Hitting the Jackpot?

Ok - back in May, I alluded to FunPub's announcement of their new Subscription Service when I discussed my favorite of the set, Ultra Mammoth. Well, now it's August 18th, and the site for ordering the set already went live just last night!

First, that's a lot quicker than most anticipated. Also, the deadline if you want the set is September 10th, just a couple of weeks. Not a whole lot of time, but at least it's not like the online club exclusives of the past (or even botcon sets) - the orders they are taking until the 10th are the numbers they are going to use to place their own orders from the factories. So, if you order, say, 3 subscriptions, that's three sets of toys that FP now has to get made. So that's nice, even if there's no way I'd get more than one set; at least I don't have to worry about them selling out tomorrow.

You can pay for the whole set at once or in three installments. The whole shebang is $282 plus $3 processing and then shipping ($10? I don't know). If you go with the installments, then you just pay $6 more since you are doing two more card processing charges. The club also says that after the orders are filled, anything "extra" will be on sale on the club store site, but those could be limited amounts and will cost much more a la carte than with the subscription price.

So, who's in the lineup? Well, this isn't news, but we know have access to the actual images that we had seen photos of at Botcon. In order of personal importance:

Global warming? Bullsh!t.

Ultra Mammoth - I've covered him already, but he's the biggest toy in the set, and the only one that's truly a "gotta have it". A BW version of Ultra Magnus is something I've wanted for a long time (see Ursa Magnus of the Allspark boards), and this is one of the most imposing BW molds. I like the G2 Magnus-inspired deco, too. Now I have to figure out how to fit it on my Magnus shelf, which could barely handle the inclusion of SG Magnus...

Fear me, Scourge, bearer of backwards swords and inverted logos!

Scourge - oh boy, he's back! Scourge was the original "Nemesis Prime" form the Robots in Disguise show. The original toy, which I have, is a repaint of G2 Laser Optimus, and this toy is a repaint of the newer, smaller RtS version of that G2 design, so this was a no-brainer. He even retains the Japanese upside-down G2 Autobot logo. This and other things suggest he may be intended to be part of the "Wings" G2 continuity. I don't really care; he just looks great. I'm also one of the somewhat few that actively enjoy this mold, owning all three American releases so far (and I still want a skull-headed Nemesis Prime and a G2 Magnus from it!). I wouldn't die without it, but it'll be really nice to have.

They tell me that humpbacked girls are dumpy. Then I shoot them.

Slipstream - the female Seeker introduced in the Animated cartoon, and then in War for Cybertron, finally gets her own toy. Technically, this would be the same character as WfC Slipstream, but as I consider WfC/FoC and Prime to be different continuities, this toy will simply be Prime Slipstream for me. It uses the excellent FE Starscream deluxe mold, which is suitably feminine, and it has a wonderful new headsculpt that is certainly Prime-styled (I feared that FP would shoehorn an Animated style head on here). I'll be happy to have her; she can stand at the lead of my non-Starscream Seeker display.

That was Tomahawk! Did you see him? DID YOU?!

Breakdown - I got the G2 version of this mold at Botcon 2010, and now we have the G1 deco! It's nice to see this finally come to fruition. I'm sure there are plenty of fun tales to be told with this guy and his future self; the paranoia will be off the charts. Makes me wonder/hope for Streetwise with his "G1" deco from the Botcon '10 comic.

Third mode: LSD tablet

Circuit - ok, here's where we get to the clunkers. I didn't know who this guy was when he was announced. Apparently his G1/G2 toy was a European repaint of the actionmaster Axor. So, this toy is a repaint of HftD Axor. In an insane deco. But there you go. I actually already have someone who expressed interest in buying this should I purchase the whole set, so I guess that's a plus.

Looks like Kick-off, but don't jumble their names together

Jackpot - this guy is another actionmaster, albeit a somewhat more recognizable American one. A repaint of Animated Jazz, arguably the most pedestrian Animated mold, this doesn't really grab me at all. I'm well past the point of wanting Animated for the sake of it being Animated (how much botcon 2011 stuff did I go for? That's right; none). Apparently he's supposed to get his own Wyatt-designed head mold, but it's pretty similar to the Jazz mold's head; it was hard for me to tell that it was new. I really hope he's not the first one to arrive in the mail, though at least that means I could sell him first and begin to recoup some money.


So, there you have it - the line up for the inaugural TFCC Subscription Service. Not too bad - I really like 4/6 figures, which is 2 out of 3. Overall, assuming this all works, this is a much better plan than the how the club has handled their non-botcon exclusives for the past 5 years. Yeah, it may not be easy to buy a certain single toy, but if they're going to inflate the a la carte price and you can make money buy selling the other 5 toys, why not get the whole deal anyway? Honestly, that's kind of ideal, as you'd mostly likely make more than you paid for, giving you funds for other TF ventures. Also, this kind of puts another "botcon set" out there for those of us who can't/don't want to deal with the hassle of all that. Sure, it's not a true "set", but you'll be guaranteed that all of these will likely show up in club fiction at some point (or are established characters, like Mammoth/Magnus and Scourge).

Oh, and I want a Botcon Skyquake now. If you've got one you want to get rid of (especially if you'll trade it for a Botcon Banzai Tron), let me know.

All images courtesy of Fun Publications