TakaraTomy teases a Legends G2 Menasor box set, and Matt is annoyed to rebuy three of the five Stunticons he already owns. Adamas Machina AM-T02 Predaking shows up in hand at about $325, and Yolopark’s Beast Wars Dinobot earns near-universal love. Transformers Icons Optimus Prime, which turns into an Autobot symbol, gets roasted at $47. In What We Got This Week, Matt is the only host whose Walmart Retro Outback actually shipped.
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Takara Tomy T-Spark Adamas Machina AM-T02 Predaking In-Hand Images
Don still loves it and says it looks like Call of the Primitives Predaking on steroids, plus gloss. He also calls it too expensive for what it is. One host feels the combined mode clearly got priority over the individual Predacons. Razorclaw’s size gap next to Headstrong looks less glaring with paint than in the gray prototypes. The crew compares it to TakaraTomy’s small, pricey, heavily painted Diaclone figures. One host wishes the pearlescent finish were toned down. It arrives around March 28 at about 48,000 yen, or roughly $325, about $100 more than the Power of the Primes Predaking reissue. [Source: TFW2005]
Blokees Wheels War Within Grimlock, Springer, Arcee and Drift Prototypes
One host calls Arcee “Titanium without the metal.” He likes the War Within Optimus Prime vehicle mode but says it might work better as another character. Diecast is mostly a Blokees completionist and will probably buy them. He thinks Springer already looks good in gray. At about $40 for a set, Brian calls Blokees and Yolopark approachable options for fans looking to spend less. [Source: TFW2005]
Yolopark AMK Series Beast Wars Dinobot Sneak Peek
Brian loves it and tells Matt he needs it, even as a non-Beast Wars fan. One host calls the detailing and paint absolute perfection, including an articulated jaw. The eye lasers look a little odd, though clear plastic would likely be too fragile. Diecast wishes it were Masterpiece scale, since the shoulder of his Masterpiece Dinobot broke while he was filming a review. [Source: TFW2005]
Age of the Primes Voyager Nexus Prime In-Hand Images
The new photos change nobody’s mind, and one host greets them with “incredible indifference.” Nexus Prime still needs another combiner’s frame, much like Betatron did with Silverbolt. One host refuses to take Silverbolt apart to build him. Diecast bought two Silverbolts, and expects TakaraTomy to offer some kind of G2 set eventually. Later in the show, one host decides to cancel his Walmart preorder. [Source: TFW2005]
Blokees Classic Class Dark of the Moon Sentinel Prime and Bumblebee Movie Blitzwing First Look
Brian doesn’t care about Blitzwing, but he says Sentinel Prime captures the character’s look in a smaller form. Another host thinks both look good, though he won’t preorder either. The crew debates whether their soft spot for Sentinel Prime comes from Transformers: Animated or the live-action film. [Source: TFW2005]
Blokees Action Edition Transformers Prime Optimus Prime and G1 Optimus Prime 2.0 Teaser Images
The teasers show little, and Brian guesses Optimus Prime is the line’s best seller. One host recalls an Optimus Prime test shot with a shoulder cannon. The rear-view teaser shows none, so he may be thinking of a Champion Class figure. [Source: TFW2005]
Hasbro began the G2 Stunticons one at a time with Dragstrip in the 2022 Speedway 500 collection and never finished the team. Matt is “so incredibly irritated,” since he owns three of the five and would have to rebuy them. One host spots a Decepticon logo on Dragstrip’s bumper, so the decos may differ. Another host is simply happy to finally get the whole team at once. Don notes Hasbro said it needed a place for a Commander Class G2 Motormaster. He compares this to the BotCon 2007 Seekers and suggests a TakaraTomy release may be the only realistic route. Matt wanted a Hasbro Pulse set with Motormaster and Wild Rider. Brian floats TakaraTomy overproducing the two missing figures for Hasbro to sell. Rob notes much of Japanese G2 was new molds rather than recolors, and the crew recommends Chris McFeely’s The Basics episode on G2. The crew expects TakaraTomy to do G2 Superion next and wants future combiner teams sold as box sets. [Source: TFW2005]
Transformers Icons Optimus Prime Autobot Symbol Info and Pics
Transformers Icons Optimus Prime turns into an Autobot symbol, stands 6.5 inches tall and costs $47. Brian liked it until he saw the price. One host says it looks like a supermarket birthday cake topper. Another pegs the right price at $27 to $29 for a simple figure with a blaster, a stand and hollow legs. One host is certain a G1 Megatron version follows. Another would prefer the symbol turn into a character other than Optimus Prime. Brian is sad he is no longer tempted. [Source: TFW2005]
What We Got This Week
Don has a pile of unopened toys he cannot talk about under the show’s new rule of covering only opened pickups. He did get Battle Damaged Megatron from Target for $35 with the 40% off Transformers sale. Walmart canceled his Retro Outback after it was due to arrive, as it did for Brian and Diecast.
Matt‘s Walmart Retro Outback actually shipped. He loves it, though he wishes the head weren’t on one block with the shoulders. The Studio Series Brawn mold still tabs together well and makes a great little Jeep. He also got Wheelie, which he calls probably the best Wheelie toy ever, even if it feels too big for the character. His G2 Sludge and Swoop two-pack is “the most beautiful two-pack that has ever been released.” Sludge feels a little loose in dino mode. Swoop has the toy face and blazing fluorescent green.
Diecast got everything Matt got except Outback. Wheelie blew him away with lots of paint and pegged-in wheels, and he may buy a third. He loves Swoop’s toy face and Sludge’s orange. He also got Battle Damaged Megatron from Target, and the grays match perfectly.
Rob found a used Studio Series War for Cybertron Ratchet on Surugaya for about $17. The forearms pop off for weapon swaps, which complicates transformation. He likes the large medical axe. Ratchet is close enough to the More Than Meets the Eye version for a future comic display.
Brian got Wheelie and likes how poseable it is, though he could do without the slingshot. While hunting eBay for his first MP3 player, he bought the seller’s carded G2 stock. That included carded Go-Bots Double Clutch and Blowout and a sealed carded G2 Blast Off. He thinks he has most of a sealed G2 Superion set, probably minus Silverbolt, and plans to start on Bruticus next.