POST YOUR NEWEST ACQUISITIONS!

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Sat Jul 18, 2015 9:46 pm

Found CW Hot Spot, Legends Groove, and Cyclonus at TRU yesterday. I also found AoE Gen Lockdown and Power Battlers Lockdown, Grimlock, Slag, Vehicon, and Junkheap at TJ Maxx. If they'd made a Power Battlers Sludge, I'd have the entire G1 Dinobot lineup in AoE kiddie form.

Post by **Blackjack** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 1:42 am

After a good nine or so months since my last robot purchase, I caved in and bought Ultra Magnus! He looks purty. Also Bombshell. And Dead End. And First Aid. And a Skydive that inexplicably got switched with a QuickslingerSlingshot when I got home from the toy store.

Also some less brand-new toys I got are Generations Roadbuster. And that Evac dude from Universal Studios.

That leader Megatron is sorta tempting and I really want to buy the full sets of Stunticons and Aerialbots and Protectobots but I have limited money.

Though let's just say not being able to find a Blackjack ANYWHERE is a gigantic pain in the ass. It's just endless rows of the dudes from waves 1 and 3 and no Blackjack and his wavemate Huffer in sight god damn it

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 7:12 pm

Had a look in my local TRU and the only new stuffs they had were the CW Hot Spot and Cyclonus figures, plus Leader Class CW Megatron. I plumped for Hot Spot having a real soft spot for the character and him being one of my favourites from childhood. This new version has left me with really mixed feelings.

The positives are that the robot mode is fantastic, the design and detailing is spot on. There's some nice mimickry of the originals 'hazard' decals and the use of the animation model colouring for the head is ace. Articulation is spot on, although the bloody ladder assembly is as long as the robot mode is tall, so you have to swing that out of the way to do anything interesting with the legs, and I like that he comes with his two fireball cannons.

On the downside, he's incredibly hollow and the piss-poor clip on wheels that Hasbro are fond of these days are prone to popping off at every opportunity - this might be just my example, but the housings seem a shade too big for the wheels, so they just drop out. The alt mode is a bit weak. It doesn't feel like its as dense and solid as it should be, nothing feels like its clipped together properly and it very much has the whiff or a robot mode lying down and that it would suit Onslaught a lot better. The ladder assembly/ combiner bits are a bit leery in alt mode. They feel flimsy and oddly rubbery and on mine the whole thing doesn't sit central to the alt mode, which bothers me, as you can clearly see it tilting off to the right when you look at it face on.

I think if this design had come out some out ten years ago, during the Unicron trilogy era when plastics were much better (and wheels were pinned to the frame of the robot), not the flimsy crap Hasbro use these days, it'd be a killer toy. As it is, its a great design knackered by cheap materials and construction.

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:00 pm

Skyquake87 wrote:I think if this design had come out some out ten years ago, during the Unicron trilogy era when plastics were much better (and wheels were pinned to the frame of the robot), not the flimsy crap Hasbro use these days, it'd be a killer toy. As it is, its a great design knackered by cheap materials and construction.

That seems to pretty common with TFs now. I haven't opened by Hot Spot yet. I'll see if he has the same QC issues yours does.

My CW Cylonus has a loose chest flap. It holds in place fine as Galvatrous' abdomen. But, as cyclonus' chest, it flops formard just a bit, breaking up the design molded across his front. Is this common?

Notabot · Post by **Notabot** » Sun Jul 19, 2015 9:44 pm

I picked up Cyclonus and Breakdown as consolation while my family was away. Breakdown because he was the last Stunticon I needed and was on clearance (for a dollar off!!!), and Cyclonus because he was beautiful. The Walmart I was at also had both versions of leader Megatron on clearance for $35, so if anyone's looking, I can swing back and see what they have left.
I debated between Cyclonus and Hot Spot since I hadn't seen either of them in person, but I think the Hot Spot mold works better as Onslaught too, so I'll hold out for that.

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 2:10 am

Skyquake87 wrote:On the downside, he's incredibly hollow and the piss-poor clip on wheels that Hasbro are fond of these days are prone to popping off at every opportunity - this might be just my example, but the housings seem a shade too big for the wheels, so they just drop out. The alt mode is a bit weak. It doesn't feel like its as dense and solid as it should be, nothing feels like its clipped together properly and it very much has the whiff or a robot mode lying down and that it would suit Onslaught a lot better. The ladder assembly/ combiner bits are a bit leery in alt mode. They feel flimsy and oddly rubbery and on mine the whole thing doesn't sit central to the alt mode, which bothers me, as you can clearly see it tilting off to the right when you look at it face on.

I haven't noticed any problems with the wheels falling off, or the ladder assembly not being centered. There are tabs in the arms that slot into/just above the rod that connects the ladder assembly to the vehicle. If you only have one of those aligned correctly, that might explain what you're seeing.

I agree about the hollowness. The ends of the vehicle are fine, but the middle has see through grates for no discernable reason. If you don't flip his head around, you can see him looking up through his roof at you.

The vehicle tabs together OK for me; the robot and torso are another story. The robot legs are both floppy. If I don't position the knees right, he'll flop over backwards due to the weight of his back pack.

His torso hips just aren't stiff enough. If I pose him with his arms down, like the picture on the last page showing Legends Groove attached to Rook, he's fine. If I move one arm up, he slouches over. If I move both arms up, he falls on his face. Moving the arms is itself a problem, since Hot Spot's shoulders move more freely than Defensor's. And, Hot Spot's legs don't tab in very well when forming Defensor's thighs, so they come loose, especially the right one.

I plan to exchange Cyclonus for a (hopefully) non-flawed version of himself. I don't know about Hot Spot, though. I may just get a refund and order the TakaraTomy version and get Deluxe Groove, as well. Is TT Quality Control any better than Hasbro's?

Post by **Warcry** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 3:17 am

Tantrum wrote:Is TT Quality Control any better than Hasbro's?

They mostly use the same factories, so probably not by much.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 5:44 pm

It's not necessarily that takara's QC is better, it's that they release things after hasbro.

This gives them a chance to rework any tolerances, slightly retool tabs, etc etc. Coupled with more/better paint apps, this is why takara gets a better rep than hasbro

Post by **Warcry** » Tue Jul 21, 2015 11:35 pm

They definitely can fix molding issues that show up in Hasbro's production runs, but I don't think they do it all that often. A lot of huge flaws, like Generations Blitzwing's shoulders, are allowed to go unfixed. I think the fandom's cries of "Takara will fix it!" are usually based more on hope than fact.

I picked up a First Aid for myself earlier today. He's been one of my favourite combiner characters since I was a kid and I've always wanted a modernized take on him, so I'm glad for it. He's been heavily remolded from Off-Road, with a glorious new head. The colours are really nice too. I especially like that he's got two different shades of red like the original (though the layout's been mostly reversed). But the figure itself is lacking. The shoulders have pretty poor range of motion and the lower legs are gigantic, making him feel a step behind other CW toys.

electro girl · Post by **electro girl** » Wed Jul 22, 2015 10:26 pm

CW Megatron. I like him so far, not sure about the stickers.

Post by **Clay** » Fri Jul 24, 2015 10:42 pm

I picked up Breakdown and Dead End today. Had the Takara version on preorder for Wildrider, but liked the Hasbro's colors better. BBTS had Wildrider in stock again, so I bought him and dropped the Takara preorder. Now I just need to find Motormaster...

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 11:51 am

CW Cyclonus courtesy of an offer at Masterforce. Compared to some of the 30th anniversary voyagers the build quality is terrible.

Firstly, I can't believe this thing passed a drop or other safety test -- there's thin plastic on the wings that flexes and shows stress marks, and the arm fins are removable small parts (presumably why it says 8+ on the box). Tolerances are off -- hands are loose on the 5mm Nightstick that came with the deluxe-scale one, and the chest plate doe tend to fall down a bit. It's noticeably hollow, and the swirled plastic and sprue marks contribute to a general feeling of knock off. Kids would snap this thing into splinters before long even if relatively careful.

It's a nice design that does justice to the character very well for being a remould, and does more for the Targetmaster concept than the more UK comics inspired earlier release... just cheaply executed, and unacceptably so for the RRP. As others have suggested, Takara's approach might pay off... if they pick better plastic, more consistent shades of purple and at least add back the paint apps that were on the prototype at Toyfair. Here's hoping that Reprolabels come up with some enhancements... I really want to like it more, but that's a hard ask for what Hasbro have released.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 12:02 pm

Sounds like Cyclonus is as poorly built as Hotspot

These toys are less than a year apart from the 30th figures and the quality has taken a real nosedive. I get that materials and the economy and a shrinking market etc etc, but seriously, what gives? Whilst the quality on the Aerialbots and Stunticons hasn't been anything to get excited about, they don't feel like they're going to crumble to dust in your hands. I resent paying full RRP for something that's got all the quality of a pound shop bootleg. Not good enough. I'm hoping this latest batch of figures is just a blip, but I'm betting these continuing cost cutting measures are going to become the norm.

Knightdramon · Post by **Knightdramon** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:49 pm

I would think that the quality would be exactly as CW Silverbolt etc...do you also own him? Are they even comparable?

I think Hot Spot's problem is how hollow he is, overall. Most toys are actually hollow on the inside, but this one does not even attempt to cover it with other parts

Tantrum · Post by **Tantrum** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 3:55 pm

Thanks for the info, guys. I ended up keeping Hot Spot. I turned Rook around to try the Groove-as-shin idea, and Defensor stood fine. I tried a few other bots in place of Rook, and he stood fine. I put Rook back in place, roof forward, and he was unstable again. I've used Rook as Ultra Prime's leg without problems, so it's just the combo of this Hot Spot with this Rook facing forward that's a problem. Since I prefer the Groove shin anyway, that's OK.

You can tell if a Cyclonus has a floppy chest panel while it's still in the box. I didn't notice mine in the store, but when I got home, before I opened him. I did exchange him for a new one. I held the new box over my head and saw that the panel stayed in place. There were a couple that didn't stay quite in place, but none as bad as my first. I opened the new one in the parking lot to be sure.

Skyquake87 wrote:Sounds like Cyclonus is as poorly built as Hotspot These toys are less than a year apart from the 30th figures and the quality has taken a real nosedive. I get that materials and the economy and a shrinking market etc etc, but seriously, what gives? Whilst the quality on the Aerialbots and Stunticons hasn't been anything to get excited about, they don't feel like they're going to crumble to dust in your hands. I resent paying full RRP for something that's got all the quality of a pound shop bootleg. Not good enough. I'm hoping this latest batch of figures is just a blip, but I'm betting these continuing cost cutting measures are going to become the norm.

Not only that, but they weren't so reliant on repaints and retools. Brainstorm, Roadbuster, Scoop, Tankor, Rattrap, Rhinox, Sky-byte, and Waspinator all got unique molds. Scoop can move enough product on his own, but Dead-end needs 7 redos? They didn't even remove the light bar from Smokescreen.

They could have done two CW helicopters. One for Vortex, Alpha Bravo, and Victorion. A second for Blades, Spinister, and other Victorion. Three toys per mold is plenty. They could paint the Victorion limbs identically to go with their twin theme, and Defensor would look less like a mirror image of his arch-nemesis.

There's been mold degredation before, though I'm not sure how much is due to time versus use. How well can you expect these CW molds, which already use lighter plastic, to hold up by the time they get to Victorion?

The lighter plastic itself may be explained by needing to reduce gestalt weight and the associated pressure on the joints. Maybe if they'd used heavier plastic, my Defensor would always fall over.

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 5:41 pm

Knightdramon wrote:I would think that the quality would be exactly as CW Silverbolt etc...do you also own him? Are they even comparable?

I think Hot Spot's problem is how hollow he is, overall. Most toys are actually hollow on the inside, but this one does not even attempt to cover it with other parts

I've got all of CW Superion and four Stunticons, plus CW Bombshell. Even though the others have hollow parts, they feel solid, dense and stable. Hot Spot, by comparrison, feels cheaply manufactured and if he falls from any great height onto a hard surface, I can see him shattering.

HeavyArms · Post by **HeavyArms** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 5:54 pm

CW Protectobot First Aid bought last Sunday &
CW Decepticon Dragstrip on Wednesday on clearance from Target.

Post by **Denyer** » Sat Jul 25, 2015 5:56 pm

If this is mould degradation, Scattorshot's ****ed. But I'd assume there are separate moulds for Silverbolt, Cyclonus, etc. due to the extent of changes -- not that much could be directly reused -- and that most of this is due to an unwise choice of plastic (maybe it's cheaper, but other CW figures are generally okay) plus being overly reliant on CAD software and not proceeding to test wing thickness with much care.

Silverbolt is a bit more solid, although I wouldn't fancy the chances of those L shaped wings in a fall either. Hotspot's alright AFAICT, although I'd agree that part of the reason the torso figures are so lightweight has to be to keep them standing as gestalts.

I've taken the Galvatronus head out, painted the lower abs and combiner abs panels gold, and it displays well enough in both modes. The detachable fins do actually make sense as part of the transformation, although it would perhaps have been advisable to skip them entirely. It's swooshable. Just still can't quite get away from the fact it handles like Dreadwind/Darkwing bootlegs I got on holiday as a kid.

Not sure if Hasbro actually need to be taking the shortcuts they are, or are simply seeing how long the concept and quality drops can be flogged. I suspect I'll pick up Scattorshot at some point, and Sky Lynx looks like primary coloured silly fun.

Groove shin FTW.

Rack 'n Ruin · Post by **Rack 'n Ruin** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 7:26 pm

Well, they finally did it. They got me to but a Generations Legends Bumblebee. Half price at £4.99, though. I figure it looks a pretty good match to the small yellow bot on the cover of Sins of the Wreckers #1 (Hubcap?), and knowing I'll want a toy of that character after reading the comic, so...

Skyquake87 · Post by **Skyquake87** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:08 pm

CW Legends Groove!

He's an odd looking robot, all massive gangly legs and grabby hands, but he's a fun little guy and the motorbike mode is proper ace. Only downside - its a bit of a ballache getting the halves of the rear wheel aligned and clipped together properly. Nice trading card too