Botcon Gen: Sky Lynx, Lgnds Shockwave & Buzzsaw, more

[Onslaught Six]

But, they brought back Nightbeat (a c-lister) to tie in with that stupid recolour during "Dark Cybertron"

Given the timeline, I am more willing to believe Nightbeat was brought back as a matter of course and the recolour was made after the fact. "Who's in this that would make a cheap and easy remould? Nightbeat? Yeah, that'll work." The fact that Nightbeat is not drawn as either the Jazz remould he was solicited as or the final Bumblebee retool is the strongest indicator of this to me.

Keep in mind that the Combticons were designed 30+ years ago, and would have taken design cues from several years earlier. The association between shuttles and the military would have been stronger then. I am old enough to remember (albeit through much younger eyes) Reagan's SDI (Strategic Defense Initiative, "Star Wars"....and boy howdy did that name stir up the pot). It was all about space based weapons (or the *idea* of space based weapons).

Yeah, I know... Still doesn't change the fact the space shuttle itself was never intended to be an armed vehicle like the other Combaticons are. The others are all meant to be used for combat, while the space shuttle seems out of place in that regard. Sure the shuttle could have been used to set up space-based weapons like the proposed "Star Wars" plan, but that still doesn't make it a combat vehicle.

Before this becomes an 80 page argument: No one cares. Regardless of what he was 30 years ago, Blastoff is now a jet. You both make decent points. Hasbro probably went with cost saving and modern sensibilities over slavish 80s reproduction. Not the first time it's happened in this line, and it won't be the last.

COMBINER WARS BRUTICUS:
Easy skip. Blast-off should have been replaced with a new character if Hasbro could not come up with money for a new mould (on a combiner that is mostly retooling to begin with). The colour variants just add a new problem in that assembling a correct set is that much more difficult. (I really like the Combaticons as characters, but have yet to see a good Bruticus set.)

Blastoff aside, what would this have to do for this to be ideal for you? The colour variants are less of a problem than you're making it out to be; it's only Onslaught that the problem is on and I'm very much hoping that the phrase "running change" is more indicative of what Hasbro did with G1 and Armada Megatron (one SKU, two variants in the case) and the various Marvel Legends ladies and henchmen that have happened for the last year or two. (If you haven't been following along, most case assortments of Marvel Legends recently have one toy in the case that is an equally-packed variant, to "get around" only having so many females or henchmen in a line. It's actually pretty clever. One recent ML wave had the female Captain Marvel and Scarlet Witch sharing a spot.)

Even if there are two Onslaught variants shipped at different dates, it simply becomes a case of finding the one you want the most. Each is equally accurate to one interpretation and each compromises in some way--the way the toy is designed, the chest plate becomes the surrounding parts of the missile assembly in the vehicle mode, which will be silver if you get the toy-accurate silver chestplate but brown if you get the cartoon (and FOC) accurate brown chestplate, and will probably look more like Onslaught in vehicle mode. It's another "Hasbro/Takara CW Magnus" debate--you can get red thighs but you have to deal with the out-of-nowhere Alpha Trion, or you can get Minimus Ambus and deal with white thighs. (I cannot understand your usage of "correct" set as there is no such thing in this case; literally a matter of preference.)

Those two things aside, there is nothing I don't love about Bruticus. Except probably that his weapons won't combine into an awesome thing like Ruination, but that's an ongoing complaint I have with CW that I haven't properly voiced. (Have I mentioned that I hate that none of the weapons combine into superweapons? How do you miss the boat on that? It's a few frickin' pegs and holes!)

Glad to see that Hasbro is not breaking its recent trend of disappointing me with larger toys that I initially want. Even putting aside the fact that Sky Lynx is associated with a crappy comic, the fact that the new figure reportedly cannot split in to the two components annoys me. (I could probably work around the associations with the new comics if the toy were better.)

Sky Lynx is literally not even in Combiner Wars, is he? His "association" is a label on a frickin' box. Throw the box away!

Wreck-Gar:
Looks too "clean" to be a Junkion. Not a bad mould in general. But, the wrong mould for the character in this case.

This entire toy legitimately looks like it would have been better off as a new Wheelie. The colours, the blue windshield, everything except the Wreck-Gar head are SCREAMING "Wheelie" to me. What a lost opportunity. (It would even make sense for him to combine with an Optimus, given their history in the comics during the Orion Pax period.)


Aside: Am I the only one extremely disappointed by the fact that sometimes "official pictures" literally mean "CGI renders" now? Of all the terrible practices they could have lifted from third parties, they chose THAT?! It looks tacky, it doesn't give an accurate representation of the actual product, and it doesn't do ANYTHING for scale because there's no camera and physical object. Look at Legends Shockwave there--he almost looks like he could be a Voyager for Chrissake. That's terrible.

[Sparky Prime]

Before this becomes an 80 page argument: No one cares. Regardless of what he was 30 years ago, Blastoff is now a jet. You both make decent points. Hasbro probably went with cost saving and modern sensibilities over slavish 80s reproduction. Not the first time it's happened in this line, and it won't be the last.

What, am I not allowed to express my opinion that it never made sense to me that a space shuttle was included among other combat vehicles? I think you're overreacting a bit that it would turn into a multi-page argument.

Those two things aside, there is nothing I don't love about Bruticus. Except probably that his weapons won't combine into an awesome thing like Ruination, but that's an ongoing complaint I have with CW that I haven't properly voiced. (Have I mentioned that I hate that none of the weapons combine into superweapons? How do you miss the boat on that? It's a few frickin' pegs and holes!)

I kinda have that same complaint, although it's a minor thing for me. I've just always thought it was a nice touch to have a combiner's weapon form out of the weapons of the individuals, just as they do the combiner itself. Not to mention, it gives you something to do with their weapons when they are merged.

Sky Lynx is literally not even in Combiner Wars, is he? His "association" is a label on a frickin' box. Throw the box away!

Sorta... He's in the Epilogue (Transformers #42), but he doesn't make any appearances during the main Combiner Wars story.

[JediTricks]

O6 is not overreacting, we all know how this will go, nobody will give and it'll be page after page of pointless bickering, so let's just curtail that conversation now. You made your point, move on to other topics - that goes for both sides.


As for the renders instead of photos, while I am surprised by it, I do think it's not unreasonable as a solicitation of product that's not due out for another half a year which is still going through the process - I'm kinda sick of seeing mistransformed prototypes with wrong paint and glue spots. Plus, the fan sites now get the exclusive view of the physical products for the time being. If they don't release product photos at some point in the next 4 months, then I think it'd be fair to lambaste them for using CGI renders, but for the time being I'll allow it. That said, a gray model photo is ALWAYS appreciated at these sorts of events.

[Sparky Prime]

O6 is not overreacting, we all know how this will go, nobody will give and it'll be page after page of pointless bickering, so let's just curtail that conversation now. You made your point, move on to other topics - that goes for both sides.

Just because a discussion goes through one or two exchanges doesn't mean it'd turn into pages. It is a discussion board after all, is it not? Assuming it would turn into multiple pages after such a minimal exchange is overreacting. As far as I was concerned the point was made, but instead O6 and you have made this whole other issue out of it, leading to this complete derailment I'd point out, when it probably would have ended there otherwise.

[Dominic]

IDW has said Galvatronus will not be in the comics, and there's no reason to believe just because there's a toy that it'll appear. There's been plenty of toys over the years that don't appear in the fiction.

I hope that is the case here.

Given the timeline, I am more willing to believe Nightbeat was brought back as a matter of course and the recolour was made after the fact. "Who's in this that would make a cheap and easy remould? Nightbeat? Yeah, that'll work." The fact that Nightbeat is not drawn as either the Jazz remould he was solicited as or the final Bumblebee retool is the strongest indicator of this to me.

Possibly. But, your theory just shifts blame more than anything else.

Blastoff aside, what would this have to do for this to be ideal for you? The colour variants are less of a problem than you're making it out to be; it's only Onslaught that the problem is on and I'm very much hoping that the phrase "running change" is more indicative of what Hasbro did with G1 and Armada Megatron (one SKU, two variants in the case) and the various Marvel Legends ladies and henchmen that have happened for the last year or two.

"Correct" was the wrong term. I should have said "preferred". One of the big problems witih "Marvel Legends" is that some on-line dealers are not specifying which figure they are sending. For example, if there is a themed "henchmen" pack, many dealers do not give an option to specify which henchman is going to be shipped. It also makes it more difficult for people to get a complete set/case. A complete set/case will obligate an incomplete set, resulting in "common" figures clogging the market. (This happens with "Marvel Legends".)

Blastoff aside, what would this have to do for this to be ideal for you?

Blastoff is sticking point.

I am the last one to say "it musht be teh 8ds". But, the part of me that knows why Hasbro relies on recolours sees the new Blastoff and thinks "stupid cheap-assery". If Hasbro does not want to make a new shuttle for the sake of being current, that is fine. If they want to make a plane, make it a new character.


Bruticus just should have been better all around. I would have preferred Swindle to be the Legends figure, and maybe another new character limb (preferably another new mould).

Sky Lynx is literally not even in Combiner Wars, is he? His "association" is a label on a frickin' box. Throw the box away!

The toy looks like the newer comics though. And, Sky-Lynx is meant to be a combiner core.

That, combined (pun intended) with the fact that the toy cannot separate in to the land/air components, is enough to put me off it.

[Onslaught Six]

"Correct" was the wrong term. I should have said "preferred". One of the big problems witih "Marvel Legends" is that some on-line dealers are not specifying which figure they are sending. For example, if there is a themed "henchmen" pack, many dealers do not give an option to specify which henchman is going to be shipped. It also makes it more difficult for people to get a complete set/case. A complete set/case will obligate an incomplete set, resulting in "common" figures clogging the market. (This happens with "Marvel Legends".)

I very much wish that someone had bothered to ask this at the Hasbro panel, instead of (yet another) worthless third party related question.

I am the last one to say "it musht be teh 8ds". But, the part of me that knows why Hasbro relies on recolours sees the new Blastoff and thinks "stupid cheap-assery". If Hasbro does not want to make a new shuttle for the sake of being current, that is fine. If they want to make a plane, make it a new character.

I would not have been opposed to Blastoff being replaced by an alternate character like literally every other CW combiner thus far. I even theorized that Rook would have been repainted as one of them.

Bruticus just should have been better all around. I would have preferred Swindle to be the Legends figure, and maybe another new character limb (preferably another new mould).

Aw hell no. I don't care about vehicle scale in TF. I care about robot scale. If Swindle was a Legends, way more people would be pissed than happy, including me. At that point, you're introducing the idea that Swindle would be the same size as Groove, a motorcycle. So either way you're pretty much boned.

O6 is not overreacting, we all know how this will go, nobody will give and it'll be page after page of pointless bickering, so let's just curtail that conversation now. You made your point, move on to other topics - that goes for both sides.

Just because a discussion goes through one or two exchanges doesn't mean it'd turn into pages. It is a discussion board after all, is it not? Assuming it would turn into multiple pages after such a minimal exchange is overreacting. As far as I was concerned the point was made, but instead O6 and you have made this whole other issue out of it, leading to this complete derailment I'd point out, when it probably would have ended there otherwise.

Here we fuckin' go.

[Sparky Prime]

Bruticus just should have been better all around. I would have preferred Swindle to be the Legends figure, and maybe another new character limb (preferably another new mould).

Aw hell no. I don't care about vehicle scale in TF. I care about robot scale. If Swindle was a Legends, way more people would be pissed than happy, including me. At that point, you're introducing the idea that Swindle would be the same size as Groove, a motorcycle. So either way you're pretty much boned.

Yeah, I don't think any of the combiners are perfectly in scale in terms of their vehicle modes. But can't say that I see that as a big deal myself.

Here we fuckin' go.

You know, if you'd just let it drop instead of contining to call attention to something that wasn't an issue in the first place, then there wouldn't be any issue.

[Almighty Unicron]

Here we fuckin' go.