Mission Start: Monday

Start battle protocol, initializing a new week. I hope everyone had a good weekend, mine was hectic. The Mrs and I are moving next month which means a lot of work and planning. Not to mention finding time for other activities. The Mrs had gotten some free boxes on Facebook, so Saturday afternoon we took a short trip to a neighboring town to retrieve them. It was quite a lot from a friendly guy who we made small talk with while breaking them down and loading them in our Corolla Cross. Also I partially disassembled the Mrs's vanity as she sold it with intent on getting a smaller one after we move. I remember assembling this one not long after we moved here 6 years ago. As usual, I stayed up late Saturday night with a TV for company. I watched Star Wars, The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad, and both Mr. Boogedy movies while assembling it. The father and daughter who bought it came early Sunday morning, also a friendly group of people. We packed a few box and made plans for our new home with some Halloween cartoons on for background noise. Sunday was also mother's day which included a spaghetti dinner by the Mrs at my mom's house with my older brother visiting.

Not everything was work though. We got some shopping in which finally led to me finding some of the new Tiny Turbo Changers! Long time readers are no doubt aware just how much I loved these. While they're slightly repainted reissues of some of the Cyberverse molds, I'm glad to see them. I picked up 3 packs wanting to keep my spending down (moving is expensive). Of course I have the codes on my phone and picked out Hot Rod, Sky-Byte, and Soundwave. I plan to get the entire series, but in due time. These and other smaller purchases will be fun during the move. I did see some new MOTU movie toys while out. I definitely plan on getting some Chronicles (formerly Masterverse), the new Core line is likely going to be a focus and it looks fun! The Mrs got me a Happy Meal! The current promotion is a Stranger Things tie in with the current animated series that I'm enjoying with mini figures. I got the Vine Monster! Speaking of Happy Meals, those luky folks in Japan are getting an excellent new Changeables series that I'm very jealous of!

I also ordered a box of the new Transformers Blokees Defender Version series 07. I was going to wait for Blokees to stock it on their Amazon store, but sometimes that takes weeks and I'm too damn excited for it. Speaking of, the Mrs and I opened the case of Transformers Blokees Wheels series 2 that came in last week. As usual we took turns opening the blind boxes to see who came in it. One of each in the set with 1 chase taking the place of that characters toy. I got Radiant Roadbuster! I was excited for this as that's specifically the Cloud Roadbuster deco... meaning it's Superlink Roadbuster or Energon Ironhide to us in the States. I do hope to get a regular Roadbuster at some point though. I got some time playing Pragmata in, which I just love. I absolutely love this game. There was an announcement regarding the new Starfox game coming soon for Switch 2 that I'm excitied for. I'm not sure if I'll get it at release or wait a little as I'm not sure if I'll be ready to put Hugh and Diana to the side yet by then. Speaking of Starfox, I'd been planning to use this week's video for a few weeks making for some fun synergy with the timing, but would like to point out some trivia with those infamous puppets that I recently learned.

Takashi Yamazaki, director of Godzilla Minus One, worked on the puppets and commercial! That's so cool! I had a Starfox poster in my room through high school and college with them on it ( it's probably still around here somewhere). It's fun knowing that after all this time he was involved. Apparently Nintendo had plans for Starfox to have a Thunderbirds style TV show to be produced around the time. That would have been so cool! Speaking of cool, this coming weekend I'll be at Rangerstop in Atlanta hosting the Transformers panel with my pal Dusty. That's right, we're working Transformers into Rangerstop! Brett, owner and operator of Toylanta asked if I could help make Transformers part of the show and I'm too happy for the chance. The panel will be Sunday at 12pm, I hope to see some of you there! With the move I'll only be there Sunday, but as this continues to grow, be sure to see me as a permanent fixture! I'll be running off more Zone Base stickers, be sure to get one!

Well, time to get this week started. I've got some work to do around the house and pictures to take for upcoming posts. Life is getting extra busy for the next few weeks, but you can be sure I'll still be bringing plenty of content for your eyeballs! Thank you for reading. Please share the site with your friends and be excellent to each other!

Turbo Stepping Young Punk

Can we talk Turbochangers for a minute? I mean, I'm going to anyway, but that's generally the way you start out when talking outside the status quo. I've never made my love for Turbochangers/One Step Transformers toys a secret. They're just the right amount of throwback to older super robot toys. Add in the low price and you've got something fun to collect casually. I buy regular modern Transformers still (I don't exactly make that a secret either), but variety y'all. It's a good thing.

Usually when bringing up a Turbochanger, you get some flack. Though there's plenty of folks who get it and just enjoy having  fun with their hobby. Oddly enough, some of the flack you'll get is folks saying they don't sell and are a failure... but they've been steadily on the shelves since 2014. I may buy a lot of these things, but not enough for six steady years of retail presence.

I remember initially being disappointed that they weren't smaller. Somehow I thought they were the size of Hot Wheels. When I picked up Drift and realized they were bigger, I was surprised. Then the little shit somehow went everywhere I went for a week or two. Kept him in my cup holder. That's ridiculous. I keep hoping for G1 ones, because I think that'd be perfect and Cyberverse is pretty close. The Tiny Turbo Changers are pretty close to that smaller toy I initially hoped for with smaller ones.

Thinking about what else I'd like in the format. Pretenders would be neat, especially Deluxe Pretenders. I think about these guys and wish Euro G1 bots would get worked in. G2 stuff also, they're too close in construction for it not to work. I don't know how to end this post, so I'll just stop here.

I Like Smol Bots And I Cannot Lie

A few things been popping up today on my robot meter, and they happen to be things I like! Jada, makers of the Nano Metal Figs that I'm pretty fond of has their newest batch of tiny cars coming soon and in the assortment is the sweet G1 Transformers assortment. The movie set came last year and finally getting this to go along with it is a treat. The little cars (and jet) just look so neat and I love the G1 box art on the package. It's a nice looking little set that won't cost much at Walmart when they show up. There's a G.I.JOE set in this assortment I want as well.

A lucky person found the newest wave of Tiny Turbo Changers at Target recently. This is that person's picture btw. I'm jealous of that person btw. I hope I'll find these dudes at Target, but most likely will find them at Kroger like the last few batches of Tiny Turbo Changers. Aside from that last movie series that apparently got shipped to the Bermuda Triangle that is. Which is fine as Kroger's holiday section is the bomb ya'll.

Last year they had so many great blind toys in neat displays. This wave unfortunately is mostly reissues of wave one aside from a few new bots. That's ok, at least I only have to dig for a few bots instead of all of them. No matter how used to I am of looking at codes on my phone, there's always that one person staring at me like I'm crazy. Which if they're worried about my sanity, shouldn't they move along just in case I do something crazy?

Transform Squadron 16- Christmas Chaos

Listen Here

This month: Rob talks King Kong vs Godzilla before gushing over the Ghostbusters Afterlife trailer. Then goes into the Christmas blind bag display by Hasbro at Kroger full of Transformers and Power Rangers!

Thoughts on Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers series 1

During the long holiday weekend (and much needed break), I was fortunate enough to finally find the Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers. I've been a big fan of the Tiny Turbo Changers and so far have gotten all of them aside from that last movie series that I could never locate (dammit). For those not in the know, Tiny Turbo Changers are a series of blind bagged Transformers figures. They are small and simple figures that transform in a few steps.

Imagine if a Micromaster was a bit more chunky in proportions and was more of a rubbery keshi figure and you've got the picture. The figures are generally 'cute' as in such a simple form that's pretty much the best bet (not to mention keshi are generally a little cute/silly). The Cyberverse series being the first non-movie based set follow in with something I've wanted for years- blind bagged traditional Transformers. Cyberverse is pretty much traditional Transformers and it's visual look really works into the whole 'cute' thing.

I went through the entire series and posted a bunch of pictures of them on my Instagram, so you can look at them all there and please like and follow while you're at it. I post a lot of the toys I talk about here as well as my various adventures. It's really the companion to this blog, so if you like what I do... you'd probably like what I do there also. Not to mention I don't e-beg, so that's gotta be refreshing.

Below are the figures in the assortment.

Codes for the blind bags can be found here.

Back to the figures, this was really a mixed bag. As you can see, you've got the usual cast of characters to be expected in a Transformers series initial offerings. Though there is some surprises like Blackarachnia and Drift. The colors are pretty basic, but some have more than others. That's part of the game with this type of figure. I've seen some folks paint up their keshi, if you're inclined to do that, they make a pretty good blank canvas.

Earlier I made the comparison with Micromasters, Bumblebee and Drift are really good examples of that. I could see them being easily confused by somebody out of the loop on these. I was really impressed with Grimlock, Hot Rod, and Prowl. The sculpting was really great on these and I found myself favoring them the most. Starscream, Jetfire, Shockwave, and Blackarachnia follow those three closely. They're sculpted really nicely and are pretty great in both modes. Megatron is packing some weaponry that the others lack. His trademark fusion cannon is present as well as his energy mace.

Optimus is pretty much traditional Optimus just without the face plate. The obvious Ultra Magnus repaint will probably look pretty good. Soundwave is probably the weakest of the bunch. He fits into that 'could be a Micromaster' category and looks pretty good. Just I found myself constantly worrying that I was going to break him. His slightly more involved transformation involves rotation and placement of his head combined with a somewhat tight fit of body parts in conversion is just close enough for calamity. I can easily see a more ham fisted person just ripping him apart accidentally. I was pretty gentle with him and probably could have done the same. Be careful with your Soundwave.

Overall I had a great time opening each bag and discovering the fun each figure had to offer. I'm really looking forward to series 2 more now than I was before (assuming I can find them). This is something I've wanted for some time now and having them in hand is awesome. I hope future series have deeper cuts in character selection. That's usually the case with this sort of thing and after 35+ years I honestly have no problems with the initial characters in the series. Though I... hold on... Bop by Dan Seals is playing... I'm back. Though it would be really great to see a bigger variety of characters offered in this series. It's a perfect delivery system for some some of the more oddball characters from the history of Transformers and it sure would be fun to get them in Tiny Turbo Changer form.

Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers series 2

Transformers: Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers Series 2 Line Up Revealed https://t.co/4Mz6egoZVZ pic.twitter.com/BlfSpJDcQb

— TFW2005 (@tfw2005) July 26, 2019

WOO!

Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers

Over the weekend, pictures of new Cyberverse Tiny Turbo Changers popped up. I've been a steady fan of the little guys, only missing series 5 so far. I've been hoping for a G1 themed blind bag series (ala WST TF) and this is close enough. I like the design aesthetic for Cyberverse and think it applies itself well to the cute looks of a TTC. Really hope these guys are more widely available as I don't want to have too hard of a time getting them.Hopefully they pop up at Five Below. That's like the perfect place for these.

Something that I've been wondering about TTC figures. They're blind bag mini figures obviously, but would they be keshi? Small rubbery collectible figures is basically the definition of keshi and these guys fit that description. I guess it ultimately doesn't matter, but it's nice to have a name compartment to stick them under. Seeing as some folks describe Grossery Gang and Shopkins as keshi, I suppose BotBots and TTC could fit under the label. Man, I really want things like glow in the dark and clear chase versions of these guys.

I just like saying Botbots

This has nothing to do with Botbots...I don't think

Those Transformers Botbots have popped up in the news again. I'm totally happy for more blind bagged stuff, but really want to know more about them. I looked at the Trademark for them and it looks like they transform in some manner. So... I guess they transform. I don't know if they're a new extension of Tiny Turbo Changers (still need the newer series on those, wonder if they'll eventually show up at Five Below?) or something all together new. I've often wondered if G1 style toys in blind bags would be a hit, they were in WST, but that wasn't at my local Walmart... that would have totally sold well at Walmart.

It'a kind of funny that a new blind bagged series is on the way, as I've been formulating a plan involving them. I'll go into that more later as it's silly to talk about here and better to just randomly do and post (hi Authentics hunt post!). Though I've been watching a lot of Gashapon videos on YouTube. I love Gashapon machines and am eternally jealous of Japan for having them in such abundance. I used to shop at a comic shop that had some set up and that was always a good time. Not to mention those fun nights in my early 20's of driving to every grocery store with a pocket full of quarters and buying as much vending machine toys as I could find (sssoooooo many Homies figures).

Blind bag and box toys are kind of like that, but I just buy them from a store. Five Below and Walgreens are really great places for those. Sometimes they can be a belly punch though, ever buy a $12 blind box toy and be COMPLETELY disappointed with what you got? I sure have (man... that was 10 dollars...). I know your encouraged to trade them, but I almost never get around to it. The wife does. She collects Tsum Tsums and often trades them online in various Tsum Tsum groups to great results. I think the bulk of what she got me for Christmas last year was paid for by selling off extra Tsum Tsums. That's Tsum luck right there. I almost forgot how to spell luck just then.

The most I did of that was the old Bubble Twist Transformers figures from around 2003-2004. Bubble Twist was a really neat little candy line with little capsules full of gum that you twisted out like a Play-Doh fun factory. Inside each capsule was a mystery toy... obviously the Transformers ones had Transformers toys. They were these great little keshi type figures of the Armada TF's in a variety of colors. I mainly wanted one of each, not really worrying about the colors while a friend wanted one of each in each set of colors. Somehow I ended up with extras in all sorts of colors... and he usually needed those. That was a cool thing, wish they made it again. I guess those Robots in Disguise waters are sort of similar, though I got discouraged. I wanted the little figurines and just kept getting pencil toppers.

So I'm all in for Botbots... even though I don't know anything about them. Mystery toys are fun.

Tiny Turbo Changers!

They're out and tons of fun! If you're wondering how to decipher who's who in the surprise baggie, there's a easy way to figure it out. On the back of the baggie in the left corner is a little window you can peek inside of as well as a tiny imprinted letter or number that's actually a code! Thanks to Robert Hardin in his Talk Transformers post, we've been able to decipher the code!

A - Grimlock gold
B - Grimlock black
C - Lockdown
D - Hound
E - Bee yellow
F - Crosshairs
G - Blackout
H - Soundwave
J - Starscream
K - Sideswipe
L - Bee black
!, I, or 1 (it's a little unclear on the bag) -  Optimus Prime

I've put the code on the side bar of the page for the time being to help out fans looking to collect all these great toys. If you have a problem reading the code, you can try the method my wife and I did before finding out about the code. Feel the baggie, the bots are in their alt mode inside. Look in the window, and after you've identified which alt mode you have (silver car, green truck for example) you can easily move the toy around in the bag to line it's face to the little window. Going by the pictures of the toys on the shelf packaging, it's pretty easy to figure out who you got in that little baggie!


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The last knight (until the next one)

I'm not one of those fans that craps all over everything. I think this looks like a lot of fun and I personally am excited to see it. Looking forward to drinking a can of soda with a TF5 promotional image on it while out looking for Tiny Turbo Changers, Turbo Changers (yay, One Steps got that more exciting name!), Legions, and more.

I love Transformers, all of them.