Hasbro’s seven-figure Beast Wars Predacon multipack looks gorgeous, but most of the crew already owns the Takara Versus versions. Takara Tomy’s New Legends G2 Menasor brings the deco hits the Hasbro Stunticons missed, and Brian wants two. A Mastermind Creations Vector Prime that turns into a DeLorean, Blokees Defender Version 7 and the Vince DiCola album reissues round out the news. In What We Got This Week, John DeLuna gets back his AFA-graded 1984 Ravage and Rumble, and Don loses a fight with Breakaway’s 12-step arms.
News
Beast Wars 30th Predacon Multipack First Look
The Beast Wars 30th anniversary Predacon multipack holds seven figures for about $220. One host has read they are basically straight reissues of the Takara Versus two-packs. Several hosts called the set gorgeous but said they already own every figure. One host sold his Versus sets and still doesn’t need these. The crew agreed the set is for people who missed the Versus releases or who buy everything. Most expect a Maximal set to follow. [Source: TFW2005]
Transformers MPG-23 Secret Agent Arcee First Look
MPG-23 Secret Agent Arcee is a straight prototype-color redeco of the Masterpiece Arcee mold, with no new head. One host would have loved it before Missing Link Arcee, but Missing Link already covers that look. He sees a Paradron Medic as the more logical next use of the mold. [Source: TFW2005]
Takara Tomy Transformers New Legends NL-02 Menasor G2 Color Ver. First Look
Takara Tomy’s G2 Stunticons use UV paint, so they get the deco hits the Hasbro versions missed, including the roof decos. Wildrider and Breakdown still share a mold. Brian is weighing two sets, one for vehicle mode and one for Menasor. One host praised the painted Motormaster arm struts, which match each limb Stunticon. Another hopes the set isn’t $400. Don suggested this may be Hasbro’s only route to these toys, but Brian thinks Takara is doing it regardless. Matt wants a Battle Gaia next, and the crew noted not even third-party makers have done one. [Source: TFW2005]
Takara Tomy Synergenex Series Macross 7 x Transformers Basara Prime In-Hand Images
The crew thinks Basara Prime was clearly meant to be Rodimus Prime. One host guessed the licensors wanted the most famous Transformer instead. The spare faces stored in the trailer look more like Rodimus than Optimus Prime. Brian used the Big Bad Toy Store wish list for the first time to save it. He says it fits his shelf of weird stuff. [Source: TFW2005]
Infinite Finity Series IF-03 Chronus: Vector Prime as the DeLorean
Diecast shared Mastermind Creations’ Infinite Finity IF-03 Chronus, a Vector Prime that turns into a DeLorean. The official images skip the alt mode, likely for legal reasons. Diecast loves the colors and says Mastermind Creations toys feel like both a toy and a collectible. One host noted the back kibble gives away the DeLorean. Big Bad Toy Store lists it at $132.99, and Toy Dojo at $129.99. [Source: TFW2005]
DNA Design DK-83 One Alpha Upgrade Kit for Studio Series TFOne Alpha Trion
DNA Design’s DK-83 adds a cape and new feet to Studio Series Transformers One Alpha Trion. Diecast ordered it right away. He has watched Transformers One at least ten times and wants his shelf movie accurate. At $22, he says it changes the figure’s look a lot. [Source: TFW2005]
Blokees Transformers Defender Ver. 7 “Power of the Beast” Official Renders
Brian thought this was an April Fool’s joke until he checked the date. The Blokees wave includes Big Convoy with the Matrix Buster, Lio Convoy, Black Lio Convoy and Nemesis Prime. It also has Beast Wars II Galvatron, Magmatron, Gigastorm, Shattered Glass Grimlock, Reformatted Galvatron and Sludge. Brian is buying them all, and one host called it the best-looking Magmatron. [Source: TFW2005]
Transformers MPG-18 Road Hauler In-Hand Images
MPG-18 Road Hauler feels like it was announced years ago. One host loves the Masterpiece Inferno mold and already has the Mastermind Creations version. Big Bad Toy Store lists it at $214, about $75 more than Masterpiece Inferno cost at launch. The crew says it looks great but is too much. [Source: TFW2005]
Vince DiCola’s “Artistic Transformations” and “The Protoform Sessions” Albums Reissues Announced
Don shared the reissue of the two 2001 Vince DiCola albums and ordered another set for physical media’s sake. Artistic Transformations offers acoustic versions of themes from Transformers: The Movie. The Protoform Sessions shows earlier versions of the score, with different singers on “The Touch” and “Dare.” Don can’t recommend them enough, and Brian bought them on the spot. [Source: TFW2005]
Transformers x OppoSuits Collaboration Revealed
Brian thought the OppoSuits line had to be an April Fool’s joke. The $130 suit comes with a tie cut from the same busy pattern. Don, who once worked at Men’s Wearhouse, called it all of his nightmares in one clothing line. He agreed with Rob that the tie needs a contrasting color. Rob has nowhere he would wear it. The Beast Wars Hawaiian shirt and shorts set got a pass for a cruise. [Source: TFW2005]
Storyboards for both G1 episodes are now on the Sunbow Archive site. Skyfire appears in his toy form and is labeled Jetfire. Brian called the archive a fantastic site. [Source: TFW2005]
What We Got This Week
John DeLuna
John got Outback and Wheelie. His big story is his AFA-graded G1 Ravage and Rumble. His mother-in-law, an estate sale helper, bought the sealed 1984 first-release two-pack for $1. It has metal feet and no rub signs, but an old price sticker left residue on Rumble’s art. Grading cost John around $100 all in and took four to five months. The online forms felt like 2003, but the toy came back well packed in an airtight acrylic case. It graded 70. An AFA 75 is listed on eBay for $2,000, but John isn’t selling. He likes the grading as preservation more than for resale.
Rob
Rob added more Wild King figures during a Suruga-ya sale, enough to build one combined robot at a time. He got the giraffe that comes with Optimus Prime, plus a rhino and a triceratops. Rob says the system feels like Robots in Disguise Build King done by people who understand 3D space. He calls them fun, versatile toys.
Diecast
Diecast got Rise of the Beasts Leader Class Apelinq for about $28. He likes the differences between it and Optimus Primal.
Matt
Matt had nothing in Transformers this week.
Don
Don found Outback at a Walmart near his in-laws, about seven on the shelf, after his orders were canceled. He wishes the gun matched the G1 shape and wanted a Decepticon detector accessory. Cyberchanger Megatron is a brand-new mold, not Cyberverse Megatron, with a removable turret, a blast effect and a bendy mace. Don recommends it. Then there’s Walmart’s Breakaway, the soccer ball. Its transformation runs 32 steps, with 12 to 14 just for the arms. After 30 minutes pre-show, Don still couldn’t transform it. He says it looks good on its stand, but its ankles tilt and getting there is none of the fun.
Brian
Brian got a knockoff Metrotitan from AliExpress for $17 plus shipping. It is whiter than his vintage one, with a loose shoulder cannon, but includes all the accessories. He calls it the Metrotitan he can play with. The G2 Sludge and Swoop are gorgeous in hand, and Brian isn’t transforming them. A sealed 2009 Sunstorm came from Mandarake. At Nerd Bombers in Greensboro, North Carolina, he got a sealed Transformers Universe Optimus Primal for $55 and a sealed G2 Inferno for $90. He passed on a yellowed sealed G2 Silverbolt and plans to go back for more.