New Images Asian Market Exclusive Specialist: Decepticon Set

I really like the paint jobs on all three. If it weren't for the inflated price due to importing, I'd buy this set in a heartbeat.

Galvatron looks amazing.

Each one of these sets are going on my shelf!

ha! even they cant transform galvatron right

but daaamn.... they look good. especially galvatron. i think that mold gets a bad wrap. sure it could have been better or bigger, but ive always liked it. octane/tankor sucks but i still need one, and that astrotrain is juuust different and shiney enough to replace my henkei. but where did those orange windows come from?

if there were 3 figures hastak should revisit from the generations line and make them bigger...

galvatron is perhaps one of the worse figures due to the over complicated transformation and small size. A voyager or the new leader size would be better. He actually does look good in both modes I think but for a deluxe toy there was definitely no fun factor.

astrotrain was great at his time, but he deservers a voyager size at least

octane - i have a love hate relationship with both the g1 and the generations update.. they both feel half baked.

Maybe they can get the guy who designed springer /sandstorm on the case

having said that, the new colour schemes do improve the toys.

I like how the colors are more homogenized especially on Galvatron.

I like henkei astrotrain better. but that is probably the best looking Galvatron

It's a shame they're still using that crappy Galvatron.

The paint is great - I definitely can appreciate Hasbro Asia's use of metallics and gloss paints instead of chromed everything. As with the Seeker 3-packs, I eagerly await clearance prices. If those never come, I'll learn to live without them, but damn...

Very nice! That deco for Galvatron is the best yet. I've also wanted a screen accurate Astrotrain for a while now, and I can feel free to skip the Henkei version with it's random chrome parts. Octane gets the award for "Least Improved." He's basically just "shinier" than before. Regardless, I'm glad to have these on preorder!

The only one worth having in this group is Astrotrain.

A little late to finally get galvatrons paint deco right. Mania king has rendered the hasbro mold pointless.

Gimme that Galvatron Astrotrain! Gimme!

Between this deco and apparently intentional mistransformation of the tank mode (or is "mis-" not the right prefix when the back of the box confirms it?), Galvy's Universe toy seriously looks better than I ever thought possible. But I just can't quite justify buying any of these 3 a second time.

I wouldn't mind owning this set. My Galvatron's hips like to pop out all the time, my Octane's joints are so loose they practically flop around (it's amazing how he even stands), and I've yet to even pick up Astrotrain. No big loss if I don't get it, though.

Bumblevivisector wrote:Between this deco and apparently intentional mistransformation of the tank mode (or is "mis-" not the right prefix when the back of the box confirms it?), Galvy's Universe toy seriously looks better than I ever thought possible. But I just can't quite justify buying any of these 3 a second time.

Even stock photos can get transformations wrong... What am I saying, they hardly ever get them 100% right!

I can understand why though, the barrel is notoriously hard to get between the halves of the turret, so I could see the photographers not bothering.

Rated X wrote:A little late to finally get galvatrons paint deco right. Mania king has rendered the hasbro mold pointless.

not nessesarily. im a big fan of mania kings mold, but it has enough wrong with it to make me hesitate. unposable wrists, floppy legs, and white where there should be grey (legs part i heard from reviewers). not saying hastaks galvy is better by any means, just that this is the best color variation yet. and id be lying if i said over time it hasnt grown on me.

for the record, i will probably end up buying mania king anyways. but i have my reservations.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

Bumblevivisector wrote:Between this deco and apparently intentional mistransformation of the tank mode (or is "mis-" not the right prefix when the back of the box confirms it?), Galvy's Universe toy seriously looks better than I ever thought possible. But I just can't quite justify buying any of these 3 a second time.

Even stock photos can get transformations wrong... What am I saying, they hardly ever get them 100% right!

I can understand why though, the barrel is notoriously hard to get between the halves of the turret, so I could see the photographers not bothering.

Well, the reason I think it's intentional is that this configuration actually looks better. That is, the top achieves more elements of his original cannon mode. He finally looks less like Galvatron-in-his-cunning-Brunt-disguise, and more like just plain Galvatron.

I had forgotten about the difficulty of transforming his turret though, because I just wasn't excited enough about this mold to transform it much after opening.

They finally remembered that Galvatron was blue violet in the cartoon instead of purple violet.

Sabrblade wrote:They finally remembered that Galvatron was blue violet in the cartoon instead of purple violet.

yeah, the colours on this version are pretty nice.

shame about the actual toy.
Octane isn't bad, and I do like the original toy, but I'm not seeing a need to upgrade until we get a Voyager version.
I'd have that Astrotrain in a heartbeat if I didn't have to buy the other two.

We have some updated official images of the Asian market exclusive Specialist: Decepticons three-pack from Takara Tomy Mall. This set consists of reissues of Classics Astrotrain, Universe 2.0 Galvatron, and Universe 2.0 Tankor (Octane). Each features a new deco, and special collectors style packaging.

Looks like the Japanese might have an easier way of acquiring these after all.

I always get giddy when I see that maniacal look in Galvatrons eyes.

Whoa! For a second I thought that these toys were Combaticons. Galvatron, Tankor, and Astrotrain threw me off.

Octane, get it chromed or get it gone. Seriously...Get your shit together TyrOctane.

Counterpunch wrote:Octane, get it chromed or get it gone. Seriously...Get your shit together TyrOctane.

There's no chrome on the other two, so why should Octane get chromed?

Besides, there's already his Henkei! Henkei! toys if you want him with chrome.

Sabrblade wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Octane, get it chromed or get it gone. Seriously...Get your shit together TyrOctane.

There's no chrome on the other two, so why should Octane get chromed?

Besides, there's already his Henkei! Henkei! toys if you want him with chrome.

Yea, I'm happy with the slightly-more-subtle metallics.

I hope these aren't too expensive on BBTS. I don't often buy TFs anymore, but the chance to pick up two triple-changers from the Classics line is difficult to pass up, especially since the old US and Takara releases now cost an arm and a leg each.

Flakmaster wrote:I hope these aren't too expensive on BBTS. I don't often buy TFs anymore, but the chance to pick up two triple-changers from the Classics line is difficult to pass up, especially since the old US and Takara releases now cost an arm and a leg each.

Both BBTS & TFsource have the Decepticon specialists for $130. More like an arm OR a leg rather than an arm AND a leg.

ebay prices for these guys arent outrageous. if youre patient, the classics versions could cost about 20-30 each. henkeis anywhere from 20-60. but i would get the three pack since these are the most superior color schemes yet, three in one shot, one shipping charge. best bang for the buck unless you magically happen to find all the seperate figures from one seller.

also, bbts isnt the be-all-end-all for online TF shopping. chimung has both sets fot 110 each as i recall.

shajaki wrote:ebay prices for these guys arent outrageous. if youre patient, the classics versions could cost about 20-30 each. henkeis anywhere from 20-60. but i would get the three pack since these are the most superior color schemes yet, three in one shot, one shipping charge. best bang for the buck unless you magically happen to find all the seperate figures from one seller.

also, bbts isnt the be-all-end-all for online TF shopping. chimung has both sets fot 110 each as i recall.

100% agree with you. These are by far the best decos for each of these figures, IMHO.

I'm playing the delicate balance of wanting them, but hoping they go on sale like the Seeker sets. I'll be monitoring BBTS stock closely for fear of being shut out...

I guess the person or persons involved in the posting of these images were having some fun having Octain armed with Astrotrain's pistola.

Anyway I'm satisfied with my custom Galvatron i picked up along with Henkei Octain and Astrotrain...'nuff said!

Going to do some reconnaissance and destroy every master cast and mold of Deluxe Galvy. That mold needs to die.

That Astrotrain's deco is very nice and if I can get it seperately, that would be awesome. However the Octane figure is decent at best and that Galvatron mold is crap that can't be hidden with paint, so I don't want to deal with them.

Sabrblade wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Octane, get it chromed or get it gone. Seriously...Get your shit together TyrOctane.

There's no chrome on the other two, so why should Octane get chromed?

Besides, there's already his Henkei! Henkei! toys if you want him with chrome.

Why shouldn't there be? Maybe I'd like some chrome on the tank to mirror the G1 toy?

The Henkei version has chromed guns, not what I'm looking for.

Anyway, why are you questioning my personal preferences on this? It's not like I'm asking for something so far outside the box that it needs to be called to question.

Counterpunch wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Counterpunch wrote:Octane, get it chromed or get it gone. Seriously...Get your shit together TyrOctane.

There's no chrome on the other two, so why should Octane get chromed?

Besides, there's already his Henkei! Henkei! toys if you want him with chrome.

Why shouldn't there be? Maybe I'd like some chrome on the tank to mirror the G1 toy?

The Henkei version has chromed guns, not what I'm looking for.

Anyway, why are you questioning my personal preferences on this? It's not like I'm asking for something so far outside the box that it needs to be called to question.

Cursed curiosity compelled me to inquire.

I know the Universe Galvatron mold is a flawed design as far as transforming the figure goes, but it looks fine in bot mode, IMO, and if you're going to just put him in your Classics shelf for display purposes, what's the harm? You're not obligated to transform him ever again if you don't want to. Some people seem to hate this mold like it ran over their dog.

Wolfman Jake wrote:I know the Universe Galvatron mold is a flawed design as far as transforming the figure goes, but it looks fine in bot mode, IMO, and if you're going to just put him in your Classics shelf for display purposes, what's the harm? You're not obligated to transform him ever again if you don't want to. Some people seem to hate this mold like it ran over their dog.

heard that. the classics galvy mold gets a bad wrap. transforming him just takes some fine tuning, kinda like an MP or alternator. once you got the hang of it, its not bad. and it may have taken a long time to get his colors right, but there they are. with that paint job who could hate on galvy now?

In preparation for the actual galleries, showing up later this week, Seibertron.com is proud to present a couple of images from the Hasbro Asia Exclusives Autobot and Decepticon Specialist sets! Check out images below of close-up shots of the bios for Galvatron, Octane, Astrotrain, Hound, Ironhide and Mirage plus a combined shot showcasing the combined picture that the two boxes make, similar to the previous Seekers sets. Will you be reaching for these? Let us know what you think in the Energon Pub!

Trivia: the bios are copied word for word from the original Marvel Transformers Universe bios. Lazy, or tribute? You be the judge

And really clever how the boxes fit in style. Can't wait for the galleries!

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Trivia: the bios are copied word for word from the original Marvel Transformers Universe bios. Lazy, or tribute? You be the judge

And really clever how the boxes fit in style. Can't wait for the galleries!

im going to say lazy coincidence. even though we found out hounds eyes were yellow in a uk comic...

I'm going to be optimistic and believe the bios are vintage because these sets are a love-letter to G1 fans. I must say, I love everything about these boxes. I stopped "collecting" the packaging for most of my figures years ago, but these are among the few worth keeping in around, or better yet, putting on display! Here's hoping we'll get news soon of another set to pair with the upcoming Autobots Ratchet, Perceptor, and Kup sets.

I like how their faces are considered "gimmicks."

megatronus wrote:I like how their faces are considered "gimmicks."

Light-piping, dear

Wolfman Jake wrote:I must say, I love everything about these boxes. I stopped "collecting" the packaging for most of my figures years ago, but these are among the few worth keeping in around, or better yet, putting on display!

It reminds me of VHS and manga sets that have a picture across their spines when you put them in order.

Mirage's spoiler's on backwards.

man, all of these figures, besides hound, are ones that i wish they gave us new molds of sadly.

mirage is too skinny.. and after rewatching the traitor episode on the hub this morning.. this mold really doesn't give off a mirage vibe.. i mean, it's a good mold, i have it, i enjoy it, but just not for an updated G1 mirage.

ironhide.. i think we all know the problems with this figure.. the main one being his head. i don't care how many tutorials are out there to help you fix the head, it's still a problem.. plus, there are other tweaks that i wish were done on this mold.

galvatron.. man, where do i start.. first, he should be a voyager. his robot mode is extremely unstable, the design of his lower legs is very bad especially when you throw in the backpack. the alt mode is nice and i like the transformation.. but the arms are a train-wreck.

astrotrain.. i love this paint job.. and he was in the first iteration of the classics line so, i can cut some slack for that.. but i dislike his legs, and he needs to be a voyager.

octane.. another figure that really should've been a voyager. it's sad displaying astrotrain and octane with blitzwing. i would assume that these characters aren't important enough to get updated molds of.

I love Octane's "Plan" Mode..........

Well, my order has finally arrived. One set each of the Autobots and Decepticons "Specialists." I must say, I am very happy with these figures, almost as much as I was with the Seeker Aces and Elites sets from a while back. The shiny paint makes each figure "pop", the decos are very screen accurate, and the quality control, at least on my sets, is top notch. No chipping or blemishing in the paint (your mileage may vary).

Starting with the Autobots:

Ironhide is very sleek with that deep red coat of metallic paint, plus the G1 yellow stripe on his sides. He's basically the Henkei version with metallic paint swapped out for vacuum metalized chroming. Where there was chrome before is metallic silver paint now.

Hound looks stunning with a dark metallic green. Plus, his legs are now the right color (though an unpainted green plastic, the color of which does not match the rest of the green on the figure), and he's sporting screen-accurate tampographs. I swapped out the translucent plastics for his eyes, which are a translucent blue with the optics painted yellow, with the one from my Universe 2008 version. He's now perfect, with fully-functioning blue light piping eyes! An interesting note: the edges of Specialist Hound's eyes are not painted, so you get a sort of blue halo effect around his yellow, opaque eyes when you shine a light behind him.

Mirage is probably the least improved, but the addition of metallic blue paint and screen accurate paint details make him look quite nice next to his Autobot compatriots. He, of course, lacks the fictional sponsorship decals of the 2006 Classics version and looks very "clean" for it.

Now for the Decepticons:

Galvatron is amazing. They got just about everything right! His metallic purple/indigo paint is spot on. All of the stray orange plastic is now black. This is by far the best deco attempt on this mold. Speaking of the mold, I don't know if this will be true for all, or even most samples, but mine is definitely the least problematic version of the mold I've owned. It snaps together tightly with little fiddling or fuss, and the joints are just a little bit tighter. It's still prone to all the similar issues when you transform it, of course, like the legs falling off at the knee swivel and the left arm popping out of the shoulder socket every two seconds. Regardless, he stands very well and looks like a real leader along side his trusted lieutenants Scourge and Cyclonus, with an army of Sweeps and Cyclonus "Armada" Clones behind him.

Astrotrain is now screen accurate with a medium gray and purple color scheme. Very similar to the Henkei release, but without random chrome pieces. Enough said.

Octane is the least improved of the Decepticon trio. His plastic and paint layouts are exactly the same. The only difference is in the shades used. The purple is darker and now metallic, and the tan-ish gray plastic is now a truer gray (or maybe bluish gray). Still, the small touches do improve his overall look.

Finally, I should have made this connection earlier, because of all the advanced pictures of the packaging, but these are both Hasbro releases. The Seeker sets were definitely Takara-Tomy branded. Yet, these sets seem to fit together very nicely in a series of Classics repaints. So, what's up with that? These are both for the Asian markets, so is this a sort of joint project for the two companies?

Thanks for the play by play!

I think the reason the Seeker sets were Takara branded were because they were released under the United line, whereas the Specialists sets are... not. I recall that the Asia Premium Series Movie Leaders (OP & Brawl) were also Takara, so maybe Takara decided to hand off their Asia exclusive items to Hasbro Asia? I guess we'll see if the continued presence of Hasbro branding is consistent. Good eye!