ALL THINGS TRANSFORMERS!!!!

[Valfar]

Tonights local pick ups....

 

[YoNoSe]

WFC Soundwave is a treat. Personally I don't think even the upgrades to Ratchet and IH help much but if you gotta have them, that's the way to go.
Nice haul.

 

[bcm77]

Oh i thought they were £45 each.
Still too expensive for a scout though.

I wasn't overly happy about paying it but I didn't want to buy the G1 reissues because they had less articulation and I had no faith in Hasbro's ability to deliver the goods so I raised the cash and got my order in with Kapow Toys.

Hopefully one of the 3rd party companies will step up at some point and do a decent G1 based Blurr instead of that ____ty Drift retool.

A proper version of Kup wouldn't go amiss either 'cos the only decent thing about the new one is the headsculpt.

 

[Dubcustomz]

Tonights local pick ups....

How are those "local" pickups? Where do they sell japanese g1 reissues these days?

I wasn't overly happy about paying it but I didn't want to buy the G1 reissues because they had less articulation and I had no faith in Hasbro's ability to deliver the goods so I raised the cash and got my order in with Kapow Toys.

Hopefully one of the 3rd party companies will step up at some point and do a decent G1 based Blurr instead of that ____ty Drift retool.

A proper version of Kup wouldn't go amiss either 'cos the only decent thing about the new one is the headsculpt.

Hmm...the way you sound it makes me wonder why you bother with tf's at all these days.
I dunno i just get the feeling you dont like anything anymore and theres no joy left in it.
Not a flame or anything, just an observation based on what you say.

 

[DPrime]

So I'm catching the TF bug again... is it gonna be a problem to get that Walmart exclusive MP Starscream?

 

[bcm77]

Hmm...the way you sound it makes me wonder why you bother with tf's at all these days.
I dunno i just get the feeling you dont like anything anymore and theres no joy left in it.
Not a flame or anything, just an observation based on what you say.

I still like TF's but it seems more & more that the 3rd party companies are the only ones making new products that I consider worth the money.

With the exception of MP Hot Rod/Rodimus there's nothing from the forthcoming Has/Tak lines that stands out as a "must have" and with more Bayformers on the horizon I'm starting to wonder whether to go back and get a few more G1 reissues and not bother with the new lines any more.

 

[Jaycepticon]

So I'm catching the TF bug again... is it gonna be a problem to get that Walmart exclusive MP Starscream?

He shouldn't be too hard to get.

I still like TF's but it seems more & more that the 3rd party companies are the only ones making new products that I consider worth the money.

With the exception of MP Hot Rod/Rodimus there's nothing from the forthcoming Has/Tak lines that stands out as a "must have" and with more Bayformers on the horizon I'm starting to wonder whether to go back and get a few more G1 reissues and not bother with the new lines any more.

Has/Tak TF's I've bought in the past year or two:
MP Thundercracker and Generations Drift/Blurr with the only near future buys being Generations Kup/Scourge(?) & MP Rodimus Prime

3rd Party stuff I've bought within the past year:
Crazy Devy pieces for Devastator, Predaking, & Superion,
FansProject City Protector, Munitioner, Explorer, & their upcoming City Protector
iGear Faith Leader and their upcoming Ultra Leader with Ultra Magnus trailer

So yeah, the thing I'm most excited for is iGear's Ultra Magnus trailer and the rest of CrazyDevy's Superion/Predaking upgrade sets and it's a shame the one and only thing I'm really looking forward to from Takara is MP Rodimus Prime

 

[bcm77]

With the exception of a Revoltech Hot Rod which I got for around $12 the next few items I get will all be 3rd party eg,

iGear Faith Leader ( already en route )
FansProject Protector & Sidearm
iGear Arcee

After that it'll be MP Hot Rod/Rodimus and then ????

I think the United line is a huge step backwards from Henkei and at the very most I can only see me getting 3 or 4 from it whereas with Henkei I got 95% of the regular releases plus Skywarp & Thundercracker.

 

[DPrime]

He shouldn't be too hard to get.

I don't know, I see a lot of the Japanese versions on Ebay - are they exactly the same? (I'm talking about the "US-style" one, not the original MP.)

 

[Jaycepticon]

I don't know, I see a lot of the Japanese versions on Ebay - are they exactly the same? (I'm talking about the "US-style" one, not the original MP.)

I see some for sale on the TFW B/S/T, but I see they went up to around the $90 mark. Still very worth it, IMO, but then again, I might be biased since he's my favorite MP But as far as differences go, the only difference is that the Japanese version has the Decepticon logo on the nose in plane mode and has less "wash" on him.
Walmart on left/Takara on right

Robot mode is exactly identical

 

[Ra88]

If I remember right, Takara's version doesn't have the cone molded in blue either. The Hasbro version does, so if you use rubbing alcohol on it, you get a slightly improved look, depending on your tastes of course.

 

[karamazov80]

That's what I did for mine. I took off much of the "wash" as well as the gray on the nosecone with rubbing alcohol. But if anyone else is doing this, take care, because the blue on the back tail fins are actually painted that color and the blue will come off.

 

[bcm77]

I was checking prices on iGears site today and noticed some awesome info,

Next year iGear will release a trailer that will transform into armor for their white "Ultra Magnus" version of Faith Leader!!!

It will be intresting to see if they borrow any elements of Fans Project's City Commander design or if they go for a more direct copy of the G1 trailer.

 

[DPrime]

I see some for sale on the TFW B/S/T, but I see they went up to around the $90 mark. Still very worth it, IMO, but then again, I might be biased since he's my favorite MP But as far as differences go, the only difference is that the Japanese version has the Decepticon logo on the nose in plane mode and has less "wash" on him.
Walmart on left/Takara on right

Robot mode is exactly identical

Hmm, I'll have to check that out.

Is the Decepticon logo supposed to be on the nose?

If I remember right, Takara's version doesn't have the cone molded in blue either. The Hasbro version does, so if you use rubbing alcohol on it, you get a slightly improved look, depending on your tastes of course.

Molded in blue?

So are you guys saying the Japanese one is more G1 accurate? I don't have my TFs with me at the moment so I can't check... If so, I'll get the Japanese one.

I was checking prices on iGears site today and noticed some awesome info,

Next year iGear will release a trailer that will transform into armor for their white "Ultra Magnus" version of Faith Leader!!!

It will be intresting to see if they borrow any elements of Fans Project's City Commander design or if they go for a more direct copy of the G1 trailer.

What's the deal with iGears anyway? I was checking out that site looking for that Arcee figure...

So yeah, bought a bunch of reissues I was missing. I'd really like to pick up some originals but in the condition I want, I'm afraid of getting a knock-off. I really want a Shockwave, Grimlock and Sunstreaker right now...

 

[Jaycepticon]

Molded in blue?

So are you guys saying the Japanese one is more G1 accurate? I don't have my TFs with me at the moment so I can't check... If so, I'll get the Japanese one.

Actually, the US one would be more accurate since Screaner's nosecone was blue in the cartoon.

I was checking prices on iGears site today and noticed some awesome info,

Next year iGear will release a trailer that will transform into armor for their white "Ultra Magnus" version of Faith Leader!!!

It will be intresting to see if they borrow any elements of Fans Project's City Commander design or if they go for a more direct copy of the G1 trailer.

Yup, like I said in my previous post, a masterpiece Ultra Magnus trailer is my #1 most wanted TF item that I don't care who makes it, I will definitely be buying it. Having the iGear Faith leader, I have full confidence in the quality of their products. Ever since I first got MP-02 when he first came out, I was not willing to pay the crazy price to get a trailer from MarkeProjects since while robot mode looked good, the trailer mode did not and the $800-$1300 asking price was out of the question.

And then, some third party company was gonna make one and I got excited for that, but then this one had the opposite problem. Good looking trailer, horrible Ultra Magnus robot mode. And it was eventually cancelled.

So I'm really hoping that 3rd time's the charm for this trailer and that we finally get a definitive Ultra Magnus figure that'll look great displayed with iGear Faith Leader and MP Rodimus

 

[bcm77]

What's the deal with iGears anyway? I was checking out that site looking for that Arcee figure...

So yeah, bought a bunch of reissues I was missing. I'd really like to pick up some originals but in the condition I want, I'm afraid of getting a knock-off. I really want a Shockwave, Grimlock and Sunstreaker right now...

iGear are a 3rd party company with no official Transformers license that have been making items that will never get any kind of official release.

Unlike FansProject, PerfectEffect & TFClub they have been considerably more cheeky with their many of their products being complete ripoffs of official molds but I think it's awesome because it's given collectors alternate options to the official stuff.

Who needs a crappy Classics/Henkei Prime when there's a scaled down version of the Masterpiece mold that fits with the same line now available?........not me that's for sure.

Look at the new versions of Blurr, Kup, Perceptor and Wreck-Gar............compared to iGears Arcee they are utterly hopeless upgrades of the G1 designs so there's no point waiting for an official one because it'll inevitably be a letdown.

Considering they all share the same basic mold it wouldn't have cost Has/Tak that much to retool the MP Seekers into the Coneheads but there's been nothing.......iGear are releasing all 3 more or less simultaneously.

The 3 reissues you are after seem increasingly unlikely due to the following,

Shockwave = Hasbro didn't own the original mold and if they are to be believed it's currently unclear who does at the moment although given the character's appearance in TF3 I wouldn't be at all suprised if this mysteriously gets resolved and a proper reissue happens.

Grimlock = The Dinobot molds are apparently damaged beyond repair though why they can't tool new ones from existing toys is another matter entirely.

Sunstreaker = Another lost or damaged mold.

Verbal21,
It was your mention of the trailer that got me to go back to their site and have a look. I wasn't impressed with either of the custom versions so I'll be intrested to see what iGear can do.

It woud be a huge middle finger raised to Has/Tak if they could pull off the G1 car transporter design effectively but I reckon they might steal a few bits from City Commander and the end result will be a hybrid of the two designs.

One thing I was pleased about with Ultra Magnus is that it comes with the anime head that was left out of the 2nd release of Faith Leader so getting one is certainly in my future plans.

 

[Jaycepticon]

Yeah, at first, I was bummed out that the second release faith Leader's didn't get the anime head, but then I found out they'll release it with their Faith Ultra, so it actually works out for me. Probably not a good thing though for those not getting Faith Ultra

 

[Ra88]

iLook at the new versions of Blurr, Kup, Perceptor and Wreck-Gar............compared to iGears Arcee they are utterly hopeless upgrades of the G1 designs so there's no point waiting for an official one because it'll inevitably be a letdown.

...This is the first thing you've said that honestly gets a complete WTF from me. Blurr I can understand, but the others? Seriously, 'letdowns'? And you consider iGears Arcee a better upgrade? A terribly overpriced figure that just looks awkward? I'm especially baffled by you thinking that Kup is a letdown, when he looks like a pretty perfect upgrade to me, even if he does have an Earth mode.

Considering they all share the same basic mold it wouldn't have cost Has/Tak that much to retool the MP Seekers into the Coneheads but there's been nothing.......iGear are releasing all 3 more or less simultaneously.

It would have. The remolds would be pretty extensive, and probably go above the 15% mark (the amount a mold can be, well, remolded before they have to create entirely new molds IIRC). Think about it; heads, wings, weapons, changes to the transformation so the wings end up on the legs instead of the back...

Shockwave = Hasbro didn't own the original mold and if they are to be believed it's currently unclear who does at the moment although given the character's appearance in TF3 I wouldn't be at all suprised if this mysteriously gets resolved and a proper reissue happens.

'Mysteriously'?

Grimlock = The Dinobot molds are apparently damaged beyond repair though why they can't tool new ones from existing toys is another matter entirely.

For one they'd have to find a completely pristine original figure without any issues, to ensure that the thing won't be a floppy mess. Then comes the actually retooling process, which as of now is extremely expensive, moreso then making new molds. They could do that, but then the figures would be more expensive then others, or run them in large numbers that might not end up selling enough to recoup the costs and run a profit. Doesn't help that Hasbro won't chip in with the costs because they don't sell reissues anymore, so any profits TakaraTomy makes would have to be shared with them. That's a lot of money to put in something that might not sell as well as hoped, especially when it can go into actual new products that are pretty much guaranteed to turn a profit.

No idea how the KO companies do it, though. Hell, I don't think anyone knows. Best guess is that they got their hands on some of the remaining steel molds; wouldn't be the first time those things got lost in a random chinese warehouse and found by KO makers. Small companies like that wouldn't have the money to make entire new molds, and from what I heard the 'reissue' KOs are pretty much as solid as the real deals.

 

[bcm77]

iGear Arcee = A near perfect recreation of the G1 design that fits in well with the Classics.

Kup = The generic truck mode is a poor substitute for the original's futuristic design and the robot mode is one of the worst since Universe Ironhide/Ratchet.

Wreck-Gar = Robot mode looks more like something from Animated and the amount of grey plastic on the bike mode makes it look cheap.

If FansProject's Collector still gets released I shall at least have an alternative to it.

Perceptor = Robot mode is OK but the alt mode is ugly as hell as it looks like the designers couldn't decide what vehicle to make it.

Re the "Mysteriously" thing,

I was alluding to the fact that there's a strong possibility that Has/Tak are talking utter ____ about the legal issue surrounding the Shockwave mold and are just saying that because it sounds somewhat better than "We don't want to spend the money on a new mold".

If it became financially viable all the talk of legal issues would ( not so ) mysteriously vanish and be replaced with a load of PR waffle saying how wonderful it is to revisit a classic.

Something similar happened with Omega Supreme, one minute there was no chance of a reissue then all of a sudden the Encore release shows up.

As for the MP Coneheads I think you may have a point but I don't think the the same goes for G1 Dinobots otherwise people wouldn't be paying so much for the KO's.

 

[Valfar]

Another pick up this evening, more G1 goodness.