NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

[ganon578]

Got a few things from either vacation, or shortly after:

TR Trypticon: My buddy grabbed this for me last year at Ollie's on heavy discount. I was finally able to pick him up since we drove to visit family. He's a monster! This is my first Titan Class figure, the closest I would have had was Universe Unicron. I really like him, but I was not fond of putting on 158 stickers. And at that, some weren't even cut properly, so I had to patch a couple. The dino mode is fantastic, and spaceship mode is even decent. City mode is a bit of a pass to me, but I might display him in it with some Micromasters and Legends class guys. I'm glad I had ordered the sticker set for Full-Tilt from Toyhax, because that guy was super bland. Overall I'm very happy with him, and he pairs nicely with Siege Brunt.

RTS Bumblebee: Off eBay for a great price, sealed. Which I opened. Been looking for a Deluxe Bumblebee since I solid off my Classics one a year or so ago. I've had the TR Legends version for a while, but after reading through a lot of the IDW stuff recently I feel like I needed a bigger version of him. The RTS version has the black racing stripes and slightly darker yellow tone that I was looking for. Swapped his rubsign with a Toyhax Autobot symbol, and now he just needs a blaster.

Siege Jetfire: Holy cow this guy is big. About double the height of a Siege Voyager! Lots of play modes, tons of parts to mod however you like, and both modes look great (except the hollowness under the jet). Ratchet joints are plentiful, and his hands have an awesome feature that when opened, the 5mm hole for weapons hides itself. It's a neat piece of engineering! He feels pretty solid and has a nice heft to him. A steep price tag, but the size and features are kinda worth it. I still haven't explored everything with him, but first impressions have been great.

And Siege Thundercracker is coming in the mail tomorrow. I like the Siege seeker mold, and I have the Skywarp set on order for later this month. It will be nice to have these two with Starscream. I may swap TC's smirking head with SS, though, as I feel that's more appropriate. TC seems like he should be a touch grumpier.

[Warcry]

TR Trypticon: My buddy grabbed this for me last year at Ollie's on heavy discount.

*jealous*

I miss having toy clearance outlets. The last one around these parts closed a couple years back.

RTS Bumblebee

He's the one that's more or less in Moviebee's colours, right? I liked him! For about three days anyway, then I turned him into Searchlight.

Siege Jetfire: Holy cow this guy is big.

Mine arrived today. I was floored! From the pictures I'd seen, I'd figured he'd be a bit smaller than a CW combiner team. But all the comparison pics I looked at must have been taken by people with those "feet the size of a Deluxe car" combiner upgrade kits on, because it seems like Jetfire is actually about half a head taller than Superion and may actually weigh more. Either way, he's the third biggest Transformer I own (after G1 Trypticon and my old Unicron), and just about as big as I'd want to go for a "super big" character. I hope he sells well so that there's a chance we might get other characters like Sky Lynx or Scorponok (I know...a pipe dream until they do the inevitable Titan) as Commanders.

I'm glad I was able to get a preorder in when Amazon.ca had him on sale! I doubt I ever would have paid full price for him, though having him in hand I'd have to say he's more or less worth it. Not only is the size impressive, but the engineering is too. It's not complex per se, not in the way a modern Masterpiece figure is, but it's...smart? Creative? Something like that. It's nice to see Hasbro take advantage of the figure's size to do things that probably wouldn't work on a larger toy -- things like the disappearing 5mm ports in that hands, like you mentioned, or the wings that collapse to half their size for robot mode, or the bevy of combining guns and effects parts.

I was surprised to find that such a big, heavy figure is so poseable, too. I figured that he'd be hard to balance or have a limited range of motion, but aside from the waist swivel (which can only move so far before the hips run into the backpack) he's quite flexible, and he stays on his feet really well. The hips have a bit more play than I'd like on a figure this size, and so do the wrists, but not to a degree that stops him from being fun.

The funny thing is that I don't even really like Jetfire very much in general. His character model is bland and he barely has a personality. But this figure is good enough to win over even a non-fan like myself.

[Tantrum]

Vintage Optimus Prime Walmart finally clearanced these down to $25, which was enough for me to bite. I'm still trying to decide if I'll put his stickers on or not. The extended holes in his hands look a bit awkward when he's not holding a weapon. fortunately, they gave him another, slightly different rifle. I'd've prefered the 2nd weapon look like the original, but with a 5mm post in place of the handle he can't actually hold. $50 would've felt like a rip off, but this was a decent value.

Siege Blackjack and Hyperdrive They're repaints, but look better than the originals. Plus the weapon modes for these guys are actually passable. I'll probably give them to Spinister when he comes out.

[HotShot81]

The ancient Transformer Gods were smiling in Canada.

Now we lack Target in Canada, but we do have Toys"R"US.

I found the Target exclusive 10 pack of Micromasters from the Siege War For Cybertron Trilogy at a Toys"R"Us near where I work.

Here is what is why I said the gods were smiling. Now remember this is still a rare/hard find in the US.

I got him ON SALE! 20% off!

Even with money being tight, I grabbed them and made it out of there like a Ferengi who ripped off Swindle!

[Warcry]

I found the Target exclusive 10 pack of Micromasters from the Siege War For Cybertron Trilogy at a Toys"R"Us near where I work.

Nice find! How much was TRU asking for them?

[HeavyArms]

Botbots Backpack Bunch #2.

Siege Brunt (Weaponizer).

Siege Optimus Prime
&
Siege Megatron:

Optimus and Megatron were bought off Amazon during Amazon's Prime Day.

[ganon578]

*jealous*

I miss having toy clearance outlets. The last one around these parts closed a couple years back.

I definitely didn't have Trypticon in my plans, but when my buddy texts me with a price that's a little less than 1/3 retail, who am I to say no? LOL.

I don't have an Ollie's near me, but it would be awesome. I occasionally stalk the itty bitty toy sections of Marshalls, Ross, or TJ Maxx near me, and usually leave disappointed.

He's the one that's more or less in Moviebee's colours, right? I liked him! For about three days anyway, then I turned him into Searchlight.

That's the one! Funny enough, I got one years ago from Ross at about $7 USD, didn't think I wanted him and gave him to... oddly the guy who got me Trypticon!

I hope he sells well so that there's a chance we might get other characters like Sky Lynx or Scorponok (I know...a pipe dream until they do the inevitable Titan) as Commanders.

A Scorponok would be great... but I agree they'll probably reserve him for Titan Class.

Not only is the size impressive, but the engineering is too. It's not complex per se, not in the way a modern Masterpiece figure is, but it's...smart? Creative? Something like that. It's nice to see Hasbro take advantage of the figure's size to do things that probably wouldn't work on a larger toy -- things like the disappearing 5mm ports in that hands, like you mentioned, or the wings that collapse to half their size for robot mode, or the bevy of combining guns and effects parts.

Totally agree. Not complex, but creative and fun. He surely does not feel like an upscaled Voyager. There's some real thought behind him!

[Tantrum]

The Ollie's nearish me hasn't had anything for TFs for a while. I think they made out with TRU's closing and Walmart not stocking TLK Hot Rod, but those were anomalies. I haven't even bothered going my last two opportunities.

At regular stores, I've found:

Cyberverse Warrior Slipstream - This is a redeco of the Acid Storm I got on clearance awhile back. The upper body is painted much better than Acid storm, but the legs are a cyan/teal color not found elsewhere on the figure. The thighs are the same color as the legs; the only non teal parts are the shin wedges. I wish the legs were painted like the Cyberverse Scout Slipstream. It's a shame you have to choose half an alt mode or half a paint job. Still, it's not like we're swamped in mass retail release Slipstreams, so I'll take it.

The head is the same mold as Acid Storm, but with paint on the lips to make it look more feminine. The thing is, when I first got Acid Storm, I thought the face looked masculine. Now, having seen Slipstream, Acid Storm's face also looks feminine. Given the show's switching of Acid Storm's character model from male to female, this may be the oddest case of show accuracy I've ever seen.

G1 Blitzwing in Flywheels colors - From a comic shop, in a ziploc bag with both weapons. I guess this means someone out there bought the set for that weird-ass Astrotrain. Blitzwing's in great shape. The closest thing to a flaw is a missing sticker on 1 arm. I could peel off the other sticker, but I kind of like the asymmetry.

[Skyquake87]

Cyberverse Spark Armour Skybite
These wee fellas look to riff on a sort of Action Master/Centurions axis, being a small figure packed in with a small drone vehicle which can form armour for the figure. Sounds good, right?

Skybite himself is a nice Basic/Scout/Legends sized figure. He has some nice sculpting and a good choice of coloured plastics which hide the lack of paint well. His face could have used some paint though, as the yellow plastic just makes it look a waxy mess. Aticulation is decent, but I'm a bit disappointed a balljointed head couldn't have been managed. The limbs are all gouged out bits of hollow though (boo). Sticking Skybite next to light source really highlights this. He looks like a lampshade. Transformation is good and fun to do and the shark mode is adorable.

The drone vehicle is a drill. Not very aquatic, is it? It looks good and is well sculpted, but the Cyberverse's budget of 'will-this-do?' means the wheels are all fixed and can't roll which makes this really boring to play with. The wheels pop off and the body of the thing sits over Skybite's head and chest and makes him look like he's wearing lots of boxes. You can plug the wheel bits onto the robot's arms / calves and he can wave the black drill around in his hand or you can punch his fist into it.

Mildly diverting is the best way I can describe this play feature. Still, it's nice to have a Cyberverse figure that is actually pretty decent and capable of proper conversion between two modes without looking rubbish.

The price is a bit eyebrow raising though. £16.99. That's the same RRP as a Deluxe figure in the Siege line.

Jesus but the Cyberverse line is a terrible mess of cheap looking cack, isn't it? I was looking around at the other figures The Entertainer had picked to stock and none of it looks very good. Everything's got a terrible gimmick which seems to be at the cost of everything else. There seems to be more value in the Energon Igniter engines than the accompanying toys. The plastics are super thin and everything is honeycombed to the point you wonder how structurally viable these things are. They look and feel like poundshop knock offs, which is disappointing given the premium price tag everything has.

[Tantrum]

Siege Brunt - This is my second non-micromaster Siege figure, the other being Flywheels. Maybe someday I'll get a Siege toy that doesn't come apart to transform. The intended partsforming to transform Brunt from bot to tank isn't bad. But, the first time I tried to transfrom him, the elbow detached, which isn't intended, and the socket was still in the forearm. I had to get a screw driver to pop it back out. I also needed the screwdriver to unfold the knee pegs when transforming back to robot. I can't say I wish those pegs were looser, since that would hurt the figure's ability to stand.

At least now I know why Flywheels is covered in 5 mm holes. The weaponizer idea works pretty well, except for Burnt's lower legs/feet. The only have one 5 mm peg each, and not in the same location, so it's hard to find places to mount them. I ended up connecting them as I would for tank mode, then using the ankle articulation to make a zig-zag. I plugged one end into the hole on FW's wing, resulting in the cannon poking out by FW's lower leg. FW's guns mount to Brunt's shield, which I like.

Vintage Soundwave - I wouldn't have minded paying $50 for this if I hadn't bought the $35 reissue a decade ago. But, that one had the 2 cassette door, which looks bad and is hard to get tapes out of. In another 5 years, they'll put out a G1 Soundwave with the internal hinge and individually molded buttons for $70, and I'll buy that, too.

Not yet opened - SS Long Haul, SS Hightower, SS Drift (copter), Bot Bots 8-pack - The only Bot Bot that really interested me was the chainsaw, which is only available in this pack with 7 others, some of whom look promising. Even if I do like these, I doubt I'll get more. The way they're distributed, breaking up the teams and putting some figures in multiple packs, makes it seem like more trouble that it's worth to figure out how to get what you want.

[Skyquake87]

Ghostbusters X Transformers 2019 Collaborative Ectotron
I have no idea what in Primus' name this is all about. Maybe we'll get a Back To The Future DeLorean down the line. Or the A-Team Van, Face's Car...or KITT down the line..? Whatever, this strange mash-up is pretty good. Alt-mode is spot on and is very nicely detailed. The painted up wheels are very nice and there's just enough paint where its needed throughout. I could have done with a slightly bolder red on the fins, personally, but this may be because I've the Lego version of Ecto-1 in mind when looking at this thing (albeit the 2016 version which is superior to the Ideas set, despite what anyone says!).

Transformation is straightforward and I do like the way the bonnet twirls about to form shoulder pads. Robot mode is solid, reminds me of something from the Cybertron era, as it's quite solid and boxy. Headscuplt is decent, but I wish the designer could have either committed to hinged googles that could be lifted above the eyes or fully goggled up eyes. As it is, these just look like they've slipped down over his face and are getting in the way of his actual eyes. The pack in Slimer is fun, but is cast in translucent green plastic, and I find myself wishing this little fella was just case in solid green and painted up, rather than looking like a massive pile of snot.

Packaging's probably worth a mention. The instructions come in a nice green colour and are decent. Although I found them no help when trying to work out how to reconnect the proton pack and blue piping back to the vehicle mode. The box goes for full on '84 G1 packaging with a couple of blobs of slime, which is pretty neat and the Tech Spec is fun. Would have been nice if this could have added a bit more Ghostbusters to the thing though, like the MP Prime.

[Cyberstrike nTo]

I was at a Walgreens and found PotP Cutthroat and TR Wingspan and Cloudraker 2 pack for $4.20 each. So I bought them.

[Tantrum]

Vintage Rumble & Ravage - $20 seemed kind of steep for these. I figured $16 since that's what two mincars go for, and these are about the same size. These were the only ones left, and all the Soundwaves from last week were gone. So, I figure I can't wait for clearance like i did with Optimus.

I opened the SS figures I got last week.

SS Drift is OK. He's got less vehicle kibble on his back than most SS figures. The leg transformation is pretty clever. The arms transform kind of like TLK Hot Rod, with alt mode paneling folding on itself at the wrist. Copter mode looks great from the front, but has some pretty big gaps in the sides, unless I'm transforming the arms wrong. Bot mode is OK, but small, noticably shorter than the mold his SS Mercedes uses.

He's got lots of paint, including his missle pods. Instead of being cast in black plastic, they're clear blue for some reason, then painted a nice glossy black. The long copter blades for the swords. The short copter blades form the "daggers" on his back, but aren't actually detachable. Did anyone ever use the daggers in other Drifts? The rear rotor forms what would be a shield if it weren't almost completely hollow. Maybe it's supposed to be some kind of air cannon? Anyway, he's got 5 accessories, most of which make sense.

SS Hightower - The best figure I've bought in a while. The alt mode is very well done, but it's the bot mode that stands out. The legs legs are long, spindly things, with the treads folded at 90 deg angles to form the feet. This not only provides a unique look, but makes Hightower one of the more stable TFs to stand that I own. He's got little itty bitty T-rex arms, and a long, somewhat articulated neck.

SS Long Haul - This guy's a disappointment. While SS Rampage manages to be an improvement over his RotF toy despite the compromises needed for combining, this guy's a major step back. The arms still have truck kibble, but no longer justify it as sword sheaths. SS has a slightly smaller backpack, but that's because he has no truck bed; the arms are just laying there.

The only advantages SS has over RotF is a lack of kibble directly over his head, and a slightly chunkier torso. If you're not forming Devastator, and are just looking for a Long Haul toy, get the RotF figure.

I also opened the BotBots. The rubbery plastic they're made of actually works instead of feeling cheap. They're fun, but I'm not getting any more. This 8-pack fully meets my cute bots with simple transformations into assorted objects needs.

[Denyer]

Vintage Rumble & Ravage - $20 seemed kind of steep for these. I figured $16 since that's what two mincars go for, and these are about the same size. These were the only ones left, and all the Soundwaves from last week were gone. So, I figure I can't wait for clearance like i did with Optimus.

Carded? They're more fiddly in terms of pieces, for sure.

[HeavyArms]

Armada Megatron.

Armada Sideways.

Won an auction for Megatron at a fairly good price and Sideways was basically a pack-in at the price I won him at.

[Warcry]

Siege Race Car Race Track Sports Car Patrol

I can never tell those car Micro teams apart. Or, heck, the team members, mostly. So this is Blackjack and, uh...Road Hugger Detour Hyperdrive! That's the one.

Hyperdrive is good. He looks pretty similar to Stakeout, so I was hoping he'd be as nice, but not quite. He doesn't have the head swivel or ball-jointed knees that make the Autobot so cool, but on the other hand he's got a waist swivel.

Blackjack is kinda awful. No balance, really restricted arm movement and he's lacking in the colour department.

So a hit and a miss. Just like the Micromaster range in general, I think. I was really excited when the new Micros were announced but they've been a bit of a let-down really.

[Skyquake87]

Move The Best Optimus Prime Revenge Version
Re-release of the ROTF leader class toy from 2009, chucking in his blades, hooks and knuckle dusters. Which I think may be retooled from the original as these are all hand held.Transformation is complex, but nowhere near the nightmare I was expecting. I like the muted colours (much like the Studio Series version) and the overall look. It's a very impressive figure and a bargain in Kapow's recent sale.

Beast Wars II Thrustor
I'm so happy and yet slightly underwhelmed at finally getting my hands on one of these at a reasonable price. It is a brilliant, brilliant toy. The detailing, sculpt and paintwork is excellent and puts just about every modern deluxe in the shade. I'm only underwhelmed I think, due to familiarity with the mould; it's an extensive retool of the BW Dinobot mold.

And my TFNation Pick ups:

Reissue Optimus Prime
Yeah, he's no trailer and comes with two guns, but do you know what? It works. The trailer, lacking the Diaclone pilots, has always felt like a sideshow and modern reissues have neutered the missile launchers altogether, so it's even less fun than it was the first time around. So not having it here isn't a big deal. The robot comes with no stickers applied, and I think I'll leave them off as I like the look of Optimus without his stickers on. The plastics are nice, the die cast is good and he rools really nicely. He comes with the two variants on his gun and I like the stocky version. I'm also really pleased that the smokestacks haven't been shortened for no reason.

Reissue Soundwave
As with all Soundwave reissues, this uses the mold with the pronounced belly buttons with the hinge on the outside. Like Optimus, the stickers are unapplied. Nice figure, as Soundwave always is. He comes with Buzzsaw whose cannons have curiously been shortened. Weird.

Arms Micron Wildrider
Nice reuse of the Prime Wheeljack mold, owes much of its looks to its stick sheet, which do add some much needed colour to what would otherwise be a very grey toy. He's missing his Arms Micron, partner, but is nice enough.

Legends-EX Big Blue Convoy
Gorgeous recolour of the Beast Wars Neo Big Convoy mold. He's so blue! And silver and grey with a big sparkly Matrix. Transformation is an earthquake of shifting tectonic Mamoth plates and the robot mode is fantastic. He's a little hindered by all his kibble, but he's great all the same.

Studio Series 47 Hightower
This thing is fantastic. I love the weird robot mode so much I've not actually transformed him yet. His legs are super posable, his neck can move all over the place and he looks bonkers. Probably my favourite Studio Series figure to date.

Reissue Bumblebee
Sadly using the Bookbox/Encore cartoon face, this is still a fun little figure. He's a bright and cheerful dude and the alt-mode is cute.

Reissue Rumble and Ravage
I just really wanted some tape minions for Soundwave, so picked up the ones with the colour schemes I liked best. They are great.

[ganon578]

Siege Thundercracker, as I mentioned before, came in. Not sure if I like the blue used or not. I suppose I imagined the old Classics/Universe blue (the Deluxe F-15 version) and this one is brighter than that. Still OK though, and the mold is as solid as ever. No more than I opened him, I swapped heads with Siege Starscream. Now Screamer has a smirk, and Thundercracker has the more stoic face. I feel like this is more appropriate and honestly something I shouldn't have had to do.

Additionally, Siege Skywarp came in from Amazon as part of the Phantom Strike Team with Fracas, Shrute, and Terror-Daxtyl. Since the colors work out well enough, Fracas is paired up with my CW Cyclonus as a stand-in for Nightstick. The others are just chillin' on the shelf, and Shrute will eventually go with Spinister. Skywarp is nice, but like Thundercracker, I'm slightly disappointed that he wasn't jet black. He's more of a charcoal grey with some metallic flake, which gives him a bit more variety in colors. This works to a bit of an advantage and his colors aren't washed out like I feel they are with the Rainmaker set. Oddly, both Starscream and Skywarp have Con symbols on the inner wings, whereas Thundercracker does not. I may remedy this with some clear-backed Toyhax stickers.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased, and the classic trio of seekers looks good together.

[HeavyArms]

Studio Series Constructicon Long Haul.

[Skyquake87]

Having been impressed with Arms Micron Wildrider, I thought I'd see if I could track down his erstwhile Arms Mircon partner. I ended up with a boxed complete version and boxed complete AM Rumble and Frenzy too. For roughly the same price the aftermarket is now asking for one of tiny AM figure kits. What a world.

AM Wildrider
Still a nice figure, using the excellent Prime Wheeljack mold, now with added elephant cannon fun! Decided I'm not keen on Wildrider's swords being made of soft rubber, compared to the solid versions both Prime Wheeljack and Dead End got.

AM Frenzy & Rumble
I like this mold and it does look better with TT's usual tarting up. The stickers do add some necessary detail (mostly to the vehicle modes) and are of a good quality. The little boxy drones these guys come with which convert into guns are cute. Would have been nice if they came with the pile driver guns (shown on the box art) which were a feature of the US Prime Rumble figure.

All in all, I'm happy camper as these are all great. It's nice to be reminded how great the Prime figures generally were (I sold all mine a couple of years back). The boxes for these figures were bigger than I was expecting, have to say. TT are usually good with minimisng package sizes, but these are biiiiig compared to the figures. Guessing it's to protect the sprues the Arms Microns come on, but still...