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Zmonkay said:
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Latest Transformers news:

  • Dark of the Moon toyline to be released at retail on May 15, 2011
  • Transformers Prime toyline to be released at retail in October 2011
Latest Transformers figures available at retail now:

  • Generations Warpath, Kup, and Scourge
  • Dark of the Moon Preview Pack Cyberverse Optimus Prime
 
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Found two MP Prowls yesterday and took advantage of the BOGO half off sale! One was for a buddy, paying $56 each for Prowl made for a good deal. Saw Sunstorm too but passed
 
Real nice to be able to sit out MP fever so much this year.  Already had the original Grimlock MP, so no need to get raped on the prices for the re-release.  Zero interest in Sunstorm (same as Acid Storm, though I'd be fucked if they did a Dirge/Thrust).  My KO MP Prowl just came in yesterday and I'm quite happy with him.

So... no need to deal with TRU shenanigans. 

 
Zmonkay said:
Real nice to be able to sit out MP fever so much this year. Already had the original Grimlock MP, so no need to get raped on the prices for the re-release. Zero interest in Sunstorm (same as Acid Storm, though I'd be fucked if they did a Dirge/Thrust). My KO MP Prowl just came in yesterday and I'm quite happy with him.

So... no need to deal with TRU shenanigans.
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I'm in the same boat as you, and it is so nice.

I picked up Takara MP Prowl earlier in the year, figuring I'd probably have to pay extra for it anyway. It was totally worth it to not have to bother with TRU and their B.S..

Sunstorm is a step up from Acid Storm but all I see is a big cash grab. It's bad enough to have six main seekers, but to make "masterpiece" versions of bit character recolors is really pushing it. They're too cheap to do the slight remolds needed for Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust, and yet they still want to charge $75+ for them? No thanks. I ain't supporting that.

I'm pretty much done with Hasbro right now. I'm tired of all the crap.

I'm tired of chasing figures around because their distribution sucks. I'm tired of buying figures on sight, because you never know if you'll see them again, only to find improved versions later on. Am I supposed to buy everything twice? Three times, in G1 colors? Couldn't they, you know, do it right the first time?

The SDCC stuff at HTS is just the icing on the cake. In case you weren't playing along, in years past they've had them out Monday through Wednesday. Despite saying "soon" on Twitter and having CSRs say it would be any time now, they didn't put them up at all. Next week. Probably. Maybe.

They did this, knowing people wait for them and even stay home from work. All it would have taken was an announcement, but that would show they cared about their customers. They obviously don't. Hasbro is determined to make Matty Collector and the assclowns at the Transformers Collectors Club look downright sane and benevolent in comparison.

In the middle of that, they somehow found the time to put Rattrap and Tankor on sale. Rattrap sold out in hours. How does that even happen? Did they only have like 10 of them? A general release product you can't even buy at the company store. Useless!

In contrast, Lego puts up an item that really is limited in number, and you can still order it now, days later, if you don't mind backorder. At HTS, you are given the indignity of having to remove the item from the cart yourself.

I am tired that the kindest thing I can say about Hasbro is they are staggeringly incompetent or indifferent (or both). It doesn't matter anymore. The effect, no matter the intention, is contempt for the customers that support them most.

Count me out, Hasbro. Or, I guess, thank you for reminding me I don't have to support you. I don't have to catch 'em all. If I miss something, so what? I'll get it later, or not.

There isn't anything in Age of Extinction that is so amazing that I would have lost out by not having it. I can put that money to third party products or Takara products or just wait. There's an amazing amount of stuff on sale right now at BBTS and other online retailers that I can just sit back and enjoy quality over quantity while giving Hasbro the least amount of money possible.

 
blandstalker said:
I'm in the same boat as you, and it is so nice.

I picked up Takara MP Prowl earlier in the year, figuring I'd probably have to pay extra for it anyway. It was totally worth it to not have to bother with TRU and their B.S..

Sunstorm is a step up from Acid Storm but all I see is a big cash grab. It's bad enough to have six main seekers, but to make "masterpiece" versions of bit character recolors is really pushing it. They're too cheap to do the slight remolds needed for Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust, and yet they still want to charge $75+ for them? No thanks. I ain't supporting that.

I'm pretty much done with Hasbro right now. I'm tired of all the crap.

I'm tired of chasing figures around because their distribution sucks. I'm tired of buying figures on sight, because you never know if you'll see them again, only to find improved versions later on. Am I supposed to buy everything twice? Three times, in G1 colors? Couldn't they, you know, do it right the first time?

The SDCC stuff at HTS is just the icing on the cake. In case you weren't playing along, in years past they've had them out Monday through Wednesday. Despite saying "soon" on Twitter and having CSRs say it would be any time now, they didn't put them up at all. Next week. Probably. Maybe.

They did this, knowing people wait for them and even stay home from work. All it would have taken was an announcement, but that would show they cared about their customers. They obviously don't. Hasbro is determined to make Matty Collector and the assclowns at the Transformers Collectors Club look downright sane and benevolent in comparison.

In the middle of that, they somehow found the time to put Rattrap and Tankor on sale. Rattrap sold out in hours. How does that even happen? Did they only have like 10 of them? A general release product you can't even buy at the company store. Useless!

In contrast, Lego puts up an item that really is limited in number, and you can still order it now, days later, if you don't mind backorder. At HTS, you are given the indignity of having to remove the item from the cart yourself.

I am tired that the kindest thing I can say about Hasbro is they are staggeringly incompetent or indifferent (or both). It doesn't matter anymore. The effect, no matter the intention, is contempt for the customers that support them most.

Count me out, Hasbro. Or, I guess, thank you for reminding me I don't have to support you. I don't have to catch 'em all. If I miss something, so what? I'll get it later, or not.

There isn't anything in Age of Extinction that is so amazing that I would have lost out by not having it. I can put that money to third party products or Takara products or just wait. There's an amazing amount of stuff on sale right now at BBTS and other online retailers that I can just sit back and enjoy quality over quantity while giving Hasbro the least amount of money possible.
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I had a very similar revelation about 4 years ago and it drove me out of Transformers completely. I've ended up selling off my whole collection except MP Starscream, 25th Anniversary Prime, and the SDCC Soundwave from a few years back. I just plain got tired of chasing down figures because of Hasbro's garbage distribution. The way the shelves get clogged with the first wave of a line and then you rarely see the later waves just bugged the hell of out me.
 
blandstalker said:
I'm in the same boat as you, and it is so nice.

I picked up Takara MP Prowl earlier in the year, figuring I'd probably have to pay extra for it anyway. It was totally worth it to not have to bother with TRU and their B.S..

Sunstorm is a step up from Acid Storm but all I see is a big cash grab. It's bad enough to have six main seekers, but to make "masterpiece" versions of bit character recolors is really pushing it. They're too cheap to do the slight remolds needed for Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust, and yet they still want to charge $75+ for them? No thanks. I ain't supporting that.

I'm pretty much done with Hasbro right now. I'm tired of all the crap.

I'm tired of chasing figures around because their distribution sucks. I'm tired of buying figures on sight, because you never know if you'll see them again, only to find improved versions later on. Am I supposed to buy everything twice? Three times, in G1 colors? Couldn't they, you know, do it right the first time?

The SDCC stuff at HTS is just the icing on the cake. In case you weren't playing along, in years past they've had them out Monday through Wednesday. Despite saying "soon" on Twitter and having CSRs say it would be any time now, they didn't put them up at all. Next week. Probably. Maybe.

They did this, knowing people wait for them and even stay home from work. All it would have taken was an announcement, but that would show they cared about their customers. They obviously don't. Hasbro is determined to make Matty Collector and the assclowns at the Transformers Collectors Club look downright sane and benevolent in comparison.

In the middle of that, they somehow found the time to put Rattrap and Tankor on sale. Rattrap sold out in hours. How does that even happen? Did they only have like 10 of them? A general release product you can't even buy at the company store. Useless!

In contrast, Lego puts up an item that really is limited in number, and you can still order it now, days later, if you don't mind backorder. At HTS, you are given the indignity of having to remove the item from the cart yourself.

I am tired that the kindest thing I can say about Hasbro is they are staggeringly incompetent or indifferent (or both). It doesn't matter anymore. The effect, no matter the intention, is contempt for the customers that support them most.

Count me out, Hasbro. Or, I guess, thank you for reminding me I don't have to support you. I don't have to catch 'em all. If I miss something, so what? I'll get it later, or not.

There isn't anything in Age of Extinction that is so amazing that I would have lost out by not having it. I can put that money to third party products or Takara products or just wait. There's an amazing amount of stuff on sale right now at BBTS and other online retailers that I can just sit back and enjoy quality over quantity while giving Hasbro the least amount of money possible.
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I agree with most everything you say, except I do actually want Sunstorm. Unless he shows up on the website, I doubt I'll get him though. At least if I miss him I won't mind as much as missing say Sideswipe (who I do have).

 
Agreed ya'll.  Back in the day you could wait and buy a fig when you had extra cash (since I was a kid then, and had limited income from allowance) and I still got all the figs.  Nowadays you have to vigilantly hunt and just hope you find a fig, or hope for the 50/50 chance of a repaint (if you are like me and really collect the "mold", not so much individual characters/paint schemes).

I did recently learn that HBTS is not actually owned by Hasbro, they are an independent retailer that got a license from Hasbro to exclusively sell Hasbro product.  So while they're stocking is just as screwy as every other retailer, that's one of the few things that isn't entirely Hasbro's fault.  Good thing the batshit insane pricing scared me off from that SDCC Dinobot set (despite how nice they look) haha.

 
Ah come on!! That is the thing I really wanted and I hoped that hasbro twitter would of gave a better notice than it, now on sale. I would of liked a 12-24 hour notice.
 
LinkinPrime said:
SDCC stuff is up now at HTS...go go go!

Kreo set already oos.... the one I really wanted :/
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I wonder when they went live. In years past, they updated the front page of the site when the SDCC stuff was added. I had checked their site earlier this morning, but didn't check the Exclusives link. Hope more stock gets added.

 
The Dinobot set looked cool with the G1 deco, but not $160 cool.  Might've considered it at $100.

Never really cared about that Knights of Unicron set.  Plus, it's roughly the same price as an MP Ultra Magnus, and there's no contest which one I'd sooner have.

 
Zmonkay said:
I did recently learn that HBTS is not actually owned by Hasbro, they are an independent retailer that got a license from Hasbro to exclusively sell Hasbro product. So while they're stocking is just as screwy as every other retailer, that's one of the few things that isn't entirely Hasbro's fault. Good thing the batshit insane pricing scared me off from that SDCC Dinobot set (despite how nice they look) haha.
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Oh, I know that. It doesn't really matter. They bear Hasbro's name, they sell only Hasbro's product, and what they do, good or bad, reflects on Hasbro. If Hasbro gave a crap, the store bearing their name would be better run. If for no other reason than corporate pride and customer relations, you'd think they'd care about what a total joke their store is. They could stock it better if they wanted to.

It's similar to the Transformers Collectors Club. That's not owned by Hasbro either. And their terrible customer service and two-bit operation reflects badly on Hasbro. As it should.

Saying they don't own them is an excuse. Like many things with Hasbro, it's a fixable problem that they don't care enough to fix.

I got my Kreon Class of 1984 today in the mail. After last week, I went to eBay on Friday night. I wasn't going to play the HTS game anymore. Even if I had, I would have missed them since I was asleep when they went up this morning.

They lasted three minutes, according to the thread on Hisstank. Don't feel bad if you missed them. Unless you were actively checking the store or a thread checking the store, you would have missed it by the time you checked out. Three minutes.

The set is really nice and huge. Much bigger than I was expecting. Hasbro was crazy not to make more of these. It's extremely appealing, the display is great, and the figures are all decorated well. It's a little sad that it's bound to be my last Kre-O purchase, as they're blind bags from now on, and I'm not playing that, either.

Knights of Unicron is still available. Gosh, wonder why. Four deluxes for $185 plus shipping. What a deal.

 
My son bought the Transformers 4 Hound figure. What a piece of junk. Transforming it into vehicle mode is a pain. Should have talked him out of it but there wasn't much there at TRU, he had a gift card and had his heart set on some.

 
I lurk here and don't buy much at all. I have never had any luck getting nice Transformers at a decent price. I would love to get a Masterpiece Optimus but I hated the colors of the YOTH. Has anyone seen the new Jetfire coming out? It's like a throwback to the 80's version. I have actually collected all of the Robotech Masterpiece veritechs: Rick Hunter, Maya, Max, Roy, and the additional armors. 

This is the Jetfire 

http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Leader-Jetfire-Figure/dp/B00IJZFQGG/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1407275627&sr=1-1&keywords=jetfire

 
Awesome news if you never saw MP 10 in stores. BBTS has pre-orders up for a November reissue for $159. This is a great price considering the crazy amounts they have been going for on ebay

 
I kinda hope for a reissue. Since they started making them in these dumb boxes, I kinda want all the masterpieces to come like that. Its annoying they changed it.

 
tukai said:
I lurk here and don't buy much at all. I have never had any luck getting nice Transformers at a decent price. I would love to get a Masterpiece Optimus but I hated the colors of the YOTH. Has anyone seen the new Jetfire coming out? It's like a throwback to the 80's version. I have actually collected all of the Robotech Masterpiece veritechs: Rick Hunter, Maya, Max, Roy, and the additional armors.

This is the Jetfire

http://www.amazon.com/Transformers-Generations-Leader-Jetfire-Figure/dp/B00IJZFQGG/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1407275627&sr=1-1&keywords=jetfire
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Skyfire damnit Skyfire

 
My local TRU had 4 Sunstorms in stock during the BOGO 50%. I was so tempted to buy and split the difference with a friend since I almost never see MP's there. Truth be told, I'd rather have Grimlock or Lambor.
 
I went to TRU last week and they had zero Sunstorms and zero Prowls.  I was not surprised.  No shelf tags for either one.  Business as usual.

What's kind of remarkable is that the Transformer aisle is bigger and better organized than it has been in years.  Sure, the Deluxes are all mixed up with the fast whatevers and one steps, but overall, it was large and varied.  TRU really seems to like the mashup figures, as they got a ton of shelfspace.

Spotted one Rattrap and two Tankors at TRU, and one Lockdown at Target.

 
blandstalker said:
I went to TRU last week and they had zero Sunstorms and zero Prowls. I was not surprised. No shelf tags for either one. Business as usual.

What's kind of remarkable is that the Transformer aisle is bigger and better organized than it has been in years. Sure, the Deluxes are all mixed up with the fast whatevers and one steps, but overall, it was large and varied. TRU really seems to like the mashup figures, as they got a ton of shelfspace.

Spotted one Rattrap and two Tankors at TRU, and one Lockdown at Target.
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My TRU has a whole side of an aisle dedicated to Transformers... but half of it is taken up by those huge Armada Starscreams...

 
My local TRU has absolutely nothing. To make matters worse the parking lot is in terrible shape. It's like the Gaza strip.

 
oh shit, looks like Skybite and Roadbuster are out in the wild near me, as well as Slog (who I shall still call Sludge, fuck copyright/trademark/bullshit).  Looks like I'll be out hunting today (and likely come back empty handed...)

 
Roadbuster....kind of sucks.

Be forewarned: I have a G1 Roadbuster, and while it is a brick, it is a cool brick.  I have always had a fond spot for Roadbuster because it was different than most other Transformers in interesting and great ways.

This review is going to be colored by my high opinions of G1 Roadbuster.  If you never had one or saw one, your opinion may be different.  I am going to be really hard on this figure because up until now, Generations has been mostly a home run, with updates and improvements to classic figures.  This is anything but.

Generations Roadbuster...what a letdown.  Initially, he looks great in the package.  Then you take it out and you realize there's a lot less than there should be.  Nice robot, but kind of thin.  How is this going to make an imposing vehicle?

The answer is: it doesn't.  This unfortunately reminds me of Beast Hunters Bulkhead, itself a Roadbuster homage.  Generations Roadbuster is better, but not by as much as it should be.

Transformation is simplistic, with only the feet doing something interesting.  The vehicle is decent sized, but it's more toy-like and unconvincing.  I don't know if this is a vehicle in the real world, but it doesn't look like it.  That's not in and of itself a problem -- it fits in with Sandstorm and Springer.  Given that the original was somewhat realistic, it is something of a letdown.  It does not feel like an update, but a different direction and one I find puzzling.

It also feels like an upscaled deluxe.  The original did not feel this way.

Roadbuster has tons of paint.  Unfortunately, most of the paint is to color parts that could or should have been molded in that color.  The legs are actually green plastic that have been painted orange and then brown over the orange.  I can't figure out a reason for some of this except that it was cheaper to do.  It shows.

Paint matching is pretty poor.  The actual plastic brown is a milk chocolate color, and the paint is slightly darker, plus you've got brown-over-green and brown-over-orange, which don't match.  It's also a bit splotchy and coverage is uneven.  The orange paint, since it is painted over green, clearly doesn't match the clean orange molded plastic.  Again, this is a big step backward from G1 Roadbuster, who accomplished his color scheme with different plastic parts.  The look would be fine for Generations Roadbuster if it were consistent -- it gives it a worn, used appearance on the painted parts and that fits with a grimy, dusty warrior.  But that doesn't fit with the squeaky clean orange chest/hood piece.

The robot mode -- the more I look at it, the more I dislike it.  The legs are especially bad.  G1 Roadbuster had awesome legs and feet that were chunky but fitting.  It felt like a military robot and a badass warrior.  Generations Roadbuster just doesn't have that feeling.  If anything, his flared legs remind me of bell bottoms.  Disco Roadbuster.  Not what I was hoping for.  The feet are ridiculously large and proportions just seem to be off.  You can mitigate the feet somewhat by shoving them under the legs, but stability takes a dive.

Like Whirl, Roadbuster comes with decals.  I haven't tried to apply them.  Without them, Roadbuster is clean but plain.

Roadbuster comes with a lot of guns, which are okay.  Some have more than one color.  They have many configurations.  Unfortunately, tolerances are poor, which means some peg/slot combinations fit better than others, even though they should all be the same size.  Some guns do not go well together, like with Hound -- it's like they really didn't think it through where things would go and parts get in the way.

They also do not feel unified.  They feel like someone threw a lot of guns at Roadbuster to compensate for something.

The original Roadbuster was more than guns.  There were lots of cool accessories, and it seems like all the cool ones are missing from Generations Roadbuster.  Generations Roadbuster has a good set of accessories, but they are rather generic and nothing really stands out as particularly interesting, awesome, or different.

Last year gave us some amazing Voyagers.  Springer and Blitzwing had some flaws to be sure, but they aimed high.  Sandstorm showed that they could take something good and make it great.  I liked Whirl a lot, and Rhinox set a new standard for what Generations could be.

Here, we've got a lack of imagination and the feeling that someone isn't trying all that hard.  Whirl, for all its faults, looked like a careful update that took everything from the original and tried to maintain it and modernize it.  Roadbuster feels like several steps backward.  It doesn't look as good in either mode.  It has fewer cool accessories.  It looks less bulky and imposing.   The only improvement is poseability, but it sacrificed everything else on the way.

Very disappointing.  This would have been a great Chromedome update, since it would have improved the G1 simplicity of that toy.  But to take a complex and massive G1 toy and reduce it to something that has only a passing resemblance and is worse in almost every way is just sad.

If you don't have a G1 Roadbuster, this is not a bad toy.  It's decent sized.  It looks like Roadbuster, sort of.  It displays well.  It should fit in well with last year's Voyagers.  But if you were hoping for something as awesome as G1 Roadbuster but updated, you will probably not be very happy.  It feels like the personality of G1 Roadbuster, brought to life by all the wonderful details and design choices, has been replaced by a very competent but generic and simplistic design.

 
blandstalker said:
Roadbuster....kind of sucks.

Be forewarned: I have a G1 Roadbuster, and while it is a brick, it is a cool brick. I have always had a fond spot for Roadbuster because it was different than most other Transformers in interesting and great ways.

This review is going to be colored by my high opinions of G1 Roadbuster. If you never had one or saw one, your opinion may be different. I am going to be really hard on this figure because up until now, Generations has been mostly a home run, with updates and improvements to classic figures. This is anything but.

Generations Roadbuster...what a letdown. Initially, he looks great in the package. Then you take it out and you realize there's a lot less than there should be. Nice robot, but kind of thin. How is this going to make an imposing vehicle?

The answer is: it doesn't. This unfortunately reminds me of Beast Hunters Bulkhead, itself a Roadbuster homage. Generations Roadbuster is better, but not by as much as it should be.

Transformation is simplistic, with only the feet doing something interesting. The vehicle is decent sized, but it's more toy-like and unconvincing. I don't know if this is a vehicle in the real world, but it doesn't look like it. That's not in and of itself a problem -- it fits in with Sandstorm and Springer. Given that the original was somewhat realistic, it is something of a letdown. It does not feel like an update, but a different direction and one I find puzzling.

It also feels like an upscaled deluxe. The original did not feel this way.

Roadbuster has tons of paint. Unfortunately, most of the paint is to color parts that could or should have been molded in that color. The legs are actually green plastic that have been painted orange and then brown over the orange. I can't figure out a reason for some of this except that it was cheaper to do. It shows.

Paint matching is pretty poor. The actual plastic brown is a milk chocolate color, and the paint is slightly darker, plus you've got brown-over-green and brown-over-orange, which don't match. It's also a bit splotchy and coverage is uneven. The orange paint, since it is painted over green, clearly doesn't match the clean orange molded plastic. Again, this is a big step backward from G1 Roadbuster, who accomplished his color scheme with different plastic parts. The look would be fine for Generations Roadbuster if it were consistent -- it gives it a worn, used appearance on the painted parts and that fits with a grimy, dusty warrior. But that doesn't fit with the squeaky clean orange chest/hood piece.

The robot mode -- the more I look at it, the more I dislike it. The legs are especially bad. G1 Roadbuster had awesome legs and feet that were chunky but fitting. It felt like a military robot and a badass warrior. Generations Roadbuster just doesn't have that feeling. If anything, his flared legs remind me of bell bottoms. Disco Roadbuster. Not what I was hoping for. The feet are ridiculously large and proportions just seem to be off. You can mitigate the feet somewhat by shoving them under the legs, but stability takes a dive.

Like Whirl, Roadbuster comes with decals. I haven't tried to apply them. Without them, Roadbuster is clean but plain.

Roadbuster comes with a lot of guns, which are okay. Some have more than one color. They have many configurations. Unfortunately, tolerances are poor, which means some peg/slot combinations fit better than others, even though they should all be the same size. Some guns do not go well together, like with Hound -- it's like they really didn't think it through where things would go and parts get in the way.

They also do not feel unified. They feel like someone threw a lot of guns at Roadbuster to compensate for something.

The original Roadbuster was more than guns. There were lots of cool accessories, and it seems like all the cool ones are missing from Generations Roadbuster. Generations Roadbuster has a good set of accessories, but they are rather generic and nothing really stands out as particularly interesting, awesome, or different.

Last year gave us some amazing Voyagers. Springer and Blitzwing had some flaws to be sure, but they aimed high. Sandstorm showed that they could take something good and make it great. I liked Whirl a lot, and Rhinox set a new standard for what Generations could be.

Here, we've got a lack of imagination and the feeling that someone isn't trying all that hard. Whirl, for all its faults, looked like a careful update that took everything from the original and tried to maintain it and modernize it. Roadbuster feels like several steps backward. It doesn't look as good in either mode. It has fewer cool accessories. It looks less bulky and imposing. The only improvement is poseability, but it sacrificed everything else on the way.

Very disappointing. This would have been a great Chromedome update, since it would have improved the G1 simplicity of that toy. But to take a complex and massive G1 toy and reduce it to something that has only a passing resemblance and is worse in almost every way is just sad.

If you don't have a G1 Roadbuster, this is not a bad toy. It's decent sized. It looks like Roadbuster, sort of. It displays well. It should fit in well with last year's Voyagers. But if you were hoping for something as awesome as G1 Roadbuster but updated, you will probably not be very happy. It feels like the personality of G1 Roadbuster, brought to life by all the wonderful details and design choices, has been replaced by a very competent but generic and simplistic design.
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I had a G1 Roadbuster when I was younger, so seeing this review makes me glad I haven't shelled out for this version yet. I had been debating whether to buy Revolver or this version of Roadbuster. I may still not get Revolver, but I don't think I'll pick this one up.

 
Other than having Jetfire pre ordered, I do not have any recent Transformers. I want to start collecting them and have some questions. Which ones would be good to start off with that wouldn't cost a lot? I am looking at the under $30 range but would consider MP transformers as well. I do not care about rarity, just toys that look nice on a shelf. So far I like the voyager class toys like Sandstorm and Springer. I really do not like the look of the toys from the movies, I am more into the classic looks. A nice Optimus would be great, but finding one like the MP10 has been imposible at a good price.

What toys would you recommend and where to look? Normally I just go to Amazon, but whenever I am near my local Toys R Us I check them out, but they never have a good stock.

 
strangelove said:
Get rhinox
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Definitely get Rhinox. Hands down the best Voyager in recent memory. You should be able to find Rhinox and Whirl at just about any TRU or Target, as they have been everywhere.

Also get Sandstorm. Different than G1, but very clever and very well done. Sandstorm is a recolor of Springer, and I think it's better. Springer is also very good. Depends how you feel about recolors. I think they're different enough to warrant both. Blitzwing is worth having.

I still like Whirl, though I don't really like the legs. I like G1 Whirl enough to overlook the flaws.

You also might try BBTS -- bigbadtoystore.com Not too long ago, they were heavily discounting recent Generations and Voyagers. Not the current stuff, but the previous few waves. You could get whole sets for cheap.

I don't know how you feel about the Deluxe size, but most of the recent Generations have been good to great. Trailbreaker and Hoist, Megatron (Stealth Bomber). If you go back a little further (2+ years), the Generations line has been just awesome. Tracks, Kup, Jazz, Wreck-Gar, Perceptor, Warpath. They're all just fantastic.

The only real duds in Generations have been Scoop and Mini-con Team, both of which are underwhelming.

 
Tracks, Kup, Jazz, Wreck-Gar, Perceptor, Warpath - I have my eyes on those also, they are nice. You gave some great ideas for me to run with, thanks.

Recolors are fine with me as well. I have seen whirl often, the skinny legs make me a little weary though.

 
My wife is going to look at me crazy in 2 days. I finally made some purchase to start a collection. Today I bought:

Whirl - $21.89

Sandstorm - $22.99

Springer - $23.88

Blitzwing - $22.99

Optimus Prime/Grimlock AOE figure set $35.09

Not the greatest of prices but wasn't charged tax and got prime shipping.

I pre ordered the Optimus Prime MP10 Reissue due out November. I think of the original MP10 as the best looking transformer made. Big Bad Toy Store is reliable?

I would really like to to get a nice Sideswipe as he was my favorite as a kid. I just don't want to spend $100 for it right now. I've heard great things on Rhinox which I will get as well, I just wasn't sold on the look. Going thru our attic I did find every trasnformer from the movie back in 2007 I had bought for my son. I also found a really big Unicron that came out around 2004 that we have almost all the pieces for.

 
tukai said:
I pre ordered the Optimus Prime MP10 Reissue due out November. I think of the original MP10 as the best looking transformer made. Big Bad Toy Store is reliable?

I would really like to to get a nice Sideswipe as he was my favorite as a kid. I just don't want to spend $100 for it right now.
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I've been buying from BBTS since 2001 and haven't had any issues with them. They have the 2nd production run of MP-12 Sideswipe for $80, if that's far enough under $100 for you. You can save on shipping by using their pile of loot so they'll hold it until MP10 comes in and ship them together (or continuing holding for other purchases). You can also get an Alternator Sideswipe on eBay for relatively cheap (> $40 sealed, > $20 loose). He's a Dodge Viper instead of a Lamborghini, but it's a good homage.

 
tukai said:
A nice Optimus would be great, but finding one like the MP10 has been imposible at a good price.
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Seen on tfw2005 this morning, TRU has a new Optimus Evolutions set that is out here. It includes Classics Voyager Optimus Prime and AoE Evasion Prime.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a Classics Prime. This mold is also used in some pretty awesome third-party sets. It's not Masterpiece size, but it's worth having. At $40, it's cheaper than eBay for a genuine product and you get Evasion Prime, which is not bad, for free.

 
Not bad. I pre ordered the mp10 takara reissue coming out this year. I found a rodimus mp tru yesterday which I picked up. Metroplex titan, mp sideswipe, warpath, takara Soundwave are in a pile of loot right now
 
It was at a local place in Dallas called DFW Vintage Toys. They have a huge selection. Their Facebook page has a lot of pictures
 
Finally found a Skybyte (no Roadbuster, though from blandstalker's review I'm not in a huge rush to find him anyway...).  Not perfect, but I actually really like him.  Lots of nice detail on him, very unique/interesting transformation, and a good homage to the RiD/Car Robots character.  Might even buy a Cybershark repaint if it ever comes to pass. 

Only real qualms are that his chest is a little hollow if you look at the right angle, and his spinning tale mechanism doesn't lock in place like the Beast Wars/RiD mold, so it just kinda flops over in beast mode.  Given the bend of the shark mode, it's not like he's easy to display in beast mode anyway, but that makes it even more awkward.

 
Yeah, Sky-Byte is surprisingly good.  It may be that I had high expectations for Roadbuster and low expectations for Sky-Byte (I only ordered it to qualify for free shipping from Captured Prey) and so Roadbuster got an exceptionally bad review while Sky-Byte (who would have thought?) gets a good one.  I totally did not expect that.

Still, Sky-Byte does mostly everything I would have hoped for.  I got rid of most of my Beast Wars figures, but I kept Cybershark and TM Cybershark because they are both awesome.  Sky-Byte is a new take on them that works very well.  Unlike Roadbuster, you can see where they took inspiration from Cybershark and added details, changed some things, but attempted to make a modern representation of the character that was true to the original.  Even though ZMonkay mentioned some of the things that were not as good as the original, Generations Sky-Byte manages the kibble better and is significantly less top-heavy and therefore more poseable.

The only downside for me is the color scheme.  I understand that it's based on the character from the RiD show (which I didn't watch), but even then the colors are kind of off.  The show colors have more of a blue and less of a purple, and a deeper blue on the shark head that isn't as jarring as the baby blue.  The colors as they are on Sky-Byte don't really work all that well and they don't work well together.  The figure would be a lot better with a darker marbled blue plastic and if all the bright orange-yellow was replaced by the darker gold accents.

Both modes are good, however, and there's not that much shark kibble in robot mode (all things considered).  Yeah, you have the wings (but those were part of the character).  You don't have a head or tail hanging off or large sharky panels getting in the way.  I usually don't like things like 'The tail becomes an arm-weapon-thing' but here it works.  It still has poseability and it isn't so grossly oversized that it looks like the designers just didn't know what to to with the tail.  The shark is different than previous sharks, and I like the bend and the machine details, most of which got paint.

The transformation is unusual without being frustrating and, unlike most panelmasters, it is not a big deal to lock everything into place.  The end result is a really good looking shark with only a few hints here and there to its robot mode.  The way it all fits together is really quite something unexpected, and that it manages to transform without being annoying is doubly so.

I probably would buy a repaint that was more Cybershark oriented or one that went all dark and metal tones. 

 
Do you guys think rattrap and Tankor are decent toys?  We are basically collecting the generations line so I guess I would probably get them anyways but not if they are horrible.

 I gave my son the YOTH optimus and  he really loves him.  He knows the colors are different but it was way cheaper than buying it for us.  He really like MP toys-whoever said once he got soundwave MP he would be spoiled was right!  He would be willing to trade most of his collection to get MP toys.\\\

edit:  I landed up getting them both today.

 
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Rattrap is awesome.  I have read of some sort of problem with the shins, but I haven't noticed it.  Very good rat, mostly good robot.  They did not do as good a job with the kibble as they have with most of the recent ones, but it's not terrible.  It is very poseable and looks just like the character.  Both modes ooze personality, and the rat is both less cutesy than BW and more charming.  Definitely get Rattrap.

Tankor is a mixed bag.  On the one hand, it's very faithful.  You can look in the comic book that Tankor comes with and that's his robot mode right there.  It's got the same blue and yellow as BM Jetstorm and there are definitely some good ideas in there.

That said, Tankor doesn't feel like a BM toy.  It feels more chunky, more kiddy, and, while this was true of Beast Machines as a line, it's kind of It's A Tank Because We Say So.  Tankor's head is right there in the open and the tank 'mode' is more or less flatten Tankor and call it a day.  It's not real involved.  BM had some interesting transformations and ideas -- Jetstorm remains a favorite of mine -- and Tankor just isn't in the same league.  We're almost in Rescue Bot territory here.

Also disappointing is that his missile doesn't turn!  His waist doesn't turn.  It feels just a little too short.  Tankor should be imposing and he feels kind of like a dwarf.  Generations has had many really great, inspired designs, and this one feels like they stopped early for lunch.

It's not horrible, and it's not as cut-rate as Scoop or as misguided as Roadbuster, but it is a missed opportunity.  Get it on sale, only if you have some attachment to the character or Beast Machines.  Otherwise, it's a pass.  There are just so many better choices.

 
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