Transformers Studio Series Dropkick, KSI Sentry and ROTF Starscream Available on Amazon.com

ugh, just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on either of them, they just don't do anything for me, dropkick looks pretty cool, but I've heard all of his hinges are super tight which I think is going to lead to a ton of stress marks considering the plastic looks pretty thin on all of his tiny parts. With siege being here (kinda) and the fact that I just got predaking and have mp bw megs on pre-order, I gotta pick and choose, and dropkick being the wrong color and the sentry drone just being meh, gonna use the money to get the siege deluxes when they show up

On another note, sideswipe and barricade look amazing, cannot wait to get my hands on them

william-james88 wrote:especially with WWII Bumblebee which seems to be the biggest shellformer since Cybertron Thunderblast

Think aoe leader prime would have something to say about that, least thunderblast can't form a boat if you remove her from her shell

Hellscream9999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:especially with WWII Bumblebee which seems to be the biggest shellformer since Cybertron Thunderblast

Think aoe leader prime would have something to say about that, least thunderblast can't form a boat if you remove her from her shell

Of course she can, she contributes nothing to the boat.

william-james88 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:especially with WWII Bumblebee which seems to be the biggest shellformer since Cybertron Thunderblast

Think aoe leader prime would have something to say about that, least thunderblast can't form a boat if you remove her from her shell

Of course she can, she contributes nothing to the boat.

If you're okay with the front of the boat having a hole in it

Got Sentry, should be here Saturday. I've wanted him since his original reveal, I like the Stinger mold and the shade of blue they used looks great, along with the new head. I'm a little iffy on Dropkick too, honestly he doesn't look quite as good as the Studio Shatter that got revealed but I'll make a decision when/if I see him in person. That's what made me grab Shadow Raider though, finally found him at Walmart and despite his head fitting worryingly tight he's great.

Really glad that they fixed the awful prototype style grey plastic on his hips from the last batch of stock photos.

Wait. Where did this WW2 Bumblebee come from? That's not his alt mode in TF5.

Adimus Prime wrote:Wait. Where did this WW2 Bumblebee come from? That's not his alt mode in TF5.

It's based on the World War II scene that was seen in that movie, even though the vehicle mode is inaccurate to that scene.

WW2 Bee have one HELL of a backpack.
I still want it because for once, we get something different.

While Hasbro has been giving us loads of Transformers Studio Series exclusives, Takara has waited until now to give us their first. It is SS-EX 1967 Rusty Bumblebee. It can be ordered now either with a movie ticket (for about $45 USD) or without (for about $35 USD). The listings give us official images of the figure where we can see that the rust is not painted (nor tampoed) but rather digitally printed, similar to the deco on recent Baest Wars MPs and TLK Infernocus.

Here are the listings for those living in Japan (or using a forwarding service) to order this item:

With premier ticket: https://7net.omni7.jp/detail/1400709374

Figure alone: https://7net.omni7.jp/detail/1400709375

Nice but why no rust on the bot mode?
That's a swing and miss for me.

Sadly, WWII Bee looks to be a huge pass.

-Kanrabat- wrote:Nice but why no rust on the bot mode?
That's a swing and miss for me.

But isnt it that way in the film?

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Nice but why no rust on the bot mode?
That's a swing and miss for me.

But isnt it that way in the film?

Dunno. But logic dictate that damage on the vehicle should carry on to the bot mode. For the sake of consistency.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Nice but why no rust on the bot mode?
That's a swing and miss for me.

But isnt it that way in the film?

Dunno. But logic dictate that damage on the vehicle should carry on to the bot mode. For the sake of consistency.

Not unless his robot mode was fine when he scanned a rusty old VW.

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Nice but why no rust on the bot mode?
That's a swing and miss for me.

But isnt it that way in the film?

Dunno. But logic dictate that damage on the vehicle should carry on to the bot mode. For the sake of consistency.

Not unless his robot mode was fine when he scanned a rusty old VW.

Robots in Disguise

Well, sonovabitch...

Adimus Prime wrote:Wait. Where did this WW2 Bumblebee come from? That's not his alt mode in TF5.

It comes from them looking at Josh Nizzi's concept art instead of the movie. At least he's not out yet so it's a good time to tell Hasbro "Wrong, do it again."

william-james88 wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:especially with WWII Bumblebee which seems to be the biggest shellformer since Cybertron Thunderblast

Think aoe leader prime would have something to say about that, least thunderblast can't form a boat if you remove her from her shell

Of course she can, she contributes nothing to the boat.

She contributes part of the prow. But to be fair, the likes of Big Convoy and AoE Leader Prime are just as much shellformers as she is. And unlike the latter, Thunderblast has style and charm to her. She can also pose:

T-Blast go beyond shellforming though. She's basically a PRETENDER. The boat part only need to separate.
And I love her because of that. It's silly, yes, but it's one TF that I'll never get rid of.

AoE Galvatron is a better analogy to T-Blast than Big Convoy and AoE leader Optimus. Him too, his shell is just a huge single block that fold on his back. Only his legs stick out. Still ove him to bits though.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:It comes from them looking at Josh Nizzi's concept art instead of the movie. At least he's not out yet so it's a good time to tell Hasbro "Wrong, do it again."

Did they even transform in the movie? And Hasbro would have no reason to go back and restart from square one.

notirishman wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:It comes from them looking at Josh Nizzi's concept art instead of the movie. At least he's not out yet so it's a good time to tell Hasbro "Wrong, do it again."

Did they even transform in the movie? And Hasbro would have no reason to go back and restart from square one.

Also the COST. A company will never scrap something that is almost at the end of the assembly line for frivolous reasons. Especially if the thing have to be remade from square one.

notirishman wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:It comes from them looking at Josh Nizzi's concept art instead of the movie. At least he's not out yet so it's a good time to tell Hasbro "Wrong, do it again."

Did they even transform in the movie? And Hasbro would have no reason to go back and restart from square one.

Yes, they did. They arrived in vehicle mode then transformed to robot mode and shot up a bunch of Nazis.

I'm waiting to find Dropkick in stores. Studio series has been really consistent with showing up in my stores in a timely fashion and being readily available. Looking forward to Shatter a bit more than Dropkick though

Apparently, Takara's exclusive 1967 Rusty Bumblebee isn't so exclusive to Japan as we thought, since it turns out it's the same Bumblebee as the one that comes in Hasbro's "Bumblebee Then & Now Multipack" that also comes with a slight redeco of TLK Bumblebee. Takara's simply releasing it by itself in a single pack exclusive to 7net.

Found me a bunch of dropkick today at my target, he seems to come at least 4 per case I think, ksi drone was gone, but I'm still up in the air with it.

He's a lot of fun, a clever transformation, a neat vehicle mode, but I still don't think he's the right color, it looks like he's wearing a onesie

He should be thrown at the Bumblebee Movie's director for his okaying Dropkick as a triple-changer. It was a dumb idea with Drift in Age of Extinction and it's a dumb idea with Dropkick. Triple-changing and Earth-mode Bayformers don't mix.

A word of warning though, I wouldn't do the last step to robot mode where it wants you to shift his rotors upwards to sit closer to his back, the connection is so tight I needed a knife and 5 minutes to undo it, and the whole body is painted clear plastic, so I felt really uncomfortable getting rough with it.
It literally changes nothing, so there's no need to worry about it.

Does anyone think we will have toys from the scenes on Cybertron of The Bumblebee movie?
Some of these redesigns are so sick that would be shame if dont get a toy or two from them.

TulioDude wrote:Does anyone think we will have toys from the scenes on Cybertron of The Bumblebee movie?
Some of these redesigns are so sick that would be shame if dont get a toy or two from them.

I'd love to see those designs in plastic form, but probably not because we can't have nice things

To be fair though, the new Siege line is pretty much just that

And now we know what Siege is scaled to

We've got more Transformers Bumblebee tie ins for you to look at now, this time courtesy of the Transformers Studio Series line! It's been confirmed that Studio Series numbers 24 + 25 Target exclusives with a listing now live on their website!

The set consists of a redeco of VW Alt Mode Bumblebee and slight redeco of Bumblebee from his The Last Knight toyline release. Its interesting to note that the VW Beetle Bee is the sane as the recently announced Takara Studio Series exclusive "Rusty" VW Bee.

The double pack is currently retailing for $39.99. The folks over at fellow Transformers fan site TFW2005 have also reported that the codes for this set have been registering in some Targets in store systems as being in stock, so there's a chance you may even be able to find this set in store.



















Also we have some good news for Australian fans as this set has also appeared online at the Kmart website! The set is retailing currently for 45AUS$ and is a great chance for Australian fans to snap up this set.

What do you think about this set? Let us know in the Energon Pub and stay tuned to Seibertron for all the latest news and reviews.

Hm... Something about this bugs me

That rusty VW Bumblebee is the same one that Takara will be releasing individually as the 7net exclusive SS-EX 1967 Rusty Bumblebee.

I feel like these Studio Series packs aren't quite the deal I was hoping they'd be... It looks like both figures here lose paint apps. TLK Bee looks like he doesn't have the silver on his legs or forearms anymore, and BB Bee looks like he's lost the forearms as well and the paint on the toes. Though... He did gain the rust details, so at least there's that?

Sabrblade wrote:That rusty VW Bumblebee is the same one that Takara will be releasing individually as the 7net exclusive SS-EX 1967 Rusty Bumblebee.

ZeroWolf pointed that out

ZeroWolf wrote:Its interesting to note that the VW Beetle Bee is the sane as the recently announced Takara Studio Series exclusive "Rusty" VW Bee.

Sentinel_Primal wrote:I feel like these Studio Series packs aren't quite the deal I was hoping they'd be... It looks like both figures here lose paint apps. TLK Bee looks like he doesn't have the silver on his legs or forearms anymore, and BB Bee looks like he's lost the forearms as well and the paint on the toes. Though... He did gain the rust details, so at least there's that?

Still better than Bandai America's usual paint budget

I mentioned a UK listing for that pack a couple weeks ago by the way in case anyone's interested.

transformers-studio-series-discussion-new-2018-movie-line--t110126s3450.php#p1993505

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Still better than Bandai America's usual paint budget

They have a paint budget?!???

william-james88 wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Still better than Bandai America's usual paint budget

They have a paint budget?!???

Snrk. Yes, it's called the loose change they found under the couch cushions

You know, I had toys that looked just like this as a kid...



...though I'm not sure if it would have counted as a premium deco, definitely authentic.

I wonder if anyone will try and remove the "rust" from this Bee like folks are planning on doing with the "battle damage" on the Siege figures?

Do I need this box set? Hm. Depends on whether or not I have one or both of those figures already.


Oh I have them both. So no. I do not.

carytheone wrote:You know, I had toys that looked just like this as a kid...



...though I'm not sure if it would have counted as a premium deco, definitely authentic.

I wonder if anyone will try and remove the "rust" from this Bee like folks are planning on doing with the "battle damage" on the Siege figures?

Uhh, they could just buy the regular version that doesn't have any rust?... Anyway, I'm still trying to find the regular version of VW Bee, but no luck from either Target or Walmart. I did find the Retro Mix. Vol. 2 set in a ThinkGeek store. But for 70$ and Bee being so small, along with me having little interest in the cassettes, I'm going to pass on it. I will pick up the regular version if I find it, unless I get the Masterpiece.

Nathaniel Prime wrote:I did find the Retro Mix. Vol. 2 set in a ThinkGeek store. But for 70$ and Bee being so small, along with me having little interest in the cassettes, I'm going to pass on it.

eBay best place to get that one cheap from G1 collectors who bought it just for the tapes and want to sell the Bee. That's how I got my boxed brand new 'Goldbug' for £20 when the full set costs £60.

That 2 pack of Bees is REALLY interesting. Espesially because I havent bought any SS deluxes yet.

Tempting really, especially since 18 VW Bumblebee has yet to hit my area, warmed by Crowbars

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:He should be thrown at the Bumblebee Movie's director for his okaying Dropkick as a triple-changer. It was a dumb idea with Drift in Age of Extinction and it's a dumb idea with Dropkick. Triple-changing and Earth-mode Bayformers don't mix.

Agreed! Give them a single alt mode at a time, have them scan a new one when they need it.

That scene in the Bee trailer when Shatter and Dropkick fly in, transform into cars for a moment, then again into bots is cringe-inducing. Takes me right out of the movie.

I'm a bit confused why don't they mix exactly? Surely if they're designed as triple changers from the get go and this movie is acting as a soft reset, then I'm not sure I see a problem?

Hip-Hoptimus Rime wrote:That scene in the Bee trailer when Shatter and Dropkick fly in, transform into cars for a moment, then again into bots is cringe-inducing. Takes me right out of the movie.

Really? I thought it was pretty awesome, if not a little superfluous. Now if they used it as a reason to sell triple changer toys that'd be a different story.

ZeroWolf wrote:I'm a bit confused why don't they mix exactly? Surely if they're designed as triple changers from the get go and this movie is acting as a soft reset, then I'm not sure I see a problem?

Probably because the designs are too detailed and already require complicated engineering to pull off the movie accurate robots with realistic alt-modes. Triple changers in other lines have to make sacrifices as is to all three modes. Pulling off a believable muscle car and helicopter and semi screen accurate movie bot in plastic would be a difficult feat of engineering.

A lot of the movie figures already struggle with just two screen accurate modes.

I'd have no problem with a triple changing deluxe movie bot. The solution is piss-easy. Give the bot a main Earth mode, and a nice bot design. Then make the extra form a "Cybertronian hey-give-us-a-break-we're-playing-it-by-ear" mode.
It could work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-Kanrabat- wrote:I'd have no problem with a triple changing deluxe movie bot. The solution is piss-easy. Give the bot a main Earth mode, and a nice bot design. Then make the extra form a "Cybertronian hey-give-us-a-break-we're-playing-it-by-ear" mode.
It could work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If it's Cybertronian, one thing less to license

carytheone wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I'm a bit confused why don't they mix exactly? Surely if they're designed as triple changers from the get go and this movie is acting as a soft reset, then I'm not sure I see a problem?

Probably because the designs are too detailed and already require complicated engineering to pull off the movie accurate robots with realistic alt-modes. Triple changers in other lines have to make sacrifices as is to all three modes. Pulling off a believable muscle car and helicopter and semi screen accurate movie bot in plastic would be a difficult feat of engineering.

A lot of the movie figures already struggle with just two screen accurate modes.

This.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:I'd have no problem with a triple changing deluxe movie bot. The solution is piss-easy. Give the bot a main Earth mode, and a nice bot design. Then make the extra form a "Cybertronian hey-give-us-a-break-we're-playing-it-by-ear" mode.
It could work. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If it's Cybertronian, one thing less to license

Even being able to convert between an Earth car and a not-trying-to-look-Earthly vehicle mode (beyond just a G1 Tracks-style "car sprouts wings" flight mode, and even then..) would require some complex engineering, possibly reaching ROTF Optimus levels of complexity for the whole figure - and the smaller a toy, the harder that is to do (Plus the Studio series it seems is oft. unwilling to get too complex even on Leader-class figures *glares at DOTM Megatron*). Even if you don't have to worry about keeping the other mode Earthly in appearance, you still have to worry about stashing its parts away. Say the other mode is a helicopter - where do you hide the engine, the main rotor, the tail, and the tail rotor?

carytheone wrote:

Hip-Hoptimus Rime wrote:That scene in the Bee trailer when Shatter and Dropkick fly in, transform into cars for a moment, then again into bots is cringe-inducing. Takes me right out of the movie.

Really? I thought it was pretty awesome, if not a little superfluous. Now if they used it as a reason to sell triple changer toys that'd be a different story.

It's one of my fave bits of the trailers. Certainly prefer it to certain other scenes which make no damn sense...