Transformers: The Cybertronian Enquirer 10-15-06

Opening Salvo

Sorry that this is a little late, bit of miscommunication at TFrC central. Not a lot of news but as always I got some 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

28 tubs.

28 plastic tubs.

2

8

That’s how many I have now filled with TF’s; and I’m going to have to buy more. This is no longer a hobby; it’s an addiction. My biggest concern now is not getting so and so but what happens when I run out of room in my basement. Now I didn’t buy 28 tubs all at once; in fact this past weekend was the biggest purchase to date thanks to my sister the doll collector who bought 5 of the 10 tubs I picked up. Besides the tubs I got Cybertron Smokescreen and BW 10th Optimus Primal. There was a row of BW toys on one shelf then another row higher up. I had a feeling in my stomach that Primal was somewhere on that top shelf so I pushed some of the other figures out of the way. Lo and behold there he was in all his Monkey glory. I had to use a lightsaber that was lying on the lower shelf to nock Primal down from his precariously high perch. The things I do for my hobby. That’s where I thought my hunt would end but I had a 10% off TRU coupon that was burning a hole in my pocket so I made a very quick run. The shelves were almost stocked with everything I need to complete my list so I was quite pleased. I was also surprised to see the DVD edition 20th anniversary Optimus Prime since this TRU never had him the first time. I grabbed a BW 10th Primal/Megs two pack to check the price when I happened to glance over my shoulder and there they were; like two beams of white light, Classics Astrotrain and Rodimus. Needless to say I left with both of them. I’m sure one of the guys will have a review of them up soon.

Two semi important pics regarding the live action movie surfaced this past week. First a full scale model of Prime’s head and arm buried in dirt and then a pic that shows a prototype design of Bumblebee with some sort of arm cannon. The first pic of Prime was made of foam and that’s about it; it will probably be over dubbed by CGI later on. The second one stirred up some controversy, what else is new, since some people believe that as a scout Bumblebee shouldn’t have a weapon. Personally I distinctly remember Bumblebee always having some sort of pistol back during the G1 era so it’s not unreasonable for him to have a gun. The biggest movie news of the week was from none other than Stan Bush who announced he is working on a new song for the live action movie. For those who may not know Stan is a sorely under appreciated melodic rocker who performed two songs for the animated movie; “Dare” and the near legendary “The Touch.” Useless trivia fact is that “The Touch” was used in Boogie Nights and Mark Whalbergs character is heard and seen singing it. I for one hope that he contacts Vince DiCola to add some keyboard work so there is at least a sonic bridge between the two TF movies. On a related note David Cian will be writing a prequel novel for the TF movie. From what I’ve heard around the web his stuff is good but of a darker tone.

Hasbro posted a thank you note of sorts to all the Bot-Con attendees this past week on the official Transformers web site. I honestly thought that was a classy touch from a company that often treats fans as an after thought.

For those of you a bit confused about MP Starscreams design perhaps this might help you out. Shoji Kawamori the designer of Screamer is also the designer for most of the Macross mecha. In an interview from a Japanese hobby mag he explains that for him the Jet mode came first while the robot mode was second. This ruffled a few feathers within the community as you might expect since it was assumed that the main purpose of the Masterpiece line was to created Anime accurate Mecha. Personally I no longer look at Screamer as a Masterpiece fig but as a 1/60 scale Veritech fighter named TF-1S; Robotech all the way. Forget GI Joe I would love to see a TF/Robotech line.

Hasbro is developing a Monopoly game based on the Transformers mythos. It is unclear at this time whether it will be toon or movie based. It does appear that it will be open ended like the new Marvel universe edition. I’m still waiting for the chess set; that’s all I want.

Now this is just a rumor but apparently 6″ Titanium Thundercracker will not be released in Australia. Normally I wouldn’t report something like this but since Thundercracker is universally considered the best Titanium fig thus far I feel the Australians are being cheated.

Devils Due might be going to the well again with a fourth GI Joe/Transformers book. No details yet but at the end of “The Art of War” they lay ground for some possibilities. On a related note I just finished “The Art of War” and while I did find it enjoyable I finally realized what it is that I don’t like about TF books; the writers often don’t properly capture the essence of the characters. I found myself several times in AOW scratching my head at the dialogue that Prime was speaking. One of these days I would love to see a comic that is based solely on the TV mythos.

The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Goodnight my dear Alternators Part II

Last week I listed some of my favorites from the line now, for the ones I wish they never made. I’ll give you three guesses whose number one.

Windcharger- I understand that Hasbro was forced to remove the gun barrel and they couldn’t change the design, but in situations like that I honestly believe that it is better to not release a toy than release something sub par. What really gets me is that they did it again when they released Decepticharge; the only, thus far, original character in the Alternator line. Do yourselves a favor and get Binal-Tech Override.

Shockwave- My only problem with this bad boy is that while his arm and head were remolded the hole in the hood where his one eye is supposed to peak out wasn’t. I lost count of how many times the hood came off while transforming him.

Swerve- I like the car; I like how they found a way to include the flame sticker that came with Binal-Tech Tracks blue edition; but what I don’t like is that this mold was wasted on an obscure character from G1. Funny though he is now somewhat of a sought after collectable since he was short packed in some areas.

Finally my last complaint has nothing to do with a particular figure but with something I noticed across the board with the Alternators; the fact that no mater how hard you try after just one transformation certain parts just don’t peg back together well. I notice this in models where the rear window has to peg into the hood or the rear trunk area has to peg back into the main body. This problem is heightened ten fold in figures that are repaints and or remolds of a previous figure; that’s right, SMS strikes again. Obviously I didn’t cover all the figures in the line since most of them fall somewhere in the middle in terms of my opinion of them. As always tell me what you think in the forums.

Parting Shots

Well that’s it this week. Tune in next time when I explain the secrets of popularity, not really.

The King of the Fanboys,

Charles