eriku

Woof, that new Optimus is a stinker. Alt mode looks like the front end of a bus. I love how the windshield on his chest has lines of rivets going through it. And are those clip wheels on a Voyager? Yuck. I think the worst offense is that it's offered as an "IDW" Optimus and looks nothing like that version of the character.

Brainstorm and Powerglide look great. The Megatrons look OK, although I'm not sure I really need either of them. Wish they would have actually showed Superion, I'm hoping he's at least better than that FOC Bruticus thing. Hard to imagine it being worse...

Fantastic transaction with Benson13 - enjoy Roddy!

What's weird about that Sunstorm is I'd like/accept the deco on a smaller deluxe size toy, but on a MP it just looks bad to me.

One seeker with obnoxious tattoos and two really nasty colored MP seekers in a row...what's next, a brown one called S**tstorm?

I tried to warm up to Hasbro's Metroplex but just couldn't. It's actually too big for my tastes, and the slim, lanky build just doesn't make me think of Metroplex, like some other robot wearing a Metroplex costume. He's like Will Farrell in Elf.

I love what I see from MakeToys. Even the cruiser mode looks pretty killer. Hoping it's still available a few months after release because there's too much real-life stuff at the end of the year that will be siphoning my toy money.

That other thread is for the Japanese Blu-Ray release. I appreciate the new thread for this US DVD as I never would have looked in the other thread since I have no interest in Japanese Blu-Ray sets.

I don't have many needs in life. Food, oxygen, spending time with my daughter and this.

I look at that wing and feel quite happy....but then I remember how I'm probably not going to be buying any Macross toys until the D come out in a year or so and I feel quite sad. :|

Fantastic news! Wow, this is one I had always assumed would never get released here.

MP Star Saber is my single most desired figure, and has been what I've dreamed about since MP-01 started the "Masterpiece" line.

What I've seen gives me a lot of confidence that they're going to get it right and that it's going to be glorious. Totally get how he has no appeal for some, though.

So with these Rodimus Primes the arms just crumbling is a huge problem?

Ever since the Hasbro version came out there were comments here and there about the arms breaking off at the shoulder joint. Sometimes it happened while people were transforming or posing, sometimes it just happened like mine. You can actually plug the arm back on and it will hold tight enough for display (as long as it's not holding anything).

::EDIT::

I'm not sure if it's been happening on the Takara version too. After I got the Hasbro version I stopped following the threads on the Takara ones. Same toy, probably same factory, so it seems likely some could suffer from the same issue.

Is that the Takara one or the TRU one?

Magnus looks a little better, but it's odd that they have to put him in a neutral pose to make him look good haha.

The Hasbro TRU version. I don't think the Takara version had the leprosy problem. I should have just kept that one but my inner G1 toy boy liked the Hasbro version better when it came out so I traded my Takara for one of those. Kept the trailer though. :/

So my Hasbro MP Rodimus just dropped an arm last night. He's one of the few toys I never handle because...he's just not fun to handle, and he's been standing untouched on a shelf for two years, and last night around midnight I heard a clunk and assumed someone just dropped a rifle or something. This morning I looked and found Roddy's arm laying there, totally broken off at the shoulder joint. I've heard of this happening many, many, many times at TFW, and now its finally happened to mine. I thought about looking on Shapeways to see if there are replacement joints, but I'll probably just sell him as a junker just to be done with the POS. I really hope they make a brand new MP Hot Rod that is smaller and less complicated.

I think UM looks fine, but my biggest 'problem' is that I've never really taken a shine to G1 Magnus in general. I even had the toy when I was a kid but, oddly, feel no nostalgia toward it. Part of that may be because the thing I wanted most of all back then was an Optimus Prime but I never got one so Magnus was always just a poor white version of what I really wanted.

I'm tempted to get one though because MPs almost always turn out to be good toys, but at the same time I just have to weigh how much I really need to see a G1 style UM on my shelf, and at the moment I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather spend the money on.

Not to be pessimistic, but it'll probably have to be cleaned up again in the future.

Odd to see Skyfire draw so much passion.

I'm enjoying the uproar going on about 3P Skyfires. Needs more popcorn.

That thread is just mind-bending. I had no idea so many men were so dedicated to gossip and drama.

I still don't get the wood over the G1 cartoon "Jetfire".

I feel the same about G1 Shockwave. Virtually no appeal for me, cartoon or toys.

I'm waiting for FansToys offering. To much stuff is released until August.

I'd like to see theirs, too. I'm more interested in that than the dinos they're making (which look very nice).

So along with the backpack/wings having to come off for transformation, you also have to remove the intake vents and store them inside the backpack.

Also, I'm not sure what's going on in the second set of pics but it looks like there is a seperate panel that covers the back, but isn't part of the backpack? I'm trying to remain optimistic, but as CoreyD said it's very bothersome for a $170 toy.

And then there is this guy.

Not sure if anyone is following that Skyfire toy Kronos, but it has come to light from a couple people who reviewed a test shot of the toy that the entire back portion that holds the wings needs to be removed for transformation. Apparently you just pull it off and snap it back on later. I haven't decided yet how much of a problem I have with that. Ideally I prefer perfect transformation, and I feel like Skyfire's design is simple enough to avoid something like breaking it in half for transformation.

Additionally, the creator of the toy has been very open and communicative about his project but although he was asked many, many times about how the transformation works it was never mentioned. He did say once that the backpack could be removed as a feature, but that's hardly the same thing.

Anyway, I'll most likely still get it and decide how I feel about it once I have it in hand. I'm thinking as long as the overall quality feels great, the joints are good and the transformation is enjoyable I'll be happy enough.

That Takara exclusive Evasion Optimus doesn't look old and rusty to me.

He looks too...delicious? Like he is made of nougat.

Around here Whirl took a little while to hit the shelves, but once he did a month or so ago, he's been plentiful.

I wish I could say the same for Cosmos as I'd love to get a second one. Him and Swerve were around for roughly a week here before they vanished.

And on non-Grimlock news that's PROBABLY old hat to everyone else...

So I was at the store the other day and made my usual pass by the Transformers aisle on the off chance I would be met with something other than crushing disappointment*... and saw Classics/Universe/Generations/WHATEVER Whirl. As a sucker for less anthropomorphic Transformers, I immediately picked him up.

Thought he looked a bit bland in the box. Was pretty surprised. Then I opened it and a STICKER SHEET fell out and for a few seconds I felt like I was eight years old and it was Christmas morning again.

Yes, I know stickers are a pain in the butt and factory paint apps are better and more convenient too. I bet there's way better third-party sheets, I'm sure. But WHATEVER.

It just ain't RIGHT for a toy to be ready to play straight out of the box! Stickers are part of the experience and THIS is what Transformers have been missing for the last decade!

Glad you like Whirl, he's definitely a rare gem among Transformers over the last few years. The stickers brought out the little boy in me, too. Also I love how whoever designed him had a lot of love for the original or the Dorvack toy. Even the assortment of weapons are homages. I don't know how close you've been following Transformers news, but there is a Roadbuster coming out soon that looks like it may also come with stickers.

Kronos looks pretty much perfect to me. I couldn't care less what other toys he will or will not fit with, I just like toys and they all mix and mingle anyway. Considering how nicely done Daca's MP10 heads were I expect Kronos to be an equally high quality toy.

If FansToys makes one later on and it looks good, great, I'll buy that one too.

That's the sassiest I've ever seen Gojira. I love it!

Also, it's weird but the lighter grey has really grown on me - kind of gives Grimlock a more cartoony aesthetic.

The green plastic has grown on me as well. Still might pick one up for my little girl if I should happen across one at a store.

Cool, thanks for the link. I sliced those tabs on mine but it still didn't quite do the job. Turned out the tabs on the forearms that form the top of the cab and hold the middle panel in place were too thick and were keeping the middle panel from rotating up as far as it needed to go. I had to slice those as well, and now the windows line up.

I know it sounds weird, but sometimes I enjoy figuring out weird little problems like this. Not saying I actively want my toys to have problems, but when its something that can be fixed relatively easily I always end up with an extra satisfaction - similar to building a model kit.

:EDIT:

And yes, some extra paint works wonders on this thing. I'm not very good with paint but I might try doing a few little touches here and there. It's a cheap toy, if I really mess it up I can buy another one.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radicons-customs/987004-evasion-optimus-windshield-fix.html

And jeebus. What a little extra silver paint can do to make this prime look SO much better.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-feedback/979957-aoe-voyager-optimus-prime-evasion-mode.html