Almost done with Transformers... No, I'm not covering Botbots and Masterpiece. I don't collect Botbots because I've heard how addicting they are, nothing positive or negative to say about them other then they're cute collectibles. The MP's? Two are repaints, two I talked about yesterday, and one is Beast Wars Megatron, which looks like a really nice Beast Wars Megatron. Onward to War for Cybertron!
We got two new Battlemasters in the form of the final Decepticon Targetmaster Caliburst, and Autobot Minotaur hammer Smashdown (though no new stand-alone Micromasters for some reason). While I'm not a fan of Caliburst due to it just being a straight-up repaint of Blowpipe (not even a new gun barrel), the blast effect does look cool at least, and I love Smashdown, from name, to concept, to the look, it looks to be a fun Battlemaster.
Going up to Deluxe, we got a look at the obvious Sideswipe repaint that is Red Alert, Refraktor was on the show floor, though we already knew of him, and we got a look at Impactor and Mirage the contest winners of characters destined to get toys in the Siege line (though I would have loved a Spinister...). My views on Red Alert I'll save for just a moment because that mould shares a problem with someone else here. Impactor and Mirage though are a mixed bag for me. I love the look of Impactor, though the hollow legs are a big let down for it, but Mirage though? I like the robot, very G1 accurate, not a fan of the F1 car mode because of G1 accuracy though. Like with the Sideswipe mould, this is a line about cybertronian alt modes, Sideswipe and Red Alert still look like human designed Lamboginis that don't look out of place on Earth, while Mirage still looks like an F1 car that could fit in with other F1 race cars. This needed more done to it to give it a Cybertronian look. How? Does Cybertron have oxygen or other forms of air? If not, why does he need pieces that are meant to keep him on the ground at high speed when travelling through the air? Also, why not give him a hover car alternate mode? Hinges on the wheels to angle them down, at least then there's the option to make it more futuristic.
Two new Voyagers were shown off in the form of Thundercracker and Springer. Thundercracker... looks like a Blue Starscream... moving on. Springer could be seen to have the same problem as Mirage, in that it's too G1 accurate. However, Springer gets away with it easier because the two modes aren't meant to look like normal human vehicles. The original was very sci-fi inspired, so using that as the basis for a new toy is fine, reasonable, understandable. It works, and it looks really good. It puts a lot of third party attempts to shame by the looks of it because they have a bad habit of over-engineering their tries. Do the car and helicopter modes look silly? Yes, yes they do. But it's Springer, they're meant to be silly.
The one new Leader class figure shown off is one I saw floating around as rumours and was really glad to learn that it was real. What they're calling the "Galaxy Upgrade Optimus Prime", or as I'll be calling him, Cybertron Optimus Prime, as it's based on the Galaxy Force/ Cybertron incarnation of Optimus. While this is suffering a bit from being a retooling of Siege Ultra Magnus, it's still a solid take on Cybertron Prime. Will it replace my Cybertron Prime? No way, I still maintain that it's one of the best Optimus Prime toys ever made, but still. While I do doubt it'll have it, a part of me hopes that this will be able to do the flying firetruck mode because it's so laughably stupid that I can't help but love it.
Before getting to the big guy, I'll tackle the newest size class introduced, Commander Class, currently staring Jetfire, who's been given a design inspired by his G1 show incarnation, where for legal reasons he couldn't look like his original toy. It's really nice to get a version of this design in an official capacity, especially as it has parts to make him look more like his G1 toy, and even has a way of flipping factions as a reference to his debut episode. Apparently, you can even put a Titan or Prime Master in his main cockpit, which is a neat, if needed touch. I love the look of this thing, but the price and size scare me. I am almost certain this thing is never coming to store shelves here due to the size and cost, which is a shame because this thing's beautiful.
Omega Supreme, the new Titan Class figure for the line. It looks beautiful, a nice modernization while keeping the core of the original... Will probably never be reviewed on this site. It's too big! I don't have the room for Titan class figures. It's painful because I love the look of Omega Supreme, bot this and the original, and Predaking is finally popping up around here. It is kind of cruel though that it's possible to buy and combine multiple Omega Supremes to expand the track. Any chance at all of releasing stand-alone track packs? Especially because apparently these can combine with Fortress Maximus and Trypticon when they're in base mode.
And with that, I'm done with covering Toy Fair for Transformers. Lego will come later on in the week once I find some good sources... I need a better way to do this before SDCC rolls around...
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