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The newest action figures (and other toys) thread (NSF56k)

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Posts

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
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    I moved my Transformers to the top of my glass case and am making a mecha level here
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    This one I was gonna do today but, there's SO MANY stickers in it I got intimidated and set it aside for maybe tomorrow haha. I also have a higher grade Unicorn Gundam but that one will take me hours so idk when I'll get to it.

    Local H Jay on
  • Forever ZefiroForever Zefiro cloaked in the midnight glory of an event horizonRegistered User regular
    Did someone say Jehuty??

    It's a shame ZOE didn't get more figure love. Revoltech made the most, but mecha is not Revoltech's strong suit, as you can tell from that Jehuty. Just very soft almost gummy sculpts.

    Sentinel made Jehuty and Anubis in their Riobot line (which are fucking impossible to get these days), and they're pretty fantastic, but they stopped there. No Ardjet or Vic Viper, and no one has made a Nephtis or Inhert.

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    XBL - Foreverender | 3DS FC - 1418 6696 1012 | Steam ID | LoL
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    The Gunpla thread is in SE++.

    https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/245222/this-nu-gundam-thread-isnt-just-for-shows

    I'm currently about 100 posts behind because of lack of motivation/room to build, and because I don't want G-Witch spoiled for me and I somehow suspect I won't be able to resist it going in there.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    Folks have been great there about using spoilers for G-Witch. I haven't seen it yet either.

  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
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    I built Nirvash from Eureka Seven. That's one of my favorite anime from when I was a teen and the design is iconic imo. I love how flexible this model is and that it comes with a stand for posing it on the board

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    I loved Eureka Seven. The surfing bots were awesome. Thanks for sharing the Nirvash.

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    Steam: betsuni7
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Glad I got off my ass and checked...

    Show.z is sold out of hugerhino, but Chosen Prime still let me preorder it so I think I'm good.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Hey pals, just wanted to pop in and spend some of your money.

    BBTS has started doing these "These 10 random items are on sale for today only" sales, and one of the items today is a 3rd party Transformer, Mastermind Creations's Medicus, their version of G1 First Aid:
    https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/VariationDetails/183354?mibextid=Zxz2cZ
    Medicus is in their "All-Built-In Perfection Series", which is MMC's line of G1 combiners that involve no combiner kibble; all the combiner heads, hands, feet, chestplates, and all the other junk is built into the figures themselves. Some folks find this not to their tastes, because they feel the "all-built-in" nature compromises some or all modes; a common example is how Onslaught from their Combaticons has a disproportionately long torso, since it also has to serve as Bruticus's torso. Some folks feel that using a separate, non-transforming piece for the waist-hips-and-thighs, and maybe also the chest (which is how just about all other 3P MP-scale combiners have been done thus far) makes for a more stable combined mode, and so dismiss this line on the grounds that it doesn't use combiner pants. Finally, not using the separate pants-piece does mean that these combiners are shorter than the height that has become the de-factor standard for 3P MP combiners, and so some folks are turned off by this.

    For me, the main thing that's drawn me to Transformers since I was a kid was the transformation bit, the puzzle element, the clever engineering of one thing changing into another thing. Further, "all-built-in" is something I've dreamed about for combiners since I was a kid. So, for me, this line has been a pretty literal dream come true. Fortunately, I also don't care about a difference of a few inches for the combined mode, and I think the figures look good-to-great in all modes (I also don't care about absolute toon accuracy). Their Bruticus is the set that got me back into collecting MP-scale figures in 2019-2020, and it'll be one of the last sets I get rid of if I ever need to part with my collection.

    Medicus is one of my favorite figures from last year. MMC did a great job with Bruticus, and I think they've learned a lot, which is evident in both Medicus and Navigant (their version of Streetwise, who came out recently as well). Medicus has a pretty intuitive transformation, and the toy is made of materials that invite play - there's no coat of paint that you'll fear scratching, the materials are sturdy, the design and tolerances are such that the transformation "just works", it's just a toy you can have on your desk to flip back and forth. I very highly recommend this figure, which is also on the biggest discount I've ever seen. Be warned, though, that you may accidentally fall into having to buy the whole combiner set (their version of Blades will be the next release, btw).

    Here's a transformation video to give you an idea of what you're in for:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_ei4KeBFno

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
    Got this mammoth box in a few days ago, I wonder what it could be!
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    Inside that box... was another box! But inside THAT box, was a crate!
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    Yes! It's finally here! My Haslab Ghostbusters Plasma Series Spengler’s Proton Pack! And I finally got off my duff to post the photos!

    Part 1: Preliminary Findings
    Opening the crate revealed a packet with the instructions/warning information, and a sliding bit of wood paneling?
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    Solving the "puzzle" reveals a rather out of place white box and a ghost trap which I should absolutely not touch.

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    "I looked in the trap, Ray"


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    Here's the first thing to review, the Mini-Puffs! I thought these guys were going to be soft and squishy, but they are SUPRISINGLY hard plastic. Like, they don't plastic bend, really. The have balljointed heads and arms that can spin around but that's it. Their heads come off and can be swapped with each other or any of the extra included heads. Honestly, I feel like some of the burn patterns clash unless you pick the right head, so mixed bag on that feature.

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    They are LOADED with character though, especially that pissed off one on the right. Also one of them is permanently giving the thumbs up and that's adorable. Not really something I would have minded if they left out but cool none-the-less. I have zero clue what I'm going to do with these guys though, and I can't get them back into the trap.

    Digging in deeper we reveal the pack itself, but all in good time.
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    Instead, something lies beneath the pack!
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    There's another packet with some stickers and Egon Spengler's journal. This journal has some funny bits and starts the day Egon and company got thrown out of the University. There's too many good bits in here, but one I'll share. Do you want to know why they activate the Ghost Trap remotely? Because it's radioactive! Supposedly it's shielded, but it caused a small nuclear incident on the first test, which Egon mentions as an aside may have sterilized Venkman.

    The only downside is while it rehabilitates Egon running out on the Ghostbusters a bit (in reality, Venkman and Winton started moving on and Ray refused to believe Gozer could come back) he doesn't even mention his family until the last page. No talk about who the mother was or anything really. There's also an interesting musing from Egon about whether or not benevolent ghosts exist and what the moral obligations towards them would be as a Ghostbuster.

    Neat thing about some of the stickers; they're the same warnings already on the pack, but not faded or anything so you can add the weathering yourself or just try to mod yourself a "brand new" pack.

    Beneath that are some screws and brackets for mounting to an A.L.I.C.E. frame (I should order mine soon) should the included backpack straps be insufficient, or if you want a more movie accurate look. There's also an orange saftey tip for if you're planning on taking this to a convention, the hose to connect the pack to the Neutrona wand, and finally, the parts to assemble the stand

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    It's a stand, it stands up the pack.



    LIKE THIS!

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    Beautiful. Now just slap some batteries into this.. FOUR D BATTERIES ARE YOU MAD?!?! I only got two in the house! so at 9:30pm I'm heading to the store.

    INTERMISSION:
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    Part 2: In-depth Research
    Okay, that's better. Batteries are in, Neutrona Wand (sold separately) attached, and this thing is fantastic.

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    They pulled some wizardry to make the wand work with the pack, given the wand has ZERO circuitry or programming to interact with the pack. How it works is the pack feeds power to the wand and detects how much voltage it's using to determine on/off, so the pack will turn on when you flip the wand on and turn off after you turn it off, so no need to mess with that big red switch you can't reach. It's not QUIIIIITE as seamless as I could wish for; the pack turns on really fast, but not fast enough to synchronize the startup noise (same noise on both wand and pack) with the wand, nor does it squelch that noise so it's an echo every time. Turning it off has serious lag, so the point where the wand will finish it's shutdown noise before the pack even starts. It's a little lame but oh well. Hasbro pinches pennies like shit so I'm not surprised the team on the Neutrona wand couldn't sneak in functionality they might never use.

    Wearing the pack is rad as shit, even without the A.L.I.C.E. frame. Pulling the wand is a little awkward, you have to be prepared to rotate it a bit. (Also good luck ever getting that thing back on; thank god for the belt hook) There's a hidden panel to hide stuff on the left, and you can remove bits of the cyclotron to get inside the pack.

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    Taking out the centerpiece reveals more detailing. There's a switch to turn the vibration on and off, as well as a switch to set the lights on the pack from afterlife mode to classic mode, which is a nice thing to add.

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    The set also came with some marshmallow goo to drape over your pack. Hasbro Pulse members also got green ectoplasm to put on their packs as well. I did not get this, because I'm not paying for a free shipping service if you're not going to let me use that free shipping in the state I live in.

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    Honestly this was super disappointing. There's no instructions that I've found on how to drape the goo and I don't feel there's quite enough spots to get a good spread for all four pieces. Also all of the promo pictures are FUCKING LIES. I think they're taped on because they're wrapped around places that there isn't anything to wrap around. I am unreasonably annoyed by this! Though it does soften the blow on missing out on the ectoplasm quite a bit.

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    Pictured with my copy of the revised Tobin's Spirit Guide and something I picked up during a dimensional cross-rip.

    Anywho, that was the Proton Pack. It's neat but it's really not worth it if you're not going to also shell out for the wand at least. I feel sorry for anyone who didn't realize the wand wasn't coming with this. In retrospect, the packs in the movie don't do a lot so I guess it's okay this doesn't do a lot. It lights up in the right places, interacts with the wand adequately enough... But yeah, it doesn't do much else.

    Other than being COOL AS SHIT!!!

    Once I figure out what size flightsuit I need to order, I'm totally putting together a Ghostbusters costume now.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Thank you so much for the unboxing photos and description!!! I so wanted to back this, but knew I had no place to put it so ended up passing. Plus as much as I love Ghostbusters, I'm not a super fan enough to want it. I mean I want one if I had any room to display it with the wand.

    I absolutely loved the intermission and the appropriate snack to go with the power cells. Did you do that on purpose or just something you like to snack on?

    I so need to watch the new Ghostbusters movie one of these days. Honestly I keep on forgetting it came out and you just reminded me that I need to watch it.

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    Steam: betsuni7
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    I figured I should get a snack while I was at the store and almost went with some marshmallows, but I really didn't want marshmallows, so twinkies were the next logical choice.

  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    I know it's disappointing in some aspects.. but just seeing the presentation on this sucker and the forethought to features and the fan community... it actually makes me feel worse about my Victory Saber? Like.. okay. Unicron's box had to be functional - you are talking a toy measured in feet. Victory Saber's box, as I mentioned, kinda is just.. there? It has that reversible cover feature to make it look authentic, but there's nothing that talks about the importance of the guy. And then you have this... that comes with just TONS of personality and care. Like that box is a show piece in and of itself.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    edited January 2023
    Athenor wrote: »
    I know it's disappointing in some aspects.. but just seeing the presentation on this sucker and the forethought to features and the fan community... it actually makes me feel worse about my Victory Saber? Like.. okay. Unicron's box had to be functional - you are talking a toy measured in feet. Victory Saber's box, as I mentioned, kinda is just.. there? It has that reversible cover feature to make it look authentic, but there's nothing that talks about the importance of the guy. And then you have this... that comes with just TONS of personality and care. Like that box is a show piece in and of itself.

    Here Victory Saber was my first HasLab and it has been a disappointment for this very same reason you mentioned. I haven't even mustered the courage to open it up for inspection after reading all the issues with it.
    I figured I should get a snack while I was at the store and almost went with some marshmallows, but I really didn't want marshmallows, so twinkies were the next logical choice.

    Ha! I got those references!

    Betsuni on
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    Steam: betsuni7
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    I really hope Hasbro does some kind of update that they provide to the Victory Sabre customers.

  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    That Proton Pack is hot as fuck. The weathering especially looks fantastic.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • HefflingHeffling No Pic EverRegistered User regular
    Honestly, the weathering is my least favorite part of it. It doesn't make sense to me in how it was applied. Like, the silver was just kind of blotched on at random, and not really where one would expect wear. There are recessed parts with wear that shouldn't have much surrounded by painted raised areas, but the raised areas should have been damaged first.

    It's also too clean. Like, there is no dirt or grime anywhere.

    Please don't let my criticism detract from your joy at your toy. I realize I'm overly picky because these are the kinds of things I think about when painting a miniature or model kit.

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
    Athenor wrote: »
    I know it's disappointing in some aspects.. but just seeing the presentation on this sucker and the forethought to features and the fan community... it actually makes me feel worse about my Victory Saber? Like.. okay. Unicron's box had to be functional - you are talking a toy measured in feet. Victory Saber's box, as I mentioned, kinda is just.. there? It has that reversible cover feature to make it look authentic, but there's nothing that talks about the importance of the guy. And then you have this... that comes with just TONS of personality and care. Like that box is a show piece in and of itself.

    This has actually been a huge problem in Transformers for a long time now.

    Once upon a time, just about every Transformer came with a bio on its box, giving you the robots name, "function" (aka job), a quote and a brief bio going over the characters personality, special powers and capabilities. Also came with "Tech Specs" you had to use a piece of red transparent plastic to "decode." to see which character had a higher strength rating and therefore was stronger, and other such arguments.

    (I may or may not be toying around with a knockoff Transformers pnp RPG that uses the tech specs as your core stats. It's not going well! That was a hard conceit to base a game system around! I should probably stop!)

    Tech spec examples from G1:
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    As an aside, I love the asspull numbers. "1200 miles away." No real reason for that number, just something they picked out of thin air. Love it.

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    "Yeah, he can link up to a BLACK HOLE and use it to power his main weapon" God I love villains from 80's fiction. So brilliant and yet so stupid. Also it took YEARS before Megatron's black hole gun made it into major fiction.

    But yeah, a great, if a little barebones, way of introducing kids to the character of the toy they just got, or to use as a way of determining which toy to get!
    They became especially vital once the show went off the air and the only characterization we had for many later year Transformers came from these bios and maybe a brief appearance in the comics. These bios came from much longer bios made by Bob Budiansky for the first few years, straight from the creative tap that created them in the first place. *sigh* We'll never have it this good ever again.

    They've had ups and downs over the years, but these days it's apparently too expensive even to do online these days because they'd apparently have to translate each bio into a zillion languages. The best we get is QR codes on the boxes that lead to pages like this:
    https://transformers.hasbro.com/en-us/bios/umqclsuc

    A one sentence bio. Pathetic. The worst part is there's not even a landing page for these bios. It's QR codes or nothing, and don't expect hem to stick around forever, either. Like, you can't even find a link to the bios on the toy's store page!

    Also the main TF website is like from 2021, still taking about Kingdom and Cyberverse.
    https://transformers.hasbro.com

    Hasbro's Transformers marketing sucks ass these days. It's especially galling once we started getting original characters in the main line; so many Battlemasters, Modulators, Fossilizers and now Junkions ain't going to get shit for official characterization; especially when there's no toon or comic to go along with these toylines anymore.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • Lindsay LohanLindsay Lohan Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
    Taking the prize for my longest pre-order, my Danhausen figure arrived today from my Nov 2021 order! He looks like he'd fit right in with the Hasbro WWF figures from the 80sish.

    He even comes with extra hands, money and a jar of teeth.

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    Lindsay Lohan on
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
    Alright, so you've all probably seen 52Toys (pronounced "Five-Two", not "Fifty-Two") and their BeastBox/MegaBox lines - robot animals, mythological creatures, vehicles, and even a few officially licensed characters, that all transform into 5cm cubes, which are stored in transparent container cubes ("box chargers") that can link up with each other to build full-on display walls. They routinely appear on BBTS's front page, they even recently opened up an Amazon storefront. I may have a problem buying these, because they are like chips - you can't have just one.

    They have become quite successful, and now other companies are getting in on this theme, even going so far as to make their cubes the same size, so they can fit into 52Toys box chargers. One of these companies is a 3rd party company called Lucky Cat. Their first release - dubbed "Elvis" - is an (unlicensed) version of Voltron, where the lions combine into Voltron but also fold up into 5cm-ish cubes:
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    I haven't picked it up, but I keep going back and forth on it. I think the Voltron mode looks basically perfect. The individual lions have some wacky proportions, which I guess is inevitable when you are bound by real-world physics and have something that can transform from one thing into another thing. The cube modes were actually the biggest disappointment for me - they had to resort to using a bunch of filler pieces to get the pieces to fill out the volume of a cube, and still the cubes aren't quite the same size. Still, the Voltron mode and the overall novelty might be enough for me to cave eventually. They've released a metallic repaint, maybe I'll get that.

    Their second release, "Riki-Oh", is an (unlicensed) take on the Constructicons from the War Within comic mini-series by Dreamwave. First two have been released, I picked 'em up, they're pretty neat. I'll share photos once I have the whole set, but you can find detailed video reviews of the whole set on YouTube.

    Anyway, today they released photos of their 3rd project, and, well:
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    I think this looks doooooooooope. I'm not sure what's going on with the pterodactyl, there - it looks kinda like the one from the rather stylized upcoming Flame Toys Go! Kara Kuri Combine version, and I think it doesn't fit stylistically with the rest of the Megazord at all, but at the same time it looks like this pterodactyl's chest can pop off and transform into the more classical pterodactyl zord, so I'm not gonna complain about that. Looks like they still had to use additional filler pieces to fill out the volume of a cube, but whatever. Given how good this looks otherwise, I'll somehow live with it.

    They also unveiled silhouettes of future projects: a Macross Valkyrie, and a big robot from a big robot anime (that I don't recognize because I'm not too knowledgeable in that department, and am too lazy to go look up the name).

    Delduwath on
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Yeah, I saw that in my feed and did a double take. I didn't recognize Lucky Cat off the top of my head, but... the idea of cube gestalts just hits a few sweet spots for me.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Heey! I forgot that I never posted my photos of the Lucky Cat Voltron in this thread. I've had them for a while now (file dates show December 2021) and thought that I posted them, so here I am to make up for that since they were mentioned.

    I love Voltron as much as my Transformers and Macross toys. Probably even more since I grew up watching that more than Transformers. So when I saw that Lucky Cat made one that not only transformed into the lions and Voltron but cubes I had to get them (since cubes are easy to store). Yeah these are so much fun and the weird "guns" are just that. Weird. But they at least form a decent Voltron and lions.

    So I don't have much more time to spare right now so let's get to the photos.

    lucky_cat_cosmos_01.jpg

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    I just realized I don't have any photos of them in cube mode, but the promo photos cover that at least. The only other thing I have to say is that they put the wrong number on Green Lion and Red Lion so had to swap those when I got them. Luckily it is just a few screws and the number plate.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    Athenor wrote: »
    Yeah, I saw that in my feed and did a double take. I didn't recognize Lucky Cat off the top of my head, but... the idea of cube gestalts just hits a few sweet spots for me.
    Yeah, as far as I know, that Voltron was Lucky Cat's first product. It's hard to know if the people behind the company are new to the field or not, because it's not uncommon for 3rd party companies to drop their old name and re-form under a new one, or use different company names for different product lines, and so on. So Lucky Cat could be composed of industry veterans, for all we know, but that Voltron was their first thing produced under that name.

    If you like the idea of cube gestalts, are you familiar with the combiners that 52Toys themselves did?

    In the BeastBox line, they made a monkey combiner: a set of two cubes that turn into two monkeys. One of them could also turn into a left or right arm, the other could turn into waist-and-legs or torso-and-head. Buy two of these two-monkey sets, and you could combine all four into one big gorilla-type-thing. They were released in two different color schemes, so you could either get them all in one uniform color, or mix:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yaWS1vcNzz0

    They also just finished a second combiner set, this time of four dogs (two that were slight remolds of each other, two more that were slightly more significant remolds of each other), each one sold separately, who could all combine into a raptor-esque robot dinosaur thing:
    In their MegaBox line, they have a series called "AMTS" (don't remember what it stands for), which is a series of futuristic, sci-fi, possibly automated vehicles. They come in sets of two distinct vehicles that fit a theme, transform into cubes, but that can also combine together into a humanoid robot. Some of them also have an "official" combined mode, where the vehicles combine together into a bigger vehicle. The thing is that these vehicles are also covered in 5mm ports, and they can come apart into several pieces (typically the body, the limbs, the head, and one or two doodads), all connected with 5mm pegs. So then you can reassembled them in whatever ways you see fit, or combine multiple copies of a set, or combine different sets. They even come with a handful of double-sided pegs that you can use to further expand your options for combining pieces. This video shows off Landbreaker (two construction vehicles), Deep One (two submarines), and Icarus (two jets):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQGdNFiFLW4
    Each of them has had at least one repaint, and the original air team, Icarus, is actually hard to find; it went on sale at some retailers, but some retailers actually cancelled pre-orders and never got it in stock, while other retailers pulled it from sale and offered refunds. We never got a clarification on why, but the rumor is that it had some design flaw that led to easy breakage. The recently-released repaint, Icarus Elite, is widely available (even on the Amazon storefront), so I don't know what's different about it.

    I actually bought Icarus Elite just a few days ago, and have mixed reactions. I love the mech mode, because the gangly long-limbed design is pretty different from most mechs I see, but the transformation was a bit too fiddly, some of the joints are tight enough that they squeaked and were hard to turn (I might need to loosen screws, or apply lubricant), and some other joints were a bit loose. The gangly design also makes this guy hard to balance. I need to play with him more to form a real opinion.

    They are also releasing a fourth AMTS team, this one being space-based (a planetary rover and a rocket), but they're doing it differently: rather than packaging the two components together in one box, they are selling each one individually, and rather than creating an official combined mode where one cube always becomes the top half and the other always becomes the bottom half, these are being given official designs where either one can become the top or the bottom. This means that you can have the rover as the torso/arms and rocket as the legs, or vice-versa - or you can buy two rovers and make an all-rover bot, or two rockets for an all-rocket bot. And, of course, you can break them up into separate parts to make your own designs. They just released the rover, and the rocket is coming at some indeterminate point in the future; because of this, lots of fans are buying two rovers now so they can build the mecha. I, uh, did that too... and I love it. Way more than Icarus. Here's a video showing it off:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCAnoB0XroM
    The mecha had a familiar vibe, and I couldn't quite place it. My first thought was the Titanfall mechs, but it just hit me: it reminds me of the Sahelanthropus from Metal Gear Solid 5.

  • DelduwathDelduwath Registered User regular
    The YouTube algorithm recommended to me this video manual for the upcoming TakaraTomy Masterpiece Jetfire. I'm not sure of the provenance here; the video looks like an official TT video, but I have no idea what this YouTube account is, as I don't know Japanese. I... guess I could translate it? But that's way too much effort. Instead, I'll just link the video:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oVMzXfAxPH0

    It looks really good! I like it waaay better than some of TT's recent MPs. It looks like there are a ton of play features, the transformation has some really clever "Masterpiece Moments", and while I don't love the sculpt/look they are going with, it's certainly hitting their artistic goal. Not gonna get this guy, because I already have Fans Toys's Phoenix as a Jetfire, and I don't have the space for both. Also, I do much prefer Phoenix's sculpt/general aesthetics over this official MP's (I also, personally, trust Fans Toys's build and materials quality more than Takara's). That being said, if I didn't have Phoenix, I'd probably grab this official MP.

    For comparison, here is a transformation video of Phoenix:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnLsdLFLvwg

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Man, I can't wait to get this one and cry at my collection choices. Aka, I have no idea where he will go.

    Anyways here are some in hand photos too.

    https://news.tfw2005.com/2023/01/28/transformers-masterpiece-mp-57-skyfire-in-hands-images-474118

    I so love the storage for the extra faces and symbols.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Lately I've almost completely fallen off of buying Hasbro transformers toys. Some big ones, like the Studio Series dinobots, are still no brainers. But anymore it's just me going into a store, seeing what the selection looks like, nodding a bit, and moving on.

    This thread got me to pre-order Tarn. A character I have no attachment to, that turns into yet another tank. And yet... well, you all sold me on him.

    This isn't really a review as much as an unboxing, but he came in today. He's a voyager, which currently runs about $33 retail (up from the $25 of 5 years ago.)

    l2K3vPeh.jpg

    I want to just stress that I am NOT a fan of this particular plastic-free packaging. Like, I get it, cut corners and make the product as "recyclable" as possible. But with the window open like this, anyone can get in and mess with the figure prior to purchase. I've seen quite a few decapitated robots already. While it's nice being able to see the figure and check for QC on at least part of it... I'd much rather do where the larger boxes do and have everything sealed up.

    I almost took a picture of the tech spec QR code. Still could, but eh.

    LSR96clh.jpg


    The thing that immediately stuck out to me? Man, this guy's thin and lanky! Which I'm fine with, you don't usually see that aesthetic. But I can't help but think about how little plastic there is here. To their credit (and not really shown well), there aren't many gaps or hollow areas - only the bottom of the feet, which contain pegs to do the COMBAT system stuff from previous lines.

    The back of the box is a bit of a joke. "EVO-FUSION" to combine the two barrels together. Okay. Sure. And yes, they've completely dropped the 3-language brief sentence on who the guy is. But they really want you to know this has small parts and should not be used by 0-3 sad onions!

    Haven't gotten further than this, but... here you really can see that thin nature I talked about.

    OejlkyBh.jpg

    The poseability is super high, which is a plus given how much it really is just an action figure that will eventually fold up. :)

    Gotta admit, having him in hand, he's kinda cool. The decepticon "Death mask" I think makes a cool skeleton like look, though it can't be removed or anything. And thanks to smart usage of paint applications and molding, there's a surprising amount of detail pop. Oh shit, and I just noticed his hands open. I can't think of any voyager-scale toy I've seen that feature with from Hasbro.

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Got him transformed pretty quickly.

    There are some tolerance issues here. Like.. things are super tight, or the pins aren't 100% lined up. A lot of the pins are the square slotted ones they prefer these days, so if they have any extra material, thing don't go so hot.

    He has a... surprisingly complicated transformation for basically being "Yet another H tank." His entire backpack rotates, the torso ends up as a cow catcher, and his entire legs just fold up to become the upper turret section. And the arms are covered by the shoulder treads. About the only negative I could really cite is the very obvious hands hanging off the back, but I suspect this particular 'con wouldn't care. It reminds me a LOT of Tankorr and the Beast Machines drones, which is something I'm sure the comic book artists took inspiration from.

    And the ports. Holy shit the 5mm ports. Each tread has 2 on the side and 1 or two on top. The hands being exposed means you can use that. The sides of the top section have them. The mid "hatch" area (obviously no human would ever be in this thing) has one. The top of the body doesn't, but if you attach the top turret it does. It's frankly insane.

    Not gonna lie? Despite his small size for a voyager, I think I'm in love, and this is going to be one I have no problems keeping for a while.

    Cpem5vZh.jpg

    RO4hL8fh.jpg

    xoffsfXh.jpg

    CTvkbPVh.jpg

    He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Tarn looks cool! Thank you for sharing photos of him since I was on the fence buying one. I know who he is from the comics, but didn't pull the pre-order trigger in the end. Now that I have seen your photos I think I'll get him on sale or on impulse if I'm in a mood to have a new toy. Love those clear red parts showing through his gun(s) and honestly I didn't notice the hands till the side shot (they almost look like treads in most of your photos).

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    Sorry for the double post, but I wanted to share photos of the newest thing I just built/bought. I guess I should post this in the Gunpla thread, but he's more like a toy after you build him so I am posting it here. Maybe I'll do a double post? No idea...

    ANYWAYS, sorry to ramble there. So the company that makes those transforming cube things that @Delduwath mentioned up above also is making these model/toy hybrids called Beast Drive. You have to assemble parts onto a frame like assembling a model. Honestly it has been a while since I built a model (last one was a Cup O Noodle model kit) and I was short on time to build this one. Should have taken more time and cut off more sprue parts, but by that time I just didn't care and wanted to see the end results. Rambling again, sorry. So these Beast Drive things transform from some mechanical animal shape to a vehicle. So far they have a car that transforms into a Velociraptor looking thing and this jet that transforms into a shark. I like sharks so bought that one. Originally I was going to wait for their Hammerhead version since I love Hammerheads, but forgot that this guy was in my Amazon cart and accidentally hit buy when I was buying some Christmas presents. True story and I'm sticking to it!!! According to the instructions there is going to be a Whale Shark looking one and you can interchange parts from all three once you have them. I'm probably going to stop here since I just don't see how these will fit into my hoarding collection other than a neat one-of. I mean the engineering is clever (an already assembled frame) and you just tab parts onto it to form the whole thing, and the build was quite enjoyable (again, if you have time to build models). I still have not put on the water slides and saving that for another day. The transformation is relatively simple with the main head/nosecone area flipping over itself under the cockpit, wings folding up and the rear of the shark folding back up on the body to form the tail area of the plane. OH I forgot to take a photo of the "pilot" which is this little adorable baby looking shark (I'll have to try to take one later).

    So anyways, here are two photos of the shark/plane toy. Spoilered since I think they're too big.
    BeastDrive_Shark1_01.jpg

    BeastDrive_Shark1_02.jpg

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • Local H JayLocal H Jay Registered User regular
    I love that shade of green clear plastic, reminds me of so many toys and Legos. I had a Deathscythe model kit as a kid and the giant green scythe was always the coolest weapon to me

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    Athenor wrote: »
    Lately I've almost completely fallen off of buying Hasbro transformers toys. Some big ones, like the Studio Series dinobots, are still no brainers. But anymore it's just me going into a store, seeing what the selection looks like, nodding a bit, and moving on.

    This thread got me to pre-order Tarn. A character I have no attachment to, that turns into yet another tank. And yet... well, you all sold me on him.

    This isn't really a review as much as an unboxing, but he came in today. He's a voyager, which currently runs about $33 retail (up from the $25 of 5 years ago.)

    l2K3vPeh.jpg

    I want to just stress that I am NOT a fan of this particular plastic-free packaging. Like, I get it, cut corners and make the product as "recyclable" as possible. But with the window open like this, anyone can get in and mess with the figure prior to purchase. I've seen quite a few decapitated robots already. While it's nice being able to see the figure and check for QC on at least part of it... I'd much rather do where the larger boxes do and have everything sealed up.

    I almost took a picture of the tech spec QR code. Still could, but eh.

    LSR96clh.jpg


    The thing that immediately stuck out to me? Man, this guy's thin and lanky! Which I'm fine with, you don't usually see that aesthetic. But I can't help but think about how little plastic there is here. To their credit (and not really shown well), there aren't many gaps or hollow areas - only the bottom of the feet, which contain pegs to do the COMBAT system stuff from previous lines.

    The back of the box is a bit of a joke. "EVO-FUSION" to combine the two barrels together. Okay. Sure. And yes, they've completely dropped the 3-language brief sentence on who the guy is. But they really want you to know this has small parts and should not be used by 0-3 sad onions!

    Haven't gotten further than this, but... here you really can see that thin nature I talked about.

    OejlkyBh.jpg

    The poseability is super high, which is a plus given how much it really is just an action figure that will eventually fold up. :)

    Gotta admit, having him in hand, he's kinda cool. The decepticon "Death mask" I think makes a cool skeleton like look, though it can't be removed or anything. And thanks to smart usage of paint applications and molding, there's a surprising amount of detail pop. Oh shit, and I just noticed his hands open. I can't think of any voyager-scale toy I've seen that feature with from Hasbro.

    Jhiaxus had opening hands too.

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    So I just got my copies of Core Sludge, Core Slug (Slag), and Core Soundblaster (which is just a darker colored Soundwave with a small Buzzsaw in him so didn't take any photos of them).

    I completely forgot to cancel these since I was going to wait for a sale to pick them up so they shipped from Hasbro Pulse. I like the idea of small Legends sized Dinobots, but man they really focused more on their combined mode. I partially wished they just left them as stand alone Dinobots, but guess I'll end up getting the 3P stuff for that now. Slug's robot mode is pretty decent and his dinosaur mode is ok as well. His tail is really short due to the combined part and hiding Volcanicus' head. Sludge on the other hand got the short end of the stick where his robot mode looks like he's a Western Gunslinger with stuff hanging off his hips in robot mode and his dinosaur mode looks like... well ok, a little dog pooping. Oh yeah and the lack of Autobots logos in robot mode sort of bums me out.

    The combined mode of both looks pretty decent and solid so far. Can't wait to get the rest of the Dinobots to form Volcanicus and see where their parts end up in the modes. I'm going to guess maybe Snarl will be a leg and perhaps Swoop's body? Grimlock will split and become the arms? Or maybe Grimlock and Snarl become the legs and Swoop's body splits and becomes the arms. Either way, I'm curious now and invested in them.

    Core_Sludge_Slag_01.jpg

    Core_Sludge_Slag_02.jpg

    Core_Sludge_Slag_03.jpg

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    edited January 2023
    The big poorly kept secret about the Core Dinobots is that they are going to get redeco'd/retooled into Dinoforce from Transformers Victory. Everything from there being a new, sixth Dinobot (Skar, likely an ankylosaurus), to Snarl being the chest and Sludge being the legs hints at this and Hasbro has been very wink and nod about the whole thing.

    For those who don't know, Dinoforce were redecos of the Monster Pretenders, who were a tiny, almost micromaster sized combiner team who each came with a rubbery monster pretender shell. (Pretenders were a gimmick in late G1 where you'd have a "action figure" that was actually a shell that hid a Transformer) Dinoforce keeps the monster alt-modes, but but with new dinosaur shells instead of monster shells. I'm curious if we'll get retools into the Monster Pretenders, but I'm not holding my breath.

    Goryu (T-Rex) and Doryu (Stegosaurus) make the legs, Gairyu (Ankylosaurs) and Yokuryu (Pteranodon) make the arms, with Kakuryu (Triceratops) and Rairyu (Brontosaurus) as the chest and pelvis, respectively.

    Hilariously, Goryu, not Kakuryu, is the leader, so Grimlock being a leg wouldn't even be out of place here. Also harkens back to Devastator where Scrapper was the leader, but also was a leg.

    EDIT: Also, apparently this uses universal pegs and ports, so you can just slap some Weaponizer limbs on him instead of waiting for the rest of the Dinobots, if you really want to.

    Undead Scottsman on
  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    The big poorly kept secret about the Core Dinobots is that they are going to get redeco'd/retooled into Dinoforce from Transformers Victory. Everything from there being a new, sixth Dinobot (Skar, likely an ankylosaurus), to Snarl being the chest and Sludge being the legs hints at this and Hasbro has been very wink and nod about the whole thing.

    For those who don't know, Dinoforce were redecos of the Monster Pretenders, who were a tiny, almost micromaster sized combiner team who each came with a rubbery monster pretender shell. (Pretenders were a gimmick in late G1 where you'd have a "action figure" that was actually a shell that hid a Transformer) Dinoforce keeps the monster alt-modes, but but with new dinosaur shells instead of monster shells. I'm curious if we'll get retools into the Monster Pretenders, but I'm not holding my breath.

    Goryu (T-Rex) and Doryu (Stegosaurus) make the legs, Gairyu (Ankylosaurs) and Yokuryu (Pteranodon) make the arms, with Kakuryu (Triceratops) and Rairyu (Brontosaurus) as the chest and pelvis, respectively.

    Hilariously, Goryu, not Kakuryu, is the leader, so Grimlock being a leg wouldn't even be out of place here. Also harkens back to Devastator where Scrapper was the leader, but also was a leg.

    EDIT: Also, apparently this uses universal pegs and ports, so you can just slap some Weaponizer limbs on him instead of waiting for the rest of the Dinobots, if you really want to.

    Ohhh, see that makes a whole lot more sense why they are doing what they are doing. Also, crap... I should stop here and just pick up the other team then since I love dinosaurs.

    Eh, what am I saying. I'll end up with both.

    Thanks for this information!

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    I haven't talked about Smart Doll in a while, mainly because I think I am full up on Smart Dolls, specifically, unless they make a purple skin tone, do a sculpt that's particularly beautiful and different from the old sculpts, or put out a licensed doll that I view as must-have. I don't even buy chaos boxes anymore, because I have everything I want from those thus far (unless they do another 120k Yen box which is sure to have something rare that I want). That said I still check in on the twitter every week to see what's cooking. The current new thing is that blue skin tone is being phased out (I'm glad I got a couple of bodies while I still could, though I'm still uncertain whether I'll keep or sell those) and the new skin tone is gray. Here's one of the new dolls:

    3oqzrhdo0yxd.png

    Gray skin tone seems to be a popular option in the BJD world, though I can't say I know why. I liked the blue, but I don't think I'll be buying any gray. Though I suppose if I ever wanted to do an anthropomorphized Prothean, a gray body would be my chance. But while I still fully plan to make some blue head tentacles for my Liara Smart Doll, I just don't care about Protheans enough to make a mod for them. Sorry, Jaavik.

    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • MelonTronMelonTron Registered User regular
    The gray skin with the anime style makes me think of Zombie Land Saga, though I feel like she would need some scars for a proper zombie look.

    On another topic, Athenor's pictures of Tarn motivated me to take some photos of Eris. She arrived a few weeks ago and has been hanging out on my desk in various attempts at intimidating poses.

    j6nyc5lu1868.jpeg

    The last time I bought a Transformer was back during the Animated series, and I never owned a third party release or anything at the masterpiece level. With those qualifiers in mind, I was blown away by how good Eris is. She looks fantastic, poses well, and feels solid with no worries of anything breaking (except, maybe, the tiny finger joints, but I've been careful so far).

    I knew about the paint error with the mouth and planned to keep the mask on anyway. That said, I really don't notice the issue unless I'm looking closely.

    xc92gw8b5euh.jpeg

    Transformation is fairly straightforward after getting a feel for it. The parts line up well and feel durable so moving them about isn't stressful. The tank mode looks great too!

    uw0xtr64fgjh.jpeg

    All in all, I'm very impressed. I don't plan on going too far down this particular rabbit hole (famous last words), but I'm happy to have her in my collection.

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    You are braver than me. I have yet to transform my Eris, and kept her in a Psy dance pose with Optus Pexus since I got them on my desk.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
  • CambiataCambiata Commander Shepard The likes of which even GAWD has never seenRegistered User regular
    edited January 2023
    MelonTron wrote: »
    The gray skin with the anime style makes me think of Zombie Land Saga, though I feel like she would need some scars for a proper zombie look.

    Oh, they are absolutely selling a zombie doll:

    qemzhpoe4ca1.png

    That's not a new sculpt or paint job, though, they used exactly the same model with the blue skin tone, before they discontinued it:

    mowk22xuur7c.png

    The zombie definitely does look better in gray.

    Cambiata on
    "If you divide the whole world into just enemies and friends, you'll end up destroying everything" --Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind
  • MelonTronMelonTron Registered User regular
    Okay, that zombie doll is great. Looks like she is sold out though, which is probably for the best as I'm trying to be more financially responsible this year.
    Betsuni wrote: »
    You are braver than me. I have yet to transform my Eris, and kept her in a Psy dance pose with Optus Pexus since I got them on my desk.

    Transformation took a while, but it's not too bad. Instructions were clear and I never felt that I was about to break anything, which is nice. That said, the robot mode is so good that it seems a waste to leave her as a tank.

  • Undead ScottsmanUndead Scottsman Registered User regular
    I need to figure out if I'm going to get an Eris or not. I was totally going to grab her until the paint snafu happened so now I'm worried that they might just put out a newer fixed version later.

  • BetsuniBetsuni UM-R60L Talisker IVRegistered User regular
    MelonTron wrote: »
    Okay, that zombie doll is great. Looks like she is sold out though, which is probably for the best as I'm trying to be more financially responsible this year.
    Betsuni wrote: »
    You are braver than me. I have yet to transform my Eris, and kept her in a Psy dance pose with Optus Pexus since I got them on my desk.

    Transformation took a while, but it's not too bad. Instructions were clear and I never felt that I was about to break anything, which is nice. That said, the robot mode is so good that it seems a waste to leave her as a tank.

    Yeah, her robot mode looks cool so I sadly leave her as a super articulated figure. Same as Pexus since I love the robot mode so much.
    I need to figure out if I'm going to get an Eris or not. I was totally going to grab her until the paint snafu happened so now I'm worried that they might just put out a newer fixed version later.

    Yeah, I don't blame you for hesitating. Think I would do the same thing if I never got the limited version.

    Congrats on hitting the point where you are not tempted to buy more figures Cambiata right now.

    oosik_betsuni.png
    Steam: betsuni7
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