Opening Salvo
Mike wanted me to tell you all that you can expect his Bot-Con recap sometime this week. Not a lot of news since Sony, and Hasbro released all of the big stuff last week but I got some good stuff for ya.
Pluggin Away
OK fWo roll call:
Some people call him the Professor or Mike but to the fWo he is Big Sexy.
Next the guy that got the ball rolling and an OG if there ever was one Plutonium Boss.
Of course there is yours truly The Lone Wolf.
Because we need him; call him Elohim, call him Lord, we call him Vince.
You know him as Batesman but he is a MAN among men long live EzE.
Last but certainly not least our leader the almighty PK, Hollywood.
Toys: What I got, what they got and some news too
Well after the big haul I got last week I only picked up a few items; namely Titanium 6″ Jetfire and Thundercracker. I’m really happy with them as the quality seems to have improved greatly even though there were some issues with Jetfires’ booster pack staying on in robot mode. Thankfully the classics haven’t hit yet so I still have time to get the last 10 Cybertron figures I need. For those of you wondering the figures are Cryo-Scourge, Sky Shadow, Menasor, BW 10th Optimus Primal, the BW 10th two pack, the Cybertron recolors of Primal and Megs, Smokescreen, Hightower (Lugnutz repaint), and Galaxy Force Optimus Prime. I did get half of my order from Hasbro Toy Shop.com, which was Alternator Mirage. I’m quite happy with the figure even though he suffers from the same problem that most Alternators do, that being some of the parts don’t peg back together well leaving gaps in the car mode. About the other half of the order, your guess is as good as mine. It took about three e-mails before they understood that only half of the order was shipped. Hopefully on Monday I’ll have more answers. Well on with the news.
Bad news for those of you who own the BW 10th anniversary Primal and Megatron set; apparently Megatron was made without a ratchet joint in his waist that holds the torso straight in robot mode. Without this joint the torso can spin freely in a complete 360 degrees. Upon further inspection it appears that a ratchet joint in his right arm has been remolded to make it weaker. On top of all there have been many complaints that the general feel of the plastic used on Megatron is no better than KO quality. As of right now there is no fix for the problem unless you want to go back and take apart an older BW Megatron. For the record a few people from the Siebertron.com boards have tried contacting Hasbro about the problem and received this response; Hasbro is willing to take the toy back but because it is a store exclusive they cannot exchange it for another Megatron so you would receive another toy in that price class. Honestly I think this is Bullshit; I would say that 95% of the people buying the set are collectors who Hasbro thinks they can jerk around. If it were parents, who buy a larger quantity of toys in general, complaining then there would be replacement parts made available or corrected Megatrons. The only thing I can say to those who bought the set is wait 5 years and hope they do a corrected set for the 15th anniversary.
There is nothing new in regards to the movie, which I suspect will be the norm until the trailer hits in late November. Several sites have pictures of the location shots in Detroit and Washington D.C. Nothing that hasn’t been seen before although I have seen a few shots of Brawl and must say he looks good. On the animated movie front Sony released a press release that outlines all the special features that they announced at Bot-Con. November is shaping up to be a great month for 80’s cartoon buffs; besides TF: TM Robotech: Shadow Chronicles is also going to be released.
It appears that Transformer Classics are out early in some parts of the US. A few sites are saying that if you go to a Target with the DCPI numbers the employees will be able to pull the items for you. I haven’t tried this but I do know that last year during the height of SW mania Target did start posting signs that said no matter what the circumstance employees are NOT able to pull things from the back. I honestly don’t see anyone who works in my Target pulling things from the back so good luck to those of you hunting out there.
Finally G4 TV had footage from Bot Con this week. The highlight being a brief interview with Peter Cullen, yes I soiled my pants. Nothing new was mentioned although it is nice to see him get some attention due to the movie. Who knows, this might be a career resurgence for Mr. Cullen culminating with him having some part in the rumored Voltron movie. G4 also had random interviews with some of the attendees including a sleep deprived Professor Mike Kaye. He was the guy talking about the value of his collection.
The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Goodnight my dear Alternators
Well since at Bot-Con Hasbro announced that the Alternators would be taking a break during the movie toy line run I thought it would be a good time to go over some of my favorite figures from the line.
Tracks- Probably my favorite out of the entire line; I love the vet and I thought it was cool how they were able to incorporate his shoulder mounted missiles into the design. This was the first Alternator whose Binal-Tech counterpart I bought as well.
Smokescreen- This is where it all started. For some this was a high water mark in the line in terms of articulation. The Subaru mold was the closest to Smokescreens’ original design, which I think helped with the toys popularity.
Mirage- Sure he hasn’t gotten a chance to get cold on the shelf but damn, what a cool car. Good articulation as well as an inventive transformation scheme makes for a cool toy. Look for the Ford GT to be used in Takara’s Kissplay line as Rodimus.
Prowl- My second favorite G1 character and a unique Alternator design. Many people assumed that when Prowl was made he would use the same mold as Smokescreen since in G1 they used the same mold as well. Some fans were disappointed with his lack of good knee joints and felt that the mold would have been better used for Red Alert. I personally liked how they were able to include a billy club for him.
Grimlock/Wheeljack- The Mustang mold was one you either loved or hated. Most fans can agree that its transformation scheme is one of the most complicated out there. Between the two I preferred Wheeljacks more since he was another one of my favs from G1.
Well those are my favorites, next week I’ll have the guys who fell a little short. As always let me know what you think in the forums.
Parting Shots
Well that was a short column. Hopefully we’ll have some big news or something for next week. Until then take care.
The King of the Fanboys,
Charles
