp, but it’s really Starscream! Gemini and his wife took a deluxe store DotM Starscream, repainted it like Skywarp, and put it in this Japanese packaging for DotM Skywarp. To my knowledge, a retail deluxe DotM Skywarp was never released in the States. This has got to be one of the best Christmas presents I ever received! I really need to dig out this figure and give it a proper review.

Anyways, back to SS Starscream. This figure is voyager class. That’s a more appropriate size for someone like Starscream. The robot mode appears very close to his movie design. He’s fairly stable when standing on 2 legs on a flat surface. The feet is a feat in engineering (pun intended) considering his overall shape. Starscream has virtually no kibble on the back, which is saying something for the movie seekers. Starscream comes with a weapon that can be attached on either arm, when the hand is flipped in. In jet mode, Starscream looks great. Again, very little kibble on the underside of the jet, and that’s to be commended. There’s some kibble on the wings, but in my opinion it’s not at all distracting. Landing gears flip out easily. The weapon pegs in nicely and securely on the rear of the jet, behind the thrusters.

Again, the transformation scheme is identical to the DotM deluxe figure. SS Starscream is in my opinion the best movie Starscream made to date. The RotF Leader class figure was very good too, but this SS figure is more playable.

I recommend all the figures here.

Other related posts:

Decepticons… Transform and Roll Out.
 

Categories: Pics, Toy Reviews

Transformers Purchased in December 2017

December 26th, 2018 Comments off

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!
 

Categories: On The Hunt, Pics

Transformers Bumblebee New Trailer

September 27th, 2018 Comments off

A new trailer for the upcoming Bumblebee movie was just released 2 days ago! Check it out!

I gotta say, after seeing this trailer, I am once again excited about Transformers on the big screen! I got so many random thoughts in my head after seeing this. I’m gonna try to capture them all in bullet points.

  • Transformers needed a new director and bring new life into the franchise, something I’ve said over and over on this blog. Bumblebee is directed by Travis Knight, best known for directing Kubo and the Two Strings. I didn’t see that movie, but everyone I talked to who saw it says it’s good. Personally, I’m just glad Michael Bay is not at the helm. His absence is already making a difference.
  • Bumblebee is back to being a VW Bug! Yeah this is old news, but it’s worth repeating. I do like the concept of the modern Camaro Bumblebee, but we need to get back to the roots and have perhaps the most iconic Transformer return to his original alt mode.
  • I like both Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena for this movie. I don’t know much about Hailee, other than seeing her in Edge of Seventeen. And I know some of her songs, such as “Love Myself” and “Most Girls”. OK maybe I know more about her than I thought. I think it’s about time we got a human female lead for a TF movie. John Cena as some military guy works for me. He is way more suited to be a solider than Josh Duhamel.
  • And now for the one big reason I look forward to this movie – all characters on Cybertron look like their G1 selves! From Optimus Prime to Soundwave to Shockwave, this is how to translate these beloved characters to the big screen! And this is how they should have looked all this time, instead of the machinations that Michael Bay morphed them into.
  • It’s worth pointing out that the characters only look G1 when they’re on Cybertron, and they look more like typical Bay-formers when they’re on Earth. Is that by design? Are they saying that the G1 look only applies to TFs on Cybertron, and coming to Earth and transcanning they look more like Bay-formers? It will be interesting to see if the movie offers any interpretation here. And while we’re on that topic, the Cybertron TFs does look more like cartoony CG, while the TFs on Earth look more realistic. That may also be an artistic choice.
  • When Prime first appeared in the hologram, I didn’t think much of it, since that’s how I am accustomed to seeing Optimus. But then I had to remind myself that this is a live action movie. And then it hits me that I’m looking at a G1-styled Prime! This movie will be such a good G1 homage I can practically wet myself. Peter Cullen is obviously back as the great Autobot leader.
  • Soundwave! If that’s not a G1 homage Soundwave, I don’t know what is. And Ravage ejecting out of him! Though that’s still on Cybertron, and Ravage is already some kind of jaguar or panther type animal. How is that gonna be explained? Are there animals like that on Cybertron?
  • That scene with Shockwave with a army of Seekers behind him is amazing. The one standing mostly in the foreground is probably Starscream. There are some other various colored ones, think I see a purple one and a green one. Are they supposed to be the Rainmakers? The green one is a Conehead too. That will be interesting. The Seeker Cybertronian alt mode is taken directly from the very first episode of G1. Very very cool! They obviously did their homework here.
  • When Bee is going through a tunnel, there is a green repair truck. Is that Hoist? Or just a homage to Hoist?
  • We still get a non-talking Bee in this movie. I guess that’s one Michael Bay contribution to the TF franchise that just won’t die.
  • This movie is set in 1986, pretty close to the date that the Transformers entity came to be, in 1984. It doesn’t really look that 80s to me, though. Maybe I’m expecting that stereotypical 80s look and this movie is trying to avoid that. That may be a good thing.
  • Bumblebee is supposed to be a prequel to the Bay movies. If this movie is well-received, maybe the studio will just consider this a reboot and then continue off of this. I’m hoping that happens. As it is, there will probably be so many continuity issues if this movie is really just a prequel.

 
I can’t wait for Bumblebee. This will be a great Christmas gift to the hardcore G1 Transfans that have been with the franchise through thick and thin. Transform and Roll Out!
 

Categories: TF News

Transformers Purchased in May 2017

May 26th, 2018 Comments off

Repaints and more repaints! That is the theme this month. There were 7 TFs purchased in May of 2017, and 5 of them were repaints.

I never kept stats on how many repaints there are in a month, but I can’t remember one that was this high. 5 out of 7… that’s more than 70%. Hasbro is being plenty lazy here, but perhaps I’m the sucker for buying so many.

Below I proudly present the TFs where most of these molds has been previously used on a different figure.

  • Titans Return Blitzwing, Target, $24.99

  • Titans Return Octone, Target, $24.99

  • Titans Return Brawn, amazon.com, $9.99

  • Titans Return Roadburn, Toys R Us, $9.99

  • Robots in Disguise Skywarp, Walmart, $14.97

  • Masterpiece Megatron MP-36, amiami.com, ¥17280 (about $159.09)

  • Masterpiece Starscream MP-31, amiami.com, ¥9770 (about $89.95)

Blitzwing and Octone

Blitzwing needs no introduction. As perhaps the most famous Triple Changer in TF history, Blitzwing saw plenty of action in G1, including the G1 Movie. Even casual TransFans could identify both his alt modes: a MiG-25 jet fighter and a Type 74 battle tank. Titans Return Blitzwing is a repaint of Titans Return Megatron. Or to be more precise, Megatron is a “prepaint” of Blitzwing.

In my opinion, TR Blitzwing is way better than Generations 30 Blitzwing. I enjoy the transformation of TR Blitzwing. All 3 modes look pretty good, and it doesn’t have the famous construction issue that Gen 30 Blitzwing had.

It feels weird to write Octone. His name should really be Octane, the fuel truck and fuel jet Triple Changer that came about in G1 Season 3. Titans Return Optimus Prime is a prepaint of Octone.

In the early years of the Generations line, Hasbro released a deluxe version of Octane called Tankor. That figure was really not that good. TR Octone is leaps and bounds superior to Tankor. And just like Blitzwing, all 3 modes are pretty good. There isn’t one mode that is obviously inferior to the rest, like many other attempts at Triple Changers. I commend Hasbro for coming up with modern Triple Changers where all the modes are properly represented.

G1 purists will no doubt argue that Blitzwing and Octane were never Headmasters. They would be right, but I don’t think it’s such a big deal.

Hasbro did make enough mold changes to Blitzwing and Octone that buying these repaints feels a bit more justified. If you didn’t purchase TR Optimus or Megatron, then there is no reason to not buy these 2. But even if you did, I still recommend them. The molds here were always meant for these 2 characters. Sell off Prime and Megs and put Octone and Blitzwing in your collection if you have a no-repaint rule.

Brawn

Brawn is one figure that uses a brand new mold this month. I have a quick review for him here. He is most definitely recommended.

Roadburn

I don’t think there was a character named Roadburn in G1 (though it won’t surprise me if I’m wrong on this). Instead, I think this character is meant to be Chase, a member of the Throttlebots. Roadburn’s color scheme and head mold is a dead on for Chase. I have G1 Throttlebot Chase. I also have ToyWorld’s MP scale interpretation of Chase, called Trace. My Chase collection is now complete with the acquisition of Roadburn. This totally unknown character deserves his 15 minutes of fame. Maybe I will do a separate collection post dedicated to Chase.

Anyways, Roadburn is a repaint of Titans Return Bumblebee. Roadburn has a different head mold, but that’s the only mold difference. Read the post on Bumblebee for my thoughts on this figure. If Chase the character means something to you, then go ahead and get this figure. Otherwise it is a skip. This figure really doesn’t offer anything that hasn’t been done before.

It should also be noted that Roadburn is one of my last in-store Transformer purchase from Toys R Us before the giant toy chain went under in early 2018. I started to write about my thoughts on TRU here, but then it got so long I realized it should get its own post. So that’s what I’ll do. A “farewell to TRU” post is coming soon.

Skywarp

Robots in Disguise Skywarp is a figure I debated about buying. I saw him on the shelves in late April or early May and decided to skip it. He is an exact repaint of RiD Starscream, which I have. I like the figure, but it’s not worth buying again in a different color.

About a week or two goes by, and I gave in to my urges and bought Skywarp. I guess it’s because I like Skywarp the character, I like the figure in the black and purple color scheme, and there was really nothing else to buy (I was not counting on the two MP figs to arrive later in the month). Read the RiD Starscream post for a more detailed discussion about the figure. Skywarp is solid, but not a required purchase by any means.

Starscream

What can I say about MP Starscream that hasn’t already been said? The mold used for this figure has been around for so long and Takara is still abusing it. What I have here is the official 2017 re-issue of MP-11. I’m fortunate enough that my Starscream doesn’t seem too bad, but it comes as no surprise that many fans report inferior construction quality with this figure (loose joints, weak tabs, etc).

I got this re-issue because, up until this point, I don’t have the famous Decepticon Aerial Commander in the newer MP Seeker mold. I have MP-3 Starscream, but that was done in the older MP Seeker mold (with the side skirts, among other things). It’s a crime not to have Starscream updated, so when I saw this re-issue, I bought it. Though, now in 2018 as I write this, 3Ps are doing their own MP style Starscream that appears to be superior (one example is MakeToys Meteor). So in retrospect, maybe I should not have bought this MP-11 re-issue, especially considering the questionable build quality.

MP-11 with MP Thundercracker and MP Skywarp. MP Thundercracker is in the new Seeker mold like the MP-11, while MP Skywarp is in the old Seeker mold like MP-3.

MP-11 in full coronation gear.

It should be noted that having the figure stand with the coronation gear is pretty difficult. It takes forever to position it so Starscream doesn’t fall ass backwards when wearing the full gear. Another reason to not get MP-11.

Megatron

I saved the best for last. Here we have the big prize of the month – Masterpiece Megatron, designation MP-36! This is the other figure having a new mold this month. Much like MP Optimus Prime that was first released as MP-1, then later got an improved but smaller version of MP-10, Megatron first received the MP treatment back in 2007 with MP-5. Now 10 years later, he is getting an updated version as MP-36, and he is meant to scale with MP-10.

MP-36 Megatron is a fantastic looking figure. Imagine if Megatron stepped out of the G1 cartoons and became a solid, tangible figure. That is how MP-36 looks. Take a look at the pics below. I cannot say enough about the show accuracy of this Megatron. He really is something to behold.

Back view. The upper back is a bit messy, but nothing I can’t live with.

Construction of MP-36 is superb. All joints are tight and clicky. No cosmic rust syndrome here.

MP Megs with the famous MP-10. Look how well they scale together.

MP Megs with his top MP lieutenant.

MP Megs up close and personal.

Look at all these accessories!

Obviously I never even took these out of the box. There’s a lot here to accessorize the Decepticon leader with. Other than the scope / fusion cannon, included are:

  • The silencer
  • The stock
  • 3 alternate face plates
  • Key to Vector Sigma
  • Energy sword (appears in the epic fight with Optimus Prime in the G1 Movie)
  • Pistol (also in the same fight)
  • Damaged chest plate (as a result of same fight with Prime)
  • Energy ball and chain (during fight with Optimus Prime, in Ep2 of More Than Meets The Eye, which he only used once ever)
  • Helmet (used in some Ep in G1 that I no longer recall)

I’m ashamed to say that, even after having this figure for about a year, I still not have transformed it. It’s not that I don’t want to. I took a quick look at the instructions, and it is more than daunting. This figure could very well make it into a top most-difficult list (btw, I really need to update that post and make a 2018 edition). I promise I will transform MP-36 soon.

Grades for the month:

Recommended:

  • TR Blitzwing
  • TR Octone
  • TR Brawn
  • MP Megatron

Mediocre:

  • TR Roadburn
  • RiD Skywarp

Not recommended:

  • MP Starscream

Again, TR Brawn and MP-36 Megatron are the only new molds in this list of Transformers. All others are repaints, and their purchase is at your discretion.

The Decepticons far outnumber the Autobots this month. Poor Brawn and Roadburn… these 2 tiny Autobots had better get back to headquarters and rustle up a few more friends (G1-ers will recognize this reference from Fire on the Mountain).

Transform and Roll Out.
 

Categories: On The Hunt, Pics

Decepticon Air Superiority, 2017 !

October 20th, 2017 Comments off

Exactly 5 years ago on this day, I presented a short post about Decepticon Air Superiority. Well, 5 years later, I also find myself with lots of Decepticons jets lying about here and there. So it’s time for another post that will remind the Autobots of Decepticons’ sheer and utter dominance in the not-so-friendly skies.

The 5 jets presented here are all very nice figs that represents how far transforming toys have come. All of them have clever engineering mechanisms that showcase how well a transforming jet can be made today. The oldest figure here, in terms of when the mold was first released, is Masterpiece Starscream. What I have here is a 2017 re-issue of the MP-11. I missed out on the MP-11 when first released. But I have enough other characters that utilize this mode, including MP Thundercracker (picutred 5 years ago), MP Acid Storm, and MP Sunstorm. This mold is the 2nd one used in the official MP line from Takara. The design feels a little dated today, and the mold’s poor durability after all this time is well documented. But I’m glad to finally have a Starscream in this mold in 2017. And the copy of I have feels ok in terms of build quality.

The two jets in front are some of my most recent acquisitions from The Last Knight: Voyager class Megatron and Nitro. Megatron is the dark grey futuristic looking jet, and Nitro is the light grey F-16 with the black nose cone. Both figures are excellent additions to the LK line. Megatron is a pure joy to transform and play with. Both modes look good, the figure is well built, and the transformation is fun, intuitive, and refreshing. Nitro is one of the more difficult figures in the LK line. But he’s a testament to modern TF engineering. He’s a non-symmetrical transformer, like many of the motorcycle figs. In jet mode, when done right, he comes together so well that the difficult and frustrating transformation sequence is easily forgiven. Both figs were acquired in the past 2 weeks.

The black jet in the center is Combiner Wars Skywarp. I acquired him in November of 2016, and left him out in the open all this time.

Last but not least, we have ToyWorld Requiem, their MP styled homage to Dirge. He’s the blue jet with brown wings. And let me tell you: this is an amazing figure! A lot of other TransFans are turned off by these TW Coneheads because of their scale. Yes in robot mode they are a bit tall. But seriously, don’t let that discourage you! These Coneheads are so well built and designed that they put official MP Seekers to shame. The TW Coneheads have a nice heft to them, and in your hands they feel more like the real deal and make official Takara products feel like knock offs. The Takara Seeker mold is so used now that figures produced feel cheap and sloppy. My Starscream (mentioned above) feels ok, but some fans have not been so fortunate. I have outlined how poorly my official MP Ramjet is in terms of build quality. TW Coneheads have no build issues whatsoever. All joints feel nice and tight. But what ultimately impressed me about TW Requiem is the design and engineering. The transformation is many times superior to Takara MPs. It’s enjoyable and intuitive, and the nice and solid construction means that everything properly tabs into place. In robot mode, Requiem looks slender and sleek instead of wide and bulky. I got the set of 3 TW Coneheads for only $159.99 from TF Source on a sale in August. This is probably the best TF purchase I have made this year.

So who is leading this bunch? LK Megatron? Or MP Starscream? You decide.

Transform and Roll Out.

 

Categories: Pics

Power of the Primes

August 22nd, 2017 Comments off

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.

StarscreamI 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!

 

Categories: Pics, TF News

Decepticon Power!

July 25th, 2017 Comments off

Quick post today. I got a bunch of Decepticons out and lying about. So it’s time for Megatron to lead the troops into battle and kick some Autobot ass!

Check the pic below.

This roster of Decepticons won’t take crap from no one:

  • Masterpiece Megatron (MP-36)
  • Masterpiece Starscream (MP-11)
  • Titans Return Octone (Octane)
  • Titans Return Blitzwing
  • Titans Return Sky Shadow
  • Titans Return Kickback
  • Robots in Disguise Soundwave
  • Robots in Disguise Skywarp
  • Last Knight Barricade
  • Warbotron Bruticus – Fierce Attack, Air Burst, Whirlwind, Sly Strike, Heavy Noisy

Autobots everywhere had better beware. This collection reminds me of the time I gathered this group of Decepticons.

Transform and Roll Out.

 

Categories: Pics

Transformers Purchased in September 2016

May 17th, 2017 Comments off

Here are the purchases for Sept of 2016. What kind of goodies did I get? Well… nothing too special. 3 repaints and 2 RiD figs. Nothing to write home about, but better than getting nothing.

  • Titans Return Rumble, Target, $10.29

  • Titans Return Laserbeak, Target, $10.29

  • Titans Return Ravage, Target, $10.29

  • Robots in Disguise Starscream, Toys R Us, $14.99

  • Robots in Disguise Windblade, Walmart, $14.97

Let’s start with the Titans Return cassettes first. Actually, in the modern era, they are all tablets. And it hit me just now that all 3 of these are about $10 each. Oh man… there was a time when deluxe class figures were $10. Now all you can get with $10 all super small figs. Sigh. And in retrospect I totally see Hasbro’s “release-the-famous-character-later” tactic for repaints. Double sigh.

Anyways, these are all repaints. Rumble is my favorite out of these three. At least he gets a different head mold from Rewind. Ravage is a repaint from Stripes, and Laserbeak is a repaint from Buzzsaw. You can see Laserbeak’s release coming from a mile away. But in G1 these 2 were also exact repaints of each other, so I guess the trend must continue. I won’t comment any more about these 3, other than they are all famous G1 chracters from Season 1. So as much as you hate Hasbro’s double dip tactics, you still open your wallet and make the obligatory purchase. Damn you Hasbro.

Now onto some new stuff. First up is Robots in Disguise Starscream. I really tried to watch Robots in Disguise now that it’s on Netflix. But it just doesn’t grab me like any of the TF shows before it. I’ve tried starting the show on three separate occasions, starting with Ep 1. I don’t get too far before I lose interest, and before you know it, a few months has gone by and I kinda forgot what happened in Ep 1 and I had to start over. So I really don’t know what’s going on in the RiD story line. But to see Starscream on the shelf, that took me by surprise. I didn’t know if this RiD figure would be any good, but it’s Starscream, and as a hardcore G1-er you always buy Starscream.

RiD Starscream is not too shabby. I like the jet mode. It’s nice and sleek. He’s not a F-15, but some kind of futuristic jet that resembles something out of Macross. The forward wing design is a nice touch. When you look on the underside of the jet, there’s a bit of bulk but not too much. He’s got the iconic Starscream colors of light grey, red, and blue. Canopy is in a cartoon orange, and in this case I think it works. The guns go underneath the tip of the wings. If I got a gripe, it’s that the arms are under the wings in jet mode, and that makes the wing area a bit thick. But all in all I like the alt mode. It’s a familiar yet refreshing Starscream alt mode.

Transformation of RiD Starscream is pretty cool. It’s definitely different from how Starscream usually transforms. To start, the nosecone folds backwards onto the top of the plane and stays there. The arm and chest section are formed by moving it from the rear and wing of the jet and attaching it more forward. The legs fold out from the top. In robot mode, the design is still most certainly Starscream, but with RiD aesthetics. The wings on his back make it look like he’s wearing a cape, and it’s not a bad look for him. His head mold looks like a cross from various Starscreams of the past. And his shoulder design resembles his G1 shoulder ornaments during his short lived coronation in the G1 movie. Construction of the figure is solid. Everything tabs into where it should so nothing flops around. A lot of the figure is cheap ball joints, but that does make for some nice articulation. The right hip joint is a bit loose on my figure, but a little nail polish should fix that right up. To sum up, I like this Starscream figure. I wouldn’t put it in the must get category, but it’s a solid addition to your RiD lineup, or if you just want something extra to play with during a TF dry spell. Oh, I got the exclusive Toys R Us version. There is a mass retail version of this figure, but I don’t know how they’re different.

The last entry for the month is RiD Windblade. Again, I know next to nothing about RiD so I was not expecting this figure at all. And what a sweet surprise she was. Windblade as a character is getting some love in the IDW Transformers comics. Reading the IDW comis is something that’s been on my mind for a long time now, I just can’t find the time for it. And if my understanding is accurate, Windblade is a central character in some of the recent IDW plot lines. Hasbro has already produced a figure of her IDW incarnation. However, I’m not particularly fond of that figure. It looks ok, but it’s too flimsy for my liking. I have been wishing for a better Windblade.

And along comes Robots in Disguise Windblade. In my opinion, this is the Windblade to get. RiD Windblade is mostly decked out in red with patches of black here and there. Her jet mode is fairly unique. She seems to be a hover jet in every continuity, and RiD Windblade is no exception. She’s got the iconic turbines on the wings. In this mode, the figure comes together fairly well as most parts tab into place. A lot of the female figures that Hasbro has produced are flimsy (even in alt mode), but Windblade does not share that problem. There is storage space on the underside of the jet for the sword inside the sheath (more on this later). However, that’s not possible if you want to place the jet nicely on a flat surface. It will get in the way of the landing gear.

Transformation to robot is mostly derivative of what we have seen before. Legs fold out from the rear of the jet, arms untab from the sides, and the jet nosecone and wings folds to the back. Windblade implements a tried and true jet to robot formula, but there are some original mechanics. The jet turbines flips to the other side of the wings in robot mode, and the top of the jet collapses on itself in robot mode. This transformation is more about the execution and it’s done very well.

I love how Windblade looks in robot mode. I’m gonna assume she looks accurate to her RiD appearance, and I like the overall red upper body motif with black legs. The frame and shape of the robot mode makes it obvious that this is a female character. And for a female TF, she feels much more robust than other female TFs that have been done in the past. Windblade comes with her iconic sword. The sword can be placed into the sheath when not in use. There is a peg on the sheath that can be placed on the outer side of either leg for a sword-carrying samurai look.

Windblade has got some great articulation due to liberal use of ball joints. Yes, cheap ball joints again, but I can overlook it when it’s done this well on a $15 figure. She can be posed holding the sword in all kinds of ways. The figure comes with this yellow fan looking piece that I didn’t know what to do with for the longest time. I thought it was some kind of fan-based weapon, like in the old kung-fu movies. Turns out, you insert it to the back of her head. I should have looked at the packaging art more closely.

To sum up, I highly recommend RiD Windblade. Get one if you see one. However, the latest batch of Windblades that I see in the stores appears different. Take a look at pics of mine, then look at this pic I snapped today at Walmart.

At first my thought was Hasbro forgot to paint her face. Then comparing this pic with my figure, I see that the store figure now is quite a bit different. I see bits of yellow on her chest, and bits of blue on her abdomen. Her knees are also painted yellow instead of blue, and the legs are almost entirely black. I guess this is a 2nd version (much like how they did two versions of Megatronus), and she wears a face mask. I don’t know if I like that look.

More TFs to come. Transform and Roll Out.

 

Categories: On The Hunt, Pics