The Cybertronian Enquirer 12.12.06

Welcome one and all to the greatest fanboy written comic this side of the Nucleon Nebulous!

Got me”¦I needed a different into..

Anyway, this week has been long and drawn out. Luckily, the weekend was much better. Why? Well, first off, Jen and I got two ferrets. I love those little bastards. We’ve been playing with them most of the weekend. Second, I got a butt load of toys. Now that makes any Transfan’s weekend.

I started putting the TF Review/Archive section back together. V.2 to V.3 caused havoc on the figures archives. They still exist, but the links aren’t good anymore. I’ll have them all eventually put back together in the big pimpin’ section.

The auctions went fairly well. I got $200 for the white Headmaster, which is a bit disappointing. I paid $400 for mine a couple years ago. That’s the problem and the good part about the bidding system. All it takes is a couple bastards who want something to make the price sky rocket (or in this case, not do much). However, I still made a good deal of profit compared to what I picked it up for.

The pin went for $20. Damn, you would think something they only made a 100 of would go for a bit more. It goes to show that only the dorkiest of dorks (like me) care about getting those pins at Botcon

I have a few people wanting me to get them the Aerialbot Micromasters. I’m going to have to go buy out Big Lots”¦

There’s also stuff I can’t give away. I have those dumb ass Railbot Tankors that no one wants at $.99. That’s basically free. Then I have other random toys that I’m selling uber cheap that just won’t go away. Please, have a heart and buy my toys! I need the room for new ones”¦

Tell me you read the CE and I’ll play let’s make a deal.

Kollecto’s Korner

God, I love Christmas. I especially love when it comes early and has nothing to do with December 25th.

Let’s start with my shipment from Big Bad. Hot Rodimus with Kung Fu Grip Slutumus Rex, Classics Jetfire, and Classics Mirage all showed up Friday. Jetfire is the greatest toy to date coming out of the TF line. Some serious thought went into the creation of this bastard. Ok, first off he looks identical to the War Within/Storm Bringer Jetfire. Kudos. Articulation? Check. G1 Homage? Major check. I mean C’mon”¦this guy is the missing link. How many of your non-TF friends ask the stupid “Why is he Jetfire in the comics/toy line and Skyfire in the TV show” question? Now you have JetSkyFire in a toy form. Then the whole armor gimmick puts it over the top. Not only do we get the Jetfire Valkyrie helmet thingy, we also get G1-esque removable armor. Skyfire brainy no armor robot or kick ass Valkyrie red armor wearing bad ass? You decide! That sounded like a real cheesy G1 commercial”¦

Seibertron has up a huge gallery to see what I mean.

You know what the best part of all is? No damn Gun Clip!*

Now that I’ve sucked out all his lube, let’s talk about the other figures I got. I haven’t opened HotCarl Rodimus, but SyaoSyao is cute. She’s got a collar and lock around her neck, plus you get a booty shot on the front of the box. She’s making out with Rodimus on the side of the box too.

Granted, I joke about this shit a lot, but what the f*ck? I guess I shouldn’t be shocked coming from a country that imports used women’s underwear.

Looking past the distractions, it’s a nice homage to Hot Rod. Writing the last paragraph even made me open him. Those Kissplayers boxes are interesting. It’s like opening a big V shaped”¦never mind. Anyway, I just noticed he comes with a lance a la Springer in that one random dream episode from G1. Oh, and her panties are white.

The Classic Mirage is ok, but a bit on the thin side. It works, but barely. It also states that he and Bumblebee are part of the Autobot spy team. Sure”¦

I went out with Jen on Saturday to buy a bar for the house (and an over sized bottle of Patron Silver for it). We somehow ended up at Target and I thought I’d check the raped and pillaged TF section. Then I saw it”¦they had one damn Grimlock just Jay chillin’ there. I grabbed it, ran, and protected it like a new born son until we got home. I tore it open to find out it was a tad disappointing. Cool? No doubt. It’s Grimlock for Christ sake. However, it’s just not all it’s cracked up to be. There’s something not quiet as handsome and rugged about this snaggle tooth dim witted dino. Whoa that sounded yag. Back to the story”¦the first thing that bugs me is the gun holder on his back. It just sticks out if you don’t put his gun in it. Then his T-Rex legs are just kind of there. They aren’t nearly as solid as his G1 version. Then to top it off he has no sword. Oh, don’t give me this crap about he has the gun with a sword on it. No, I don’t could it nor the tail which makes a ghetto sword a la Dinobot. By the way, to all you Beast Wars geeks, Grimlock would kick Dinobot’s ass any day of the week

I will say that his transformation has grown on me. I don’t agree with his dino head becoming his legs, but he has his cool chest flip thing so that his right arm can move back and forth. You’ll see. His tail also has five joints, which makes it extremely mobile.

Then we went to Toys R Us. Yes, that was my fault. First thing I saw was they had the Classics two pack of Prime and Megs. Unfortunately, mine is already paid for and in route to me. I’ll tell you about those in a couple weeks.

The second thing that jumped out at me was all three sets of the Classics minicons. They’re sitting in front of me now and boy are they goofy”¦and cool. Yes, I’m contradicting myself again. Here’s the thing: some look great and have good gimmicks. Others look like they didn’t survive the drop test.

My favorite is probably Firebot. Great toy, stupid, stupid f*cking name

The worst is Terrorsaur. This toy looks like something you’d get in a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Then there’s Broadside. Good luck standing him up. He’s top heavy and has no feet. Nice”¦

I need a new expensive toy”¦Lucky Draw anyone?

TNN Headlines
The news articles and pictures come from multiple sources including Transfandom.com, TFW2005, eBay, FantoFan, The All Spark, TFormers, Big Bot, Seibertron, among others. Give these sites a look if you get a chance.

Big Bad has now stated they will make a custom made plug for MP Megs:

This orange tip will be a custom made plastic plug that is attached to the end of the barrel. The tip will add between 1/4 and 1/2 inch in length to the end of the barrel and will not hinder the transformation between gun and robot.

I have one on order just in case, but I’m just waiting for my eBayed normal versions.

They also have up preorders for the Target Magnus/Thundercracker two pack

A Live Action Movie digital Camera? Think he splits into three components? No, only G1 would be that corny

If THIS isn’t your desk top back ground then you’re just un-Cybertronian.

Yes, I’m a dork and have that huge pic of Barricade up on my comp at work.

eBay seller SPX (spx_toys@hotmail.com) put up some more movie toy images:


Barricade


Brawl


Bumblebee

This is apparently BB’s old school look. So we get protoform, upgraded, and regular looking toys. Well, it’s better than redecos. Barricade is about to make me cream. He’s by far my fav of the bunch we’ve seen.

The “Heroes” cartoon has some new rumors this week too (from TFW2005):

– The Animation studio will not be Gonzo, but Answer and Mook and the cartoon will not be ‘Anime’ in style.

-The look of the series will be ‘brand new’ to Transformers.

– The only writer previously connected to Transformers that has submitted ideas for the series is one of the story editors on Beast Machines.

– Character design is being done by talent from the Teen Titans, Legion of Superheroes, Fosters series.

– The Director worked on Teen Titans and X-Men Evolution

– Cartoon Network will be partner in the production of the show

Teen Titans style? Meh”¦we’ll see how the kiddy look translates over to our beloved giant robots. I’m a bit skeptical. However, it’s made in the USA, so no stupid Japanimation translation. Yay!

I’m reading how TRU has canceled some Transfans order for Soundwave 2.0. I haven’t received word of a cancellation, but I did get a delay. As some one complained that the old Soundwave isn’t PC and will spark a resurgence of the urban youth use of boom boxes. God that sounded white

More Than Meet’s the Royalties

I had to throw this in”¦

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK
COUNTY OF ROCKLAND
Index No. 5192/00
Index No. 2821/02

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

December 7, 2006, Carmel, NY

After six years of grueling litigation and four appeals which were won by her in 2006, the composer of the well-known Transformers Theme, The JEM Theme and feature songs from the JEM TV SHOW, and several other American, pop culture musical themes and songs originally composed in the 80’s for HASBRO Toys and Entertainment Properties, is finally getting her days in Court at trial in a tiny courtroom in New York Supreme Court in Carmel, NY. Anne Bryant, the composer, is seeking to recover an accounting of and payment of both performance and publishing royalties she claims should be paid to her from the producer-publisher, SUNBOW PRODUCTIONS, NY [which is now owned by its parent company LOONLAND AG, Germany] for millions of CD, VHS and DVD sales and licenses which she says use her music without paying her the royalties she says she is owed. On the eve of the December 4th trial, Bryant says she suddenly received a small check from TV Loonland for “music royalties” but Bryant says, although it is an admission of responsibility, it is a mere drop in the bucket.

The composer is also suing her performing rights society BMI claiming among other things that it allowed changes to be made to her song catalog without her authorization.

According to Bryant, the long road to trial began when she discovered that her 100% compose’s share of the hugely valuable Transformers Theme music had been reduced to a small fraction in her BMI write’s catalogue. BMI’s counsel, Judith Saffer argues that it is not possible for BMI to police the catalogues of its many affiliated writers because they have no way of knowing if the new registrations they accept for the same title are accurate. In Saffe’ view, it’s up to the BMI writer to bring a court action against another writer if there is an infringement. Bryant says that BMI’s stated position is to remain neutral but then asks why BMI would not protect its writers by at least checking with the original registrant when a song with the same title is later presented for registration. “Others are being unjustly enriched by my music,” says the composer. “It appears to me that BMI writers cannot expect their works to be safeguarded by BMI”- a performance rights organization that represents more than 300,000 affiliated songwriters, composers and publishers. The composer also claims that because of BMI’s laissez faire position, these corrupted registrations have diminished her write’s royalties across the board, finding their way into her SONY ATV catalogue, after Sunbow passed on the altered publishing catalogues to the mega-publisher. Bryant also claims that she is not given credit for her songs in three newlyproduced Transformers television series airing on The Cartoon Network.

The composer hopes to be made whole for the millions of dollars in back royalties due to her since 1994 for her many valuable themes. And with the DreamWorks TRANSFORMERS LIVE ACTION MOVIE [#1] scheduled for release on July 4, 2007, she also seeks to secure her professional screen credits, in the event that the Dreamworks movie uses her theme.

Bryant has been represented by Patrick J. Monaghan of Monaghan, Monaghan, Lamb & Marchisio a small New Jersey and New York firm. Monaghan has represented and won settlements in the past on behalf of the former managers of the artists Meat Loaf and Billy Joel in separate cases. Sunbow is represented by Gloria Phares, Esq. a partner in the New York law firm of Patterson, Belknap, & Webb. BMI is represented by its in-house counsel Judith Saffer, Esq. Bryant says she will sue anyone who is using her music without authority. “The Transformers best days are yet to come,” she says. “I look to the Court to achieve justice and secure accurate royalty accountings and payments to me in the future.” I have faith in the American judicial system and I am not going to be cowed into submission by a huge corporation with millions to spend on lawyers

“Others are being unjustly enriched by my music”

Spoken like a true artist. Boy, she’s going to make a lot of money. I bet she buys a Lucky Draw”¦probably one of the ones I want.

K’s Konundrum

Q: How many redecos were there in the Energon line?

A: 32 plus 6″¦let me explain:

These were all direct line redecos of either previously produced figures with slight retools or of straight redecos from figures within the Energon line. I also included the redecoed gestalt limbs because that was just a cheap way out of making something really cool:

Overcast
Six Shot
Quickstrike
Super Galvatron
StormCloud
Blight
Treadshot
Sky Shadow
Sledge
Dusthammer
Energon Starscream
Roadblock
Omega Sentinel
Cyclonus with Crumplezone
Demolishor with Blackout
Energon Hot Shot
Beachcomber
Dreadwing
Landquake
Command Ravage
Doom-Lock
Energon Strongarm
Offshoot
Adventure Team + Sea Team
Space Team + Road Assault Team
Road Wrecker Team + Night Attack Team
Ultra Magnus with Knock Out
Dark Fleet/Tidal Wave with Ramjet
Unicron with Dead End
Energon Saber Mini-Con Team/Star Saber
Rapid Run with Nightscream and Nightcruz
Treadbolt with Rollbar

Now, there were a few questionable ones in my mind. These were the ones that came out as store exclusives, but did not directly say “Armada.” Sure, they might have been in boxes similar to the Armada toys, but they only had the tag of “Robots in Disguise.” You also have TDP Arcee, which I don’t know where that fits in. Finally, you have the “Prime with a mouth” vs “Prime with no mouth,” which was released due to a screw up. I kinda dug the smile though”¦

Does the Armada Unicron in a Energon box count too?

Toy’s Dream Project Arcee
Autobots S.W.A.T. Team 2-pack Prowl/Checkpoint
Deluxe Powerlinx Optimus Prime/Ultra Megatron 2-pack
Sam’s Club exclusive Prowl with Longarm/Starscream with Zapmaster
Prime with/without mouth
Orange Unicron in the Black Box

This Week’s Q: How many redecos came out during the Cybertron days?

Pimp my Mechanical Sentient Being

Ok, so our Archives got smashed in the switch to V.3. However, they still exist with different locations. I’ll start a few each week to savor the history of Inside Pulse

My babies:
Kaye’s Kollection
Kaye’s Kollection 2

Masterpiece Nemesis

InsidePULSE’s Botcon Spectacular

The Inside Pulse on”¦Transformers Alternators

Inside Pulse On”¦Transformers Cybertron; Speed Planet.

And in closing arguments”¦

So remember that little kid I told you about? The one I gave a bendy Prime and now he loves TFs? Well, he had his 7th B-day and it was all TF themed. You can check out the pics here for the details. I wish I would have had one of those when I was little. They made hats, napkins, noise makers, table cloths, the works!

I got him a Classics Prim and Megs. Plus, I gave him some burned G1 DVDs. Yes, I am corrupting our youth into liking and acknowledging that which is “G1.”

Corrupting our Youth one Transformer at a Time,
K

*See, back in G1, Jetfire had this goofy gun clip. It’s generally the “most lost” part and thus the hardest to find of any G1 accessory. Damn the Gun Clip! I wonder how many of you die hards got that before scrolling/reading the rest of the article”¦

Transformers Kollector Extraordinaire. Mike originally wrote a weekly article called the Cybertronian Enquirer for Inside Pulse, but now does special events such as SDCC, Botcon, and other conventions. Mike has one of the largest Transformers collections ranging from G1 to Power of the Primes including Japanese, European, 3rd Party, prototypes (G2 Stunticons!), and Lucky draws.