Figure King reveals how Masterpiece Starscream Ver. 2.0 transforms, stuffing the back of the jet into his wings, and the crew is done with Masterpiece in spirit if not in wallet. Golden Lagoon reissues surprise everyone on Hasbro Pulse and mostly sell out. The Earthrise Autobot Alliance Prowl and Ironhide reach most of the crew, along with Generations Selects Tigertrack and the wave three deluxes. Chris discovers Earthrise Sunstreaker shares no parts with Wheeljack.
Elf on a Shelf Warmer
The Elf on a Shelf Warmer toy drive is collecting donations. Diecast sent a Rescue Bots Academy Bumblebee race track tower, and Mike Mallory sent a Super Wings robot. Brian will share photos when he drops them off, likely in mid-November. Fans can donate locally with the hashtag or use the tfradio.net/elf wish list, which earns the show nothing.
News
How Masterpiece Starscream Ver. 2.0 Transforms
Chris explains that Figure King’s new pages answer the mystery of the extra wing hinges. The wing panels open so the back half of the fuselage and tail fins fold up inside the wings for robot mode, the reverse of MP-44 stuffing his abs into his legs. Chris calls it frustrating, and one host says he is done with Masterpiece after Spinout. Brian sums it up: in his heart he is done with Masterpiece, but in his wallet he is still buying it, and Starscream is not $400. The crew compares Masterpiece’s complexity to the Revenge of the Fallen era and wants designer Shogo Hasui back. One host calls Inferno the line’s last high point. The rest of the issue reruns TakaraTomy’s Earthrise, Netflix Siege and Abominus releases. [Source: not found]
Golden Lagoon Reissues Hit Hasbro Pulse
Golden Lagoon reissues appeared on Hasbro Pulse, apparently for the 35th anniversary of the episode. The crew suspects someone found leftover stock, since the sets were clearanced overseas years ago. Nearly everything sold out quickly except the MP-10 Golden Lagoon Optimus Prime. [Source: BWTF]
What We Got This Week
Chris
Chris bought Movie Masterpiece Ironhide for $25 at Ross despite not liking the design. He got Nonnef replacement weapons for Dirge and Ramjet and a set of seeker missiles. A second Autobot Alliance set from Amazon has better quality control, though one Ironhide leg is a lighter plastic than the other. Generations Selects Tigertrack has all-painted yellow and a clear canopy he plans to cover with a Toyhax roof sticker. Comparing Sunstreaker to Wheeljack, he found they share no parts at all. Runamuck looks great, but full-body white paint makes the tabs painful to transform. He is troop-building Fasttracks as Guardminders for Black Zarak from Master Force. Emmett Srecevich also sent him a Tamashii Stage crater effect from his wish list.
Don
Don found small Ratchet and Grimlock figures at Walgreens on a buy two, get one free deal. He bought two Gigawatts from GameStop, one to keep boxed beside his Ectotron, plus ReAction Shrapnel and Astrotrain for the card art. He also got an unofficial upscaled Studio Series Optimus Prime with die-cast parts and light-up eyes for $67 shipped. He finds it sturdier than the original.
Diecast
Diecast got the Autobot Alliance Prowl and Ironhide from Amazon and Generations Selects Tigertrack from Hasbro Pulse. His Ironhide’s leg plastics match.
Rob
Rob now has all three Earthrise Datsuns. He thinks Smokescreen looks best, Bluestreak fits best and Prowl is just there. Following Walky’s tip, he swapped Earthrise Ironhide’s maroon parts onto Siege Ironhide for a better color match.
Matt
Matt’s Generations Selects Tigertrack has yellows that match across the whole toy. He loves the Datsun mold on Prowl but worries the clear plastic legs will shatter in a few years. His Ironhide’s reds ranged into magenta, so he swapped in Siege Ironhide parts and loaded him with weapons, including the Centurion drill.
John
John found most of the wave three deluxes at Target, including Sunstreaker, Fasttrack and Trailbreaker, though Runabout eluded him twice. He calls Sunstreaker’s yellow atrocious but likes the mold. He wishes Prowl had silver thighs and a silver gun. He hopes the Weaponizer pull-apart gimmick continues.
Brian
Brian got the Autobot Alliance set and finds Ironhide a mess to transform. Runamuck’s white paint feels odd, and he has not spent time with Sunstreaker or Fasttrack yet. He really likes Trailbreaker’s G1 vibe. He also welcomed back a G1 Swoop, replacing the one he sold 12 to 15 years ago.