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Post by **Warcry** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:05 am

I picked up Sandstorm from the Human Alliance Basic line tonight. Overall the line looks pretty bad to me, but this little guy seemed to be a cut above the rest so I figured I'd give him a try. I'm glad I did -- he's a very nice little figure. Lots of articulation, with ball joints everywhere and no kibble to get in the way. He comes with a nice gun too, which is a great addition when you consider they've been cutting costs on the Scout-sized guys in recent years by not giving any accessories at all to most of them.

The down-side? The human. The figure itself is pretty shitty...tiny, with lacklustre posability and and terrible paint apps. But what really burns is that Sandstorm costs $3 more than a normal Scout because of him. The HA Basics don't seem to be moving at all at any of the stores around me, and I can't say I'm all that surprised...Sandstorm is the only one out of the first wave who doesn't look like a complete mess, the human figures are really bad and they cost nearly as much as a Deluxe (and currently, with Deluxes on Rollback at Warmart, these guys actually cost more).

On the up-side, if the HA Basics never, ever sell I'll be able to buy a few of them at a steep discount on clearance, junk the figures and keep the neat weapons that most of them come with.

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 6:29 am

The HA humans are such a missed opportunity. Putting aside how they're largely not in scale with the figures they come with (Lennox needs a booster seat to see over Jazz's dashboard), the way they don't look remotely like anyone and, as you say, are lacklustre in terms of both design and production ruins the point somewhat.

Post by **Warcry** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 7:28 am

The Basics are a bit better when it comes to scale, although that comes at the cost of everyone turning into really weird things...Sandstorm is a go-kart even though you can tell the designers had 'military dune buggy' in mind when they started thinking about him. Or Drag Strip, who was obviously meant to be a race car like the original but became a funny little soapbox racer thing when they paired him with a human. And Whirl looks like something that his human partner threw together in his back yard...

But as you say, the human figures are so lacking that it makes all of the design sacrifices done on the robots for the sake of interactivity look like a huge waste. I'm not entirely sure how the humans wound up sucking so much, considering Hasbro produce G.I. Joe and Star Wars figures by the truckload and Takara has stuff like Microman on their resume...

Cliffjumper · Post by **Cliffjumper** » Sun Nov 13, 2011 1:25 pm

Yeh, the Basics look a lot more... enslaved to the humans. Jazz I like because someone's more-or-less done a Jazz Voyager-class (well, the robot mode's almost Leader height) figure and only the accessory is really compromised by the gimmick. Most of the HA features are just extra guns that happen to have little notches for Lennox.

IIRC Skids was much the same - though Mikaela was at least recognisable. Lennox could be anyone even before the dodgy finishing - I get that both scale and rights issues mean an exact doppelganger is impossible, but surely a guy in military fatigues with the right hair colour, and that right hair colour actually painted onto the moulded 'hair' rather than roughly near it isn't an impossible dream?

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 2:06 pm

Got TFC's "JB-06 Destruction Lord" (aka Headmaster Megatron) on a lark.

Very cute, if slightly useless.

Comes with two small adapters of some kind and I'm not sure of the purpose of them. One appears to allow it to connect to God Ginrai/Powermaster Optimus. I'm not sure what the other is intended for yet... must be for some other non-Headmaster with a removable head, but I can't fathom who.

Brimstone · Post by **Brimstone** » Tue Nov 15, 2011 10:39 pm

Rack 'n Ruin wrote:Nice! Picked up any Pretenders yet?

LOL!

No, not yet. But I'd not kick her out.

Sunstreaker2 · Post by **Sunstreaker2** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:20 am

This store called "Five Below" has RTS Windcharger for 5 bucks.

So I got one.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:56 am

Sunstreaker2 wrote:This store called "Five Below" has RTS Windcharger for 5 bucks.

So I got one.

I know they are supposed to have them for Black Friday. If they are there already I'll have to pop into the one near me.

Tetsuro · Post by **Tetsuro** » Fri Nov 18, 2011 2:18 pm

The Reverend wrote:Got TFC's "JB-06 Destruction Lord" (aka Headmaster Megatron) on a lark.

Pics?

Got a G1 Countdown today. This is the first vintage TF I've bought that I actually owned as a kid. It's kind of bizarre, having it complete and unbroken again - and it sort of made me realize why I must've sold it in the first place.

Paul053 · Post by **Paul053** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 5:22 am

Went to my favorite used kids stuffs store and found Cybertron Vector Prime. Couldn't beat that cheap price so I got him even though he was missing Safeguard and planet key. Very nice figure and a so easy transformation that I believe my wife could do it as well. He is also tall and heavy. I think I almost forgot the feeling of a voyager class used to be this way.

Since my Vector Prime is missing his Safeguard, I thought about using PCC minicon as a replacement. So I went to a discount store and got Leadfoot with Pinpoint. Pinpoint looks nice and fit well with Vector Prime. Only I have to change his color. Leadfoot is surprisingly good. Very nice vehicle mode and very nice robot mode. Not really like the head and hands, though. The combiner mode is ugly as usual.

The Reverend · Post by **The Reverend** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 7:43 am

Tetsuro wrote:Pics?

Got a G1 Countdown today. This is the first vintage TF I've bought that I actually owned as a kid. It's kind of bizarre, having it complete and unbroken again - and it sort of made me realize why I must've sold it in the first place.

This thing: http://www.bigbadtoystore.com/bbts/prod ... ode=retail

I got Countdown recently too, heh. Although I didn't have it as a kid.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 3:33 pm

I found Breacher at TJ Maxx for $5. Turns out it was a Marshall's price tag on him, though, so it wouldn't scan at the register. There was a long line, so the guy said, "I'll just scan your Littlest Pet Shop guy twice and call it good, ok?" So he was on $3 instead.
Cheap Breacher for this Preacher.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:24 pm

Been busy the past few days, but I did manage to sag myself the Target DOTM Jazz and a RTS Windcharger from Five Below, also I've ordered some of the Transformers Prime figures which should be here in a few days.

Windcharger is worth every penny of the $5 I spent on him. Nice, easy transformation, good pose-ability, and he looks right at home among my classics Autobots. When/if they bring Scouts back, they need to drop the design philosophy of the Cyberverse Commanders and go back to making figures like this one.

DOTM Jazz surprised me in a good way. While his coloration is almost black in vehicle mode, once you get him into robot mode he's a really well done pallette of greys and metallic silver with little splashes of red on him. The photos on his package really don't do him justice. As I don't own any of the earlier versions of the mold, and I haven't seen my son's in a while, I'd forgotten what a stocky, solid figure he is.

Sunstreaker2 · Post by **Sunstreaker2** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:36 pm

I got Prime Bumblebee today.

Pretty nifty figure, looks right out of the show.

Rookwise · Post by **Rookwise** » Sat Nov 19, 2011 10:41 pm

Generations Junkheap arrived a few days ago.

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:38 am

I found Prime: First Edition Starscream at Toys R Us behind some ROTF figures. I picked it up just because I haven't seen any yet, not sure if I'll open it or not. Looks great, if not a wee bit small.

Post by **Clay** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 7:14 am

I found a Gravity Bots Sideswipe at a discount store for $7.

Gravity Bots: the best bots? I love these things.

Thunderwave · Post by **Thunderwave** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:37 pm

Got my Transformers Prime Starscream in today. He's a little small in jet mode, but he's compact and unfolds into a pretty damn tall robot. He's as spindly as he should be and looks very close to his show appearance. I think the only complaint I have about him is that his forehead crest is not red, but that's just because it's made of soft plastic and there are no molded red plastic parts.

Also, if you don't like soft, rubbery plastic, I should mention that the missiles, his head crest, and knee spikes are all made of it for what I'm assuming are safety and durability reasons. The affected areas are thin and would, most likely, snap off with normal play from a child. Other then that, he's very solid and his joints are nice and tight. Over all, I recommend this figure.

While I was out today I also snagged the 4 DOTM mini-cons, the ones themed after the Dinobots. They don't differ from any other release of those molds except by color, which I'll admit is why I picked them up.

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 7:26 am

Picked up Top Spin at K-Mart today, wanted to pick up Leader Ironhide as well but he wasn't as cheap as I thought he would be.

Sunstreaker2 · Post by **Sunstreaker2** » Sat Nov 26, 2011 7:37 pm

I nabbed RTS Wreck-Gar from a Ross store for a cool seven dollars.

That just leaves Perceptor and Grapple to complete my RTS collecting.