POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Denyer
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

Warcry wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:31 pmDeluxe prices in Canada jumped all the way to $30 from $20 in one go
I'd say that's it, the line's dead if anywhere's actually using those prices?
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Warcry
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

Google tells me that $30 Canadian is worth about £18ish right now. Is that far off of what things go for at retail there?

But the actual dollar value is less shocking than the huge amount of the increase -- a Deluxe now costs what a Voyager did last year, and double what a Deluxe cost in 2009, when they were $14.99. How is this level of inflation at all sustainable? Does Hasbro expect to be charging $59.99 per Deluxe in 2029?

Anecdotally, their sales are already showing the effects -- the TF sections around here are still totally full after Christmas, and Siege stuff is easy to find where previous Generations lines have disappeared immediately after hitting the shelves in the weeks after launch, even while on sale. That can't be a healthy indicator for the brand, surely?
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Denyer
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

A bit shy of £20 has been normal for Deluxes over here for ages, although they don't move fast (also with non-specialist shops, they'll usually only bet on one or two lines or size classes, seemingly at random). Voyagers supposedly have a retail price around £30, but are generally priced below £25.

It's the size of the hike, as you say. I'm assuming they were comparable to other toy lines before?

It's been a good few years/lines and I've not burnt out on getting a few bits and pieces, but nor am I really going to miss there being new action figures.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

Denyer wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 10:55 pm It's the size of the hike, as you say. I'm assuming they were comparable to other toy lines before?
I suppose Deluxes here had traditionally floated half-way between the price point of "collector" stuff (high-articulation 6-inch figures like Marvel Legends or DC Multiverse or the higher-end WWE figures) and "kiddie" stuff (lower POA 4- or 5-inch toys). In fact, I think that was a big part of their appeal. They offered a solid bang for your buck, and Transformers was one of the few lines that still had a middle-of-the-road option like that. Now that Deluxe prices have bumped up solidly into the "collector" bracket, Siege is like every other franchise out there, with a huge empty gap in their offerings between the small impulse-buy toys (the Targetmasters and Micromasters) and everything else.

And to me at least, Transformers are probably less appealing than other figures at those high price brackets. Because with a superhero figure, you can make a pretty good judgment on whether it'll be worth the price just by looking at it. They're all basically built the same, and the articulation, likeness and paintjob are all clearly visible from inside the box. But Transformers involve so much more unique engineering that even something that looks good can still turn out to be a piece of junk once you handle it, and every new figure you buy is a much bigger gamble. At least I pretty much know what I'm getting if I spend the same stack of cash on another Spider-Man, you know?
Denyer wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 10:55 pm It's been a good few years/lines and I've not burnt out on getting a few bits and pieces, but nor am I really going to miss there being new action figures.
I doubt it'll ever truly disappear, but if the prices continue to skyrocket we'll surely see a big contraction in the market. If decent-quality action figures did price themselves out of existence, I would miss it. I've enjoyed collecting them for basically my whole life. But honestly, I have so much already...it'd probably be a bit of a relief too.
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Tantrum
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

Target sells Siege Deluxes for US$20 (Can$26,53, £15.56), which is the same price they sell SS Deluxes for. PotP Deluxes are US$17, Cyberverse Warriors are US$15.

Walmart started selling SS Deluxes at US$20, but then dropped them to US$17. I haven't seen Siege at Walmart yet, so I don't know if that'll carry over.
Warcry wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:31 pmBut overall, I don't really see the increase in quality that people have talked about for this line. Both figures have visible hollow parts, and they both suffer from tolerance issues -- Cog's right leg likes to come off way too easily and his right hand can't hold either of his guns, and Flywheels' turret won't stay popped together. Flywheels is quite sparse paint-wise, and Cog uses those disappointing pop-on wheels. I can't say that they feel like much of a step up from the average Prime Wars figure at all, and TBH I'm starting to think that all the talk about how much better Siege toys are and how they're totally worth the extra money is more wishful thinking than actual fact.
Don't forget the painted on dirt! After years of complaints about reductions in paint apps, Hasbro responds by using paint to make figures look worse. At least next time the designers get the order to cut costs, they can scrap the weathering budget and not make any other changes.

Like SS, they've kept the crappy wheels, but made prettier packaging. Maybe Hasbro decided MISB collectors are their target audience, now. Or, they figured if the wheels don't touch the ground anyway, there's no point in making them roll well.

Flywheels has ankle tilts, which most PotP/TR/CW Deluxes don't. But, Siege doesn't need to fit a cockpit or combiner port into the figures, or dedicate parts to a combiner hand or titanmaster. That should've enabled some improvements in the figures at the same price point.
Warcry wrote: Thu Jan 10, 2019 5:31 pmCog is a nice robot. He fits in well with the TR Headmasters, being a bit shorter and stockier. Poseability is good, and it's obvious that the designers are trying to work in more points of articulation with better range of motion this time around. He doesn't really transform into anything though, not really. He just explodes into a pile of parts. Popping apart into weapons that other figures can use is a neat feature, but I'm a bit disappointed that he can't even fully transform into his Gasket and Grommet component vehicles without partsforming. But he's quite a bit of fun and there's lots you can do with him and his various bits.
...
Flywheels actually does have a waist swivel. It's below the hips a bit. If you look at him from behind you'll be able to see the joint. As you say, though, the jet tail restricts his mobility a lot. The way his hips are designed means that you can't move his legs much in any direction while he's swivelled, either.
Thanks for the tip on Flywheels. G1 Cog required taking his arms off and reattaching them to turn the torso into a car. Is Siege Cog's partsforming worse, or did they just make him G1 accurate?
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pm Target sells Siege Deluxes for US$20 (Can$26,53, £15.56), which is the same price they sell SS Deluxes for. PotP Deluxes are US$17, Cyberverse Warriors are US$15.
So they've basically doubled in price for you over the last decade too, then? I remember seeing them for $10ish when I used to take shopping trips to the US back when our dollars were worth the same.
Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pmWalmart started selling SS Deluxes at US$20, but then dropped them to US$17. I haven't seen Siege at Walmart yet, so I don't know if that'll carry over.
Walmarts here used to undercut MSRP here too (charging $12.99 for the longest time when regular price was $14.99), but that stopped at around the time Target Canada shut down, leaving TRU as their only competition at retail. Of course, they'd also driven all the other department stores in the country into abandoning all but the most perfunctory toy sections by then...
Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pm Don't forget the painted on dirt! After years of complaints about reductions in paint apps, Hasbro responds by using paint to make figures look worse. At least next time the designers get the order to cut costs, they can scrap the weathering budget and not make any other changes.
Cog and Flywheels are mercifully not really impacted much by this, but yeah, it looks pretty ugly. There's not even any real attempt to make it look like anything on Cog, he just has a couple random blobs of silver. I actually just thought the first one I'd picked up had gotten paint slop on it, until they all turned out to have it.
Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pm Like SS, they've kept the crappy wheels, but made prettier packaging. Maybe Hasbro decided MISB collectors are their target audience, now. Or, they figured if the wheels don't touch the ground anyway, there's no point in making them roll well.
:lol:

Cog doesn't exactly sit on his wheels well either.
Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pm Flywheels has ankle tilts, which most PotP/TR/CW Deluxes don't. But, Siege doesn't need to fit a cockpit or combiner port into the figures, or dedicate parts to a combiner hand or titanmaster. That should've enabled some improvements in the figures at the same price point.
Especially true on the larger figures, which now don't have to include a budget line for those awul stickers...
Tantrum wrote: Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:45 pm Thanks for the tip on Flywheels. G1 Cog required taking his arms off and reattaching them to turn the torso into a car. Is Siege Cog's partsforming worse, or did they just make him G1 accurate?
Yeah, he's accurate in that way. They could have easily tossed in a swivel to do the job, but I guess they figured "Why bother when the arms come off anyway?" Which I get, but there's not much here that makes the toy feel like an actual Transformer, you know?
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Warcry wrote: Sun Jan 13, 2019 5:32 pmCog and Flywheels are mercifully not really impacted much by this, but yeah, it looks pretty ugly. There's not even any real attempt to make it look like anything on Cog, he just has a couple random blobs of silver. I actually just thought the first one I'd picked up had gotten paint slop on it, until they all turned out to have it.
I've read some speculation that HasTak might rerelease Seige molds with clean decos later, which explains the variable amount of deco gunk. The idea is that people wouldn't buy D-listers like Cog and Flywheels twice, so they get just enough gunk to fit in with the Siege line, but not so much that they don't fit with other lines.

On the other hand, many TF fans buy multiple figures of A-listers like Op and Megs anyway, so theie Siege figures get lots of gunk to contrast with the upcoming clean releases. Of course, the same board where I read this speculation also includes instructions on removing the gunk with 91% iso-something and cotton swabs. It's unlikely that anyone bothered enough by gunk to buy a figure twice will leave gunk on their figures to begin with, so I don't think this is a good idea. Then again, I don't think putting a figure's budget towards fancy packaging instead of pinned wheels is a good idea either, so what do I know?


In actual new aquisitions, I got PotP Cindersaur on clearance at Walmart. The tag said $7, but she rang up at $5. It's Slash, but purple, so I'm satisfied. I recently went through my PotP cards and found that I had cards for 11 Primes, not Megatronus. So, I bought the Cindersaur with a Megatronus card to have a set. Now to put the cards away and never look at them again.


I opened my Trypticon this weekend, and seem to have avoided the hip and tail issues. One of the purple inner toes had detached in box, and it's still a little loose and prone to flopping over, but that's the only flaw I can see so far.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Skyquake87 »

Titans Return Wingspan & Cloudraker
Yay! Found a used - sorry, pre-owned - set at ID toys for £17 which I er, pounced on. Glad to have these, but still puzzled by the way Hasbro sold these - why not two vs packs, instead of shoving the other twins in expensive giftsets..?

Legends LG55 Slugslinger
I hate collecting sometimes. Ridiculous that it's often cheaper to buy a Japanese release than try and find the Hasbro equivalent for a reasonable price. Not sure I 100% like Slugslinger's weird squinty eye face, but the rest of the figure is spot on. I like the Targetmaster too! God knows what's going on in the accompanying Manga. Looks like Kiss Players hijinks. So, no thank you.

Generations Roadbuster
I sold this on a year or so ago. And now I have bought it again, after re-reading Sins Of The Wreckers. Still a slightly 'not quite there' toy for me, but he is fun. Not bothering with all the bloody stickers this time, though. Except the Autobot one, beacuse he looks a bit bare without it.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Skyquake87 wrote: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:27 pm Titans Return Wingspan & Cloudraker
Yay! Found a used - sorry, pre-owned - set at ID toys for £17 which I er, pounced on. Glad to have these, but still puzzled by the way Hasbro sold these - why not two vs packs, instead of shoving the other twins in expensive giftsets..?
I think the idea was to do 4 box sets, each with one clone. The latter two box sets were cancelled, so this two-pack was released so the fans who'd bough the first two box sets could complete the clone set.

I saw Siege Deluxes at Wal-mart today for US$20, just like Target. Technically, they were US$19.89 or something, so maybe $.10 cheaper than Target. There were a few SS Deluxes, BotBots, and the G1 Optimus Prime reissue (US$50, no trailer). Most othe TFs were moved to clearance, with the regular TF space much smaller than before.


I got Cyberverse Acid Storm on clearance. Bot mode is a bit plain. A bit of paint on the wings, shins, or feet would've gone a long way. The torso sits too far back on the waist. The hollowness of the forearms is on the top, with the 5mm fist hole.

Arm articulation is OK: two axes on the shoulder and a hinged elbow, but no upper arm swivel or wrist articulation. Leg articulation allows Acid Storm to do the splits, but not much else. No knees.

One the plus side, the face sculpt is great and the lavender paint goes really well with the green body and yellow cockpit.

The gimmick is like old He-Man figures: turn the waist and it snaps back into place. The wings are hinged to unfold into blades due to centrifugal force. The unfolded part of the wing has some nice Decpticon sigils molded (in green), with the rest of the blade painted purple. It looks great, but you never see it in normal use, since it moves too quickly, then snaps back into closed position. This was a poor choice of location for the most intricate deco of the mold.

Transformation is a bit awkward, since it requires turning the torso 180 deg, likely triggering the slice gimmick a few times before settling into place. Then, you just fold the legs up over the chest and unfold the backpack into the nose cone. It's not in the instructions, but I like to turn the head 180 deg, too, so the face can't be seen underneath the jet.

The plane is pretty chunky, which is emphasized by how high the wings are. Imagine if G1 Jetfire's wings connected to the big red thrusters instead of the body of the plane, and you get a rough idea of Acid Storm's proportions.

The back of the plane is a bit of a mess, with the top of the plane (the part with the wings attached) stopping well short of the end of the plane, leaving the hollow gaps behind the shins visible.

There's landing gear under the nose, but due to its length, you can't fold it up without partially transforming the nose. Still, it's barely longer than the undercarriage, so has almost no visible effect on the plane's position.

On the plus side, the yellow wing edges and cockpit, and Decepticon sigils on the wings look good. The only underwing kibble is the arms, which are almost flush against the fuselage, and have the null rays mounted to them. The limbs, body, and nose tab together very well, though the wings can still flap up due to the spin/slice gimmick. The null rays point the right way in each mode while being permanently molded into the arms, so they can't be lost by little kids.

Acid Storm is by no means a good toy, but is bad in unique and interesting ways, and I don't regret the purchase. If I'd paid full price, or bought the mold in a character I already own a superior toy of, it'd be a different story. Maybe I just really like lavender.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by ganon578 »

After I told myself my wallet needed to chill for a while, I decided to really cool it off by picking up Siege Ultra Magnus and Siege Shockwave (cooled mostly by evaporative cooling as the money came out so quickly).

They are indeed much smaller than previous Leader class figures, being only a head or so taller than Voyagers Optimus and Megatron (this is only true for Ultra Magnus, I will get to Shockwave in a sec). Honestly I don't much mind the size in this case - I never pictured UM being double the height of OP, so for me, this seems about right. The top of OP's head comes up to the top of UM's shoulder. The inner UM robot's height is about even with OP within a few millimeters, but he's stockier. The full UM is super chunky, and has a great heft to him. He's still got a great range of movement, and he's really stable on his feet. He's got a boat load (or truck load) of weapons to boot. On the whole, he's really fun, but I think quite a few people will be less than pleased with the overall cost compared to the size. It's a tough recommendation based on the price tag, but you'll get a fine representation and a good figure.

Shockwave, on the other hand, is small, and the darker purple might not suit everone's tastes. The main bot is shorter than Voyager OP & Megs by nearly a head. Even with all of his Shoctowave doo-dads attached, he's even with them. I think that is a bigger sticking point for people: is the cost really worth it for the size? From only that perspective, no. If you're good with all the funkiness of the figure, you'd be pleased to know he's incredibly fun. There's a balance there: while he's what some would consider undersized, the darn thing is great to fiddle with. He's got a bonkers space battleship mode (with some parts-forming) that I initially thought was dumb via photos, but in hand it's nice. Tons of detail, and something that reminds me of ships from Star Wars or whatnot. He's even got a 'laser gun' mode from the inner bot itself. The inner bot is a great likeness with fantastic range of movement, not too much 'grime' paint, and the light piping on his eye works amazingly. If you chose, he can also space-surf with the extra armor parts combined into what I understand is a 'drone'. All armored up he's got big ole shoulder pads, four arms, two 'tentacles' hanging off his backpack, and two death skates on his feet. It's doofy. And fun. And I can't put him down.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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It makes sense to me that Ultra Magnus wound up that size, since you have half the toy wrapping around the other half and the resulting robot mode looks very big and bulky. It seems to gain in girth most of what it gives up in height. I never would have expected a figure as tall as an older Leader-class from doing that.

But I really can't fathom what they were thinking with Shockwave. Lots of people were asking for a Magnus that was a standalone cab robot with armour, including me. And basing the alt-mode on his RiD counterpart was a nice touch. Shockwave just feels so utterly...random by comparison. Add-ons that brought to mind the Energon or Animated or Movie versions of the character would have made him much more appealing, at least to me. From the comments I've seen elsewhere, I'm pretty sure that 90% of the Shockwaves that get bought are eventually going to wind up on display as just their core robot mode, with the extras stuffed into a box in a closet and forgotten.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Denyer »

Re-posting as one or two posts were lost in the server move.
ganon578 wrote:
Warcry wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:48 pmI never would have expected a figure as tall as an older Leader-class from doing that.
Nor would I. I really feel the height is appropriate here - I wouldn't want a UM that's 2X the height of Optimus. I think some people in the fandom (other sites, other boards) are for whatever reason caught off guard by the size 'change'. Honestly though, the heft (plastic weight) accommodates for the 'lack' of height while maintaining the same price point. It's like a reverse version of SS13 Megatron - Voyager priced, but nearly as tall as a leader since his torso is as hollow as a balloon.
Warcry wrote: Thu Jan 17, 2019 10:48 pmBut I really can't fathom what they were thinking with Shockwave. Lots of people were asking for a Magnus that was a standalone cab robot with armour, including me. And basing the alt-mode on his RiD counterpart was a nice touch. Shockwave just feels so utterly...random by comparison. Add-ons that brought to mind the Energon or Animated or Movie versions of the character would have made him much more appealing, at least to me. From the comments I've seen elsewhere, I'm pretty sure that 90% of the Shockwaves that get bought are eventually going to wind up on display as just their core robot mode, with the extras stuffed into a box in a closet and forgotten.
I agree. I wonder if the abundance of Decepticons in the Voyager ranks is to blame. It's already 3-1 over the first two waves, so I maybe Hasbro tacked on all the extras and slapped him into the Leader class? Shockwave as a whole is pretty fun, but I think that'll fade for me, and as you mentioned, he'll be just Voyager Shockwave at some point on my shelf.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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Cyberverse Windblade.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

I saw larger-than-Deluxe Siege figures in store yesterday. I picked up a box thinking, "This must be one of the new Voyagers", only for it to be Ultra Magnus. I don't care much for the character, but the figure looked well enough done that I was considering it, even at $50. The weathering put me off, though. I get that it's supposed to look like the characters have suffered battle damage. But, the material isn't actually dented, so it just looks like a mildly scuffed toy instead of a battle-scarred warrior.

What's the interior of Siege UM's trailer like? Is it a functional car carrier, or is it full of big-bot parts?


I got X-Changers, off-brand Transformers that turn into off-brand NERF guns. The guns fire really well, one going almost the length of my house. The bot modes are OK, having more articulation than kiddie TFs, not quite as much as Generations figures. 4 have the firing mechanisms on their backs, making them a little hard to pose. The other has the firing mechanism in his torso, like a non-NERF Treadshot.

Their names are Strone, Tatus, Borg, Lokom, and Shmog (who I've been calling Schlamantha). They have a combined form, simply refered to as "The Big One", because you just can't come up with a 6th name of that caliber. I haven't been able to form The Big One due to the torso bot's arm connectors being stuck. From what I could see from building the torso and legs, it wasn't going to be worth the trouble.

The US$25 set comes with 4 larger-than-Deluxe bots, one Voyager sized bot, and 30 darts, of which I've only lost one. A lot of the joints use clear plastic, which tens to be weaker than opaque, but it's thick enough that I'm not too worried.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

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TLK Premier Edition Squeeks
An ugly toy that has unsuprizingly shelf-warmed like hell, along with that massive RC version. I was bored wandering around Sheffield on a visit yesterday whilst I was waiting for my girlfriend, so popped into a nearby Argos where they had Squeeks on clearance for £3.99. Despite being ugly, he's been surprising fun! The robot mode only has articulation in the arms, but you can switch out the handlebars for a proper robot arm which can hold a massive gun. It looks very silly, but is good fun. Unlike the onscreen version, Squeeks actually transforms, so has a bit of a hump back. The transformation to scooter is pretty ingenious and the thing itself looks great. It's nicely detailed and looks good. To make up the budget for a Deluxe, Squeeks also comes with a trailer on casters which opens up into a little mobile repair bay, with a tool box (which opens), a crane arm and what look like some kind of floodlamps. Detailing throughout both the robot and repair bay is fantastic and Squeeks is blessed with a nice weathered/ rusted paint job that the Siege figures can only dream of. Overall, Squeeks, despite being an ugly snot, is great fun and great to play with.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by ganon578 »

Tantrum wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:23 pmWhat's the interior of Siege UM's trailer like? Is it a functional car carrier, or is it full of big-bot parts?
There's some open space in there, but not what I would say is a functional carrier. The UM head and 'gauntlets' hang down there, and the trailer clips on in various spots making it a chore to open or close for cars. I don't think it fits anything Legends scale, but the Race Car micromasters might fit.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Warcry »

POTP stuff is on clearance here and my wife was a sweetheart and picked up Bludgeon for me while grocery shopping. He's not as cute as some of the other tiny little Decepticon Pretenders, but he's a nice little addition to the group once I modified him to be able to hold a Lego katana. I think I've actually (rather accidentally, since she bought most of them for me) wound up with the whole set on the Decepticon side, now.

I'm still a bit disappointed that they didn't do more with the Pretender idea, but I'm honestly not sure what you could do with the concept and modern toy design. TBH I'm pretty sure what I'd have the most fun with is a set of Marvel Legends-style action figures based on the shells, anyway.
ganon578 wrote: Nor would I. I really feel the height is appropriate here - I wouldn't want a UM that's 2X the height of Optimus. I think some people in the fandom (other sites, other boards) are for whatever reason caught off guard by the size 'change'. Honestly though, the heft (plastic weight) accommodates for the 'lack' of height while maintaining the same price point. It's like a reverse version of SS13 Megatron - Voyager priced, but nearly as tall as a leader since his torso is as hollow as a balloon.
I'm guessing from pics that Magnus winds up being about as tall as the old Universe Ultras? With different engineering you could easily have wound up with something as big and bulky as TR Blaster, but since Magnus's super mode is "layered" instead of having big hollow parts like Blaster... I guess people just want to have their cake and eat it too? Even Shockwave, I'm sure he's got as much to him as older leaders, it's just arranged differently (and in his case kind of extraneously, and therein lies the gripe).
ganon578 wrote:I agree. I wonder if the abundance of Decepticons in the Voyager ranks is to blame. It's already 3-1 over the first two waves, so I maybe Hasbro tacked on all the extras and slapped him into the Leader class? Shockwave as a whole is pretty fun, but I think that'll fade for me, and as you mentioned, he'll be just Voyager Shockwave at some point on my shelf.
That's probably got a lot to do with it, yeah. If they wanted to do the whole set of pre-Movie 'Con headliners in one line, there were only so many spots to go around and someone had to get bumped up a size class. But just from what we've seen in the line so far, I'm kind of confused about why we got a Leader Shockwave with a random Goblin Glider and a Voyager Soundwave and not a Voyager Shockwave and a Leader Soundwave with a bunch of cassetticons as his add-ons instead. That would have made a whole lot more sense to me.
Tantrum wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:23 pm I saw larger-than-Deluxe Siege figures in store yesterday. I picked up a box thinking, "This must be one of the new Voyagers", only for it to be Ultra Magnus.
The packages are really compact and that probably feeds into the size complaints too. I haven't seen any Leaders yet but I've mistaken the Voyagers for Deluxes a couple times. There's definitely benefits to conserving space (cheaper to ship, and you can cram more figures into the same amount of shelf space) but when you can't tell the different size classes apart at a glance that's maybe going a bit too far.
Tantrum wrote: Sun Jan 20, 2019 7:23 pmThe weathering put me off, though. I get that it's supposed to look like the characters have suffered battle damage. But, the material isn't actually dented, so it just looks like a mildly scuffed toy instead of a battle-scarred warrior.
It really doesn't do anything for me either, and the quality really differs from figure to figure. I think it actually looks pretty good on Sideswipe and Hound, but it's a complete afterthought on Flywheels and Cog. Prime and Megatron just look like they need a bath to wash the mud off.
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Tantrum »

Thanks for the info, ganon.

Warcry - You're right about the benefits of conserving space, but, I don't think that's what Hasbro's doing. If anything, sitching from carded to boxed Deluxe figues wastes space, and that angled part off to the left side of each package seems mostly wasted space.


Walmart had a bunch of toys on clearance, including $7 Hot Rod reissues. I passed on that since I already have one, but got the following for $2.50 each:

Energon Igniters Megatron - He'd be a great little figure if it weren't for the huge gap in the back where the energon core plugs in. His vehicle mode is hollower than SS's robot mode. A conveniently placed 5mm holes means I should be abke to find a weapon or something to plug in and cover the gap. He rolls OK, not great. His primary color is a shade of vlue that manages to be simultaneously pastel and ominous.

Bot mode looks good, except for the hollowed out tank treads on each shoulder. Within the treads, the shoulders are sculpted assymetrically to match his onscreen (RotF) appearance, which is nice. Arms have a pivot on each shoulder and elbow. The transformation joints in the legs give you a little choice in stances. The head swivels.

Energon Igniters Dropkick - The highlight of the group. Pinned wheels means he actually rolls. Pavels cover the gap for the energon core so, without it, he looks like a normal toy muscle car. You can push down on the trunk with you finger to reveal guns in the sides of the cars and cannons within the windshield, but this also reveals a giant gap in the back of the car.

Bot mode is less impressive than Megs, but still OK. The black and navy blue pallette makes the nice sculpted detail hard to notice. Articulation is limited to outward swinging hinges in the shoulders and hips, and forward hinges in the elbows. You can still unfold the panels for the energon core, giving you a choice of silhouettes; one compact and blocky, the other borader and open.

There's a 5 mm hole in the car undercarriage, which ends up within the bot torso, that I can't figure out the point of.

Cyberverse Scout Windblade - The lowlight of the group. Bot looks OK; articulation is ball jointed shoulders and hips, hinged knees, no elbows or neck. Gerwalk mode is pointless. If she used something like this in the show, maybe it'd have some appeal. This is the line for younger kids, meaning some poor sucker could get this figure as their first Transformer ever. If this were my first Transformer, I wouldn't get a second one.

PotP Outback - not yet opened, but I know what to expect from Brawn. I planned to pass on him, but he was only $2.50.
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Skyquake87
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Skyquake87 »

TLK Premier Edition Hound
Not really a big Movie Hound fan, but this guy was down to £13 in the Entertainer. The figure is pretty plain looking, being mostly green. The articulation in the legs is pretty limited, arms are fine. Nice snap on weapons and stuff. Headsculpt looks great. Where the toy really shines is in a clever transformation. Suddenly the limited articulation makes sense. There's no way you could knees in here without it turning into a ROTF exercise in frustration. Vehicle mode is nice too, with some limited, but effective paint apps. A fun toy, if not especially memorable.
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Clay
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Re: NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Post by Clay »

RE: sizes

The more vocal parts of the fandom have always conflated size with height. A specific example I can think of, from 2008, was how the animated Lockdown was taller than Lugnut, so that meant he was bigger despite being the former being a deluxe and the latter a voyager. If you look on the wiki, it still makes that comment.

But the thing is that size classes aren't about height, they're about mass. So I dug out Lockdown and Lugnut from 2008 and picked a couple of studio figures (Stinger and Starscream) from 2018 for comparison purposes. Lockdown is 19cm tall but only weighs 115g, whereas Lugnut is a squat 14cm tall but weighs almost twice as much at 200g. For the studio figures I picked, Stinger is 12cm tall and weighs 65g, and Starscream is 19cm tall and weighs 145g... which is more than twice as much as the deluxe.

I don't think it's to anyone's surprise that the figures have gotten lighter, but the mass ratio between the size classes is, relatively, the same as it has been. As to whether one figure ends up taller than another, that's strictly down to the figure and the mechanism of transformation. Studio Megatron, like ganon said, is tall but hollow. Lockdown is tall but super lanky. Lugnut is short but thick.

While the newer figures are lighter, I also want to be fair and point out that, at a glance, they seem to have higher part counts (at least for the studio vs animated figures I looked at), and so a higher cost of manufacturing. So while the prices have gone up and the mass of the plastic in the figure has gone down, the cost to make them might not have dropped at the same rate. Even so, $20 msrp for deluxes still gives me sticker shock.
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