There are quite of bit of figures taking up room on my shelf. Before I put them away, I’ll give them their 15 minutes of fame and feature them in a post.

Same pic, different angle.

From left to right
Top shelf, in robot mode: MMC Bovis, TFP Beast Hunters Shockwave, Fans Toys Quakewave, Masterpiece Acid Storm, Generations FOC Thundercracker
Top shelf, in alt mode: Generations Megatron, Generations FOC Kickback, Generations Blitzwing, TFP Breakdown, TFP Silas Breakdown, Generations FOC Shockwave
Middle shelf: Generations Orion Pax, Generations Bumblebee, Generations Springer, Generations Sandstorm, TFP Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, TFP Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus, , Generations Hoist, Generations Trailcutter
Bottom shelf: Masterpiece Prowl, Masterpiece Streak, Generations Blurr, ToyWorld Trace, ToyWorld Aurora

Can you tell who it is the oldest figure on here? That’s right, it is Blurr. I believe he was released 2010. I dug him out recently for display because he’s such an awesome fig!

With the exception of Blurr, Breakdown, and FOC Shockwave, all figures on here were acquired in 2013.

4 figures are from third parties: MMC Bovis, Fans Toys Quakewave, ToyWorld Trace, and ToyWorld Aurora.

There are 3 Masterpiece figures: Acid Storm, Prowl, and Streak. Though one could certainly make a case for Quakewave. He’s a third party fig, but he fits into the MP toys just fine.

OK, time to make more room for the figs of 2014. Into the closets these will go. Transform and Roll Out.

Once again it is the end of the month, where I count up the Transformers that have come into my possession for the duration. In contrast to September, I received all these TFs in the first half of the month. And in direct contrast to October of last year, where I set a record number of TF figures purchased in a single month, this October is quite modest in terms of figures bought.

• Masterpiece Acid Storm, Toys R Us, $74.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Optimus Prime and Roller, amazon.com, $10.94

• Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee and Blazemaster, amazon.com, $10.94

• ToyWorld Aurora, bbts.com, $49.99

• Mastermind Creations Bovis, bbts.com, $89.99

This comes to a total of 7 figs for October. 4 figs from Generations Thrilling 30, 1 Masterpiece fig, and 2 third party products.

MP Acid Storm was a pleasant find (though that same day, he was also available online). I have been hunting at TRU for about a month on a regular basis before I found him early in October. I really like the new Seeker MP molds. Acid Storm is an exact repaint of MP Thundercracker, and I have already mentioned what a awesome figure that is. Acid Storm certainly does not disappoint. I really wish Hasbro would also re-release Starscream and Skywarp in the US in the new MP molds.

The little Generations Thrilling 30 figures were ordered from Amazon. I have never seen these in store. So when I saw them on Amazon for only $1 more than MSRP, I wasted no time buying them. Technically they were not from Amazon, they were from TFSource selling through Amazon. That particular arrangement worked out quite well for me. I don’t live in the same state as TFSource so I don’t have to pay tax, and this is sold through Amazon so it qualifies for free ship with Amazon Prime (which I have). Anyway, the OP fig is just ok. The Bumblebee fig is not half bad. They are fun distractions, and they pose well with Metroplex.

The two third party figs are nothing short of incredible! Aurora by ToyWorld is an homage to Searchlight, a G1 Throttlebot. This figure transforms quite well. He looks nice in both modes, and the construction is solid. ToyWorld does intend to make all 6 Throttlebot homages, and supposedly they will combine! I know G1 Throttlebots never did this, but it’s nice to see ToyWorld go out of their way to make this happen. Now that I’ve seen how cool Aurora is, I plan on getting the rest of them. I got Trace (Chase homage) on pre. Now I need to get Grind Rod (Rollbar).

That leaves Bovis. Fans have been gushing left and right on TF sites and forums about how well Mastermind Creations products are. They are right. Words alone cannot do justice to the quality that MMC have put into this figure. Bovis is a homage to Tantrum, a G1 Predacon. MMC is making the whole team. If the rest of the figs turn out as well as Bovis, then we are really in for a treat. Anyway, I transformed Bovis from robot to bull. He is a really solid piece that any G1 fan needs to own. Bovis is certainly large for a figure that can combine. Predaking will be massive! I love it.

Happy Halloween! Transform and Roll Out!

September was off to a slow start as far as TF purchases go. But then a whole bunch of figures started to make their appearance past the midpoint of the month. Anyway, here they are.

• Quakewave by Fans Toys, edbomber.com, $150

• Generations Thrilling 30 Thundercracker, Toys R Us, $12.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Hoist, Toys R Us, $12.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Starscream and Waspinator, Target, $9.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Metroplex and Scamper, amazon.com, $106.03

• Generations Thrilling 30 Megatron and Chop Shop, Target, $9.49

That’s a total of 6 purchases for 9 TFs. All are from the Generations Thrilling 30 line, except for Quakewave which is a third party product. There are 6 Decepticons and only 3 Autobots this month, but I think the balance of power is clearly on the side of the good guys with Metroplex alone.

For the first time in a long time, I actually opened all the figures I bought in the month! I guess when it comes to CHUG stuff, I just can’t wait. When it comes down to it, I still like G1 derivatives the best!

I went into Quakewave a little bit in my previous post, so I won’t repeat it here. In short, he’s amazing. Get him now while supplies last. Oh yeah, I also want to give a shout out here to edbomber.com. It’s a great store. Quakewave was my first purchase from them and I was very pleased. I like the usual places where I get my 3rd party Transformers, but having one more option is always a good thing. More competition is always a win for the fans.

This Thundercracker is the Fall of Cybertron version, though he’s not packaged as such. He’s a exact repaint of FOC Starscream. I love that mold, but I think in Thundercracker’s colors, this figure looks even better. Hoist is a repaint of Trailcutter, with a new head mold and a new weapon that becomes his crane. I think I actually like this figure better as Hoist.

The little Megatron and Starscream figs are pretty cool. They are easy and fun to transform, while paying good homage to their G1 selves. I kinda like Chop Shop, even though he’s super simple (think G1 Throttlebot simple). Waspinator is a total fail. All his modes suck.

And that brings us to Metroplex. This is to my knowledge the biggest Transformer ever produced! He’s pure awesomeness. You will need a lot of room to keep this guy around, but believe me he’s worth it. The $106 price tag from Amazon is nice too. Oh yeah, he also comes with Scamper. I must review him in the future. This is something I must do as a TransFan.

That covers my purchases for September. This month was kind of a pleasant surprise. I didn’t think there would be this many TFs hitting the stores. The final TF count is good, not too many that I feel overwhelmed, and not too few that I feel like there are no new figs. Plus these are all good figures that fit well into the CHUG or MP verse. Hopefully October will be just as good… Transform and Roll Out.

Here is what I currently have on display.

Same pic, different angle.

From left to right
Top shelf, in alt mode: TFP Breakdown, TFP Silas Breakdown, TFP Beast Hunters Shockwave, Generations Blitzwing, TFP Dreadwing, Generations Megatron
Top shelf, in robot mode: Fans Toys Quakewave, MP Soundwave with Laserbeak
Middle shelf: Generations Bumblebee, Generations Springer, Generations Sandstorm, TFP Beast Hunters Optimus Prime, TFP Beast Hunters Ultra Magnus, Generations Trailcutter, Generations Orion Pax

Most of the Transformers in this group I would highly recommend. Each figure is a worthy purchase that any TransFan would be happy to include in his collection. The two Breakdown figures are some of the best to come out of the TF Prime line. MP Soundwave is considered by many to be the best MP figure ever made. Generations Springer and Sandstorm are nothing short of spectacular, and I dare argue that, for the first time ever, Hasbro has done triple changers right with these two. Trailcutter has finally arrived to the CHUG party, but better late than never. And for the first time in TF history, Hasbro made a Orion Pax figure. This figure is still a pretty rare find as of this writing.

Quakewave by Fans Toys is absolutely amazing! This is a 3rd party Shockwave homage that scales incredibly well with the MP line (check him out next to MP Soundwave). Construction of the figure is very solid, and the mechanical design of this toy is on par with any MPs that Hasbro and Takara has come up with. He looks good in both modes. Transformation is fun without being overly complex. Price is also reasonable at $150. The LED gimmicks (in both eye and cannon arm) are very cool.

The only two figures that may be debatable is Bumblebee and Blitzwing. Blitzwing has the shoulder-non-locking construction issue that all fans are aware of by now. And Bumblebee, despite being a brand new mold, feels too similar to past figures of the same character. But even with these flaws, I still recommend them. Blitzwing’s problems can be remedied with just a little bit of work. And if for some reason you don’t own any Movie-verse or TF Prime Bumblebees, then this new figure should feel very refreshing for you.

Some of these figs have been on the shelf for a while. They’ve had their 15 minutes, so back to the closets they go to make more room. I expect my next post like this to appear very different. Til then… Transform and Roll Out.

I usually try to make at least 4 blog posts a month. Look to the lower right in Archives and you will see I’ve been doing that all year. But that trend stopped in July. I certainly did not intend to ignore Transformers Roll Out for so long. I’m still very much into Transformers, and I hunt for figures whenever and wherever I can. But life has a habit of getting in the way. I’ve been busy, mostly the good kind of busy. For the first time in a long time, I feel like my life is moving forward. Still, all this translates to me not having enough time for this blog.

At the very minimum, I need to report my purchases for July. Much like May of this year, I didn’t find any TFs til late in the month. I really was beginning to think July would be a Transformer-less month, then in the final week the figures took me by storm. Here they are.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Sandstorm, amazon.com, $22.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Trailcutter x 2, Target, $12.99 each
• Generations Thrilling 30 Megatron, Target, $12.99
• Generations Thrilling 30 Orion Pax, Target, $12.99
• Generations Thrilling 30 Bumblebee, Target, $12.99

• Generations Fall of Cybertron Roadbuster, Walmart, $12.97
• Generations Fall of Cybertron Twintwist, Walmart, $12.97
• Generations Fall of Cybertron Topspin, Walmart, $12.97
• Generations Fall of Cybertron Impactor, Walmart, $12.97
• Generations Fall of Cybertron Whirl, Walmart, $12.97

That’s a total of 11 figures for July, all from Generations. So far I only opened Orion Pax and one of the Trailcutters.

I first spotted Sandstorm late in the month on Amazon. I wasted no time getting him. I heard nothing but rave reviews for him, and the recent Hasbro Triple Changers have been awesome. I assumed Sandstorm is a brand new mold. It wasn’t until after I bought him I learned that he’s a rework of Trilling 30 Springer. I say rework because saying repaint feels like such a injustice. The two figures are off the same general mold, but Hasbro made so many differences off the Springer mold that Sandstorm feels like a completely different figure. I haven’t opened Sandstorm yet. But if he’s anything like Springer, I will like him.

On July 25th, I went to a Oakland A’s game with the GF. On the way back from the game, I stopped by Walmart for some snacks since I was seriously hungry. Lo and behold, I find the Generations Wreckers in the toy aisle! They had exactly one set. I must have got there right after they stocked it. Anyway, I grabbed them all with a quickness. The figures are repaints of the FOC Combaticons. These Wreckers will combine into Ruination, though I don’t ever recall Wreckers combining in any continuity. Getting more repaints of this set kind of feels like a waste of money, but the purchase is justified by the fact that these figs all have new head molds that very closely resembles their G1 counterparts. The GF really likes the colors of Roadbuster.

The very next morning, I had a work conference to attend in a nearby city. After the conference was over, I stopped by the Target right next to it. I’m glad I did, because I found all the Thrilling 30 deluxe wave 1 figures. I knew these were coming, but I wasn’t expecting to find them so soon. They had exactly 2 sets. Again, I must have got there right after someone stocked the TF aisle. I grabbed one whole set, plus one extra Trailcutter. I’m partial to Trailbreaker, so can you blame me for getting two Trailcutters? If you live near me, I guess you can. I really like how these Thrilling 30 deluxe figures all come with a comic. The way these deluxe figs are packed looks awesome too! Poor Megatron, he’s the lone Decepticon of the set. In fact, he’s the lone Decepticon for the month!

I should also mention that I passed up several TF Prime Beast Hunter figures this month. I found Skystalker, Target exclusive Darksteel (Grimwing repaint), and Target exclusive Sky Lynx (Skystalker repaint). I almost bought all these guys just for the sake of buying some TFs, but ultimately left them on store shelves. I’m glad I did, because the Generations figs showed up immediately after.

There you have it… my TFs for July 2013. I should have more TFs next month too, since I just had some 3rd party stuff shipped from tfsource. A number of pre-orders are slated to come in next month. I’m keeping my fingers crossed. It will be a good August. Until then, Transform and Roll Out!