POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 6:50 pm

Auntie Slag wrote:Hey, you never said what kind of cat biscuits you got!

Oh! Sorry. They are Pets At Home's own brand. Out cats love them. They transform from delicious fishy kibbles into turds.

Auntie Slag · Post by **Auntie Slag** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:30 pm

More than meets the fisheye!

Post by **inflatable dalek** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 7:46 pm

Warcry wrote:Can that silly block of chest armour come off in robot mode? IMO it kind of ruins the look, and the huge alt-mode grille would be a big improvement. I love that Hasbro made this (PM Prime was my Prime too), but the chest really takes away from it actually looking like PM Prime.

Hmm, I suppose you could break it off yourself, though it might be key for holding the vehicle mode together.

Post by **Warcry** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 9:39 pm

So it's a solid molded piece that the cab slides in behind, then? Blah, I figured it just popped on and off since Takara's doesn't have it. I could probably slice it off but as you say, that may not be a great idea. And even with that it's still the best-looking Prime they've done in Generations by about a mile.

Can you drive him around in vehicle mode with his robot head sticking out of the cab? Because that's going to be one of the first things I try to do if I buy one. A local store did that with the original in a flyer when I was a kid and it still hasn't stopped being funny to me.

tahukanuva · Post by **tahukanuva** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 3:41 am

You can just pop the chest plate off as it's just a friction hinge. He looks perfectly fine (and a bit more like the original) without it, although I prefer to keep it. The vehicle mode holds up fine as well, as long as you don't want to haul anything in the trailer.

Also, you can totally have him drive around with his head out.

Post by **Warcry** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 5:30 am

tahukanuva wrote:You can just pop the chest plate off as it's just a friction hinge. He looks perfectly fine (and a bit more like the original) without it, although I prefer to keep it. The vehicle mode holds up fine as well, as long as you don't want to haul anything in the trailer.

That sounds workable. May give it a try, if I can find one in stores and the price isn't too painful.

tahukanuva wrote:Also, you can totally have him drive around with his head out.

Yay!

And I actually found some Titans Return stuff in store today! Well, if "eight Sentinel Primes and nothing else" counts as "some", anyway. I was hoping to see some of the Deluxes, or Galvatron, or PM Prime, or...well, basically anything but this guy. The mold looked like fun, but I really wasn't sold on either colour scheme. Most people seem to be on the "wait until it's Astrotrain before buying the mold" bandwagon, and I don't blame them, because Astrotrain is a proper character. But this mold doesn't really look like Astrotrain to me aside from the wings, and I've already got enough generic whitish-grey robots to last a lifetime. Is blaze orange any better, though?

Well, after seeing the figure in person I have to admit how surprised I was by how well it worked. I mean, he absolutely goes to the same stylist as Sunstorm and that's not for everyone, but there's enough grey, red and yellow breaking up the orange to keep it from becoming overwhelming. So I grabbed one, and I'm glad I did!

The figure follows the same trend as the Combiner Wars Voyagers by being super light for the size, and there's a bit of unsightly hollowness if you go looking for it, but not so much that I'd consider it a problem. And in spite of the light weight the figure seems sturdy enough, though I could see a kid breaking the folding leg panels.

Both alt-modes are pretty unconventional for what they're trying to be (the train mode just screams "Energon Omega Supreme") and wouldn't really fit with a character like Astrotrain, but for a random like Sentinel they're fine, and the transformation into train mode is nice and creative.

It's actually hard to find too many substantial gripes about the thing, though the little Headmaster partner is just as shit as I'd been expecting. Aside from that, uh...I'm not really sure what the point of the spring-loaded towers on either side of his head is supposed to be, and the turrets on his forearms could really use to be painted (or in a dream world where Hasbro wasn't slicing production costs to the bone, articulated a la Energon Sharkticon). But overall it's a pretty solid effort, and definitely a better stand-alone toy than any of the CW Voyagers I've seen.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 7:31 pm

Combiner Wars Vortex
Its the workhorse Alpha Bravo mould. Not quite as crisp as Alpha himself, which is a shame. The plastics feel a bit milky. As expected, the mould fits Vortex like a glove and I like the new head that's been put on him.

So now I have a complete CW Bruticus (complete with Shockwave! to replicate that one episode of the cartoon! whoot!) and yeah, he's cool beans. I like how secure the shoulders are and that he looks cool just standing about looking hench.

For a bought-on-a-whim bunch of figures, I've been very impressed.

Post by **Denyer** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 8:17 pm

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:Of course you do all realise that I need every single one of you to buy the Takara version so that I can get my Masterpiece God Jinrai, yeah?

I went for it, anyway... figure it'll go nicely with the deluxe scale stuff.

ganon578 · Post by **ganon578** » Tue Aug 09, 2016 10:00 pm

Ordered TR Powermaster Optimus Prime on Saturday. Should show up tomorrow. Excited to get him to go with my CW Megs and Starscream!

And on a lark the other day while shopping with my son, I picked up TR Loudmouth and TR Crashbash. Both fall into the category of 'meh' on their own, but they're decent fun with Hardhead and Skullcruncher about. May also have to get Wheelie just so Loudmouth can drive him around.

Paul053 · Post by **Paul053** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:03 pm

Warcry wrote:And I actually found some Titans Return stuff in store today! Well, if "eight Sentinel Primes and nothing else" counts as "some", anyway.

I saw "one" yesterday, too. And also one Galvatron. Didn't pick up any. Yes, I agree. Sentinel's color scheme looks better by seeing the actual figure, but I still have no interest in Sentinel in this mold.

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 2:51 pm

Skyquake87 wrote:Combiner Wars Vortex
Its the workhorse Alpha Bravo mould. Not quite as crisp as Alpha himself, which is a shame. The plastics feel a bit milky. As expected, the mould fits Vortex like a glove and I like the new head that's been put on him.

I have the UW version, and it's my first experience of the mould. I do like it, but hate the way the rotors hang off his back. Vortex isn't the worst UW Combaticon (that is undoubtedly Brawl by a country mile), but for me he is the second poorest of the lot.

Still, love the UW Combaticons! They're on a whole different level to the CW Stunticons I have.

On to a new acquisition... SDCC Titans Return Fortress Maximus

Now, I've always wanted a Fort Max (I actually prefer RID Brave Max colours), and was totally set to get either Hasbro's or Takara's mainline release of this guy. Until I saw the pictures. With the right deco I could have lived with the fact he's a heavily retooled Generations Metroplex, but Hasbro's deco was predictably poor and then Takara (understandably) went for an even plainer deco to homage the Japanese Headmaster TV series. Coupled with a poor base mode (Fort Max turns in to a city, but all stock photos looked like a platform), this put me off buying the guy. The fact there was to be an SDCC exclusive version passed me by, but upon seeing images (thanks to @theglaug on Twitter) I was rather thrilled - this was the Fort Max deco for me and included the much needed sword!

Then, as chance would have it, A1 Toys in Glasgow are stocking the bug fellow at £169.99, which seemed a reasonable price tag for the figure.

So, ordered I did, and he quite wonderfully arrived at 21:00 after I'd done a 03:00 to 20:00 day at work (which was bloody stressful to boot). And somehow the delivery guy didn't wake my sleeping toddler!

The box is lovely... (And I've finally worked out how to put photos in here via Twitter - sorry it's taken so long. I'm just now very technologically adept sometimes!)

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 3452418048

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 6748262401

I've not had a lot of chance to play around with him yet - I should have more fun in the coming evenings while my wife is on holiday with a friend.

First impressions are positive though - undoubtedly coloured by the fact Fortress Maximus is a dream Transformer acquisition for me, and as I'd written off the Hasbro and Takara versions already finding one I liked was unexpected.

He is HUGE - and looks great with WSTs.

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 2520310784

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 4513128448

First off though - there is absolutely no escaping the fact many parts have been lifted from Metroplex. This is fine for the most-part. After all, the deco is very different and the torso and legs are heavily remoulded. However some elements are plain lazy - such as leaving the attachment points for Metroplex's knees and such like on the ramps hanging off Fort Max's shoulders, or - my biggest bugbear - the hinge that allowed Metroplex's left arm to swing round to become a tower: this sits proud on Fort Max's chest (right arm), and still functions, but for the life of me I cannot find a good use for it...

There are benefits of this lazy approach too though - it gives many options for your own base mode configuration! And there are plenty of, in my opinion, superior arrangements for the city mode. I like having his legs as towers - it looks like a city and you can angle the guns out this way as well.

Hasbro have barely bothered even trying with the instructions - which is fine as this guy is so simple, and there are so many small tweaks you can make with the left-over joints from Metroplex you may as well do your own thing. And this is the fun of Fort Max - his alt modes are eminently customisable to an individual's preferences!

Other good points are the sword storage on the robot mode's back, and the gorgeous faded soot paint effect on the knee cannons. The metallic stickers are also great, although come pre-applied - which would be fine if I couldn't have done a better job of many myself...

One thing which is clear - Fort Max has much better, chunkier proportions in robot mode than Metroplex, but this is really due to the original G1 designs rather than some improvement. Fort Max comes in a hair taller than Metroplex as well, so he reclaims his 'biggest' Transformer title - presumably until Titan Class Scorponok comes along in two or three years time... (I'm hoping!)

Cerebros is really neat - he's a head taller than a CW Deluxe (are TR Deluxes taller than CW ones?), with great articulation and a fun transformation (although it would be improved if his hands could fold away for head mode). 'Spike' is the Takara mould, so doesn't have the faceplate, but is really nice. The only thing which frustrates me is I find it quite hard to insert Spike's head back in Cerebros' neck... This is the first Titan Master I've had experience with, so I was wondering if there's a knack at all? Fortunately the attachment for Cerebros to Fort Max neck is well designed and easy to use (there's also a button on Fort Max's chest to eject the head).

Anyway, yeah... Much play time ahead. Will probably post some pictures in city mode at some point, and with Metroplex (but there are loads of photos out there taken by better photographers than me anyhoo).

burnitall · Post by **burnitall** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 5:07 pm

Saw some titans return guys yesterday, so I got Hardhead and Skullcruncher. Neat updates for headmasters, but they feel like cheap ko's. Loose floppy fallapart messes.

Paul053 · Post by **Paul053** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 3:41 pm

numbat wrote:SDCC Titans Return Fortress Maximus

This and Metroplex. Who do you think is better (or you like more) since you owned both of them?

I want one, but I don't even dare to ask my wife "can I have one?"......

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Thu Aug 11, 2016 10:05 pm

ganon578 wrote:Before heading out on vacation, I picked up TR Skullcruncher and TR Hardhead.

I like them both fairly well, and these fall into the category of 'I know nothing of the character, but they look neat.' As mentioned by a few others, Hardhead is neat and simple, but quite a bit of fun. Skullcruncher I really like, but I'm slightly disappointed by the quality on mine; the hips (ball joints) are ridiculously loose. Those can be kind of fixed with some clear nail polish, IIRC?

I really like the play value on these TR figures. It's a shame most kids wouldn't appreciate that these days.

My Skullcruncher had the same hip problem. I just swapped the hip joints. They're still loose, but not floppy.

TR Scourge This one isn't fun. If I put Fracas in with Fracas's face backwards, Scourge is a bobblehead. Turn Fracas around, and he just falls out. I also hate the way the front of the altmode splits to accomodate the angled feet. It's also tough to tab him together. I'm trying to decide if I dislike him enough to return him or not.

TR Blurr I was on the fence. I'd seen several in stores with paint smear on the windshield. When I finally saw one without, I took a shot. He's not as much fun as HH and SC, but he's good. I don't know how Hasbro got the idea we like blue characters so much. Rid Steeljaw, Thunderhoof, this guy. CW Smokescreen had red paint for his alt deco, but just different shades of blue for his joints/thighs.

When I first saw how Hardhead's cannon opened up to fit another little guy (or two), I was pretty psyched about the idea. But, none of the other three have executed it nearly as well. SC's tail cannon makes a good seat, but can't be used in alt mode. Blurr's sled is well incorporated into his alt mode, but doesn't do much for me. Scourge's seat gun doesn't fit well in alt mode at all. Plus, it just looks like a seat instead of part of the actual figure.

Anyone else think it's odd that the first two TR Deluxes based on non-headmasters are characters whose heads don't fully disappear in alt mode?

MP Wheeljack Before I even took him out of the plastic tray, I noticed a chip/gap in the roof paint. It's very small, but messes up the arc of red on his bot chest. There's also a bit of black missing from the part below the door. Are paint errors like this common in the MP line?

Other than that, he's very well designed. I've only transformed him once. I like how the rear fenders turn inside out to hide the wheels in the bot torso. The only tricky part was lining up that flat panel that ends up inside his torso.

tahukanuva · Post by **tahukanuva** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 5:36 pm

@Warcry, or anyone else who's curious, I took a quick pic of Optimus with the chest plate off. Sorry that it's, uh, sideways for some reason.

Post by **Denyer** » Fri Aug 12, 2016 9:43 pm

Makes the Hasbro release a decent choice. As and when they get to clearance (leader stuff never seems to do well) would be tempted to double-dip.

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:38 pm

Paul053 wrote:This and Metroplex. Who do you think is better (or you like more) since you owned both of them?

I want one, but I don't even dare to ask my wife "can I have one?"......

Here they are together...

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 4250136576

Really depends. I can't choose which I prefer right now. Metroplex is undoubtedly the more finessed figure - everything about him has a purpose. Fort Max on the otherhand has a lot of random holdovers from Metroplex that serve no purpose, but at the same time this gives a lot of scope for creating your own alt mode configurations. As to build quality, I can only compare Takara Metroplex to SDCC Fort Max, but Metroplex is definitely made of better plastic and holds together better (I had to work out how to properly attach the piece holding Fort Max's left leg side cannon as the moulded clip just slides through the slot!). I think Metroplex's base mode is more interactive for smaller figures as well, and he has firing missiles...

Obviously Cerebros is an attraction though - he's a really neat figure in his own right, and then 'Spike' adds a further dimension.

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 8942836736

Probably depends which you can get at a good price, and which you prefer from childhood.

SDCC's Fort Max base mode (tweaked to be more city-like) is ace with WSTs!

More photos here: https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 1311572992

And I also staged a rematch between Fort Max and Overlord (Iron Factory Evil Lord), which was fun.

More photos here: https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 6045645824

Ah, the things you can get up to while your toddler naps and your wife is on holiday!

Post by **Warcry** » Sat Aug 13, 2016 11:18 pm

Stop making me want a Fort Max.

It's hard enough to resist with Walmart selling him for $30 less than everywhere else.

Me, get it through my thick head already: I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to put one. I don't have anywhere to...I'm totally going to buy one, aren't I? Dammit, self!

(Thankfully I'm too drunk and high on cold medicine to remember where I left my credit card right now.)

Oh, and does the SDCC Cerebros have a different head than the retail one? I didn't realize that!

tahukanuva wrote:@Warcry, or anyone else who's curious, I took a quick pic of Optimus with the chest plate off. Sorry that it's, uh, sideways for some reason.

That looks pretty good! Well, I think I'll have to have a look at Prime in person, if my local stores ever stock anything other than Sentinel...

As far as the pic goes, did you take it on a mobile device? As I understand it, sometimes you need to open the pic up in an image editor and resave it before it'll have the orientation you expect.

Post by **Sades** » Sun Aug 14, 2016 12:55 am

Warcry wrote:I don't have anywhere to put one

You can put it in our apartment

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Sun Aug 14, 2016 2:31 pm

A bit more fun with SDCC TR Fortress Maximus... Perfect Effect Warden's BFG goes very nicely with him!

https://twitter.com/ChrisCathrine/statu ... 1075247104

I have to say, I've not actually had as much fun with a Transformer as I am with Fort Max in quite some time. So many play opportunities!

Sure you can find room - I mean, he's never going to have to go in to storage when he's this much fun, is he?