Opening Salvo
No, Hell hasn’t frozen over. After a far too long delay I’m back just in time to say goodbye for a while. We’ll get to that at the end. Up ahead we got a TON of news to catch up on a few words of wisdom that I’m going to leave you with and even a review. Plus I’ll show you how to piss off a club in one easy step. Zip up, buckle up, and get cab fare home; it’s time to Transform.
Toys: What I got, what they got, and some news too
You would think that after all this time I’d have a ton of new collectables to discuss. Believe it or not, I haven’t bought much. The new 25th anniversary GI Joes are selling out like hot cakes so it takes BBTS longer to get them in. I’m expecting another shipment this week so I should be all caught up with the newer Joe releases as well as getting Encore Ironhide and Ratchet. I also preordered New Years Ironhide in his old Diaclone black colors. I swear I had that toy as a child or some cheap KO but I don’t remember. My latest TF purchase was Death Star Vader from the SW/TF line and that was this past weekend. I haven’t had a chance to transform him yet, but I’m digging his look. I’ll go over my other non-TF mecha purchases later on. Well, on with the news.
OK. I’m not going to go through two and a half months worth of news that you probably have read elsewhere. I’ll just highlight a few choice bits.
Transformers the movie has set and/or broken every record it could. It’s still making money in foreign markets. Oddly enough DVD sales weren’t spectacular which is rumored to be due to a gross lack of any compelling extras. Many fans were disappointed that an alternate audio track wasn’t made available that featured Frank Welker doing Megatron. Such a track is still rumored to exist. Michael Bay has even expressed his regrets with the DVD so expect a re-release somewhere down the line. With that said it still ended up being the biggest selling DVD of 2007. In other movie news Bay admitted that false information would be leaked out to keep fans guessing. One rumor that has come under serious debate is the actual fate of Jazz. Bay has said unequivocally that Jazz is dead but many fans beg to differ. The current writers strike has halted any forward movement on Transformers 2 so news on that end has slowed. On the plus side the movie is up for 3 Oscar nods in editing and effects.
Masterpiece Starscream was released in the US as a Wal-Mart exclusive in a battle damaged version of his traditional G1 Colors. I haven’t gotten mine yet and will probably hold off until the Japanese exclusive minus the dirty paint job. Funny enough Wal-Mart.com is also carrying MP Skywarp and Target.com is carrying the Encore line. Take that for what you will but I think both stores are onto something.
The new animated series has debuted and to be honest while the writing was quite good the animation was utter crap. I forced myself to watch the first episode then dipped my frank and beans into battery acid to see which was less painful; the battery acid won. I do like that Ratchet is supposed to be THE Ratchet and ditto for Megatron, but then again that causes holes in continuity a mile wide.
The Next Bot-Con will be April 2nd in Cincinnati, Ohio. The TFCC just released the brochure, which reveals the convention set which as expected revolves around a “What if?” tale where the Autobots are bad guys and the Decepticons are the heroes. Only the names have been revealed and speculation has revolved around two figures Goldbug, and Jazz. Goldbug is being rumored to be a remold of Cybertron Hot-Shot while Jazz will be a remold of Cybertron Crosswise. The long rumored Universe Seacon set has been confirmed as well as an Energon Hot-Shot repaint/remold as Nightbeat. The aborted Transtech line will see a new lease on life in the pages of the TFCC comic. Somehow it will tie into the Classicverse story that just ended.
Starscream and Hot Rod will join Optimus Prime and Megatron in the Revoltech line. I have a set of the Macross figures from this line and while they’re great for dynamic action poses they suck if you want a more traditional type of pose.
Wave 1 of the Transformers Universe Classics line has been revealed it is as follows:
Deluxe’s:
Sunstreaker
Prowl
Tankor (formerly known as Octane)
Wave 1 Ultra’s:
Onslaught
Powerglide
Tankor will still be a triple changer and will be called Octane by most fans. Onslaught was revealed a month ago and looks very close to his G1 counterpart. No clue yet as to whether or not he is a combiner or not. I think making Powerglide that big is a mistake but we’ll see.
Hasbro has said that they will not release any of the Droids in their SW/TF line due to the fact that they can’t think of anything for them to turn into. I find the thought of R2-D2 as a TF a bit redundant.
The next Masterpiece is all but confirmed to be Grimlock. What he will look like or what extras he’ll come with have yet to be announced. I’ve got a hunch that we might see a dual release with Hasbro since Hasbro mentioned Grimlock quite frequently at last years Bot-Con.
The World Around Transformers
Over the past few months I’ve acquired quite a few choice Chogokin. Voltes V, Ideon, and Iron Gear have all found homes with me. As of right now I’ve only spent time with Voltes V and I’m very impressed. He is mostly Die-Cast with a ton of accessories. Combining is easy and intuitive. The only disappointment I have is that he didn’t come with any of the spring-loaded weapons the Poppy version did. For $200 I want the danger of shooting my eye out. Upon doing some research on each figure I discovered that Ideon has to be the most depressing Anime in history. Heck, in Super Robot Battles 3 the Ideon “Ending” basically results in all the characters loosing hope and the end of the world.
Yamato in 2008 will be going back to their roots by revisiting their 1/60 scale of VF-1 Veritechs. All will now feature improved detailing and articulation with perfect transformation; no more will we have to remove the legs of our VF-1S, J, and A’s. Don’t forget we also have the 1/60 scale YF-21 to look forward too.
There will be a ton of Mospedia figures coming first with Ashomia releasing the Japanese version of Toynami’s Alpha fighters. I have heard that all the problems with the US releases have been fixed but I’ll find out when mine is in my hot little hands. Toynami, CMS, and Megahouse will also be doing their take on the Cyclones as well. Now this is just a feeling but don’t be surprised to see Revoltech Cyclones and Alpha fighters by the end of the year.
Sixty-Second Review
Aerialbots
MSRP:$3.99
Out now
During my lull in writing and collecting I finally had a chance to open my set of Aerialbots. For those of you who might not know during the final days of the Universe line KB toys got exclusive releases of the Japanese Micromaster Combiners who were renamed for their more familiar larger scale North American counterparts.
If you’re looking for highly articulated robots that are complex to transform then perhaps you should look elsewhere. The Aerialbots were designed when Transformers were meant to be fun, chunky robots that you could smash and bash around. Unlike the larger scale Aerialbots these guys are comprised of six flying vehicles; five jets and one helicopter Rotor. Rotor ended up being my personal favorite of the set sine he formed the tail section of Superion and I never fully understood why any of the combiners needed one in the first place.
Like the other Micromaster combiners the component pieces that formed the main body and limbs could combine together to make some sort of flying vehicle. What I found odd with the Aerialbots was that not all the Micromasters could fit in the cockpit. Then again why would flying robots need a ship to fly in? Superion features the same limited articulation as the other combiners meaning he can’t move his legs and hold his gun straight. Basically combined mode is just a showpiece and not meant for anything more. If you enjoy smaller scale Transformers you probably already have these guys in your collection if not then you might be better off going for their larger brethren. On Elohim’s Energon cube scale I give the Micromaster Aerialbots 6 out of 10 cubes.
The Pros and Cons of Being a Transformer Fan: Parting Shots
I decided to combine my little op-ed section with my closing since it’s going to be a bit longer than usual. Some of you might be wondering where I’ve been and to be honest I’m not sure how to answer that without sounding like a total douche. With the success of the movie I feel really out of place since that will now dictate the future of all Transformer lines for at least the next ten years. I’m ok with being told I’m wrong but to be hit over the head constantly with it becomes a bit too much to handle. With the new animated series it’s clear that Transformers is becoming a younger mans game and that an old schooler like myself has no place. There may have been a column or two that I might have not put my all into but I never half assed it; that was slowly changing having to report every new record the movie broke. That’s not fair to you who have been so loyal to Elohim, Mike, and I over the years. So I’m going to take a break for a while. I will still be around haunting the Figures forum and most certainly will be back when Classics 2.0 hits if you’ll have me. It probably won’t be the same CE since I’ve been using this form for roughly two years and I think it’s time for a change. I was planning on quoting Prospero’s closing soliloquy from The Tempest but I figured that might be a bit to heavy handed. I wanted to thank some people, I hope I don’t leave anyone out but here it goes; Lord Elohim, Mike Kaye, Alesandro Riccombeni, Myles Carlton Garlick, TG, and anyone who has ever written for the TFRC. PK, Batesman, and all the writers for the figures section here at Inside Pulse; my brothers in the fWo. Everyone who writes for or has written for Inside Pulse over the last few years; and finally, Chris Hyatte; without whom I’ve would’ve given up on the net a long time ago. Well I do believe that’s it. It’s been a fun ride with some bumps along the way so as always… oops; I almost forgot, I’m going to show you how to piss off a club in just one easy step. Ready? Just click here. I had posted a picture of Classics 2.0 Sunstreaker much to the chagrin of the TFCC. PK had to take it down since well; we have enough people mad at us as is. The fWo shall live forever. Goodnight, good morning, good day, and God bless.
The King of the Fanboys,
Charles
