Toy Purchases February 2012

Transformers RID Deluxe Wave 1 * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Continuing my catch up with my toy diary, I examine the month of February 2012's purchase. February was actually a crazy month for my purchasing habits. With preorders being fulfilled  the new Transformer lines debuting, and my nostalgic leap into collecting MIB Machine Robos, I actually spent a grip this particular month. Unfortunately  this is a trend that will continue for the rest of 2012 apparently. Yep!

Transformers RID Voyager Wave 1* Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

The most exciting burst of news was the release of the new Transformers RID line which exemplified the mass produced Transformers Prime toys. Late in 2011, Hasbro limitedly released their Transformers Prime First Edition line. Unforgettably for reasons unknown, the distribution in North America was absolutely horrible. Only the first wave of deluxe figures hit the shelves at Toys R Us with a very limited distribution plan. North America did not received distribution for the bulk of the series including the more expensive Voyager class toys, wave 2 deluxe toys, and the entertainment 2-pack. This actually set the tone for the upcoming 2012 releases as fans and collectors trust remained shaken as Hasbro struggled to get their products on the shelves at a timely and evenly distributed manor.

BotShots Bumble Bee * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Back on track, the first wave of Transofremrs RID Prime figures were nice but also a bit of a disappointment as they were much more dissimilar and smaller than the previously mentioned First Edition figures which were far more complicated with a higher degree of engineering and complexity in designs. Even so, the deluxe wave of Bumble Bee, Wheeljack, Cliffjumper, and Soundwave were fairly decent releases. In my own opinion the only toy that seemed a tad bit inferior was Cliffjumper since his transformation involved painted on features on his chest instead of the actual movable parts. Additionally, the RID Cliffjumper figure lacked deploy-able hand blasters which deviated from the successful First Edition figure and the cartoon character design.The one figure that stood out the most was surprisingly Bumble Bee whose simplistic RID design was, in my own opinion, far superior to the First Edition figure. Although even this figure is marred by the artificially attached self-transformation feature that adds a ugly cog and teethed track to Bumble Bees upper chest / lower neck area, the figure still seems better proportioned and detailed than it's progenitor figure.

Encore Twincast * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

While the Deluxe RID wave 1 was a marginal success, the Voyager class seemed to be a dismal failure in design. The First Edition Optimus Prime, in many ways, is far superior to the RID version. Aesthetics and transformation seemed lacking to the previous edition. RID Megatron seemed lackluster. The grey drap plastic gives a overall cheap feeling to the toy. Transformation seemed cumbersome and the plane mode feels fragile with parts not fitting correctly. Additionally, the continuation of "mech-tech" weapons gimmick from the movie line was a really poor choice by Hasbro. Weapons were crudely designed for light activation gimmicks. The design made the weapons awkward in their default modes and also hindered any display ability of the characters. Optimus Prime's rifle sits in his hand as a big block of plastic instead of the deployed weapon many sought for. Many collectors have opted to remove the battery and the light up mechanism altogether and also remove the "mech-tech" spring so that the weapon can remain in a deployed mode. The fact that consumers have to make such modifications illustrates Hasbro's failures in design lately.

Encore Sound Blaster * Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Releasing at the same time were the Transformers Cyberverse and BotShots line. I picked up Cyberverse Ratchet and Cliffjumper and Botshots Optimus Prime and Bumble Bee. Both lines were ok but failed to really appeal to me. The Cyberverse were just too small and simplistic for me to get into. I liked the Botshots for their super deformed designs but there is no way I would continue to pay $7 for something this small. The attached game gimmick is basically rock, paper, scissors. Overall, both series seemed lackluster in nature. Leave it for the kids.



Impulsively I had previously preordered The Takara Encore reissues of both Sound Blaster and Twincast. I actually have a previous set of reissues of these 2 particular characters but I wanted to pick them up to check out the new recolored versions of the cassette bots that came with both products. Overall, this was a needless impulse purchase I probably should have not picked up. Both larger Transformers are pretty much the same as the previous reissues with the exception of new tampo printed decals which replace some of the foil sticker decals of the vintage line. The new recolored cassette bots are cool though. While they are recolored versions of the classic cassette bots, the nice use of sympathetic color scheme and detail makes them stand out.

Fansproject Warbot * Image courtesy of TFW2005.com

The next purchase came late in the month and is not a official Transformer product. I repurchased Fansproject Warbot (AKA Not Springer). I originally purchased this guy back in 2011 but was not happy with him. I think I didn't like the heft of the diecast and the limited articulation of the figure. Months after trading him to a friend, I started to regret it. It was not due to the toy being suprior to anything released. I just had a hole in my Classic-verse original 1985 cast lineup of figures. I had the Trans Repro Valkyrie (Arcee), Fansproject City Commander (Ultra Magnus), Fans Project Protector (Rodimus prime), and the official Transformers Wrek-gar, Perceptor, Kupp and Blurr. Springer was missing and I was compelled to pick him up again. Looking back, my opinion of him has not changed  He's a lump of diecast steel and plastic with limited articulation, and really bad balance in bot mode.

I almost completely forgot about the Transformers Official Collector Club Exclusives that released in February 2012. SG Drift and Over-Run (AKA Runabout) both released with high expectations. SG Drift is a recoloring of the Generation Drift figure with the inclusion of Generations Blurr's pistols. Unfortunately  this excellent figure with a overall impressive design and paint job was marred by manufacturing defects. This blogger received a figure with 2 right sided pistols. Other less lucky individuals reported getting figures with 2 left hands or 2 right hands or even figures missing hands altogether. Very sloppy and bad QC process guys. Over-Run suffered none of these reported problems. Based on the Wheeljack / Tracks mold, Over-Run is pretty solid black Deception figure based off the original Battle Charger toy. The best thing about Over-Run is that his box comes with a pre-cut foam insert that has a space for his partner in crime Runamuck!

TFCC SG Drift and Over-Run *Image courtesy of Seibertron.com

Last on the February spending spree is a trio of MIB Machine Robo's purchased on ebay. I had been wanting to start collecting the first 10 Machine Robos in their Popy packaging for a long time. A seller had a huge collection that he was auctioning off piece meal and I decided to jump in and start bidding. I purchased MR-02 Battle Robo, MR-03 Jet Robo, and MR-04 Gyro Robo. Overall I'm really happy I have these 3 guys. They are so awesome with their retro styling and diecast construction. While they are the same exact toys that were released under the Gobots line, the packaging gets points for being beautifully nostalgic.

Machine Robos!