M'Kyuun

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Finally, the Transformers part of 10/27 started (preorders are at 5:00pm EDT for Pulse Premium members, 6:00 for everyone else).  And they're coming out swinging, with Commander-class Magmatron.  It's interesting that they're not only investing the Commander slot for the year on a Japanese-only series, but that they're saying that they're specifically going for cartoon over toy colors.  Hopefully we'll get a Big Convoy to go with him.

Voyager (Beast Wars) Silverbolt.  Takara leaked it as Wave 1 for Legacy Unite in Japan, but they're confirming what I told you guys awhile back, it'll be wave 2 in the US.  Don't expect preorders for Silverbolt until Hasbro reveals the rest of wave 2, they just wanted to confirm that you don't have to import the Takara one. 

Stranger Things X Transformers Code Red.  This one was revealed awhile ago and I kind of forgot about it.  Limited quantities at Pulse, it's actually destined to be a Target exclusive.  Comes in a pizza box.

The Studio Series announcements won't be coming until tomorrow at MCM Comicon.

I'm a Stranger Things fan, so I POed a copy of the Surfer Boy Pizza vanformer. It's a bit of a weird crossover (I actually would have expected them to do Hopper's truck, but IMHO this has more personality). love the packaging they did for this- great presentation. $44 is a bit steep for a deluxe fig, but 'exclusivity' has its price. 😒 At least it's an original mold.

As a BW fan, I'm also down for Silverbolt when he's eventually available. I never cared for the Fuzors overall, but Silverbolt was such a standout character in the show that he's a must to put alongside Blackarachnia.

I like dinosaurs, but I have no familiarity with BW: Neo, so my interest is a little low for Magmatron. I do think they did a pretty amazing job on those dino modes, though. The bot mode is kinda so-so to me, but I appreciate what was required engineering wise to make him a three-part combiner. It's a given that a Big Convoy fig is coming, so that's cool for fans. Sounds like the upcoming titan class fig is likely coming from Neo as well.

Looking forward to revelations from London Comic Con this weekend. Hopefully SS86 Swoop will be among them. I'd love to see Omnibots revealed, but I'm not holding my breath. There are still a number of G1 Minibots MIA in the deluxe upscaling, so Gears, Windcharger, Powerglide, and Seaspray are welcome additions. A new improved SS86 Seeker with a more accurate F-15 mode would be great, too. I'd love a Fall of Cybertron game version of Optimus in voyager scale (still love my little deluxe fig from years ago, but an upscaled and hopefully more detailed version is most welcome). I'd also love an improved G1 Mirage fig in Legacy, as the WFC fig left somewhat to be desired. Til then, my beloved Classics Mirage is filling the void, just as my nigh-perfect Classics Hound is filling that position. While I think the Legacy Hound mold is really well done (and I wish Target would just release the damned thing already!!!), I still have a preference for the Classics fig- it was just so brilliantly executed that it always remains in my mind as the Hound to beat. Anyway, I hope there are some pleasant surprises coming in the G1 and Animated realms.

On 10/25/2023 at 8:21 PM, Bolt said:

The Fall Of The House Of Usher.. woah!

The dark subject was a lot to take in. But i loved the Poe references and the social commentary. 
Not for the faint of heart, but well done.

The acting was great. And I especially loved Mark Hamill. 

Agree! My wife and I just watched it last weekend and we both really enjoyed it. I'm definitely planning on watching the other Mike Flanagan shows on Netflix based on the works of classic horror writers: The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor.

In the meantime, I just finished watching Mech Cadets on Netflix. Given the rather generic title, I expected another trope-ridden, poorly written anime-wannabe show, but it was much better than I thought it'd be. The animation looks a little shaky/stilted at first, to me anyway, but seems to smooth out as I watch it. The show definitely has some good representation with the majority of the characters of non-white ethnicity and well animated as such. Too, the voice cast is also ethnically diverse to match their characters. While the main story arc revolves around the typical mecha vs kaiju dynamic, the main draw of the show has to do with the relationships between characters and their motivations. There's a little more to it than that, but I don't wanna spoil it. Anyway, I thought the writing and delivery of the dialog was really well-done with a decent, if a bit overused, plot. I hope it gets a second season.

After finishing Mech Cadets, I started watching another new release on Netflix, an anime called Pluto, which I'm really enjoying. Again, superb writing, interesting characters, and an interesting plot all conspire to make it a compelling watch, IMHO. I'm only three eps in (eps are about an hour long) and I'm hooked. My understanding is that it takes place within the Astro Boy Universe, but it seems to be its own thing with characters animated in typical realistic style rather than the toony AB style. It's essentially a murder mystery set in a world where robots are quite advanced, some nigh indistinguishable from humans, where seven of the most advanced robots as well as human advocates of robots are systematically being killed in a particular fashion and one of those seven robots is the detective assigned to the case. Great watch so far.

On 10/16/2023 at 4:41 PM, Hikuro said:

My SS86 Magnus just arrived this afternoon, and boy do I like it. I'm very much happy that I entirely passed on either the Seige or Earthrise versions as this guy is just fantastic. I do agree with what a lot of people think about the width of the arms being so far out from the upper body, but I can forgive it since there's a lot of panel compression going on as well....you gotta have some kind of a compromise I suppose. 
I didn't get to play to much with my MP variant I bought a couple of months ago, but to me, the SS86 release feels more solid, not the least bit flimsy or loose in any way. I'm going to be really looking forward to the Toyhax labels that I'm sure will really enhance the overall look of the figure 10 fold, namely around the cab, it's very drab and plain. 

Mine arrived today, a day earlier than expected, thank you Fed Ex. I mentioned my anticipation for this fig earlier, and overall, he exceeds expectations, especially in bot mode where he really shines. The wide arms don't bother me at all. My gripes are primarily for the vehicle mode- ground clearance isn't the best on my copy, as some of the wheels float; the lack of integrated storage for his guns despite having a large alt mode with options for the designers beyond just pegging them onto the outsides of the forearms; unpainted fuel tanks and exhaust pipes; extremely limited turn radius for the cab (they did a much better job with the CW version), top deck is pretty narrow compared to Autobot cars, and forward part of lower deck, i.e. the accordioning panels that form his shoulders, is also too narrow for most of the Autobot cars to pass through limiting the trailer's overall carry capacity. However, being pragmatic, the bot mode was the obvious focus here, and in virtually all aspects, Has/Tak nailed it. The only real negative I have is the lack of ratchets in the shoulder abduction joints; while the flexion joints have nice strong ratchets, the abduction joints are merely pinned which provide far too little friction to maintain the arms' poses. It's a crappy oversight in an otherwise incredible figure.

I'll also say the instructions have really small illustrations and I initially missed the part where you position the double knee joint for trailer mode, so things on the trailer weren't lining up for me. I figured it out and then consulted the instructions for verification, but I'll admit it had me stumped for a minute.

Despite a few warts, I think this will go down as the best official G1 version of the character for many years to come.

I'll preface by conceding that I've never been much of an Ultra Magnus fan, at least the character. I thought the G1 toy was significantly hindered, like most of them, in the articulation department, and he just never really appealed to me. However, I love his alt mode, and I thought that was the best feature of the G1 toy, i.e. his ability to haul 3 or 4 Autobots on his trailer, as well as the tilting upper deck for realistic loading. Skip ahead to the post millennial years, and I was one of the few who liked the MP-22 mold, although I got the Delta Magnus recolor simply b/c I prefer its color scheme. I very much like, and own, the Combiner Wars version (I like the stylistic IDW touches), and the brilliant SS86 version is enroute as I type, ETA Wednesday, but it's FedEx so I'm not holding my breath. I think SS86 UM is arguably going to be the definitive G1 update for some time; Has/Tak delivered a really polished figure, based on @mikeszekely's excellent review, as well as other reviews I've watched on YT. I'm definitely looking forward to having him in hand and messing about with him. 

14 hours ago, electric indigo said:

Trailers are just too long these days...

They more often than not give too much away, leaving little in the way of surprises. Too, I've found some trailers to be more enticing than the actual films. I feel that way about The Creator, for which I had a strong enthusiasm although the film left me feeling somewhat underwhelmed, at least story-wise. The visuals were lovely, though. Kudos to ILM and Weta Workshop.

14 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

They could have done Bombshell's legs the way they did JP12's; have the shin open up, then fold the leg over the thigh, close the shin back over the thigh.  Then his feet (which the G1 toy didn't have) could fold against his shins on the underside of the beetle.  Just sayin'.

Alas, what could have (and probably should have) been. Until you mentioned it, I hadn't ever really noticed that the G1 toy didn't have feet. I was always so fixated on those ugly hollow legs that it escaped my notice. So again, Legacy fixes that, even if it's a compromise. I honestly don't mind that as much as the clearly visible bot head in beetle mode. Really wish they'd made some sort of moving covers to remedy that. Of the three, Bombshell, despite his extensive retooling, still got short shrift budgetarily and design-wise. 🙁

I haven't received my copy of Bombshell yet (Wednesday, per tracking), but having looked at the prod pics and a couple reviews, including yours, @mikeszekely, overall I'm happy with the fig. But as you pointed out, it's not without its flaws. I don't do as many color comparisons as you do, so I'm oft ignorant of those differences between original toy, toon, and the current iteration. Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. As to the yellow eyes, I think I prefer them painted fully yellow, as I think the black hinge truncating it was an artifact of not being able to paint hinged bits where the paint would scratch off. IMHO, Legacy Bombshell's eyes are how they were always meant to be. Referring to the legs, I too wish they'd had the budget to retool them to closer resemble the rounded legs of the original toy. However, that said, my greatest fear was that, in keeping with the close mimicry of the previous two Insecticons to their G1 counterparts, Bombshell would end up with open hollow shins, which is something I never liked about the OG toy. All they would have had to do is give the OG a waist swivel to turn those legs around for a better presentation. So, I prefer the retool direction they ended up taking, as Legacy Shrapnel's legs at least present well. My two biggest gripes with Bombshell are the noticeably visible bot head and tiny barely-there insect leg nub on his shoulder. While the Insecticons were never the most accurate of robo-bugs (those would likely be the Beetras toys that were later used both as Deluxe Insecticons and in the undersung Convertors toy line), even the G1 toy did a better job of representing all six legs. As to the head, if they could have squeezed a little more out of the budget to make those protrusions on his shoulders slide or double hinge to cover the head in beetle mode and then back to their current position for bot mode, that would have been fantastic. A slightly longer insect leg coming off his arm would have made him look more insectile and less like a box. Truth be told, now that all three Legacy Insecticons are out, I find I'm far fonder of the legends class trio that came out during the TR/PotP era for their more accurate insect modes. I kinda wish that those toys would have influenced these Legacy figs, similar to how a number of 3P figs ended up looking like their G1 counterparts only with actual insect legs. Alas, no. Despite my complaints, I'm glad they released the G1-esque Insecticons in this line; I guess like everyone else, my expectations were a bit too high, but it's still nice to have them as my CHUG collection slowly edges closer to having all the G1 characters represented well, well, for the most part anyway. 

Maybe it's the angle, but the forward fuselage looks a little foreshortened between the back of the canopy to the intakes. The forearms look a bit too skinny as well. The elbow joints are still inaccurate and kinda ugly. Overall, though, the battroid is more proportionally appealing than the Yammie with its too-skinny legs. I'm thinking any hope of their having fixed any of these or other criticisms since 2019 is false hope at this point. It does a lot of things I like, but it still has its warts. All things considered, I'm still interested.

41 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Plus they can milk that one.  Use the same mold, but with a different head, but paint him half white with a yellow scanner, and you you can do KARR, too.

Too, they could rehash SS86 Ultra Magnus into Goliath- that'd make for a hell of a Gen Select pack- KITT, KARR, and Goliath. Super expensive, but for fans of both KR and TFs, worth it to have KITT and two of his most formidable foes. 

5 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Haslab Metroplex please.

As Knight Rider first aired on 9/26/82, it would have been a great time to announce a Transformers x Knight Rider collaborative.

Yeah, that would've been good timing. If such a thing was actually in the works, even just KITT by himself, I'm sure something would've leaked by now. This fandom can't help itself.

3 hours ago, JB0 said:

KITT seems the most obvious, as he's ALREADY a sentient robot car.

I also wanna see 'em do Dukes of Hazard, but... yeah. Ain't no way that's happening.

The sentient thing notwithstanding, a Pontiac Trans Am, the ubiquitous cool sports car of the 80s middle class, would make for a cool alt mode. If they could figure out a way to give him some semblance of an interior, i.e. his tricked-out "Darth Vader's bathroom" console, that would be really cool. Now a scale fig of a well-permed Hoff, I could live without. 😄 Knight Rider was always about the car for me.

I watched Dukes as a kid, but I kinda lost interest after awhile. Even by 80s standards, it was full on melty cheddar. The General Lee was cool, especially the jump shots of which, similar to KR, there were usually two per episode, but in today's America, the associations with the Confederate flag are such that it would likely meet with protest. I think that one's better left to history.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm hearing rumblings, but nothing concrete, that the Constructicons may release at some point in the SS86 line in a fashion similar to how the Stunticons released in Legacy.  Frankly, however they do it, I wouldn't mind if they did more-accurate, Deluxe-sized Constructicons with proper articulation (like elbows) and whatever partsforming is necessary to make a similarly accurate, articulated Devastator that scales better with the other combiners.  I wound up buying a downsized KO of Titan Devy just because the original is too big, and even though the quality is kind of meh I wish they'd have done Predaking, too.

I'm thinking SS86 is the nominal platform in which to realize a new set of Constructicons; it seems to benefit from a better budget, and since Devy was prominent in the siege on Autobot City, and individual Constructicons in other Movie scenes, it makes sense. I'd prefer they were done in voyager scale, as deluxe would be a bit small for construction vehicles when compared to other deluxe car bots. Even at voyager, they'd probably be about the same size as Ironhide, so still kinda small for a construction vehicle, but about right when combined comparative to the Dinobots. Personally, I don't want teeny weeny construction vehicles, and I think Devy can be excused for being larger than the other combiners by the very nature of his constituent parts' alt modes. I think the same for Superion- jets are big, much larger than cars, and I'd love to see that reflected in any eventual toys. I'd love to be on that design team. I'd do everything humanly possible to deliver streamlined realistic jets, eschewing the unforgivable trend of just tacking plane bits on a boxy robot and calling it good. After 40 years, there should be some advancement in engineering and taste. Alas, any hope I have of Has/Tak's making such improvements is akin to pissing into a hurricane.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

So I'm looking at this picture...

And I kind of don't know what to think.  I mean, like Evan said, this isn't the completed artwork because they were deliberately hiding some future reveals and most of what we see here is what we saw today- Windblade, Magneous, Bouldercrash, two other rock dudes (one of which looks like a straight repaint of Magneous), Tigerhawk, Tasmania Kid, Thundertron, Optimus, Bumblebee, and Chase.  What we didn't get announced today but are clearly in the picture is Magmatron, the guy made out of dinosaurs in the middle and big bad from Beast Wars Neo, and up in the upper right we have Tidal Wave from Armada.  Now, full disclosure, I was told that Tidal Wave was coming, but I wasn't told what class.  What I was told is that he'd work with Legacy Megatron (and United Galvatron, whom you can expect in the third wave, some time next summer), so the assumption was that he'd be Commander-class.  Magmatron, though, that's a surprise to me.  Now, I didn't watch Beast Wars Neo, I have no idea how big Magmatron is supposed to be, but my gut reaction is that he can't be that big, so he must be the Commander.  And a lot of people have be asking for a Titan Tidal Wave, so maybe he's the Titan after all?  Except, if you look next to him in the picture you can see Megatron.  And if you look closely, that's a chunk of Tidal Wave on his arm.  And Magmatron is made of three dinosaurs.  Maybe he's the Titan and Tidal Wave is the Commander after all?  Or maybe they're taking my advice and doing two Commander and ditching the Titan class?  I dunno.

EDIT: Yeah, you can pretty much disregard like that whole paragraph.  Talked to my source, and he's now confirming that Magmatron is the Commander-class, and Tidal Wave is the Titan.  From what I was told Magmatron will be able to do the three separate beast modes, the combined "magmasaurus" alt mode, and the combined robot mode.  As for Tidal Wave, parts of him will come off and can be attached to Megatron (or Galvatron, who should be hitting around the same time), but unlike the original you won't attach to the whole figure to him.

Anywho...

The way I understood it is that there isn't a new Transformers Haslab this year because they want to do one for the 40th anniversary (which is fine with me, because I'd rather have the previous one I paid for in-hand before I back another).  And yeah, they definitely said "Omega" when they talked about it.  It's just that... well, an Animated Haslab for the franchise's 40th anniversary seems kind of odd to me.  It really feels like it should be something G1... but what?  I mean, as much as I gripe about the G1 characters that still haven't been done, there aren't really that many left, and short of combiner nothing that really jumps out at me as needed a Haslab to get made.  Then there's that "Omega" reference.  We already got G1 Omega Supreme, plus the Omega Guardian repaint.  Only two other Omegas really jump out at me- Animated Omega, as we've already discussed, and Omega Prime, the fusion of Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus in RID 2001, which still isn't G1.  That said, between those two, I really hope it's Omega Prime.  I know how much you love Animated Omega, but RID Optimus/Car Robots Fire Convoy has been super high on my wishlist since I started collecting again in 2006.

Like I said, he never appeared in the cartoon.  I remember his original toy coming out and me skipping it for that very reason.  At some point there were plans for a 4th season of Prime that would have been about the Star Seekers, a group of pirates from Cybertron's 13 colonies, of which Thundertron is the leader, but it never happened.  He did appear in the novel Transformers: Retribution, but that's about it.

Here's the original toy:

Yes... and technically that's cartoon-accurate on Starscream.

No.  You actually can expect Silverbolt in the second wave, but he'll be a new Voyager, not a repaint Leader.

 

When Kilauea erupted a few years ago I remember watching a Youtube video of slowly engulfing a 4th-gen Mustang.  To me, those Infernac dudes remind me of that Mustang, like if instead of catching fire and melting it somehow busted out with cooled lava still stuck to it.

And boo, if you're going to bring back Rock Lords, man up and bring back actual Rock Lords.  Nuggit's my boy.

In any case, I keep hearing people (like you two) expressing interest in these Infernac guys, so while I stand by my belief that Hasbro should stop doing these gimmicky original characters you gave me FOMO and I wound up preordering both Bouldercrash and Magneous.😩

I appreciate the legwork concerning the artwork. I'm not familiar with Beast Wars Neo so I didn't make the connection. Searched it and I'm pleasantly surprised to see a Plesiosaur amidst the Magmatron trio. I'm down for that.

So far as potential "Omega" figs go, you already know my wish.   FWIW, whichever gets made this time around, I hope the other gets its toy as well.

I looked up that Thundertron toy, too, out of curiosity. It's somewhat familiar, but honestly I don't remember it. Funny thing is, I may even own it and not remember buying it. Like I said, my memory sucks. Anyway, I like the Zoidish direction they took with the new fig, and I'm looking forward to getting him.

Concerning Armada Starscream, I don't fault the toy, as the OG toy was like that and the toon mirrored it. I'm not a UT fan, but I think Has/Tak did a good job on the fig, and I actually think it's one of their better jetformers. 

Hmm, looking at the similarities between Tigerhawk and Silverbolt, it makes perfect sense to me to just do a remold/recolor. However, you and your source have a great track record, so I believe you. Just seems a waste of an already perfect mold to me.

Interesting story about the lava-covered Mustang (what a lamentable fate for a nice car). It's fitting regarding the look of the Infernac figs. While I can understand your and other fans' desires to have no-kidding Rock Lords realized in a modern toy line, I think I prefer the direction they're taking. Bots that turn into rocks just don't have the same appeal, at least to me anyway. A light-hearted LOL at your acquiescence to FOMO. I hope they at least turn out to be fun figs and you end up enjoying them. I didn't get Bouldercrash, but I think Magneous looks pretty cool even though these weaponizer-type figs generally don't float my boat. I think I'm gonna dig him in hand.

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

Haha!

Well, I hope they live up to the accidental hype. I just think they're neat plastic robots, and if Transformers is going to be the entire plastic robot space then they can stretch their legs.

I've been served enough red semis and yellow subcompacts/sports cars to last a lifetime, honestly. But I've never had an SUV made out of obsidian before!

 

 

Also: Transformers x Knight Rider when, Hasbro?

Yeah, the rocky critters cum vehicles is a new direction, and admittedly a bit odd, but like you say, if they want to stretch their legs and get creative, well, IMHO, they could do worse. Like Mike, I'd much prefer they finish the G1 characters, but you're not wrong that some characters have had their lion's share of figs over the years, and, like 'em or not, these Infernacs bring something fresh to the line.

Along with Knight Rider, Airwolf, Blue Thunder, the '89 Batmobile, the Tumbler, and BA's van would also be nice crossovers.

8 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Ugh, I fell asleep (you try getting your crap done while taking care of an 8yo who's mom left the country for a month), and by the time I got on Pulse Windblade sold out.  (EDIT: Got a preorder on Amazon)

I wound up preordering everything else United except both rock guys.  If I'm being honest they do look cooler than I imagined, but I think I'm morally opposed to giving Hasbro any more money on these original characters that exist entirely as gimmicks.  And, frankly, I might cancel Tigerhawk.  I just wasn't that into Beast Wars (good story when I eventually watched it as an adult, but robots turning into animals never grabbed me like robots turning into trucks and planes), and I'm loathe to open my wallet for Leader money on such a minor character.

Also while being tighter with my wallet I passed on Powerlinx Hot Shot.  I know, with G1 I throw money at all sorts of obscure repaints, but I dunno, regular yellow Hotshot is enough representation of that character for me.  If they do Energon Hotshot, or when they do Cybertron Hot Shot, sure, but I don't need the one I have with his colors inverted (even if I do kind of want Jolt).

I don't have kids, but I can sympathize. Glad you were able to score most of them on Pulse, anyway. I feel the same about both Tigerhawk and Powerlinx Hot Shot. IMHO, the original yellow version, which I have, should have come with Jolt like the original toy did. One decent representation of him is enough for me; I was never into the UT, so I'm cherrypicking the associated figs purely on the merits of the figs themselves. Thus far, I have yellow HotShot and Starscream, which also suffers from jet-with-arms syndrome, but at least his hands fold away unlike the new Windblade. If nothing else, I wish there were retractable covers on her thighs to cover her hands or her forearms extended similar to Animated Prowl or SS86 Ultra Magnus to cover them. Anyway, I like the bot mode for Magneus (vehicle is ok), but I'd rather have a vehicle over a rock as an alt, and I can get behind the idea of these figs being inorganic creatures who happen to transform. It's not my favorite gimmick, and like you, I'd rather that budget went towards finishing up the G1 crew, but since they're feeling creative, I'll evaluate each one and buy if they appeal. 

As for Tigerhawk, it's a certainty that it'll get remolded into Silverbolt at some point- that's all I could see looking at the fig.  I really like BW, but I have no recollection of Tigertron and Airazor fusing. I guess it's time for a rewatch. I have an abysmal memory, so after a couple years, I tend to forget to a great extent even the stuff I enjoy.

Well, another PulseCon behind us. I enjoyed some the SW stuff and quite a bit of the G.I. Joe stuff; I think they're absolutely knocking it out of the park in both themes, and I often feel like Transformers is drawing the short straw so far as paint and accessories, but I guess the engineering and higher part counts need to be taken into account. As always, I 'm just grateful that Transformers is still an existing toyline. I was surprised by Ejima-san's comments and the realization of how close the brand came to extinction in the late 80s, early 90s. Takio Ejima has my eternal thanks for keeping it going single-handedly and heartfelt congratulations for earning a much. much deserved spot in the Transformers Hall of Fame. 

POs for new PulseCon merch is up for members. I got LU Animated Prime and Bee, Rescue Bots Chase, Windblade, Infernac Universe Magneus (Hasbro's answer to a modern Rock Lords, and the new Weaponizer class of figs ), and LU Thundertron. It's certainly the most eclectic group of TF figs I've ever bought at one time. 

32 minutes ago, mikeszekely said:

Maybe don't get too excited.  I was hearing that Tidal Wave was going to have compatibility with Armada Megatron and expected him to be the Commander-class.  But the reveal of Magmatron on the poster and the subtle "you know Thundertron's ship" comment makes me think Tidal Wave might be the Titan after all.  Magmatron is actually a surprise for me, I'd heard nothing about him, but I have a feeling he's the Commander.

Well, BMac mentioned an "Omega type reveal" in lieu of a TF Haslab for next year, so I'm hoping it'll be Animated.

Your observation about LU Animated Bee is correct, but I still think the body looks sufficiently similar to pass. With Animated having been all but ignored for the past 15 years, I'm just happy they're returning to it at all. Of course, if I had my druthers, they'd eschew the G1 influence and go full-on toon styling, but at this point, I'll take what I can get. LU Animated Prime is probably the closest we've come to copying the animation, and I hope they stick to a more toonish look going forward, especially if they do a Bulkhead, a Lugnut, or hopefully, a Blackout. I know that's not to your liking, but it definitely appeals to me. And I confess that I wasn't exactly crazy about the animation style initially, but it grew on me, and once I started buying the toys, I fell in love with them. Still one of my favorite TF toylines ever, and I have them on permanent display on my desk. They're literally one of the first things I see every day when I enter my mancave.

As for today's reveals, not feeling the core class figs, as usual, nor the rock figs, although Bouldercrash isn't terrible- I may get him. I do, however, dig the Rescue Bot Chase fig, and I'm curious what they have planned for further Rescue Bots in the line. I think it was BMac who hinted at some gimmick, and I wonder if they're going to be combiners. I have no knowledge of Thundertron, but as a long-time Zoids fan (the toys and models , not the shows), this thing hits all the right notes with me. The bot mode, with that cool beard, looks pretty cool, too. I've always wondered what a transforming Zoids fig would look like, and now I know, and I'm happy about it. Windblade still has the arms hanging out in jet mode, so no real improvement there, but I'll still probably get her. I like the character; I just wish she got a better jet mode in toy form.

8 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I'm not counting on it.  I don't think there's anything left for Gen Selects this year, although I suppose they could announce something for early next year.  But as far as regular retail goes I was already let in on almost everything that's coming out in 2024.  I mean, there's a few that I need clarification on, like I know there's a Leader-class Optimus Prime in the first wave of Unite but I don't know which Optimus Prime.  And I don't know what what the Titan will be (but if I were a betting man I'd say Animated Omega Supreme).

Animated Omega- god I hope so, and I hope it's legit Animated and not G1-hybridized.

1 hour ago, mikeszekely said:

Life's been a bit hectic, but I've got our third new Legacy Evolution figure after Shadow Striker and Core Snarl.  This one is Voyager-class Trashmaster.

My initial impression out of the gate was a bit underwhelmed.  He's pretty short for a Voyager, roughly around the height of a Seeker or slightly taller than the Deluxe-class Siege or Earthrise Vanettes.  His colors are a bit muted, too.  I mean, sure, the Junkion in general are a lot of browns, grays, and orangy-reds, but I can't help but notice there's a lot of molded detail that's just the color of the part it was molded onto that was actually colored on Mark Maher's concept art, like big silver pistons on his shins, red ears, and red on his feet.

Hasbro wasn't just skimping on size and paint, but plastic as well.  You can't really see because his backpack is covering it, but his entire midsection is hollow.  Look around that dangling hunk of kibble and the backs of his thighs are hollow, too, as is the back of his head.  Weirdly, it's the front of his hands that are hollow.  Most of that hollowness doesn't really bother me as much as the lazy kibble flap, though.  To be fair, it does have a purpose, but when you see what it is you'll likely still wonder why they couldn't have folded it away better.

If I had to guess, I'd reckon that a lot of Trashmaster's budget is his accessories.  You've got a big claw, but you also have some hydraulic arms and two parts that look like the front end of a truck.

Trashmaster's head swivels fine, but it has very minimal tilt.  His shoulders rotate and move laterally a little over 90 degrees.  His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend about 120 degrees.  His wrists and waist swivel.  His hips move 90 degrees forward and laterally, but his butt kibble means he can only realistically get about 45 degrees backward.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees.  His feet have excellent up/down tilts, and his ankles pivot about 45 degrees.

Trashmaster can hold the claw in either hand.  His instructions indicate that the hydraulic arms should plug into his hip skirts, where they just get in the way, and the truck nose parts tab together then plug into the kibble flap on his butt, making it even bigger and more obnoxious.  Well, at least the hydraulic arms and truck nose do not have to be removed for transformation.

As far as ports go, Trashmaster has one on the back of each shoulder, two on the back of each forearm, one on the side of each forearm, two on his backpack, two on his butt kibble (that are mostly likely occupied by the truck nose), one on each hip skirt (that are probably being used by the hydraulic arms, but the arms also have a 5mm port each, so it's a wash), on the outside of each leg between the tires, and under each foot.  Additionally, the rims on every tire have hexagonal ports in the middle.  Oh, and as a Junkion Trashmaster's lower legs are 5mm pegged into his thighs and can be removed and replaced with another Junkion's leg (or a Core Volcanicus leg).  Unlike the Deluxes, though, his arms do not come off.

If the massive kibble flap on his butt wasn't indication enough, transforming Trashmaster will clue you to the fact that engineering is also not where Hasbro allocated his budget.  The transformation is simple bordering on Core-class... head tucks in, backpack covers over, arms fold back behind him, waist rotates 180, legs lock together, chest untabs so his lower body folds back and his arms tab into his legs, then the kibble flap with the front of the truck tucks in under the chest.  Arrange the hydraulic arms and tab his claw into his hands and you're done.  At least the resulting truck does seem to scale nicely with Junkions like Scraphook and Axlegrease.  

Garbage trucks are one of those alt modes that are criminally underutilized, so I want to be in Trashmaster's corner.  That said, there's a real lack of cohesion here.  Half of the cab made from his chest is orange, but the half made from the kibble is brown and the tiny portion that's actually the flap it's connected to is yet another shade of brown.  His smokestacks have silver paint on the top, they gray from a randomly gray part it's attached to in the middle, then orange on the bottom.  And, this last bit's subjective, but frankly I could do without the rust-tones and spikes.  I don't want a garbage truck that looks like it rolled off the set of a Mad Max movie, I want a green and white Waste Management truck.

All of Trashmaster's accessories are integral to his alt mode.  His claw covers his robot arms and acts like the top of the trash container.  The claw itself can even open while attached, and you can imagine garbagemen tossing trash into the rear.  But wait, is he supposed to be a rear-loader or a front-loader?  The fact that the rear is covered and the claw opens at the back suggests rear, but the hood over the cab and the hydraulic arms suggest that he should be a front-loader.  Although they lack the spokes that allow it to actually grip a Dumpster, that's the only purpose those arms serve.  But, if they did pick up a dumpster, trash would roll off the closed back of the truck and back into the street.

Of course, the Junkion gimmick hasn't been full executed if it's only a robot-mode thing.  So yes, you can pull the truck kibble off, and yes, you can swap it with another Junkion's.

What you can't do, though, is make the gestalt Junkasaurus that Mark showed off on his Instagram account.  I'll say that's partly because Trashmaster's joints are a little loose and a lot of the connections are just 5mm ports.  But the main reason is because, as shown on Mark's Instagram, you need two Crashbars.  Hmm... I wonder if we'll see a Crashbar repaint?  I kind of hope so, frankly, he was the best of the Legacy Junkions.

As for Trashmaster, he's just ok.  I mean, his articulation is fine, and I do appreciate that he's a garbage truck.  I'm just not entirely sure I'm getting my money's worth, and I can't help but feel that a bit more paint might have gotten him where I needed him to be.  At the very least, I can say I like him better than Scraphook, and I do appreciate some extra Junkion's to round out Wreck-Gar's squad, but at the same time there's a lot of characters I could use new Voyager toys for that I'd rather have than an original character Junkion.  If you liked the other Legacy Junkions then Trashmaster is worth a look, but if you passed on the previous ones there's nothing here that's going to make you change your mind.

With Trashmaster out of the way... what if I told you that we've covered all the new molds for this wave?

Appreciate the review, Mike. The Junkions never really appealed to me, although I have to admit I have the old 2011 deluxe as well as the Studio Series fig and his mold mate, Junkheap. All three were pretty well-done figs, and I have an interest in well-done transforming motorcycles. That said, my interest waned with the newly created Legacy Junkions. Trashmaster initially had my attention for the same reason as you had; how many garbage truck alts have there been in the history of TF toys? To wit, Animated Wreck-Gar is the only other one I can think of, and he was remarkably better than poor Trashmaster. Alas, after reading your review, he's a solid pass. I wish he'd been better executed, and I'm in complete agreement with wanting a Waste Management type truck as an alt mode. Too, the Mad Max look isn't to my taste, either, although it does fit with the Junkion look. I guess these were a fun experiment for the Hasbro designers, especially Mark, and I'm sure they found an audience with any number of fans, but as you've mentioned before, I'd much rather they knocked out all the legit G1 figs, esp the first season characters, along with the rest of the minibots. I'd throw in the rest of the cassette bots, but I haven't been all that impressed with Has/Tak's cassettes in the new scale. Frankly, they suck, especially when Magic Square and New Age did them better at much smaller scales. I'm hoping Dr Wu will get around to doing all of them, as his combining cassette teams were both done well. I digress.

Despite the leaks, I'm looking forward to PulseCon tomorrow. I'm glad they start it at 1100 on the east coast, as that gives me enough time to grab a quick Pop Tart before tuning in at 0800. Transformers is the first panel, so anything left to reveal will be shown within the first hour, and then it's just a matter of waiting until the POs open. I hope they have at least a few surprises that haven't been spoiled. Guess we'll see. Cheers!

On 9/19/2023 at 8:15 AM, sh9000 said:

I'm skipping both of them.

I'm not; while they're not purely Animated, they're hewing closer than most of the other G1/non-G1 hybrids in Legacy thus far, including Prowl, who was still ok, but definitely had more G1 influence in the chunkiness and head sculpt departments. As an Animated fan, I'm enjoying these, compromises notwithstanding, as we went 15 years without so much as a whisper about Animated before they released Prowl. IMHO, Legacy Bulkhead has far more in common with the Animated design than the Prime design as well, but Hasbro says it's a Prime design. I say, 'whatever' with a skeptically raised eyebrow. Anyway, with the absolute dearth of Animated toys over the last decade and a half, I'm excited to get anything Animated at this point, even if the figs are hybridized. FWIW, though, Legacy United Prime looks really close to how he did in the show, as well as to the original toy. I think I'll still prefer the original voyager Prime over LU Prime, as it's a great fig, but I'm looking forward to adding this guy to my collection along with LU Bee, who apparently has been the cause of some ugliness amongst fans on Twitter and other TF fan sites. Imagine, toxicity among adults over toys; whodathunk it?!! 😉 So silly.

As to other potential reveals on Friday, I'm curious but apprehensive over the new Windblade, as I have a feeling she's going to be yet another lazy design with arms just hanging out like every other version thus far. I wish she'd get at least one good toy with arms integrated into the jet mode. No interest in Tigerhawk; when they eventually remold/repaint it into Silverbolt, I may bite, as I loved that character but never had much interest in the Fuzors character designs. My interest in a new leader Prime fig will hinge on the design and whether or not it appeals to me. I'd love for it to be his FoC game design, as that's one of my favorite OP designs, but as they just released the WfC version at voyager scale, I'm guessing it'll be something different.  I have zero recollection of Prime Thunderhawk- guess I'll wait and see how it turns out. Rock Lords didn't really grab me in the 80s, and I'm not sure modern TFs that turn into rocks and such are going to inspire a new appeal, but again, I guess we'll see. I'm with Mike in that I want to see the rest of the G1 minibots completed in deluxe scale for Legacy, as well as Omnibots, a brand new and improved mold for both Astrotrain and Blitzwing in the SS86 series (even if it means doing them both in commander class for the requisite budget- I just want damned good definitive CHUG scaled figs of these guys for my collection), a new set of voyager scaled Constructicons that are in every conceivable way an improvement over the awful Combiner Wars figs, an improved Arcee fig that results in a far more compact backpack (just copy MMC's Azalea- there's no shame in copying the best design out there), a new improved Seeker design in SS86 that gives us a pretty accurate F-15 akin to MP-03 only with better bot proportions than that fig. I know, I'm not asking for much. 😄 

So, thus far, the figs I'm most anticipating on Friday have already been leaked, but I'm hopeful that there will still be a couple good surprises in the mix. I'm also hopeful that these Animated-ish figs will catch on and maybe lead to a spate of rereleases of old figs, especially the Japan-only figs, as I'd badly love to have a copy of Blackout. Meanwhile, I'll collect the new Animated hybrids in the hopes that they continue to improve, i.e. move ever closer to the cartoon aesthetic and perhaps spark new interest in both the toon and the toys it originally inspired.

I built this beauty last night, and what a great LEGO experience it offers. It's chock full of ingenious techniques and solutions that make the build all the more enjoyable, and the instructions often feature blurbs regarding said techniques or new parts (i.e. a new cone for the nose & tail and the sloped windscreen for the droop snoop, both created specifically for this model, but hopefully will see their ways into other sets). I can't remember ever building a set where so much behind-the-scenes info is given in the instructions, but I hope it becomes a regular practice. The landing gear functionality is smooth and bears the weight of the deceptively light model easily. This is not a small model, but with so many of its 2083 pieces allocated to that long thin fuselage and large thin delta wings, it feels lighter, albeit a bit awkward, to handle. However, the designers created a lovely stand that mirrors those used on many collector grade aircraft models down to a printed 4x8 inverted tile (83496) (first I'd seen this part) reflecting an official looking placard detailing some of the aircraft's history and performance characteristics. Beyond the placard, there are a number of printed elements in the set; no stickers to bog down the build. The total package looks professional, classy, and visually striking. The model itself features moving flaps and elevons, a double rudder, retractable gear, the famous droop snoop, and a 6 x 16 section of fuselage that's removable to expose some detailed interior featuring seats and a couple lavs. Even as a long-time builder of both MOCs and sets, I was struck by the many challenges imposed by trying to recreate this smooth, sleek, curvy aircraft into a LEGO replica, which itself is daunting before including the many working features, especially the mechanics involved in making the gear extend and retract with a single mechanism (rotating the tail cone). Kudos indeed to the design team for pulling it off so majestically. In every conceivable way, this set is a triumph, and I can't recommend it enough.

I hope this set meets with great sales success and ushers in a wave of other notable aircraft. I'd personally love to see some X-Planes, like the Grumman X-29 or the Bell XV-15, or the Bell X-15 get sets. True, they were military, or military funded aircraft, but I think the distinction between research aircraft and combat aircraft is clear in these cases thus clearing them of LEGO's pesky, and somewhat murky, no-modern-warfare restrictions. If research and development aircraft can be realized as LEGO sets, the potential is there for many a great set celebrating historical achievements in aviation. 

Speaking on the two new parts, I'm guessing aircraft enthusiasts, especially those building jets, will welcome the new cone piece. It's 4 studs wide at the base, three bricks high, and tapers to a three-stud diameter. The second new piece is the windscreen for the Concorde's droop snoop. It has a 4 x 4 footprint and tapers from about a brick to two bricks high (rough measurement). The most outstanding feature of this part is that it is dual molded, a thin white plastic shell over an internal clear dark tinted windscreen. I wish this methodology found its way into more windscreens, as LEGO often opts to paint them, and the paint apps are often too thin and allow for notable bleed through of the base plastic. Fortunately, LEGO lived up to Ole Kirk's 'only the best is good enough' motto with the development of this piece. I'm not sure the windscreen will have as much utility outside of this set, such is its particular nature, but I'm glad they made it all the same, as it definitely makes the Concorde model look great.

23 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Final Trailer.

Definitely my most anticipated film this year. I hope it's even better than the trailers lead one to believe. If so, more like this please, Hollywood.

On 8/30/2023 at 4:56 AM, TangledThorns said:

Watched The Pope's Exorcist on Netflix last night. Wife and I found it very entertaining which is all we asked for, plus it seems Russell Crowe enjoyed making the film too. Asequel is in the works and we would see it!

My wife and I watched this recently and we both enjoyed it. Crowe was excellent, def seemed like he was enjoying the role. Until viewing the film, I didn't know he was based on a real person; I imagine the events in the film were embellished, as stuff like this often is, but the character quirks of Crowe's Father Gabrielle Amorth were more entertaining, IMHO, than the overall subject of exorcism of which Friedkin's The Exorcist remains the reigning king of the genre.

19 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

I also want K.I.T.T, but I'd say that the Turtle's Party Wagon would be high on my want list, too.  Maybe the Thundercats' Thundertank, Scooby Doo's Mystery Machine, the Mach 5, or the Gadgetmobile.

Not a Turtles or Gadget fan, but yes for the rest, especially the Mach 5- I didn't even think of that but that would be awesome.

18 hours ago, tekering said:

I'd been expecting M.A.S.K. vehicles with proper robot modes ever since Hasbro acquired Kenner back in the day...

I'm still not sure why that hasn't come to pass. 🤔

Yeah, that'd be awesome, akin to the Omnibots that they continue to ignore.

13 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Because it's too obvious, likely.

Also, when it does happen, I'd guess they'll be more like the G.I. Joe crossovers- pricey, really accurate alt modes roughly the size of the original toys with seats for packed-in humans with too-large, crappy bot modes.

Alas, too true. 

1 hour ago, JB0 said:

I sort of feel like MASK being "the bastard child of GI Joe and Transformers" makes it a harder sell at Hasbro, where they already HAVE GI Joe and Transformers.

Well, too, it was an acquired property by virtue of a rival company buyout, so there may be mixed feelings. Then again, they've had zero qualms with hocking Star Wars stuff ad infinitum, so I'm thinking there's just a general lack of interest on the part of Hasbro. It's a shame b/c M.A.S.K. was a really cool concept and the OG toys were exceptionally cool. Ramen Toys has us covered on that front, so we really don't need Hasbro to do it at this point, but the idea of combining M.A.S.K. and Transformers is one I could totally get behind; however, I fear Mike's all-too close to the truth regarding how such a marriage might end disastrously. I wouldn't mind seeing a third party attempt it, though. If they did, however, I would want them to all be original bots tailored to the alt modes and not wonky attempts to make them into established characters. Hasbro's desire to want to make every tie-in either Prime or Bumblebee (or another well-worn character) is, IMHO, the most limiting factor. I get wanting to have recognition, but for Pete's sake, there's room for new characters, and cutting those ties and allowing the various vehicles' designs and alternative weaponized forms inform the bot modes would be a far more practical approach as well as doing proper justice to the bot modes. And just keep the M.A.S.K. vehicle names for the characters- simple and apropos.

I build transformery things with LEGO, but until this conversation, I'd never given thought to making my own M.A.S.K. -inspired bot. Sounds like an interesting challenge. 😉

17 minutes ago, sh9000 said:

I prefer more Transformers Collaboratives that are TV or movie vehicles.

Likewise. I want K.I.T.T. , Airwolf, and Blue Thunder. Maybe a Viper from BSG, or a small shuttle from V. 

11 hours ago, renegadeleader1 said:

I wanted to go to that brick con as it was the closest to me here in Montana, but work had some personnel shake ups and I can't get the time off for the event due to short staffing.

Would have been neat to see if they had any neat castle stuff for sale, but oh well. Have fun! 😉👍

Aw man, sorry to hear. It would've been nice to meet another fellow MWer.  Hopefully next year. Thanks for the well-wishing; it's always fun!😁

It's so mine. Fortunately, I'll be in Seattle for a LEGO convention next weekend, conveniently close to a LEGO store. I hope they still have them in stock by the time I arrive.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the Mirage/Jazz debate, but I consider pretty much everything live-action to be apart from any of the animation given the amount of license taken with all aspects of the bots. Respectively, the same can pretty much be said for each animated show as well, although there seems to be a bit more G1 carryover amidst the animated shows. Anyway, that aspect doesn't bother me. The similarities of RotB from the trailers to Bay's films, OTOH, just turn my stomach. 

7 minutes ago, jenius said:

I love the Ravens paint scheme and I really don't understand why Arcadia isn't doing small limited runs of other schemes when they do a run of a more popular toy. Maybe the costs of paint set-up are too high to warrant a 100 run production of something? KitzConcept seems to be having fun doing that. Even if they did 100 Ravens at the same time as the standard scheme, that's not a ton of inventory to have to stash away for a few months to separate out the releases. 

One can hope. As I said, I really like it, too, and I'd have to give some thought to committing the ducats, but it sure is a purdy bird that would look reeeaaaallllly nice somewhere in my house. 😁

RotB is probably the first TF film or show where I didn't buy a single figure. The designs just didn't grab me, and I had very low enthusiasm for the film leading up to release. I wish Travis Knight had made a sequel to Bumblebee; of the three directors who've now done live-action, he's the only one who's come closest to capturing the essence of what Transformers means to me, although I think the film was hindered by its attachment to the Bay films. I'll be happy when that attachment is permanently severed, although I have apprehension about where the live-action franchise may go thereafter. As much as I hate to think it, it can always get worse, although Bay did a fine job of making it downright abysmal already. Full disclosure, I've not seen RotB; I'm judging it on trailers and snippets I've seen, which frankly didn't inspire much desire to see more. Additionally, I'm a fan of neither Anthony Ramos nor Pete Davidson, and knowing that a fair chunk of the beginning of the film revolves around Ramos' character development and that the main TF sidekick character, Mirage, is voiced by Davidson leaves me cold. If it comes to Netflix, Prime, or Hulu, I may give it a watch out of morbid curiosity, but I'll definitely go in with expectations off-scale low and a likely desire to stop watching before I get too far in. Paraphrasing Han Solo, I just have a bad feeling about it.