Joe Velez

I'm fairly certain that this DNA kit is for Ultimate Optimus Primal and not SS Optimus Primal. When they posted the update for Volcanicus they asked it people wanted a kit for Takara's RotB Primal by voting for it in the comments. I guess this is the results of that vote. It makes sense since the new parts can just peg into the ports on Ultimate Primal's forearms and shoulders. It also looks like they're replacing the beast mode head too since it looks to have an opening jaw which I think is why people are thinking it's SS Primal. For me the dead giveaway is the flat tab clearly seen on the back of the figure. That to me tells me it's Takara Ultimate Primal. And it would make more sense as I think Apelinq was bigger than Primal so they're using the largest mold for the conversion. I wouldn't mind maybe seeing a small kit for voyager Primal to maybe make him into Optimus Minor or something. That's probably just me though. Voyager Minor, leader Primal and then ultimate Apelinq. Or you can just use the Beast Weaponizer Primal for Minor as that's a decent little figure in its own right and it has the correct beast mode posture. Although, Optimus Minor wasn't a gorilla since he had a tail lol. So no, that wouldn't work. Paint the voyager blue and call him B'Boom then or something like that. I'm still hoping for a retool of Kingdom Primal into B'Boom. They're not all that far off from each other in where their parts go. Not that they really would be as they're such similar animals to begin with. I'd also want another retool into Heinrad too. It could totally pull off the clock chest with how Kingdom Primal's chest transforms. I thought we'd be getting more Beast Wars figures after Snarl/Tazmania Kid was leaked but it seems it's only going to be Magmatron and Big Convoy. Hopefully they'll do Galvatron too from TM2 Megatron.

Studio Series 86 commander class Optimus Prime? Hell yeah! If we were still working with Kingdom Ultra Magnus then Earthrise Optimus prime would be fine. For Rodimus you could still go back to PotP Rodimus and use just Hot Rod as a Rodimus that "matches" Earthrise Optimus and Kingdom Magnus. Or just use SS86 Hot Rod. However we now have SS86 Magnus and that changes things. Earthrise Optimus looks like straight trash next to SS86 Magnus and Kingdom Rodimus. I'm pretty sure that Rodimus has more going on in his two arms than Optimus has going on in his whole body parts wise. Comparing them is not even close.

So uh...what's those clips on the tops of the vehicles of Warrior Bumblebee and Twitch? They certainly look like they can combine with each other. I mean, they can combine together with those two packs with the Malto kid drones but these are different molds from those. They should go on the backs of the robot modes but that doesn't lead to anything really. You could combine them in vehicle mode but one would always be upside down. It could work puttin Twitch on top of Bumblebee though but not the other way around. I take it though that season 2 will have a combining gimmick if these toys are any indication. It just sucks that the first year's warrior class figures won't be able to participate.

I hope this puts to rest anyone still claiming that it's in any way a retool of any Ironhide figure released lately. It has a similar transformation to a few as I already pointed out but that's it. The price is starting to make more sense now seeing as to how tall it is. It was difficult to tell how tall it was just from pictures of it by itself. But seeing it next to Optimus and Ironhide brings it into perspective. I preordered one from Target with the $15 off Target Circle coupon. So it made it about $30. I was far more comfortable with that price. Although $15 off another troopbuilder set would've been nice too.

I was really hoping these weren't shrink wrapped. I only need Wildrider as the rest I already have. I'd like another Ironhide and Ratchet though for customs but they're in different packs. Then I'd maybe want another Kickback but he's in a different set from Wildrider. I already have two Knockouts and Arcees too so getting Wildrider means getting a third Knockout and getting a third Kickback means getting a third Arcee. Then getting Ironhide and Ratchet means getting a second Brawn and Arcee. I'm sure these packs are perfect for someone as they are though. I also thought there'd be a few more sets but it doesn't look like it. Other than the Prime Arcee/Kickback and Jazz/Gnaw sets that aren't shown in any of these pictures. Namely I was hoping for maybe Shrapnel and Scraphook to show up but I doubt it. I don't have Shrapnel at all and would like three more Scraphook. I know I've said I don't like the Junkions but Junkasaurus is growing on me a lot. I'd like at least two and that would require some more Scraphooks as I already have enough Crashbars now.

You mean my constant rambling? lol. Thanks, nice to know that someone other than Bacon read my nonsense. It's baffling as to why Hasbro does and doesn't do things. Especially Polar Claw. They know people are very upset about not getting him so you'd think they would've made him by now. Rhinox is right there to be retooled into him. It wouldn't be too difficult to do and there's even redeco potential for the retool after that. And even taking into account all the Walmart, Target and Pulse store exclusives (that you can pick up right now at Ross), there's still more that could always be done for Generations Selects but they just don't. They start stuff and then don't finish it like they did with Ransack and Fangry. Anyway though more leaks. Of course Cannonball was going to be released. It was obvious. Then why did I go and purchase that Renderform set? Oh yeah, I had an extra Burnout sitting around doing nothing. And an extra Crosscut for the Red Alert set. Still it was rather stupid of me to get them. I guess it was a case of FOMO. They are unique though so that cool. Obvious Dinoking was Obvious. The only problem is deciding on what Upgrade kit to get. You know the three of them so far will all be redone to match. I hope they're retooled. Yes Volcanicus was obviously supposed to be Dinoking but the figures themselves are 100% Dinobots. So to me this would be a bit of a let down if it's just a redeco set with new heads. But I guess that's par for the course with Dinoking having only been a redeco of Monstructor with new Pretender shells. MPM Brawl is what it is. More exciting than Bonecrusher but I couldn't care less about MPM figures. I have Megatron only because it was like $50 on HasbroToyShop on Ebay. Otherwise I don't pick up MP figures other than the Trainbots. Leader Optimus with Bullseye?. Okay. Let me guess, it's NOT a brand new mold that's just Optimus as a leader so that he can look good standing next to Rodimus and Magnus? As he is now, he looks like a cheap "kids toy" next to them. Especially when you bring his dinky little baby trailer over. So I guess we need a SS86 commander class Optimus so he can match Rodimus and Magnus. No ass kibble. New legs! A trailer that isn't shit and actually comes with Roller...both versions. Or rather, that other rolling drone scout thing he had in the show. An Ion Cannon that doesn't fold in half and isn't long enough. A flight pack that you don't have to get from another set like you do for the current one, Roller, a longer (but actually too long) Ion Blaster and his energon axe. So this is most likely going to be a reuse of an existing Prime with that shitty trailer and a Targetmaster. I guess there's quite a few Battlemasters out there now from RotB and WFC that can be used. Kup, as a Triple T? Kup? KUP? Where's the Optimus Prime for this line already? It's nice to see Kup and all but what the hell? Kup? I had to look up what a Triple T was and that's not exactly screaming Kup. Neither was the vehicle for Bumblebee or Soundwave but still. I guess the front scoop thing of the figure looks a bit like Kup. I'd think that maybe maybe Seaspray, Warpath and Powerglide would make for better GI Joe crossovers but okay. I'll get this but when it goes on sale and it WILL go on sale. "Classic Heroes" Primal and Mirage. Okay. Not much to go on here.

I'm down for another from the Steelbane mold. It was rather interesting. I find it funny though as the Steelbane alt mode was a wyvern and not a dragon ("European") as the wings are on the front legs and not the back. Now that you take the wings off if it, it finally makes the mold a dragon ("Chinese"). Having wings in the wrong place makes it not a dragon but taking the wings away in general also make it a dragon. I hope they do more than just "Chinese" dragons though. I'd love another leader Dragonstorm release. Maybe one that doesn't break. Or maybe another use of some of the Prime Predacons? A third ultimate Predaking mold would be great as I have Beast Fire Predaking and Guren Dragotron already. The second voyager is nice too but that first voyager Predaking was really cool. The other Predacons were fun as well, even the two oversized Terrorcons.

So much for $106. It's $220 now it looks like. I don't know if I have time for that anymore. Show Z doesn't have the price up yet. So I'll wait it out still. Not that it really matters as I don't exactly have room to display such big things at the moment and it would basically be getting it for the sake of getting it. But I guess that's my entire collection really.

My months of waiting have paid off! I got an email a week and a half ago from Mandarake about them getting more Burning Plasma Blaster Battmasters in stock. So I grabbed three of them and a Burning Cheetor. I just paid my invoice and it came out to a bit less than a single one of them on BBTS while including tax and shipping. So four for the price of one. Nice. I just wish I grabbed a few more of each now. I think what I got should be enough for what I want though.

There seems to be quite a bit of hate for this figure already. I guess because Junkyard supposedly shelf warmed, that means that people aren't going to want this one as well. Or something like that. I just wish people would make up their minds. They either want all the G1 and then don't buy them or they want all the non-G1 and then don't buy. People paid crazy stupid prices for the previous deluxe Junkions. Sure one was an E-Hobby exclusive but the other two weren't. I just don't get it. Damned if you do, damned if you don't. I'm loving these voyager Junkions. Especially since they have more going on than just new heads. New chests, new shoulders, new arms, new legs, a new vehicle front and a new weapon all split up different ways. I have two of each of the previous with some upgrades and parts swapping. I'll get one of these for sure. Then maybe two more and the another of each of the other two with some other upgrades I haven't gotten yet to see what else I can make. One of each stock and then the other six to mix and match. When I have the room, I'm going to have one hell of a Junkion display. I have 8 PotP Junkions, a CW Junkion (I want more but damn this little guy is expensive now), also the RTS Junkion duo, the Platinum duo and a United Wreck-Gar that I just paid for today on Ebay for cheap. Just need to track down that one E-Hobby one for cheap like I got the Hot Rod for. This is on top of my three Scraphook, three Crashbar and two Trashmaster so far. My Junkasaurus is looking wicked. I should take pics and post them sometime. I still need to get Detritus and Axlegrease. Oh and I guess I have Tow-Line too but fuck him.

I wish this ended up looking like that concept art as the alt modes of the concept art looks a hell of a lot like Transformers Animated season 4's Marauder Megatron. As is, he looks a lot like RotF Megatron in tank mode and core class Bomb-Burst in jet mode.

Magmatron is massive too. Larger than Ultra Magnus and probably around Armada Prime super mode height going by the pics of him holding Leo Prime. So yes, an easy buy. Don't get me wrong about Silverbolt though, he does indeed look beautiful. I just want those damn paws off the arms. And for the wings to come up and over the shoulders so he can point his missile launchers as he did in the show.

And I should've just waited to watch the stream since they did mention that the combined beast mode is still a thing. So the rear feet are just going to look a bit goofy I guess. Blowing up the picture as much as possible it looks like there is a finger flap at the hand. So I was wrong about that too. I see another possible joint at the base of the hand to allow for the hand to become a foot.

Going by SSGE Optimus and Megatron and the look of him in that box lol, Starscream won't be very big. At least it should be a fair bit bigger than the deluxe Starscream as unlike deluxe Optimus and Megatron, Generations FoC SS was made after the size reduction. I can't wait to get SSGE SS and Legacy United Cybertron Starscream. Just need a "MP" third party Armada Starscream and a deluxe Cybertron Starscream now. We got Shapeshift Inc. "legends' WFC SS, FoC deluxe SS, Legacy voyager SS and Planet X SS. We got legends Cybertron SS, the upcoming Legacy voyager SS, Galaxy Force voyager SS, Maketoys SS and Cybertron supreme SS. We got a third part "legends" Armada SS incoming, T30 deluxe SS, Legacy voyager SS and Armada voyager SS. So this way you can pose them all on a shelf like they're Ant-Man growing lol. And of course, there's too many G1 Starscreams that could work for this too but he's boring lol. Let's see: Universe legends SS or a third party "legends" SS, Legacy core SS, Classics deluxe SS, Earthrise/SS86 voyager SS and then a bunch of different MP and third party "MP" Starscreams. Yes I'm crazy I know. Oh wait, Titanium SS, Impossible Toys SS and Siege SS lol. We need more G1 Tetrajets.

Wow. Magmatron looks incredible. The individual "dinosaurs" look amazing even with the gaps in Seasaur's neck. Which even the original has that was made by TAKARA, not Hasbro. So no, gaps in figures are not a new thing nor is it Hasbro that invented it. Takara literally did with their figures from the 70's that eventually became Transformers. It's been there since before the brand itself. Just to cut that off before someone starts in on the gaps. Surprised though that they're no showing of the combined alt mode. But it looks like it might not be able to do that since the hands don't do the Jetfire thing and hide the 5mm ports when they open. In fact, it looks like the hands don't open at all actually. So that could cause problems using them as rear feet. Silverbolt still looks okay. Still bummed out that it's so strictly "G1" in its design instead of changing it up like the others. Keeping the paws hanging off the arms like that still is just so fucking stupid. Maybe not as bad looking as what they did to poor Blitzwing's tank mode but still really bad. It also looks as though he can't point his wings forward either. At least he has size I guess and they cleaned up his back. FAR from a "0" though, but nowhere near a "5". I'd say a "3.5". Code Red is what it is. Not the worst Crossover but not the best. I wonder how long people will continue to go on as if this is in any way a retool of any version of Ironhide. It's not by the way. It doesn't share a single part. I don't need to be told this either, I can clearly see it and compare it too the figures I already have. I have an Autotrooper and SS86 Ratchet right next to me. Nothing is the same with this Code Red. It's nice to see that Hasbro has come up with quite a few ways to handle an all in one Ironhide/Ratchet mold now. The MP, the core class, the voyager and now this. Unrelated to any of this for the most part; I had the oddest urge after getting SS86 Ironhide. I all of a sudden wanted Classics Ironhide and Ratchet back. Except I hated those so I got the Henkei releases instead since the paint they used is better and doesn't get smudged like the Classics versions. I got Ironhide two or three months ago for cheap and I just found Ratchet for cheap too and he came in yesterday. I then proceeded to chop them up after getting them to at least try to fix the original design's mistakes. They can now look straight ahead, for the most part, and not into their chests. Only took trimming off a bunch of plastic to do it too! It's not perfect either as there's not much that can be done with the pelvis as it not crashes into the bumper on the inside of the torso now but it's a huge improvement. What a design oversight with those. Seriously, what were they thinking once they had the prototypes in hand and the design didn't work? The odd joints they used for that mold remind me a lot of the original Star Wars Crossovers line and even the Titanium line. Maybe they were designed by the same people. That would explain a lot actually. I think Prowl had similar design ideas too. So did Galvatron actually. Huh.

I don't know. This is going to have to be really good to beat that one kit out. I mean, you can give Volcanicus FOUR arms! (from the bicep swivel down that is) Meanwhile when I was configuring my Volcanicus to see how those two existing upgrade kits work, I actually thought to myself that the one kit could somehow utilize all four legs to have either made bulkier arms with less work or to give him four arms. Then a few weeks later that one kit actually did just that. I like when the upgrade kits do something in the other modes but I don't think that's going to ever happen with a kit for Legacy Volcannicus. Especially lately when the designers with actual vision when making upgrades have seemingly vanished. But then again, Some of those CW pieces in other modes were horrendously bad. Not that they were much better in their intended mode to begin with like all the third party hands and feet though. Yes, ALL third party CW hands and feet looked awful and anyone telling you otherwise is delusional and trying to justify the purchase. Horribly proportioned feet that are shaped hysterically badly, anemic/skeletal looking hands and fingers that are too small for the arms they're on. Seriously, the feet looked like they were wearing shoes for a baby. They were puffy and bloated and too tall and did nothing to try and integrate the leg figures into their design so they would literally come up to the tiny connection point on the top and into the leg bot. Granted the CW designs didn't always lend themselves to being better integrated but almost all had a similar shape overall being wide and flat or thin and rounded. So something could've been done knowing that much. But I'm off point like always. So I'm going to wait and see now before committing to a set for Volcanicus. There's at least something going on with the torso on this set in order for the sword to be stored on the back like that. So it will be interesting to see what else they do other than the feet and lower arms like the other sets.

Damn, almost six months later. I didn't even remember this. Seems I was right though, the did design it differently than the rest of the line. Almost like they're really trying to course correct with this one. It's quite a bit figure too. I wonder if they'll be going back to redo some of the figures that aren't quite in scale like Bumblebee. Maybe do it the Marvel Legends way and have smaller figures fill a wave with larger figures like this to offset the costs. They do that with the Generations line to an extent already so why not with RED too? It's just so odd for a company that has so many divisions all doing mostly the same shit to not seem to communicate with the others. The Overwatch, GI Joe and Power Rangers designs are better in some aspects than the vast majority of Marvel Legends. So why not try to work some of those design choices into ML since Overwatch is gone from Hasbro now? Nope. Why not try to bring some of that magic to the RED line too since PR and GI Joe are in house like Transformers? Nope. They can't even use the same materials between the lines which is absolutely baffling but I digress. That translucent red chest certainly is a choice. I mean I get it since they wanted the sword in that color and all but damn. They should've put some paint on it if this is the final look. As is, it's looking a bit like one of those KO or lesser third party Grimlock-like figures out there. It looks kind of like it's shaped after Cybertron Megatron's Cyber Key. No doofus, it's Wheeljack's head lol. It's totally Wheeljack's head. It would've been cool if the inner chest details were modeled after PotP Grimlock's Dinobot Enigma.

Okay...what's with the decos? Is that supposed to be scorch marks and battle damage or something? I'm not quite feeling whatever that is. I don't mind the asymmetrical nature of it so much. It's more that it doesn't seem to belong. I don't think the figures are designed to be asymmetrical like a Transmetal 2 or Energon Starscream. Nor is this intentional for twins like Combiner Wars Stormclash and Skyburst. It's not quite as noticeable on Bumblebee as black is in his color scheme normally and it's seemingly not as prominent on him. With Starscream though it's very noticeable in a bad way. There's several Starscream figures that have black on them but that's due to some kind of stupid shit for cheaper figures and it always looked out of place. Sure would like to know if there's ever going to be "clean" versions before committing to getting this set as I like that Starscream so much better than the Earthrise mold. It looks like the IDW T30 legends class/CW leader class Starscream design and I really liked that updated look. With a bit of SSBB Cybertronian Starscream oddly enough or maybe I'm seeing SSBB Blitzwing. The price is a bit weird too. It's more than what a deluxe and voyager would be by $12. Is this representative of another price increase? Is this maybe licencing fees to the game designers? Does this mean that this isn't a standard deluxe and a voyager? The box dimensions are 9.5 inches tall by 13 inches wide by 3.2 inches deep and a little over 1 pound in weight. So that would make me think that these are indeed a voyager and a deluxe at most. So that makes me want to know if/when we're getting "clean" versions all the more. I wouldn't want to pay the prices on upcharged figures just for them to be released later with decos I like better. This isn't a Siege and Premium Finish Starscream situation either where they're both fine and have the exact same decos but in different color saturations and shades. This also isn't a case of Kingdom vs Legacy Galvatron or Siege vs Legacy Soundwave either where it's just a little bit of battle damage paint apps that are not applied for the newer versions and can be removed from the older versions.

While I don't like inanimate object alt modes, turning Frankentron into a Tesla coil as a fan mode is appropo.

Well, that certainly looks like the artwork. It also looks like it's a HasTak design. This was rumored to be a leader class if I recall correctly. Looks solid so far but there's really not much to go on here. Elbows look like they have more than a 90 degree bend. Shoulder and chest joints look like there could be some decent butterfly joints maybe. Thankfully the head doesn't look like that horrible artwork. Maybe it's just because the mouth is closed. Elbow and forearm area looks like it does something extra. Or maybe it's just for transformation.

It would be nice if they made Windblade one of those "deluxe +" release voyagers like Hot Rod, Override, Ironhide and Ratchet. This way she can get the extra tooling she'd need to be spectacular and a fair bit taller. If they're going to link Windblade and Slipstream together, it would really make more sense for the base mold to be a voyager to be more in line with Starscream for multiple reasons. Windblade was poised for a while to be one of the top Transformers characters and again, that would help warrant the larger figure. But it seems that she's been knocked back down a few rungs on the importancy ladder in the grand scheme of the brand. They definitely got better at making Windblade toys though. A quick way to clean it all up though. Make the torso large enough to accomodate the robot head for jet mode and most, if not all of the nose cone and canopy for robot mode. Similar in theory to Cyclonus or more specifically, Metalhawk. Have the robot mode shoulder pads become the air intakes/front sides of the jet (the parts that become the backpack on this figure) with the arms becoming the underside of the nose cone and canopy area. The hands do a flippy deal to go inside of the forearms and a quarter each of the nose cone pieces come out from there. OR the arms can compress and hide in the shoulder pad parts or inside of the nose cone and canopy. Ultimately, I feel the arms need to form some part of the front of the jet from now on instead of just bolting onto the sides of the jet like they've been doing. The legs and wings are pretty much good to go or have been done well enough between the iterations of her we have so far.

Great. More releases only about 150ish people actually want that are willing to pay full price for and will either clog shelves until clearance or never be put out depending on area. Normally I'd say that nobody wants these but people in the comments on some sites take me 100% literally. Of course the people reading these comments are likely to want them as you're a fan that actually goes on forums to read news and comments. But in the grand scheme of things, you're such a small percentage of customer that you might as well not exist. That's what I mean. For the amount of these sets that will be made and won't move off shelves, you getting it means nothing ultimately. How do I know this? I don't know, maybe the roughly two decades, three if you count G2, of G1 reissues that clogged all the shelves they were ever on. There were G1 reissues on Toys R Us Shelves for as low as $3.50 down from like $35. And they still didn't sell for months on end. But those 150ish people will continue to loudly clamor for them so they keep getting made only to go on clearance. Make Rodimus Prime, "Powermaster Optimus Prime and Apex Armor" and Ultra Magnus again. Those didn't shelf warmed when they were reissued. Make the Headmasters, Targetmaster and Powermasters. Ones that have little figures that go for $70 each on their own in most cases. Make ones that easily broke like Mirage. Make Japanese figures like Overlord and Star Saber. Combiners like Landcross, Liokaiser, Raiden and Road Caesar. Fill in the G2 combiner gaps. But no, it's Soundwave and Blaster again. So those who didn't get them on clearance the last two times have the opportunity to wait for them to go to clearance again to get them this time. You know, what ever happened to RED? Right when they started making figures I actually wanted, they were nowhere to be seen. Not that I ever really seen them on shelves more than once to begin with though. I really wanted Shockwave, Galvatron and Prime Megatron and Optimus. Never had the chance at any of them by the time I remembered that they were supposed to be coming out. So much wasted potential in that line.

I'd have so much more fun with these if only the torsos could do more like the Weaponizers, Modulators and Fossilizers. At the very least have some 5mm pegs somewhere and some more ports. Just something for them to so we can utilize them in combinations more. And while it's great that Trashmaster can also participate, he only just barely does. Just the legs and the front wheels coming off doesn't really help anything honestly. I made a Junkasaurus that I like and that's about all I'll be doing. With the other types, I was constantly making new things. Not so much with these Junkions though. I just don't like having parts left over with no use.

This certainly is a thing. I have all three. I hate two of them. The third I have only a mild interest in getting as it looks really good. That being Shockwave. Earthrise Megatron is a trash toy. Siege Megatron on the other hand is awesome. Nearly every single redone part sucks. That is quite the accomplishment to pull off. Ditto for Soundwave. Okay, I might hate on it a little more than I should. I do like Siege Soundwave and dislike Netflix Soundwave though. They didn't retool quite enough and well, I hate inanimate object alt modes. I'd rather have the space barge thing. Luckily I already have both versions so I can just use whichever one I want. Shockwave looks good. But do I NEED another Shockwave? No, probably not. At the very least this set proves to me that I was right buying a bunch of upgrades for all my Megatrons recently. Why? Because I don't think they'll be redoing him anytime soon which is sad as again, Earthrise Megatron sucks. Just make a good leader Megatron that turns into a tank. Galvatron and Armada Megatron came out great. Do that but with G1 Megatron now. There's been a rumor that a leader G1 Megatron will come out in Studio Series but I don't recall having seen or heard anything about it since. So it might be one of those that are indeed just a rumor. Oh and I don't want another throne.

ANOTHER Takara Waspinator? Uh...okay? It looks to have the same paint applications. The translucent plastic seems to be a darker shade though and is more purple to the blue of the previous release. It's difficult to make anything else out though. Well I skipped all the Takara releases except for Inferno and Airazor so I won't be triple dipping on Waspinators by picking this up. The only things holding me back are the fact that I don't really love that Waspinator mold and well, I don't go for Ghost Starscreams. I have two but only because they came with other figures being the UW Ghost Starscream that came with Grand Galvatron and the Headmaster Ghost Starscream that came with Blitzwing. I don't actually like that Seeker mold either, All that said though, I do actually kind of want that Starscream though. So while I won't be triple dipping on Waspinator, I will be for Starscream. I'll most likely forget about this though and not get it. Maybe when I notice it on clearance like Tenseg Optimus Prime, Premium Finish Ultra Magnus and Premium Finish Starscream.