Opening Salvo
Well a bit delayed this week due to real world work. Wow I’m surprised I’ve been working hard lately. I got a little bit of everything for y’all so lets get on with it.
Toys: What I got, what they got, and some news too
Wanna know how much I like you guys? I felt bad that I didn’t have anything new this week to talk about toy wise so I went out and made a last minute run to my TRU. I left Clifjumper on the shelf since I’ll get him when I find a Grimlock; instead I picked up Titanium WW Starscream with the Preadacon and Dirt Digger Mini-con teams. Haven’t had a chance to open any of them yet but they look promising. On with the news!
Well Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci have said their goodbyes to the Don Murphy board. If you wish to contact them now you will have to go through the official site. Activision is on the defensive following a rather unfavorable review by the computer and video game web site CVG. They’ve already released two statements to the net and are pushing how committed they are to the project. There will be an all-new Transformers comic produced for the UK market. As of right now the rumor is that it will be based on the movie continuity. The first issue will come with two free dog tags. Michael Bay recently posted that with 102 days left he is still writing the robot voices and denounces anyone on the net who claims to have read a script. The biggest movie rumor this week is that Hugo Weaving is confirmed to do the voice of Megatron. Not sure yet how true it is but you all know how I feel.
In a recent interview with a Star Wars site an unnamed Hasbro higher up finally confirms what we have known for about a year; they never thought about the collectors market when developing the new SW/TF line and were thus surprised by its success. Surprise guys! You know water is wet too right?
Wizards of the Coast will be producing a 3D card came based on the Transformer universe. The cards will be made of plastic and feature the ability to build the character in either robot or vehicle mode. The main thrust will be on movie continuity but in a press release on their site mention that other “Universes†might be included.
The Wal-Mart exclusive Classics set of Devastator is now available both in the store and online. I have the original Energon combiners so this for me will be a pass. I’m hoping Takara does a reissue of the Constructicon gift set sooner rather than later. I had almost all the Constructicons but had them taken away from me when I brought them to school. Some child of some teacher was very lucky.
Target has already put the Ultra Magnus/Skywarp exclusive set on clearance already. I’ve also heard that if you wait another week it will be marked down to 75%. Deep discounted Classic repaints and a pair of lounge pants, my weekend is going to be full.
The Takara reissues of the Beast War toys have been released over in Japan. These feature anime or close to accurate paint jobs and a DVD with every figure. This is really just for completists only in my book.
Siebertron.com has an article up about the Transformers and GoBots competing for market superiority in the 80’s. One interesting note is that many of the designs for the Microman and Micro Change figures that were later released as Transformers were copyrighted in 1974. Wow, I always heard that Japan was 5-10 years ahead of the US but this even made me step back.
Legendary voice actor Michael Bell will be attending Transformer Con 2007. Among other roles in each series he is probably best known as the voice of Prowl from Transformers and Duke from GI Joe.
There is a new TF price guide set for release this April. It will probably glaze over the early days and focus more on RID, The Unicron Trilogy and movie lines. If you have one of the other guides available then don’t bother with this one.
Sony has decided to close the Sony Wonder division of their company. The status of the G1 box sets is unknown at this time but it is highly unlikely they will ever see the light of day.
Those of you near a Wal-Mart might be in for a real treat. A rumor that has been making the rounds is that Alternators Rumble and Ravage will be Wal-Mart exclusives. After Raw on Monday I would really like to see a special edition Black Prime decorated like Stone Cold Steve Austin’s Dodge Ram. Funny I thought he was a Ford or GMC guy myself.
The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Surfing The Space Bridges
Nope I didn’t make an error in editing. I’m combining two separate segments into one because I really gotta talk to you guys. A few weeks back I made what I considered to be my absolute final statement on the new TF movie. I didn’t want to keep drinking hateraide every week because I felt and still feel that at this stage it is more important to have a united front than to have disharmony within the fan base. If Hasbro sees that no mater how we felt about the movie we stood behind it could be a factor on whether or not the Transformers brand continues if the movie fails. I was happy with what I wrote and it proved to be rather popular with you guys as well so I was content to let things lie until the movie has come and gone.
Then Mike had to send me a quick e-mail; he had an idea.
As some of you long time readers know every now and then the TFrC a subsidiary of the fWo like to do a special column like our Pulse on…Transformers Alternators, Pulse on…Transformers Cybertron; Speed Planet Map Catalog, and my pride and joy the Pulse On… Star Wars/Transformers, which doesn’t have an active link right now. Well the special column Mike had in mind was a point, counter point on the new live action movie. He would do the pro-movie side while I would be obviously the con.
This then left me with a dilemma; do I go back on my word for the sake of hits or stick to my guns. Now I’ve already told Mike no but I’m now having second thoughts. So I’m turning to you folks, my loyal readers. What do you guys think, one more time, do the P/CP with Mike and then be done with it or leave it as it stands now. I could really use your help. As a thank you of sorts I’ll post a special blog on my MySpace page sometime later this week. I have no clue as to what it’ll be on but I’ll try to make it good. Thanks again.
The World Around Transformers
Well after much delay here are Land Liger and Land Cougar from Danacouga. Both would’ve made excellent G1 figures. First up is them in robot mode; you’ll notice that their guns are held as at an angle, unfortunately with their arms bent at the elbow they can’t hold their guns straight; a pain but livable.
Image two is of them in Tank mode. Like Eagle Fighter Land Liger and Land Cougar are both capable robots on their own and can take care of any alien menace. I was impressed at the transformation scheme and level of armament on each vehicle.
Finally we have Liger and Cougar in their Aggressive Beast mode. Not the highest level of detail but still good none the less. Remember the Japanese have had a long history of favoring animal based robots.
More next time.
Sixty-Second Review
Atari and WST Autotrooper
MSRP: $45.00-$50.00
OUT NOW
Kiss Players has got to be one of the most controversial if not THE most controversial TF lines ever. The second figure released in the line was a WST based on the Mazda RX-8 mold named Autotrooper. At first I thought this was a really cool idea since I have one or two of the WST and think their great. Boy was I wrong.
If you manage to get him into robot mode without the entire thing falling apart you’ll have one unstable piece of plastic. I was never able to do a transformation without the arms popping off the main frame of the body. To say I was disappointed is a major understatement. Thankfully it doesn’t seem like Takara is planning on releasing more Kiss Players WST any time soon. Oh, and Atari? She makes a good paperweight. On Elohim’s Energon Cube ranking scale I give Autotroper 4 cubes. Only get him if you are a completist.
Parting Shots
Well Mike’s in next week so have fun with him. See ya’ll in two
The King of the Fanboys,
Charles
