Transformers: The Cybertronian Enquirer 10/10/07

Opening Salvo

Boy, things have really died down news wise post movie. I have a few things for ya mostly focusing on the soon to be released DVD and the rumored next Takara Masterpiece. Get your popcorn and soda; it’s time to transform!

Toys: What I got, what they got, and some news too

Well MP Skywarp is all that and a bag of chips. Looking at him I’m reminded of “This is Spinal Tap” and the gag about their black album cover. Wonderfest Dai-Atlas was a disappointment since he features limited articulation; Takara would’ve been better off outsourcing the figure to the Revolvotech line. I haven’t done much with E-Hobby Clear Mirage, but I’m just happy that there was an actual figure there and not just an empty box.

The new Transformers movie has officially broken into the top 20 of all time highest grossing movies. With its impending IMAX release I expect to see the movie moving up to at least 15. Speaking of IMAX fans in Sydney won’t be getting the movie on their screens but it will be at several other locations in Australia. The juggernaut rolls on, as the movie has become the 2nd highest grossing foreign film in Chinese history. All I can say at this point is, wow.

It appears as if there will be several different incentives for preordering the movie depending on which store you go to:

Target- Transforming case which was originally exclusive to Australia.

Best Buy- Two exclusive Robot Heroes.

Best Buy Canada- This is a late edition; apparently they’re getting a book. Not sure if they will also get the Robot Heroes.

Circuit City- Special card that will unlock a website with 15 more minutes of footage; not sure if it’s the scenes edited in for the IMAX release.

Wal-Mart- The animated version of the prequel comic as narrated by Peter Cullen. There is a rumor that this will replace the second disc of the Special Edition movie.

Finally Transformers 2 is all but confirmed to be released June 29th 2009, this is hopefully before any strikes happen. I do believe that is the 25th anniversary of the toy line so the date fits into TF history but many fans are concerned about getting something that is nothing more than a rush job.

Australian fans that want to import MP Megatron are now going to have to join a club established by the head of the police in the country. Basically the licensing involved is equal to that of a gun permit here. It’s crazy but at least they’ll be able to get their Megatrons without any modification. If that wasn’t bad enough Movie Jazz repainted in his G1 colors is going for $45 US in stores. That’s not a mistake, that’s someone trying to make a hefty profit on something that will have a LARGE demand.

The Target Evolution of a Hero two pack has been delayed due to the lead paint scare and should be coming out closer to Christmas. This can be viewed as a good thing when you take into account that many industry insiders are predicting a major toy shortage this holiday season so any help is welcome.

At the recent GI Joe collectors club convention it was announced that Joe Con and Botcon would begin to alternate spring/summer every year. With that said Botcon 2008 will be in the spring while Joe Con 2008 will be in the summer; see where we’re going? I hate to think this but I have a gut feeling that Master Collector is looking to limit Botcon to a more adult audience by having it in the spring while school is still in session for most students. Also the latest collectors club magazine hints at who might be the final two components for the exclusive build a figure; a repaint of Combaticon Vortex will be a limb while a repaint/remold of Combaticon Onslaught will be the torso. I had a hunch that they were going to use the helicopter mold but Onslaught is a pleasant surprise.

The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Dissecting a Masterpiece

With the release of Masterpiece Skywarp a few weeks old the inevitable debate begins; who will be the next Masterpiece? Instead of just making random guesses lets break down the releases so far and see if we can find a pattern.

MP-01 Optimus Prime- Voted the greatest toy of all time set the standard for all Masterpieces to be judged against.

MP-02 Ultra Magnus- The first repaint of the line. Besides color there is nothing different compared to MP-01

MP-03 Starscream- A left turn for the line by focusing more on an authentic alternate mode.

MP-04 Complete Convoy- A re-release of MP-01 put out almost at the same time with MP-03 with a different colored gun and a full trailer. Here we see an earlier mold re-released with added accessories to bring it more in tune with its G1 release.

MP-05 Megatron- The first Masterpiece figure that had to be modified to be brought into the US, now we can see a pattern emerging; mold, repaint, new mold, repaint/improved release, new mold.

MP-06 Skywarp- Where we are today, continuing the afore mentioned pattern.

Add to the above the fact that we know that Anime accurate Starscream will not have a number and that Thundercracker is all but a lock for MP-08 gives us a few possibilities.

Complete Ultra Magnus- This is my personal favorite seeing as how much time has elapsed between the original release of MP-02. The technology is there to make a perfect transforming trailer; the only question is money.

Complete Megatron- I would be greatly peeved if this is the announced release since I just got the Just It Toys add on kit. I do see this coming from Takara someday but further down the line, probably in time for the 25th anniversary.

Soundwave- This is the going rumor for MP-07 and it would be a good idea, but with the Music Label transforming MP3 player and two G1 reissues done earlier this year doing him as a Masterpiece might be overkill, and really cool all at the same time.

Starfire/Jetfire- This is a long shot but would probably take the crown from MP-01 as the greatest Transforming toy of all time. Due to issues with Bandai Starfire/Jetfire was never released in Japan. If you factor in his increase in popularity over the last 7-10 years this could be huge. I do believe if done right this could be the most anime accurate toy ever.

Well those are just the best guesses I could come up with analyzing the information we have. Keep in mind that I do think Sunstorm will end up as an E-Hobby exclusive at some point but that will be done outside of the normal Masterpiece line. We should be hearing something in another month or two so we’ll see how close my guesses are, or aren’t.

Surfing The Space Bridges

Who do you guys think is going to be the next Transformer to get the Masterpiece treatment from Takara?

The World Around Transformers

Well I was hoping by this point that my Revolvotech VF-1J and 1/60 VF-0S would be in my possession; alas they’re not so expect some photos and a review next week. The 1/60 scale YF-21 will be released in early 2008 so that’s something to look forward too since the MP Cyclones from Mospedia/New Generation will be hitting around then as well.

The big news this week has to do with an interview with Kevin McKeever from Harmony Gold. Nothing was said directly but if you read between the lines you could figure out that the deal with Warner Brothers was in place before Toby McGuiere came aboard and was brought about by the popularity of the Transformers movie. 20 years ago Transformers made every giant transforming Mecha cartoon a hot commodity and now the Transformers movie is going to usher in the movie versions of those franchises. I’ll be curious to see how good they are and how well they follow the source material. If you thought Transformer fans were difficult over details of the movie wait until you see the Anime fans get going. He also mentioned that there will be a sequel to the OVA but that will be further down the road since Shadow Chronicles hasn’t been released in all markets yet. The only other bit of note is the fact that Shadow Chronicles will be coming to a theater near you sometime soon. Yeah that makes sense, a year after the movie was released to DVD. I’m not sure but I think McKeever also mentioned something about a special edition DVD coming out for Shadow Chronicles. Maybe they’ll include something that will make the movie make sense to those that watched the Robotech series.

Sixty-Second Review

Transformers Masterpiece
Skywarp
MSRP:$99.99
Out now

Masterpiece Starscream was supposed to be the perfect incarnation of the character and for some people he was. For me though he was bent pegs and warped plastic that left huge gaps in jet mode and a defective face gimmick. When I heard the inevitable repaint was coming out I looked forward to it with trepidation; it was Skywarp, how badly could they screw up black? Thankfully for my sanity the toy more than lived up to my stunted expectations.

Let me alleve all your concerns right away. Although it was a week after I got him that I finally transformed old Warpy I did open the box to inspect the figure for stress marks and other plastic imperfections. Thankfully, none were found. Skywarp was packaged in jet mode, thus continuing the trend of the Seekers being packaged in vehicle mode. He includes all of the extras that Starscream came with but features far more extensive tampo printing than Screamer. Skywarp is also black; very, very black, and I like it. I’m torn as to whether or not I should apply the stickers making him look more like his G1 self. I’ll keep ya’ll posted.

Transformation is the same as Starscream although I noticed that certain joints weren’t as tight in a good way and it was much easier to get his head through the opening in his fuselage. One suggestion I would make is that transforming his torso is much easier once his legs have been telescoped out. Skywarp looks more like his old G1 self in robot mode thanks to the purple accents around his chest and arms. One thing I didn’t like was that they kept the chest bombs from Starscream. Normally I frown on gimmick removal but in this case I would’ve been ok had they remolded those chest plates shut. I did find it humorous that they molded the middle, ring, and pinky fingers together on one joint. On Starscream the middle finger was able to move independently, I wonder why they changed that. :) I am a bit miffed since the guy who designed most of the Yamato Macros Valks also designed the Masterpiece Seeker mold; he designed perfect hands for these guys but dropped the ball on the 1/48 scale Veritechs? Thankfully his face-changing gimmick did work although in all the season one and two episodes I can’t remember Skywarp ever having teeth.

Lets’ be honest, you probably already have Skywarp or he is on the way to you. This review is just overstating the obvious. Skywarp is leaps and bounds better than Starscream and most of that is due to the G1 paint scheme. Thanks to the back of his box we know Thundercracker is on the way so expect to have a complete MP Seeker set soon. On Elohim’s Energon cube ranking scale I give Masterpiece Skywarp a perfect ten cubes; highest possible recommendation.

Parting Shots

Well that’s it for this week. I hope by next week to have my new Macross items in my hot little hands to share with you all. Take care.

The King of the Fanboys,

Charles