Combiner Wars

The modern comics universe has had such a different take on G1, one that's significantly represented by the Generations toys, so they share a forum. A modern take on a Real Cybertronian Hero. Currently starring Generations toys, IDW "The Transformers" comics, MTMTE, TF vs GI Joe, and Windblade. Oh wait, and now Skybound, wheee!
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Sparky Prime
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Combiner Wars

Post by Sparky Prime »

With SDCC starting up today, Hasbro has revealed they will be introducing a Combinder Wars series in the Generations line. TFW2005 has images of Superion and Menasor and their individual members. The limbs will be Deluxe class while the torsos are Voyager class.

Motormaster is actually a retool of the upcoming Generations Optimus Prime, and was revealed at the Hasbro panel that Optimus will able to combine with the Superion and Menasor limbs as well.
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BWprowl
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Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by BWprowl »

News rolling in from SDCC AS WE SPEAK, you guys seeing the new Menasor and Superion Hasbro revealed? I think they're looking friggin' terrific. Even if they're sticking with the Scramble City combination scheme, they're using it effectively, using Voyagers for the core figures (instead of the ill-advised Deluxe choice as with FoC Bruticus), with the individual modes for everyone (especially the Aerialbot limbs) looking really solid and uncompromised. They pulled that off by using Energon-style attachable hand/feet weapons, except they actually LOOK like hands now, and I don't have a problem with that anyway since it's just one accessory the toy should come with anyway (a gun) cleverly repurposed to keep the individual 'bots from being compromised. New Silverbolt blows the old one out of the water, and it turns out the reason new Voyager Optimus looked so shit was because he was actually a retool of the new Motormaster with this combining gimmick, and the toy looks a gorillion times better as Motormaster than as Optimus. They even spiced things up by adding new members to the teams: Wildrider gets replaced by a truck named Offroad, and Slingshot is out in favor of a helicopter named Alpha Bravo. Works for me, reminds me of when guys like Buckethead and Hightower got mixed into different iterations of the Constructicons back in the day, keeps it fresh. And on top of that, each team has a SIXTH member, looks like Superion gets the new Powerglide mold as a Targetmaster, while Menasor gets a guy (an Insecticon? EDIT: No, it's a little black car guy) who can form chest armor. That's great, and if we can move forward with more PCC-style swappable small armor/weapon dudes, that would really keep things interesting.

Seriously I just think these things look really cool and I'm excited.
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Shockwave
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by Shockwave »

I'm pretty sure I saw both Slingshot and Wildrider in those pics, maybe they just have new names? Anyway, I'm super jazzed for these even though I'll probably never see them. Or if I do, they'll won't all be at the same store. Here's hoping they decide to do them gift set style.
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by BWprowl »

Shockwave wrote:I'm pretty sure I saw both Slingshot and Wildrider in those pics, maybe they just have new names?
Pretty sure they're meant to be new characters, given they also have completely new altmodes to go along with them.

I like it, helps move the teams away from the samey ALL CARS and ALL PLANES effect I disliked about the original versions (this was always an issue I had with the Aerialbots. I can barely tell them apart!).
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Sparky Prime
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by Sparky Prime »

BWprowl wrote:
Shockwave wrote:I'm pretty sure I saw both Slingshot and Wildrider in those pics, maybe they just have new names?
Pretty sure they're meant to be new characters, given they also have completely new altmodes to go along with them.
I think they're supposed to be the same characters. It wouldn't be the first time Hasbro has changed a character's name and/or alt mode for whatever reason. The robot modes still look like they incorporate elements of the G1 characters at any rate.

Anyway, I really like how these figures look. Individual bot's all look great have have plenty of articulation by the looks of it, and the gestalt forms look solid and also has plenty of articulation, which so often is an issue for combiners. Nice that the hands actually look like hands, that's something that bothered me about the Energon combiners. They really did a great job with these. Can't wait for these figures to be released!
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by Almighty Unicron »

How big is Menasor compared to Metroplex? I'd love a big ol' decepticon to display with him.
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by Onslaught Six »

Well, FOC Bruticus wasn't that big, and he used a Deluxe for his torso, and the Voyagers here seem to be going more for bulk than height, so I'd say they wouldn't be much bigger than him. And FOC Bruty was only about as big as Tidal Wave; even Cybertron Megaloplex towers above him.
BWprowl wrote:The internet having this many different words to describe nerdy folks is akin to the whole eskimos/ice situation, I would presume.
People spend so much time worrying about whether a figure is "mint" or not that they never stop to consider other flavours.
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Re: Combiner Wars

Post by andersonh1 »

Updated Stunticons? Oh yeah!
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Shockwave
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by Shockwave »

The official images are up at TFW. Alpha-Bravo is Slingshot (albeit a helicopter instead of a harrier) and Off-Road is Wildrider. It looks like a case of lost copyright on the names. As for the all planes or all stunt cars thing, that was the deal when they came out. They were originally called the "Special Teams" and each team had a theme (ie: planes, stunt cars, military or rescue vehicles). I'm ok with Slingshot being a helicopter, the arialbots are all still flight based alt modes so it still works and off road vehicles have been used for stunt driving for ages so that works too. I'm actually pretty impressed and looking forward to these. I also really like the idea of an Autobot "Menasor" with Prime functioning as the torso.
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Re: Even I can't complain about the new Gestalts

Post by BWprowl »

Shockwave wrote:The official images are up at TFW. Alpha-Bravo is Slingshot (albeit a helicopter instead of a harrier) and Off-Road is Wildrider.
I still disagree with this and think TFW is just slapping the previous guys' names on there to make people feel comfortable. I can kinda see some Slingshot influence in Alpha Bravo, but Offroad really doesn't look a thing like Wildrider aside from the vehicle mode color scheme (he doesn't even have a red face!). Thing is, Hasbro's had copyright troubles before, so why aren't these guys just "Autobot Sling" and "Decepticon Wild Ride" or something along those lines, to say nothing of them also just happening to be the only ones with completely different vehicle modes from their old versions? Whatever the case, they're gonna be new guys to me, with Alpha Bravo naturally being an over-the-top Autobot analogue to Johnny Bravo.

Looking good though, I'm amazed that a new color scheme and remolded head/chest on Motormaster are all it takes to make that mold work. Also liking the Legends interaction more and more, especially seeing how nice a little guy Blackjack looks to be (and he's another new guy! EDIT: Never mind I'm an idiot he's based on an existing Micromaster). One thing I'm not lovin' is that these are all apparently going to be released across two different waves, which would be an astoundingly bad idea had I not already just resigned myself to pre-ordering them through BBTS or something.

The other sad part is that the official pics clearly being hand-painted resin prototypes means the actual release of these things is probably still a long ways off.

If this Combiner Wars thing is going to be an ongoing sublineamajig, how much money do I have to throw at Hasbro to hope they get to Monstructor? Liokaiser is also acceptable.
Last edited by BWprowl on Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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