HasCon is over, and its leftover exclusives hit Hasbro Toy Shop as the crew weighs Titans Return Arcee against a pricey movie Optimus Prime. The Bumblebee movie crew paints over a community mural in Vallejo, and Last Knight Cogman is delayed indefinitely. Toys R Us files for bankruptcy, and Fans Hobby announces a Red Dragon Megatron homage. Plus Diaclone concept art, statues and a Power of the Primes Optimus Prime next to MP-10.
News
HasCon Exclusives Up Now on Hasbro Toy Shop
Leftover HasCon and SDCC exclusives went up on Hasbro Toy Shop. The movie Voyager Optimus Prime with a piece of tire was still available, and Deadpool went fastest. The crew calls the $50 Primitive Skateboarding Optimus Prime the better buy. Rob says the movie Prime is too much for a Voyager, and that Hasbro’s bigger boxes add cost without adding paint. The crew agrees Titans Return Arcee was a great exclusive and suspects it may be the only way to get her. [Source: TFormers]
Transformers The Last Knight Deluxe Cogman Release Date Delayed Indefinitely
Chris wrote the story. TakaraTomy has pulled its October Cogman with no new date, and the US case assortment packs only two Cogman figures among reruns. Chris expects most fans will never see one on a shelf. The crew notes the same pattern with the Slugslinger wave and the coming Power of the Primes cases. [Source: TFormers]
Bumblebee Crew Destroys Local Art in Downtown Vallejo
The Bumblebee movie crew painted over a 2012 community mural in Vallejo that memorialized local people who had died. A miscommunication with the building owner seems to be to blame. Paramount has promised to pay for the restoration. Rob recalls Lorenzo di Bonaventura bragging at HasCon about smashing into an old building in England. Diecast points out that accidents happen on many film shoots. [Source: TFormers]
Rob explains that a Twitter user who worked with Takara in the 1980s is sharing design art. It shows an early Metroplex marked Diaclone Station, built to be more of a city. Diaclone Battle Convoy’s cab was once meant to have its own base mode, which explains its rotating smokestacks. [Source: TFormers]
Fans Hobby MB-03A The Red Dragon Limited Exclusive Announced
The 300-piece homage to the BotCon Transmetal 2 Megatron is an exclusive for a convention in Shanghai. One host suspects it fills a gap in Asia, where the BotCon toy is hard to find. Don, who owns the BotCon Megatron, would rather someone without one got it. That sparks a debate over whether third-party figures can stand in for rare official toys. [Source: TFormers]
Toys R Us Moves Forward With Bankruptcy, But the End Isn’t Here Yet
The crew stresses that the bankruptcy is about restructuring debt from a private buyout, not a failing business. Hasbro is keeping normal relations with the chain. One host would barely notice if it closed, beyond losing a few exclusives. Don would miss discovering new lines on its shelves. The crew expects no real changes until after the holidays. [Source: TFormers]
The Last Knight Allspark Tech
Brian brings up the Last Knight Allspark Tech toys, which are on shelves now. Their cube moves between figures and triggers different sounds and lights. The crew thinks the figures were built around a cube that is too big, and nobody sees the appeal.
TFCon USA 2017 Exclusive: Planet X PX-09T Somnus Clear War for Cybertron Starscream
Chosen Prime will sell this clear Starscream at TFCon. Nobody on the crew wants it, not even Don, the group’s clear-plastic fan. [Source: TFormers]
Imaginarium Art Soundwave Is More Than Meets the Statue
The Soundwave statue comes in versions with Ratbat, Laserbeak or Frenzy. The crew wonders who buys statues, and one host compares statue collectors to neutrinos, since they never seem to interact with the rest of the fandom. [Source: TFormers]
Prime 1 Studios Shows Off New Beast Wars Megatron Statue in Full Color
The crew doubts the statue hints at a Masterpiece Megatron. They like the design but hate the severed Dinobot head on the base. One host would rather see a Transmetal Megatron statue with chrome and light-up features. [Source: TFormers]
Power of the Primes Leader Class Optimus Prime: Comparison to Masterpiece MP-10
Weibo photos show the Leader close to MP-10 in size. One host who saw it in person calls it beautiful. Brian points to poorly applied shoulder stickers, and the crew would rather apply its own. Matt wants the Sunbow-style Orion Pax that comes with it. [Source: TFormers]
This Week in History
In 1992, the Headmasters episode “Crisis on Cybertron, Part 2” aired in Malaysia, which Brian will cover on What’s Happened to the Headmasters. In 2008, Toonami ended its run on Cartoon Network. The crew recalls Beast Wars airing there through the end of season two, and Peter Cullen voicing Toonami promos. [Source: TFWiki]
RFC Announcements
The Realm of Collectors fan group is running a toy drive for children affected by the hurricanes in Florida and Texas, with donations taken at TFCon. RFC’s 18th anniversary show is October 11, 2017. To celebrate, the crew is giving away a Titans Return Arcee signed by Headmaster Don to followers who retweet the contest. Diecast is also giving away a Transformers Earth Wars Decepticon patch on his Reviews by Diecast Facebook page. TFCon USA is next week, and the crew has no formal plans, so say hi if you see them.
What’s on TFormers
Rob reviewed the Last Knight Blu-ray and finds the film’s Cybertron dull next to new concept art, which includes an undead samurai that looks like a Drift palette swap. [Source: TFormers] Alex Milne returns to interior art with Lost Light #13. [Source: TFormers] A new Decepticon is teased in a Bumblebee movie photo, and Jack from TFormers has photos of the Santa Cruz filming location. [Source: TFormers]
What We Got This Week
Diecast got BadCube’s second-version Huffer and its Pipes, still boxed. He also got Titans Return Scorn and Nitro Zeus from Amazon. His X-Transbots Klaatu is an awesome Cosmos, and his RFC Reviews video compares it with Toy World’s version.
Don used savings from a sale to buy Slugslinger on Amazon. He got DX9’s Richthofen, a very nice Powerglide, and DX9’s Ghost Usurper to go with his Masterpiece Ghost Starscream. He finally opened Titans Return Arcee and is happy with her, and thanks Brian, Kim and Diecast for getting her at HasCon. He also showed a custom Chromedome-based Arcee that Plasticon made for him.
Brian‘s pickups this week were not Transformers.
Rob now has the tire chunk that goes with SDCC Optimus Prime, thanks to a coworker of Brian’s. Paramount also sent him the Last Knight Blu-ray to review for TFormers.