Transformers

[Brainbox]

Actually I must say that Wheelie's spotlight is one of my favourites. He's not annoying (has nobody to really annoy).

I never really took to Wheelie, annoying is what he is really.

But it's nice to see him get a book, on his own it's a stroke of luck.

He may end up a lonely boy, but at least there's no-one to annoy.

[Lord Thrawn]

Say, do you guys know if any of the bookshops here in the UK (Borders, Waterstones) stick the latest TF tpbs?

[Brainbox]

Say, do you guys know if any of the bookshops here in the UK (Borders, Waterstones) stick the latest TF tpbs?

The only TF trade I've managed to find in Borders has been IDWs Marvel G1 reprint, Generations Vol 1. Shame, as it's normally quite good for trades/hardcovers. Manchester Forbidden Planet disappointed me where TF trades are concerned. They usually seem to have a few, but never that many, although I did get Infiltration from there.

But, the Waterstones there (in Manchester) seems to have a lot. I managed to pick up Escalation, Stormbringer and Spotlights Vol 1 there in one go (3 for 2 as well!), then got Megs Origin another time. The last time I went in, they had BW: The Ascending, Spotlights Vol 2, GI:Joe/TF Omnibus and a couple of others that I can't quite remember. So I'd suggest you check out Waterstones.

Picked up Alt Wheeljack from Argos the other day. A pretty nice figure, and even better for being £7.39. Not found anywhere to put him yet though...

[Lord Thrawn]

I will definitely check Waterstones out. Thanks! :)

And cool about Wheeljack. Kind of annoying he's not white and green but whatever. How has he been to Transform? I hear the Mustang mold is the hardest.

[Brainbox]

I will definitely check Waterstones out. Thanks! :)

I've got money now, so I think I will as well. I want the next books in the series.

And cool about Wheeljack. Kind of annoying he's not white and green but whatever. How has he been to Transform? I hear the Mustang mold is the hardest.

Yeah, white and green would be nice, but the blue looks rather good.

It seems that all the Alts have one aspect to the transformation sequence that is nigh-on impossible to do first time around. With Smokescreen, it was getting the legs to fold back to car mode, with Smokescreen it was getting the head to work. With Wheeljack, it's the arms. The bonnet wouldn't shut at one point, but I realised what was wrong, so that doesn't count. But the arms, my God. Because of the way they have to be folded, rotated, clipped, extended and so on, it takes a while to remember what goes where.

Interestingly, the instructions were reused from Grimlock. The model featured in the instructions is clearly Grimlock, but the name has been changed to 'Wheeljack' twice on the instructions. Talk about cheap!

[5150 Lego]

So i've been checking out the TF2 blog fromtime totime tocheck status on the new movie, with pics and stuff. So far i'm not to impressed with the alt forms i've been seeing. Bumble Bee is the same 09 Camaro that he was in the first movie just with a new front end, hood and wheels. Whitch is fine. Kind of disapointed that prime is still the same rig he was in the first movie. Was hoping that he would change his alt mode.

TGhere's alos these two little sub compact things that are were spotted with outbot symbols on them. Looked really lame in the pics they showed. I know these are early pics, and we don't know the full story yet, but i was hoping for a bit more diversity. The rumoured SR-71 Blackbird is cool though. The Audi R8 that was spotted on set could have some potentail as well.

[JINZONINGEN73]

If the people working on TF2 had ANY sense of humor, they'd have shit on set that would make fans freak out.

Imagine (cheap) replicas of Cy-Kill, Scooter and Cop-Tur of the old Gobots line wearing TF symbols, sitting out on the shooting set, maybe even getting a (staged) "shoot" of them driving around in a circle for 30 minutes straight.

Bonus points if they had transformed versions of their block selves, with a guy inside moving the jaw like it's talking while the camera rolls!

Imagine the hilarity that would ensue on messageboards and blogs everywhere.

[AgentRick]

I would pay twice as much JUST to see that. Also, I got my first animated figs. The only problem with them is that some of their joints are loose, but I can fix that.

[5150 Lego]

If the people working on TF2 had ANY sense of humor, they'd have shit on set that would make fans freak out.

Imagine (cheap) replicas of Cy-Kill, Scooter and Cop-Tur of the old Gobots line wearing TF symbols, sitting out on the shooting set, maybe even getting a (staged) "shoot" of them driving around in a circle for 30 minutes straight.

Bonus points if they had transformed versions of their block selves, with a guy inside moving the jaw like it's talking while the camera rolls!

Imagine the hilarity that would ensue on messageboards and blogs everywhere.

Could you imagine the havac the would start? And then for those scences not to mke it into the final movie! I think bay would need FBI and KGB protectin for the next year!

[Brainbox]

Imagine (cheap) replicas of Cy-Kill, Scooter and Cop-Tur of the old Gobots line wearing TF symbols, sitting out on the shooting set, maybe even getting a (staged) "shoot" of them driving around in a circle for 30 minutes straight.

Nah, if they had the Gobots in TF2, they wouldn't have even made it past the titles, having been ripped apart in about 2 minutes.

[M'Kyuun]

Been looking at the San Diego Comic-Con pics; lots to look forward to. I'm really loving TFA Longarm/Shockwave. Very well executed as he has two bot modes and two alt modes. Shockwave's alt mode hasn't been shown in the toon yet, so it was cool to see it in the toy form. Universe Classics Hound/Ravage look amazing, esp Ravage, who's been completely redesigned, looks much more like his G1 cartoon self, and still transforms into a cassette that fits in G1 Soundwave. Between Hasbro and TLG, I'm gonna go broke!

link to images: http://www.tformers.com/ig.php?mode=album&...800&start=0

Edited July 29, 2008 by M'Kyuun

[JINZONINGEN73]

lol@ the classic minicar redo's being better in some ways, but then a step backwards in others.

Beachcomber's arms were better before, now there's kibble where his hands used to be.

[Brainbox]

Been looking at the San Diego Comic-Con pics; lots to look forward to.

You're right, there really are some fantastic things coming out. I've still to see any of Animated (stupid digital-channel-broadcast-only), but some of the figures look great. Swoop looks nice, might have to get him (and Grimloock to boot), and I quite like the look of Swindle as well. Blurr doesn't look too bad either. Honestly, I was only planning on getting TFA Prowl, now look!

Universe seems to be going from strength to strength. Ironhide, Sideswipe, Hound/Ravage and the first three Legends are must-haves, and I quite like Inferno as well. The Legends minibots, well, Brawn looks really neat. The others look okay, but I'm not sure really. Not too sure on 25th Cheetor though. The beast mode looks pretty accurate, but the robot's a bit... you know...

[M'Kyuun]

You're right, there really are some fantastic things coming out. I've still to see any of Animated (stupid digital-channel-broadcast-only), but some of the figures look great. Swoop looks nice, might have to get him (and Grimloock to boot), and I quite like the look of Swindle as well. Blurr doesn't look too bad either. Honestly, I was only planning on getting TFA Prowl, now look!

Universe seems to be going from strength to strength. Ironhide, Sideswipe, Hound/Ravage and the first three Legends are must-haves, and I quite like Inferno as well. The Legends minibots, well, Brawn looks really neat. The others look okay, but I'm not sure really. Not too sure on 25th Cheetor though. The beast mode looks pretty accurate, but the robot's a bit... you know...

Gotta concur about Cheetor..not diggin' it too much. TFA Blurr looks awesome, as does Longarm/Shockwave. Looking forward to Ironhide, Cyclonus, and Hound/Ravage. I'm really pleased with the Universe and TFA toys. Glad that Hasbro takes an interest in its fanbase, giving us alot more classic looking Transformers, esp after all the Armada and Energon stuff, which held no interest for me. I've been hoping for something like Classics for a very long time, and I think they've done a great job with the homages, as well as the toy designs themselves.

Been collecting these things for a long time now, and man, I have to say that kids today just don't appreciate how great toy design is now, esp on complex toys like Transformers. The Transformer toys of my youth were approx $13 a pop and were little more than die-cast bricks. As much as die-cast gives one a feel of solidarity, I prefer the lighter more poseable, if not cheaper, all plastic toys for the general lines. I was seduced by the dark side and eschewed the all-plastic American Alternators for the die-cast Japanese BinalTechs, with no regrets. To me, those were more along the lines of collectibles, and generally the BT's looked better than their Alternator counterparts. Sorry, got a little carried away in my geekdom...turning down the volume!

[Brainbox]

Looking forward to Ironhide, Cyclonus, and Hound/Ravage.

Not too fussed on Cyclonus. But the sheer fact that they've named his Targetmaster partner correctly as Nightstick gets it a couple of extra points.

Glad that Hasbro takes an interest in its fanbase, giving us alot more classic looking Transformers, esp after all the Armada and Energon stuff, which held no interest for me. I've been hoping for something like Classics for a very long time, and I think they've done a great job with the homages, as well as the toy designs themselves.

To be honest, we should have expected something like this for the 25th anniversary. Hasbro could hardly let it go unnoticed now, could they?

[M'Kyuun]

Not too fussed on Cyclonus. But the sheer fact that they've named his Targetmaster partner correctly as Nightstick gets it a couple of extra points.

To be honest, we should have expected something like this for the 25th anniversary. Hasbro could hardly let it go unnoticed now, could they?

Actually, I had no idea what his Targetmaster's name was...not too fussed about Targetmasters. It's a gimmick that doesn't really do much for me...more interested in the wielder, and Cyclonus captures the look of his predecessor.

I'd agree about the 25th anniversary comment, but I'm not sure that Classics was born of that intention, but merely as a limited transitory line until the movie toys hit shelves. It's a matter of Hasbro's choosing good characters ,making some some decent toys for the line, and fans' nostalgia that made it successful. If you're referring to their bringing back Targetmasters, and, by extension, potentially Headmasters and Powermasters, then I think it's simply a product decision to pick characters and ideas from across the various classic lines and give them updated toys, as well as introduce some variety to Universe. None of the said 'Masters' lines were too interesting to me, but I'm a definite fan of recreating the classic iconic characters with updated articulation and aesthetics; if some of the classics are incorporated into one of the 'Masters' lines, and they're executed with the same attention and detail of the Classics toys thus far, I'll gladly add them to my collection.

[Brainbox]

Actually, I had no idea what his Targetmaster's name was...not too fussed about Targetmasters. It's a gimmick that doesn't really do much for me...more interested in the wielder, and Cyclonus captures the look of his predecessor.

I've just been having another look at the pictures, and he's growing on me. Still not sure I'll get him, but I definitely like him more than I did when I first saw the pics.

If you're referring to their bringing back Targetmasters, and, by extension, potentially Headmasters and Powermasters, then I think it's simply a product decision to pick characters and ideas from across the various classic lines and give them updated toys, as well as introduce some variety to Universe.

I was referring more to them bringing back characters and ideas that are, to one extent or another, fan-favourites. There are some people that are real fans of the Masters lines, and they were quite a big part of the Transformers mythos, even to the extent that characters got rereleased with partners (including Prime). Look at the other characters we're getting- Prowl, Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Ironhide (and likely Ratchet), Hound, and Inferno and Bluestreak/Silverstreak to a lesser degree, are all prominent and popular Autobots, and most were in from the very beginning. They're characters that are ingrained in the minds of fans, both from the 80s and not. Then there's Ravage, probably one of the most remembered characters in the whole of G1.

Then there are the figures from other eras. Cheetor and Hot Shot have been chosen because they were some of the most remembered characters from their eras, and G2 Megs was one of the few rereleased characters to get a new mold. He was a good design then, and he still is.

And on top of that, the new toys all just great molds.

[zero1312]

Finally Hasbro is doing something right.

[M'Kyuun]

I'm very much a G1 fan, but only the first season. From the second season on, I lost interest in the show (the writing became silly to me) but retained my interest in the toys, although the toys became increasingly more all-plastic with the same lack of articulation. I missed the all the head, target, and powermasters eps because we didn't get the channel on our cable. In fact, to date, i've still never seen all the episodes following the movie when Prime was brought back and Rodimus was a self-doubting whiner, nor anything from G2. G2 came out when I was stationed in Okinawa, and ironically, i don't think I saw a single Transformer show in the two years I was there, although a little toy shop near Kadena had several Transformers and tons of Gundam models.

The toys of today are little inexpensive works of art, and not just Transformers, although their complexity and engineering raise them to to a higher level IMHO. I'm with you Brainbox...I applaud Hasbro's choices thus far for the Classics/Universe line, as these are the iconic characters going all the way back to the beginning. I hope sales continue to be lucrative, prompting Hasbro to continue in this vein for a few more years. After picking up last year's movie toys, I honestly have little interest in either the second movie or its toys. TFA and Classics are much better to me.

Edited August 7, 2008 by M'Kyuun

[AgentRick]

I'm very much a G1 fan, but only the first season. From the second season on, I lost interest in the show (the writing became silly to me) but retained my interest in the toys, although the toys became increasingly more all-plastic with the same lack of articulation. I missed the all the head, target, and powermasters eps because we didn't get the channel on our cable. In fact, to date, i've still never seen all the episodes following the movie when Prime was brought back and Rodimus was a self-doubting whiner, nor anything from G2. G2 came out when I was stationed in Okinawa, and ironically, i don't think I saw a single Transformer show in the two years I was there, although a little toy shop near Kadena had several Transformers and tons of Gundam models.

Season 3 wasn't all that, so if you don't want to watch them, you don't have too. The one good episode i remember from that was the last two episodes with Optimus prime returning. There was never a Powermasters series in the US and season 4 (headmasters and targetmasters) was just a 3-part miniseries. I'm not all that big on G2, but I think it was just the G1 episodes repackaged with a new intro.

[Brainbox]

The toys of today are little inexpensive works of art, and not just Transformers, although their complexity and engineering raise them to to a higher level IMHO.

Even the molds we all admit aren't so good still attain a certain level of engineering genius. However, while the original toys were mostly articulation-less, I still have a fondness for them. I wasn't around at the time, being born at the close of G1 (BW was my era), but seeing pictures I appreciate them for what they are. The level of technical complexity wasn't quite as easy to come by in the 80s. I have the reissue Jazz and Starscream, and I have to say I love them, even if they're not super-posable.

I'm not all that big on G2, but I think it was just the G1 episodes repackaged with a new intro.

A new intro and a new way of cutting between scenes and shots.

[M'Kyuun]

The old toys do have their charm, despite their brickiness. They were innovative for their time, along with the concept itself (well, at least in the West. The Japanese have been into robots and mecha since the 40's or 50's.)

I'm sure I could download the various seasons of T-Formers, but the thought of later things like Kremzeek and "Cosmic Rust", along with Seaspray's annoying banter and voice (no insult to the VA who did the voice, as it's fitting I suppose, but annoying nonetheless) cause involuntary cringing and loathing. I loved the first 16 eps. period. After that, the show took a down turn in the writing and plots, and lost what little muturity and seriousness it had in the first season. So, I treasure my first season DVDs, and refuse to sully my good memories of the series by watching any of the remaining, with the movie as the only exception. Actually, there were a lot of things I disliked about the movie, mostly in the dialog and silliness, plus the need to jettison Decepticons to shed weight...in the vacuum of space. Just, well, terrible. I remember being blown away by the art, as it was so far and above Western animation (and, really, still is). I like humor, but I like dark humour and eschew slapstick and corny humour, and that's what was employed in the latter eps and the movie.

Now Beast Wars had some corniness, but in a more , I dunno, mature manner. Some of the humour was subtle, and others just in your face silly, but the show had a charm that was different than the G1, G2 toons. i wasn't crazy about animals as alts at first, but like Animated, it took a few eps of appreciating the writing, the characterizations, and the plots to appreciate that it was different, yeah, but in a good, appreciable way.

Funny, for years I uttered great plumes of invective towards poor Flint Dille, who assumed the position of Executive Producer of Transformers from second season on, and also executive produced G.I. Joe, which I found barely watchable because of its ridiculous writing and one-sidedness. So, from the age of 14 until just a few years ago, when the 20th anniversary Movie DVD came out, I blamed Flint for singlehandedly destroying The Transformers for me and reducing it to mindless crap. Why so serious, you ask? First season was my raison d'etre..the Holy Grail of coolness, and it had been taken from me, replaced with G.I. Joe -like dumbness. However, I granted Flint a personal reprieve, as I watched some interviews with the writers fro m the show expounding on their personal creations of all the various things I loathed in the cartoon, and their freedom to do so (after all, the show had to go on, and it really was a 20 minute advertisement for toys...I didn't feel that way personally, but I've come to accept it in my old age) So Mr. Flint Dille, if you're reading this, sir, I absolve you!

[Brainbox]

The old toys do have their charm, despite their brickiness. They were innovative for their time, along with the concept itself (well, at least in the West. The Japanese have been into robots and mecha since the 40's or 50's.)

But for the first time, we had a proper back-story and proper characters. Some of the most popular Transformers characters came out of G1 and are still remembered today, even by people, like myself, who weren't around at the time. Hell, in Prime and Megatron we got some of the best and most remembered characters ever.

Actually, there were a lot of things I disliked about the movie, mostly in the dialog and silliness, plus the need to jettison Decepticons to shed weight...in the vacuum of space. Just, well, terrible. I remember being blown away by the art, as it was so far and above Western animation (and, really, still is).

That, and it killed off Prime.

Having said that, I didn't mind the movie. Taken at face value, for what it is, it's an okay watch. By no means a cinematic innovation, but hardly bad either. Except that it got rid of Megs as well as Prime. But it did give us Unicron...

Now Beast Wars had some corniness, but in a more , I dunno, mature manner. Some of the humour was subtle, and others just in your face silly, but the show had a charm that was different than the G1, G2 toons. i wasn't crazy about animals as alts at first, but like Animated, it took a few eps of appreciating the writing, the characterizations, and the plots to appreciate that it was different, yeah, but in a good, appreciable way.

As I said before, BW was my era. When it came out in 1996, I was 5 or 6, so it was my first experience of TF. I remember my 5th or 6th birthday, and my friend bought me Insecticon thinking it something I might like. And that started it all. I didn't get to see an awful lot of the series when it was on, and I can't seem to find it on DVD here, but I do remember some episodes. The one where Rhinox is subverted into a Predacon stuck in my mind.

[M'Kyuun]

Have you tried finding Beast Wars DVDs online? I got my box sets at Suncoast, a DVD/music retail chain in the States, but I'm not sure if they sell internationally. I would think someone out there would sell BW and MW online.

I didn't realize how young you were...or maybe it's just that I'm getting old (37). Still don't look it or feel it, though, and toys keep me young. Anyway, you're actually old enough to appreciate, and potentially afford, alot of the really neat stuff that's out there nowadays. I was born in '71 and grew up through the 80s when toys were not taken seriously by adults, there was no fan input, toys were generally cheaply made, had little articulation or detail, and were dressed up greatly by box artwork, which advertised all the things you wished your toy could do. Now toy companies are starting to pay attention to their fandom. Hats off to both TLG and Hasbro for being frontrunners in the new paradigm shift.

As for T-formers, I'm still trying to find some of the 2nd and 3rd wave of TFA. Pickins are slim here in Spokane, WA. I think the international market gets this stuff before we do...we're an afterthought here in the Pacific Northwest, overshadowed by Seattle.

[Brainbox]

Have you tried finding Beast Wars DVDs online? I got my box sets at Suncoast, a DVD/music retail chain in the States, but I'm not sure if they sell internationally. I would think someone out there would sell BW and MW online.

Might have to come to that, yeah. Cheers for the suggestion.

Hats off to both TLG and Hasbro for being frontrunners in the new paradigm shift.

Exactly. It's now more acceptable than ever to be a 'geek'.

As for T-formers, I'm still trying to find some of the 2nd and 3rd wave of TFA. Pickins are slim here in Spokane, WA. I think the international market gets this stuff before we do...we're an afterthought here in the Pacific Northwest, overshadowed by Seattle.

Frankly, you should count yourself lucky. Over here we've only got half of the first wave.