This blog is dedicated to toy stories from my childhood and anecdotes relating to my current toy collection and toy purchasing habits. As my late grand pa used to repeatedly tell me in Cantonese, "All Law Lop Sop." (It's all garbage).
Transformers Prime Arms Micron toy line released in March 2012 in Japan and while the toys are relatively identical to the international Hasbro versions of Transformers Prime Robots In Disguise toy line, Takara Tomy offered an alternative accessories for the Japanese version of the toys, Arms Micron mini-cons. Specifically designed and produced in conjunction with decal sheets for the Japanese Transformers Prime toys, Arms Micron mini-cons were aimed to get Japanese kids and parents to play with the toys together. Parents would help decal the figures and assemble the Arms Micron mini-cons which were included on unassembled sprues. It's a pretty neat concept and as a toy collector and a adult, I admire Takara Tomy for this unconventional, by western standards, approach. Additionally, Takara Tomy added mini-con ports to the action figures to allow the Arms Microns to dock with the toys.
Obviously not every one is happy about this. Many in the international Transformers toy collecting community have bemoaned the Arms Micron, decal features, and added Arms Micron ports. Comments included the difficulty of putting together the Arms Microns, the length of time it takes to apply the fairly complicated decals to the toys, and cluttering of the toys original design with port sockets. While the easiest solution is to tell the complainers to just not buy the toys. They are not meant for you. If you don't like them, don't buy them. But Hasbro decided not to release certain characters internationally so there has become a sizeable contingent of Takara Tomy exclusive Japan only released figures. Again, I still believe if you don't like it, don't buy it.
To me these complaints equate to someone saying a Japanese version of a Transformer is inferior because the owner could not figure out how to transform the toy and blaming the Japanese language instructions, "Can't they make the instructions universal just for me?" Again, these toys were not meant for you. If you want this toy of this particular character, suck it up. Pay your secondary market import fee and be happy you got it.
Additionally, Takara Tomy has invested a considerable amount of time and money into the customization messaging. They want kids to think of these toys as limited model kits (very similar to the mid-80's Votoms/ Dougram boom when Gunpla got huge and toy lines started messaging the customization and scale features of their mecha toys). Check out this toy developer video below featuring their own customization including recycling plastic bottles, forks, and printing and cutting their own sticker sheets. You have to admit, this is pretty cool and again please remember this is geared towards kids. How fun would it be to customize your own Transformers with your parents? I for one think it's ingenious and adds a new dimension to the toy line. ^_^
My purchases in June 2012 were a mix match of stuff since June is usually a pretty crazy month for me professionally. With travel for work, Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), and San Diego Comic-con prep, there's not much free time to do a lot of collecting. I picked up a few odds and ends including the first wave of Transformers Prime Arms Micron trading figures, 2 Transformers Animated figures (Swoop and Waspinator), Transformers Botcon 2010 Galvatron and Shattered Glass Thundercracker 2-pack, and a MOSPEADA 1/8th Stick Ride Armor. Oh la la.
Transformers Prime Arms Micron Set 1 *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com
First up would be the Transformers Prime Arms Micron Wave 1 Set. The set includes a mini version of Optimus Prime that transforms into a blaster, a mini version on Bumble Bee that transforms into a bladed forearm gauntlet, a Decepticon snake named Gob that comes in 2 colors (black and pink) which transforms into a chain axe, and a Decepticon named Zod that also comes in 2 colors (black and pink) which transforms into a blaster.
Transformers Prime Arms Micron Set 1 Combined
*Image Courtesy of TFW2005
Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee are solid figures. Bumble Bee in particular has both a female and male mini-con port on him so he can be attached to both First Edition and Robots In Disguise Prime Bumble Bee figures. I really like that a lot. As for Gob and Zod, they seem like throwaway figures. Both figures don't really look good in either beast or weapon mode, although at least the black versions make good weapons for the Decepticon Vehicon figures. Overall, The primary figures are worth getting, the black versions of Gob and Zod are also good as accessories for other figures. The pink versions of Gob and Zod are pretty horrible. Additionally, there is a weird alt mode that combines all of the figures into a single standing figure. I'm not sure if this was intentionally designed to combine since the mini-con ports that connect the pieces are either really loose or too tight. This mode is not worth trying to combine after the first try. It has no articulation and is pretty much just a novelty feature. Next up is Transformers
Animated Waspinator. I have to admit the only reason I picked up this figure is because he was one of the last I needed to complete my Transformers Animated collection. His name pretty much describes him to a tee. He's a anime version of Beast Wars Waspinator. I admit I began collecting the Transformers Animated series after the show was cancelled and I jumped on board due to the unique designs and re-imagined characters more than the story of the animated show. I've seen the show in it's entirety but the shows plot and back stories don't really resonate with me. Hence my lack of excitement for this figure.I got him loose for cheap to fulfill a empty spot in a collection.
Transformers Animated Swoop *Image courtesy of CollectionDX.com
The second Transformers Animated figure I picked up is Transformers Animated Swoop. While I'm indifferent to the Animated series, Swoop has a pretty neat redesign. I like his re-imagined shape and the articulation for this figure is excellent. Additionally, he comes with a ball and chain accessory with real plastic chain links. Animated Swoop rates pretty high with Animated Grimlock. A must own for any Transformers Animated collection.
Botcon 2010 SG Thundercracker and Galvatron
*Image courtesy of Seibertron.com
My next purchase was something I passed on last year. While I was at Botcon 2011, I opted not to get the Galvatron and Shattered Glass Thundercracker 2-pack. At the time I picked up all the Botcon figure sets, I-Gear Dirge, and a Macross 1/55 Milia Valkyrie. I think I tapped my budget and something had to give. Originally, I really was not impressed by this set. The Galvatron was a recolor of Transformers Cybertron Evac (Galaxy Force Live Convoy) and Shattered Glass Thundercracker looked garishly awful in his hyper glow color scheme. Overall, Galvatron is a nice recolor figure. He's done pretty well and one can hardly imagine the figures design was originally for a Autobot. SG Thundercracker is still pretty horribly colored though. He reminds me of the 80's, Trapper Keepers, and skateboards. My confession is I still think this set is mediocre but I was compelled to pick it up to complete my Botcon 2011 set. I feel like a addict.
Henshin Robo MOSPEADA Armor Bike
*Image courtesy of CollectionDX.com
Last up, and the most exciting, is the MOSPEADA 1/8 Stick Ride Armor I purchased MIB. I had this as a kid but somehow the complicated locking mechanism for the bike struts broke over the years. I still have my original one form childhood but ti's in pretty bad condition. Many will know this toy as the Cyclone from Robotech. I remember getting this for the first Christmas my dad came back into my life and was living with my mom and I back when I was in eighth grade. I remember sneaking around my house when my parents were out and finding this wrapped up in my dads closet. Ha ha. I could totally make out the orange color of the box under the holiday wrap and I was so excited. I also remember getting pink eye a few days after Christmas and lying on the sofa int he living room trying to transform this toy while my eyes were all gunked out. This toy is the seminal transforming motorcycle. It was pretty much the first of it's kind and in my opinion the best still. There have been a few updated versions of this toy including Toynami and CM's Corps figures but like I said this one is the best. It's old school charm, bulk, and 80's design ingenuity lend to a figure without equal. This particular version is the later Gakken version which unfortunately does not have the missile springs. I love this toy. It has many memories attached to it and I'm happy to own a pristine version in it's original packaging. This purchase also happens to complete my Gakken MOSPEADA collection. Yay!
Bumble Bee, Why You No Have Head? *Image courtesy of Planet Iacon - Singapore Transformers Fans Unite!
Any Transformers collectors run into quality control issues with the recent toys? I've actually had a bit of bad luck lately with some of my purchases. I've been collecting Transformers for the better part of 13 years now and I have never run into this amount of defects and quality issues with the toys until now. I suspect my own increase in defective or imperfect figures has to do with the fact that I rarely purchase figures at the retail brick and mortar stores anymore so I can't inspect the figures for flaws. Despite this, the number of incidents has occurred alarmingly frequently lately. I have purchased a defective officially produced figure 7 times this year, with the last 5 happening once per month in a row.
December 2002
Car Robots Brave Fortress Maximus *Image courtesy of TFW2005
This happened a long time ago and my memory is a little hazy on exactly when I purchased my Sonokong Car Robots Brave Fortress Maximus from Big Bad Toy Store. I remember this was the largest purchase I had ever made up to that date and it was a big deal for me. Once the toy arrived, I was super sadden to search the box and to realize he was missing his head master. After silently sulking in sadness, I contacted BBTS and their customer service department. Thankfully they sent me the part I was missing from a sealed set. I will always be loyal and thankful for BBTS's service and dedication to their customers. Their online retail store is a godsend to the toy collecting community and I have been a proud customer of theirs since 2001 (that's 12 years as of this article). In short, BBTS is awesome and this incident was isolated since I have purchased a horde of Sonokong Transformers, Microman, and Yuusha Brave figures since then and they all seemed perfectly fine. September 2006
Classics AstroTrain *Image courtesy of cliffbee.com
The next run in I had with a defective product is when I purchased a Hasbro Classics AstroTrain, He came with 2 right shoulder joints. Sure the figure came in the package in space shuttle mode but I failed to notice the flaw when I grabbed the figure off the peg at Target. Sadly, I figured out the assembly mistake after I broke open the toy. I really should have returned him but at the time, I just accepted the flaw and moved on with my life. He looks fine in bot mode and train mode but the shoulders do not lineup correctly in shuttle mode. Eventually I picked up the Takara Henkei AstroTrain figure with the cartoon accurate color scheme and my Hasbro White AstroTrain has been at the bottom of a storage bin ever since. August 2011
Animated Bulkhead *Image courtesy of tilallaremine.wordpress.com
I really didn't have any other problems with defects for while until last year. I purchased a Transformers Animated Voyager Bulkhead (2008) sometime last summer MISP and his shoulders were miss-assembled. His right shoulder was his left and vice versea which lent to a bot mode miss-transformation. Unfortunately there is not a way to correct this assembly defect as pulling the shoulder pins will most likely stress the hinges to the point of shattering. Bulkheads vehicle mode is fine though. I've been content to keep him as placeholder figure for now until I feel compelled to replace this factory reject. Thanks Hasbro, your suckage traveled 3 years into the future to suck. February 2012
SG Drift *Image courtesy of TFW2005
In February this year, I purchased Shattered Glass Drift from the Official Transformers Collector Club run by Fun Publications. As with many of the figures sold, mine came with mix matched pistol set. I believe I received 2 right side pistols. This really didn't bother me as SG Drift does not come with the companion sniper rife that combines with the pistols like the original Transformers Generations Blurr (2010) figure. The mix matched pistols really do not have corresponding negative effect other than the fact that the set is mix matched. Still, it is rather disturbing that no one caught this at the factory level and that the frequency of the mix matching was throughout the entire product line for this figure. It should not be up to the end consumer to have to contact each other on forum boards to trade parts to get a set that is complete and matching. This shows very poor project management on Fun Publication's part (but of course Fun Publication has become a joke of a organization with leaked credit card information, defective products, and general mismanagement of events, seriously it's like they can not do anything right at all). Fun Publication Majorly Sucks. May 2012
SG Wrek-gar *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com
Coming off of Botcon 2012, I purchased the Shattered Glass Junkion Set from TFSource. Lucky me. After opening the set I discovered Shattered Glass Wrek-gar was missing his head entirely. I contacted Fun Publications (yup them again) and they told me since the set was sold to a wholesaler I had to contact the retailer I purchased the set from and file a claim through them. Now on a wild goose chase, I contacted TFSource and filed my claim. They told me they submitted the claim to Fun Publications and they were awaiting a reply. It was communicated to me that there were multiple claims through TFSoruce and Fun Publications wanted to sort through them all together at one time. So I waited. I emailed a few weeks later. I waited. Etc, etc. THREE MONTHS ROLL BY. It got to the point were TFSource was not even replying to my emails because they were attending conventions during the summer. I happen to rant about the situation to a friend who knew some of the people at TFSource. I was then contacted by them and the situation was finally resolved. Apparently, Fun Publication reversed their stance and were taking claims directly from consumers with the end product in hand. Fun Publications failed to contact me about this. TFSource failed to followup with my claim because they assumed I was contacted by Fun Publications. Thank you both for a epic failure in customer service. Granted, I got Wrek-gars head after 3 months of waiting. But when you buy a car, do you expect to get the steering wheel 3 months after purchase and when you ask about it do you expect the mechanic and the car dealer both to point at each other? Sigh, EPIC FAIL. July 2012
FOC SDCC Brawl *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com
During Comic-con this year I purchased the Hasbro SDCC 2012 Exclusive Fall of Cybertron Bruticus Set (2012) through a friend who stood in line for me. The set included a Brawl figure that was missing part of his head. Yeah, he was missing a chunk of his upper head. It's not really noticeable but one of his ornamental horns on his head is missing and it looks like he might have lost it when the part was removed from the sprue after the molding process. I keep the set in Bruticus mode so it really doesn't bother me but still that is a really crappy thing to happen for a set that retailed for $100 MSRP. I'm just glad a friend stood in line for the set and purchased it for me. I would be super duper pissed if I stood in line for 6 hours, paid $100, and found out I got a defect after coming home from the show. Yeah, you suck Hasbro. August 2012
Arms Micron Swerve *Image courtesy of Hobby Search
I picked up the Takara Tomy Transformers Prime Swerve in August 2012 and his head actually broke off straight out of the package. I literally took him out of his package and rotated his head 30 degrees and it snapped off. There's nothing worse than opening a toy and having the figure break in your hands as you take him out of the package. It takes that euphoric moment of joy and dumps it in a toilet bowl full of stagnant putrid crap. I remained composed and put the figure down and did not return to him until the next day. I drilled a pin in his neck base connected to his broken neck ball joint and super glued the pieces together. I then used a X-Acto knife to clean out the glued neck joint of any excess glue. I crossed my fingers and snapped the head back onto the joint. Ultimately the neck joint is sufficiently reinforced to allow full 360 degree articulation without any undue stress. So, the figure is fixed but that really sucked. This is the first time a Takara Tomy figure failed for me but not the last. September 2012
Generations Junkheap *Image courtesy of Wikia.com
In September 2012, a friend picked up a Transformers Generations Junkheap figure for me. This was my second Junkheap. I wanted to get him to properly display the Maiden Japan B-01 King Tiger third-party accessories pack that I recently purchased. Sadly, his right bike handle fell straight off the figure when I opened him. It seems the rubber part cracked when it was snapped into place on the securing peg of the figures body. I glued it back in place since I did not want to return him and try to hunt down another one (the figure is a year old after all and not widely available for the MSRP price anymore). The base figure works well displaying the Maiden Japan parts for King Tiger but essentially the Junkheap is broken out of the package. Hasbro Sucks. October 2012
Arms Micron Gaia Unicron *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com
In October I picked up Takara Tomy Transformers Prime Gaia Unicorn. I know a lot of people had mixed feelings overall with this toy. While the figure looks TV show accurate, his transformation into a rock ship with his face on it and the really lame battle suit mode for RID Optimus Prime and Megatron was really poorly designed and executed. Surprise to me, the figure I got has a small tear in the rubber horns on his head. It looks like his horn was assembled wrong and when the rubber was glued to the PVC plastic base someone tried to adjust the horn to point in the right direction which tore the rubber horn. The horn is pretty secure in its glue and the tear is not loose at all. However whomever tried to adjust the position failed and promptly tied the figure down into it's packaging and moved on with their lowly life, thanks for the defective figure mysteriously incompetent factory worker. November 2012
GDO Asia Wheelie *Image courtesy of cooksux.com
This month, I picked up Transformers Asia Exclusive GDO Wheelie. Based on the Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz mold, Wheelie has a new unique head, sling shot weapon, and sporty orange color scheme. Unfortunately for me, he was also miss-assembled. After trying to transform him I realized his head was not elevating out of his chest cavity fully. His eyes and head visor barely cleared his chest. After comparing him to my other Jazz mold figures (Special Ops Jazz, Kick Off and SG TreadShot, I deduced that the auto transformation mechanism in his chest was misaligned by 2 to 3 teeth. I had to disassemble him and adjust the figure manually to get the head to fully deploy from Wheelie's chest. Anyone seeing a pattern here? So, if we review the tally, I've had a Transformer purchase failure once a month for the last 5 months straight with 70% of the defects happening this year!!! The big question to ask is, why is this happening so frequently now, especially when they are increasing the MSRP on figures globally. Each of these figures specific issues have marred my collecting experiences What should be a happy occasion turns into a problem to be solved or an headache to be trudged through. Purchasing products or a service should not be like this. You should not purchase food and get poisoned. You should not purchase a Transformer figure and get something broken or incomplete out of a factory sealed box. Hear this Hasbro, Takara Tomy, Fun Publications, your product quality is getting worse. GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER. Any of you guys out there have defect stories about Transformers? Please chime in. I'd love to compare notes.
The month of May has become my traditional Botcon toy month since I started collecting Fun Publications Transformers releases. While I did not attend Botcon 2012 this year since it was held Dallas, Texas (no offense but yucky heat). I did preorder the Botcon 2012 Set dubbed Invasion. Since I preordered the set I eagerly awaiting the release news of the new subsets that would be available at the show for attendees and I was pleasantly surprised at the mix of molds and themes. While I originally only wanted to pick up a few straggler pieces for my collection the completionist in me won over the more prudent part of myself I decided to opt to hunt down the entire collection. Additionally, I picked up a Chinese bootleg CHMS version of the Fun Publications 2010 release of Punch Counterpunch and another addition to the Transformers Prime Takara Tomy exclusive set, Breakdown, in May.
The Invasion box set comes with the following figures, including Shattered Glass Treadshot (reissue/recolor of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz with a new head), Shattered Glass Soundwave (reissue/recolor of Generations Ironhide with a new head), Metal Hawk (reissue/recolor of Generations Thunder Wing with a new head), Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus (reissue/recolor of Reveal the Shield G2 Laser Optimus Prime with a new head), Overlord (reissue/recolor of Return of the Fallen Bludgeon with a new head), and Shattered Glass Tracks (reissue/recolor of Reveal the Shield Turbo Tracks). For the most part, each figure is basically the same as it's progenitor counterpart except in color scheme and sometimes the head. It's rumored that most of the alternate heads with the exception of Overlord, Soundwave, and Metal Hawk were already designed and created when the original figures released and held back for future use. This is due to the fact that some of the original figures illustrated the alternate heads in their instruction papers. And it goes without saying that Overlord, Soundwave, and Metal Hawk's heads were designed by someone different than the original figures designer as these heads look out of proportion and comic book-ish. Over all the set has some hits and misses. Most of the figures look great but Overlords head is a little ... horrible with his goofy grin and extended chin. For Soundwave, the Universe Ironhide mold has always been pretty bad. Plus Soundwave's head is pretty much the most crappy Soundwave head ever made for Transformers. Metal Hawks look is ok but his paint app for his eyes are horribly applied. Most figures are like snowflakes and unique in eye locations. Some look passable, some look like retarded cross-eyed down syndrome babies (again no offense).
Kickover and SG Optimus Prime *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
The 3 additional sets that accompany the Botcon Invasion set and make up the Botcon 2012 collection are, Kickover (reissue/recolor of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz with a new head different than SG Treashots) and Shattered Glass Optimus Prime (reissue/recolor of G2 Laser Optimus Prime with new head that is same as SG Ultra Magnus), Spinister (reissue/recolor of Hunt for the Decepticons Tomahawk with new head) and Octopunch (reissue/recolor of Hunt for the Decepticons Sea Spray) , and the Shattered Glass Junkion 3-pack which consists of Wrek-gar (reissue/recolor of Reveal the Shield Wrek-gar), Junkheap (reissue/recolor of Generations Junkheap), and Scrapheap (reissue/recolor of Japanese Takara Tomy exclsuive United Scrapheap).
Easily the the strongest set out of the periphery sets is the Kickover/SG Prime set. The Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz mold is one of the better molds in the last 5 years of Transformers toys and it's used to good effect with both Kickover and Treadshot. SG Prime has a more powerful color scheme than SG Ultra Magnus or the original Lasrer Optimus Prime and is more imposing with the dark hue of the purple redeco.
SG Wrek-gar, SG Scrapheap, SG Junkheap *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
The Junkion set is a close second. Each of these Junkion figures was released within a good 2 year span within separate toy lines but they have never been collected into a single set such as this. It was a excellent choice to release this set and the Shatter Glass theme of coloring them like Insecticons works really well here. It's a little sad though that the SG Scrapheap is easier to get than the original Japanese exclusive Takara Tomy United Scrapheap.
SG Octo Punch, Spinister *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
The loser in this series by miles is the Spinister/Octopunch release. I'm not sure why they opted to release this when they could have gone with a more G1 route. I think this set was released as a token to appease any Bay-verse toy mold fans. It is a nice homage in some respects to the Seacons but this set is totally out of place with the rest of the released 2012 Fan Publication collection.
Bard of Darkmouth *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
Out of all the Fun Publication toys that released this year, the only toy I missed out on and have yet to obtain for a decent price is the Botcon 2012 attendee figure Bard of Darkmount (a reissue/recolor of Generations Darkmount). I had him on preorder at both BBTS and TFSource and both stores let me down. By the time I got the notification that they had cancelled my order, the ebay prices on this figure jumped to the "umm god no, are you serious?" level. I still want him but I'm content to wait it out until the market stabilizes. I try not to spend more than $80 on any of these figures. $100 is just ridiculous.
Breakdown *Image Courtesy of Takara Tomy
Finally, I can get to the regular stuff, ha. The one Transformers Prime Takara Tomy figure that I knew I had to get because it was not making it's way to the US was Breakdown. At the time he was a prominent figure in the Transformers Prime animated show and a chief loyal enforcer for Megatron. Partnered with Knockdown, the pair was a formidable team in the show. I can't believe Hasbro opted to skip out on releasing him. [Spoiler Warning] I think they knew beforehand that he was going to die in season 2 and opted to skip out on his release. If you look at the pattern of Hasbro releases, they tend to skip characters that will die soon, First Edition Cliffjumper, Sky Quake, and Breakdown.
Overall Breakdown is a awesome figure. He's bulky and a good rival to Bulkhead. Transformation is about medium level complicated. The sticker decals for this mold are fairly hard to apply though. The bumper, side detailing, and knee guards all require expert skill to apply correctly. Breakdown's Arms Micron Zamu is a Rhino that transforms into his trademark hammer. My only complaint is that Breakdowns forearm guard has to rotate to attach Zamu to Breakdown and the rotation of the part leaves the forearm guard rather vulnerable to snapping. Otherwise, this figure is probably in the top 3 molds of this line and it's a shame Hasbro opted to skip it. It's worthy of noting that the trademark copyright on the figure only has Takara Tomy info. I don't think the US will get this guy anytime soon. ) =
Punch Counterpunch *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
The last figure I purchased for May is the CHMS Punch Counterpunch bootleg. I really wanted to get the original Fun Publication Transformers Club Exclusive figure back in 2010 but I passed on subscribing to the club at the time since I was not in to the Botcon sets and all the club figures did not appeal to me at all. Once this figure released, the aftermarket asking price sky rocketed to upwards of $300. So when I heard that CHMS was bootlegging this figure I jumped at the chance to own it. While the figure is a fairly accurate representation of the original it is a bootleg. It's missing the rub signs of the original and the paint apps are a little off. Also the figures transformation is not smooth like the original. This is definitely a cast off mold or the original figure. But I'm glad I got this since I would not ever pay $300 for a deluxe size figure. Shit, I would not spend more than $80 ever. Even saying that makes me shutter.
What happened to the old school stop motion toy commercials that spurred on a child's imagination? While today's toy commercials are slicker and more highly produced marketing vehicles for selling toys to kids they just don't resonate well with a child's imagination. Instead, modern day commercials tap into a child's need to have the newest thing instead of the need to create a world of their own.
While the toy commercials of yesteryear were definitely low budget they also inspired children to use their minds. The older low budget commercials from the 70's and 80's really knew how to excite kids. Maybe it's a sign of the times but you can not deny that the retro stop motion presentation approached kids from a more grass roots place, challenging children to imagine and invent their own dynamic worlds. I feel old. I am old. Ha.
April's toy additions turned out to be a major Transformers Prime month with 7 Prime additions to the collection. I also picked up a few odds and ends including the 2 Kabaya Gashapon sets, the Transformers Collectors Club Runamuck, Botcon 2009 Razor Claw and Elita-1 2-pack, and Fansproject War Cry and Flame Blast. Phew, buying toys is exhausting. ^_^ First off is the 2 Takara Tomy Japan exclusive Transformers Prime figures, Skywarp and Terrorcon Cliffjumper. Skywarp is a recolor of Transformers First Edition Prime Starscream with added Bombs on his wings that are not removable. Overall it's a decent recolor of the Starscream mold. The toy doesn't come with Starscreams arm missiles though. Instead, Skywarp comes with a Arms Micron named Balo, which is a Bull who transforms into a Drill or a Shield. This is the first Takara Tomy Prime toy I bought so I was pleasantly surprised to see the Arms Micron unassembled on a sprue. Additionally, the foil stickers add a nice G1 touch to these toys. I heard that the stickers and unassembled Arms Microns were part of a brand marketing message for the parents and children in Japan. Takara Tomy wanted parents to play with their children and help assemble the toys which makes a lot of sense to me. While this is a great branding activity for Prime in Japan, there was a lot of backlash from internet trolls in the west (Lazy, ha!). Overall, I love putting on the stickers and assembling the kits but I think it's because I have extensive plastic model building experience.
Terrorcon Cliffjumper *Image Courtesy of Takara Tomy
The second Takara Tomy toy I picked up is Terrorcon Cliffjumper. This guy is a clear purple First Edition Cliffjumper with a new molded undead head. He looks pretty bad ass I missed out on the First Edition Cliffjumper, since he was not even released in the US, thanks Hasbro, LAME, so this was the first time I got to check out this mold. I love the fold out hidden tri-blasters in his arms. Also, his chest seems more robust than the RID Cliffjumper figure. Terrorcon Cliffjumper comes with 2 Dark Energon accessories. A clip on shard that mimics the shard that Cliffjumpers husk was impaled on to reanimate his dead corpse and a separate Dark Energon shard that can be held by any of the Prime figures. Terrorcon Cliffjumper comes with Arms Micron Jida, a Puma or Panter animal that transforms into a multi-blade chainsaw. Overall, a impressive figure that strikes a unique pose in the collection.
Arcee *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com
The next purchase was Prime RID Arcee from Prime RID Wave 2 and Prime RID Wave 3 (Knockout, Hot Shot, and Vehicon). I originally was reluctant to get RID Arcee. I purchased the First Edition version last year and I really liked that figure. However after getting a hold of RID Arcee I have to say it's simplicity and show accurate back wings really won me over. My only complaint is that she doesn't come with 2 forearm blades like the First Edition figure and I also wish she had a smaller gun. The gun she has is a huge cannon compared to the smaller arm pistols she sports in the animation. Knockout is very a underwhelming figure. His paint job is really lackluster and his design really seems more of a stop gap than a finished toy. His angular chest doesn't even remotely look like the rounded design of the show. Also, his staff weapon was really flimsy on the toy I got. Not sure if this is the same for everyone though. Hot Shot is a recolor of RID Bumble Bee with a new head. While he has the same body as RID Bumble Bee, Hot Shot really stands out with his blue paint job with red flames. Also the new head with adjustable goggles really differentiates the character in this set. I really like him a lot despite the legacy auto-morphing mechanism in his chest that has the teeth stick out of his neck in robot mode.
Hot Shot, Vehicon, Knockout *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com
The last deluxe Prime RID figure is the Decepticon Vehicon. Having not owned the First Edition Vehicon, because it was also not released in the US at the time, thanks LAME Hasbro, this figure enjoyed the same reaction as the Takara Tomy Terrorcon Cliffjumper. While drastically different in body design than the First Edition version, this figure is really cool. His black color pallet and silver highlights on his head accurately translate the shows character. My only initial complaint was his bow arms which were a little weird to pose as far as getting a full range of articulation from them. But after a few hours I got used to it and I don't really think of the designed joints as a negative thing anymore.
Bulkhead *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com
The last Prime RID figure I purchased this month was Voyager Bulkhead. Again, another First Edition figure I never got because it was not offered in the US, wow there's a pattern of LAME HASBRO behavior, LOL, RID Voyager Bulkhead is pretty ... bulky. He's smaller than the previous voyager Bulkheads however. The Transformers Voyager Animated Bulkhead and the First Edition figure are both slightly bigger in comparison to the RID version. Overall a good figure with basic transformation. The one thing this figure suffers from is the Mech Tech weapon which is a horrible carry over from the movie figures. Both RID Voyager Optimus and Megatron both have the same problem also. Bulkheads weapon looks really brick-ish when not unfolded and activated. However the weapon has a spring and can not stay unfolded which is a huge design flaw as far as displayability. Also because of the battery compartment for the weapons light up feature, even having the weapon unfolded looks awkward so it's better to just throw the accessory away.
Over Run, Runamuck *Image Courtesy of Seibertron.com
I also picked up Transformers Collectors Club Runamuck which is basically a white version of Over Run (AKA Runabout). It's a good representation of the character using the Transformers Generations Wheeljack mold. As with Over Run, I wish they could have done something to remove Wheeljacks wings though. I also think they should have used different weapons. Having the same shoulder missiles, gun, and tools as Wheeljack kind of makes both of these guys generic. Also the white plastic used on the figure does not match the white paint used on the figures canopy and is a little jarring visually. I'm glad I picked up the the 2 figures but there really isn't anything extra special about them.
Razor Claw, Elita-1 *Image Courtesy of TFW2005.com
Next up is the final 2 figure set for the 2009 Wings of Honor Botcon collection, Razor Claw and Elita-1. I really only purchased these 2 figures to complete the set. Both figures are kind of lackluster and both were easily available for under their original release price from 2009. Razor Claw is a recolor of Leo Breaker (Cybertron) or Liger Convoy (Galaxy Force). Recolored to look like the leader of the G1 Predacons, Razor Claw is a decent figure but nothing special. As with the original figure he has a Galaxy Force Chip or Cyber Planet Key that activates his claw weapons. Elita-1 is a recolor of Thunder Blast (Cybertron) or Chromia (Galaxy Force). The original toy was kind of a dud and this toy is the same. She's a shell-former with her limbs extended out of the boat shell. She also has a Galaxy Force Chip or Cyber Planet Key that activates her over sized missile launcher weapon. Awkward and unbalanced this figure has a lot of things going for it that are just plain wrong. Her small form is overshadowed by the giant boat shell attached to her back. It's just a failure on all fronts.
G Guardian, Defensor *Image Courtesy of theinfozombie.com
The last official Transformers products I purchased in April were 2 Kabaya Gashapon figure sets. The first set is G Guardian which is a combiner set with 6 figures. The set comes with 4 familiar G1 Protectobot characters, Blades, First Aid, Groove, and Streetwise. The other 2 original characters in the set are Sky Feather and Heat Rock. Over all the set was a joy to put together and sticker. Individual transformations are pretty solid. The combiner form is a little loose though. But the best is yet to come (See paragraph below). The second Kabaya Gashapon set I picked up is Wave 5 of the Transformers Gum Collection featuring War for Cybertron Convoy (Optimus Prime), Deathsaurus, and ...gasp Protectobot Hotspot! Yes, Protectobot Hotspot can replace Heat Rock and G Guardian can become DEFENSOR!!! Pretty cool cross interaction with the 2 sets which came out about the same time. Individually, Hotspot is a pretty good figure on his own. Defensor combines way better than G Guardian too.
WFC Convoy, Hotspot, Deathsaurus *Image Courtesy of theinfozombie.com
Deathsaurus is a neat little guy also. He's a pretty accurate representation of the G1 Transformers Victory character with his chest eject mechanism. Also, both WFC Convoy and Hotspot come with alternate chest parts for Deathsaurus which enhance him with a full transformable Eagle Breast and Tiger Breast minions. The last figure in this set is WFC Convoy. This is the downer figure, ha. He's pretty plain even with stickers applied. His transformation is simple and he really looks drab. I also think his head is way too small for his proportioned body. Ah well. DEFENSOR! Yay.
Flame Blast, War Cry *Image Courtesy of Fansproject
The last 2 toys for April are Fansproject War Cry and Flame Blast. To be honest, I'm not sure why I purchased these. I think it was a impulse buy based on a very bad day. Overall they are pretty much the same as the Fansproject Cross Fire and Munitioner figures that make up the "Not-Bruticus" set. Both figures do have alternate weapons that do not form the body parts like their predecessors. They are decent figures but I don't really have much to say about them. It was just a off day I guess.
Last Friday Transformers Prime Episode 52 "Darkest Hour" aired and oh my god, wow. This is the most epic season finale of all Transformers animation history. Episode 52 beats Beasts Wars Season 2 finale by miles. With the apparent defeat of the Autobots and the fate of both Optimus Prime and Wheeljack unknown, the tension and apex of season 2's 26 episode story arc was a masterful climax.
That being said I started thinking a lot about all the individual story strands that make up the tapestry of Season 2 and while I'm was super stoked with the finale and a handful of individual episodes (my favs include Crossfire, Armada, Toxicity, and Out of the Past), the bulk of the season had a lot of unanswered and superfluous story arcs. Below are my top ambiguous questions that were not answered in the shows finale. 1 - Insecticon Swarm - In episode 7 "Crossfire", Arachnid stumbles on what looks like several hundred stasis pods housing Insecticons. She wasted no time in employing her new army to assault Megatron and his base warship the Nemesis. The episode never really explained why the Insecticons were on Earth or who sent them. I doubt they were part of Alpha Trion's shipment of legendary Iacon relics and keys. Where did they come from and what purpose did they originally have? Additionally, the first few appearances of the Insecticons hyped them up as brutal, primal, and very deadly combatants. Once Arachnid was defeated and Megatron took control of the Insecticon swarm almost all the Insecticons turned into cannon fodder, with the exception of Hard Shell. Why did they get nerfed so drastically? 2 - Airachnids Fate - Airachnid was a formidable Decepticon during late season 1 and early season 2. With Starscream being outcasted by Megatron, Airachnid took up the mantle of first lieutenant and primary political antagonist stirring up deceit in the Decepticon ranks. This all lead up to her overstepping her boundaries in episode 7 "Cross Fire" and Megatron ordering her execution. After she killed Breakdown and escaped Dreadwing, she stumbled on a nest of Insecticons (please see 1 from above) and quickly employs them to take out Megatron enforce. Unfortunately for her, she was finally defeated by a quick witted Arcee and frozen in a Insecticon Stasis Pod. It's shown that the Stasis Pod housing her is reclaimed and stored in the Autobot Vault in their secret base. During the final Iacon Key arc, Starscream raids the vault for the Iacon Keys. You would think he would have seen her there. One would suspect he would have killed her outright for her prior treachery (she ordered her first Insecticon to eviscerate him after all). Even if he was too much in a hurry to acknowledge her, they should have at least showed that she was still there. This all leads to to episode 52 "Darkest Hour". The Nemesis destroys the Autobot base, seemingly demolishing the entire mountain range the base was embedded in. Was Arachnid vaporized or is she still in stasis buried under the massive debris of a collapsed mountain? 3 - Iacon Relics (Weapons) - The Iacon Relic story arc was introduced in episode 12 and lasted throughout until the season 2 finale (episode 26). While the relic's possession changed sides several time, the bulk of the legendary weapons sent to Earth by Alpha Trion ended up in Autobot hands. In episode 25 "Regeneration", the Decepticons hold the Earth children hostage and the Autobots surrender their weapons. Prime goes on a rampage after seeing Megatron attempting to destroy the Earth and reclaims the Star Saber to destroy the Omega Lock. Were the remaining Iacon relics recovered by the Autobots before they retreated to Earth? Also, did the Forge of Solus Prime survive the obliteration of the Autobot base? The forge has the ability to craft any weapon or apparatus (including a fully working Space Bridge, the Star Saber, and Dark Energon Saber) so the relic is probably the most powerful item in all of Transformers Prime universe. It would suck if it was used as a throw away plot device. 4 - Cylas Fate - Cylas lost is body when Optimus Prime destroyed MECHS' Nemesis Prime. MECH saved Cylas by embedding him in the husk of the deceased Decepticon Breakdown in episode 19 "The Human Factor". Cylas then turns on MECH and tried to join the Decepticons. After losing his satellite laser weapon, Megatron turns on Cylas and Cylas is incapacitated and dragged off to Knockout's lab for "study". So what happened to Cylas? Is he a prisoner on the Decepticon warship Nemesis or has he been dissected for the good of Deception science? 5 - Optimus Primes Fate - With the end of season 2, Optimus Prime chose to stay behind and cover the Autobots space bridge evacuation by destroying the bridge after Ratchet leaves. Megatron obliterates the entire mountain range where the Autobot base stood. The aftermath shows Optimus Primes still hand jutting out of a pile of rubble. The million dollar season 3 question is "Did Optimus Prime die at the end of season 2?" We'll have to wait till next year to find out! Honorary mention goes to Wheeljack and Shockwave. Both characters were last seen in Season 2 taking severe damage (Wheeljack crashes in his Jack Hammer ship after being shot down by Starscream and Shock wave was left blinded and wounded within the energy of the space bridge). Thanks to New York Comic-con 2013 and the Beast Hunters assets released, we know Shockwave is alive and well. He is seen in the teaser trailer introducing the Ultimate Autobot Killer Predaking. We can also safely assume Wheeljack is fine since Hasbro released images of his next iteration Deluxe class toy. Overall, these plot gaffs do bother me but they don't provide substantial logic leaps that hinder the enjoyment of season 2 as a whole. I'm off to rewatch the entire thing over again and hopefully they will add some behind the scenes info to enlighten these unanswered questions when the Bluray comes out later this year. Let me know what you think? PS. Smokescreen and the kids still suck. Dreadwing, Hard Shell, and Breakdown were weak characters and deserved to die. After seeing Cliff Jumper in "Out of the Past" I really think killing him in season 1, episode 1 was a HUGE mistake! Sigh.
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