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prjkt wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:
Well, so far all of them seem to be based on animals, though made humanoid. Yes, that would technically made them robotic furries... The Japanese releases of Knock Out and Dreadwing would fit kinda too, with their animal armor from the predicted Beast Hunters molds.

Excellent point, Jelze, I had not thought of that. That makes the current decepticons a certain evolved form of where the Prime toys were going

Don't you mean devolved?

That, or the "Decepticons" we're seeing are the future lineage of Predaking and his kind taking on vehicle forms as disguise.

I caved. I bought Grimlock, Steeljaw and Strongarm. Grimlock is A+, Steeljaw is actually quite nice and deserves a B+, while Strongarm is a mild C+ at best.

She's ridiculously hollow and looks awful in vehicle mode on the underside. (I realize no one looks at their figures in vehicle mode from the bottom, but you do need to retrieve her weapon from it for transformation purposes, so...) Just this giant gaping hollowness that uses plastic thin enough to allow light to shine through to some extent. Fortunately, aside from the ridiculous backpack, her robot mode is quite nice, which is why she received the + instead of -...

I normally don't have a problem with shellformers, especially when they're designed like she is (and her shell isn't really that terrible, neither is her kibble) but the hollowness and how much wasted space is left behind, egads.

Steeljaw is ridiculously light, but when you transform him just right, he's quite a nice looking fella, especially when sporting that Wolverine claw (which I would love TWO of).

Grimlock, though, wow. Dinobots are not my favorite, honestly. Never really have been, but he's a ROCK SOLID figure. Transformation is complex enough to keep you happy, easy enough to master and everything pegs in nice and solid in beast mode. (Robot mode is a different story. That leg design is just...no. No.) I'm only saddened by the fact he has no weapon to use, but the articulated mouth is AWESOME.

I have no desire to buy Douchy McDoucherson. Er, I mean Bumblebee. That smirking face of his just makes me want to slap it so hard. Repeatedly. Until he cries.

And now that I've seen the comparison photos a few posts above, I see why the toys work for me. The show models aren't anything to write home about, at least not in my book, but in plastic form, they seem to fit quite well with the FE/PRID/BH figures and it's nice to see a universal theme to them to make them cohesive. It has enough elements of Animated to keep those fans happy, and enough Prime elements to keep those fans happy.

In vehicle mode, I don't see how Steeljaw is anymore out of place than Breakdown or the Vehicons. Even Bumblebee looks like he stole a Vehicon's body as a costume, so these work for me quite a bit. I wasn't expecting to get into this line, but when I opened Steeljaw and he impressed me, I was all like "Dang it."

Autobot032 wrote:I caved. I bought Grimlock, Steeljaw and Strongarm. Grimlock is A+, Steeljaw is actually quite nice and deserves a B+, while Strongarm is a mild C+ at best.

She's ridiculously hollow and looks awful in vehicle mode on the underside. (I realize no one looks at their figures in vehicle mode from the bottom, but you do need to retrieve her weapon from it for transformation purposes, so...) Just this giant gaping hollowness that uses plastic thin enough to allow light to shine through to some extent. Fortunately, aside from the ridiculous backpack, her robot mode is quite nice, which is why she received the + instead of -...

I normally don't have a problem with shellformers, especially when they're designed like she is (and her shell isn't really that terrible, neither is her kibble) but the hollowness and how much wasted space is left behind, egads.

Steeljaw is ridiculously light, but when you transform him just right, he's quite a nice looking fella, especially when sporting that Wolverine claw (which I would love TWO of).

Grimlock, though, wow. Dinobots are not my favorite, honestly. Never really have been, but he's a ROCK SOLID figure. Transformation is complex enough to keep you happy, easy enough to master and everything pegs in nice and solid in beast mode. (Robot mode is a different story. That leg design is just...no. No.) I'm only saddened by the fact he has no weapon to use, but the articulated mouth is AWESOME.

I have no desire to buy Douchy McDoucherson. Er, I mean Bumblebee. That smirking face of his just makes me want to slap it so hard. Repeatedly. Until he cries.

And now that I've seen the comparison photos a few posts above, I see why the toys work for me. The show models aren't anything to write home about, at least not in my book, but in plastic form, they seem to fit quite well with the FE/PRID/BH figures and it's nice to see a universal theme to them to make them cohesive. It has enough elements of Animated to keep those fans happy, and enough Prime elements to keep those fans happy.

In vehicle mode, I don't see how Steeljaw is anymore out of place than Breakdown or the Vehicons. Even Bumblebee looks like he stole a Vehicon's body as a costume, so these work for me quite a bit. I wasn't expecting to get into this line, but when I opened Steeljaw and he impressed me, I was all like "Dang it."

Here's a thought for your weapons dilemma:

1. Get Bee

2. Give his Sword to Grimlock before he hurts himself

3. Slay Bee and crown Grimlock Once and Future King

Autobot032 wrote:I caved. I bought Grimlock, Steeljaw and Strongarm. Grimlock is A+, Steeljaw is actually quite nice and deserves a B+, while Strongarm is a mild C+ at best.

She's ridiculously hollow and looks awful in vehicle mode on the underside. (I realize no one looks at their figures in vehicle mode from the bottom, but you do need to retrieve her weapon from it for transformation purposes, so...) Just this giant gaping hollowness that uses plastic thin enough to allow light to shine through to some extent. Fortunately, aside from the ridiculous backpack, her robot mode is quite nice, which is why she received the + instead of -...

I normally don't have a problem with shellformers, especially when they're designed like she is (and her shell isn't really that terrible, neither is her kibble) but the hollowness and how much wasted space is left behind, egads.

Steeljaw is ridiculously light, but when you transform him just right, he's quite a nice looking fella, especially when sporting that Wolverine claw (which I would love TWO of).

Grimlock, though, wow. Dinobots are not my favorite, honestly. Never really have been, but he's a ROCK SOLID figure. Transformation is complex enough to keep you happy, easy enough to master and everything pegs in nice and solid in beast mode. (Robot mode is a different story. That leg design is just...no. No.) I'm only saddened by the fact he has no weapon to use, but the articulated mouth is AWESOME.

I have no desire to buy Douchy McDoucherson. Er, I mean Bumblebee. That smirking face of his just makes me want to slap it so hard. Repeatedly. Until he cries.

And now that I've seen the comparison photos a few posts above, I see why the toys work for me. The show models aren't anything to write home about, at least not in my book, but in plastic form, they seem to fit quite well with the FE/PRID/BH figures and it's nice to see a universal theme to them to make them cohesive. It has enough elements of Animated to keep those fans happy, and enough Prime elements to keep those fans happy.

In vehicle mode, I don't see how Steeljaw is anymore out of place than Breakdown or the Vehicons. Even Bumblebee looks like he stole a Vehicon's body as a costume, so these work for me quite a bit. I wasn't expecting to get into this line, but when I opened Steeljaw and he impressed me, I was all like "Dang it."

I agree, Grimlock is rock solid in both modes (the legs must peg better on mine). His Dino kibble is there, but doesn't feel as vestigial as other entries, and he feels chunky for his size.

Also, you can flip out his stumpy dino arms in robot mode to look like IDW Monstructor:

Autobot032 wrote:I caved. I bought Grimlock, Steeljaw and Strongarm. Grimlock is A+, Steeljaw is actually quite nice and deserves a B+, while Strongarm is a mild C+ at best.

She's ridiculously hollow and looks awful in vehicle mode on the underside. (I realize no one looks at their figures in vehicle mode from the bottom, but you do need to retrieve her weapon from it for transformation purposes, so...) Just this giant gaping hollowness that uses plastic thin enough to allow light to shine through to some extent. Fortunately, aside from the ridiculous backpack, her robot mode is quite nice, which is why she received the + instead of -...

You're referring to this right?



I don't find it that bad. It's not worse than other transformers when we look below, like this guy for instance:

Shuttershock wrote:Here's a thought for your weapons dilemma:

1. Get Bee

2. Give his Sword to Grimlock before he hurts himself

3. Slay Bee and crown Grimlock Once and Future King

That sounds great in theory, but I just cannot stomach the thought of giving Hasbro $16.00 for that figure. If he was someone else, I could probably do it, but it's just not Bumblebee to me. He looks so douchey.

Shuttershock wrote:I agree, Grimlock is rock solid in both modes (the legs must peg better on mine). His Dino kibble is there, but doesn't feel as vestigial as other entries, and he feels chunky for his size.

Also, you can flip out his stumpy dino arms in robot mode to look like IDW Monstructor:

Mine has loosey goosey beast parts when forming the legs, which I've seen in video reviews, but the tabs don't secure themselves into the slots well enough to make it a really solid connection. I've seen video reviews where they shook the figure a bit and it showed that all the parts held fine, while mine will actually come apart in robot mode with a good shake.

The kibble size is nice, I must admit. He uses it very well to his advantage, and it impressed me that it steals most of the G1 transformation, but freshens it up enough to make it likeable.

The dino arms work for Monstructor, but Grimlock looks like that horrible Kayak commercial where the two guys are sharing a sweater to use the computer. I know, what's seen cannot be unseen. Trust me, I tried. lol

william-james88 wrote:You're referring to this right?



I don't find it that bad. It's not worse than other transformers when we look below, like this guy for instance:

Her? Yes. That's exactly it.
Him? I love Sentinel Prime. You no can pick on him.

He might be a shellformer, but his engineering is some of the best on a figure that I've seen in quite some time. He goes from boxy vehicle with a curved windshield to a pointy, hard edged humanoid form in robot mode. Pretty impressive how they incorporated the shell into the robot mode and hid everything from sight in vehicle mode. Ugly underneath, sure, but all of the parts go somewhere or do something. Strongarm literally has the windows and roof of her vehicle mode hanging off of her back like a basket full of sadness and fail.

Autobot032 wrote:

Shuttershock wrote:Here's a thought for your weapons dilemma:

1. Get Bee

2. Give his Sword to Grimlock before he hurts himself

3. Slay Bee and crown Grimlock Once and Future King

That sounds great in theory, but I just cannot stomach the thought of giving Hasbro $16.00 for that figure. If he was someone else, I could probably do it, but it's just not Bumblebee to me. He looks so douchey.

Shuttershock wrote:I agree, Grimlock is rock solid in both modes (the legs must peg better on mine). His Dino kibble is there, but doesn't feel as vestigial as other entries, and he feels chunky for his size.

Also, you can flip out his stumpy dino arms in robot mode to look like IDW Monstructor:

Mine has loosey goosey beast parts when forming the legs, which I've seen in video reviews, but the tabs don't secure themselves into the slots well enough to make it a really solid connection. I've seen video reviews where they shook the figure a bit and it showed that all the parts held fine, while mine will actually come apart in robot mode with a good shake.

The kibble size is nice, I must admit. He uses it very well to his advantage, and it impressed me that it steals most of the G1 transformation, but freshens it up enough to make it likeable.

The dino arms work for Monstructor, but Grimlock looks like that horrible Kayak commercial where the two guys are sharing a sweater to use the computer. I know, what's seen cannot be unseen. Trust me, I tried. lol

william-james88 wrote:You're referring to this right?



I don't find it that bad. It's not worse than other transformers when we look below, like this guy for instance:

Her? Yes. That's exactly it.
Him? I love Sentinel Prime. You no can pick on him.

He might be a shellformer, but his engineering is some of the best on a figure that I've seen in quite some time. He goes from boxy vehicle with a curved windshield to a pointy, hard edged humanoid form in robot mode. Pretty impressive how they incorporated the shell into the robot mode and hid everything from sight in vehicle mode. Ugly underneath, sure, but all of the parts go somewhere or do something. Strongarm literally has the windows and roof of her vehicle mode hanging off of her back like a basket full of sadness and fail.

All great thoughts. I agree that shellforming in and of itself isn't the worst, so long as it's not a hinderance/balance issue in robot mode. AoE Hound seems like the evolution of the Sentinel idea and is very satisfyingly kibble free.

That said, no one in the world can make me NOT love Thunderblast, backpack and all.




What's funny about Grimlock is that he's had so many molds through the years, all trying to get a good blend of robot to t-rex, and all with different results. Some have tiny tails with fat bodies (G1, Animated), some have fat tails with good legs (FOC) and some have head halves for feet (classics).

Shuttershock wrote:All great thoughts. I agree that shellforming in and of itself isn't the worst, so long as it's not a hinderance/balance issue in robot mode. AoE Hound seems like the evolution of the Sentinel idea and is very satisfyingly kibble free.

That said, no one in the world can make me NOT love Thunderblast, backpack and all.




What's funny about Grimlock is that he's had so many molds through the years, all trying to get a good blend of robot to t-rex, and all with different results. Some have tiny tails with fat bodies (G1, Animated), some have fat tails with good legs (FOC) and some have head halves for feet (classics).

Hound is an excellent example, thank you for bringing that to mind. I sold off most of my Unicron Trilogy figures and Thunderblast was one of them. As I was prepping her for shipping, I transformed her to be compact so the box being used would be a bit smaller, and the engineering made me realize that we've come quite a distance since then, but still kind of a long way to go. Hollow body parts, for example.

I like AoE Grimlock (Leader Class) he seems to be right in the middle/sweet spot when ti comes to size and kibble.

Here's a different perspective on Strong arm.

I was at Target and the pegs were pretty bare, except a case of RID15 Warriors and a case of the big easys. Power Battlers? I already have Legions Bee, Steeljaw, and Strongarm. I had all 4 in front of me and I chose Warrior Strongarm. I looked hard at Grimlock, but I grabbed her instead.
I think the blue and white grabbed me. I like her character design. She has a nice head sculpt, very Prime, very Takara with the head fins. I also like that she's a fem with some meat on her bones. I'm just kind of intrigued by her.

I recently said that I wish Hasbro would stop trying to simplify with the half-steppers and action flappers, and just take some ques from Cybertron/GF. Well that's kinda what they did.
Keep it simple. Keep it fun.

I really like this action figure. I like simple. Her shell forming doesn't bother me anymore than any others. Her transformation is smooth and intuitive. Her vehicle mode is cool and BIG. She's a BIG ol' truck. It tabs together pretty well. Just a little gappy on the side.

Her Bot mode is cool. She's thick. She's got hips. She has good articulation. Better than some of my favorite Cybertron figures. She's a little hindered in the shoulders from the back kibble, which is large, but it makes neat wings. She has a cool gun.

Over all the toy has more mass than I thought it would. She is sturdy and will hold up to anything an 8 year old can throw at her. The shell forming is just a vehicle to get her from Big Ol' Truck mode to a robot mode that has some femininity to it, and gets pretty close to the cartoon character model. Did I mention she's a Big Ol' Pick'm Up Truck.

If complexity is a problem for kids, than Hasbro has found a happy medium with this line. And if it works to hook 'em on the brand, I'm all for it.

If Strongarm is the dud, than that makes me more interested in some of the others. I'm glad to hear Grimmy is good. I will pick him up for sure. He looked nicer through the blister than he does in photos. Bee would be the last I grab.


I'm way into Legion class stuff, and have been for a long time. I couldn't be happier with these Legions. They all have great little transformations. Even Bee. I think it's funny that Legions Steeljaw's legs work better than the Warrior's. At least he has feet, and they ad to his pose-ability.

If your curious about this line, but don't want to commit just yet, I highly recommend the Legions to get your feet wet.

He looks better than his warrior class version

Sabrblade wrote:

Lockdownhunter wrote:He looks better than his warrior class version

Who does?

Steeljaw

I only have Warrior Strongarm (had no idea Strongarm was a she until reading it here, lol, thanks for leaving off bios, Hasbro) and Steeljaw, only opened Steeljaw so far, and found him pretty disappointing.

Seems like yet another case of price point going up while figure quality goes down. Really don't like the instructions being on the box, way to cheap out dudes (and I realize some older lines had some figs like this as well, but not on this size class). Never would have figured out the arms (mistransformed in package) without looking the thing up online, but sucky directions are nothing new, many of the figures I've gotten the last couple years have had issues, but these seem intentionally misleading just so they can call it "7 STEPS!" or whatever. Since when does number of steps matter anyway (other than for 1 steps, obviously) But I digress. Anyway, his arms suck, and trying to bend at the elbow makes the cheap, thin plastic feel like it's going to break. Yet somehow straightening the arm back out moves incredibly smooth and easy. WHAT THE HELL? How can you even come up with a design that works that way? Some evil genius must be working there. Also, it's dumb that he only has one claw weapon instead of two.

Bottom line, I'm pretty disappointed, and considering returning Strongarm unopened. Probably won't, but it's definitely weighing on me. I would probably pick up Grimlock still if I saw it, and Optimus, just because I like to always get an Optimus.

Were the packaged images of the upcoming Three-Step Changer Optimus Prime from Robots in Disguise not enough for you? Polish retailer Merlin had updated their page with additional stock photos of the figure (some of which have now been taken down), so you can now see how it'll look in the hands of a random kid! Check them out mirrored below.

It also looks like Kre-o fans will not be forgotten for the duration of the Robots in Disguise animated series, either. Take a look at the images mirrored below, showing some of the upcoming sets - via Japanese retailer Red Mercury - including the first wave of customisable Kreons of Optimus, Grimlock, Steeljaw and Bumblebee, and box sets featuring Sideswipe and Hammershark, Strongarm and Springload, Bumblebee, Bisk and Clampdown, Optimus, Fracture and its 'minicons' Airazor and Divebomb, Underbite and Ped. Whew.

The custom sets seem a lot more bare-bones this time around. Really basic weapons, no backpack parts or extra kibble... not a lot to just mess around with. On the flipside, regularly colored helmets and the second set of arms being the normal type is awesome!
It's just too bad they never seem to get past the first wave.


I'd love to get Kreon Underbite, Hammerstrike, and maybe Fracture's minions, but Custom versions are unlikely, nobody resells the Kreons anymore, and chances are TRU.com will never have them as "ship to home" (assuming they even get it in the first place) so... pthlt.

Japanese retailer Red Mercury has updated with new images of Transformers Robots In Disguise wave 2 of 1-step figures including Grimlock, Steeljaw and Fixit. Wave 2 Warrior images include Optimus Prime and Drift while wave 2 Legends Class features Grimlock and Sideswipe.

1-Step







Warriors





Legends

LOST Cybertronian wrote:Japanese retailer Red Mercury has updated with new images of Transformers Robots In Disguise wave 2 of 1-step figures including Grimlock, Steeljaw and Fixit.

1-Step

Ok, so that is how this looks in color:



That was a one step afterall. I am still as clueless as to what that alt mode is, but it is still a pretty effective easy transformation for the character. I doubt he will get the warrior class treatment, and I dont mind if this is all we get. He will scale "ok" with the warrior class figures, although a legion class might be better.


And I must admit, while the Optimus is out of scale and not show accurate (being taller than wider), and he'd be ONE MORE Optimus that I dont need in my collection, I am most curious to get my hands on him and transform him. I am always impressed when he is more than just a cab, and this looks like a very smart and efficient transformation scheme.

That Legends wave is already out, isn't it? I thought I saw Sideswipe at TRU the other day. And yeah, is Warrior a broad term for more complex transformation or is that going to be an awkwardly small Optimus?

from http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_CA/shop/details.cfm?R=C75DEF39-5056-9047-F5E5-276489BE408B:en_CA

Sabrblade wrote:Unfortunately, that site doesn't permit hotlinking.

Yeah, I am totally onboard for one step fixit.
But what does hotlinking mean, what were you trying to do?