The Transformers Thread (licensed) Next

[sh9000]

Preordered Springer, Steeljaw, and Bumblebee at Entertainment Earth.

[mikeszekely]

Missing Link Bumblebee and Cliffjumper are available on Hasbro Pulse if you didn't already order them from your importer of choice. $40 each... which is lower than the price for the original G1 toys on the secondary market, so...

[Hikuro]

Wow steeljaw and springer are already sold out on BBTS. Missinglink Bumblebee and Cliffjumper at 40 bucks a pop is honestly a bit to mucuh for me considering how small those toys are. So I guess I'm gonna pass on them. 86 Bumblebee will be a pass as well...I'm quite happy with the netflix variant and I don't feel like this one is really all that great.

[sh9000]

Sweet!

[M'Kyuun]

On 5/15/2024 at 4:51 PM, Hikuro said:

Wow steeljaw and springer are already sold out on BBTS. Missinglink Bumblebee and Cliffjumper at 40 bucks a pop is honestly a bit to mucuh for me considering how small those toys are. So I guess I'm gonna pass on them. 86 Bumblebee will be a pass as well...I'm quite happy with the netflix variant and I don't feel like this one is really all that great.

Well, we like what we like. personally, I dig SS86 Bee; I've been wanting a mainline Bee that resembles his chibi G1 car mode for some time. I like the Netflix version, too, with its realistic car mode, though I'm not crazy about the partsforming aspect shared by Bee and Cliffjumper. At least the partsforming bits can attach to their backs and look like they're part of the bot mode instead of some awkward shield or weird weapon that neither of them ever had in the toon. As for non-partsforming chibi Beetle SS86, I'm looking forward to him and his obvious retooled moldmate, Cliffjumper, to add to the collection. The Missing Link Bee and Cliffy just aren't doing much for me, as the OG toys just weren't that great, and even with articulation, the proportions are odd, especially the arms. SS86 manages to give us the Chibi Beetle and a better proportioned bot mode, and that's the stuff of awesome.

I busted out my Siege Springer and ran through the transformations yesterday all while looking at the new SS86 retool. Def some improvements towards toon accuracy. I'm also glad they made his sword transform into the main rotor, although it's odd that there are no stock shots of him holding it-- just the other non-transforming sword he comes with. I wish they'd done more to cover his front tire in heli mode, and his faux landing skid should have been yellow. Otherwise, the majority of the changes look good and the new shoulders may even give him more range of motion, as they're a little limited on the Siege version. I ususally try not to double dip on figs, especially when they're as well done as I feel Siege Springer is, but the improvements look to be just that, and IMHO, worth picking up his somewhat new and improved self.

Edited May 18 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

10 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Well, we like what we like. personally, I dig SS86 Bee; I've been wanting a mainline Bee that resembles his chibi G1 car mode for some time.

Yeah, ditto for Cliffjumper.  And I do like the brighter yellow on 86 Bee vs. the borderline orange on Netflix Bee.  And I think it's worth remembering that Netflix Bee was a store exclusive, and there was a Bumblebee in the Target multipack, but this is technically the first mainline G1-esque Bumblebee since Titans Return.

I just have three nitpicks with Bee-

1. The front end is too angular, kind of reminds me of Bumper as much as it does Bumblebee.

2. I wish the tires folded under his feet the way Netflix Bee does.

3. The dark windows.  I just have this funny feeling that another version will come in a year or two, maybe as another store-exclusive, with blue windows.

11 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

I'm also glad they made his sword transform into the main rotor, although it's odd that there are no stock shots of him holding it-- just the other non-transforming sword he comes with.

Guess you don't want to wait until I have one in-hand and do a review, since I don't have those Vietnamese factory connections.  But I'll still hook ya up.

[M'Kyuun]

On 5/16/2024 at 7:50 PM, mikeszekely said:

Yeah, ditto for Cliffjumper.  And I do like the brighter yellow on 86 Bee vs. the borderline orange on Netflix Bee.  And I think it's worth remembering that Netflix Bee was a store exclusive, and there was a Bumblebee in the Target multipack, but this is technically the first mainline G1-esque Bumblebee since Titans Return.

I just have three nitpicks with Bee-

1. The front end is too angular, kind of reminds me of Bumper as much as it does Bumblebee.

2. I wish the tires folded under his feet the way Netflix Bee does.

3. The dark windows.  I just have this funny feeling that another version will come in a year or two, maybe as another store-exclusive, with blue windows.

Guess you don't want to wait until I have one in-hand and do a review, since I don't have those Vietnamese factory connections.  But I'll still hook ya up.

I tend to forget how many of these figs are exclusives, SS86, and other lines and technically don't fall under the mainline umbrella. They're all the same scale and aesthetically made to work with each other hence my inclination to lump them all, or many at least, under mainline. Anyway, regarding your nitpicks: 

1. The front end is too angular, kind of reminds me of Bumper as much as it does Bumblebee. I concur. It's an obvious concession to eventual retooling as Cliffjumper, but it would have been nice had it been executed a little better to homogenize the shape of the entire hood/feet. alas, no.

2. I wish the tires folded under his feet the way Netflix Bee does. Honestly, I hadn't noticed, which is weird b/c I share the same preference anytime feet are made from a chunk of vehicle with wheels. 

3. The dark windows.  I just have this funny feeling that another version will come in a year or two, maybe as another store-exclusive, with blue windows. Most likely, as they'll find some way to repackage it with subtle changes to milk both the mold and the fandom. The black windows don't bother me that much, but yeah, the blue looks better and matches the animation. Odd that since this is Studio series and that's the whole point of this line.😒

Guess you don't want to wait until I have one in-hand and do a review, since I don't have those Vietnamese factory connections.  But I'll still hook ya up.

Good find, and thanks. Yeah, I like that. I can live without the other sword, hammer, and the catapult shell. Of course, the shell has meaning from that one scene in the film, but honestly, it'll just stay in the box for perpetuity. I just want his rifle and prop-sword. It would have been nice had they retooled his legs a bit to be able to rotate the tires 180 degrees to manifest the round bumps like the animation. All their retooling focus was on the upper body, but that would've been a nice touch for the legs. 

Gotta say, we've come a looong way from this (Credit to Brave Fortress from whom I shamelessly copied pics):

 

I still have my G1 Springer, and he was a bit disappointing back in the day, although I still think he has a pretty good helicopter mode. Bot and car modes, though, leave somewhat to be desired. Obviously, a lot of creative license was taken with his animated bot mode for the film, and between Siege and SS86, we're only just now getting figs that even come close nigh 40 years after the film. Both versions are a bit lean compared to his chunkier toon model, but honestly, I prefer the look of the Siege/SS86 versions. Too bad they couldn't make those tires on his arms disappear into the body, but otherwise, looking pretty good.

Edited May 18 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

It would have been nice had they retooled his legs a bit to be able to rotate the tires 180 degrees to manifest the round bumps like the animation.

Actually, in the cartoon (much like the G1 toy) there's some molded detail (suggestive of the tail rotor?) but only the very bottom of the tire is actually visible.  In other words, I agree that I'd have liked his legs remolded a bit to hide them, but they wouldn't even have to rotate to do so.  Probably would have been better use of the plastic than the missile or the hammer.

(Note the green hubcaps on the front wheels and green rotor blades... cartoon accurate on SS86 Springer).

2 hours ago, M'Kyuun said:

Too bad they couldn't make those tires on his arms disappear into the body, but otherwise, looking pretty good.

Agree, but at least on SS86 you can swivel the shoulder pads to cover them and look more cartoon accurate in the process.

[M'Kyuun]

Saw the Transformers 40th Anniversary showing of the first four eps of the G1 toon today. A number of OG voice actors and a couple stand-in VA's performed the majority of the first ep's lines "live" - the timing was a little off here and there, but it was still pretty cool, and they did a split screen format so you can see the VA's doing the lines along with the show. Welker and Cullen have definitely maintained well. I was a little bummed that Corey Burton wasn't part of the table read; he voiced Spike and Shockwave, and Gregg Berger, bless his soul, sounds nothing like him in either voice, or Casey Kasem for that matter. Kasem had such a recognizable voice from doing radio, but I'm always amazed at how well he was able to change his voice for the various characters he performed. I was pleased to see a memorial to all the OG TF VA's who've passed on at the end of the presentation. I was hoping for some sort of dedication or mention; it's a blink-and-you'll miss-it moment, but at least it's there. 

21 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

Actually, in the cartoon (much like the G1 toy) there's some molded detail (suggestive of the tail rotor?) but only the very bottom of the tire is actually visible.  In other words, I agree that I'd have liked his legs remolded a bit to hide them, but they wouldn't even have to rotate to do so.  Probably would have been better use of the plastic than the missile or the hammer.

(Note the green hubcaps on the front wheels and green rotor blades... cartoon accurate on SS86 Springer).

Agree, but at least on SS86 you can swivel the shoulder pads to cover them and look more cartoon accurate in the process.

Hmm, honestly, I prefer the tires visible in car mode even if it conflicts with the animation. I'd still rather they rotated 180 with tire on one side and the tail rotor housings on the other. I was going to mention the incongruity of his front wheels having green rims whilst the back ones are grey, but it makes sense in the context of the animation, especially since they didn't bother retooling him with his rotor housings. Both Siege and SS86 are also missing the intake/exhaust details on his shoulders under the yellow and green wheel fairings. They're included on the SS86 box art, though. Subsequent to the arm design and transformation schema, the heli modes of both Siege and SS86 versions lack their wing engines and fail to cover the front tires. I just noticed, too, that Neither version has the large horizontal stabilizers in heli mode. Even the G1 toy had small horizontal stabs. I could keep nitpicking, but suffice it to say, while I think the Siege and SS86 Springers are good figs on their own merits, the Studio Series version still falls a little short of movie accuracy despite the improved shoulders. To really approach any semblance of screen accuracy, SS86 Springer should have been a whole new mold. Maybe someday.

Edited May 19 by M'Kyuun

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, M'Kyuun said:

I just noticed, too, that Neither version has the large horizontal stabilizers in heli mode. Even the G1 toy had small horizontal stabs.

It's one of those details that I never paid much attention to, because the control art happens to have the main rotor directly over the horizontal stabs.  Then I was like, "yeah, but that's a detail that even most of the 3Ps get wrong."  But I'm curious, because I have a few 3P Springers.  So I grab Open & Play's Big Spring, put him in chopper mode, and no, he's got little ones.  MMC Saltus?  Small and a bit triangular, but present.  Toyworld Spanner?  He's got the biggest of the three (similar proportionally to the G1 toy).  I started googling the ones I don't have.  Unique Toys Allen?  Big ones, and green like the animation.  Fans Toys Apache?  Smaller than Allen's, but bigger than Saltus or Big Spring.  XTB Virtus?  Gray, but the most cartoon-accurate size and shape.  So now I'm wondering how Hasbro not only got away with the missing stabs, but how they gaslighted me into thinking that nobody else else gave their Springer stabs when they everyone but Hasbro included them.

Side note, somehow, while researching this topic, I wound up ordering copies of Apache and Virtus, despite owning Saltus, Big Spring, and Spanner already.  Think I might hunt for Allen, too, and then do a "which Springer is the definitive one" sort of review in the 3P thread.

[sh9000]

Excited to watch the first four G1 episodes on the big screen later today.  Here's my shirt for the day.

[mikeszekely]

2 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Excited to watch the first four G1 episodes on the big screen later today.  Here's my shirt for the day.

I'm going today, too, but I've got the same "Rolling Out for 40 Years" shirt Evan was wearing in the last Pulse stream.

EDIT: my local theater didn't get the cup & bucket.😕 I found I could order them online, though.

Edited May 19 by mikeszekely

[sh9000]

Overall it was pretty good.

[M'Kyuun]

22 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

It's one of those details that I never paid much attention to, because the control art happens to have the main rotor directly over the horizontal stabs.  Then I was like, "yeah, but that's a detail that even most of the 3Ps get wrong."  But I'm curious, because I have a few 3P Springers.  So I grab Open & Play's Big Spring, put him in chopper mode, and no, he's got little ones.  MMC Saltus?  Small and a bit triangular, but present.  Toyworld Spanner?  He's got the biggest of the three (similar proportionally to the G1 toy).  I started googling the ones I don't have.  Unique Toys Allen?  Big ones, and green like the animation.  Fans Toys Apache?  Smaller than Allen's, but bigger than Saltus or Big Spring.  XTB Virtus?  Gray, but the most cartoon-accurate size and shape.  So now I'm wondering how Hasbro not only got away with the missing stabs, but how they gaslighted me into thinking that nobody else else gave their Springer stabs when they everyone but Hasbro included them.

Side note, somehow, while researching this topic, I wound up ordering copies of Apache and Virtus, despite owning Saltus, Big Spring, and Spanner already.  Think I might hunt for Allen, too, and then do a "which Springer is the definitive one" sort of review in the 3P thread.

In doing my research while writing my previous post, XTransbot's Virtus caught my eye as the best representative of Springer in all three modes over the other MP-scaled toys, and over other toys as well including MFT's legends take (although MFT's has the stabs). I have MMC's Saltus as my MP Springer, but he's hardly accurate for all the liberties taken, most notably his car mode, which was also the reason why I chose him, as I never cared for the canon aft section being narrower than the front. However, I have to tip my hat to XTB for the extent of their accuracy.

Looking forward to your review and whether you reach the same conclusion. Regardless, enjoy your new not-Springers.

14 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Excited to watch the first four G1 episodes on the big screen later today.  Here's my shirt for the day.

Oh that's sweet. I wore this. Like Mike's theater, mine didn't have the cup or bucket either. No biggie personally, as I didn't get any concessions knowing I was going to dinner right after the show. Glad I abstained; dinner was excellent.  

4 hours ago, sh9000 said:

Overall it was pretty good.

I thought so, too, even though the loss of many of the OG VA's was noticeable as they did the table read through the first ep., and some of the OG VA's voices have changed with time. Still, I appreciated the effort, and they looked like they were having a good time. The fellow who voiced Starscream did an admirable job; Chris Latta's high pitched delivery is so distinctive and tough to mimic. I knew I was going to enjoy it though; first season of G1 is my favorite and the only one I own on DVD.

[sh9000]

9 minutes ago, M'Kyuun said:

I thought so, too, even though the loss of many of the OG VA's was noticeable as they did the table read through the first ep., and some of the OG VA's voices have changed with time. Still, I appreciated the effort, and they looked like they were having a good time. The fellow who voiced Starscream did an admirable job; Chris Latta's high pitched delivery is so distinctive and tough to mimic. I knew I was going to enjoy it though; first season of G1 is my favorite and the only one I own on DVD.

Agreed.  Frank Todaro's Starscream was really good.

[mikeszekely]

1 hour ago, sh9000 said:

Agreed.  Frank Todaro's Starscream was really good.

No joke, when I saw him I was thinking "who the heck is this clown that thinks he can just walk in here and play all these Chris Latta parts?"  And I was iffy on his Wheeljack, though I could tell he was trying.  But he won me over with his Starscream.  Arif Kinchen also did Scatman Crothers proud as Jazz.

The highlight for me was Frank Welker, though.  Actors voices change as they age, and we're talking about these guys reprising roles from 40 years ago.  I've often thought when listening to Peter Cullen do Optimus Prime in the Bayverse films and Transformers Prime that he sounds a bit older, and bit more... I dunno, tired (though I thought he sounded just like he did 40 years ago at the table read).  I'm thinking, especially with the sheer range of characters he does, that there's no way Welker would be up for all those voices.  But, oh man, did he nail it.

Now, the table read was fun, and I was super glad to be a part of the 40th anniversary celebration.  I can't overstate the impact Transformers has had on me; Transformers, TMNT, and NES pretty much sums up the bulk of my childhood that I can recall.  That said... I don't think I enjoyed it as much as the screening of the '86 movie on its anniversary.  And what it really boils down to is that the '86 movie is a tightly-paced story that still holds up today, but (while some episodes are better than others) the original cartoon kind of hasn't.  Don't get me wrong, the cartoon introduced this colorful cast of characters that sparked my young imagination and are still near and dear to me me, but there's too much that's just hokey watching as an adult.  Like when Sparkplug and Bumblebee volunteer to plant the bomb in the mine, Bumblebee transforms and Sparkplug gets in and they drive all of five feet to the mine entrance before switching back to walking.  Or how Megatron comes up with this convoluted plan to lure the Autobots into a cave, then traps himself and the Decepticons inside with him, only to easily blast his way back out when he needs to get back to the space bridge.  He then re-collapses the entrance, and he's so sure that there's no way the Autobots can get out, even though he literally just blast his own way out.  And what happens?  The Autobots immediately blaster their way out. 

My friend that went with me suggested that maybe they should have only done the first three episodes, instead of the first four, since they were a three-parter while "Transport to Oblivion just seemed kind of tacked on."  I think he was right.  It was a bit much for one sitting.  I'm thinking I might continue re-watching G1 Transformers with my DVDs at home, but probably one episode at a time, definitely not four.

[sh9000]

14 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

No joke, when I saw him I was thinking "who the heck is this clown that thinks he can just walk in here and play all these Chris Latta parts?"  And I was iffy on his Wheeljack, though I could tell he was trying.  But he won me over with his Starscream.  Arif Kinchen also did Scatman Crothers proud as Jazz.

The highlight for me was Frank Welker, though.  Actors voices change as they age, and we're talking about these guys reprising roles from 40 years ago.  I've often thought when listening to Peter Cullen do Optimus Prime in the Bayverse films and Transformers Prime that he sounds a bit older, and bit more... I dunno, tired (though I thought he sounded just like he did 40 years ago at the table read).  I'm thinking, especially with the sheer range of characters he does, that there's no way Welker would be up for all those voices.  But, oh man, did he nail it.

Now, the table read was fun, and I was super glad to be a part of the 40th anniversary celebration.  I can't overstate the impact Transformers has had on me; Transformers, TMNT, and NES pretty much sums up the bulk of my childhood that I can recall.  That said... I don't think I enjoyed it as much as the screening of the '86 movie on its anniversary.  And what it really boils down to is that the '86 movie is a tightly-paced story that still holds up today, but (while some episodes are better than others) the original cartoon kind of hasn't.  Don't get me wrong, the cartoon introduced this colorful cast of characters that sparked my young imagination and are still near and dear to me me, but there's too much that's just hokey watching as an adult.  Like when Sparkplug and Bumblebee volunteer to plant the bomb in the mine, Bumblebee transforms and Sparkplug gets in and they drive all of five feet to the mine entrance before switching back to walking.  Or how Megatron comes up with this convoluted plan to lure the Autobots into a cave, then traps himself and the Decepticons inside with him, only to easily blast his way back out when he needs to get back to the space bridge.  He then re-collapses the entrance, and he's so sure that there's no way the Autobots can get out, even though he literally just blast his own way out.  And what happens?  The Autobots immediately blaster their way out. 

My friend that went with me suggested that maybe they should have only done the first three episodes, instead of the first four, since they were a three-parter while "Transport to Oblivion just seemed kind of tacked on."  I think he was right.  It was a bit much for one sitting.  I'm thinking I might continue re-watching G1 Transformers with my DVDs at home, but probably one episode at a time, definitely not four.

Peter Cullen's voice is great as always.  Seeing Frank Welker's voice transition from Megatron to Rumble was cool.

Yep a lot of silly moments I didn't mind back when I was a kid.  Spike going underwater to move a big rock out of the way for Hound.  Still love G1 though.

[M'Kyuun]

18 hours ago, mikeszekely said:

No joke, when I saw him I was thinking "who the heck is this clown that thinks he can just walk in here and play all these Chris Latta parts?"  And I was iffy on his Wheeljack, though I could tell he was trying.  But he won me over with his Starscream.  Arif Kinchen also did Scatman Crothers proud as Jazz.

The highlight for me was Frank Welker, though.  Actors voices change as they age, and we're talking about these guys reprising roles from 40 years ago.  I've often thought when listening to Peter Cullen do Optimus Prime in the Bayverse films and Transformers Prime that he sounds a bit older, and bit more... I dunno, tired (though I thought he sounded just like he did 40 years ago at the table read).  I'm thinking, especially with the sheer range of characters he does, that there's no way Welker would be up for all those voices.  But, oh man, did he nail it.

Now, the table read was fun, and I was super glad to be a part of the 40th anniversary celebration.  I can't overstate the impact Transformers has had on me; Transformers, TMNT, and NES pretty much sums up the bulk of my childhood that I can recall.  That said... I don't think I enjoyed it as much as the screening of the '86 movie on its anniversary.  And what it really boils down to is that the '86 movie is a tightly-paced story that still holds up today, but (while some episodes are better than others) the original cartoon kind of hasn't.  Don't get me wrong, the cartoon introduced this colorful cast of characters that sparked my young imagination and are still near and dear to me me, but there's too much that's just hokey watching as an adult.  Like when Sparkplug and Bumblebee volunteer to plant the bomb in the mine, Bumblebee transforms and Sparkplug gets in and they drive all of five feet to the mine entrance before switching back to walking.  Or how Megatron comes up with this convoluted plan to lure the Autobots into a cave, then traps himself and the Decepticons inside with him, only to easily blast his way back out when he needs to get back to the space bridge.  He then re-collapses the entrance, and he's so sure that there's no way the Autobots can get out, even though he literally just blast his own way out.  And what happens?  The Autobots immediately blaster their way out. 

My friend that went with me suggested that maybe they should have only done the first three episodes, instead of the first four, since they were a three-parter while "Transport to Oblivion just seemed kind of tacked on."  I think he was right.  It was a bit much for one sitting.  I'm thinking I might continue re-watching G1 Transformers with my DVDs at home, but probably one episode at a time, definitely not four.

Yeah, there were certainly hokey bits in the OG. IIRC, the kid sitting next to me laughed when Bee and Sparkplug made their short drive to the Burma cave entrance. However, even though it was aimed at 8-year-olds, stuff like Prime's frustration after getting shot down chasing the Decepticons' ship, or the concern after, the moment when Prime tells Ironhide, "There's a thin line between being a hero and being a memory" after he's injured speak still to the older me. These are the moments that continue to resonate and manifest the more mature tone of the first season over successive seasons when the writers were essentially given carte blanche and the show became much more silly, and ultimately lost my interest even when I was a kid.

I agree that the Space Bridge ep should have been left off and the presentation should have just been the OG 3-part miniseries. 

Prior to this, Frank Todaro and Arif Kinchen were unknown to me. Frank's Wheeljack wasn't convincing, but his Starscream was impressive. Arif channeled Scatman Crothers pretty well as Jazz, and I was glad for it. Crothers had a unique voice, which he lent to other toons over the years, most notably Hong Kong Phooey, which I also watched as a younger tike. Welker and Cullen were still pretty on point. Cullen's Ironhide wasn't as robust as it was in '84, but his Prime is still just as good as ever. Welker is just amazing for his range and his ability to switch between voices instantaneously. Age hasn't done much to tarnish his pipes. 

As cool as it was to have the VA's voice the first ep, I was glad when they played the rest with their OG voice tracks, as those voices and the inflections are what I remember and love still. I was glad they had the names of the VA's who've passed, but it was up there and gone way too quickly. These people gave voice to much of my and many other kids' childhoods, a huge impact, and it would have been nice had their names been on screen long enough to read all of them.

[mikeszekely]

Originally not due for another month or so, this guy showed up over the weekend.  It's Legacy United Commander-class Magmatron.

Coming off of Beast Wars II, where the villains were decidedly robots very much at home in the Transformers franchise (the fact that many were, in fact, reused Generation 2 and Machine Wars molds might have had something to do with it), Magmatron has a unique look for a Transformer.  He almost looks like he's in the wrong anime... I'd go so far as to suggest the ear wings, the fanged mouth, and the way his upper body is lighter and more robotic (that is, "normal") while his legs are a darker color, muscular and bestial with a tail and clawed feet... he kind of reminds me of Devilman.

There's some cool mechanical details on the backs of his legs and heels, with little blades poking up between his toes, a dinosaur head on one shoulder, another in his chest, and a third curling around from his back over his other shoulder.  It's all pretty accurate, too, although his backpack's a tad big.  The one part I'm not super keen on is his waist, though.  In the cartoon he's got something of a mechanical belt, and original toy (which actually did release in the States as part of the Beast Machines line, even if Beast Wars Neo never made it over here) did have smallish purple flaps.  But here we've got pretty substantial hip skirts that don't even sit all that flush due to the dino arms bumping into his hips- dino arms that were tucked into his torso on the original.

For all the backpack, dino heads, and kibble flaps that are on the robot, a surprising amount of his mass isn't.  We've got a shield that's clearly like half a dinosaur, and weapon with a lot of purple flaps that you can probably identify as dinosaur "skin".  Additionally, a rubbery black blade and two smaller red ones, plus you can't be a Commander-class toy without another run of effect parts.

Magmatron's head swivels, but with his huge wings on his ears and dinosaur heads on his shoulders it can be tough to actually find the clearance for that swivel. No tilt.  His shoulders rotate on ratchets, and move laterally 90 degrees also on ratchets.  His biceps swivel.  His elbows are double jointed and can curl about 180 degree on softer ratchets.  His wrists swivel, and they can also bend outward (more for alt mode).  His thumb swivels (again, more for alt mode), and while his fingers are a single part permanently curled they are hinged at the base so he can open his hands.  His waist swivels, and using a joint that's really for transformation you can even get a bit of ab crunch.  His hips ratchet forward 90 degrees and, theoretically, 90 degrees backward, but his tail gets in the way.  His hips friction laterally 90 degrees.  His thighs swivel.  His ratcheted knees bend a little over 90 degrees.  His feet don't tilt (unless you untab his mechanical heel, then the front of his foot can tilt upward), but his ankles can pivot 90 degrees.  All-in-all pretty solid, when he's not getting in his own way.

Magmatron's hands have 5mm ports built into them , so he can hold the red blades in either hand.

The purple-skinned weapon has a handle on one end and a 5mm port on the other.  You can plug the black blade into the 5mm port, then he can hold the handle to make a sword.  The original toy actually had two handles, and the blade was a firing missile.  While the blade here doesn't actually fire, the handle is hinged so he could hold the weapon like a blaster, and you can use the included effect parts to make it look like the blade is being fired.  As for the shield, it has a clip that wraps around his forearm, and a 5mm peg that plugs into a port on said forearm.  This is fine!  What I don't like about it, though, is that the 5mm port is on the back of his arm, not the side.  The shield wind up on the back of his arm, which makes posing him holding the shield in front of his body kind of awkward.

Some of his accessories can be stored in robot mode.  Not the blast effects, but honestly at this point I've started putting all my blast effects together in a box and couldn't even tell you which ones came with which figures anymore, so that's not a big deal.  The two shorter red blades have holes on them that fit into pegs on his wing ears.  The longer black blade, meanwhile, tucks into the underside of his tail.  Unfortunately, there's no place to put his shield or his weapon, though.

Magmatron's unique design necessitates a bit of partsforming to get him into alt mode.  His entire back and arms pull off first.  Then his head, along with the inside of his torso, collar, and some of his chest, come off, leaving one shoulder pad, some of the front of his torso, and everything below the waist.

Rearrange the claws, stretch out the head that was on his chest, and fold the inside of his robot torso up over his face and you've got yourself Skysaurus, a Quetzalcoatlus.  Skysaurus has less mass, but is nearly as big as Deluxe-class Terrorsaur. 

Skysaur's mouth can open.  He's got a ball-joint at the top of his neck that allows his head to swivel, look straight up, or look down a bit.  A transformation hinge can help him look straight down.  His wings have hinges for a flapping motion and hinges near the claws that tuck the wings in or spread them out, but they don't fold.  His wing claws are on ball joints, but they don't do much more than swivel.  His hips are ball joints for swiveling and some lateral motion, plus he's got hinged knees, a digitigrade ankle hinge, and a hinge at the claws, making Skysaur surprisingly posable.  There's no peg in his mouth, though, so he can't use the blast effects.  The red swords can stay attached in this mode.

Magmatron's lower half transforms into Landsaurus, a Giganotosaurus.  Huh... Beast Wars Megatron and Terrorsaur were a purple theropod and red pterosaur, respectively, and two thirds of Magmatron are also a purple theropod and red pterosaur.  A lot of the "work" in transforming Landsaurus is tucking the blades on his feet under, folding in his heels, and undoing the mechancial bits ont he backs of his legs and stuffing them into his calves and thighs.  Beyond that, you fold his chest down and then twist each side so the front becoems the sides.  Undo his waist and shift it forward, lift a panel from his side so that most of the stuff above the waist can swivel 90 degrees, then fold his hip skirts up over his sides.

Now, here's where things get a bit different from the original toy.  On the original, his robot chest was simply the green belly of Landsaurus, and his weapon plugged into a gap between his head and chest to form most of his neck.  Here, he already has a neck filler that unfolds from the base of his jaw.  Here, you take the weapon and unfurl it.  The handle plugs into a 5mm port at the base of his tail, then wraps over his robot chest and around his sides to form his crotch and belly.

Landsaurus can open his mouth, but what you see here is the maximum.  His head can tilt up a bit, but doing so will break the sculpt, and can even turn about 45 degrees to either side.  His stumpy arms have ball-jointed shoulders for rotation and lateral movement, but that's it.  As with his robot mode, he's got the ratcheted hips for rotation and spread, ratcheted knees, and his ankle pivots, but now without the robot heels locking them in place he also enjoyed digitigrade ankles that bend upward.  His tail has a hinge near the base that can swing it 45 degrees to either side, and his tail still stores his black blade.

I'd say that, overall, Landsaurus is my favorite of Magmatron's component dinosaur modes, but it's because it's my favorite that I'm going to judge its flaws a bit harder.  Like Skysaurus, you can't use the blast effects in his mouth, and that's on top of his mouth should really have been able to open wider.  I'm also not sure about how his weapon wraps around his undercarriage like that.  On the one hand, from the front I think it makes his dinosaur mode seem more cohesive, if less accurate.  But from the side, while you can try to hide it with his dino thighs, more dynamic poses will invariably reveal the folded up robot chest and hollow gaps that run right through his body.

The Elasmosaurus known as, you guessed it, Seasaurus, is probably my least favorite of the three.  Part of that is because, well, what's Seasaurus supposed to do if the battle isn't near some body of water?  And maybe part of it is because Seasaurus doesn't have an original Beast Wars analog the way Skysaurus and Landsaurus do (too bad Rampage was a crab instead of a Plesiosaur).  But part of that is because of just how much partsforming is involved.  Magmatron's shield forms the entire bottom, both limbs, some of the sides, and most of the butt and tail of Seasaurus.  Once you have the shield ready, you curl up Magmatron's arm and use a sliding swivel to tuck them into the now-unfurled backpack, mate the top of Seasaurus with the shield, then lock the base of the neck in place.

Seasaurus' body doesn't do much.  His back flippers and sort of wiggle forward/backward.  His front flippers also have that wiggle, but they also have ball joints so they can swivel and flap.  That's about it.  What he lacks in body articulation he makes up for in the head and neck, though.  There are four large round hinges, each capable of about 180 degrees of bend.  The thing is, there are swivels on both sides of those hinges, so eight total.  On their own, the hinges would give Seasaurus some incredible up/down neck bend, but the swivels allow you to turn some of those neck joints into sideways bends.  We cap it all off with one more swivel at the base of the head and jaws that can open (but still can't use the effect parts).

The extensive articulation in the neck actually highlights Seasaurus' biggest problem- massive, hollow gaps on one side of each of the three large neck segments.  Not super noticeable in robot mode.  Not super noticeable if you have his neck straight out in front of him.  Super in your face is most dynamic poses, though.  I'm already ready for some kind of third-party gap filler for this guy.

So, I've never actually watched Beast Wars Neo, but it's my understanding that no model sheets were created for Skysaurus, Landsaurus, and Seasaurus because Magmatron never transforms into them.  Magmatron's sole alt mode was the Magmasaurus, a hideous fusion of all three dinosaurs.  To get to Magmasaurus mode you have to open Seasaurus up and fold his arms back out.  Swivel his biceps, wrists, and thumbs and bend his wrist, fingers, and elbows to make them sort of look like rear legs.  Dedicated hooks lock the body at an angle, then you use some dedicated clips that grab onto Landsaurus' tail.  With the rest of Seasaurus fully in shield mode, it'll plug over the top of Landsaurus' tail, using two of the large tabs and slots that hold the halves of Seasurus together but also using the shield clip and peg to lock into the top of Landsaurus' tail.  Skysaurus doesn't contribute as much.  His wings swivel over, then a tab on his tail fits into a slot on Landsauru's back and a peg on Landsaurus' back fits into a screw hole on Skysaurus' back.  The flap that normally covers that part of Landsaurus back clips onto a tab on Skysaurus' crotch.  Skysaurus' neck runs through a groove in the base of Seasaurus' tail, and for maximum accuracy you can leave Skysaurus' head resting against Seasaurus' belly- there's even a space for it that it can click into.  There's enough neck articulation that Skysaurus can still lift his head and look around, if he needs to.

In all seriousness, though, who came up with this idea?  I don't mean on the Legacy version, I mean on the original toy, as such a part of the original character that it became his sole alt mode in the anime?  With four clawed limbs, a long "tail", a big head with carnivorous jaws, and membranous wings you might charitably suggest that Magmasaurus is evocative of a dragon, but I think the best description I can come up with for Magmasaurus is to say he transforms into a dinosaur orgy.  At least, with the exception of the blast effects I really don't care about, Magmasaurus is a mode that stores all of his accessories and keeps all three dinosaurus together.  Magmasaurus is a good mode for the storage bin.

Ultimately, I don't know how I'm supposed to feel about Magmatron.  I'm not familiar with Beast Wars Neo, so I have no attachment to the character, but he is an update of a toy that was actually released in the States.  It's not impossible that kids in the late '90s/early aughts had the original toy and are nostalgic for an updated one.  Objectively it's a solid robot that turns into three pretty good dinosaur toys, but subjectively it's a robot with huge ears and an aesthetic that doesn't fit super well with Transformers even by Beast Wars standards.  And to top it all off, he's a Commander-class.  Now, I'm definitely NOT saying that a modern Magmatron could have been executed properly in anything less than a Commander, and I think fans are getting their money's worth here.  But $90 is still a significant chunk of change for most people.  That's a price that us Geewunners are willing to pay for fan-favorite characters like Sky Lynx and Jetfire, or the central part of a combiner like Motormaster.  It's worth it for Armada fans to get the Optimus Prime they grew up with as a kid.  But how well is it going to go over for a character from a show that, to this day, isn't available isn't actually available in outside of Japan (though unofficially you can find fansubs on Youtube)?  I guess I'd ultimately conclude that it's a pretty neat toy, and if you think you're interested in it then you'll probably like it.  But if you're the kind of collector that needs some fiction to go with it, or even more restrictive, G1-only, then Magmatron might not be for you.

[Scyla]

@mikeszekely for the allocation of the effect parts you could just go through all your reviews and look them up. 

It is a real shame that current Hasbro/Takara designers are trying to faithfully recreate the original toy/animation model as faithful as possible.

I feel there was a period in the past were Magmatron would have been a stylized version of the original toy with a perfect transformation that wouldn’t require half of Seasaurus to be out aside as an accessory (but with the option to do so).

On the other hand these faithful recreations probably help to sell the toy and make it viable to release as Commander Class in the first place.

[mark-1s]

Kinda cool, but not $80 cool…

 

[Wolf-1]

10 minutes ago, mark-1s said:

Kinda cool, but not $80 cool…

 

Can't lie, after seeing this I have had dreams of playing with this thing in the "Car Care Center" or several of their older city scape playsets. The fact that the Bumblebee marked VW Beetle is also only 1 per case just screams "we don't care about this Colaboration". 

[sh9000]

Was busy at work and totally forgot about it.  It's ok though since they were $80 each.  The mainline version with the trailer that doesn't transform is listed at EE for $5.99.

[mikeszekely]

I actually had one ready to check out, but I was very on the fence. I kept getting an error, decided it was a sign, and gave up.

[Radioguy]

OOS, yeah? I still haven't seen the link.

Gotta be frank, I had imagined years ago how cool it would be to have a diecast Prime at that scale, and this doesn't seem to disappoint. I do want one.

[Black Valkyrie]

 

For me this better than the 2004 THS-02 Convoy, simple to transform. 

 

[sh9000]

https://creations.mattel.com/products/hot-wheels-transformers-optimus-prime-hxt02

Here's the link.  The exclusive Mattel Creations Hot Wheels Optimus Prime is long sold out.

 

I'll probably get this set.

[mikeszekely]

Usually I like to have a few more figures to write about before I do a Repaint Roundup, but my in-laws are coming for the summer next week and the guest room is where I do my photography.  Needless to say, I don't know when or how often I'll be writing this summer.  For now, here's Legacy Evolution Powerlinx Hot Shot.

Truthfully, I wasn't super interested in this repaint.  I mean, it's basically the same not-great-but-mostly-ok Hot Shot we already got, just in a color scheme he only used for like the last seven or so episodes and with a few extra accessories.  But recently Hasbro had an outlet sale and Powerlinx Hot Shot was down to a more acceptable price, plus the only original Armada toy I own (until buying Prime) was Powerlinx Hot Shot, so I caved.

Deco-wise, it's very much what you'd expect... the colors are updated to better reflect the original Powerlinx Hot Shot's deco, but just like the standard release he's lacking painted detail in the shins and in the faux car parts on his arms.

On the topic of new accessories, Hot Shot retains his engine gun, but he gets two new rifles.  The colors are simply gray plastic, which is a tad unfortunate, but they are designed to look like the rifles Hot Shot used in the episode "Dash."  You also get a pair of (yet more) three-sectioned effects parts, and most notably, the Minicon Jolt.

Jolt's coptor mode, as seen in the previous picture, is a bit stumpier than the original.  This seems to be because the designers prioritized the robot mode really capturing the look of the cartoon.  Which means that, instead of being primarily yellow like the Jolt that came with the original Powerlinx Hot Shot, he's primarily orange.  He's got no head articulation, ball joints for shoulders that swivel and move laterally 90 degrees, no bicep or wrist swivels, elbows that bend 90 degrees, no waist articulation, ball-jointed hips that can go 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally, no thigh swivels, knees that bend over 90 degrees, and no feet.

Unlike the original toy and counter to his cartoon appearance, he cannot connect to Hot Shot's engine gun.

Hot Shot's new rifles are meant to store on his back, as they did in "Dash."  You move his axle out of the way, then you're supposed to use little tabs on them to connect them to cutouts near the hinge on his backpack before moving the axle back into place.  The catch is, at least on my copy, one of the rifles fits perfectly, the other will not stay plugged in and pops back off the second you let it go.

Meanwhile, Jolt has a 5mm peg that folds out from underneath, so you can plug him onto Hot Shot's back, shoulders, etc... basically anywhere you can find a 5mm port.

The exception is the 5mm port that's on his back behind the axle, so he can't attach to Hot Shot's back while he's doing his "Axlezooka."

Hot Shot's car mode is, again, pretty much what you'd expect.  I have to admit, the primary red color, yellow spoiler, and the yellow flames on the hood are very evocative of G1 Hot Shot, which was surely the intention going all the way back to the original toy.  As was the case with the regular Hot Shot release, they painted the grill (correctly) then painted the part of the hood right above the grill (incorrectly) instead of the engine cutout.

Attaching Jolt or the engine gun don't activate any spring-loaded gimmicks or anything as they would on the original toy.  But I'll note that the engine gun storage is still there, and the bumper can be manually opened.  There's room on the spoiler for the new guns, and Jolt actually has a third transformation just so that his nose can plug into the peg between the wings of Hot Shot's spoiler but angle the rest of his body so the propellor faces backward, as in the cartoon.  And since there's no actual molded difference between the Hot Shots, you can use Jolt with the regular yellow Hot Shot.

Is Powerlinx Hot Shot worth picking up?  I mean, most of the geewunners here aren't into Armada in the first place, so a deco that appeared in just seven episodes probably isn't super appealing.  At the reduced price I do kind of dig having an updated version of the only deco I actually had of the original, though, and the extra accessories are pretty cool.  Jolt is an especially welcome addition; the size and engineering on Jolt (and for that matter, the Whisper Minicon that came with Shattered Glass Sideswipe) aren't quite Core-class figures, but they're a step up from the Siege Micromasters.  Instead of constant repaints, though, I think it'd be cool if Hasbro maybe did a few Minicon three-packs... say one with Sparkplug, Leader-1, and Swindle (Prime, Megatron, and Starscream's Minicons), one with the three components of the Star Saber, one with the Skyboom Shield, one with the Requiem Blaster, etc.  Or maybe just one big Minicon set akin to the some of the store-exclusive Micromaster sets released during Siege/Earthrise.

[JB0]

Speaking of being a filthy geewunner.... I just realized that TakaraTomy has a good excuse for reissuing Missing Link Convoy repeatedly.
G1 Optimus Prime had SEVERAL minor molding and coloration variants, and they could absolutely do "ML1+ Convoy - Blue Roller" and "ML1++ Convoy - Small Rifle" and "ML1+++ Convoy - Puffy Hands" and "ML1++++ Convoy - Black Toes" and sell the same mold five times with minor variation WITHOUT having to make up excuses. Missing Link is already supposed to be extremely toy-accurate, and everyone had a different toy.

I thought of this while messing with mine and thinking "It's a shame Roller isn't blue". I am not rebuying because they issue Convoy w. Small Rifle and Blue Roller, but... some people certainly will.

[lechuck]

On 5/12/2024 at 1:18 PM, Scyla said:

With regards to the AMT Rodimus I wonder how expensive it will be. He seems to be roughly the size of K^3 Rodimus and the prototype is painted the same way (maybe with reduced detail, hard to tell without the K^3 next to it). Plus someone already posted that it will have die cast metal parts.

So if it is the same scale, has the same amount of paint, the same material mix and has the added complexity of a transformation I can see the AMT Rodimus being as expensive (because it doesn’t come with all the useless accessories K^3 Rodimus) as the non transforming Flame Toys one.

I wonder if Transformers fans are willing to spend as much for a transforming IDW Rodimus that don’t have the Flame Toys version already.

If past MP releases are anything to go by, then I am expecting the usual entitled moaning and complaining from "fans" listing local online stores with exaggerated price tags and blaming Takara for that (remember MP-44 – "It costs 500 Dollars!"). Unfortunately a lot of western Transformers fans live in a wonderful ignorant collecting bubble, no understanding for high-end toys or the (domestic) market Takara is operating in with other competitors. If it's not sub 100 Dollars and can't be found at Walmart or Target in a bargain bin sale three weeks after release, then naturally Takara is at fault with their pricing when it doesn't match this "gold standard" no matter what effort was actually put in the toy.

On 5/12/2024 at 1:18 PM, Scyla said:

Personally I want Takara to leave the Flame Toys designs alone. I want Flame Toys to release more K^3 figures and not force a transformation mechanism into them or compromise their designs in order to be transformable.

One commenter mentioned that maybe Flame Toys releases aren’t selling as well as expected and thus they want to recoup money by collaborating with Takara.

I can also seeing it the other way round: Takara is trying to capitalize on the success of Flame Toys.

Predaking was teased with the Studio Ox silhouette, so I don't think the AMT line is exclusive Flame Toys. Actually I don't even think this line is really exclusive to Transformers, I can see Takara trying their hand with other IPs as well, similar to Metal Build where there are plenty of Gundams but also an Arbalest, Sirbine, Shin Getter etc.

[sh9000]

Nice summary video.