Tow-Line (Buzzworthy Bumblebee/Deluxe Class)

Robots in Disguise/Car Robots has always been a bright spot for me in my Transformers fandom. It was the gateway from my beloved beast era back to vehicular bots. As much as I loved beast era, it was time for a change and RID was just right. It still had beast warriors, but the overall direction was back to cars and jets. It didn't hurt that the designs were super slick and the cartoon was entertaining as hell. There was a lot of repaints in the line and the original Tow-Line was just that, a repaint of the Machine Wars Hubcap/Hoist mold. A really solid toy that didn't get a lot of attention like most of Machine Wars at the time. 

In the show, Tow-Line was a charming character who lived out the role of his tow truck alt mode of a little too much. His infamous "No parking means no parking" catchphrase was forever cemented in fans minds. Later he got an 'evil' repaint in Robot Masters that has on and off been one of my user pics ever since. I was really surprised when Tow-Line got an update in Legacy: Evolution under the Buzzworthy Bumblebee banner. What's now referred to by Hasbro as Robots in Disguise 2001 doesn't get a lot of love unfairly and of all the bots, Tow-Line isn't the one you'd think would get a new toy. Like his original toy, Tow-Line is a repaint of an existing mold. This time of Scraphook from Legacy: Evolution, a toy I've not yet found, so this was my first experience with the mold.

Tow-Line turns into a Mad Max sort of tow truck. This is in line with all the other new Junkions in Legacy: Evolution and a direction I quite like. However it is odd on Tow-Line as he's normally just a regular old tow truck. It makes me REALLY wish for a repaint based on his Robot Masters toy though. The spiky, post apocalyptic design plays oddly well with Tow-Line's trademark bright colors. It just works somehow as does the new faithful recreation of the classic toy head. They did a really good job with a toy that's a mix old old and new.

These new Junkions can separate into parts and connect to other bots similar to the Weaponizers from Siege. For once giving the Evo-Fusion blurb an actually good example. Unlike the Weaponizers though, the toys doesn't part form as transformation doesn't require disassembly. You might find yourself pulling off a piece by accident like I did though. Various parts can be attached or held as weapons. This leads to blasters from parts of his hood that resemble the original toys gun and a spiky spare tire that could work as the Boost Hammer from the Robot Masters toy. Maybe. I really like this toy, it's fairly articulated and transforms pleasantly. Mine has a bit of loose joints. Not sure if that's the mold or I just got a random floppy one. Stop laughing. Either way, it's hard not to love a Tow-Line update. Especially when it's a good one.

DK2-Guard (Legacy/Generations Selects)

At some point Hasbro decided to jump on the Diaclone bandwagon and I'm all here for it. DK-2 Guard here was a random gift from my mother who picked it up at Gamestop and he's super neat to have. Instead the attempts to work Diaclone into TF mythology like the others, he's just straight up a modern incarnation with an Autobot symbol. No problem there, it's super cool. So much so that they even referenced the Diakron version of the toy with his name. This leads me to wonder why the Diaclone Universe in Legacy isn't Diakron Universe... but I guess that's being specific for the sake of being specific... and seeing as there's no monetization of this site, I can't get away with that.

DK-2 Guard is a repaint of the Earthrise Ironhide toy. Thanks to Covidmania running wild during Earthrise, I was never able to get a version of that toy. With as happy as I was with the Siege version, that wasn't a big deal, but it is nice to have some version of it. This is a heavily retooled version of that Siege mold, so much that you could be fooled into thinking it's a new toy in vehicle mode. Robot mode is basically the same, but now with a van roof that doubles as a shield. it's neat, but I prefer to stick it on his back.

I keep saying he, but DK-2 Guard isn't an individual, it's a mech suit piloted by a Dianaut. Normally with the Transformers versions of Diaclone bots they get a personality based off the drivers. That's not the case here and DK-2 Guard is generally represents the mech itself. DK-2 Guard serves as a guardian for mankind against Waruders, Dinosaurs, Decepticons, and whatever evil force threatens mankind. Something like this is great as Diaclone Reboot toys are generally very expensive, but there's options of you'd like some Diaclone available at an affordable price. It's an expensive hobby and in these uncertain financial times, it's great toy have a bone thrown every so often.

Transform Squadron 35- Big Spooky, Make A Sortie

LISTEN NOW!

In this (late) August edition of Transform Squadron, Rob talks about the early days of Transformers Armada. Afterwards, he talks about some Halloween traditions of his. This is a very short description of about an hour of podcast. Why don't you check it out?

Bios: Grimlock

"Respect builds great warriors."

Function: Backhoe

A seasoned warrior, Grimlock is second in command of the construction Autobots. He looks very harsh, but is really calm and upbeat. He works closely with the Construction Team leader to pass on the tactics and experience he has gained in his many battles. He can be counted on to assess every situation and come up with a good plan of action.

Strength: 8 Intelligence: 10 Speed: 7 Endurance: 9 Rank: 7 Courage: 10 Firepower: 6 Skill: 9

Another time, Another Place

 

Having almost every show I want to watch availible on in demand is pretty awesome. Things like TokuSHOUTsu and the Transformers Channel on Roku is amazing. YouTube... YouTube is pretty great, I mean, look at all the content I put on this site using YouTube. All this stuff is available pretty much any time of the day and any where (we've all watched Voltron on the toilet). It got me thinking though, just how much we take it for granted and the things I did prior.

I've mentioned before that I worked at Office Max in college. I had rent, a car, and school to pay for while only having McDonald's as work experience. It wasn't easy. Fortunately at 20 you're more willing (and able) to live off ramen noodles. I still was able to enjoy my hobbies, even if it could be pretty limiting due to funds (or lack of). I might not be able to order those Car Robot toys from Japan, but no problem, they're getting released here next year as Robots in Disguise. Gonna prop up with my laptop real late at night when traffic is pretty light on dial up internet and download pirated episodes in Real Media format. 

The video quality is horrible, but hey, I can actually watch it. I'd often make VCD's from them and buy other VCD's online. They usually were pretty cheap, even though the quality was iffy and sometimes there would be a wrong show stuck in randomly. Usually The Tick or TMNT. I also had bootleg tapes thanks to a roommates arrangement with a nearby comic/anime/gaming store. They rented out bootleg and legal gray area sub-titled imports. My roommate had a part time job there and he was allowed to make copies of shows for us as part of the deal. I'd hit up the thrift store and find some G1 and G2 bots. Missing the gun, yeah, but it's a buck. Big Lots has some cool bootlegs. Animorphs are on clearance. I had my fun.

That Office Max I spoke of, well, it was a terrible store. Badly ran and unwisely opened up next to a Walmart. However, it had a copy center. There was a Staples and an Office Depot in the shopping center across from the highway. However mine had that Walmart, Target, Belk, Home Depot, and many other popular stores a person would go to on the weekend. They'd often pop in our crappy store to make copies so they wouldn't need to leave our shopping center. This meant that despite working in the electronics section, I also helped in that copy center. What's a shit head kid with disks full of images going to do with unlimited printing resources? 

Every poster on my wall, every flier for an event, even home work was printed right there in that copy center. If I ever would have made any of those zines I wanted to make (which this site is the ultimate culmination of), I probably would have made them there. In hindsight, I probably should have helped other zine producers out.

One poster I had made for myself somehow survived all this time. It was a promotional image for the Beast Wars 2 movie. One side had Lio Convoy and Optimas Primal, the other side was Galvatron and Megatron. I thought it was awesome. I blew up the image and printed out a poster of it. That poster was stuck on every refrigerator I had for years. Every apartment, there it was. Eventually it did get retired. I still have it though, in a box. Folded up and sorta acting as a liner. It's a little dingy from the years and has that old paper smell. Like it came from a library, not something I made with a floppy disk and a color copier in the 90's. Guess that was over 20 years ago.

Send (Wrecker) Hook

 

Robotmasters was a neat Transformers line from the mid-2000's that I have a lot of love for. A mixture of new and old toy molds in fantastic decos in a Transformers multiversal showdown in the Blastizone (a suburb here on Planet Zone). It was pure robot anarchy and I loved it. Wrecker-Hook was one of the early stand outs. Outside of Japan we know him as Tow-Line. He was a lovable character in Robots in Disguise that took his tow truck alt mode a little too seriously.

However by 2004 he had somehow lost his memory and became a Decepticon! During this time Wrecker-Hook became a capable mechanic who can fix almost anything. He got a visible upgrade as well. From the green and purple as an Autobot to black and red with gnarly flames as a Decepticon! Wrecker-Hook seemingly improved himself as a bad guy. Even made himself a new friend in Wingstun!

Tracks in the sky with Diamond Cylones

When the Mrs. picked up Shadow Panther for me, she also grabbed Tracks. I've always really liked Tracks and have been looking forward to this toy despite hearing various people online say he wasn't so great. I don't mean to be totally dismissive of others opinions, but these kind of things are subjective, so I generally decide for myself. Not to mention, some folks just can't be pleased. Regardless of the cries of those with urine soaked beds, I was looking forward to Tracks. Like I said, I like him. I've always thought he looked cool and had a cool personality. Just a good Autobot car, you know?

Tracks is a pretty good toy once you get him into the various modes. Transformation though, wow, really didn't like that part. Lot's of panels that have to be aligned just right and getting his legs into the cars front end was not pleasant at all. Once you got through the frustration of all that, he's a pretty nice looking toy. Tracks looks like he just walked off the TV screen like most recent Generations toys.

He's pleasantly articulated and everything is where it should be. In car mode, assuming you got all the panels to pop into place, he looks great. From car mode, conversion to flight mode is simple. Just fold out the arm parts and wings/fins. Tracks's flight mode is the predecessor of  those Transmetals vehicle modes and similar to M.A.S.K. Basically, it's a car with wings. Before you comment on how that's unrealistic, remember it's an alien robot from outer space that disguises itself as a car. Also remember it's a toy. Then remember the word masticate, it means chewing. Somebody felt another word for chewing was necessary.

Aside from the frustrating transformation, I don't have a single bad thing to say about this figure. Generations has really been on a roll in the past few years. As an adult who grew up with Transformers since it's inception, these are exactly the toys I want as a fan of the line. Classic characters updated with improved designs that look as they should. While I absolutely love it when we get new characters, I'm not going to pretend that new toys of classic characters aren't great. Even as frustrated as I got with Track's transformation, I still liked the toy. The colors really look great and he's fun to fiddle around with. Kingdom made Tracks pretty good.

Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Zombots

I'm not very well versed in Hot Wheels. Occasionally I'll see a neat one and grab it, and usually grab the Halloween/Christmas sets they put out each year. Ever since becoming more familiar with Zombot, I make a point to keep an eye out for them. You can imagine my surprise to stumble upon a new one randomly. When I say new, I mean a brand new sculpt. Instead of a gun, the robot is holding a tablet computer. I guess with decades of soldiers, ones with other tasks makes sense

This year one of the Hot Wheels collections is a Mattel games series. There's a blue and red Zombot to represent Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots. I found the red version at Kroger after my second vaccination shot. It's always good to see a new version, and a new sculpt is pretty great too. I wonder how many people pass Hot Wheels and notice of the robot car that's an action figure?

Bios: Megatron

Function: Predacon Leader

"The Earth is mine!"

The brilliant and evil leader of the Predacons, Megatron will destroy anything and anyone in order to get what he wants. And what he wants on Earth is the energy contained in the planet. But Megatron has no interest in sharing - he'll conquer the planet and take it all for himself. He has survived numerous battles and is an excellent fighter - making him a deadly enemy. His many victories have helped him gain the power of a six-step change skill.

Diaclone X Gridman

Visual Kei Robots or when I name something for no reason

I was thinking today about a specific look in robots and don't think I quite know how to word it. I really like the visuals of beast themed robots when drawn a certain way. Compare Beast Wars Neo to Beast Wars season one. The season one gang is very traditional Transformer in looks and design. Beast Wars Neo designs have a particular flair, look at the picture of Break for example. Homeboy is pretty and he knows it. I'm definitely fond of both looks that I'm poorly describing. It's a style all it's own that I just want to appreciate a little right now.

The look isn't cemented in a certain time frame or series either. Look at the Lio Kaiser members in Transformers Victory. These designs are pretty similar to Saint Seiya or Ronin Warriors. Maybe it's a particular look or style that I just don't know the name of. I'm just a fan not an expert. Think I'll just refer to them as visual kei robots. Because they're glam rock. I got my order of Mugenbine candy toys in today and the box art just got my brain going. I'm not a very stylish man, I dress painfully casual. But dude, I can appreciate those fancy pants robots.

SSSS.DYNAZENON!!!!!!!!

完全新作アニメーション『SSSS.DYNAZENON』の制作が決定！
原作：グリッドマン
監督：雨宮 哲
脚本：長谷川圭一
キャラクターデザイン：坂本 勝
音楽：鷺巣詩郎
アニメーション制作：TRIGGERhttps://t.co/eX4Su9yp0l#SSSS_DYNAZENON pic.twitter.com/BBtXyhPHbR

— SSSS.DYNAZENON公式アカウント (@SSSS_PROJECT) December 14, 2019

Production of completely new animation "SSSS.DYNAZENON" has been decided! Original: Gridman Director: Satoru Amemiya Screenplay: Junichi Hasegawa Character design: Masaru Sakamoto Music: Shiro Konosu Animation Production: TRIGGER https://dynazenon.net#SSSS_DYNAZENON

Looks like the follow up to last years AWESOME SSSS Gridman is on it's way and looks great!

Israeli Robots in Disg...that's G1

Wait. So... I was expecting 2001 Robots in Disguise footage in Hebrew and instead was given clips of G1 with... Axel F? That's kinda amazing. I'm not sure if the Israeli version of RID was just a repackaged G1 or if this was just some neat commercial package made for Fox Kids there. I tried finding some info on the wiki, but nope. I do have to say, I absolutely LOVE that logo.

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.

You can't roll through a Roadblock

Through all these years, some of my favorite Transformers toys are the Auto Rollers from Generation 2. Big chunky robots who's transformation was based on flipping and on/off switch in the back. You'd roll the vehicle and it would auto transform from one mode to another. There was/is a certain level of joy in rolling a truck backwards and watching it change into a robot or roll the robot forward and watching it convert into a truck. When they first debuted it was mind blowing and exciting, which is a sharp contrast to today's fandom with a contingent that gets outright offended by Turbo Changers. Like I said though, I've always loved them and thought to focus on one of them today. Because fuck yeah Zone Base.

FFFFIIIIIIIIYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAA

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. 

R.E.V.

Plan well, win easy.

R.E.V. is the tactical officer of the Spy Changers and an advisor to Hot Shot. As smart as he is fast, R.E.V. never misses a detail. He can leap from one building to another with such ease that he looks as if he's flying. His main weapon is a shotgun.

Omega Prime commercial

I'm really jealous of those kids. Not because they have those toys, I have them too, but the fact that they were able to get them transformed while running down the stairs and across their yards like that. Those were pretty complex figures.

That took skill.

TF Car Robo meet up, wish I could go

【告知】
7/15(日)13：００～都内会議室にてＴＦカーロボオフ会開催します！
カーロボットが好きな方大歓迎です！
お菓子や飲み物、ちょっとしたゲームも企画しています！
よろしくお願いします！！
※今回募集人数が少ないので注意です！
[TwiPla] ＴＦカーロボオフ会 https://t.co/BR3HRZVtzL pic.twitter.com/thiwmokFaG

— テノ@ カーロボオフ会募集中 (@teno_sss7) June 15, 2018

Translation-
  [Announcement] 7/15 (Sun) 13:00 ~ TF Car Robo-off meeting will be held in the conference room in Tokyo! If you like car robots, you are welcome! We also organize sweets, drinks and a little game! Thank you!! ※ because the number of recruitment is small this time, it is attention! [TWIPLA] tf car robo off Kai http://twipla.jp/events/322058