![[The Transformers Archive - an international fan site]](/common/skin/cardbackwide/tfarchive.png)
POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!
-
Sunstreaker2
- Posts: 1102
- Joined: Fri Nov 30, 2007 11:16 pm
- Location: Trumbauersville, PA
Reveal the Shield Tracks
This is definitely a toy people are going to either love or hate. Tracks is a 'classics-style' update of G1 Tracks with similar car modes. Where Tracks was originally clearly a Corvette, he's a bit shorter in the hood here, throwing the car into a more 'generic' design. Still, it's pretty solid. The 'tribal' tampo tries to be something between modern car graffiti and the original firebird deco, and doesn't pull off either well, sadly. While this does break up the solid blue of the vehicle deco, it easily could have been done better. Expect Reprolabels to come out with a firebird cover soon.
The car has a 'flight' mode which is designed to drop passengers from great heights. Oddly, it manages to be less convincing than the G1 version. The doors flip out and wings then flip out from the doors. The tail swings out to have missile pegs to bolt on. This could have been done better, somehow. Still, if something is going to be sacrificed, I would rather it be this oddity than the two 'real' modes.
Transformation is fairly basic, with only the arms giving a little bit of a pain since they have to be tucked and lined up non-intuitively for the rear part of the car mode. Legs extend, arms fold out, the chest slides up from the canopy and fully reveals the head. It's a simple transformation compared to what we've been offered lately, but it works effectively.
Robot mode is where some people will have problems. Tracks was designed to share sprues with the upcoming Wheeljack figure, and it shows a little here. Instead of the tall robot from G1, we get something a little more beefy. He's at a midpoint between 'svelte' and 'burly', which will likely make Wheeljack a bit more lanky than what we've been used to. Digressing...
Articulation is what you would expect these days. Legs are hampered a little with the torso/canopy piece a little in the way. The shoulders are slightly tricky with the tire assembly and will need a little tweaking for some poses. Not a lot to really complain about here, though. It's a new Tracks, and fits well with the classics/universe line up.
Oh, as for the gimmick:
At any rate, Tracks is one of the four current 'where are they hell are they?' figures (along with Skullgrin, Jazz, and Thunderwing) and is pretty hard to find. The US seems to have them sporadically at Walgreens and apparently nowhere else, causing their secondary price to go through the roof. While Tracks is a nice addition, a great character with screen time to homage, he probably isn't worth more than the retail price and isn't quite the awesome homage that is Jazz. So, if you're stuck or don't have a Walgreens, try to be patient for the wave revision or something. Don't worry about eBay and it's $20 or more prices.
This is definitely a toy people are going to either love or hate. Tracks is a 'classics-style' update of G1 Tracks with similar car modes. Where Tracks was originally clearly a Corvette, he's a bit shorter in the hood here, throwing the car into a more 'generic' design. Still, it's pretty solid. The 'tribal' tampo tries to be something between modern car graffiti and the original firebird deco, and doesn't pull off either well, sadly. While this does break up the solid blue of the vehicle deco, it easily could have been done better. Expect Reprolabels to come out with a firebird cover soon.
The car has a 'flight' mode which is designed to drop passengers from great heights. Oddly, it manages to be less convincing than the G1 version. The doors flip out and wings then flip out from the doors. The tail swings out to have missile pegs to bolt on. This could have been done better, somehow. Still, if something is going to be sacrificed, I would rather it be this oddity than the two 'real' modes.
Transformation is fairly basic, with only the arms giving a little bit of a pain since they have to be tucked and lined up non-intuitively for the rear part of the car mode. Legs extend, arms fold out, the chest slides up from the canopy and fully reveals the head. It's a simple transformation compared to what we've been offered lately, but it works effectively.
Robot mode is where some people will have problems. Tracks was designed to share sprues with the upcoming Wheeljack figure, and it shows a little here. Instead of the tall robot from G1, we get something a little more beefy. He's at a midpoint between 'svelte' and 'burly', which will likely make Wheeljack a bit more lanky than what we've been used to. Digressing...
Articulation is what you would expect these days. Legs are hampered a little with the torso/canopy piece a little in the way. The shoulders are slightly tricky with the tire assembly and will need a little tweaking for some poses. Not a lot to really complain about here, though. It's a new Tracks, and fits well with the classics/universe line up.
Oh, as for the gimmick:
SPOILER! (select to read)Seriously, Hasbro, this is a dumbass gimmick. I don't mind the rub-signs, but how stupid do you think your customers, including the kiddies, really are, anyway?Tracks is an Autobot
At any rate, Tracks is one of the four current 'where are they hell are they?' figures (along with Skullgrin, Jazz, and Thunderwing) and is pretty hard to find. The US seems to have them sporadically at Walgreens and apparently nowhere else, causing their secondary price to go through the roof. While Tracks is a nice addition, a great character with screen time to homage, he probably isn't worth more than the retail price and isn't quite the awesome homage that is Jazz. So, if you're stuck or don't have a Walgreens, try to be patient for the wave revision or something. Don't worry about eBay and it's $20 or more prices.
-
The Doctor
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:33 am
-
Paul053
- Posts: 1288
- Joined: Tue Jul 14, 2009 5:27 pm
- Location: North star where bananna froze
- Contact:
Got my package of RTS Tracks. Not yet open it because it is a Christmas gift for my self. Package of Jazz and Thunderwing should arrive soon from HTS. Same, they are gift for my self. Reprolabels has a pretty decent stickers set for Tracks. I will wait until they have Jazz and order both.
I'll have this more at length tomorrow, but I managed to finish off the 'no-one carries these figures' set at retail, securing both Thunderwing and Skullgrin from Target today. (Both of these were the only ones in a massive flood of Electrostatic Jolts, WFC Bumblebees, and Tuner Mudflaps).
And that said...
Generations Skullgrin
Though it's an odd choice for an homage figure, Skullgrin is actually a figure that I had in mind as a 'filler Decepticon' for some time, though not with the Straxus mold. Still, it was kinda cool to see this relatively obscure (for the US) character get a new toy.
I've already talked about Straxus, the original version of this mold, so I'll focus here on the differences. In long-tom mode, the color scheme is a nice matte grey, looking fitting for a military vehicle. Weapons are a charcoal black and handsomely complement the regular color. Hints of the burgundy and white peek out in various points, breaking up the overall scheme. In short, the new colors really do work well on the figure, making it both attractive as a toy and believable as a military vehicle. This is a really good deco.
Robot mode has much of the gray pull back to reveal a largely burgundy and black robot with white trim. The result is somewhere between the original Pretender's shell and robot forms, but it comes off very nicely here. The new head tries to be a 'robotic' version of the Pretender shell's head, and while it doesn't pull it off, it does look pretty good on its own. The colors and new noggin' go a long way to making this town its own creature rather than a Straxus repaint filler. Probably not with the eBay price, but a solid piece if you can get it at reasonable cost.
I can't say that this is a 'must-buy' unless you really liked Skullgrin's G1 comic appearance, or loved his Japanese counterpart in Masterforce. It's definitely worth getting at retail, but bad distribution (and the endless run of very old movie toys in most stores) are forcing his 'resell' value through the roof.
Generations Thunderwing
And this, friends, is the season's apparent "Holy Grail". Cursed with extremely bad distribution in a glutted Transformers toy aisle, I was beginning to think that this toy would elude me. Fortunately I lucked out at a single one of these at Target (along with Skullgrin) so I immediately snapped it up, lest I pay eBay prices later.
The figure comes in jet mode and this mode only has a passing resemblance to the jet mode of the Pretender version. This is actually a good thing as the blocky G1 jet mode was a bit of a joke and this looks pretty believable as a modern fighter-bomber. The jet includes a mini-drone at the front (based on the 'inner robot' from the old Pretender) that's got some pretty good detail. Not an exciting addition, but a nice nod to the old figure that wasn't strictly necessary. I do wish it was a Minicon or something instead of a solid drone, but it's a minor nit at this point.
On the down side, Thunderwing has that 'there's a robot under me' thing going on, which is only partially mitigated with some cowling. This is common to most Transformers jets, but these days it gets a little more painful to see. I wish the arms had been tucked in better, but it's again a minor nit, and the shoulder-guns work well to kinda-sorta hide the arm kibble.
Robot mode is where the figure really shines, though. Thunderwing is not slavish to his old toy (thankfully), but instead Hasbro chose to take the best decos from the toy, the G1 comic, and the newer comics to make a very nice composite robot. His scupt is very nice and detailed and the paint apps are surprisingly generous for a Hasbro version. The only two downsides to this figure are that the wing kibble can block arm movement a bit, and that he just isn't big enough.. it's hard to say "I am Thunderwing, Matrix Bearer" when you're not too much bigger than Bumblebee, these days. Of course, weren't not getting many new Voyagers for a reason...
The short of it is that Thunderwing is indeed a 'must buy' for a Transformers fan and collector, particularly if you had the later US Comic run. Thunderwing is very well represented here, even if he is a smidge small. At retail this is a no-brainer, but it's probably worth it to get the lower-end of auction prices since finding him is going to be exceedingly difficult.
And that said...
Generations Skullgrin
Though it's an odd choice for an homage figure, Skullgrin is actually a figure that I had in mind as a 'filler Decepticon' for some time, though not with the Straxus mold. Still, it was kinda cool to see this relatively obscure (for the US) character get a new toy.
I've already talked about Straxus, the original version of this mold, so I'll focus here on the differences. In long-tom mode, the color scheme is a nice matte grey, looking fitting for a military vehicle. Weapons are a charcoal black and handsomely complement the regular color. Hints of the burgundy and white peek out in various points, breaking up the overall scheme. In short, the new colors really do work well on the figure, making it both attractive as a toy and believable as a military vehicle. This is a really good deco.
Robot mode has much of the gray pull back to reveal a largely burgundy and black robot with white trim. The result is somewhere between the original Pretender's shell and robot forms, but it comes off very nicely here. The new head tries to be a 'robotic' version of the Pretender shell's head, and while it doesn't pull it off, it does look pretty good on its own. The colors and new noggin' go a long way to making this town its own creature rather than a Straxus repaint filler. Probably not with the eBay price, but a solid piece if you can get it at reasonable cost.
I can't say that this is a 'must-buy' unless you really liked Skullgrin's G1 comic appearance, or loved his Japanese counterpart in Masterforce. It's definitely worth getting at retail, but bad distribution (and the endless run of very old movie toys in most stores) are forcing his 'resell' value through the roof.
Generations Thunderwing
And this, friends, is the season's apparent "Holy Grail". Cursed with extremely bad distribution in a glutted Transformers toy aisle, I was beginning to think that this toy would elude me. Fortunately I lucked out at a single one of these at Target (along with Skullgrin) so I immediately snapped it up, lest I pay eBay prices later.
The figure comes in jet mode and this mode only has a passing resemblance to the jet mode of the Pretender version. This is actually a good thing as the blocky G1 jet mode was a bit of a joke and this looks pretty believable as a modern fighter-bomber. The jet includes a mini-drone at the front (based on the 'inner robot' from the old Pretender) that's got some pretty good detail. Not an exciting addition, but a nice nod to the old figure that wasn't strictly necessary. I do wish it was a Minicon or something instead of a solid drone, but it's a minor nit at this point.
On the down side, Thunderwing has that 'there's a robot under me' thing going on, which is only partially mitigated with some cowling. This is common to most Transformers jets, but these days it gets a little more painful to see. I wish the arms had been tucked in better, but it's again a minor nit, and the shoulder-guns work well to kinda-sorta hide the arm kibble.
Robot mode is where the figure really shines, though. Thunderwing is not slavish to his old toy (thankfully), but instead Hasbro chose to take the best decos from the toy, the G1 comic, and the newer comics to make a very nice composite robot. His scupt is very nice and detailed and the paint apps are surprisingly generous for a Hasbro version. The only two downsides to this figure are that the wing kibble can block arm movement a bit, and that he just isn't big enough.. it's hard to say "I am Thunderwing, Matrix Bearer" when you're not too much bigger than Bumblebee, these days. Of course, weren't not getting many new Voyagers for a reason...
The short of it is that Thunderwing is indeed a 'must buy' for a Transformers fan and collector, particularly if you had the later US Comic run. Thunderwing is very well represented here, even if he is a smidge small. At retail this is a no-brainer, but it's probably worth it to get the lower-end of auction prices since finding him is going to be exceedingly difficult.
-
Savannahtron
- Posts: 3308
- Joined: Mon Nov 12, 2001 5:00 am
Christmas sale is here, wheee! They are selling Transformers at 50% price!
Deluxe class toys only, sadly. And no Straxuses or Thunderwings or Dirges or Trackses or Jazzes in sight. Boo.
But I ain't going to miss out on a chance like this. So I broke down and bought Mudflap and Gears (who were on clearance), just for the hell of it.
Deluxe class toys only, sadly. And no Straxuses or Thunderwings or Dirges or Trackses or Jazzes in sight. Boo.
But I ain't going to miss out on a chance like this. So I broke down and bought Mudflap and Gears (who were on clearance), just for the hell of it.
-
Thunderwave
- Protoform
- Posts: 771
- Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:48 pm
- Location: Upstate, NY
Work had a "2 for 15.99" sale going on Deluxes. I got lucky in that the day the sale started not only was I working, but we also got Thunderwing and Cliffjumper and company in. So I bought myself a few presents to open with my son.Blackjack wrote:Christmas sale is here, wheee! They are selling Transformers at 50% price!
-
Thunderwave
- Protoform
- Posts: 771
- Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 8:48 pm
- Location: Upstate, NY
Aye. Wanted to bag me a Skystalker yesterday, but seeing Deluxe class toys being sold at nearly the same price, I decided to wait.Thunderwave wrote:I now around here Toys R Us, Wal*Mart, and Target all have "Deluxes are $9" sales going. Makes it real hard to get behind buying a Scout.
If there was any Insecticons around I'll grab them. No matter the price.
Picked up the PCC dinobots today, and I like them. No, they don't really look at all like dinosaurs, but they're fun and the combined mode is pretty cool. Plus I'm looking forward to slapping dinosaurs on Huffer and Bombshock.
Saw Insecticon today at Target, wasn't impressed. Didn't think he was anywhere near worth $9.
On a side note, he's available at Hasbrotoyshop.com for $7.99 with free shipping.
Saw Insecticon today at Target, wasn't impressed. Didn't think he was anywhere near worth $9.
On a side note, he's available at Hasbrotoyshop.com for $7.99 with free shipping.
-
The Doctor
- Posts: 81
- Joined: Sat Jun 27, 2009 6:33 am
I've found RTL Jazz, Gens Dirge and Blurr! I agree that the reveal the shield gimmick is dumb. The earlier classics figures mostly had rub signns until they were phased out and now it's a subline? Tfs have had rubsigns on and off for 25 years too. Even the packaging is the same except for the coloring.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
