ALL THINGS TRANSFORMERS!!!!

[icruise]

Those new animated TF toys look totally cool. Anyone want to educate a newb on what the different classes mean (Leader, Voyager, Deluxe, etc.)? I take it the Leader classes are the largest scale? Will each character have a Leader version or are you supposed to mix and match them?

The 2007 movie toys are basically divided into Deluxe, Voyager, and Leader versions. In general, they go up in price and size as you go from one end of the scale to the other, but it wasn't a simple matter of deciding which line you wanted to buy from and sticking to that, since there were some characters (like Optimus Prime and Megatron) who were only available in the larger sizes, while some others (like Jazz or Bumblebee) were only available in the smaller sizes. They also liked to release some figures in a smaller version and then come back and do a bigger version, presumably to get people to buy the same character more than once. In other words, if you want a complete set of characters, you have to buy from more than one of the product lines.

The Deluxes are the most common (in the sense that there are more characters available as Deluxe figures than the other sizes) and they're also the cheapest at $10. The Voyagers are bigger and more complex in their transformations, and cost twice as much at $20. The Leaders are bigger still, all have some kind of light and sound feature and cost $40.

As I mentioned, they sometimes released more than one version of the same character, like the Voyager Prime and Leader Prime. In my opinion, if there are two different versions, the Leader figures are pretty much always better than the Voyager ones. They even had one figure (Brawl) that was released both as a Deluxe and (later) as Leader. You can imagine the difference in size there. They didn't really try that hard to make these things in scale with one another.

These definitions seem to more or less hold true for the Animated line, but they are also apparently doing some "Supreme" figures. I don't really know what that means yet, except that it's even more expensive than Leader (apparently $60).

 

[bagelsncheesey]

Not only the movie toys. Transformers have been released in these classes for a long time now.

 

[icruise]

By the way, I'm in Japan now and I've been looking fairly actively for Transformers stuff while I'm here. I'm sad to say that Transformers do not appear to be very popular as mainstream toys. They have their fans among the otaku types, but after visiting a number of toys stores it is pretty obvious to me that the average kid is not buying Transformers toys. Most stores either had nothing whatsoever or had just one movie toy (always seemed to be a Leader class Optimus Prime priced at like $80). On the other hand, they were overflowing with Gundam, Ultraman, and Pokemon toys. It was kind of depressing.

The only exception was Toys R Us, which had a great selection. It was pretty cool seeing stuff like the Masterpiece series and the Encore series just lined up on the shelves. I about had a heart attack seeing 15 or 20 Encore Megatrons on the shelf. They also had more or less the full movie line. Of course I already had most of what was on the shelves and the Japanese Classics (Henkei) figures that I had hoped to find were nowhere to be found, so I didn't get much. They are quite a bit more expensive than in the US, as well, with Deluxe figures going for more than $20. Anyway, that's my bit of reporting for the day...

 

[Vader AL]

I hate the way they have the different classes. I would buy more of them if they made each character for each class because I like them all being in scale or close to it but alas, they don't.

 

[mr.fan]

I just cannot see what people see in these animated figures... They look like playschool things to me, but to each their own... I mean, how does that roll out optimus prime look badass in anyway? He looks like a little kid's toy...

 

[The Craw]

well aside from the movie toys id say the scales are pretty accurate. small characters like bumblebee are always just in the deluxe class while bigger characters like megatron and starscream are usually in the bigger classes. i hated the scales of G1 toys when i was a kid. mainly because devastator was supposed to tower over every other transformer but he was barely bigger than prime. that was hella-ghey.

 

[The Craw]

I just cannot see what people see in these animated figures... They look like playschool things to me, but to each their own... I mean, how does that roll out optimus prime look badass in anyway? He looks like a little kid's toy...

it is a kids toy. ages 6-11. says so right on the box. whats your point?

 

[Shropt]

it is a kids toy. ages 6-11. says so right on the box. whats your point?

Yeah. Transformers are toys. They are not collectibles or adult items, much like Hot Wheels.

Some people just be crazy.

 

[Elder_Predator2]

Has anyone tried the paper Transformers before.
Link:
Bumblebee
https://paperkraft.blogspot.com/2008/05/transformers-papercraft-bumblebee-arms.html
Starscream
https://paperkraft.blogspot.com/2008/03/transformers-papercraft-starscream.html

I was going to attempt Starscream.

 

[The Craw]

Has anyone tried the paper Transformers before.
Link:
Bumblebee
https://paperkraft.blogspot.com/2008/05/transformers-papercraft-bumblebee-arms.html
Starscream
https://paperkraft.blogspot.com/2008/03/transformers-papercraft-starscream.html

I was going to attempt Starscream.

looks fun but i dont want to print out 81 pages.

 

[Elder_Predator2]

Me neither, but it does look fun.

 

[The Craw]

that thing would probably kick my ass anyway and then id be saying "why the ^^^^ did i waste all this ^^^^ing paper."

 

[Bonehead15]

I hate the way they have the different classes. I would buy more of them if they made each character for each class because I like them all being in scale or close to it but alas, they don't.

The whole purpose of having the different classes IS to make the characters in scale. Iknow sometimes Hasbro screws up and they aren't but for the most part they are.

Example: Megatron is HUGE compared to Bumblebee. So how would a deluxe Megatron and a deluxe Bumblebee be in scale to each other?? They can't be. Megatron should be twice as big as Bumbleebee. This is why Megatron is a Leader Class figure and Bumblebee is a Deluxe Class figure.

The whole purpose in releasing the same characters in different scales is so that parents and kids have a choice in deciding just how much money they want to spend on a certain figure. Example: Animated Prime is available as a deluxe, voyager, and supreme figure. If a parent doesn't want to spend $20 on a voyager Prime, they can always just buy the deluxe for half the price. The deluxe Prime is out of scale with the other figures but I'm certain most kids won't mind. Collectors though can opt and buy the voyager figure which is in scale. This way both collectors and kids can be happy. It's just good marketing by Hasbro.

 

[The ill Jedi]

Supreme Roll Out Command Optimus Prime Info...

Supreme Prime is the largest incarnation ever of Optimus Prime. Equipped with “Auto-Spin Conversion Technology,” Roll Out Command Prime begins to morph from vehicle to robot as he rolls along the floor. The figure comes equipped with a moving mouth, sounds, and speech from the cartoon. Also included is a toy replica of the double-bladed power axe seen in the series.

Sounds like he's gonna be BIG and the conversion technology, moving mouth and sounds is gonna be sweet! I was wondering what the differences between the Leader and this, but just looking at the pic above it's totally apparent. He's gonna be BAD ASS.

 

[The Craw]

anyone see this demonstration of animated voyager prime?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-US0F54pcw
looks pretty cool but is that axe ever used on the cartoon?

 

[Bonehead15]

anyone see this demonstration of animated voyager prime?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-US0F54pcw
looks pretty cool but is that axe ever used on the cartoon?

All the time.

Prime doesn't have a gun so he basically uses the axe and his grapplers all the time for weapons.

 

[The Craw]

All the time.

Prime doesn't have a gun so he basically uses the axe and his grapplers all the time for weapons.

yes but is it a double bladed axe like that? i thought he just uses a single bladed axe.

 

[Bonehead15]

yes but is it a double bladed axe like that? i thought he just uses a single bladed axe.

I see your point.

You are correct. It's only a single bladed axe.

 

[The Craw]

either way ill probably get that version. love the retractable facemask.

 

[MaulFan]

Supreme Roll Out Command Optimus Prime Info...

Supreme Prime is the largest incarnation ever of Optimus Prime. Equipped with “Auto-Spin Conversion Technology,” Roll Out Command Prime begins to morph from vehicle to robot as he rolls along the floor. The figure comes equipped with a moving mouth, sounds, and speech from the cartoon. Also included is a toy replica of the double-bladed power axe seen in the series.

Sounds like he's gonna be BIG and the conversion technology, moving mouth and sounds is gonna be sweet! I was wondering what the differences between the Leader and this, but just looking at the pic above it's totally apparent. He's gonna be BAD ASS.

Seems cool, my only reservations are just how big he'll be and is the transformation limited to operating it like a toy or can you also just do it on your own by hand.