Pre-Order Roundup for Takara Legends Grand Maximus and Greatshot

Great Shot looks wonderful and is definately worth the markup. Not sure I care enough about the character to spend the money but he is awesome and I want him

Flashwave wrote:Great Shot looks wonderful and is definately worth the markup. Not sure I care enough about the character to spend the money but he is awesome and I want him

My thoughts exactly. He is a great looking leader figure, and I am getting him just because he is that awesome.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:TFsource has just put up their pre-orders. Placed mine for both

https://tfsource.com/legends-series/lg-ex-greatshot/

https://tfsource.com/legends-series/lg- ... d-maximus/

Woot! Got mine in too! I'm a happy wolfman!

Relic0037 wrote:With all the releases & rereleases Takara has coming out in March "Grand" & "Max" aren't going to be names for a Transformer, but instead amounts put on my credit card bill that month

I always enjoy good word play, so this made me laugh. Know that I still feel your pain, though.

By the way, now that everyone is getting all hot and bothered over Grand Maximus, does that mean people have in general softened on their opinions of the mold? It's essentially just a redeco of Fortress Maximus with maybe a new Pretender shell accessory...and that's it. Last I remember, fans were awfully lukewarm about the new Fort Max, mainly because it is a heavy retool of Generations Metroplex with fewer play features than the original G1 Fort Max toy. Now the same thing is coming out again less than two years later, and no one seems underwhelmed like last time. Is Grand Max just that much prettier, or did everyone just get over all their TF/LG Fort Max grievances?

Just wanted to vent a gripe about LG45 Hot Rod real quick that's been bothering me about him for the past couple of weeks since I got him in hand.

Is anyone else bothered by the massive gaps on the sides of his chest? I'm all for Takara making mold improvements over the Hasbro products, but in this case I feel like Takara really dropped the ball. They basically sacrificed a decent chest design just to accommodate the "engine" flipping gimmick for the Targetmaster. I might have been alright with this had trade-off been a cartoon accurate upper chest/collar piece, but what we ended up with was a half assed piece that isn't even cartoon accurate. I would have preferred them to just leave the piece as is, but remold it to allow a spot to plug in the Targetmaster, or even better yet, just do a flip up piece that exposes the port. The translucent chest was also another odd choice that I don't understand where it came (nor do I care for it) from in a line that strives to be more cartoon accurate. It might have been alright had there been something of substance to fill in the giant gaping hole behind his chest.

I prefer the color scheme on LG45 Hot Rod over Hasbro's red version, but the mold trade-off left much to be desired. There could have been a much better solution instead of what they came up with.

Wouldn't be the first time that Takara's messed up coz remember Trypticon was supposed to be a darker colour & instead all we got was the exact same dam figure as the Hasbro one(YES!!!...with the hip ratchet issue fixed + a slight mold difference on one of the towers)

Stuartmaximus wrote:Wouldn't be the first time that Takara's messed up coz remember Trypticon was supposed to be a darker colour & instead all we got was the exact same dam figure as the Hasbro one(YES!!!...with the hip ratchet issue fixed + a slight mold difference on one of the towers)

Wasn't aware of a mold difference on one of Trypticon's towers. Can you provide a link about this?

Seibertron wrote:Just wanted to vent a gripe about LG45 Hot Rod real quick that's been bothering me about him for the past couple of weeks since I got him in hand.

Is anyone else bothered by the massive gaps on the sides of his chest? I'm all for Takara making mold improvements over the Hasbro products, but in this case I feel like Takara really dropped the ball. They basically sacrificed a decent chest design just to accommodate the "engine" flipping gimmick for the Targetmaster. I might have been alright with this had trade-off been a cartoon accurate upper chest/collar piece, but what we ended up with was a half assed piece that isn't even cartoon accurate. I would have preferred them to just leave the piece as is, but remold it to allow a spot to plug in the Targetmaster, or even better yet, just do a flip up piece that exposes the port. The translucent chest was also another odd choice that I don't understand where it came (nor do I care for it) from in a line that strives to be more cartoon accurate. It might have been alright had there been something of substance to fill in the giant gaping hole behind his chest.

I prefer the color scheme on LG45 Hot Rod over Hasbro's red version, but the mold trade-off left much to be desired. There could have been a much better solution instead of what they came up with.

While I do find it a little annoying, LG45 is just so damn good looking besides that that it doesn't bother me. There's just so much awesomeness about the rest of the figure that I don't care that much.

Seibertron wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Wouldn't be the first time that Takara's messed up coz remember Trypticon was supposed to be a darker colour & instead all we got was the exact same dam figure as the Hasbro one(YES!!!...with the hip ratchet issue fixed + a slight mold difference on one of the towers)

Wasn't aware of a mold difference on one of Trypticon's towers. Can you provide a link about this?

It was on reprolabels FB page, but I'm also sure that it was touched on, on here before, but maybe you missed it, I'll try n snapshot stuff about it from the reprolabels FB page

Seibertron wrote:Just wanted to vent a gripe about LG45 Hot Rod real quick that's been bothering me about him for the past couple of weeks since I got him in hand.

Is anyone else bothered by the massive gaps on the sides of his chest? I'm all for Takara making mold improvements over the Hasbro products, but in this case I feel like Takara really dropped the ball. They basically sacrificed a decent chest design just to accommodate the "engine" flipping gimmick for the Targetmaster. I might have been alright with this had trade-off been a cartoon accurate upper chest/collar piece, but what we ended up with was a half assed piece that isn't even cartoon accurate. I would have preferred them to just leave the piece as is, but remold it to allow a spot to plug in the Targetmaster, or even better yet, just do a flip up piece that exposes the port. The translucent chest was also another odd choice that I don't understand where it came (nor do I care for it) from in a line that strives to be more cartoon accurate. It might have been alright had there been something of substance to fill in the giant gaping hole behind his chest.

I prefer the color scheme on LG45 Hot Rod over Hasbro's red version, but the mold trade-off left much to be desired. There could have been a much better solution instead of what they came up with.

I actually quite like LG45 Hot Rod quite a bit. Yeah, the chest gap is unfortunate, but it doesn't bother me too much. I'm also not bothered by things like MP-28 Hot Rod's "backpack," just for reference. My main concern is that my Transformers figures look good from the front, which Legends Hot Rod does. Good looking sides are nice too, but can be sacrificed if needed. Backs are rarely of great concern, and I'm happy with anything decidedly "non-accurate/ugly" happening back there. I've just come to accept a little bit of give and take when translating on screen Transformers character models into workable toys. With LG45, though, Takara did retain some of the abdominal detailing from the Hasbro mold, as well as some "chest" looking stuff under the hood in robot mode. You can consider the hood more of Hot Rod's "kibble" from vehicle mode, or even just some additional "armor" for his torso and think of the detailing underneath as what his true robot anatomical torso would be if he had a different alt mode, or none altogether.

I like the ability to hide the exposed engine block in robot mode. It's just a nice little extra to appreciate, and not really intrusive. I'd have to check when I get home, but I think it may be an optional step too, if you so desire. As for the clear plastic hood Takara used, to give Hot Rod's flame deco an actual fiery effect, I can see how that's disappointing, especially since there are few good ways to pipe some light through there to really get the look they were going for. Maybe that's why they left the sides a little "gappy," to let some more light through? I'm going to see if I can find some nice, shiny/glossy yellow paper and cut out a piece to fit snuggly on the underside of the hood to give the transparent yellow plastic a little more saturation and opacity. It should make the flames look a lot better without needing to get more light piped through the torso somehow.

Seibertron wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Wouldn't be the first time that Takara's messed up coz remember Trypticon was supposed to be a darker colour & instead all we got was the exact same dam figure as the Hasbro one(YES!!!...with the hip ratchet issue fixed + a slight mold difference on one of the towers)

Wasn't aware of a mold difference on one of Trypticon's towers. Can you provide a link about this?

It's more of a running change mold variant between the first and second run versions of the Hasbro Trypticons' towers.

Here's the info from the Trypticon thread:

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913104

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913109

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913120

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913122

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913129

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913130

Sabrblade wrote:

Seibertron wrote:

Stuartmaximus wrote:Wouldn't be the first time that Takara's messed up coz remember Trypticon was supposed to be a darker colour & instead all we got was the exact same dam figure as the Hasbro one(YES!!!...with the hip ratchet issue fixed + a slight mold difference on one of the towers)

Wasn't aware of a mold difference on one of Trypticon's towers. Can you provide a link about this?

It's more of a running change mold variant between the first and second run versions of the Hasbro Trypticons' towers.

Here's the info from the Trypticon thread:

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913104

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913109

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913120

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913122

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913129

https://www.seibertron.com/energonpub/titans-return-titan-class-trypticon-thread-p1913104.php#p1913130

thanks Sabr

Stuartmaximus wrote:thanks Sabr

Ditto!

I procrastinated on getting Fort Max but I think I will line up all my ducks and get GM in stead.

Unfortunately since Takara have already released Trypticon, the hope for a Gigastorm is all but lost , even though now we're getting a Grand Max repaint(as well as an additional POTP pretender/targetmaster style fig), maybe I can still hope for a Black Zarak(Scorponok) & Guardian Robot(Omega) repaints from Takara, but I'm not setting that in stone

Stuartmaximus wrote:Unfortunately since Takara have already released Trypticon, the hope for a Gigastorm is all but lost

What makes you say this?

Honestly, I'm surprised no-one's made a Gigastorm conversion set yet. Literally all you need is a different horn piece and some stickers.

Kurona wrote:Honestly, I'm surprised no-one's made a Gigastorm conversion set yet. Literally all you need is a different horn piece and some stickers.

I did think of that, but not seen anything yet

Hot Rod has the same amount of hollowness on both versions of the figure, it's just how the mold wears it. You either have a bare patch on the belly or a hollow interior.

Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

That's the one negative I have on the mold. You loose that little extra bit of stability and security transforming the arms with the loss of the pegs.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

That's the one negative I have on the mold. You loose that little extra bit of stability and security transforming the arms with the loss of the pegs.

I don't care so much about the stability, personally - my LG Kup holds together in vehicle mode considerably better than my Tribute Orion Pax does, in fact - but the new shoulders definitely don't look nearly as good as part of the vehicle. Where TR Kup had a clean line from cab to back-end-trailer-bed-thing that hid the hands a little, LG Kup has a bit of a gap right where they join and as a result the hands are also much more visible. (It doesn't help that because of some slight difference in thickness around the wrists, both hands are weirdly angled in vehicle mode and so they don't even line up properly with each other.)

Even so, fantastic toy. Despite being one of the highest prices I've paid recently compared to the amount of toy I got for it, he's probably one of my least-regretted Transformers purchases this year. (Let's be honest, every purchase has a little bit of regret behind it )

Qwan wrote:Let's be honest, every purchase has a little bit of regret behind it

It's because of a voice inside of us called "Adult." It makes us think things like: "why are you buying toys? You could be saving for a house/new car/your retirement/etc." Then you look at your pretty plastic crack again and remember, "How could I NOT have bought this!? Shut up, Adult thoughts!"

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

Agreed. I was this close to buying a legends kup, but then I realized how the arms and shoulders are now completely noticeable in alt mode adding more gap problems.

william-james88 wrote:

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

Agreed. I was this close to buying a legends kup, but then I realized how the arms and shoulders are now completely noticeable in alt mode adding more gap problems.

The heck is that Targetmaster doing, poor guy (gal?) doesn't look comfortable at all

(I'm guessing it's a way to point the guns forward while Kup's in vehicle mode, which admittedly I struggled with myself. Putting Flintlock on the side of the truck actually isn't too bad, but it's also fun to have him/her - I kinda like the Sue Faireborn idea - running along next to Kup instead.)

Seibertron wrote:Just wanted to vent a gripe about LG45 Hot Rod real quick that's been bothering me about him for the past couple of weeks since I got him in hand.

Is anyone else bothered by the massive gaps on the sides of his chest? I'm all for Takara making mold improvements over the Hasbro products, but in this case I feel like Takara really dropped the ball. They basically sacrificed a decent chest design just to accommodate the "engine" flipping gimmick for the Targetmaster. I might have been alright with this had trade-off been a cartoon accurate upper chest/collar piece, but what we ended up with was a half assed piece that isn't even cartoon accurate. I would have preferred them to just leave the piece as is, but remold it to allow a spot to plug in the Targetmaster, or even better yet, just do a flip up piece that exposes the port. The translucent chest was also another odd choice that I don't understand where it came (nor do I care for it) from in a line that strives to be more cartoon accurate. It might have been alright had there been something of substance to fill in the giant gaping hole behind his chest.

I prefer the color scheme on LG45 Hot Rod over Hasbro's red version, but the mold trade-off left much to be desired. There could have been a much better solution instead of what they came up with.

I'm sure they'll nail the PotP version. The inner bot in Hasbro's version is already eerily toon accurate and aside from hand articulation and hollowness, looks better to me than either MP. Only question is which deco Takara uses. I assume it'll be maroon and not magenta for the combination. Like Blurr, PotP Roddy looks like a figure you can only improve with premium paint decos.

Wolfman Jake wrote:

Qwan wrote:Let's be honest, every purchase has a little bit of regret behind it

It's because of a voice inside of us called "Adult." It makes us think things like: "why are you buying toys? You could be saving for a house/new car/your retirement/etc." Then you look at your pretty plastic crack again and remember, "How could I NOT have bought this!? Shut up, Adult thoughts!"

I think about saving for a new car every time I get into my old car, wondering if it will give me a problem starting. If only I could drive Legends Kup or Hot Rod to work!

Pre-ordered Grand and Great off of TFSource, it's the cheapest possible option, I don't care if I have to wait a little longer for them to get them.

I think I can manage, but I'm still lamenting over Takara Tomy dumping so many expensive toys on us in March. On the bright side the estimate for my roof repairs came in under budget and I don't have any plans to replace my car any time soon (just spent $720 on snow tires and rims Monday...) so my budget seems to be still intact so far.

...So far...

Emerje

As much as I wish these two were cheaper, they're so nice I have to get them. Especially if it helps reach the 3000 preorder mark to make Grand Maximus that much better.

Emerje wrote:I think I can manage, but I'm still lamenting over Takara Tomy dumping so many expensive toys on us in March.

It's almost as if Takara's trying to make up for the loss of all the BotCon/Club exclusives of the past, filling that void with their own quota of uber expensive exclusives.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

That's the one negative I have on the mold. You loose that little extra bit of stability and security transforming the arms with the loss of the pegs.

I received my Kup last week and I do admit that the few differences in the mold may make the figure less stable in vehicle mode. That being said, I really love this figure and since I will display him in robot mode, I'm really happy to have picked it up.

I have also preordered Greatshot and for the first time, I'm contemplating preordering a massive (and expensive) figure like Grand Max. I bought both Fortress Max and Metroplex on discount and was quite satisfied with their prices. If I choose to preorder Grand Max, it will cost me a little over 300$ for a Fort Max repaint...And yet, I kind of want him more then I wanted Fort Max There is also the display place to take into consideration. Since I also intend to buy Trypticon over the holidays, Grand Max would be a fourth Titan class figure to fit in somewhere on my shelves/ top of bookcase. It's an expensive time to be a Transformers collector

Is it ever NOT an expensive time to be a Transformers collector, though? We can always find something expensive to buy.

King Kuuga wrote:Is it ever NOT an expensive time to be a Transformers collector, though? We can always find something expensive to buy.

Ain't that the truth!

Ultra Mad wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

grimdragon2001 wrote:Just got my Legends Kup today, along with Legends Wheelie. Kup's robot mode looks awesome, but the vehicle mode does suffer for the retooling in the shoulders.

That's the one negative I have on the mold. You loose that little extra bit of stability and security transforming the arms with the loss of the pegs.

I received my Kup last week and I do admit that the few differences in the mold may make the figure less stable in vehicle mode. That being said, I really love this figure and since I will display him in robot mode, I'm really happy to have picked it up.

I have also preordered Greatshot and for the first time, I'm contemplating preordering a massive (and expensive) figure like Grand Max. I bought both Fortress Max and Metroplex on discount and was quite satisfied with their prices. If I choose to preorder Grand Max, it will cost me a little over 300$ for a Fort Max repaint...And yet, I kind of want him more then I wanted Fort Max There is also the display place to take into consideration. Since I also intend to buy Trypticon over the holidays, Grand Max would be a fourth Titan class figure to fit in somewhere on my shelves/ top of bookcase. It's an expensive time to be a Transformers collector

Thats wy Ibhave regrettably skipped all of the Base figures, size and cost. At least with Devastator and Predaking I can break them down. I will pass on Grandy too, but I am with ya, I actually want him more thsn Fort Max or Metroplex. Not re why, I dont have any attachment to the series or the character. Maybe its ust the exclusivity or sumthin'

Flashwave wrote:

Thats wy Ibhave regrettably skipped all of the Base figures, size and cost. At least with Devastator and Predaking I can break them down. I will pass on Grandy too, but I am with ya, I actually want him more thsn Fort Max or Metroplex. Not re why, I dont have any attachment to the series or the character. Maybe its ust the exclusivity or sumthin'

You might be on to something about the exclusivity of that figure compared to Fortress Max. Although, I think one of the reasons I want it so much is to fill my japanese character shelf I started with Super Ginrai, God Bomber and soon my Minerva (the headmaster on the reprolabeled body of Breakaway). Greatshot and Grand Max would be interesting addition to my display as compared to Fortress Max that I only wanted to complete my G1 toon Autobot cast display.

To prove how badazz he is, Full Tilt orders Dinosaurer to kill two cats!

HOw's that for most evil Destron of the Millenia?

God Magnus Prime by triKlops, on Flickr

Got a payment request from amiami today for kickback and triggerhappy. Can't wait to have another targetmaster to mess around with

steals_your_goats wrote:Got a payment request from amiami today for kickback and triggerhappy. Can't wait to have another targetmaster to mess around with

Mine should be coming from Amazon Japan tomorrow or Saturday

Yep, paid for my Brawn, Kickback, and Triggerhappy, too. Had some other stuff in the order that I forgot about (oops) so shipping ended up being higher than I had planned on and I wasn't paying 4,000 jpy for EMS so I'll have mine in two weeks or so. Looking forward to Brawn, I passed on the Hasbro version because of this.

Emerje

fenrir72 wrote:

Better send Metroplex!


New LEGENDS manga in the designated thread --
takara-legends-manga-thread-p1918572.php#p1918572


Sharkticon, Brawn and Triggerhappy: shipped!

Cyberpath wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

Better send Metroplex!


New LEGENDS manga in the designated thread --
takara-legends-manga-thread-p1918572.php#p1918572


Sharkticon, Brawn and Triggerhappy: shipped!

Too LATE! All he can do next is do some dino whoop assin'!

Seems like Grand Maximus reached its goal of 2000! While I was reading the Takara Tomy Mall newsletter (forgot I already had a tab open for it and got distracted and opened another tab later) the graphic on the site changed from this:



To this:



They've also uploaded the spoken audio from the sound chip. (scroll down a bit)

Now let's see if we get our Prime Master or not.

[edit] Confirmed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TF_pr/status/923841650706628608

Emerje

Comparison photos from @Alfes2010 --

Emerje wrote:Seems like Grand Maximus reached its goal of 2000! While I was reading the Takara Tomy Mall newsletter (forgot I already had a tab open for it and got distracted and opened another tab later) the graphic on the site changed from this:

grandmax.JPG

To this:

request.jpg

They've also uploaded the spoken audio from the sound chip. (scroll down a bit)

Now let's see if we get our Prime Master or not.

[edit] Confirmed on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TF_pr/status/923841650706628608

Emerje

At least we know it's not going to be cancelled. Now we just need the cherry on top of the sundae!

Thanks to a nudge from fellow Seibertronian Cyberpath, we have some in-hand images by Alfes 2010 of recently released Takara Tomy Transformers Legends figures LG-47 Kickback & Clouder, LG-48 Brawn & Repugnus, and LG-49 Targetmaster Triggerhappy! You can check out the images mirrored below, including comparison shots and poses - and once you do, let us know what you think in the Energon Pub.

I ended up canceling LG Triggerhappy, Misfire and Slugslinger. It’s holiday season and after getting the Titans Return ones and standing them together I said “this is fine. These are great I don’t need the Takara ones.”

I have Kup and Hotrod and the Target Masters just arnt the selling point I originally imagined. They’re cool but I’m not attached to target masters. They all look the same and while I grew up with the cartoon and rebirth they’re still just tiny dudes that turn into oversized guns with no personalities to me. They just stand on a shelf while I give Hot Rod and Kup regular guns or no guns at all

Mmmm, Triggerhappy looks way better than he did in the stock photos. Looks like Takara done a good job on him after all

Perfectly content with the Hasbro Targetmaster jets, but I'm glad to see Triggerhappy turned out cool. Might have to see if I can track down their little gun dudes separately at some point.

I share the sentiment about being ok with the Hasbro versions of the Decepticon Targetmasters, they don't have that drastic of a paintjob or molding from their Hasbro counterparts like Kup and Hot Rod did and it's not worth full price for only the Targetmasters which while I think are cool is just a bonus.

For some reason, I really need my Kickback's wings to be clear yellow. I do like how Takara painted his eyes though.