The Adventures Of Bumblegrim And Mandy

I don't know why or when the Buzzworthy Bumblebee was decided to be an outlet for older toys molds or why Target was the place for it. However I'm enjoying it, so whoever had that idea, good job. It takes me back to Universe. When Universe was a place for mold reissues in interesting new colors not when it became the new banner for Classics. Before it became Generations. Damn Hasbro, y'all got to get these names worked out.  Regardless, it reminds me of the first version of Universe when it was a fun outlet for repaints. I was a fan of Crash Combiners, so obviously I'm all for more of them.

I found myself in Target this past Saturday and grabbed Bumblegrim. Despite being RID 2015 toys, with the Evergreen box art, I'm guessing these are supposed to be regular G1-ish Bumblebee and Grimlock. They're certainly colored more to be that way. Also, they have the new naming of 'Crash and Combine' on the packaging instead of Crash Combiners. I guess it's to describe the gimmick without using a potentially expired trademark. The toys look good, a little better than I remember actually. I'll admit the alt forms are a little rough, particularly Grimlock's. Combiner toys often sacrifice one mode for the benefit of the others and it's definitely the dino mode. Bumblebee doesn't come out too bad, just not great. They're pretty simple transformations as you can expect.

The combination is basically the act of cramming the two together. Grimlock you have to pre-arrange to properly get him to form into Bumblegrim's legs. Bumblebee pretty much goes directly from car to upper body. This is the kind of toy where the gimmick is actually the toy more-so than the figure. It's a fun and silly little robot toy meant to be played with. As a super mode, Bumblegrim is ok. He's basically Bumblebee with a Optimus type helmet. I wish there was a weapon. I could really see a sword in those hands. After a few years, it's good to play with a Crash Combiner again. They were just this odd little thing that was fun while it lasted... and are still fun a few years later.

Little Black Truck

 
It's said that dynamite comes in small packages, and I don't know if that's true but... that was a horrible start. Whatever. Robots in Disguise (2001) was the Transformers line that brought Autobots and Decepticons back into the fray and ended the beast era. Some like to argue that RID was part of the beast era due to the Predacon characters. I've also seen people argue with the cashier at Arby's that they sold cheeseburgers, sssssooooo....

Any who, RID was a unique line in the history of Transformers. Transtech was intended to follow Beast Machines as a hybrid beast/vehicle series. For whatever reason is given today plans were changed and the decision to go a new route was made. That new route ended up being Armada and needed a little more time to develop. In Japan Takara had already experimented with a more traditional TF show called Car Robots. Hasbro fast tracked Car Robots into Robots in Disguise to have a Transformers series on shelves and on TV to fill the time needed. Car Robots was a relatively short anime with a small toy line mostly consisting of repainted toy molds and a few new toys. Hasbro took that and added more repaints to fill out the line. One of the new Decepticons was a evil clone of Fire Convoy/Optimus Prime named Black Convoy/Scourge whom was a black and teal repaint of the G2 Laser Optimus Prime toy.

Hasbro expanded the Spy Changer by releasing same sized versions of the shows main characters. This was probably the most direct beginning of the Legends/Legion style of toys offering lower priced figures of the main characters. It was in this assortment that we got the really neat Spy Changer version of Scourge. Spy Changers were originally made from the G2 Gobots toy molds and were really great little toys. Basically you had a Hot Wheels size car that was even compatible with a Hot Wheels car track! They'd transform into simple robots full of charm. It's not hard for readers to guess I loved them.

For a short time it looked like this was the only toy of the character getting made and the Spy Changer versions were flying off the shelves! Unlike other Spy Changers, Scourge didn't come with a weapon, nor did he have his trailer. During this time there was a ton of people creating their own custom weapons and trailers for the toy. It was pretty fun to take in and watch.

In what has to be the only time it happened, a toy based on a repaint of another character got repainted into the original toys colors. Later a Spy Changers version of Optimus Prime was made from the Scourge toy as part of a line of Spy Changers based on the classic G1 characters. That was a mess of words that barley formed a coherent sentence and I'm not sorry for it. This little line was available as a discount line at Family Dollar type stores, though a year prior were exclusive to Kay Bee Toy stores in different packaging. Laser Optimus Prime was a good looking toy, Scourge was a good looking toy, so it goes without saying this was a good looking toy.

This little series was fun to collect, easy and cheap, you couldn't help but to acquire multiples without thinking or worrying about it. At a small local sci fi con, I had ran a Transformers panel and had them on hand as raffle prizes. I don't think I know anyone who hated them and if anyone did hate them... how? This great little mold got another use just a short while later in a really fun way.

I don't have to tell you the 2007 Transformers movie was a big hit. It's just a fact and there's no arguing that. Unless you're stupid and well, you're on your own there dummy. A movie meant to sell toys is going to have a ton of merchandise, it's why they made it. One such thing was a the pictured above pre-order exclusive for the DVD in Japan.

That pre-order exclusive was the last version of the great little mold, but what a way to go out! Now as the movie version of Optimus Prime the toy looks awesome. I distinctly remember the summer before the movies release (which is an awkward was of saying 2006) pictures of the movie characters first started hitting the internet and everyone was talking. Optimus's truck was shown before his robot mode and while some were hung up on G1, several thought they looked cool (money walks and bullshit talks). I saw the long nose truck and hoped for a repeat of the Laser Optimus toy as it was excellent and man those flames looked cool. While the actual toy was pretty different, I clearly wasn't the only one who had that idea.

A RID in time

For some reason Robots in Disguise (the one from 2001) has gone down as one of the more obscure lines in the history of Transformers. It's weird as for the most part as it was reasonably popular. Sure some of the toys were overly complicated, but boy did those molds get a lot of use for a few years there. The cartoon was silly, but generally well liked. In fact, I don't know why silly is a bad thing. Something can be light hearted and still feature mature story telling. I wouldn't call the cartoon mature story telling, but it certainly was a fun show to watch.

In fact most people were really looking forward to it coming out. I can understand people who weren't around at the time not being very aware of it, but a lot of us are still around. I had a ton of fun hunting down all of the toys. After it was over and Transformers had moved onto Armada, RID was the comparison those who didn't like Armada made often. They liked RID so much and found the toys to be so much better and now... poof. It's just gone from popular memory.

The show cannot be released on video due to a ridiculous amount of legalities and probably a lack of interest in some of the folks involved. I hope that one day it does get an official release, it 'd be nice to have a legit copy of the show. It was a good TF series that got treated unfairly by history. It'd be nice to see it get some love again. 

Transformers Adventure Ultimate Optimus Prime commercial

Still wish I would have gotten one of these.

Cyberverse Shockwave (warrior class)

I've said I only plan to buy the occasional standard sized Cyberverse toy, because there is some super cool figures that I just need. Shockwave here was impossible to walk away from. His normal design just lends itself to the Cyberverse cartoonish styling. The new Warrior class for Cyberverse is different from the Warrior class from Robots in Disguise in that each one has a much more prominent play feature. Shockwave for example has a 'wave cannon'. I've talked about the really sharp packaging before, but just look at that. Those colors are so sharp! While I didn't need to use the instructions, I found myself looking through them as the colors were on those as well and made for a really nice looking pamphlet.I wish they'd include some story blurb or a bio to take advantage of that good looking paperwork.

Just look at that darn Shockwave. He looks really nice in this toy and aesthetic. I do wish he had a few more paint apps to bring out more of that sculpted detail, but for $14.99, there's going to be some compromises. I pay about $16.99 for a Generations deluxe which has more paint and 20$ for a Studio Series deluxe which has the more premium treatment. Siege toys look to be going towards that as well, so I assume they'll be more premium as well. So $14.99 is going to have a few concessions to make it cost a little less. It is what it is. Shockwave as some hollow parts and thinner plastic as well. He's pretty light, but was still pretty sturdy and didn't fall apart or anything. So honestly, it's not much to complain about, for me anyway. He has a fair amount of articulation, but his head doesn't move. Which isn't a big deal, but does seem a bit odd considering.

So that wave cannon on his back can fold over to mount on his shoulder for some fighting action.The cannon actually pegs into his back pretty well, and that peg is the lever intended to use to deploy the wave action. By the way, do you notice his antenna? There's not room for the cannon to fold down without hitting them, fortunately they can move forward to make the needed room. I'll be honest, I didn't care for that. There's nothing really wrong with it, I just didn't like it. The cannons lever moves to fold out the laser waves (snicker) of the wave cannon firing during that fight.

Kinda looks like the slime from Ghostbusters 2

I don't know if this is just one mine, or on all Shockwaves, but those fold out laser waves (snicker) didn't work well. The outside one did just fine, but the inside one stuck and didn't want to deploy. Maybe I got a weak spring.

Aside from his Alternator toy, Shockwave has never turned into a realistic Earth based form. In Cyberverse this continues as he turns into a spider tank. Spider tanks have been used in Transformers before and work for a cool sci fi tank variation. I almost wish this was a different character though as the mode seems more suited for someone more eccentric than Shockwave. It looks great though. The wave cannon is more present here, though you have to unfold it to let the wave shoot out.

Soon, the city will be mine and Megatron's... mainly Megatron's.

Warrior Class Shockwave is a good figure and really sharp looking despite a few flaws here and there. The flaws are mostly easy to ignore (and in some places are subjective) and it's a pretty good figure. I'm happy to have him and am reminded I need to get Cyber Battalion Shockwave as logic dictates that Shockwave toys are always a good choice.

You be my homerun, I'll be your Bumblebee

Admittedly, I just like this graphic.

So with the Bumblebee movie trailer all up in everyone's bees-nests, I feel it's time to talk about the elephant in the room. Why is there an elephant in the room? What kind of mad house do we have with wild pachyderms just in our rooms? Roaming around. Kinda silly if you ask me. Also, I thought I'd talk a bit about that trailer.

I've seen mostly praise from fans excited to see a movie that's full of wonder and magic in the trailer. That Spielberg vibe that really meshes well with meeting an alien robot from outer space that wants to be your friend. It's seemingly what most people wanted the 2007 movie to be, which in all honesty could still be more like the 2007 movie than the trailer leads us to believe, but let's put away that cynicism away and just enjoy feeling happy. I think the most I'm getting from the trailer outside of the tonal shift is the designs, they manage to merge the traditional Transformers look with the Bayverse aesthetic we've all grown accustomed to, and very successfully at that.

Common theory is that the movie will act as a soft reboot as well as a prequel, which if you think about it in the same vein as those younger cast X-Men movies (I swear I've talked about that before here), it works. It absolutely works in a way that would appeal to the casual viewer as well as the more in-tuned viewer.

I know I'm excited, it looks great. The designs look to make for some great figures and licensed merchandise has already popped up that looks super cool. Will Bumblebee bee the sting in the butt this franchise needs to recover from the box office slumps of that last knight all under performing and such? Who the hell knows. I can't tell the future, and nobody else can either. So time will tell, but for now, it's nice to bee optimistic and have that optimism well founded.

Transtech-nically speaking

Draxhall Jump concept art

Transtech was the cancelled follow up to Beast Machines that for some time was a hot topic in the Transformers fandom. From all descriptions it was to be a merging of sorts of classic G1 characters and beast era characters in an all new cyberpunk story. By all means it looked bad ass. It was canceled in favor of Hasbro wanting to simplify Transformers fictionally (almost 20 years of story telling is a bit much for a target audience of children, Star Wars does it, but that's with the benefit of individual eras) as well as do something different as Beast Machines didn't perform as well as Beast Wars for a variety of factors (Though Transtech did get used as a fan club setting, it was more of using the designs in a alternate dimension story setting than what was pitched). This lead to Hasbro importing Car Robots (as Robots in Disguise) as a placeholder while Armada was developed which returned the concept back to traditional Transformers that played more into the anime tropes that were all the rage at the time. Armada was a hit and we've had traditional themed Transformers back ever since then.

Now here's where I can already hear some of you huffing and puffing about the live action movie Transformers and how they look different than traditional Transformers. When the movie designs first leaked out, one of the things I thought was that they were similar to Transtech. Not the same obviously, but similar. It's clearly a mindset of something from another planet in the design. It's an alien from space after all and it turns into a vehicle of some sort.

I distinctly remember getting the Bonecrusher toy from the 2007 movie when my Target had put them out a little early. I opened that thing up and instantly felt like I was holding a Beast Machines toy. The same with the movie preview Optimus and Starscream. They were Beast Machines toys. They looked a lot like Draxhall Jump designs. Sure they didn't turn into animals (man, you say beast and people cut off the rest of the description before you can finish), but they had that same alien robot aesthetic. Sometimes I think Transtech could have worked out with that in mind. I mean, sure the beast era was over. As big of a fan I was of it, I was happy to see something different. It was time for something new and turns out what's old is new again.

But that design style obviously wasn't done yet as a decade of movie toys have proven, alien looking robots do sell (despite all those naysayers nayysaying) and those movies made a fortune. So I wonder if, and it's a big if, if something like Transtech came out now... would it be a hit? Cyberverse is traditional Transformers with a cartoon-ish flair. The upcoming War For Cybertron figures are Cybertronian designs, which is usually a mishmash of traditional robots and alien vehicles. But would alien robots with alien vehicles work? Would far out sell? Certainly nobody knows for sure. Big companies like Hasbro do all sorts of market research and testing before they try anything, so I'm sure they'd have a far better idea than me.  I just think it would be rad.

Draxhall Jump concept art.

Transmetals 2 commercial

If it's one thing I wonder, it's that why do those kids have so many tiny disposable cups on hand to play with? A dentist's child perhaps? Is one of them sick and get's his pills everyday in those cups and thought it would be neat to save them for Beast Wars play time? Who knows, but what I do know is that this commercial is another in a series of great examples of 90's Transformers commercials. Those are some solid toys in the commercial to boot. Dinobot 2 and that Cheetor were great figures are the epitome of the Transmetal 2 ideology.

Cybershark was later used as Sky Byte in Robots in Disguise/Car Robots. Funnily enough, I've mentioned not getting the CR toys until they were released here as RID due to broke ass community college kid symptoms. Though most of the Predacons were molds from Beast Wars, so it's not like I didn't technically miss out at first. That Cybershark was totally at my local Kay Bee for 5$. A whole stack of them. So many that I wonder if the manager would have let me take them all for 20$ just to get rid of them. Of course at the time 20$ wasn't as easy to come by as 5$, so I just had one.

Freaking paint rubbed off his chest the first time I transformed him.

A little 3 step on the beach

Yes it's meant for children (toys? nah) and the toys are simple children's toys (what kind of world do we live in where...), but you know what? This commercial is great. Steeljaw just comes out of the sand like a monster and Bumblebee throws him in the water all while a kid looks on (and should have taken cover). That little 'yeah' from Bumblebee should have been followed by a high five or fist bump with the kid though. Sounds silly, and it is, but that old bit in the G1 commercials where the kid said 'robots in disguise' with the robot voice was often imitated on the playground.

Besides, who wouldn't like a high five?

Korean Car Robots sneakers commercial

Now this one is fun and also has me wishing for a pair. I'm sure they'd be just the thing for a trip to Target. The little dart game isn't as neat as the robot toys from the past few commercials, but it's still a neat piece of swag.

Mail Call Heroics!

My hero Shawn saved the Ramhorn day!

Car Robots was pretty neat

When Car Robots started up, it was a return to traditional Transformers after a good 5 years of beast era. As big of a Beast Wars fan I was, something different was refreshing and traditional Transformers using beast era engineering and modern robot designs was out of this world cool. The cool imagery that floated around the internet from Japan made it seem all the more amazing. The internet was a lot smaller back then, so something so simple as a JPEG from another country could seem like a treasure in the right circumstances. Fortunately Car Robots was brought to the States the following year, I was way to broke to import them.