So, I manged to nab the Autobot Assault Devastator set last week! I finally managed to have some time to begin working on it today, and I came across two surprises that I didn't know about:
A) The Devastator kreon (yeah, this is the yellow Kre-2 version) has dark energon clear purple hands. Don't know if this decision was made before or after they decided to keep the "Megatron" gun black instead of clear purple, but it's a weird yet neat touch.
B) all of the "new" Ironhide stuff comes in a separate bag, and he also has his own instruction booklet. Both feature a new item for one of the Constructions - Hightower. It's a hook! Why am I excited? Because I wasn't very comfortable with Hightower. Sure, being a red crane, he resembled RiD Hightower, but he's an Autobot. Since he's a crane, you'd think he'd be Hook (who's been replaced, at least in name, by Decepticon Hightowers (like the Classics version), but he's still red, and he has a wrecking ball, not a hook. Going with the color, I had intended to call him Overload, after the RotF red Constructicon, even though he's an articulated dump truck, not a crane. But now, all of this doesn't matter since "Hightower", who I'll call Hook, has a, well, hook! I mean, he's still red, but I don't care.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Unleash the Beasts
And now for something completely different...sort of.
NYCC 2012 is going on and today was the Hasbro panel. The new big thing for transformers? Beasts!
Transformers: Prime season 3 is subtitled Beast Hunters, introducing a new faction of monstrous beasts, the Predacons. Their leader is Predaking, somehow procured by Shockwave (who better damned get a toy). Anyhow, the toyline is seeing some appropriate changes, and here's what they had to show us today:
Legion class:
-Bumblebee: extensive remold. Car mode is covered in spikes, guns, and armor panels. Bot mode is remolded, too, with a new horned "helmet" (I don't mean removable), abdominal region, etc. I especially like how his twin blaster is molded onto his hood, but the barrels end up as shoulder cannons - that's a nice touch. He comes with a crossbow weapon. While I wasn't impressed enough with the base mold to buy the (admittedly nice) shadowblade repaint, I may get this since I most likely won't buy the deluxe version.
- Smokescreen: the newest Autobot on the show debuts in toy form! This is a "normal" representation of the character, without "beast hunting" modifications. This version has the show deco, and his weapon is a pretty neat gun with chainsaw bayonet that manages to fit in with the line's theme. I love that they've finally figured out how to do real door wings on a deluxe (though I admit I don't know enough about the character's show design to know if he has those door wings in fiction). A bit like Knock Out in overall appearance, and no knees (I think), but overall I like it quite a bit.
-Airachnid: Well, I hate that it still has only three blades, and I don't like that they are already reusing weapons in wave 1, but this toy definitely looks better than the deluxe. The rotor blades look decent enough as a rotary shield on the arm, and at least the crossbow (BB's) is already strongly associated with fembots to make a lot of sense. Both modes look uncompromised.
- Twinstrike: Ok, this is actually Sinnertwin, an update of one of the G1 Terrorcons. This honestly looks like one of the best legion molds yet (impressive, considering they've been making them for about 7 years now), and certainly the best beast mode legion (short list, but whatever). I love the transformation - while the G1 toy wastefully turned the twin dragon heads into a backpack, here they become the arms. I also like how the beast thighs flip back to bulk up the robot lower legs. The weapon is a hammer/cannon. I really like this one, enough to make me regret having just sold my G1 Sinnertwin. I do like the name update, by the way.
Commander class:
- Bulkhead: again, a heavy remold like BB. He has Roadbuster's colors, a bunch or armor plating detail, a "cowcatcher", and a new "viking helmet" horned head. The new weapon is a hammer/axe/cannon, the design of which is directly taken from some other property I can't identify. This is pretty neat, and different enough from Bulkhead proper to serve as Roadbuster himself (barring he gets his own design down the road). I might get this one, though it makes the likelihood of me purchasing the pretty nice current blue redeco go down.
- Predaking: Not bad. I prefer his larger toys and don't care much for how the dragon head/neck split to form...well, kibble, but it'll work for this size class. The bot mode pic with the weapon is obscured, but it appears to be the tail and to have a firing missile, which would be a first for this size class.
CV Vehicles:
- Sky Claw with Smokescreen: A nearly wingless jet in Blue Angels colors with a similarly-painted Smokescreen (same mold as the single Legion release). Has a capture claw at the front to grab predacons, and has deployable side turrets a la the Star Hammer. Not bad, and it actually kind of reminds me of Dreadwing's ship from the show. I do like how the Smokescreen toy has a number (7) and deco that homages the Alternators/BT version, which I kind of prefer to the original G1 deco. Not sure if I'll get this in addition to the single release version, but I do like it overall.
- Apex Armor with Breakdown: The armor is a remold of Bumblebee's armor that just got released. Breakdown himself is a repaint of his legion toy, and both are done up in a deco that reminds me of some micromaster that I can't put my finger on. I think that this is supposed to represent the Silas-controlled Breakdown, but I could be wrong. The armor is heavily remolded, by the way, and definitely is a more "feral" way that looks like it could take out a few predacons.
Deluxe class:
- Bumblebee: Ok, this is the remold of the deluxe class "PRiD" BB mold. Same idea as the legion remold, but the "hawk" crossbow is a totally different design and comes with six (!!!) missiles. I like that he still has his two blasters. Most likely won't get this, and for the same reason that I won't keep Dark Energon BB: I prefer the FE mold to represent the character. The mold suits Hot Shot a lot better, I think. Still, here's another great opportunity to make a Wasp, Hasbro...
- Soundwave: another heavy remold, this time with more G1 colors and a new-mold Ravage instead of Laserbeak. The weapon is a larger claw-launcher, with the claw attached by a string.
I really like this one and will definitely get it, even if Ravage looks a bit silly in armor mode.
- Wheeljack: heavy remold, lots of spikes. The green is more "lime" this time, and the translucent plastic is red. Weapon is a weird "spear" with a circular head, sort of like Sparkdrinker. Probably won't get this, having already owned the mold twice over.
- Laserback: finally, a new mold. This is another Predacon, apparently another dragon. It's quadrapedal, no wings. The name is funny, but descriptive - his back elevates and opens to reveal a missile launcher. In bot mode, the tail also functions as a whip weapon. Fairly perfunctory, but kind of neat. A bit of a toss up. Could make a good Repugnus.
Voyager:
- Predaking: better than the commander toy. This is the Predacon leader, named for the G1 Predacon combiner, but having conceptually more to do with Cybertron Scourge, it seems. Black, orange, yellow dragon. Unlike Scourge, he has wings, and they're pretty decently sized. He has two missile launchers that either flip out or attach at either side of the main dragon head, another similarity to Cyb Scourge. Again, bot mode pic is obscured. I might get this instead of the larger one, but we'll see.
NYCC 2012 is going on and today was the Hasbro panel. The new big thing for transformers? Beasts!
Transformers: Prime season 3 is subtitled Beast Hunters, introducing a new faction of monstrous beasts, the Predacons. Their leader is Predaking, somehow procured by Shockwave (who better damned get a toy). Anyhow, the toyline is seeing some appropriate changes, and here's what they had to show us today:
Legion class:
-Bumblebee: extensive remold. Car mode is covered in spikes, guns, and armor panels. Bot mode is remolded, too, with a new horned "helmet" (I don't mean removable), abdominal region, etc. I especially like how his twin blaster is molded onto his hood, but the barrels end up as shoulder cannons - that's a nice touch. He comes with a crossbow weapon. While I wasn't impressed enough with the base mold to buy the (admittedly nice) shadowblade repaint, I may get this since I most likely won't buy the deluxe version.
- Smokescreen: the newest Autobot on the show debuts in toy form! This is a "normal" representation of the character, without "beast hunting" modifications. This version has the show deco, and his weapon is a pretty neat gun with chainsaw bayonet that manages to fit in with the line's theme. I love that they've finally figured out how to do real door wings on a deluxe (though I admit I don't know enough about the character's show design to know if he has those door wings in fiction). A bit like Knock Out in overall appearance, and no knees (I think), but overall I like it quite a bit.
-Airachnid: Well, I hate that it still has only three blades, and I don't like that they are already reusing weapons in wave 1, but this toy definitely looks better than the deluxe. The rotor blades look decent enough as a rotary shield on the arm, and at least the crossbow (BB's) is already strongly associated with fembots to make a lot of sense. Both modes look uncompromised.
- Twinstrike: Ok, this is actually Sinnertwin, an update of one of the G1 Terrorcons. This honestly looks like one of the best legion molds yet (impressive, considering they've been making them for about 7 years now), and certainly the best beast mode legion (short list, but whatever). I love the transformation - while the G1 toy wastefully turned the twin dragon heads into a backpack, here they become the arms. I also like how the beast thighs flip back to bulk up the robot lower legs. The weapon is a hammer/cannon. I really like this one, enough to make me regret having just sold my G1 Sinnertwin. I do like the name update, by the way.
Commander class:
- Bulkhead: again, a heavy remold like BB. He has Roadbuster's colors, a bunch or armor plating detail, a "cowcatcher", and a new "viking helmet" horned head. The new weapon is a hammer/axe/cannon, the design of which is directly taken from some other property I can't identify. This is pretty neat, and different enough from Bulkhead proper to serve as Roadbuster himself (barring he gets his own design down the road). I might get this one, though it makes the likelihood of me purchasing the pretty nice current blue redeco go down.
- Predaking: Not bad. I prefer his larger toys and don't care much for how the dragon head/neck split to form...well, kibble, but it'll work for this size class. The bot mode pic with the weapon is obscured, but it appears to be the tail and to have a firing missile, which would be a first for this size class.
CV Vehicles:
- Sky Claw with Smokescreen: A nearly wingless jet in Blue Angels colors with a similarly-painted Smokescreen (same mold as the single Legion release). Has a capture claw at the front to grab predacons, and has deployable side turrets a la the Star Hammer. Not bad, and it actually kind of reminds me of Dreadwing's ship from the show. I do like how the Smokescreen toy has a number (7) and deco that homages the Alternators/BT version, which I kind of prefer to the original G1 deco. Not sure if I'll get this in addition to the single release version, but I do like it overall.
- Apex Armor with Breakdown: The armor is a remold of Bumblebee's armor that just got released. Breakdown himself is a repaint of his legion toy, and both are done up in a deco that reminds me of some micromaster that I can't put my finger on. I think that this is supposed to represent the Silas-controlled Breakdown, but I could be wrong. The armor is heavily remolded, by the way, and definitely is a more "feral" way that looks like it could take out a few predacons.
Deluxe class:
- Bumblebee: Ok, this is the remold of the deluxe class "PRiD" BB mold. Same idea as the legion remold, but the "hawk" crossbow is a totally different design and comes with six (!!!) missiles. I like that he still has his two blasters. Most likely won't get this, and for the same reason that I won't keep Dark Energon BB: I prefer the FE mold to represent the character. The mold suits Hot Shot a lot better, I think. Still, here's another great opportunity to make a Wasp, Hasbro...
- Soundwave: another heavy remold, this time with more G1 colors and a new-mold Ravage instead of Laserbeak. The weapon is a larger claw-launcher, with the claw attached by a string.
I really like this one and will definitely get it, even if Ravage looks a bit silly in armor mode.
- Wheeljack: heavy remold, lots of spikes. The green is more "lime" this time, and the translucent plastic is red. Weapon is a weird "spear" with a circular head, sort of like Sparkdrinker. Probably won't get this, having already owned the mold twice over.
- Laserback: finally, a new mold. This is another Predacon, apparently another dragon. It's quadrapedal, no wings. The name is funny, but descriptive - his back elevates and opens to reveal a missile launcher. In bot mode, the tail also functions as a whip weapon. Fairly perfunctory, but kind of neat. A bit of a toss up. Could make a good Repugnus.
Voyager:
- Predaking: better than the commander toy. This is the Predacon leader, named for the G1 Predacon combiner, but having conceptually more to do with Cybertron Scourge, it seems. Black, orange, yellow dragon. Unlike Scourge, he has wings, and they're pretty decently sized. He has two missile launchers that either flip out or attach at either side of the main dragon head, another similarity to Cyb Scourge. Again, bot mode pic is obscured. I might get this instead of the larger one, but we'll see.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Hey there
Wow, hard to believe it's been just over a month since my last post. The month of September flew by, and normally I do birthday posts, but I didn't do much of anything on here this year.
As far as the birthday situation goes, here's what I bought:
- Kreon Galvatron
- TFP CV Commander Ironhide (finally)
- Kre-O Street Showdown set (Knock Out and Wheeljack)
- TRU exclusive Masterpiece Thundercracker (gift from parents)
As far as the birthday situation goes, here's what I bought:
- Kreon Galvatron
- TFP CV Commander Ironhide (finally)
- Kre-O Street Showdown set (Knock Out and Wheeljack)
- TRU exclusive Masterpiece Thundercracker (gift from parents)
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Jackpot
Well, after my whiny last post, I was able to order the subscription service last night.
Now to figure out the dark Energon stuff.
Now to figure out the dark Energon stuff.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Ugh.
Ok, so my awesome SDCC post from July, with all of its awesome toys? It may not amount to much.
Money, money, money - I just don't have enough!
First and foremost, there are the TFCC Subscription toys. I did a post on them a couple of weeks ago, and it looks like they may not happen for me. The cost - about $360 - is pretty damned high, and earlier this week when I mentioned the idea of her getting me the set as a combined birthday/Christmas gift, she wasn't at all interested. Didn't say no, but I have my doubts she'll say yes (and the clock is ticking! They stop taking orders on the 10th!). So there's that.
I've considered asking my parents for the set in the same fashion, but I already had Amazon Jetwing Optimus on preorder that they were going to pay for. Mom was going to get me the SDCC exclusives this year for a belated Father's day gift, but I missed out on Bruticus, so I ordered Jetwing Optimus instead. However, I imagine the idea of my parents spending nigh-$500 on me within 6 months isn't too appetizing to them. I weighed my chances of getting the Subscription set against how much I wanted Jetwing, and I settled on cancelling the Jetwing preorder, which I just did. So, I guess, that's one obstacle out of my way, though I don't know how much it will help.
I also considered finally listing my Botcon 2010 box set on ebay and using the money from that to get the FSS, but when I had got the Botcon set, I had told my wife that I'd give the money back to us as a family to use for something collectively. I brought this up, and, again, she didn't say no to this idea, but it was clear she didn't care for it.
On top of all this, BBTS decides to list their exclusive Dark Energon repaints today (well, at 12 in the morning, what the hell?) in the midst of all this FSS stuff. While not that bad as individual prices, the four deluxes are only available as a case for $60 plus shipping, and the two voyagers are sold together as well for $50 plus shipping. Originally, the only one of these toys I didn't want in any way was Optimus, but now that I know that acquiring them will be difficult, I really only want the Skywarp-looking repaint of Starscream. So, either I pay over $60 to get him and either sell the other three deluxes (or decide to keep some of them, I don't know?) or I have to buy him on the secondary market, hoping that someone on a board will let me at him for a decent price before resorting to ebay.
So, if I were to pony up and buy both of these sets, it would cost $470. And that's not considering BBTS's shipping costs. $500 for 12 toys. Now, this isn't unheard of in the franchise. To fully enjoy a Botcon set, buying both the box set and the souvenir exclusives costs about the same. However, this isn't Botcon. Yeah, the FSS toys are close in concept, since they are just an expanded take on the Club's online exclusives, but the main problem with both of these sets is that if you want a realistic shot at getting any one toy for a decent price, you've got to get the set. With BBTS, there's no option. With the Club, they say that the individual toys will be available at some point, but of course only at a higher price and being very limited. And, again, even if you are among the hardcore that attends Botcon every single year and manages to do so by carefully budgeting through the year, now you've got what amounts to a second Botcon-level expenditure that nearly came out of nowhere. And, again, if you want it, you've got to act now, pretty much. Of course, this ignores all the "normal" retail purchases you might want to make to keep up with the current cool stuff that Hasbro is putting out.
Anyhow, this is all getting a bit frustrating. In hopes of making a bit of extra cash that could go toward some of this stuff (and also just thinning out the collection a bit), I compiled a list of transformers that I'm going to be selling over the next few weeks/months. None of them are real blockbusters, but, again, hopefully I can reclaim some of the cash they cost me.
Money, money, money - I just don't have enough!
First and foremost, there are the TFCC Subscription toys. I did a post on them a couple of weeks ago, and it looks like they may not happen for me. The cost - about $360 - is pretty damned high, and earlier this week when I mentioned the idea of her getting me the set as a combined birthday/Christmas gift, she wasn't at all interested. Didn't say no, but I have my doubts she'll say yes (and the clock is ticking! They stop taking orders on the 10th!). So there's that.
I've considered asking my parents for the set in the same fashion, but I already had Amazon Jetwing Optimus on preorder that they were going to pay for. Mom was going to get me the SDCC exclusives this year for a belated Father's day gift, but I missed out on Bruticus, so I ordered Jetwing Optimus instead. However, I imagine the idea of my parents spending nigh-$500 on me within 6 months isn't too appetizing to them. I weighed my chances of getting the Subscription set against how much I wanted Jetwing, and I settled on cancelling the Jetwing preorder, which I just did. So, I guess, that's one obstacle out of my way, though I don't know how much it will help.
I also considered finally listing my Botcon 2010 box set on ebay and using the money from that to get the FSS, but when I had got the Botcon set, I had told my wife that I'd give the money back to us as a family to use for something collectively. I brought this up, and, again, she didn't say no to this idea, but it was clear she didn't care for it.
On top of all this, BBTS decides to list their exclusive Dark Energon repaints today (well, at 12 in the morning, what the hell?) in the midst of all this FSS stuff. While not that bad as individual prices, the four deluxes are only available as a case for $60 plus shipping, and the two voyagers are sold together as well for $50 plus shipping. Originally, the only one of these toys I didn't want in any way was Optimus, but now that I know that acquiring them will be difficult, I really only want the Skywarp-looking repaint of Starscream. So, either I pay over $60 to get him and either sell the other three deluxes (or decide to keep some of them, I don't know?) or I have to buy him on the secondary market, hoping that someone on a board will let me at him for a decent price before resorting to ebay.
So, if I were to pony up and buy both of these sets, it would cost $470. And that's not considering BBTS's shipping costs. $500 for 12 toys. Now, this isn't unheard of in the franchise. To fully enjoy a Botcon set, buying both the box set and the souvenir exclusives costs about the same. However, this isn't Botcon. Yeah, the FSS toys are close in concept, since they are just an expanded take on the Club's online exclusives, but the main problem with both of these sets is that if you want a realistic shot at getting any one toy for a decent price, you've got to get the set. With BBTS, there's no option. With the Club, they say that the individual toys will be available at some point, but of course only at a higher price and being very limited. And, again, even if you are among the hardcore that attends Botcon every single year and manages to do so by carefully budgeting through the year, now you've got what amounts to a second Botcon-level expenditure that nearly came out of nowhere. And, again, if you want it, you've got to act now, pretty much. Of course, this ignores all the "normal" retail purchases you might want to make to keep up with the current cool stuff that Hasbro is putting out.
Anyhow, this is all getting a bit frustrating. In hopes of making a bit of extra cash that could go toward some of this stuff (and also just thinning out the collection a bit), I compiled a list of transformers that I'm going to be selling over the next few weeks/months. None of them are real blockbusters, but, again, hopefully I can reclaim some of the cash they cost me.
Friday, August 24, 2012
Shocking Developments!
Well, the second wave of Bot Shots 3-packs has finally emerged at retail, and I got the "ground vehicle" set. And, honestly, I did it all for the Shocker (I have other plans for Blue Brawls and Ghost of Ironhide). So that was awesome.
Was that it?
Of course not.
On the Hub tonight, we see this:
Yep.
That's Transformers:Prime Shockwave! In NEXT WEEK'S episode!
Was that it?
Of course not.
On the Hub tonight, we see this:
 |
| G1? Never heard of it. Why? |
That's Transformers:Prime Shockwave! In NEXT WEEK'S episode!
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Kre-2: The Sequel!
 |
| Once in a generation, comes the...Retail Surprise! |
Well, that'd be cool, variants and all that kind of thing. But no. This is better.
Much better.
As you can see to the left, Devastator ain't the only thing going on with this, the biggest and baddest of Kre-O sets! Weighing in at ninety four dollars, this Toys R Us exclusive also includes a Kre-O Ironhide kit! And man, he looks pretty danged good. Mostly G1 inspired, with a bit of Movie/Animated/Prime influence thrown in for good measure, this is a rare Total Retail Surprise that has sneaked up on us, appearing out of nowhere at a US TRU.
More than just Ironhide, the set also includes a
Of course, waiting that long will be hard. Ironhide! Devastator! G2 Kreonstator! In box! It's too great. The only thing I can think of to complain about is the fact that among the 7 (!) Kreons it includes, only two are robots. But that just means more dudes for Devastator to kill, I guess.
Thanks to Triceraton 1 of the Allspark for the photo!
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