SDCC Y'all

Hey hey hey, it's SDCC again. Hasbro showed a few new and newish toys at their breakfast event and kindly released some official renders to go with them. Let's take a look! Also, thanks to the Allspark and Tformers for the images!

Here we have Overboard, nee Overkill. I was hoping that, in a line with a leader class Soundwave and legends class device/tapes, Overkill might get his own legends mold. Too bad, but this is the next best thing; maybe better considering how some of the tapes look (yes, I'm talking about you, Stripes). Overkill here is a straight repaint of Crashbash/Squeezeplay, with the theropod mode obviously being what makes it work. On the plus side, Overkill can at least become a new head for Soundwave! In all seriousness, this is a neat repaint that would only be beaten by being done as some of the sparking 'Cons. I'm glad I saw this before finding Crashbash on the pegs because this will be the preferred version for me. And sorry, but Hasbro's only released render is for the head mode!

I'm actually pretty happy about this! I was really impressed that Hasbro refrained from releasing some kind of CW Bumblebee and actually kept him off shelves for a while after his fate in Dark Cybertron (not quite the case for Shockwave, but that's ok). Now he shows up for TR in what appears to be the best G1-based BB mold yet. Seriously, other than not being a VW, I don't see any flaws here and you get to put Titanmasters in him to boot, just like Wheelie. I'm lovin' it!

Gnaw, on the other hand, I'm not totally sold on. I've never totally liked how aggressively unsharklike the G1 Sharkticons are in alt mode, and I don't really think they are supposed to be tiny like a minibot either. Gnaw also had the laziest, if most amusing, means of transporting titanmasters - they seem to sit in his mouth! Still, the toy has a certain charm and I may cave on it as an impulse/rainy day purchase.

Here's retail Brainstorm! Allegedly a Walgreen's exclusive, I enjoy his deco just as much as the SDCC version, so I'll go with this one. 

This little guy is Darkshot - Megatron's Titanmaster! I'm not sure if he is supposed to be someone in particular - he seems to have features of both Megatron and Blitzwing. Anyway...

I really love Megatron's face molding. So much better than the leader class toy.

Tank mode! Well, the fusion cannon connects to complete the barrel. Anyhow, I like how the folded wings look; they serve to sci-fi the mode up a bit. Also, I kind of like that the thrusters can be used as additional firepower.

Ah, what a friggin' nice jet mode. If it's not clear by now, Megatron is a the pretool for a new Blitzwing just as Sentinel is a pretool for Astrotrain. I love how much the jet looks like a MiG-25/31, which is what Blitzwing turned into. Also, double cockpits (one for each mode) for the win!

Bot mode!

On the back of his box, we get confirmation for Optimus, Triggerhappy and Sixshot, not to mention the first news of a Titanmaster Fangry! Firstly, I'm truly amazed that Fangry got to keep his name in a line rife with name changes. Second, Triggerhappy looks neat; I'd kind of like Slugslinger and Misfire to go along with him. Third - Optimus looks really good, and while there isn't any good evidence here, it's hard to believe that he won't be an Octane pretool. Lastly, Sixshot Sixshot SIXSHOT! I both can't and can believe that we're getting a leader class Sixshot. Can't wait to see more of him!

Ok, this thing here is Ion Scythe, and he's pretty much an unaltered Arms Micron. He's being released with Liokaiser to evoke the Breastmaster partners of the original toys. Honestly, he's superfluous for me (and I hate this kind of continuity-mixing anyway). Not totally sure what I'll do with him if I get this set.

Guyhawk! Stupid name, but looks good.

Digging the new head sculpts for these guys!

Hellbat! Awesome name and looking good! I will point out that one reason I'm interested in this set is to get Decepticon versions of this mold (and the Air Raid version).

Again, love the headsculpt. It'll be nice to finally have a toy of this unique character; the downside is that I'm starting to want to buy the Empire of Stone TPB!

Killbison! I had to check - yes, the actual toy does have silver paint on the turret. I also love that both Killbison and Drillhorn get a third weapon - the same double-barreled gun that the arm guys have - so that Liokaiser has four of these things altogether!

Once more, awesome head sculpt. I also like the silver treads!

This will be my only copy of the drill variant of the tank mold. Oh, this is Drillhorn, by the way!

The extra gun really helps this guy out in bot mode.

Ok, this is Deathsaurus! I have to admit, I'm a bit underwhelmed/confused. This mode got the least remolding - just a new piece for the eyes/crest - and other than the front/head, the deco really resembles Leozack more than Deathsaurus. Which is understandable in order for it to work as a Liokaiser torso, but it's still weird. Overall I can't complain much as it looks really good, and is honestly the kind of thing we'd normally only expect to get from the Club.

Nemesis Lynx!

Ah, Liokaiser himself. I didn't realize until we got to see this new pic that it's only the bottom part (face) of the head that is a new part - the cat helmet is straight from Sky Reign, which is an impressive enough bit of parts use to make me think that this remold was planned from the get-go. Not sure why the cat helmet can't be blue, but at least we've know it's black since January. Also, there is a bit of appeal in being able to make Liokaiser extra tall by mistransforming the leg mode of the tanks. I wonder if it's enough for him to top Victorion and her boots.

SIXSHOT

I don't know what class he is, but as long as he's voyager or leader I'll be happy. VERY happy! Sixshot is probably my favorite G1 mold and I love seeing him get such an unadulterated update with the Titanmaster functionality added. (Update: rumors now indicate that Sixshot is Leader class and will be remolded into his son, Quickswitch!)

Also VERY happy about this guy! Leader Megatron really failed to deliver for me (at least compared to my expectations, which at the time I was really hoping for something more IDW-inspired), but this pretty much gets right what the leader toy didn't. The head sculpt looks great and I think the big red stickers are for the wings of the alleged jet mode (not a big leap, considering all TR voyagers are supposed to be triple-changers).

As much of a fan I am of the RTS G2 Optimus toy, this looks much better - less lanky, better sword and he'll be a Voyager. I wonder what the 3rd mode will be, as if Megatron is to be made into Blitzwing, Optimus could maybe be turned into Octane. I also love the fact that another head (Star Convoy) is thrown in for no extra charge - hopefully we get more double headmasters in the future!

I LOVE that jet mode.

Getaway is...ok. I wasn't on fire for the base Chromedome toy in the first place, but this'll work.

I don't really care about Doublecross here, but I appreciate how, again, full-on G1 the toy is.

Finally, Hot Rod gets a great update to his badly-aging Classics mold!

Vicstoryon

Victorion is the "daughter" of Solus and Nexus Prime. I haven't really thought out the details behind that, except that she wasn't forged as a combiner, but due to Nexus's part in her formation she had the capability to become one. Solus and Nexus prepared for this eventuality, with Solus producing a great combiner-sized sword, gauntlets and boots for her to use in combined form. Victorion fought alongside Solus and Nexus during the war of the Primes, but was fatally wounded, along with Solus, by Galvatron. Nexus couldn't save Solus, but was able to transplant Victorion's spark into the sword Solus had forged for her. Knowing that Galvatron would most likely not be defeated, he decided to leave her spark there so that she could remain safe for the remainder of the war, after which he planned to use the Enigma to donate her spark to a combined form of some of his loyalists. This tampering also allowed the sword itself to split into separate weapons and recombine. While Nexus himself was obviously defeated, followers of him and Solus managed to retain and preserve the sword, over time becoming a small and distinguished order that served under the Mistress of Flame, the Torchbearers.

It would not be until millions of years later that the current incarnation of the Torchbearers, still possessing the components of Victorion's blade, would come into contact with the Enigma and reconstitute the daughter of the Prime they revere. Victorion herself is very much an anachronism, out of step with modern cybertronian culture and having to adapt quickly to the current political climate. Predisposed to trust the Mistress of Flame, she follows her lead to further looks to Optimus as leader, since he is the last true Prime. However, the Mistress does not feel completely comfortable having the daughter of Solus around, fearing her as a potential threat to her power on Caminus.

Botcon, the last (?)

Ok, Alpha Trion's alt modes disappointed me some, but they are growing on me. The Betamaxx/Safeguard-styled Sovreign Titanmaster is pretty much a guarantee that we will get a new Vector Prime from this mold. 

Aw yeah! Finally, G1 Highbrow gets a new toy, and in the best line possible for him. There's really nothing wrong with him except I would have enjoyed a more MTMTE-style head. I like how the guns echo the HFTD toy a bit. Also, I want a straight-up, pre-BM, good guy General Obsidian repaint. The head can even be the same as Highbrow's if they want.

Ravage!

...has a much nicer head sculpt than Stripes. The plane mode really benefits from a uniform deco as well, sort of coming off like a U-2, appropriate for Ravage's character:

Victoriously Short Arms

Compare to:

Brainstorm!

I'm really diggin the new TR Brainstorm - much moreso than I ever was interested in the T30 mold. I'm very happy that Hasbro actually considered compatibility with the headmasters. Also, we are now just one Headmaster shy of having the entire original Autobot lineup - Highbrow, who I'm greatly anticipating.