Opening Salvo
Well it’s another week and I have some news for ya, surprisingly not that much. Mike does send his apologies though and will be back next week.
Toys: What I got, what they got, and some news too
Well I was finally able to get Galaxy Force Optimus Prime thus completing my Cybertron collection. This was the first TF line that I bought ALL the figures for; it truly was a brilliant line. I did also manage to pick up Classics Ramjet and LOC Vector Prime and Red Hot Shot/Excellion. Ramjet is a very cool figure; I like how they incorporated the nose cone as part of his head and not make it look like he was mis-transformed, like the G1 version. I should mention that my Ramjet had rather loose legs and certain parts didn’t peg together well; SMS strikes again. The LOC figures were nice but obviously not as articulated as their larger sized versions. Like I said two weeks ago, as soon as the column posted I got my 1/60 scale YF-19, Atari and Autolooper, and my Henshin Robo Scott Bernard Cyclone who, I just realized on Saturday, came broken. I didn’t notice until I started transforming him since I thought the part that broke off was meant to be removable. Nothing I can do since I already left feedback for the seller; hopefully Superglue can fix this one. Not too worried since Toynami will be releasing MP scale Cyclones so that will be good.
Hasbro will continue the SW/TF line well into 2007. Besides the aforementioned Death Star/Darth Vader, there will be several repaints/remolds of the Jedi Starfighter as well as new molds featuring the Snowspeeder, Imperial Walker, and the Clone Turbo Tank vehicles. I’m looking forward to this since the molds have progressively gotten better.
IDW has confirmed the rumor that has been making the rounds on the net these past few weeks; there WILL be an Avengers/Transformers cross over. The very early details mention that the Avengers will consist of Captain America, Iron Man, Spider Man, and Wolverine and the Autobots and Decepticons. Although no mention has been made, I have a sick feeling that since the series is due out in July it might feature movie design TF’s.
Well it looks like this Bot-Con will be the largest thus far since they’ve had to add a THIRD hotel. Please, I know I make this joke every week, for the love of God shower; I have a feeling things are going to get mighty funky.
Some sad news to report this week as Walker Edminston, the voice of G1 Inferno passed away. Inferno was always a major player in the first and second season episodes either being a featured or supporting character. God rest ye sir, thanks for sharing your talent with us.
Metrodome out of the UK, will be doing their own Anniversary version of TF: TM. Details are still sketchy but their will be an interview with Flint Dillie and you, yes you, can ask him some questions. Visit the Metrodome forums for more info. If I had to ask him just one question it would be this; What were you smoking back then that you didn’t realize that Optimus Prime was on the verge of becoming an 80’s icon and killing him would cause a large amount of negative feedback?
G4 has announced that they will be running some sort of Transformers trivia contest. The way it works is that you have to try and stump their flagship program “Attack of the Show†TF expert. I like the G4 network. The hosts they have, especially for their video game shows, are so horrible that it makes the programming viewable. That was until they started messing with the times of some of the shows and now whenever I try to watch something “Braniac†is always on. My question is not when but how badly will Mike school their supposed expert?
JRS Toyworld has canceled all preorders for MP Megatron. Apparently their distributor realizes what most other sites haven’t; that a modified Megatron won’t sell. They also mention the rumor of Takara producing a US safe version of the item; only this will be a joint release of Hasbro and Takara. Finally it appears that HasTak will alert customs that any non-modified version is counterfeit. I’ve tried to go through some third parties that my sister knows and they won’t touch this with a 10-foot pole. Personally I still think this is a bunch of crap and maintain my stance that the fans need to refrain from mentioning where they are getting their Megatrons from since stores are dropping him or going with the modified version.
Frank Welker continues to address the rumors about him doing the voice for movie Megatron. Contrary to widespread rumors and the IMDB Welker has NOT been cast yet and believes that he WON’T be. Let me break this down for you guys.
Do you want the voice of this guy
Coming out of something that looks like this?
Or this?
I don’t think so. In fact who’s to say that if, IF he is hired he will be told to do the “Classic†Megatron voice. Frankly I don’t want Frank Welker connected to the movie and had I known then what I know now I wouldn’t have pushed for Cullen as Prime.
The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: It’s Over
The conclusion of Toyfair 2007 featured a 30-minute preview of the new Transformers movie. Members of several sites critical to the movie were in attendance and for the most part left the viewing singing the movies praises; doing a complete 180-degree turn in opinion. Rumors spread that the producers “Bought†the opinions of these sites; this is a completely idiotic belief and anyone who believes and/or furthers notions in this regard brings down not only himself but also the entire fandom. Wanna know something else?
It’s over; it’s all over.
The design images that were leaked to the Internet were 100% accurate. The movie is nothing like what we were promised; there is no G1 homage, or even the classic transforming sound effect. The humans are the stars while the robots play a supporting role. There is nothing any of us can do to change things now; the gears are in motion and the promotional machine is starting to roll. There is only one thing left to do;
Get out of the way.
Stop complaining and get behind this movie. If this movie fails then the Transformers brand will end. We need to show Hollywood a unified front; that we all support what is and not what we had hoped would be. I for one will not be going to see the movie or buying any of the toys; it’ll be a quiet summer for me. To show my loyalty to the brand though I will no longer voice my displeasure over the movie since, as of right now, it is a mute point. Have fun guys and I’ll see ya at Transformers: Heroes.
Surfing The Space Bridges
Focusing on the upcoming releases for the SW/TF line, do you think that Hasbro has relied to heavily on the Jedi Starfighter mold instead of focusing on creating new vehicles/characters?
Parting Shots
Well I’m out. Mike will be in next week. Have a good one.
The King of the Fanboys,
Charles
