Combiner Wars Slingshot and Wildrider are coming to the US as online exclusives, and John DeLuna calls it a fairytale ending. Exvee and Rob Clay credit Takara Tomy for the original-team heads and look ahead to Defensor and the Technobots. Rob shows off bootleg upscaled FansProject Combaticon limbs found in Walgreens Easter baskets. The crew finishes with BotCon 2015’s first reveal, Pack Rat, and the club’s Lio Convoy and Nova Prime.
Slingshot and Wildrider Head to the US
Combiner Wars Slingshot and Wildrider will reach the US as online exclusives. Exvee did not expect them so soon, since they were absent from Toy Fair despite inventory leaks. [Source: TFviews] Rob and Exvee both cite a Takara Tomy designer interview and believe Takara pushed for the original-team heads in the tooling. Exvee thinks Hasbro’s Alpha Bravo and Offroad add variety for retail, while Takara sells to an adult market. Exvee says the old rules no longer apply. He is eager to see how Takara builds a Groove for Defensor, possibly from the Technobots. He cites inventory leaks of a Scattershot Voyager for 2016. Rob hopes the line eventually breaks out of the G1 mold entirely.
Bootleg Combaticons in an Easter Basket
Rob found upscaled copies of FansProject’s Explorer and Munitioner in $15.99 Walgreens Easter baskets. These knockoffs of Energon Bruticus add-ons are now bigger than Deluxes, and the shuttle measures about eight inches. He jokes they are the first knockoffs made of crayon. The soft plastic means less brittleness, though the narrow head stalk and sharp edges worry him. Exvee found a basket with Rob’s other figure but not both. Rob reads the maker’s name, Mega Toys, off the label and expects the figures to surface at discount stores.
BotCon 2015 Starts With Pack Rat
The first BotCon 2015 exclusive is Pack Rat, a blue redeco of the Generations Rattrap mold. [Source: TFWiki] Exvee likes it more in blue than as Rattrap but warns that the mold’s shin hinges can crack in normal use. He advises never transforming it unless the issue is fixed. Rob and Exvee see value in both eclectic and themed box sets. Neither is drawn to the heist-style story.
Lio Convoy and Nova Prime
Both are white repaints of the Orion Pax mold for the collectors’ club. Rob likes the Orion Pax mold and the Lio Convoy deco, though he preferred the first head shown. Rob calls Nova Prime the same toy, except boring. Exvee suspects the two share plastic colors and make up the difference with paint.
Contributors: John DeLuna, Exvee, Rob Clay
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