OFFICIAL TRANSFORMERS TOYS NEWS

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Mar 26, 2016 11:48 pm

So is the smart money on info being released shortly at BotCon about this hitting Amazon and Hasbro's own store in due course? Haven't spotted UK retailers listing yet...

Post by **Clay** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 12:24 pm

http://news.tfw2005.com/2016/03/28/taka ... ook-312013

Pictures of Takara computron. I'm not an expert on spotting combiner wars molds, but folks are saying that it uses three different molds from the Hasbro version. Interesting...

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:34 pm

Yeah, the similarities end at the Groove retool, more or less.

The main torso has a remoulded chest, head and new guns.

Car is Wheeljack/Breakdown instead of Dead End

Drill is Rook remould instead of Brawl [from what I hear about Brawl, this is for the best]

Jet is Blast Off remould instead of Air Raid.

Hasbro version, though, has a scrounge repaint [Cosmos? I think] and the new fists and toes [better shape and ankle tilts] from the Victorion mould.

Post by **Denyer** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 1:50 pm

Weird. Gonna be interesting to see both side-by-side when released.

Post by **Warcry** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:21 pm

It's really strange to see such a difference between the two. But it kinda sucks for Technobot fans, honestly, because neither one is clearly better than the other and the "ultimate" Computron would be a Frankensteined mix of parts from both. Takara's got the better Nosecone (both in terms of mold and look), but Hasbro's got the new feet and hands. Plus Hasbro definitely used the better toys for their Lightspeed and Strafe, but Takara's are going to look more G1 even if they'll be less fun to mess with. And of course Hasbro's got Scrounge, and even though he's got nothing to do with the Technobots it's still a great toy done up in nice colours as a very popular obscure character.

Brendocon 2.0 · Post by **Brendocon 2.0** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 4:32 pm

Warcry wrote:Plus Hasbro definitely used the better toys for their Lightspeed and Strafe

Considering Strafe's a reworked version of a toy none of us have handled yet, I think it's jumping a gun a bit to say Hasbro's version is better.

With you on Lightspeed though. I can see why they've done it, what with the amount of Dead End reworkings we've already had and the need to get their money's worth on designs across the board, but it's just a shame because the Breakdown design is pretty poor.

Post by **Warcry** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 5:07 pm

That's fair. I'm mostly judging Takara Blast Off for being ugly as hell, but he could very well be a solid design under all that ugly and the new Strafe parts (and colours) might make the alt-mode less of a disaster.

Brendocon 2.0 · Post by **Brendocon 2.0** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 9:35 pm

Denyer wrote:So is the smart money on info being released shortly at BotCon about this hitting Amazon and Hasbro's own store in due course? Haven't spotted UK retailers listing yet...

Kapow's FB says they're getting some in May. No preorders though as they don't know how much stock they'll get.

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 10:38 pm

Except for shuttle Blast-Off and "15 RACING", I've prefered the Hasbro designs so far. But I think Computron'll be the first Takara one I'll order.

Scattorshot - I like the new getalt chest/head on the Takara version. (T)

Afterburner - Seems to be a wash, but I can't be sure, yet. (tie)

Strafe - Air-Raid's alt mode is sleeker, which suits Strafe. But, I don't have the shuttle mold yet. If Hasbro releases shuttle Blast-off stateside, I'd prefer Hasbro Strafe. If not, I'd prefer Takara Strafe for variety. (depends)

Lightspeed - I prefer the Wheeljack/Lambo mold. The solid kneecap looks better than the other car's hollow kneecap, especially for Computron, who had a big chunk of car on his knee in G1. Plus, this mold works better with its HFG. (T)

Nosecone - My Brawl's waist doesn't flop around, so I like the mold better than most people do. But, I may not be so lucky again, and wouldn't want to return an entire gestalt for one limb. On the other hand, the Rook retool has a visible gap in leg mode, and looks like the hands are even less hidden than the Swindle/Hound version. I think I'd go Takara, just for the bigger drill. (T)

Hand/feet - I like the articulated fingers of the Hasbro version, but don't really care about ankle tilts. I'd rather be able to use the HFGs with the deluxe toys, and have Computron look similar to my other gestalts. (T)

Scrounge - I don't own Cosmos, and a UFO would be a unique alt-mode for me. There looks to be a minicon attached, too. I doubt I'd use them with Computron, but would like them. (H)

So, that's 4 reasons for the Takara version, one tie, one unknown. The only sure reason I'd like the hasbro one better doesn't even have to do with Computron.

Warcry wrote:It's really strange to see such a difference between the two. But it kinda sucks for Technobot fans, honestly, because neither one is clearly better than the other and the "ultimate" Computron would be a Frankensteined mix of parts from both. Takara's got the better Nosecone (both in terms of mold and look), but Hasbro's got the new feet and hands. Plus Hasbro definitely used the better toys for their Lightspeed and Strafe, but Takara's are going to look more G1 even if they'll be less fun to mess with. And of course Hasbro's got Scrounge, and even though he's got nothing to do with the Technobots it's still a great toy done up in nice colours as a very popular obscure character.

Both versions have their up and down sides. If you can find somebody whose preference are opposite yours, you could buy one Hasbro, one Takara, and each get what you want. I doubt I'll be able to find anyone who wants Takara Strafe and the rest Hasbro, though.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:15 pm

MP Shockwave review in Japanese

Like the perfect transformation of his backpack/canon. Also impressed about the leg locking and compressing, looks like it might be a test bed for compressing a potential MP Megatron V2.0.

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:41 pm

Knightdramon wrote:Also impressed about the leg locking and compressing, looks like it might be a test bed for compressing a potential MP Megatron V2.0.

I thought that when I saw the stock photos. I'll save the surprise / excitement for when my MP Shockwave arrives... Hopefully not long!

Ryan F · Post by **Ryan F** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 1:00 pm

Apparently there are reports of QC issues on MP Ramjet - some mis-assembly on the arms making it hard to tab them into the wings, and cases where people have had two identical null-rays, rather than mirrored for each side. Dunno how widespread this is...

Brendocon 2.0 · Post by **Brendocon 2.0** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 1:48 pm

Well I just got the shipping notification for mine, so that'll be some exciting niggles for me to bitch about in the "new acquisitions" thread at the weekend.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 5:59 pm

MP Shockwave shipped from Japan.

Hopefully here by mid week next week, or Saturday if I'm overly optimistic...

Unicron · Post by **Unicron** » Wed Mar 30, 2016 7:53 pm

Mine shipped (along with a Hot Rod I've had waiting for combined shipping purposes) and is due in on Monday. Having heard a lot about it, guess I need to track down something to seal/protect the chrome on Hot Rod

glazios · Post by **glazios** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 2:01 am

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:Kapow's FB says they're getting some in May. No preorders though as they don't know how much stock they'll get.

I messaged Kapow about CW Groove the other day; they got back to me with the vague answer that preorders would be going up "soon", but didn't elaborate further. RobotKingdom and PremiumCollectibles - the only two sites I've been able to find that actually had preorders available on the day - naturally sold out within hours. BBTS gave a similarly-vague answer as Kapow, and TFSource has yet to comment. None of the UK online retailers has a listing yet. =/

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 6:25 am

Unicron wrote:Having heard a lot about it, guess I need to track down something to seal/protect the chrome on Hot Rod

Is this something I need to do with my MP Hot Rod?

He came without any of the chrome wear others are reporting, but from what I'm catching wind of this may not last?

If so - any tips as how to protect the chrome folks?

(With my limited 'me' time the last couple of weekends spent trying to fix some of MP Megatron's problems, why not spend this weekend future-proofing MP Hot Rod...?

)

Brendocon 2.0 · Post by **Brendocon 2.0** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 2:23 pm

Takara's Scattershot
https://www.facebook.com/DaimChocReport ... 1836142251

numbat · Post by **numbat** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 4:38 pm

Quite different from Hasbro's. Takara seem to be going all out with Unite Warriors.

Post by **Clay** » Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:27 pm

Yeah, and what's even weirder is that both companies' figures are being developed simultaneously this time instead of Takara's version trailing a few months behind.

It's almost as if they hadn't planned this out very well, lol.