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Zob's Thoughts on the Kingdom Battle Across Time Collection #2 (Earth Mode Sideswipe and Maximal Skywarp aka Magnaboss Silverbolt)
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Zobovor
Sep 12, 2021, 9:34:49 PM9/12/21
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This set, the second of the Battle Across Time packs, continues the theme of pairing G1 characters with Beast Wars characters for thematic purposes. This time, we get Sideswipe teaming up with Maximal Skywarp, who (according to the web site blurb) must take on Predacon Scorponok (sold separately, of course).
Why is he named Skywarp, specifically? Isn't there already a Decepticon with that name? Well, yes, but that's the name given to this character when he was sold in Japan. Why didn't Hasbro simply name him Silverbolt, the name given to the Magnaboss component when it was sold in America in 1997? Well, I suspect it may be the same reason why Hasbro has assigned new names when selling toys who would otherwise share a name—for example, selling us a Micromaster called Irontread, because they knew a second Modulator toy named Ironworks was coming later. So I get the feeling that this toy isn't called Silverbolt because we're actually getting a Fuzor version of Silverbolt, perhaps as early as next year, so this is Hasbro planning ahead and preventing potential product confusion. But, that's only a guess.
Interestingly, the pair come packaged in a fairly small box, only about 9.5" x 6.5" on the front panel by 2.5" in size. There's not really enough room for two Deluxe toys to sit in the tray side-by-side, but they overlap slightly in the package. It's a good use of space. It's also a zero-plastic package, with a cardboard tray for the toys to sit in and rattan ties holding them down. It's not the first one I've seen (they've been doing it for a little while now with some of the Hasbro Selects toys) but I wanted to mention it.
SIDESWIPE
In some ways, we've finally come full circle. Sideswipe was one of the very first Siege toys, appearing at the tail-end of 2018 in most markets. That seems like such a long time ago, and yet they've been consistently pumping out iterations of this mold as recently as this year (and they're not even done yet—this remolded toy is coming to Walgreens later as Red Alert).
I was initially turned off by the idea that Sideswipe turned into a Cybertronic vehicle. I get that this was the gimmick for Siege, and that it really only lasted one year, but in my mind the legacy Earth vehicles are always preferable to made-up Cybertronic equivalents. I ended up enjoying Siege Sideswipe (and bought the toy plenty of times over), but I always wondered what a "proper" Earth version would look like. For me, at least, this is clearly the superior iteration of the mold.
For one, the battle damage (a staple of the Siege toy line) has been eliminated completely. That's great. Moreover, the color mapping has been revamped slightly, eschewing the toy-based silver toes and aging eggshell white (which probably does reflect the current color of numerous vintage Sideswipe toys) in favor of a more cartoon-based look, using bright white to represent not just the upper legs but the arms and feet and weapons. Vac-metal toy parts almost always translated to white in the cartoon, so this is a level of Sunbow authenticity that pleases me.
Typically, an iteration of this toy will either come with the shoulder launcher and missile or it will come with the handheld rifle, but not both. Siege Sideswipe came with the shoulder cannon, for example, but Siege Red Alert came with the handgun. This time, we get both. The missile has been remolded to remove the peg poking out of the side, but is otherwise identical in design to the Sideswipe/Six-Gun missile piece. Despite being molded out of different colors of plastic (the rifle and launcher are black; the missile is red) all three parts have been painted white to more properly reflect Sideswipe's cartoon colors. The feet are painted the same color, incidentally.
For robot mode, only the chest has been significantly modified, though there are vestiges of the new car mode visible on either side of the lower legs as well.
His transformation remains the same as the Siege toy, with perhaps one significant difference. On the Siege version, the car doors have protruding pieces of plastic, and require that they must be closed only after the robot legs have been transformed into the vehicular state. To do otherwise will risk breaking off these tabs. On the Earth mode version, the tabs have been eliminated altogether, so the doors can be safely closed, or opened, at any point during transformation.
The vehicle form has been effectively reshelled, with a different hood and roof and canopy and doors and trunk. He's styled to match the look and shape of Earthrise Sunstreaker as closely as possible, a fact that fills me with joy. There are slight differences, most notably the bulky engine compartment for Sunstreaker, but that's always been the one thing that most significantly distinguished the two aside from their color. I love the fact that the two were clearly designed as twins, despite being totally different molds with completely different transformations.
A lot of the Earthrise toys have been Slightly Better Versions of the existing Siege toys, but I feel like this latest Sideswipe is a Significantly Better Version. I can't explain why I feel so differently about him. He's just really Geewunriffic in a way that the Siege toy didn't quite manage. I don't know if Earth versions of all the Siege toys were an afterthought or were planned from the onset, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Regardless, I'm so glad this version exists.
MAXIMAL SKYWARP
The three-robot combiner called Magnaboss was the biggest Beast Wars toy sold in 1997, the rival of Tripredacus. When it was revealed that the Tripredacus Council were in fact the head honchos of the Predacons, a lot of fans came to the conclusion that Magnaboss (Prowl, Ironhide, and Silverbolt) consisted of the Maximal Elders mentioned occasionally during Beast Wars—who were, perhaps, the classic G1 Autobots of the same names.
While the original Magnaboss Silverbolt was a unique mold, designed to form the chest for the combined mode, this toy is a redeco of Kingdom Airazor and, as such, doesn't possess any ability to combine. There honestly weren't a ton of birds in the Beast Wars toy line, so this makes about as much sense for an Airazor redeco as anything else.
The original toy had wings that jutted out obnoxiously to either side (the wings themselves were oversized missile launchers, which negated their ability to fold up more compactly) so while you can configure the robot mode this way, it's obviously not required. The robot head got a remold to inspired by the older toy, which had a beast head that rested on top of the robot head as if it were an animal pelt cowl. (The character was also drawn this way in the Beast Wars Second cartoon from Japan.) The new toy takes the idea and runs with it, with a new robot head that incorporates the cowl (despite the actual eagle head formin the chest on this toy). The robot face is painted silver with red eyes, which is authentic to the old Takara toy (which had slightly different paint deco than the Hasbro equivalent).
Eagle mode is predominantly a dark brown with white legs and wing tips and head, with gold talons. It's actually more authentic to a real bald eagle than the original Magnaboss version, whose beast mode was more of a gold color. There are no additional remolded parts as far as I can tell.
It's a nice enough tribute to a fairly obscure part of Beast Wars, but it's a shame we'll likely never get an elephant Ironhide or lion Prowl to go with him. This was an exercise in cost-cutting, and to complete the Magnaboss team would require more of an expenditure than we're ever likely to see. I likely wouldn't have bought this toy on its own, but Earth mode Sideswipe was a must-have, so clearly Hasbro knows what they're doing when it comes to getting me to spend money.
Zob (got the new central air conditioner installed today, which was probably the quickest way I've ever spent $12,000)
Why is he named Skywarp, specifically? Isn't there already a Decepticon with that name? Well, yes, but that's the name given to this character when he was sold in Japan. Why didn't Hasbro simply name him Silverbolt, the name given to the Magnaboss component when it was sold in America in 1997? Well, I suspect it may be the same reason why Hasbro has assigned new names when selling toys who would otherwise share a name—for example, selling us a Micromaster called Irontread, because they knew a second Modulator toy named Ironworks was coming later. So I get the feeling that this toy isn't called Silverbolt because we're actually getting a Fuzor version of Silverbolt, perhaps as early as next year, so this is Hasbro planning ahead and preventing potential product confusion. But, that's only a guess.
Interestingly, the pair come packaged in a fairly small box, only about 9.5" x 6.5" on the front panel by 2.5" in size. There's not really enough room for two Deluxe toys to sit in the tray side-by-side, but they overlap slightly in the package. It's a good use of space. It's also a zero-plastic package, with a cardboard tray for the toys to sit in and rattan ties holding them down. It's not the first one I've seen (they've been doing it for a little while now with some of the Hasbro Selects toys) but I wanted to mention it.
SIDESWIPE
In some ways, we've finally come full circle. Sideswipe was one of the very first Siege toys, appearing at the tail-end of 2018 in most markets. That seems like such a long time ago, and yet they've been consistently pumping out iterations of this mold as recently as this year (and they're not even done yet—this remolded toy is coming to Walgreens later as Red Alert).
I was initially turned off by the idea that Sideswipe turned into a Cybertronic vehicle. I get that this was the gimmick for Siege, and that it really only lasted one year, but in my mind the legacy Earth vehicles are always preferable to made-up Cybertronic equivalents. I ended up enjoying Siege Sideswipe (and bought the toy plenty of times over), but I always wondered what a "proper" Earth version would look like. For me, at least, this is clearly the superior iteration of the mold.
For one, the battle damage (a staple of the Siege toy line) has been eliminated completely. That's great. Moreover, the color mapping has been revamped slightly, eschewing the toy-based silver toes and aging eggshell white (which probably does reflect the current color of numerous vintage Sideswipe toys) in favor of a more cartoon-based look, using bright white to represent not just the upper legs but the arms and feet and weapons. Vac-metal toy parts almost always translated to white in the cartoon, so this is a level of Sunbow authenticity that pleases me.
Typically, an iteration of this toy will either come with the shoulder launcher and missile or it will come with the handheld rifle, but not both. Siege Sideswipe came with the shoulder cannon, for example, but Siege Red Alert came with the handgun. This time, we get both. The missile has been remolded to remove the peg poking out of the side, but is otherwise identical in design to the Sideswipe/Six-Gun missile piece. Despite being molded out of different colors of plastic (the rifle and launcher are black; the missile is red) all three parts have been painted white to more properly reflect Sideswipe's cartoon colors. The feet are painted the same color, incidentally.
For robot mode, only the chest has been significantly modified, though there are vestiges of the new car mode visible on either side of the lower legs as well.
His transformation remains the same as the Siege toy, with perhaps one significant difference. On the Siege version, the car doors have protruding pieces of plastic, and require that they must be closed only after the robot legs have been transformed into the vehicular state. To do otherwise will risk breaking off these tabs. On the Earth mode version, the tabs have been eliminated altogether, so the doors can be safely closed, or opened, at any point during transformation.
The vehicle form has been effectively reshelled, with a different hood and roof and canopy and doors and trunk. He's styled to match the look and shape of Earthrise Sunstreaker as closely as possible, a fact that fills me with joy. There are slight differences, most notably the bulky engine compartment for Sunstreaker, but that's always been the one thing that most significantly distinguished the two aside from their color. I love the fact that the two were clearly designed as twins, despite being totally different molds with completely different transformations.
A lot of the Earthrise toys have been Slightly Better Versions of the existing Siege toys, but I feel like this latest Sideswipe is a Significantly Better Version. I can't explain why I feel so differently about him. He's just really Geewunriffic in a way that the Siege toy didn't quite manage. I don't know if Earth versions of all the Siege toys were an afterthought or were planned from the onset, but ultimately it doesn't matter. Regardless, I'm so glad this version exists.
MAXIMAL SKYWARP
The three-robot combiner called Magnaboss was the biggest Beast Wars toy sold in 1997, the rival of Tripredacus. When it was revealed that the Tripredacus Council were in fact the head honchos of the Predacons, a lot of fans came to the conclusion that Magnaboss (Prowl, Ironhide, and Silverbolt) consisted of the Maximal Elders mentioned occasionally during Beast Wars—who were, perhaps, the classic G1 Autobots of the same names.
While the original Magnaboss Silverbolt was a unique mold, designed to form the chest for the combined mode, this toy is a redeco of Kingdom Airazor and, as such, doesn't possess any ability to combine. There honestly weren't a ton of birds in the Beast Wars toy line, so this makes about as much sense for an Airazor redeco as anything else.
The original toy had wings that jutted out obnoxiously to either side (the wings themselves were oversized missile launchers, which negated their ability to fold up more compactly) so while you can configure the robot mode this way, it's obviously not required. The robot head got a remold to inspired by the older toy, which had a beast head that rested on top of the robot head as if it were an animal pelt cowl. (The character was also drawn this way in the Beast Wars Second cartoon from Japan.) The new toy takes the idea and runs with it, with a new robot head that incorporates the cowl (despite the actual eagle head formin the chest on this toy). The robot face is painted silver with red eyes, which is authentic to the old Takara toy (which had slightly different paint deco than the Hasbro equivalent).
Eagle mode is predominantly a dark brown with white legs and wing tips and head, with gold talons. It's actually more authentic to a real bald eagle than the original Magnaboss version, whose beast mode was more of a gold color. There are no additional remolded parts as far as I can tell.
It's a nice enough tribute to a fairly obscure part of Beast Wars, but it's a shame we'll likely never get an elephant Ironhide or lion Prowl to go with him. This was an exercise in cost-cutting, and to complete the Magnaboss team would require more of an expenditure than we're ever likely to see. I likely wouldn't have bought this toy on its own, but Earth mode Sideswipe was a must-have, so clearly Hasbro knows what they're doing when it comes to getting me to spend money.
Zob (got the new central air conditioner installed today, which was probably the quickest way I've ever spent $12,000)
Codigo Postal
Sep 14, 2021, 2:04:08 PM9/14/21
to
> The three-robot combiner called Magnaboss was the biggest Beast Wars toy sold in 1997, the rival of Tripredacus. When it was revealed that the Tripredacus Council were in fact the head honchos of the Predacons, a lot of fans came to the conclusion that Magnaboss (Prowl, Ironhide, and Silverbolt) consisted of the Maximal Elders mentioned occasionally during Beast Wars—who were, perhaps, the classic G1 Autobots of the same names.
I'm fairly slow on the uptake apparently, because this makes absolutely perfect sense, and it never occurred to me until you wrote it out.
> It's a nice enough tribute to a fairly obscure part of Beast Wars, but it's a shame we'll likely never get an elephant Ironhide or lion Prowl to go with him. This was an exercise in cost-cutting, and to complete the Magnaboss team would require more of an expenditure than we're ever likely to see.
Gustavo Wombat
Sep 22, 2021, 5:03:07 AM9/22/21
to
Zobovor <zm...@aol.com> wrote:
> This set, the second of the Battle Across Time packs, continues the theme
> of pairing G1 characters with Beast Wars characters for thematic
> purposes. This time, we get Sideswipe teaming up with Maximal Skywarp,
> who (according to the web site blurb) must take on Predacon Scorponok
> (sold separately, of course).
Since Skywarp is the same size as a car, would he be the “vast, predatory
> This set, the second of the Battle Across Time packs, continues the theme
> of pairing G1 characters with Beast Wars characters for thematic
> purposes. This time, we get Sideswipe teaming up with Maximal Skywarp,
> who (according to the web site blurb) must take on Predacon Scorponok
> (sold separately, of course).
bird” that Simon Furman keeps writing about?
> SIDESWIPE
>
> In some ways, we've finally come full circle. Sideswipe was one of the
> very first Siege toys, appearing at the tail-end of 2018 in most markets.
> That seems like such a long time ago, and yet they've been consistently
> pumping out iterations of this mold as recently as this year (and they're
> not even done yet—this remolded toy is coming to Walgreens later as Red Alert).
for a Kermit green version, just because I think that’s the only color
missing. Or maybe a clear version, painted on the inside, like RID
Crosswise? (And like Sideswipe’s own windows)
> I was initially turned off by the idea that Sideswipe turned into a
> Cybertronic vehicle. I get that this was the gimmick for Siege, and that
> it really only lasted one year, but in my mind the legacy Earth vehicles
> are always preferable to made-up Cybertronic equivalents. I ended up
> enjoying Siege Sideswipe (and bought the toy plenty of times over), but I
> always wondered what a "proper" Earth version would look like. For me,
> at least, this is clearly the superior iteration of the mold.
(I mean, this is far more your thing than the Siege toy)
> For one, the battle damage (a staple of the Siege toy line) has been
> eliminated completely. That's great. Moreover, the color mapping has
> been revamped slightly, eschewing the toy-based silver toes and aging
> eggshell white (which probably does reflect the current color of numerous
> vintage Sideswipe toys) in favor of a more cartoon-based look, using
> bright white to represent not just the upper legs but the arms and feet
> and weapons. Vac-metal toy parts almost always translated to white in
> the cartoon, so this is a level of Sunbow authenticity that pleases me.
like, borrowing colors from the original toy. The cartoon had limitations
to the animation, even if the character models are taken mostly as gospel.
Otherwise, they might as well go all the way to fake cel-shading like on
the Walmart Siege Megatron and Optimus, which is cute as a novelty.
> For robot mode, only the chest has been significantly modified, though
> there are vestiges of the new car mode visible on either side of the lower legs as well.
version? The hood seems to get in the way more.
> A lot of the Earthrise toys have been Slightly Better Versions of the
> existing Siege toys, but I feel like this latest Sideswipe is a
> Significantly Better Version. I can't explain why I feel so differently
> about him. He's just really Geewunriffic in a way that the Siege toy
> didn't quite manage. I don't know if Earth versions of all the Siege
> toys were an afterthought or were planned from the onset, but ultimately
> it doesn't matter. Regardless, I'm so glad this version exists.
translucent blue, and every bit of the molding popping visually… but it
doesn’t seem like an Earth thing. It makes sense for Siege, where it
visually reads like circuitry and technology visible behind what vaguely
looks like a windshield. But on an Earth toy, it’s jarring. It’s weird.
It’s out of place.
It didn’t work on Sunstreaker either, but Sunstreaker sucks and has gaps in
vehicle mode, so it’s not something that I see often.
> MAXIMAL SKYWARP
>
> It's a nice enough tribute to a fairly obscure part of Beast Wars, but
> it's a shame we'll likely never get an elephant Ironhide or lion Prowl to
> go with him. This was an exercise in cost-cutting, and to complete the
> Magnaboss team would require more of an expenditure than we're ever
> likely to see. I likely wouldn't have bought this toy on its own, but
> Earth mode Sideswipe was a must-have, so clearly Hasbro knows what
> they're doing when it comes to getting me to spend money.
Oddly, I’m happier with Skywarp than Sideswipe.
> It's a nice enough tribute to a fairly obscure part of Beast Wars, but
> it's a shame we'll likely never get an elephant Ironhide or lion Prowl to
> go with him. This was an exercise in cost-cutting, and to complete the
> Magnaboss team would require more of an expenditure than we're ever
> likely to see. I likely wouldn't have bought this toy on its own, but
> Earth mode Sideswipe was a must-have, so clearly Hasbro knows what
> they're doing when it comes to getting me to spend money.
These days, so many of the symbols of patriotism have been defiled by
right-wing freaks like the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, Patriot Prayer,
etc. — an assortment of flag humpers from nihilists cosplaying as Nazis to
racists to gun humpers. As a rule of thumb, if someone describes themselves
as a “Patriot, father, husband, Christian” they’re an asshole.
But the eagle — the plain, mostly natural eagle — has remained pretty pure.
I like that this toy exists. And he’s pretty decent as a random redeco.
>
> Zob (got the new central air conditioner installed today, which was
> probably the quickest way I've ever spent $12,000)
Zobovor
Sep 24, 2021, 12:59:45 PM9/24/21
to
On Wednesday, September 22, 2021 at 3:03:07 AM UTC-6, Gustavo Wombat, of the Seattle Wombats wrote:
> Since Skywarp is the same size as a car, would he be the “vast, predatory
> bird” that Simon Furman keeps writing about?
Oh, well. Never did want to live forever!
> Since Skywarp is the same size as a car, would he be the “vast, predatory
> bird” that Simon Furman keeps writing about?
> It really is one of the best molds in ages, and at this point I’m hoping
> for a Kermit green version, just because I think that’s the only color
> missing.
(Also, Mountain Dew Voo Doo is back in season, and it tastes like liquid Skittles. It's glorious.)
> I actually like when they try to do what the character would “really” look
> like, borrowing colors from the original toy. The cartoon had limitations
> to the animation, even if the character models are taken mostly as gospel.
> The windshield bothers me. It’s gorgeous, with the silver underneath the
> translucent blue, and every bit of the molding popping visually… but it
> doesn’t seem like an Earth thing.
> But the eagle — the plain, mostly natural eagle — has remained pretty pure.
> I like that this toy exists. And he’s pretty decent as a random redeco.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyY1R1HMcdU
You're welcome.
Zob (hee hee)
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