Catching Up on Current Events
Zobovor
I've been out of the loop for a little while, and I've got some
questions that I haven't really seen definitive answers to during my
two or three weeks' worth of Google lurking. I'd appreciate some
responses:
1) What's going on with the Alternators toy line? They're coming up
as deleted items in Wal-Mart's inventory system, but I've seen test
shots on eBay for toys like Prowl and Ironhide that I assume are
genuine. I gather that the Binaltech toy line in Japan is still being
produced, but what are Hasbro's plans? (The last toys I actually found
were Shockwave and Ravage. I'm given to understanding that Wheeljack
was produced, and that there's a toy who had the placeholder name of
Decepticharge. Any other toys that have actually been released
domestically?)
2) Is Energon officially over? These toys are also reading as
non-replenishable in Wal-Mart's inventory, and I've heard that
Cybertron toys are starting to pop up here and there. If so, I have to
say I'm kind of disappointed, because everywhere I go (which admittedly
doesn't encompass a terribly wide range of locales) all I see are pegs
filled with Steamhammers and Sledges. (Hmm, design a toy that looks
like crap and people won't buy it. Imagine that.) I'd actually sort
of wanted to complete my set of Energon-Aerialbots and
Energon-Constructicons, but I never saw the repaints show up anywhere.
Never did see the basic-sized Energon-Constructicons, either. Very
upsetting. Well, marginally upsetting, anyway.
3) There is no number three.
4) Has any solid news actually broken on the Transformers film for
2006? (Incidentally, by "news" I am not referring to Internet rumors
that the director is considering casting such-and-such actor or
wouldn't-it-be-cool-if-they-did-this. I speak more along the lines of
things that are actually true in some capacity.)
I think that's it. I had a mental list going, but I may have forgotten
something. I'll come back if anything else pops up.
The last new Energon toys I actually found were Roadblock (read:
Grapple), the Energon Starscream G1 redeco, and Barricade. Aren't they
great? I'd actually considered getting a second Starscream (back when
Wal-Mart had those 2-pack Deluxe gift sets) and painting it up, but I
never really got around to it. I like Hasbro's version a lot, though.
Roadblock is neat, too... shame about the name, though. Rather than
actually display my entire Armada or Energon collections, I decided
instead to set up a shelf for G1 homage toys (Unicron, the G1
Spychangers, et al. I need to find a way to hang Storm Jet and
Universe Skywarp in jet mode, since I find them eminently preferrable
to their robot forms).
For anyone who's even vaguely curious, I took a break from ATT and
other online excursions to get a divorce and move in with my
girlfriend. This sort of news tends to horrify people, but in fact
it's the best decision I ever could have made. It's healthier for me
emotionally and physically, I'm spending more quality time with my
kids, and I'm happier than I've ever been. I daresay that being in
love with someone who makes me feel so utterly complete has gone a long
way to eliminating that void in my life that I've mentioned here once
or twice. (This would be the void that I tried filling with plastic
robots and an obsession with Usenet. Suffice to say, I have other
endeavours that occupy most of my time these days.)
I'd say that my Transformers fan-ness is pretty much the same was it
was, if perhaps to a less active degree. I'm still doing projects here
and there when I'm not doing anything else. I've added Alternators
characters to the growing number of toy cars that I paint into their
Transformers likenesses, and I'm slowly putting together some RiD color
models so I can do die-cast versions of them, too. (I even have a
half-shark, half-car that I'll be painting into Sky-Byte.) When I'll
upload them for public viewing is anyone's guess. It's not a huge
priority for me right now.
I still have access to my zobovor-at-aol-dot-com account, but if you
want to get in touch with me, I'd prefer that you contact me at my new
zmfts-at-aol-dot-com mailbox instead. Thanks for reading.
Zob
Chad Rushing
CYBERTRON toys have been showing up slowly online and on the shelves in
various places for about two weeks now and (b) the CYBERTRON show aired
for the first time tonight on Cartoon Network. I have heard that some
of the remaining ENERGON stock might be showing up at smaller stores in
UNIVERSE packaging, but I do not know the details.
I get the impression that the CYBERTRON show has lost some things in
translation, so I would recommend you download the subtitled GALAXY
FORCE episodes from tvnihon.com instead if you are wanting to watch a
TV show to go with the latest CYBERTRON toys. I personally think that
GALAXY FORCE (not CYBERTRON) is the best TF show we've had since BEAST
WARS.
Oh, by the way, Botcon 2005 is being held in Dallas, TX (actually
Frisco, a suburb) in September. The details can be found at
transformersclub.com. Also, there will be some CYBERTRON toys at
Burger King in late July, I think.
- Chad
who is not sure of the answers to the other questions
Kil - Michael McCarthy
> Howdy,
Zob Lives!
> 1) What's going on with the Alternators toy line? They're coming up
> as deleted items in Wal-Mart's inventory system, but I've seen test
> shots on eBay for toys like Prowl and Ironhide that I assume are
> genuine.
Prowl is genuine, he was unvieled back at Toyfair. So's the other one,
but it's not Ironhide. That's Skids.
> I gather that the Binaltech toy line in Japan is still being
> produced, but what are Hasbro's plans? (The last toys I actually found
> were Shockwave and Ravage. I'm given to understanding that Wheeljack
> was produced, and that there's a toy who had the placeholder name of
> Decepticharge. Any other toys that have actually been released
> domestically?)
Wheeljack is out in stores now, been so for a while. I believe I'd read
that Alternator Swerve (red remold of Tracks/Ravage) has been sighted
in some US stores as well. Decepticharge (yellow remold of Alt.
Windcharger/Binaltech Overdrive) is that toy's official name, but he's
not yet confirmed to have shown up in US stores.
Recent word has come of Binaltechs for Red Alert, Sunstreaker, and
Blaster, as part of a sub-line that has them coming with female action
figure drivers. Whether thosee toys (without or without the figures)
will come over here as Alternators is not yet known.
> 2) Is Energon officially over? These toys are also reading as
> non-replenishable in Wal-Mart's inventory, and I've heard that
> Cybertron toys are starting to pop up here and there. If so, I have to
> say I'm kind of disappointed, because everywhere I go (which admittedly
> doesn't encompass a terribly wide range of locales) all I see are pegs
> filled with Steamhammers and Sledges. (Hmm, design a toy that looks
> like crap and people won't buy it. Imagine that.)
Don't be dissin' Sledge now. Seldge is awesome.
But yeah, Energon has ended, and Cybertron has started. First wave of
toys are out, and the cartoon debuted tonight.
> 4) Has any solid news actually broken on the Transformers film for
> 2006? (Incidentally, by "news" I am not referring to Internet rumors
> that the director is considering casting such-and-such actor or
> wouldn't-it-be-cool-if-they-did-this. I speak more along the lines of
> things that are actually true in some capacity.)
According to what producer Don Murphy has posted at his board, this is
the current status:
The latest version of the script, by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman
(who worked on Hercules, Xena, Alias, and wrote the screenplay of the
upcoming film "The Island") who were brought on-board by Steven
Speilberg to replace John Rogers, came in a couple of weeks ago but is
currently being re-worked a bit -- Don Murphy mentioned problems with
the third act -- before being taken to Michael Bay, to try and finally
get him 100% officially signed on to direct.
> The last new Energon toys I actually found were Roadblock (read:
> Grapple), the Energon Starscream G1 redeco, and Barricade. Aren't they
> great?
I dunno, of those I only bought Barricade. He's pretty good on his own,
though spends most of his time forming the torso of my mixed-team
gestalt, Giant Killer Death Robot of Death Maximus.
Good to see a post from you here again. Best of luck to you on the
personal life stuff.
-Kil
Kil - Michael McCarthy
> > as deleted items in Wal-Mart's inventory system, but I've seen test
> > shots on eBay for toys like Prowl and Ironhide that I assume are
> > genuine.
>
> Prowl is genuine, he was unvieled back at Toyfair. So's the other one,
> but it's not Ironhide. That's Skids.
I should clarify that: Prowl is official for Alternators, having been
shown by Hasbro at Toyfair.
The proto shots that many took as Ironhide while others saw Skids has
just been confirmed as Skids, for Binaltech. One assumes there's going
to be an Alternators version as well, but that's not confirmed as yet.
Say Zob, have you seen the news about e-hobby Orion Pax?
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Y21332B2B
-Kil
Ethan Hammond
--
All Purpose Culture Randomness
http://www.angelfire.com/tx/apcr/index.html
OnslaughtSix
Zobovor wrote:
> (This would be the void that I tried filling with plastic
> robots and an obsession with Usenet.)
What? That didn't work for you?
:P
Glad to have you back in some form.
Pyre
> Howdy,
>
> I've been out of the loop for a little while, and I've got some
> questions that I haven't really seen definitive answers to during my
> two or three weeks' worth of Google lurking. I'd appreciate some
> responses:
>
> 1) What's going on with the Alternators toy line?
It's still going. Wheeljack and Swerve have had sightings in the US.
Decepticharge hasn't had any reliable sightings that I'm aware of.
Prowl is the next new mold to be released. Packaged versions have shown
up overseas so I imagine it'll be on shelves before too long. The proto
for "Ironhide" is in fact Skids, which is great because I think it makes
a great Skids but a horrible Ironhide. It appears the in the Binaltech
line, the Decepticharge toy is going to be released with a different
color scheme and called Black Widow, which is Takara's name for
Blackarachnia. News also just surfaced of a new side line of Binaltech
toys that come with 1:24 scale female figures. So far we've gotten word
of a repainted WRX as Red Alert, a repainted Dead End as Sunstreaker and
a repainted Skids as Blaster. It's just nutty. If you're looking to
keep up to date on everything Alternator/Binaltech related, the best
place to go is to Nevermore's site which is at
http://www.binalternators.de/binaltech_english.html
>
> 2) Is Energon officially over?
Yup. Cybertron is coming out in full force with sightings all over the
place. The 4th episode of the cartoon just aired on CN last night which
is rather silly because they haven't aired the first 3 episodes yet. No
one knows why either, but the show looks promising (it's far far
better than the previous ones) and the toys look awesome.
>
> 4) Has any solid news actually broken on the Transformers film for
> 2006?
Michael Bay looks to be directing it. The script is supposed to be
getting some last minute changes done to it before he reads it though.
Spielberg is producing. Beyond that there's not much else to tell.
>
> I think that's it. I had a mental list going, but I may have forgotten
> something. I'll come back if anything else pops up.
I don't know if you care much about the comics but in your absence
Dreamwave went under and the license has now been giving to IDW whose
first TF comic will come out in October for a whopping 99 cents. This
will be an introductory #0 issue. The first issue of the ongoing series
will debut in January. Things look fairly promising.
>
> For anyone who's even vaguely curious, I took a break from ATT and
> other online excursions to get a divorce and move in with my
> girlfriend.
Wow. Sorry to hear about the problems you've had but it's good that
your happy now.
Welcome back.
--
Pyre[Rock] - pyres...@crosswinds.net
http://pyresdomain.crosswinds.net/
"If you think it's over better think again. There'll be no compromise.
Turning up the power, feel adrenaline, move into overdrive."
Thylacine 2000
Zobovor wrote:
> The last new Energon toys I actually found were Roadblock (read:
> Grapple), the Energon Starscream G1 redeco, and Barricade.
And Galvatron, right? You DID get Energon Galvatron too, RIGHT? Of
course you did.
P.S. welcome back.
Aaron F. Bourque
> Howdy,
Herbovores eat plants.
Carnovores eat meat.
Omnivores eat everything.
What do Zobovors eat?
> I've been out of the loop for a little while, and I've got some
> questions that I haven't really seen definitive answers to during my
> two or three weeks' worth of Google lurking. I'd appreciate some
> responses:
>
> 1) What's going on with the Alternators toy line? They're coming up
> as deleted items in Wal-Mart's inventory system, but I've seen test
> shots on eBay for toys like Prowl and Ironhide that I assume are
> genuine. I gather that the Binaltech toy line in Japan is still being
> produced, but what are Hasbro's plans? (The last toys I actually found
> were Shockwave and Ravage. I'm given to understanding that Wheeljack
> was produced, and that there's a toy who had the placeholder name of
> Decepticharge. Any other toys that have actually been released
> domestically?)
Prowl, yes, and the Ironhide's supposed to be Skids, which I guess I
see but I still think he looks more like Ironhide. Anyway, there are
supposed to be some more Alternators, and the BinalTech line in Japan
is about to
come out with a sub-line with driver figures for a broader market.
> 2) Is Energon officially over?
Yes. You'll probably still find toys for it for months, but Cybertron
is starting to trickle down in some markets, too.
> 3) There is no number three.
You'd think so, but Hasbro has always been notorious about number
threes!
> 4) Has any solid news actually broken on the Transformers film for
> 2006? (Incidentally, by "news" I am not referring to Internet rumors
> that the director is considering casting such-and-such actor or
> wouldn't-it-be-cool-if-they-did-this. I speak more along the lines of
> things that are actually true in some capacity.)
1) Don Murphy's production company is producing.
2) Steven Spielberg is executive producing (and presumably Dreamworks
will be distributing, but who knows, now).
3) After Spielberg got involved, a "new direction" was proposed, and a
new script commissioned, which is being polished up before presentation
to Michael Bay.
4) Michael Bay is the only director whose name is even being mentioned
at the moment, but he's currently putting the finishing editorial
touches on "The Island," due out sometime this month. Incidentally,
"The Island" was written by the two guys who wrote the new script for
the movie.
5) That's all, I think.
6) Oh, yeah, they want a november/thanksgiving holidays release next
year, but we'll see.
Aaron "The Mad Whitaker" Bourque
ShingoEX
<aaronb...@aol.com> wrote:
>
>You'd think so, but Hasbro has always been notorious about number
>threes!
>
Still waiting for TF Generation 3...
Orson "Sidecutter" Christian
news:p9jgc19ngnumps2o8...@4ax.com...
Three completed seasons of Generation 1. Three years of Armada and Energon
combined. Three years of Beast Wars. Three factions in Armada. Three
factions in G2. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!!!!
David Willis
> see but I still think he looks more like Ironhide.
Hmmm...
http://www.allspark.com/forums/uploads/post-5-1119623662.jpg
--David
www.shortpacked.com
www.itswalky.com
M Sipher
news:WH0ye.167$Xp6...@newssvr33.news.prodigy.com...
> > Ironhide's supposed to be Skids, which I guess I
> > see but I still think he looks more like Ironhide.
>
> Hmmm...
>
> http://www.allspark.com/forums/uploads/post-5-1119623662.jpg
There's also the toes. And the crotch/midriff.
And the gun mounted on his right arm.
M "There's So Much More Pointing Towards Skids Than Anyone Else" Sipher
--
King Weasel Productions
Home of the productions of King Weasel!
Original stuff, Transformers, MegaMan/RockMan and more crap!
http://www.fortunecity.com/tatooine/simak/109/
Zobovor
reply to each of you individually... I'm not pretending that I'm too
good to write personal responses or anything, but I really dislike
Google's Usenet interface and I'd prefer to deal with it as little as
possible.)
Regarding the Burger King toys, that actually does answer another
question I had that I'd forgotten about (namely, that I recall seeing a
tiny little transformable fast food Unicron on eBay many months ago and
was wondering why it never showed up in Happy Meals around here).
Curious that McDonald's dropped the license; I wonder why? (Not that
I'm expecting anyone to really know for sure, but that's the sort of
thing that I'm curious about.)
Regarding Binaltech Ironhide/Skids... I can't imagine that Skids as a
character is *popular* enough to warrant an Alternators toy in his
likeness, but hey, I never thought we'd get a G1 reissue of him in
America, either. (If they color it red with an orange stripe down the
side and they name it "Autobot Skids," you can probably guess what name
I'll be assigning to it.)
Oh, and I actually do like Energon Sledge. He's a super-nifty toy. It
was Steamhammer whose design I take issue with... he's just a big box
on treads. I mean, I'm sure there's a real-life vehicle out there
somewhere that served as inspration for the toy, but... eh. I can see
why kids didn't buy him.
I did see the pictures of the Orion Pax toy from e-hobby, and I think
it's a neat idea. I love it when Takara does obscure fanboyish stuff
like that. (I would have liked to see them take the same basic design
as Kup and remold it a little (new head and face, at the very least)
instead of doing a straight repaint, though. I mean, I'm guessing they
had to doctor the molds and fix them up anyway, right? Well, it's
still pretty cool. (I wonder, could a repaint of G1 Scourge as Alpha
Trion be very far behind?)
Unfortunately, I never found Energon Galvatron in stores. (I wish that
Hasbro had some program going in which you could trade in an old toy
for the repainted version if you liked that one better. I mean,
they've already got your money, right?) In the next month or so I'm
gonna go eBay hunting for some of the toys I've missed that I really
wanted to add to my collection (I finally snagged a set of G1
Spychangers a couple months back; Jhiaxus and the Destructicons are
somewhere near the top of my to-get list) so maybe I'll try to find
Galvatron, too.
Since you asked, Zobovors live on a carefully-regimented diet of grease
and salt, supplemented heavily with caffiene.
(Totally off-topic for a minute: Has anybody else seen those action
figures of the M&M's mascots dressed up as Star Wars characters?
They're the most adorable thing I've ever seen.)
Lately I've actually been working a normal seven-to-four,
Monday-through-Friday shift, but I'm going to overnights for a few days
to set the back-to-school displays, so I'm staying up late tonight so I
can sleep tomorrow during the day. I really don't see myself posting
more than once or twice a week, partly because of the aforementioned
Google interface and partly because I'm enjoying my life so much now
that I no longer have the compulsion to spend hours at a time online.
Better for me in the long run, I should think. So, anyway. I'll be
back now and again. Happy 4th of July! (Yes, I know it's the 5th as I
write this. Belated sentiments have a shelf life or two or three days.)
Kil - Michael McCarthy
> Thanks to everyone for the helpful replies. (Forgive me if I don't
> reply to each of you individually... I'm not pretending that I'm too
> good to write personal responses or anything, but I really dislike
> Google's Usenet interface and I'd prefer to deal with it as little as
> possible.)
You get used to. Or at least, I did. It's not great, but I have
adjusted and become accustomed to using it.
> Regarding the Burger King toys, that actually does answer another
> question I had that I'd forgotten about (namely, that I recall seeing a
> tiny little transformable fast food Unicron on eBay many months ago and
> was wondering why it never showed up in Happy Meals around here).
That Unicron was from an Energon promotion seen only at European Burger
Kings. There was also an Optimus, Ironhide, and um... I think there was
one other, but I forget which character. Megatron, probably.
> Regarding Binaltech Ironhide/Skids... I can't imagine that Skids as a
> character is *popular* enough to warrant an Alternators toy in his
> likeness, but hey, I never thought we'd get a G1 reissue of him in
> America, either.
Heck, Swerve is getting an Alternator. A guy who's only noted fiction
appearance was being stepped on by Trypticon.
> (I wonder, could a repaint of G1 Scourge as Alpha
> Trion be very far behind?)
At this point, I'm expecting one, though I'm not particularly enamored
with the idea.
-Kil
Ethan Hammond
news:1120555099.0...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Regarding Binaltech Ironhide/Skids... I can't imagine that Skids as a
> character is *popular* enough to warrant an Alternators toy in his
> likeness, but hey, I never thought we'd get a G1 reissue of him in
> America, either. (If they color it red with an orange stripe down the
> side and they name it "Autobot Skids," you can probably guess what name
> I'll be assigning to it.)
Well now he will be almost in scale to Bombstrike so we can reenact
issue #20 as Hasbro intended 20 years ago!
Chris McFeely
> > question I had that I'd forgotten about (namely, that I recall seeing a
> > tiny little transformable fast food Unicron on eBay many months ago and
> > was wondering why it never showed up in Happy Meals around here).
>
> That Unicron was from an Energon promotion seen only at European Burger
> Kings. There was also an Optimus, Ironhide, and um... I think there was
> one other, but I forget which character. Megatron, probably.
European McDonalds, actually. But yeah, the other one was Megatron.
Welcome back, Zob! :D
Chris
Pyre
>
> Regarding Binaltech Ironhide/Skids... I can't imagine that Skids as a
> character is *popular* enough to warrant an Alternators toy in his
> likeness, but hey, I never thought we'd get a G1 reissue of him in
> America, either.
*shrug* He got an homage in Energon too. I guess HasTak is just wacky
like that.
M Sipher
news:1120562634.8...@g43g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Heck, Swerve is getting an Alternator. A guy who's only noted fiction
> appearance was being stepped on by Trypticon.
And that, children, is fucking AWESOME.
M "Well, Okay, He's In At Least One Manga Piece, But About 80% Of The
Characters Who Appear In It Do About As Much As Swerve Did In The Cartoon"
Autobus Prime
Not horrified, but a little sad though.
You can hang up those jets with fine monofilament fishing line.
It is almost invisible. 4 lb. test should be more than adequate.
Cordially yours,
Autobus Prime
w/minicon Farebox
www.geocities.com/autobus_prime
Derik 'Inessi' Smith
> Howdy,
Howdy!
> 3) There is no number three.
Are you taking suggestions?
> 4) Has any solid news actually broken on the Transformers film for
> 2006? (Incidentally, by "news" I am not referring to Internet rumors
> that the director is considering casting such-and-such actor or
> wouldn't-it-be-cool-if-they-did-this. I speak more along the lines of
> things that are actually true in some capacity.)
I stopped paying attention back when the word was 'four autobots
and four decepticons, and one of the Autobots is Arcee.' That was,
admittedly, like 18 iterations of the script ago.
It sounds liek the TF's are going to be viewed from the 'outside,'
withthe movit itself dealing witht he humans reacting to this alien war
among them. (You know, like how Independence Day had 4 seperate
character plots feeaturing 18 humans to eat up time when they werent'
blowing up cities or showing fighter battles?)
> For anyone who's even vaguely curious, I took a break from ATT and
> other online excursions to get a divorce and move in with my
> girlfriend.
You're not really 'in the verve' of modern Transfandom unless you
declared bankrupsy too.
Glad to know you're still around.
- The OTFCC magazine story is pre-Cybertron-- and sucks.
- Everyone is looking nervously at Cybertron after the premiere,
starting witht he 4th episode og Galaxy Force. It's supposed to be a
thorough redub to place it in-continuity with Armada/Energon, but the
content seems 98.5% identical... well, we'll see. Also, Jetfire is a
different character in the same continuity. *sigh*
Is there anything else? TF comics relaunch inside of 60 days. A
new continuity, despite early claims a new publisher would be required
to finish off old stories. Fans are skeptical on cover art- (have we
SEEN any interior art?) and exhasperated that it looks like we're
getting an opening 6 issue storyline wherein TF's barely appear,
instead focusing on humans. On the plus side- Furman.
-Derik
Kil - Michael McCarthy
> It sounds liek the TF's are going to be viewed from the 'outside,'
> withthe movit itself dealing witht he humans reacting to this alien war
> among them. (You know, like how Independence Day had 4 seperate
> character plots feeaturing 18 humans to eat up time when they werent'
> blowing up cities or showing fighter battles?)
I believe Don Murphy did once say that the story would feature both the
human and TF persecptives, but that was a while back and things have
been changing and his statements aren't always consistent anyway.
> - Everyone is looking nervously at Cybertron after the premiere,
> starting witht he 4th episode og Galaxy Force. It's supposed to be a
> thorough redub to place it in-continuity with Armada/Energon, but the
> content seems 98.5% identical... well, we'll see.
Well, the storyblurbs and bios on the Cybertron packaging clearly make
the line a continuation of the Armada/Energon continuity, but whether
or not the dub writers were given insturctions to make sure the show
plays like a continuation as well, who knows?
> Also, Jetfire is a
> different character in the same continuity. *sigh*
Or he's still the same character, but his new body came with a
different voice, for some reason.
-Kil
TransRazor
> different voice, for some reason.
Or if you see it as a new continuity, a new character that's no more
Armada Jetfire than he himself was G1 Jetfire.