Fresh off BotCon 2015, John DeLuna and Rob Clay break down Hasbro’s reveals, led by the surprise of a Combiner Wars Sky Lynx torso. They weigh in on Victorion, the 1984-themed Optimus Maximus team, and the Combaticons forming Bruticus. Robots in Disguise Mini-Cons and the Transformers Devastation game get a look too. From the Tokyo Toy Show come a Masterpiece Optimus Primal, Masterpiece Ironhide, Unite Warriors Devastator elbows and a new Diaclone line.
Rescue Bots and Robots in Disguise
John recaps the opening of Hasbro’s panel: a Rescue Bots High Tide Rescue Rig playset, plus Salvage and Blurr. Robots in Disguise app updates add Night Ops Bumblebee, Gold Armor Grimlock, Ironhide and Prowl. Rob likes the Ironhide and Prowl character models and would buy toys of them. New toys include Night Ops Bumblebee, Alpine Strike and Ninja Mode Sideswipe, and Gold Armor Grimlock with a G1 head. John lists Mini-Con Wave 1: Slipstream, Divebomb, Sawback and Dragonus. Both are unsure how central the new weapon-forming Mini-Cons will be to the line. [Source: Seibertron]
Transformers Devastation
Activision’s Transformers Devastation arrives in October, and attendees got cover-art posters. Rob likes the look and is glad more characters are coming. He worries the five difficulty levels are meant to pad a full-price game that launches with four playable characters. [Source: not found]
Victorion
USA Today revealed the fan-built combiner Victorion about a day before the panel. Hasbro cited 255,000 fan votes and compared the all-female team to the Wreckers. Rob wonders if the unseen leg is another Breakdown mold, since two Alpha Bravo molds form the arms. He thinks deliberate symmetry could suit a new character better than it did Energon’s combiners. Rob says Hasbro planned to reveal the toy at San Diego Comic-Con. [Source: Seibertron]
Optimus Maximus and the 1984 Team
The 1984-themed team pairs Battle Core Optimus Prime with deluxe Ironhide, Mirage, Prowl and Sunstreaker, plus Legends Rodimus as the chest. The Optimus is a white, gray and gold redeco with a Star Convoy-inspired head. Rob likes the white Optimus but feels the four limbs fit the characters least of any team so far. He reads Hasbro’s slide crediting Kōji Ōno’s original designs as almost defensive. John agrees it pushes the limits of reusing molds for 1984 characters. [Source: Seibertron]
Bruticus and the Combaticons
Onslaught builds off Hot Spot, Swindle reworks Rook, Brawl is a new mold, and Vortex is a near-straight Alpha Bravo redeco. Blast Off is now a fighter jet rather than a shuttle. Rob likes most of the team and notes a running change between olive and silver chest plates. He calls Blast Off his least favorite and says he would have preferred a new character, like Alpha Bravo, Offroad and Rook. John still expects Takara to make a shuttle. [Source: TFW2005]
Sky Lynx and Wave 2 2016
Sky Lynx as a Voyager torso was the panel’s big surprise, and both love it. Rob wishes the bird and lynx separated but likes the new body type. His team, Wheeljack, Hound, Smokescreen and Trailbreaker, reuses existing molds. Rob only needs Smokescreen and dislikes Wheeljack’s flat chest details. Both dislike toys with a molded second alt-mode on the chest. Also shown were Legends Buzzsaw, Shockwave, Chop Shop and Pipes, and Leader Skywarp. [Source: Seibertron]
Tokyo Toy Show
Takara teased a Masterpiece Optimus Primal, which Rob says could tempt him back to Masterpiece. Masterpiece Ironhide draws mixed fan reaction. Rob understands why, since Ironhide’s animation model is hard to match, while John thinks it simply looks like Ironhide. Takara’s Unite Warriors Constructicons gain elbow joints, and both wonder whether Scrapper can still stand. Rob is fascinated by the new Masterpiece-style Diaclone Dia-Battles and a revived Diaclone line. [Source: TFW2005]
Contributors: John DeLuna, Rob Clay
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