The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[sh9000]

Preordered Onslaught at The Chosen Prime.

[rsvictor1976]

I bought my first DNA Design upgrade kits for the Studio Series Galvatron and Transformers One Prime and Megatron. While upgrade kit for Prime and Megratron were great, I'm having some regrets getting the kit for Galvatron. The added leg extensions were nice, but I don't think the other upgrades and accessories for it were worth it. 

I did preorder that upgrade kit for Devastator after they announced the inclusion of a chest gap filler for Hook in combiner mode.   

[mikeszekely]

9 hours ago, rsvictor1976 said:

I bought my first DNA Design upgrade kits for the Studio Series Galvatron and Transformers One Prime and Megatron. While upgrade kit for Prime and Megratron were great, I'm having some regrets getting the kit for Galvatron. The added leg extensions were nice, but I don't think the other upgrades and accessories for it were worth it. 

Yeah... I can't comment on it (and didn't review it), but that's because I was so disinterested that I never bothered with it.

I do have the TFOne Prime/Megatron kit on order at TCP, but they've been getting their DNA stuff in WAY later than everyone else for some reason.  I can't be too bothered by it, though, because I usually have to wait for a few of them to pile up to get free shipping anyway.  I could order from ShowZ or something (like I do for most of my stuff), but (at least in the pre-tariff days) that was unusually the more expensive way to get DNA stuff.

But yeah, in addition to the TFone kit, I have the kits for Godzilla Megatron, Prima, Vector Prime, and Bonecrusher/Scrapper on order.  I *might* order the kit for Long Haul/Hook, since it gives Long Haul a waist swivel, but I'm not interested in moving around the back kibble in combined mode.  Likewise, I'm thinking about getting the Devastator kit for the forearm filler, Hook gap filler, articulated hands, etc, but I'm not really sure I want the shoulder bits.

Edited December 8 by mikeszekely

[mikeszekely]

Despite collecting the Studio Series figures since the line's inception, I'm actually not a huge fan of the films.  I mean, the first one was pretty good, but they went downhill fast as each the writers seemed to treat continuity, their audience, and even basic science with increasing contempt with each sequel.  A particular sore spot was the character designs, as it often seemed like they were pulling Transformers names out of a hat and slapping them on random robots that looked and acted less like their namesakes and more like someone ran a car through a shredder, arranged the output into something vaguely humanoid, and made the resulting mess angry.

All that said, I have gone on record as saying that the Bayverse gave use two good things; Blackout and Barricade, two characters who today are arguably more definitive than their original G1 Mircromasters.  And while Studio Series gave us the '07 versions pretty quickly, I wasn't going to be satisfied until we also got a version from The Last Knight.  And guess what we finally got?  A Studio Series Deluxe-class The Last Knight Barricade!

Well... my big want for a new SS version over the original TLK toy was for it to be more movie accurate.  But with the ever-constrained budget allowances that go into Deluxe-class figures, it's kind of a mixed bag.  The new head is definitely more screen accurate (as the original was based on concept art, not the final CGI model), with blue outer eyes, more silver on his face, and the light on his right temple.  He's missing some silver on top of his head, though.  More effort was spent in transforming the chest, so the push bar folds away this time and you can see his Decepticon emblem on his badge... but there's no side of the chain that holds the badge around his neck.  There's a hint of molded handcuffs on his crotch, but his pelvis is otherwise an indistinct lump.  The molded details are more accurate on his forearms than the original, but the lack of a darker gunmetal in that mechanical detail hurts.  It's a bit worse for his biceps; at least his hands are forearms are simply missing an accent color.  His biceps should also be blue with gunmetal accents.  His legs are a mixed bag.  The colors are sort of correct, with blue hips and silver/gray mechanical bits, but some of his thighs and knees should be white.  His feet, while correctly blue (but again missing some silver and gold details), look like he's standing on blocks of kibble.  Which he essentially is!  The original toy had feet shaped more like the CGI model's.

I'll cut SS Barricade a little slack on his back.  Like the majority of designs from this movie, the CGI had a very detailed back that fully handwaved the transformation and gave no thought to how it was supposed to work on a $20 (now $30) toy.  So, no, having the bulk of the roof isn't accurate, but the new toy does compact it down a bit better, and the angled light bar is kind of accurate.  Also worth pointing out that rear of the car, specifically the taillights and exhausts, turning into his calves is also CGI accurate.  Some details missing from the original toy, like the white panels with "POLICE" on his biceps, are still missing.  Disappointingly, the new toy is missing the knuckle dusters molded into the original toy's fists.

Barricade might not have enough paint, but they certainly didn't skimp on accessories.  He comes with a black part, two pieces that make up his arm cannon, and a pair of pistols.  I'll confess that I'm a tad disappointed that he didn't come with a nightstick like the original toy, but to be fair the nightstick was from Barricade's original concept art, and was never seen in the film.

Barricade's head is on a ball joint that can tilt up a little, not much down, and has a slight sideways tilt in addition to swiveling.  His shoulders are ball joints that swivel and move laterally about 90 degrees.  His elbows are also ball joints, giving him 90 degrees of bend and pulling double-duty for bicep swivels.  No wrist swivels, but he does have waist swivel.  His hips are ball joints that can go 90 degrees forward/backward and about 60 degrees laterally.  His thighs swivel where the gray plastic meets the silver-painted blue.  He has multiple knee joints; it seems like they were trying to give him a digitigrade stance like the '07-DOTM Barricade, even though he wasn't really digitigrade in TLK.  The uppermost joint bends about 45 degrees either way.  The lower joint bends a click forward, but not at all in the "normal" knee direction.  At the top of the lower gray part is his ankle, which bends upward and can pivot 90 degrees, plus he's got an ankle swivel at the bottom.

Barricade can hold his pistols in either hand.

The pistols also have tabs on the side that allow you to plug them into his hips for storage.  Meanwhile, the black part (which is missing some color) plugs into a slot that's only on his right arm.  That bit is definitely on his right arm on the CGI model; I can't tell if it's supposed to be on his left arm as well or not, because his left arm always has the cannon in the film.  The cannon installs by taking one part and plugging it into a tab that only exists under his left arm.  The other half wraps over the top of his forearm and plugs into the bottom half.  Now, there's two things bugging me here... one, the cannons block his left fist, so he can't hold a pistol in that hand unless you put the cannons somewhere else.  But there's no alternate storage for them that I can see.  Then, two, there's a little tab at the base of just that one pistol.  I thought maybe it's so you could plug it in somewhere else, like maybe make it a shoulder-mounted weapon or something, but nope.  The tab seems to serve no purpose at all.

Transformation is similar to, but a bit more complex, than the original toy.  The chest still has to come up over his head, but there's additional steps involved in folding the push bar out and shifting the corners of the bumper up.  His legs still scrunch up to make the rear of the car, but his waist swivels and the scrunching is a bit more convoluted as it's now the whole rear, including the rear spoiler and window.  His arms still kind of tuck in, but you don't have to flip them around first.  Then front windshield and a strip across the hood are separate from the backpack and go into place first, then the doors unfold and the backpack slides down to lock everything together.

As a bit of a car nut, the licensed alt mode on the new SS figure is a major step up from the "legally distinct" TLK toy.  I'm honesty a bit impressed with how accurate some of the details are.  White paint on the sides doesn't come all the way down to the trim?  Accurate.  Looks like the corners of the front bumper are missing?  Accurate.  Strakes on the spoiler?  Accurate.  Gaps cut into the rear under the taillights?  Accurate.  Again, the big letdown seems to be that they ran out of paint.  On the nose there's some silver in the headlights and four squares on the push bar, but the silver fog lights are left black, and the red and blue lights on the push bar are on painted.  The marker lights behind the rear tires are unpainted.  And on the rear there's red on the taillights and some black around them, but none on the rear diffuser.  Other little details are missing.  We've got the white on the doors and roof, and we've got the big "867" on the roof and "POLICE" on the doors, sure.  But there's no "867" on the front corners or the bottoms of the doors.  There's no "911" on the sides under the spotlights, or "14" on the spoiler.  There's no "To punish and enslave" over the left rear wheel, and no "Keep calm and Hail Megatron" over the right rear wheel.

As far as accessory storage goes, first we take the black arm part and plug it into the rear window.  The halves of the arm cannon can then plug into it, one using a slot to fit onto a tab on the black part, the other using a tab to fit into a slot on the black part.

The pistols use the same tabs they used for plugging into his hips, they just plug into cutouts above and slightly behind the rear wheels.

Barricade is very much a mixed bag.  I mean, yes, he's got a number of elements that make him the more accurate figure, especially in alt mode, than the original TLK toy.  I'd go so far as to say he's got better articulation than that toy, too.  But, compared to SS86/WfC/Legacy/AotP his articulation is still a bit limited, and the lack of paint is doing him no favors.  This is still not the Barricade I'd hoped for... maybe I need someone like Unique Toys to work their black magic on an MP-style toy?  I mean, ball joints, more limited articulation, and a lack of paint is pretty par for the course for Bayverse designs in Studio Series.  I'd say get him if you're a fan of the character, or you're trying to complete the film's cast.  Otherwise you can probably skip him.

[rsvictor1976]

Which would you buy? 

Studio Series AoE Optimus Prime with DNA Design upgrade kit

or

Studio Series TLK Nemesis Prime

[mikeszekely]

At time of writing we're down to the last three weeks of 2025, but don't tell Hasbro.  Yesterday's Studio Series Barricade is supposed to be in the first wave of 2026 Studio Series releases.  As for the rest of the wave... who knows?  It looks like just Barricade for now.  But Studio Series isn't the only line with an early release.  I've also got two of the Deluxes in the first 2026 wave of Age of the Primes... but probably not the two you wanted.  First up, we have Quintus Prime.

In my mind, the Thirteen could be divided into two groups.  The first group is comprised of characters that appeared in fiction first (or at least before the mythology was fully fleshed out), then Hasbro ID'ed them as part of the Thirteen.  These tend to be the more recognizable ones, like Alpha Trion and Vector Prime.  Once Hasbro compiled that list and came up short of 13, the rest were created to pad the number.  They're the less well-known (and perhaps more forgettable) members.  Quintus is part of that second group, but due to his role in Transformers Earthspark, perhaps a bit more well-known than, say, Amalgamous Prime.

AOTP Quintus doesn't borrow much from the Earthspark design, though.  In fact, with his four eyes, elaborate head crest, and mass of tentacles and ribbons from the waist down, he's almost entirely the Quintus seen in The Covenant of Primus.  That said, there are some differences that I'll charitably call Earthspark-based instead of budget-cutting.  The most obvious is that he's got just two arms instead of six.  As a sort of compromise he's got two gray tentacles coming out of his sides.  The other thing that might be Earthspark-inspired is that he's got actual legs.  See, rather than many independent tentacles he's got five groups of soft plastic that are, more or less, hip skirts.  There's a big one in the back, one on each side, and two in the front.  Under the tentacle skirt, though, he's got a pair of translucent green legs that end in four-toed feet (two in the front, two in the back, not four in a line like "normal").

Quintus comes with his legendary artifact, the Emberstone.  The Emberstone is yellow-green here instead of blue, but it does appear to have the same shape as the Emberstone's appearance in Earthspark.  This is the only accessory that Quintus gets.

Quitnus' head is on a ball joint with plenty of up/down/sideways tilt, but his collar limits his swivel.  His shoulders swivel and move laterally 90 degrees inside the shoulder pads, plus the shoulder pads have hinges for transformation that get you a little more than 45 degrees of extra lateral range.  His biceps swivel, his elbows bend 90 degrees, and his wrists swivel.  His dark tentacles can swivel where they're attached, with hinges that have 180 degrees of range, but no additional articulation along their length.  His waist swivels.  The tentacle skirts hinge outward a little over 90 degrees, giving his hips the freedom to move forward, backward, or laterally 90 degrees.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees.  His feet don't really tilt up, but they do tilt down quite a bit and his ankles can pivot over 90 degrees.

Quintus' hands are the usual 5mm ports, and the Emberstone has a 5mm peg on the bottom.  The gray tentacles also have curls at the ends that make 5mm ports equally-capable of holding 5mm accessories.  There's an additional 5mm port on his back, and under each of his feet.

The Emberstone also has storage.  Open the door on his back and you'll find a 5mm hole that goes right through his chest.  Plug the Emberstone in, close him up, and the peg's rounded end becomes an orb in his chest.  I expect that once you put it there, you're likely to leave it there.

Quintus' transformation looks about as basic as it gets.  The kibble on the backs of his forearms covers his hands, and his arms fold up over his head.  But there's actually a bit more to it!  His waist swivels, and flaps on his calves fold over the backs of his thighs, giving his tentacles a place to lock in.  Then his shins kind of combiner wars up partially over the front of his thighs, again giving his tentacles a place to lock into.  It's still super basic, but given that Amalgamous was the only one of the Thirteen that was meant to have an alt mode turning the tentacled Covenant design and turning it into a squid-like spaceship is the best we could hope for, I guess.  Note that the leg transformation can be done for robot mode as well; it makes his toes look like the ends of more tentacles, creating the illusion that he doesn't actually have legs.

I don't have a ton to say about the the spaceship mode.  The skirts on his sides are the same part, not mirrored, so they kind of don't line up the same.  The configuration pictured uses tiny pegs on the "elbows" of the gray tentacles to plug into spots on his chest, propping the front of the spaceship up like landing gear.  The instructions do show that you can fold the tentacles back to lie among the translucent green ones.  This would presumably be more of an in-flight look, but the tentacles do not lock into that position, they just lie there.

Aside from moving the tentacles the spaceship doesn't do much.  The door on his back opens like a cockpit now, and you can leave the Emberstone installed inside.  That said, there is a 5mm port on top of the cockpit door, so if you want the Emberstone to ride on top that's an option.

I'm not going to beat around the bush... Quintus is definitely the weakest of the Thirteen released so far.  In fairness to Hasbro, the robot's design doesn't doesn't lend itself well to transforming into an alt mode, so maybe I can forgive the simplistic transformation and half-hearted spaceship mode.  The lack of accessories, too, as even in the Covenant he's not know for any weapons or anything.  I do wish instead of largely static tentacles they'd given him his actual extra four arms, though.  As a one-off, standalone sort of figure I don't think Quintus is bad, but nor is he very compelling.  If, like me, you're collecting the Thirteen then he fills a slot with a mostly Covenant-accurate design, and I'm not sure what more you could want or need there.

[M'Kyuun]

On 12/7/2025 at 6:55 PM, mikeszekely said:

Yeah... I can't comment on it (and didn't review it), but that's because I was so disinterested that I never bothered with it.

I do have the TFOne Prime/Megatron kit on order at TCP, but they've been getting their DNA stuff in WAY later than everyone else for some reason.  I can't be too bothered by it, though, because I usually have to wait for a few of them to pile up to get free shipping anyway.  I could order from ShowZ or something (like I do for most of my stuff), but (at least in the pre-tariff days) that was unusually the more expensive way to get DNA stuff.

But yeah, in addition to the TFone kit, I have the kits for Godzilla Megatron, Prima, Vector Prime, and Bonecrusher/Scrapper on order.  I *might* order the kit for Long Haul/Hook, since it gives Long Haul a waist swivel, but I'm not interested in moving around the back kibble in combined mode.  Likewise, I'm thinking about getting the Devastator kit for the forearm filler, Hook gap filler, articulated hands, etc, but I'm not really sure I want the shoulder bits.

I bought the Long Haul kit, Long Haul being my fave of the Constructicons. However, I really want those improved arms for Bonecrusher, but without all the other stuff. The detachable shovel upgrade definitely benefits his articulation and aesthetics over the stock model and I was initially excited for it, but I developed reservations that the shovel tab, the only thing keeping it on his chest with the upgrade, would wear out over time and just fall off. That and removing pins is a PITA. Honestly, if I had my druthers, I wish they'd just issue an arms kit with all the arm upgrades and nothing else. I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

However, I do kinda like how the Long Haul kit shifts the mass of his legs north on Devy's back and fills in all that empty space behind Hook. I dislike the superfluous butt flap that only serves to make the combiner leg kibble look more trailer-like, but honestly, I don't care. I'd rather it just wasn't there on Devastator. I am a tad concerned, however, pending any reviews, how securely all that back kibble will tab in the upgrade configuration. One thing I'll give Takara, Devy doesn't suffer from a lack of locking points, and that, unfortunately, includes the damnable butt plate, but also relies on the stock configuration for Long Haul's legs. Guess we'll see.

Points to Takara's designers for coming up with something as inventive as Quintus Prime. I don't plan on getting him, but I appreciate the imaginative approach to the character's design. While it might be a bit simpler in its overall execution, to create a new alt and have it fit the character is notable. I've not seen most of Earthspark, so I wasn't aware of the character's presence in the toon (I plan to watch it, have started it twice, but quit for one reason or other. I do like it, and I need to just dedicate myself to watching it from start to finish eventually). I looked up the Earthspark version for reference, and I'm impressed by how much of a departure the AotP version is by comparison. Actually, the Earthspark version gives me Kaminoan vibes, especially with the floor-length robe. It's good, I think, that the two versions are visually distinct as befitting the differences in each line's overall aesthetic.

[tekering]

We don't talk about your photos much, Mike, but they're always brightly-lit, sharply focused, and efficiently cropped, frequently combining multiple pics into a single image for practicality.  Your Quintus Prime review is notable in how well the lighting highlights the translucent parts.  I love the effect TakaraTomy has achieved combining paint and tinted clear plastic in various shades, and your photography demonstrates it well. 

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, tekering said:

We don't talk about your photos much, Mike, but they're always brightly-lit, sharply focused, and efficiently cropped, frequently combining multiple pics into a single image for practicality.

😆

I'm far from a pro, but I do what I can with a decent smartphone camera, some cheap Walmart LED lamps, and MS Paint.

[mikeszekely]

Last one (apparently for the year), and sorry, it's not Blast Off.  It's Age of the Primes Deluxe-class Quickstrike.

Seems like Hasbro is really committed to getting at least all the Beast Wars characters that actually appeared in the cartoon out.  Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we're down to Depth Charge, Rampage, and Dinobot II, then maybe the Transmetal versions of Cheetor, Rattrap, Tarantulas, Blackarachnia, Megatron, and Primal.

Anywho, Quickstrike.  Beast Wars are from an era where the CGI was modeled after the toys a bit more closely than G1 was, and near as I can tell Quickstrike's original toy was already pretty dang close to the cartoon.  Improved accuracy comes largely from replacing the original toy's greens and translucent golds with more cartoony teals and solid golds.

The flip side of making a toy that's accurate to a cartoon that was accurate to an older toy is that the worst traits (subjectively, in my opinion) get carried over.  I mean, one arm is a cobra (ok, that's kind of badass), but the other is a clamp made of his alt mode legs.  And, yeah, that's accurate to the cartoon, and yeah, now BW fans wouldn't have it any other way... but it doesn't change the fact that I kind of hated designs like this the first time, back in the '90s.

And then there's his accessories... or total lack thereof.  Again, this is accurate to the original toy.  And, if I remember right, to the cartoon, because how are you supposed to hold a weapon with a cobra for one hand and bug legs for the other?

Quickstrike's head is on a ball joint, but aside from swiveling and having some upward tilt the shape doesn't lend itself to much articulation.  Both of his shoulders swivel and can move over 90 degrees laterally.  His right arm has a series of five ball joints, each of which provides a swivel and a 90 degree bend, plus his cobra mouth can open.  His left arm has a bicep swivel above his elbow, which bends 90 degrees forward or backward.  Below the elbow is a sort of wrist swivel, then hinges where his "fingers" connect allow him to open and close his hand.  His waist swivels, just mind the alt mode head on his back.  His hips can go forward, backward, and laterally 90 degrees.  His thighs swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees.  The fronts of his feet and his heels can fold down, but not up, and he's got about 75 degrees of ankle pivot.

Although he doesn't come with accessories, there's one of those little pegs in the cobra's mouth that's compatible with Siege effect parts.  Centered in between his bug legs is a 5mm port you can perhaps find a use for.  There are additional 5mm ports under his feet and one on his back.

I didn't have the original toy, but I imagine the transformation is probably similar.  His shoulder pads kind of open up, and a panel on his chest opens for clearance.  Then, the front of his torso opens about halfway, his his head folds down into the chest, and the panel closes.  His right arm swings out so that the shoulder joint lines up with the waist cutout, then the front of the torso along with the arm swing the rest of the way up, tabbing into the panel that was behind his head.  The shoulder pads lock into the sides of the torso you just swung up.  His left arm shifts at the shoulder so that his bicep will tab in along the inside of his back, with his elbow landing right at his waist.  If you have it right, the longest bug legs will be pointing toward the tail, and hooks on the "front" hips will grab into a slot on his waist.  It's pretty much just cleanup after that... use the double hinge on the alt mode head to swing it forward and tab it into his butt, spread his hips, swivel his thighs, and fold down his feet and heels to make his legs into claws, and arrange the ball joints of his cobra arm into something like a scorpion tail.

I think Fuzors was one of the weirder gimmicks in the Beast Wars line, and I'd say I'm not generally a fan.  I mean, wouldn't Buzzclaw have been cool enough to be just a praying mantis?  Do we have to throw lizard in there?  What's the orca in Torca bringing to the table?  But I have to admit, the Fuzor thing does kind of work for Quickstrike.  He's kind of like if Scorpnok were a cowboy and swapped his boring ol' stingy tail for a freaking cobra.  I respect that.

Once again, we have no accessories, but we do have a very articulated cobra tail with an opening mouth that has a port for blast effects.  His scorpion arms benefit from all the articulation of his robot hands and feet.  He's still got a 5mm port on his back if you want to jam a Micromaster or a chunk of Brunt on him or something, plus the 5mm ports under his feet are now inside his claws.

I'll be honest, if I'm feeling a little apathetic about Quickstrike it's probably because of who he his... a C-list character from a cartoon I didn't watch until I was an adult made to sell a toy line I didn't collect who's design was constrained by the limitations of the era.  But caring about Beast Wars less than G1 and preferring designs that don't use their alt mode kibble for hands are the sorts of subjective criteria that might make you not care about a figure no matter how good or bad it is.  Objectively, I think Hasbro did a good job with this figure.  The lack of accessories, no matter how appropriate, is a bit of a bummer, but the toy still has lots of articulation and plenty of show accuracy in both modes.  If you grew up a bit later than I did and Beast Wars is your jam, then Quickstrike's actually a good figure that's sure to please.

[rsvictor1976]

I went to my local toy shop to pick up another DNA upgrade kit and was surprised that they just got a bunch of the new Studio Series stuff come in. I managed to pick up Soubdwave, Nemesis Prime, Blast Off, and Brawl.

[M'Kyuun]

2 hours ago, rsvictor1976 said:

I went to my local toy shop to pick up another DNA upgrade kit and was surprised that they just got a bunch of the new Studio Series stuff come in. I managed to pick up Soubdwave, Nemesis Prime, Blast Off, and Brawl.

Lucky! Not only that you have a local shop that sells the official stuff, and early no less! but that they sell third party stuff. The closest thing I have to that is a little mom and pop collectibles store that happened to get their hands on a local collector's estate sale. I bought FT's Brawn from them. We have a couple vintage toy sellers that also sell current stuff, but they don't deal with any third-party wares, unfortunately. I'd love it if we had a store akin to BBTS here in town. There's always a mark-up, but you also get the instant gratification.

[M'Kyuun]

Any word on POs for AotP Swindle?

[mikeszekely]

56 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

Any word on POs for AotP Swindle?

Last I heard he's in the third 2026 wave, which would be fall, so probably not for awhile.  Fingers crossed they shuffle him into wave 2 and move someone from wave 2 back so we can complete Bruticus by summer, but even then wave 1 isn't technically supposed to be out until February, so I don't expect preorders for wave 2 for another month or so.