Earlier today news broke of cassettes joining the ranks of the Walmart G1 reissues. Which is 100% appropriate considering Soundwave is in the mix. Man, this feels good. Like just a ray of sunshine. Which really, is what the Walmart Reissues are. A beam of light right on that shelf to give you warm and fuzzy feelings when you pick it up.
Thinking about Megatron the other day led me to thinking about Reverse Convoy/Reverse Megatron from the Robot Masters toy line. As I've said before I quite liked the Robot Masters toy line. Sure it had more than it's share of critics (take a shot), but I really liked it (take another shot). When Reverse Convoy was revealed on news sites, it was met with mixed response (you probably shouldn't take another shot, it's a weeknight). Many praised the use of the fan favorite Hero Megatron mold and the inventive head swapping gimmick. Though many criticized that same head swapping gimmick as the Megatron head was far from perfect and several didn't like the colors. I recall even hearing complaints about the reuse of the mold (ask for water and then complain about getting water... I swear some people...).
No surprise, I liked it.
It's a mold I'll never get tired of and with this revision of it, they improved the one thing I never liked. They took away the air pump. It was part of the original toys play gimmick that I always just felt like was in the way. Just a box hanging off the toy that could be stored, but still left the hose in just the right position to assure any slight bump would remove said box from it's storage place and now it was gone. Utilizing the tanks cannon, the head swap gimmick would allow for a quick transformation from Reverse Convoy to Reverse Megatron. Basically Reverse Convoys head would stow away inside the tank kibble as it would during normal transformation, and Reverse Megatron's head would rotate around from the back of the tank's cannon, which of course was mounted on his shoulder. The Megatron head was far from perfect admittedly, due to the back plate of the head fitting into the tank cannon, it was a bit awkward looking. Not to mention, those round things that are often depicted on the side of Megatrons helmet (what are those anyway) looked like hair rollers to some people. I didn't share that opinion, but there was no doubt that the head could have been better. Though the Reverse Convoy head I thought looked sharp.
The colors? Once again, I thought they looked good. I do say they could have used something extra, just to give it a little more pizazz. As is, the colors make me think of Machine Wars Megatron. Whom for all purposes could have been the last appearance of Megatron in this timeline. Not the exact shade, but pretty similar. History hasn't been kind to Robot Masters as many people have either forgotten it or never were aware of it despite regular bootlegs of the toys at your local discount stores. That's a shame, or at least to me as I thought it was great.
I don't think about Megatron a lot. No particular reason, just don't. Guess I focus on Galvatron or other incarnations of Megatron more. That and I like a revolving cast of villains more than just one constant villain. Though, with Siege on shelves and my mind (and in my heart), I've been thinking about good old Megs quite a bit. Last week I grabbed the Siege Optimus and this past weekend Cog. This coming weekend, who knows? Maybe another deluxe or Megatron. I do like that Megatron. Though with the sci fi looks of Siege, I can't help but to pine for a Siege version of Super Megatron.
Though, honestly, what I really want is an old school toy of Super Megatron (I also want to type Megatron and not accidentally capitalize the E). Those great classic super robot looks on a late 80's/early 90's Takara design would just be wonderful. He'd have to be pretty big too. Sky Garry sized, maybe beefier to allow for those tank parts. I've seen an older custom made from a Fighbird, and it looks pretty good, though omits the tank mode. That's understandable given the restraints of the mold. Thinking about it, the first 2 movie incarnations of Megatron are pretty similar in theory.
Looking at the design, I almost expect the tank and jet parts to part form. I can easily see a drone or two made from the extra bits when not in use that would merge to form the modes. That's be a pain for someone putting together a toy from buying parts, or for those who loose stuff easily. Though that'd be my best assumption of how it would have been done. Man, the idea of buying a Korean release of this figure in one of those awesome Sonokong boxes with styrofoam... man that's the kind of thing I go nuts for.
Cobra Commander is a unique character. By all appearances he's a coward who's nothing without his underlings. Though, once he donned his Battle Armor all bets were off and his badassness started showing through. Prior seasons he was evil and ruthless, sure, but once anything got serious he was sniveling. Once Serpentor came around, he was reduced to lackey and kinda in a non-sensible way. The underlings felt like he was no longer worthy to lead Cobra, so they made Serpentor to be the ultimate leader. Ok, I'm down (even though you had Destro right there), but they kept him around and still called him Cobra Commander. Shouldn't his title have changed? Though after the events of the movie and his return to glory, Cobra Commander got hardcore. I'd like to think his new costume at that point was part of his 'New Year, New Me' regime. I know I've always liked it better than his other outfits. Just looks awesome, you know?
I figured it would be around fall or late summer that this years batch of Walmart G1 reissues would pop up, but no, I was wrong. Right off the bat, the Optimus Prime has begun popping up at Walmart stores. I was initially going to wait for clearance prices to hit or a sale as the price for the toy seemed a bit too high without the trailer. Though my wife convinced me of the absolute truth. I never find the amazing clearance deals. I've never seen a Titan Class for 40$ at Ollie's. It's just not something I've ever lucked up with. Everyone all over the net is finding Hot Rod's for dirt cheap and my stores sold out of him last fall (good thing I bought one on sight). So I went ahead and bought Optimus. Whatever, yolo. Ok, my wife put it in the cart, yolo.
Now I'm seeing Warpath and Gears are appearing at stores. Damn, that was fast. Fortunately those two combined are $20. Hoping more Mini-Bots come out this year and figure Soundwave will show up early spring. As much fun as I'm having with these, I do wish they'd have waited until the same time frame as last year for release. Just to make it a thing I do in fall/summer. I do wonder if they'll be more this year. These things are seemingly slipping by news sites radar, so who knows? Toy Fair is coming up pretty soon, so hopefully there will be more information then. Or information that's actually covered.
(Ages 8 and Up / Approx. Retail Price: $159.99 / Available: Sept. 1, 2019)
Masterpiece Movie Series
MEGATRON MPM-8 is 12 inches and a perfect authentic figure for fans and
collectors alike, with features inspired by the explosive 2007
TRANSFORMERS live action movie. The figure showcases
the merciless DECEPTICON leader with impressive attention to detail and
features articulated hands and mouth, 40.5 grams of die cast detailing,
and Fusion Cannon, chain whip and ALLSPARK Cube accessories. Converts
from robot to CYBERTRONIAN jet mode in 50
steps. Features 35 cm of wingspan in CYBERTRONIAN jet mode and has 43
points of articulation. TRANSFORMERS Masterpiece figures showcase the
greatest TRANSFORMERS characters in the highest level of detail (each
sold separately). The ultra-premium, collectible
figures are a must-have for any TRANSFORMERS collection. The
Masterpiece Movie Series lineup includes iconic characters from the live
action TRANSFORMERS movies with movie-inspired details and accessories.
Will be available for pre-order from Feb. 1 - March
15 and retail purchase on Sept. 1, 2019 through Entertainment Earth,
BigBadToyStore, Diamond, and Southern Hobby.
Transformers Masterpiece Movie Series Jazz
(Ages 8 and Up / Approx. Retail Price:
$89.99 / Available: Nov. 1, 2019)Masterpiece Movie
Series JAZZ MPM-9 is 6 inches and a perfect, authentic
figure for fans and collectors alike, with features inspired by the explosive 2007
TRANSFORMERS live action movie. The
figure showcases the daring AUTOBOT with impressive attention to detail
and features articulated hands, sliding visor, die cast detailing,
shield weapon accessory and spinal cord
attachment. By pressing a back button, Jazz can be split in two
and posed with Masterpiece Movie Series MEGATRON MPM-8 to recreate the
tragic death scene from the 2007 TRANSFORMERS live action film. The
figure also features 47 points of articulation
and includes a Sam Witwicky figurine running with the ALLSPARK Cube.
Converts from robot to hardtop Pontiac Solstice GXP mode in 48 steps.
TRANSFORMERS Masterpiece figures showcase the greatest TRANSFORMERS
characters in the highest level of detail (each sold
separately). The ultra-premium, collectible figures are a must-have for
any TRANSFORMERS collection. The Masterpiece Movie Series lineup
includes iconic characters from the live action TRANSFORMERS movies with
movie-inspired details and accessories. Will be
available for pre-order from Apr. 1 – May 17 and retail purchase on
Nov. 1, 2019 through Entertainment Earth, BigBadToyStore, Diamond, and
Southern Hobby
Thanks to Hasbro and their partners for providing Zone Base with this information
It's funny the way things work out. I was thinking earlier that I hadn't done a Battle Beast post in a while and out of nowhere, the newest Legends Web Comic went online today. As you may know, the web manga/ comics are Battle Beast heavy. This issue was an absolute treat to skim over (it's not in English, so I have to get what I can out of it) as there was a little surprise in the panels.
That sure looks like a Kabuto Mushi in the mix, because it kinda is. The designs were in the Laser Beast Japanese book, but The Godbeast did make a set. That's super dooper cool man. I mean like, sooper dooper. I've made my love for Titans Return and Battle Beasts far known here and have really appreciated the many Battle Beasts worked into Titans Return as Titanmasters. One neat thing about Battle Beasts is the fact that there is constantly new ones coming out. Be it newer lines like Titans Returns, Beast Saga and in the Minimates assortments, or unofficial figures in other lines (Imaginext has all but out heat rub stickers on theirs), there's usually some form of Battle Beast available.
Looking back, it wasn't until I was older and had internet access until I discovered that Battle Beasts were part of Transformers. Both were toy lines I had always loved, but their association never occurred to me and then it was all so obvious. Seeing the continued use of Battle Beasts in Transformers is something I just freaking find awesome. Not just that they're constantly still used, but generally used well and in a way that I enjoy quite a lot.
Like others, I often compare Diaclone to Titans Return as they're super similar. Which has led me down the path of wondering why the Powerdashers didn't make an appearance in Titans Return. Sure, they were hardly a footnote in Transformers, but they played the same role in Diaclone as a Titanmaster partner or even how the Titans Returns incarnation of the Clones worked in the line. The more I think about it, they're pretty similar in construction to an Energon Igniter figure. If I could be so bold to hope for another line with Titanmasters/Primemasters style play gimmicks, maybe I could be just a touch more bold and hope for Powerdasher type figures.
And that sure is an At-ST Omega Supreme is fighting.
edit: Shawn pointed out it's pretty close to Rodimus Prime and, he's right. I was noticing it looks like Optimal Optimus, which the game came out 10 years before, so that's just a coincidence. Unless a Beast Wars designer was a SEGA kid...
I spent many hours and quarters with Golden Axe at the Circle K and Gold Mine. I never get tired of a good beat 'em up and this is one of the best. Swords and sorcery with that classic SEGA flair, Golden Axe is an all time classic. It's readily available on any SEGA compilation and always worth the time and money to keep a version handy. Seriously love this game.
It's pretty hard not to like Ultra Magnus. He's basically an upgrade of the classic Optimus Prime toy and really a more impressive toy (you gonna need some oven mitts for that hot take). Everyone loves Black Convoy, but that all white cab mode is probably the best the toy has ever looked to me. It does make me wonder again (here we go again), what if Diakron was a success and Transformers never happened? Would we have eventually gotten Battle Convoy and Powered Convoy in the line? Battle Convoy/Optimus Prime is basically the same toy aside from some stickers. Powered Convoy though, has different colors and a few more parts than Ultra Magnus.
I guess we'll never know unless a portal to an alternate reality where that indeed did happen just opened up. Admittedly though, if alternate reality portals started opening up, the one where Diakron was a sucess probably wouldn't get checked first. A firm tenth maybe, but not first.
Ok, I'd check it first and tell you what happened.
Sometimes it seems unfair when you see something you'd really would like but not available for your country (Oh sure, import the game, mod the Playstation, run an emulator, Raspberry Pi, yada yada I'm not doing any of that). I'd love to swing by a Walmart or Gamestop, or even some systems e-shop for this game. Kind of surprised it didn't get some weird release here under some strange name like "Galactic Fighter" in a budget release, but whatever. It looks great. Classic Microman in a shooty man type game, I'm in. Heck yeah gangsta.
It would be neat if Microchange bots would appear (and maybe they do and I don't know), but like post TF Diaclone, Takara isn't too keen on putting Transformers used bots in non Transformers stuff. Can't blame them, they're out to make money. MC-04 Car is a footnote in one toy line, while Bumblebee is currently starring in a popular movie (currently 413 million box office with a budget of 135 million... booyah). Obviously they don't want to dilute the product.
Still, man this just looks great. That old school sci fi of Microman is just charming as crap and dude is just something I could play all day.
I've been paying a little extra attention to the developments to the Jurassic Park sections of Universal Studios in recent months. It's no secret that the Jurassic Park ride in the California park has been under renovations since around last fall. The ride is old, older than the movie at development (if you look at the screens behind John Hammond when he's talking to Dr. Malcom, Dr. Grant, and Dr. Sattler about the park some of the pics are of the ride). Despite regular refurbishments, it's an older ride in a theme park chain that does a lot of refreshing.
The California ride is getting converted into a Jurassic World ride which by all appearances seems to be an upgrade of the original ride. I have no complaints, it's an modern upgrade and not a replacement. That's good. What I do feel conflicted about is the Orlando Jurassic Park in Islands of Adventure. The ride is under regular refurbishment at the time (it's a water ride, winter is a good time) and the construction walls are up for the construction of the new JP roller coaster, which I also have no problem with (hoping it's a clone of the Japan JP's coaster). Some folks are upset that it will change the visual of the Discovery Center, but that's not that big of a deal to me. I've been following this story on theme park blogs that get inside information and ever since the news broke, I was ok with it. I mean, the visual from across the lagoon at Port of Entry is the center, Mythos, and Hogwarts Castle with the Incredible Hulk coaster to the side. Another roller coaster isn't going to change much and might even look more cool.
My concern is the ongoing rumor that the Jurassic Park Orlando area is going to be converted into Jurassic World as the coaster has the JW symbol on the walls (not to mention Blue in the section already). This seems like a silly thing to be concerned with (and it is), and hypocritical as I didn't care about California (which it is). My beef is that unlike California's JP section, in Orlando it's all part of a themed land and not just a ride. A themed land meant to resemble the park as it's seen in the first movie which is pretty different looking than in JW. The River Adventure is based on a scene from the original novel that's visual is excellently directly themed from the original movie. The Discovery Center is identical to the one in the original movie. The parks look different in the movies, refacing it could clash thematically.
Universal Creative is really good at what they do, and their themed lands are amazingly accurate. So I have no doubt that they'll do a good job. Perhaps they'll even spruce the rest of the land up to match the overall look. It's not much of a stretch as the parks restaurant area visual in Jurassic World is obviously based on City Walk as is. Just the fit and finish needs to be fitted and finished to make a complete package. That's my only and main concern. I don't want hodge podge in what was a really good recreation of the original park. If it is, it is and I'm sure it'll still be amazing.
The buzz surrounding the leak of the Siege version of Cybertron Optimus Prime/Galaxy Convoy has gotten me looking back fondly at Cybertron when it was in stores. That certainly was a good Optimus toy. I stalked a few stores nabbing up the first releases of Cybertron one Friday night spending much of the following weekend playing with them on my computer room floor. Though looking back, I don't think I've put much thought into that Optimus over the years.
Instead focusing more on the Energon version that came before and the Classics version that came after. It's a really great looking robot and makes me miss the neat weirdness of the toy. I think that fun sci fi slant on the classic designs is part of what has me liking Siege as much as I do. I like those weird outer space designs merged with traditional looks, which is something Cybertron offered and I super dug back then.
When it comes down to favorite versions of Batman, hands down mine's the Tim Burton movies. Always has been, always will. For me, Batman movies usually overdoes the dark and gritty or goes overboard with the whiz bang. The 1989 Batman was on even level with those things and just plain fun to boot. The assorted merchandise that came with it was part of the fun too. For a while that Batman logo on glossy black was everywhere and who couldn't love that? Though, even though it's hard to find evidence of now, the neon colors on black of Batman Returns merchandise are far superior in my opinion. It's hard not to love a bright orange line art of the Batmobile on a black t-shirt with technical specifications. Damn near impossible to be exact.
Thinking of the toy line that came with the 1989 movie by Toy Biz before they made Marvel figures, not only am I filled with just great thoughts of how good Toy Biz figures were before they started doing Marvel Legends (the Legends get all the focus), but also my discovery of the line. We regularly got catalogs from Warner Brothers filled with merchandises tied into the studios various movies and tv shows modeled by the stars of said shows and movies. One fateful late spring afternoon the newest edition of said catalog came and it was majorly Batman themed stuff. Almost nothing but Batman stuff including the toys that could be ordered before they were in stores! I think I read that catalog cover to cover a million times.
USJ really stepped up the annual Cool Japan event this year. While I'll probably never be fortunate enough to attend, it's a lot of fun watching videos of the various attractions and goodies for sale.
OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN OH MAN
I was very happy to learn of the new Ghostbusters film planned to be released in 2020. Sure, the 2016 Ghostbusters movie didn't set the world on fire, but I was having such a good time with all the cool Ghostbusters stuff out that I didn't mind. That's what I hope happens again, though if the movie is a giant hit I wouldn't complain. I think what I want most is a repeat of those great blind bagged mini figures. It was a lot of fun collecting those. I talked last week about Meikyuu Hunter G, so in response to the great news, here's the attract mode for the Ghostbuster game made from Meikyuu Hunter G! Think I'm going to put some time in this weekend with it and some homemade Ecto Cooler out of happiness!
With a site named Zone Base, it's not much of stretch to explain that I kinda like Micromasters. In fact, as readers probably have noted, I kinda have a thing for smaller Transformers and maybe even smaller toys in general. I don't have a greater explanation for why I do, I just do. So obviously with Micromasters in stores again in the Siege toy line, I'm one happy camper. Though, I've been having a good time at camp the past few years with a multitude of smaller TF toys at retail on a steady basis. Legend/Legion/Speed/whatever, Titanmasters, Primemaster, Botbots are just a few examples of smaller Transformers on shelves in the past few years.
So, Saturday I had to make a run to the Family Dollar. While I was there, I took notice of some Primemasters hanging on the hooks next to the odd Legion and Authentics figures they normally have on the shelves at such stores. That's then I took note of things. Most toy lines feature a discount store version. There was Marvel, TMNT, Star Wars, and a few others with lower end toys to sell at these lower end type stores. It's nothing new and in fact something I enjoy keeping up with. It occurred to me while I was standing there that since the Authentics figures seemed to land with a dull thud for the most part as a discount line, what if the lower priced 'Masters' figures of late would/could replace them as the discount line? I mean, realistically the price of a small Authentics figure is very close to the Primemasters hanging right next to them on the shelf.
The Legion molds that have been in use for years now have probably seen the end of their molds viability and while the Authentics were an attempt to replace them, they clearly didn't. I mean, I admit to enjoying them, but that's because I like oddball things. They were cheap toys, especially compared to the Legion figures they were right next too. That was probably a pretty hard sell. Or if you look at the other discount toys, hell... those are still pretty good quality looking toys. So I wonder, just like in the past with discount versions of TF being smaller inexpensive molds reused to death, what if they used the well received recent smaller toys. Titanmasters, Primemasters, Battlemasters, Micromasters, even the newer Speed Series all generally sell for around $5 at most stores. Ok, Micromasters are $10, but that's a two pack. Like the former discount store versions of Spy Changers, Mini-Cons, and Legions I could really see these priced similarly in reuse for years. Wacky repaints and odd name uses up the wazoo as well!
I'd wholeheartedly welcome that. In fact, I'd love that. That's just the precises kind of thing I'd go nuts over.
I finally got a chance to view the third and last installment of the Godzilla anime trilogy this weekend. The Godzilla anime series hasn't had the most kind critical response, and the first two installments I did enjoy. I'm not making any apologies. They were slow, weird, and the monsters involvement was disappointing. You had an outright cartoon Godzilla movie and Godzilla was hardly more than occasional background scenery. That being said, I did enjoy those two. I found them entertaining despite the prior complaints. This one, not so much. I found this one to be extremely long winded, too weird (there's a point where weirdness stops being acceptable and just doesn't make sense), and the monsters were completely misused. I usually try to balance the line on spoilers. I feel there's a time where it's considerate of others and a time where others need to get off the pot. I'm going to try to be considerate as I can, but give those who haven't seen it yet fair warning.
run away
I try not to get this way about things like movies. It's not important and really doesn't affect a real life. Though when you pay good money for something (life a Netflix subscription, it aint free ya'll) you don't have to accept everything and have every right to be unhappy. You can be a fan of something and be critical at the same time. Of course there's a line between being critical and being a whiny nerd. I'll try my best to stay in the first category for my own sense of self.
This movie is bullshit.
In a movie where the monsters could have had the most amazing fight possible due to being 100% animated, they're hardly featured and are practically a gif. The plot is complete nonsense that doesn't even try to make sense. The plot of the first two was reaching, but I could still enjoy what they were trying to tell me. I honestly was just waiting for this to be over. Fortunately, the movie wasn't too long as though the creators wanted to get it over also. I was utterly disappointed in this movie and even though the last two were hardly amazing, felt like this would be ok at least. Fortunately Godzilla 2 is coming soon to hopefully wash the bad taste of this out of my mouth.
Internet meme all you want about Bad Dudes, but it's still a great game. There's an onslaught of ninjas as you punch and kick your way through for your reward of getting a burger with President Ronnie (or George depending on which version you're playing). I don't know why Karnov is a boss in the game, but I do appreciate his return later in the game as a green skinned zombie. Not to mention, the truck that makes up level two's battlefield is a Diaclone Optimus Prime trailer with Diaclone Ultra Magnus as the cab. That's likely a coincidence, but it's a cool one regardless.
I'm pretty excited for 2019 already. I'll explain. There's not just a ton of great Transformers coming this year, but also several other things. Godzilla: The Planet Eater is on Netflix now (I'll watch it this weekend) and Godzilla King of Monsters is coming this summer! Not only does the new movie look amazing, but from the toys look great! Not to mention, Bandai vinyl Godzilla figures are popping up at Walmart stores making for an excited Rob! The Netflix Ultraman movie is debuting in April as well as more on the US release of more Ultraman series is on the way. Beast Morphers is hitting this spring as well as Rangerstop in the summer (woo!). Add in the dinosaur themed Corps! line, AEW wrestling starting up, and more Masters of the Universe Mega Contrux being released and I've got a fun year ahead! All this toy talk and hey, Toylanta in March and Star Wars at Christmas!
He has a face, but I super screwed up with my lights
One of the Christmas gifts from my mother was this neat Strarscream from Cyberverse. The Ultra Class version, Starcream is a big chunky version of the classic character. I've pointed out before how much this toy reminds me of Skyquake and hold out hope for a repaint that plays homage to it or one of it's repaints (a black version would make for a good Machine Wars homage). The toy is fun to play with. Even though it's hard to look past the hollow nature of the figure, I found myself enjoying it.
As you can expect, Starscream transforms into a jet similar to his past alt modes. It's a fun toy that has a cool firing gimmick in those huge gun pods.
A little switch above his cockpit deploys his cluster missile attack with a loud pop that will scare the cats. It's a fun play feature that the toy is obviously based around. Starscream is a fun toy intended for a kid to fly around the living room. Though, this goofy adult still enjoyed it a lot.
My friend John sent me some Havex Machines toys and man are they neat. If you haven't seen the toys, they're nifty transforming toys with a tiny micro car that you roll into their bases. By way of a magnet, this triggers the spring loaded transformation where the base unit configures into a larger vehicle or robot.
Strike Chopper vehicle mode
These little toys are hard not to like as they're just fun. There's something to be said about driving a car into a parking spot and find yourself now the pilot of a space ship.
This was an exclusive boat that came with the Ultimate Battleship play set
I do have to wonder though just how easy it would be to drive a space ship with a steering wheel. Though I can make phone calls from my steering wheel, so I guess you can do anything with a Bluetooth connection.
Talking about the MMPR movie earlier got me thinking about a specific Power Rangers memory. I was in high school when the movie came out and sometime in December I got super sick. In fact I had some kind of turbo charged pneumonia and bronchitis combination that had me bedridden for a week. My parents, who were convinced that I was on deaths door made a point to pamper me a bit. One day my Mom asked if I'd like her to get any movies from Blockbuster and I guess I said Power Rangers (it had recently went to video). What happened was Mom rented the movie AND the SNES tie in game.
You know, if not for the fever dreams, it felt like I was on vacation.
The announcement of Rangerstop Atlanta has got me all sorts of excited for the show this summer. Between Beast Morphers starting up soon and the con, it's going to be a fun year. I was talking to my wife about it this morning on the way home from work and it got me thinking about the last time we watched the MMPR movie. She remarked about the song 'Trouble' from the movie was a huge hit in her town, only to be played briefly in the movie leading her to her dad's annoyance after hearing the song non-stop for a few weeks. Looking back at the video... know how you don't really consider your teenage years to be THAT dated. Man... I'm old.
Another great Christmas gift from my wife was this Cyber Battalion Shockwave toy. She knew I had been looking for one and secretly held onto the one she saw for a nice surprise. As a toy, Shockwave is great. Just a wonderful chunky old school style robot toy. He's just sharp looking and man I love playing with him.
Shockwave turns into a neat spaceship that resembles his G1 incarnations laser gun. It's such a good looking ship that it's hard not to love. Once again I'm reminded of older toys while holding this ship. A fun cruiser that looks straight out of a Toei super robot cartoon. Totally love this toy.
I talked about this great crazy game on this months Transform Squadron. Like I said, it was converted into The Real Ghostbusters in the US, which watching the game play here you can probably see why. In the game you play a guy with a gun fighting ghosts, monsters, demons, and all sorts of crazy evil spirits. It's super fun, and a little bizarre. I totally love it.
While picking up our grocery order, we went into Walmart to get a few office supplies. Despite the ton of toys I was given for Christmas, I checked out the toy section and was pleased to find the post holiday clearance in effect. Oddly enough the store had the Nitro Series Barricade marked down to $15 while all the other Energon Igniters was at their standard retail price. Not one to argue with a good deal, I snatched him up.
Barricade turns into a heavily armored Police Car who's super cool looking. Inserting the Energon core into the hood deploys some guns and gives him a more badass look with his engine poking through the hood. Barricade seems more out of an old arcade game than the mid-80's setting of the movie, though I'm not complaining. A few simple steps and Barricade is in his robot mode.
Barricade looks a lot like his 2007 movie appearance here, which looks great even though I'm a bigger fan of his TF5 look. If the toy was smaller they probably could have made it more solid, but it's hard not to like this big robot. He has a decent amount of articulation, though you can't roll him up in a ball like some toys seem to be intended to. I wish he had some guns, I'm sure I could just stick one in his hand. Though the Energon core does make a good circular saw for weekends at home when Barricade is working on his deck.
One of the great gifts from my wife this Christmas was this really cool Shin Godzilla figure from Neca. The figure is a great sculpt of the crazy scary Godzilla from the movie Shin Godzilla with his mouth open to breathe fire!
Godzilla is gnarly looking, really bringing the unique version from Shin Godzilla to life. I really appreciate his super long tail and tiny grubby hands. They did a great job bringing the way his mouth opens in the film when letting that atomic blast go to life. It's a bit uncomfortable to look at, just like the king was in the movie.
Neca saw to include two atomic blasts that could be inserted into his mouth to simulate that groovy atomic beam. A nice touch was that the beams are wire bendy type toys, so one doesn't have to worry about the long pieces getting bent out of shape. Just a little adjusting and you can straighten it back out. The toy is really nice. It's super heavy and features a bunch of articulation (not needless joints, but where they should be) with a gimmick that just looks great.
I'm doing my best to be patient for my newest Drive Head order to arrive, free shipping from Japan usually means a month but somehow feels like forever. I think if I can tolerate the delivery time, I'll buy more this year and maybe finally splurge on some Shinkalion. I've been way to reserved on them as I think they're super cool. I should probably watch more of the shows too. The recent Drive Head movie had a bit of a crossover, which is neat. I'd love the toys to find their way to the US... but that might be a stretch to realistically expect.
I just realized I've never opened Rescue Helicopter.
News broke while I was sitting at my desk working of even more Energon Igniters toys on the way. The news post gives new looks at the Ratchet I talked about earlier as well as the Nitro series Blitzwing and Dropkick that's been shown on news sites already (and look fabulous). That's not what's exciting, what's mind blowing is the Power Series Plus Soundwave and Ironhide that just melted my brain.
MAJESTIC
Soundwave just might be the best toy of the year and it's the first week of January. That is amazing. Turning into a radical rocker dude van with a freaking mural of Ravage and Laserbeak, Soundwave is literal perfection. I can only hope for a Shattered Glass and Soundblaster version. Man, a standard Power Series Soundblaster would be nuts. He could have a mural of Ratbat and Overkill and be a metal dude. OMG HE SHOULD HAVE A MURAL OF RATBAT AND OVERKILL AND BE A METAL DUDE. I might just shit my pants.
rock you like a hurricane
Ironhide decided to show up, and clearly he's made friends with a dude named Chet who blasts Motley Crue in the Circle K parking lot while crushing beer cans on his forehead. Just look at that badass truck, you know it smells like a carton of cigarettes. But wait, there's more!
plays with madness
Whoa, Ironhide is the most directly out of G2 dude yet. In fact, I demand the repaint be Turbofire. IT HAS TO HAPPEN. Good lord Energon Igniters is just the best thing to happen in in a long time. Simple, inexpensive, fun little Transformers toys with a TON of charm that take a page out of the book of what made older robot toys so great. I'm not crying, you're crying.
I'm a few days behind on this one, but Happy New Year everybody! The Bumblebee movie was just such a great movie it's hard not to enjoy this simple little trailer wishing fans out there the sentiment. Man, just a great movie.
I've been on a bit of a Mighty Orbots kick the past few days. It was one of my first robot shows and something I've always held on a high pedestal. One of the things my wife got me for Christmas was a DVD set of the show which I was most grateful for. There's plenty of unlicensed episodes available (and usually streaming), but having a legit release was something I'd rather have. I spent quite a bit of time watching the set on New Years Day (I did plan on taking some pictures of toys for the site, but that got postponed for this weekend... taking a break sure was nice). Man, it could be just me, but the show is just as good now as it was then. One of my favorite parts is and was the announcer with the occasional funny line.
While thinking back on watching the show Saturday mornings with my older brother, I remembered this clip of the show pilot when it was to be called Broots. Since recent viewings are fresh in my mind, it's kind of neat just how similar the show worked out to the pilot. Sure some of the designs got refined and you just can't convince me that Broots is a better name (because it's not). Though I do like the idea of them being a band.
I really wish fate would have went another way with Mighty Orbots as the toys never came out and the show got canceled. I don't know if it would have had the same longevity as Transformers, but I'd like to think it deserves to be more well known.
News floated out this morning of a Soundwave seemingly joining Optimus in this years Walmart vintage Transformers selection. So far this years selection of G1 reissues is pretty fun and well suited for the 35th anniversary of Transformers (despite the lack of hoopla being made for the occasion). If I'm going to speculate the selection based on the 2018 batch, that's 2 average sized figures (one a little bigger), a larger figure or gift set, and 4 basic sized figures. Optimus seems to be taking Hot Rods spot in that with the omission of his trailer and Soundwave seemingly taking Starscream's place.
These would be similar sized boxes on that store shelf and hopefully for around the same price (there's been a lot of throwing numbers around, but I'm waiting for the actual price). So wondering who the larger figure/set would be and going by the reissues Takara has put out in more recent years as a guideline of what molds are most likely available. I'm wondering if maybe a Bruticus box set isn't too much of a stretch to expect for a gift set or maybe a Skylinx for a larger figure. Kinda hope more cassettes get released for the smaller sized guys to match up with Soundwave. Though I'd not be surprised if there's more Minicars as they'd probably try to keep the numbers of good guys/bad guys somewhat equal. I kinda hope they'd shoot for something a little bigger, but not too bigfor the larger figure to keep the price down. Something like Sixshot would be awesome.
I always see a lot of folks hope they wish for ~insert random slightly obscure or rare character~, but I don't see that really happening. I'd love to, but realistically they're going for the nostalgia crowd. Sure Transformers fans are a sure thing, but the more mainstream crowd that's likely to buy a G1 Transformer in retro packaging is going for Optimus, Starscream, or any of the other generally recognizable bots. I'd love something like Turbomasters... but that's a stretch.
I had a bunch of fun buying the last batch at Walmart and even though I've got multiple of some of these guys, look forward to walking into a Walmart after work and finding Soundwave sitting there on the shelf. That's a lot of fun for me. I don't look forward to explaining the term Great Value BotCon though, but will continue to use it. It's not my fault some people are oblivious to an obvious joke.
