Opening Salvo
Forget about writing a Bi column I think it’s more like a football game and the column is the ball constantly getting passed back and forth. Passing the ball teehee.
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.
Uh not anymore; I just found out that none of these links work anymore; as soon as I figure something out the fWo roll call will return.
Toys: What I got, what they got and some news too
Well lets see, last week I picked up Menasor, at first I didn’t think I would enjoy him that much due to the no hand issue but he ended up being a rather cool figure. I was surprised by his “Work” mode since I had never heard about it before. Yes it basically looks like him in mid transformation but it’s nice nonetheless. I’m not 100% sure but I do believe that this is the only figure in the Cybertron line that has both Cyber Key and Mini-Con activated features. To go with Menasor I opened my pack of Giant Planet Mini Con’s; while all three were lacking in some areas one thing I enjoyed was the fact that Overcast can carry Deepdive in vehicle mode. That explains the extended female Mini-Con port on top of Deepdive. I finally got around to taking Metroplex out of his box, I do believe almost six months after buying him. For those of you who may have missed it I bought Metroplex for the Giant Planet key so I could activate Primus, I wouldn’t transform him without all four keys, don’t ask. Anyway I ended up loosing the Giant Planet key and was on the verge of taking apart my room until I found it, four days later. Needless to say I was hesitant to take it out of the box again. One thing I do want to mention is just how horrible the directions are. As those of you who own Metroplex know he is in a compacted state in the box. The instructions show you how to transform the legs so he is in Work mode, that would have been fine if:
a) The legs were set up the way the instructions show them and
b) The robot was actually in Work mode to begin with.
Metroplex is actually in a hybrid Work/Battle mode once you get his legs straightened out you must then reverse transform his torso down into it’s work mode form. I just hope I remember all this when I have to put him away. He is really cool and one of the best “Big” bots out there. The tribute to G1 Metroplex is done quite nicely. I went looking for Classics Jetfire and ended up getting the two pack of Optimus Prime and Megatron. I haven’t taken Megs out of the box yet but Prime is very nice. He is not as wobbly as some people have said; his eyes are big but they have that clear-plastic-in-the-head thing going on that makes his eyes glow. He transforms almost move for move like Robotmaster G1 Convoy, which is nice. I don’t like the punching action since Prime ends up spinning around like a top. His Ion blaster becomes a mounted machine gun while in vehicle mode. Notice how I’m skipping the DVD? You should too.
First news item this week comes from our very own Mike Kaye. As he said last week Mike has listed the Universe Aerialbots as well as some UK comics here. Stop by and give Mike some $$$ love.
Tyrese Gibson and Josh Duhamel have done some random interviews on the net these past few weeks. Nothing new to report in that regard but around the same time that Gibson’s interview went up a picture was released of the first movie image of Scorponok. Instead of posting it here allow me to direct you to the IP movie forums Inside Pulse: Well, that’s Transformers down the drain… Looking through the link you can see all the concept art that I’ve been too lazy to post including the newly released image of Ratchet; God this movie is going to be so disappointing which means it will be the biggest movie in history so I’ll have to live with it for the rest of my life.
Hasbro Toy Shop is running a special promotion where if you spend $50 you get free shipping and if you spend $75 you get free shipping and a $10 gift card. Now it is no secret that I have had issues in the past with the shipping procedures of Hasbro Toy Shop but a deal like this is hard to pass up.
Surfing The Space Bridge: To Masterpiece or Not to Masterpiece
Long time readers might remember that this was a part of the column where I would highlight some choice posts from around the Transformer net. It was a take off of something Chris Hyatte did much, much better. Now I’ve decided to use it as something to spur discussions on the IP forums. This week were going to take a closer look at MP Megatron.
Well by now we have all seen the pics and know the details. No stock and Silencer, but he comes with his mace, pistol and dagger from the movie, and Kremzeek. We also know that besides BBTS Digital Toys have announced that they will be adding the orange cap. I have a hunch that it has to do to the fact that many people were broadcasting that at first Digital toys wouldn’t have the cap and thus brought unwanted attention onto the store. Word of advice, if you plan on getting Megatron unmodified then don’t post the name of the store on a public forum. Megatron will be packaged in robot mode but as of right now it is unknown whether or not that will affect the toy laws. From what I have found out there is a addendum to the law the covers transforming toys stating that if they are packaged in gun mode, and/or it is clear on the box that they transform into a gun, the toy must be modified. My question to you all is simply this; are you planning on getting MP Megatron, why or why not?
The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Touched by a Guardian
It is very rare that anything I see on television moves me anymore. Must see TV has basically deadened my emotional nerves when it comes to “Very Special Episodes.” That changed this past week when I got a chance to watch the Cybertron episode named “Guardian.” For those of you who may not remember or have seen the episode yet this is where Vector Prime sacrifices himself to help the Autobots return to Cybertron. To say this is the best episode of any cartoon in the past 10 years is an understatement. You would be hard pressed to find the level of emotion in this one episode in the combined run of any cartoon with “Poke” or “Digi” in the title. I’ve been told that the only other cartoon episode you could compare this too is “Code of Hero” from season two of Beast Wars. Both the US and Japanese writers deserve a pat on the back for creating something that I hope people will be watching years from now. I think what I like the best is that this is something parents can watch with their children to teach them about life, loss and appreciating all that we have now. I would be remiss if I do not mention the nod to “Dark Awakening” the G1 episode from season 3. The biggest homage is the image of Vector Prime fading on the horizon as the Autobots fly diligently onward. I immediately liked the character of Vector Prime and saw him as some sort of ambassador for the Transformers and could have been used in some sort of narrator role for any new series that would come along. I cannot stress enough that if you haven’t seen the episode yet, do so.
Sixty-Second Review
MP-04 Complete Convoy
MSRP: $125.00
OK so at first I was going to do two quick reviews of Starscream and Convoy; I even took some extra time to get my thoughts together but Starscream is so disappointing that I was finding it very hard not to be biased. I’ve decided to split them into two reviews; Convoy this week and Screamer in two. Ready? Lets go.
MP-01 is the greatest transforming toy ever made. The perfect balance of die-cast and plastic. How could Takara make the figure better? By adding the one accessory that every fan has been demanding since the figure was first announced two years ago. The trailer. I don’t want to get ahead of myself so lets start with the figure first shall we? Convoy is packaged in Robot mode, which is good since that is where most of his gimmicks are accessed. By pressing a button on the back of his head you can make his mouth plate move up and down simulating him talking. Each wrist has a communication window that flips open. On one wrist is Megatron and the other is Bumblebee. I may be wrong but going by my 20th anniversary Optimus Prime the image originally was Starscream. His chest opens to reveal the Matrix of Leadership; a button over his left shoulder activates a light that illuminates the Matrix. An interesting aside is that his chest opens the exact same way as it does in the animated movie. Both hands feature full articulation right down to the digit and can hold his Ion Blaster well but not as well as the Megatron gun. By telescoping one of his wrists in you can then attach his Energon axe.
Transformation is straightforward and should pose no problems if you follow the directions. Nothing special in vehicle mode except for the working suspension; I should mention that there was some signs of SMS in the part of the cab where the arms peg into the main body, this mold has been repainted a few times which may be the cause of the problem. In cab mode there is a hole between his legs that is for, what was it again, oh yes, HIS TRAILER!!!
The trailer is basically a scaled up replica of the original G1 toy with a few new additions. First the middle stabilizers now feature a retractable post on both sides so to give it better undercarriage clearance while the post that attaches to the back of Convoy flips down to become a front stabilizer. The back of the trailer opens like most recent incarnations of the G1 toy; the sides open out from the middle then the ramp folds down. Once opened the trailer can hold up to three Binal Tech cars; one on each bank and then a third one on the middle ramp. There are slots on both sides of the trailer for the Ion Blaster, Energon axe, and Megatron pistol; they hold it well but 9 times out of 10 something will fall in when closing. The cannon drone is just like you remember it from twenty years ago. Unfortunately on mine the cannon drone came with a scratch on the dome and there was something rattling every time I moved it up and down, which was a distraction every time I adjusted it. Medical bay mode is just like it was; nothing special added to it. Finally the drone can be positioned out side the hole in the top, just like the good old days.
I can’t stress enough that you need to own this figure. If you already own MP-01 pray that they will release the trailer separate at some point. If you thought like me that you could be happy with just 20th anniversary Prime then you are wrong, very wrong. On Elohim’s ranking scale I give MP-04 Complete Convoy a perfect 10; highest possible recommendation.
Parting Shots
Well Mike will be back next week with his special blend of herbs and seasoning. I’ll see you all in two.
The King of the Fanboys,
Charless
