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Gustavo mutters about Movie Series Optimus, Starscream and Crowbar
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Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Apr 1, 2018, 2:55:17 AM4/1/18
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Found these in a local Fred Mejer, while picking up food. There was also Bumblebee and Ratchet. I passed over Bumbles and Ratchet because I just don't need another Bumblebee in my life, and Ratchet looked like one of of the previous Deluxe Ratchets (it turns out not to be, according to TFWiki)
Had I realized that Crowbar was a remold of TLK Berzerker, I would have skipped it. It's a terrible mold, and this is not a better version. The entire robot mode is remolded, so it doesn't look the same in the packaging. Boo, hiss! Terrible toy. Avoid it.
OPTIMUS is really very nice. The color scheme is darker than the Movieverse character model, probably a reflection of this being Optimus in his final scene before he was killed, or simply a reflection of Optimus having a dark, dark heart. The transformation borrows a lot of elements from a lot of different Optimus toys -- or they have all become a blur to me. I recognize elements of TF:Prime Optimus Prime in the transformation.
The robot mode is a bit more broad shouldered than the character model, but has the legginess and small torso of Movieverse Optimus. It's a nice balance of proportions.
Great weapons -- two massive swords that connect to the hands, with good paint applications and a weird little Cybertronian glyph on each which probably says "sword".
I don't think that anyone actually needs another Movieverse Optimus, particularly of the first design, but it's a very good one.
STARSCREAM is excellent. He shares a lot of design with the DOTM Deluxe Starscream, but the larger scale lets them fix a few problems which that mold had. Particularly, there are no weird empty gaps in the chest. There are a few more joints in the arm, which gives them a better range of motion.
There are lots of 5mm peg holes on the underside of the figure, which happen to also be on the very similar deluxe. I don't have the deluxe out right now, and I want to dig it out and compare all the underside kibbles and random mechanical details to see how close of a copy it is.
I can't say that one should run out and buy this toy, since it is so similar to the Deluxe DOTM toy. It's a better scale, and a little better, but it doesn't feel like a new toy.
There are no tattoos. That might be the big selling point here. A good Movieverse Starscream toy with no tattoos.
Had I realized that Crowbar was a remold of TLK Berzerker, I would have skipped it. It's a terrible mold, and this is not a better version. The entire robot mode is remolded, so it doesn't look the same in the packaging. Boo, hiss! Terrible toy. Avoid it.
OPTIMUS is really very nice. The color scheme is darker than the Movieverse character model, probably a reflection of this being Optimus in his final scene before he was killed, or simply a reflection of Optimus having a dark, dark heart. The transformation borrows a lot of elements from a lot of different Optimus toys -- or they have all become a blur to me. I recognize elements of TF:Prime Optimus Prime in the transformation.
The robot mode is a bit more broad shouldered than the character model, but has the legginess and small torso of Movieverse Optimus. It's a nice balance of proportions.
Great weapons -- two massive swords that connect to the hands, with good paint applications and a weird little Cybertronian glyph on each which probably says "sword".
I don't think that anyone actually needs another Movieverse Optimus, particularly of the first design, but it's a very good one.
STARSCREAM is excellent. He shares a lot of design with the DOTM Deluxe Starscream, but the larger scale lets them fix a few problems which that mold had. Particularly, there are no weird empty gaps in the chest. There are a few more joints in the arm, which gives them a better range of motion.
There are lots of 5mm peg holes on the underside of the figure, which happen to also be on the very similar deluxe. I don't have the deluxe out right now, and I want to dig it out and compare all the underside kibbles and random mechanical details to see how close of a copy it is.
I can't say that one should run out and buy this toy, since it is so similar to the Deluxe DOTM toy. It's a better scale, and a little better, but it doesn't feel like a new toy.
There are no tattoos. That might be the big selling point here. A good Movieverse Starscream toy with no tattoos.
Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People.
Apr 1, 2018, 9:39:29 AM4/1/18
to
On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 1:55:17 AM UTC-5, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Found these in a local Fred Mejer, while picking up food. There was also Bumblebee and Ratchet. I passed over Bumbles and Ratchet because I just don't need another Bumblebee in my life, and Ratchet looked like one of of the previous Deluxe Ratchets (it turns out not to be, according to TFWiki)
>
> Had I realized that Crowbar was a remold of TLK Berzerker, I would have skipped it. It's a terrible mold, and this is not a better version. The entire robot mode is remolded, so it doesn't look the same in the packaging. Boo, hiss! Terrible toy. Avoid it.
>
I liked the TLK Berserker mold. I don't need another, and the fact that Berserker even got a toy when so many bigger parts didn't is kind of an issue, but overall I have no problem with Berserker's toy.
> Found these in a local Fred Mejer, while picking up food. There was also Bumblebee and Ratchet. I passed over Bumbles and Ratchet because I just don't need another Bumblebee in my life, and Ratchet looked like one of of the previous Deluxe Ratchets (it turns out not to be, according to TFWiki)
>
> Had I realized that Crowbar was a remold of TLK Berzerker, I would have skipped it. It's a terrible mold, and this is not a better version. The entire robot mode is remolded, so it doesn't look the same in the packaging. Boo, hiss! Terrible toy. Avoid it.
>
> OPTIMUS is really very nice. The color scheme is darker than the Movieverse character model, probably a reflection of this being Optimus in his final scene before he was killed, or simply a reflection of Optimus having a dark, dark heart. The transformation borrows a lot of elements from a lot of different Optimus toys -- or they have all become a blur to me. I recognize elements of TF:Prime Optimus Prime in the transformation.
>
> The robot mode is a bit more broad shouldered than the character model, but has the legginess and small torso of Movieverse Optimus. It's a nice balance of proportions.
>
> Great weapons -- two massive swords that connect to the hands, with good paint applications and a weird little Cybertronian glyph on each which probably says "sword".
>
> I don't think that anyone actually needs another Movieverse Optimus, particularly of the first design, but it's a very good one.
>
I don't need that movie prime, their store exclusive voyager repaint, and I probably don't need this one either.
>
> STARSCREAM is excellent. He shares a lot of design with the DOTM Deluxe Starscream, but the larger scale lets them fix a few problems which that mold had. Particularly, there are no weird empty gaps in the chest. There are a few more joints in the arm, which gives them a better range of motion.
>
> There are lots of 5mm peg holes on the underside of the figure, which happen to also be on the very similar deluxe. I don't have the deluxe out right now, and I want to dig it out and compare all the underside kibbles and random mechanical details to see how close of a copy it is.
>
> I can't say that one should run out and buy this toy, since it is so similar to the Deluxe DOTM toy. It's a better scale, and a little better, but it doesn't feel like a new toy.
>
> There are no tattoos. That might be the big selling point here. A good Movieverse Starscream toy with no tattoos.
Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats
Apr 3, 2018, 12:43:51 AM4/3/18
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On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 6:39:29 AM UTC-7, Irrellius Spamticon of the Potato People. wrote:
> On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 1:55:17 AM UTC-5, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> >
> > I don't think that anyone actually needs another Movieverse Optimus, particularly of the first design, but it's a very good one.
> >
>
> I keep seeing the $100 Masterpiece Movie Prime at the closing TRU stores
> I don't need that movie prime, their store exclusive voyager repaint, and I probably don't need this one either.
I think the Transformers line gets into a bit of a rut sometimes, with too many variations on the same small number of characters. The Studio Series line is just amazingly redundant. Some nice versions of the characters, but not anything new.
> On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 1:55:17 AM UTC-5, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> >
> > I don't think that anyone actually needs another Movieverse Optimus, particularly of the first design, but it's a very good one.
> >
>
> I keep seeing the $100 Masterpiece Movie Prime at the closing TRU stores
> I don't need that movie prime, their store exclusive voyager repaint, and I probably don't need this one either.
Optimus, especially, is overdone at this point, and needs something very special to make it worth getting.
Zobovor
Apr 15, 2018, 11:42:05 PM4/15/18
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On Monday, April 2, 2018 at 10:43:51 PM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> I think the Transformers line gets into a bit of a rut sometimes, with too
> many variations on the same small number of characters. The Studio Series
> line is just amazingly redundant. Some nice versions of the characters, but
> not anything new.
I wonder if Hasbro is trying to appeal to kids who had grown up on the movies who are young adults now. You've got to figure that the nine-year-old boys who went to see the 2007 film are now of legal drinking age. They may be seeking to recapture that nostalgic feeling they remember fondly from their youth. It's kind of pathetic that Murderous Prime and Bumblebee pissing on people and Devastator testicles is what passes for childhood nostalgia these days, but I guess people say the same disparaging things about G1, too.
> I think the Transformers line gets into a bit of a rut sometimes, with too
> many variations on the same small number of characters. The Studio Series
> line is just amazingly redundant. Some nice versions of the characters, but
> not anything new.
There are probably people who got into the game late, and versions of these characters have never been made available to them before. I see one of the Studio Series Bumblebee toys is a 1974 Camaro, and that version of the character hasn't been sold since the first Michael Bay movie, right? That's ages ago in toy years.
I wonder how much of a demand there is for collector-grade movie toys? I know there was a lot of excitement over the movies when they first came out, but there has to be something there, some nugget of value, to make you nostalgic about it as a grown-up. There were lots of vapid, meaningless cartoons and movies that I watched as a kid which I don't care about now. Shows like Transformers were different because it made me feel something. It made me care about the characters and the world they inhabit. It made me want to buy physical representations of those characters, even as an adult.
The live-action films are great eye candy, but they lack substance. It's really difficult to care about any of the characters. They show up, they get into a big, grey, blurry fight, and then they die. How are people in their early 20's supposed to get all weepy and nostalgic about that?
Zob (confuzzled)
Zobovor
Apr 15, 2018, 11:46:45 PM4/15/18
to
On Sunday, April 1, 2018 at 12:55:17 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> There are no tattoos. That might be the big selling point here. A good
> Movieverse Starscream toy with no tattoos.
The tattoos were added for Revenge of the Fallen, right? I don't remember him having them during the first movie.
> There are no tattoos. That might be the big selling point here. A good
> Movieverse Starscream toy with no tattoos.
Zob (wonders if he has trouble finding a job now)
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