Transformers: The REAL Movie

I can hardly believe that it has actually been a quarter centrury since the best animated movie (in my humble opinion) ever.  Its hard to even believe that the best copy of the movie on DVD (with epic Spike explative) is now five years old!  If you don't have a copy, finish reading the blog then run out and grab your copy... and clear your calender... its all you are going to be watching for the next week. 

Transformers:  The Movie holds a very speical place in my heart.  Actually it is the first fiction that really got me into the fandom.  My cousin Josh had given me his Canadian copy of the DVD with the explative included. 

So here are some facts about the movie that you may or may not have known.

1.  Spike Says Shit for one simple reason.... RATING.  At that time G movies would not be ran at night and they wanted to give TFTM a fighting chance at the box office, so to gain any younger college students or any Saturday night showings they needed to be at least PG.  By having Spike say Ohh Shit what are we gonna do now! they gained the kid friendly PG along with the later show times.

2.  This is Orson Wells last film before he passed.  There has been a rumor that Leonard Nemoy finished the Unicron dialog becuase of Orson Wells passing, however this has been discredited, for Orson Wells even recorded lines for the Unicron Toy that was never made!

3.  Optimus Prime Saved Duke's life...  After the death of Optimus Prime, Hasbro recieved so many angry letters from parents that the G.I.Joe movie that was to be released a little bit later, Duke was spared from dying to avoid this negative reaction.

4.  Unanimated Scenes:  At Botcon 2005 in Texas we got to see some story boads for the movie that made their way to film.  One of which was when Sideswipe, Tracks, and another bot went to attack Devastator on the assuault on Autobot City.  They went out and fired all their missals without the desired effect.  Another unanimated scene shows how Starscream came to power over the Decepticons... He waited in the back gound and allowed all of the other Decepts to fight until they were all too drained to battle him... way to be Screamer!

5.  Edited Scenes.  If you watch the scene where Ultra Magnus is destroyed by the new Decept Command, four swoops shoot at him.  If you watch carefully you can see how the lasers are quick but Magnus seems to scream for a until finally succumming.  In the original script, Magnus is quartered by the sweeps.  They all attached them selves to a limb and went four directions before he was pulled apart.  The scene was shown correctly in the Marvel comic, but eventually made a little more humane for the film verson again for rating.

RID was Rad

I have noticed that there is a lot of hate toward Robots in Disguise in the fan community.  Personally I have a soft spot in my heart for this series.  It was the first full line of Transformers that were available in stores when I started to collect ten years ago now!  Thinking about how its been so long since I have looked at this series I decided to try to post a Pro-RID blog for those who are on the fence, or those who are open minded enough to continue to read the blog.

The first thing that deserves to be mentioned is that RID was the fist show to take us back to a primarily vehicle based Transformer line up as opposed to the Beast Era.  This was the first thing that attracted me to the line.  My cousin had always had Formers, and I was always fascinated by them.  When he got me into the hobby, all that was available in stores was Beast Machines, and honestly they did not appeal.  I did pick up the deluxe Primal, and the Deluxe Jetstorm, but those ended up being nothing more than filler for what was on the way. So reason RID was Rad #1- a return the Prime as a truck.

Hasbro had decided to return to the Prime as a truck model of doing things, and scrapped their idea for the Transtech which would have been a connection from the Beast era to Gen 1, and needed more time in order to completely write the story and get what would be the Unicron Trilogy developed and ready for stores.  To make sure that Formers still had a shelf presence, Hasbro decided to take what was known as Transformers 2000, or Car Robots and release it state side.  They redubbed the show in English and released the show onto Fox Kids.  When it aired, the series was cut a little short because of the events of 9/11 though.  There were a few shows that depicted the destruction of a few buildings and it was felt that they would not be a good PC idea after the tragic destruction of the twin towers. 

The storyline of RID somewhat hearkened back to the original G1 story line in my mind.  However, there was almost no talk of Cybertron, nor any extra-terrestrial action.  This did not detract from the show however, although there are a few episodes that are a bit kiddy, the show was very much action packed, and full of awesome battles.  The first few episodes, the battle was between the Autobots and the Predicons... WHAT?!?! In just a few episodes, Megatron hijacks some protoforms, and injects part of his spark and BAM! The Decepticons were once again born.  Reason RID was Rad 2- Return of the Decepticons.

The story also added a huge group of Autobots.  The good guys started with Optimus Prime, and the Autobot Brothers (Sideburn, Prowl, and X-Brawn) and within the next few episodes the Autobots ranks had skyrocketed.  Not only did it include individual Autobots, the within the first five episodes, RailRacer was introduced, the first time that we had seen a Gestalt in a cartoon stateside since Computron and Abominus in G1.  Reason RID was Rad #3- Gestalts come back to the silver screen.

On that same note, five of the Decepticons took a stroll down memory lane back to the eighties, and early nineties.  The special five that I speak of are of course BRUTI..... ummm RUINATION.  There were a total of six Decepts in all, five of which provided the evil doers with their own gestalt, who was no other than a repaint/reissue of the original Combaticons.  so Reason RID was Rad #4- Scramble City Bots Came Home!

The sixth Decepticon was Scourge, no other than a straight black and white repaint of G2 Laser Rod Optimus Prime.  Let me tell you... for a toy developed in the early nineties, it is an amazing figure.  I know it is a hard one to come by, but if you only get a single figure from this line... I recommend the TRU Scourge.  The black and white paint scheme was simple and beautifully captured on plastic.  Reason RID was RAD #4-  Back in Black, Scourge the Adam of Black Paints.

Also this line brought us a first.  Ultra Magnus... with is OWN mold.  Ulntra Magnus was introduced a kind of the Wolverine bad ass of the team.  He was his own bot.  Also i think that he gave us the only glimpse of Cybertron as he explained why he was doing what he was doing.  This was one of my favorite figures of the line, and actually I got Ultra Magnus before I even got my Optimus Prime!  Reason RID was Rad #5- Ultra Magnus got is Ball Bearings Back.

The major thing that this line brougt back (in a way) was BIG.  I mean that in the most real meaning.  RID brought back the biggest Transformer ever made... and one of my favorites... Fortress Maximus.  Fort Max was actually the figure that got me into Transformers.  When I saw my cousin's Brave Max I was like... Josh.. what is this... this is soo cool.  Then he took off the head.  Dude... you brok.... wait its a robot!  Awesome.  Dude... you pulled off his hea.... wait a third robot... that is a major bad ass sandwich!  I had to have it, but $120 for a Japanese toy and a minimum wage job... it just wasn't in the cards... if only I knew then what I know now.  I had to wait to get my Brave Max until the Korean issue, with upside down Bot symbol.  but I have him.... totally awesome.  Reason RID was Rad #6- Fort Maximus Is in the HOUSE!!!

I hope this gave a little bit of insight on why I really love this cartoon and line of toys.  Hopefully some time soon I will be able to get my collection up on shelves and share it with everyone and I will be sure to include my complete RID line up. 

Dark of the Moon

The last time that I posted  I felt that I was running a bit long, and was overly critical and negative about DOTM.  I decided to put a little good, and then just stop to continue later.  So here we go... what is good about Dark of the Moon... well firstly lots.  Lets dig into the mess that is my brain and decide if I am truely sane.

Firstly I love how the movie gives itself standing in real history.  The moon landing being a front for a secret robot mission was classic.  I loved to once again (since the prequel novel to the firt movie) see the American Government covering up that they know.  Also the "historical footage" was perfecty cast and acted out to make it look genuine.  Additionally using the Chernobyl disaster for a reaction to space bridge tech was again a great play with history, and gave the movie an illusion of realism for the movie.

The turning of Sentinel Prime was anther amazing part of the story that really made me enjoyt the movie.  The trailers were perfect, and never even hinted at the turn so it was a complete surprise.  Sentinel Primes characterization was also really well done.  Sentinel was characterized as a being that was just doing the best that he could for his species.  He also had complete knowledge that what he did was wrong.  I really thought that it showed that Sentinel was honrable doing a dishonorable action for the greater good.  If Sentinel was supposed to be a power hungry mad bot then we would have been stuck with a nothing more than a repeat of Revenge of the Fallen.  Instead we have this leader who is plauged with what he believes to be the correct work of action.  If he were just a repeat fallen Prime then when Optimus offered the Matrix back to Sentinel, then Sentinel would have taken it and ran.  Instead he knew that Sentinel Prime was knowingly in the wrong and did not want to create any more wrongs.  He knew he no longer was the correct weilder of the Matrix.

The movied does have its flaws, I mean what movie doesn't? However all in all it really is a solid move.  I really enjoy everything that they accomplished in the film.  Again I wish that they would have taken out some of the human drama, but I see why they needed to include it in the film for some of the non-Transfans out there.  I also see where some of what i consider "useless" humor came in for this aspect of the movie as well.  Don't get me wrong, I have already seen the movie twice, and plan to see it again.  I really can't get enough.  I just need to get my fan-boy gripes aired out there to some people who see eye to eye with me. 

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

OK.  I know that it has been a while, but I must confess I have been a bit busy as of late.  Not just with Formers stuff.... which i really wish I could do for a full time job, but rather with life in general.  We had family come over from Germany, as well as multiple wedding and other events that have taken a bit of time away from the blog.  Additionally I have started a custom fig, but its still a far way from being ready... I was all into it and then I had to clean up my painting station in order to have people over to my humble abode. 
So now that I have gotten apologies out of the way here we go... its time for the Beyond Cybertron Dark of hte Moon Reveal because you know there was a little movie that came to the fandom while I was away.  Firstly I want to be a courtious host and warn you that I am going to address anything from the movie so if you haven't seen it, turn off your computer and go to the theater, then return to me when you are finished.  I will be giving spoilers, I am not holding back.  You can continue to read without watching but there will be surprises leaked, but I guess you dont care about that now do you?
When I walked into the theater I was a bit excited and giddy.  I couldn't wait to see what was in store for me.  I had enjoyed Revenge of the Fallen, but honestly I was a bit let down.  The first movie was amazing, and more than I could ever ask for so my expectations for the second were highly risen and let down.  This time around I wanted to see a good robo battle and just hoped it was  good movie.  I was incredibly surprised.  Firstly I want to start with my gripes, that way I can end on a good note, and everyone will still like me.  If you think everything was perfect  in DOTM, then please just skip a little down this article and skip to the praises... an amazing ability of digital tech.
Firstly, WAYYYY too much humans.  I went to see Transformers... not Humans guest starring the Transformers.  I understand that they were trying to add some humor into an action flick but most of the humans were not needed.  The Asian man who worked with Sam and had a connection to NASA was nothing but filler and used for a cheap quick gay joke.  That is one thing that just annoyed me.  I wanted to yell.... WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CONNECT SAM WITH THE TRANSFORMERS... YOU ALREADY HAVE.... YOU ARE IN THE THIRD MOVIE... HE IS ALREADY LINKED!!!  Everything done with the Asian man seemed to be used to bring back Simmons into the story line.  With S7 being disbanded he no longer has and easy in and lets face it... we all love Simmons right?  I know alot of people hate him, but I actually dig him, and was happy to see him come back.  But thats the thing, instead of giving us an hour of Sam searching for job after job, and humorous interview after joke interview, you could have just given him his BS desk job, and had the now Rich Simmons come in and have already had him start to decypher what was happening.  Lets face it, nothing was added to the movie by making Sam have a split with the Autobots, and why wasn't he allowed in NEST.  Why didn't he have a job for NEST.  If the sercurty admin was so worried about leaks... she would have kept him under her wing and under wraps... all those exchanges with Sam could have easily been done with Simmons.  Easily as that, now you have more robo action, and less stupid homophobic humor.  It just wasnt needed.

I see I have caught your attention with a Victoria Secret Supermodel.  See how easy that was?  Honstly the only acting she really pulled off was to be herself.  The whole movie I just watched and thought...that should be Megan.  That is Mikaela, not some British chick, everything she did was a slightly twisted Mikaela.  Why did you have to say all that stuff about Bay.  Don't get me wrong, I love you for it... I would have just rathered see you in this film as well.  My Carley vs Mikaela argument is finished here, the scene where Carley walks up to a damaged Megatron and tells him that he is now just Sentinel Primes bitch... you honestly think Megatron would take that from some puny fleshling?  Megatron had no clue who this girl was except maybe from Dylan or Soundwave, but even in those circumstances she was nothing but a hostage, weak and powerless.  He had no reason to take anything from her.  She should have been snapped in half right then and there period.  Now had Mikeala said that, that is a different story.  Here is a girl who has been warring with Megs for the past five years.  She has been a great and honorable combatant.  She has takend down some of his men, and fought vallinatly against the Decepticons.  Megatron is an ex-gladiator, he finds respect from this type of action.  He is honorable, so if this girl would call him a bitch then man, he must have really went down hill.   Just saying.

Also Chicago seemed to be ohhh so long.  I really did enjoy it but a whole lot of it was nothing more than hey guys... we can do this and it would look cool, it wont add to the story but think of how it will look, then we add explosions, and man this is a perfect movie.  Again more and more Bay-footage.  A majority of the human action in Chicago was not needed.  For example, had Hardcore Eddy tried to shoot and while shooting the missal the building fell and they lost it, alright I'm cool with that, but not shooting at all?  Not cool.  Alos why doesnt he use that missal at all?  I understand the whole military support thing, but there was just way to much.  I am here to watch robots, can we please get to them?
One final gripe... the ending.  I feel that they completly destroyed what Prime would have done.  In the novel apparently the Optimus-Megatron exchange ended with Optimus sending Megs and his decepticons to Cybertron... I like that exchange much more.  "What would you be with out me Prime?" "Lets Find Out!" KILL SHOT.  Prime does not act in anger, nor retalliation.  Look at the first movie, Prime stands over a heavily wonunded Megatron... he wouldn't have taken the kill shot but rather he would have taken the prisioner and finally ended the war.  Megs forced his hand.  In DOTM Prime kills in cold blood, completely out of charcter, and how do you explain to a kid why their hero just did something so anti-heroic? 
To top it off Prime then gives Sentinel the Coup De Gra?  Why?  Sentinel even was showing complete remorse.  Completely out of character.  Prime would have let him live, maybe inprisioned, but still alive.  Freedom is the right of all sentint beings.  Do you rememer that?  Not Peace through Tyranny! 

Enough bad, onto the good.  I have to say I was happy to see how the Witwickys were used.  It really showed growth from a 16 year old Sam.  They were not overwhelming, and even though  a source of some humor, not too much.  Also it showed they now trusted the adult Sam.  He told them to go and they didn't even second guess it, they just went.
Another great aspect of the movie was the whole Sentinel Prime angle.  I had no clue the turn was going to happen and even the foreshadowing was so subtle that I didn't realize it happened.  Sentinel really showed the leader he was and even kept his morals while trading the Autobots when he rejected the Matrix.  I really felt that he wanted Prime to keep it because he was no longer worthy.  The whole time he even worked with the Decepts it was just as a means to an end... to save Cybertron. 

The Wreckers and Epps were also a great addition to the movie.  I really have came to like Epps and his role gave a great in to Chicago.  The Wreckers were also just great to see how a movieverse Autobot Seal team would work. 

That is all for this blog, but I will add a second of nothing but good soon so be sure to check back!

Windcharger

 Here he is folks... the great and illusive Windcharger.  The only way that I found to get him was to pick up a case of RTS Basics from Entertainment Earth... only to see a listing for him alone after mine was in the mail... but all things considered I got more figures that I had been passing, and helped my cousin get a hold of him too, so win-win.

 I have to say that I am completely satisfied with Charger.  I would have been angry to not have gotten him.  His scale is perfect for the Reveal the Shield and other classics mold.  Additionally the mold is amazing.  It perfectly captures his look from the original show.  His only weapon is included on the mold, with gun barrels hidden behind his hands. Hasbro really did this figure perfectly, and I can't believe that he is impossible to find anywhere.  It really is a loss that he isn't available for all of the Transfans state side.

Name:  Windcharger
Faction:  Autobots
Accessories:  None
Line:  Reveal the Shield
Price Point:  Basic($8.00-$60.00) (Really not kidding, check Ebay)
Grade:  A++

Transformers Club Exclusives

I was at work today and my phone made that great sound that said that I had an email.  Earlier my cousin told me that our case of Reveal the Shield figs were finally in stock so I hoped to see word that my ordered case of Warpath, Thundercracker, and Wheeljack would soon be on its way as well.  Instead I received news that the Official Transformers Club had opened pre-orders up for this years exclusive toys... lets take a look...

ANIMATED/TRANSTECH CHEETOR:  $52.00

First things first... sticker shock... I was blown away by the price for this figure.  I can remember paying about 40 for my previous deluxes, but that still seems a bit steep.  I really like how this figure looks.  Firstly, they had Derrick Wyatt design the head mold, and if you have read the Allspark Almanac, you know how much detail he puts into his designs (but that is for another post... if you don't have the Allspark Almanac I or II, I highly recommend you pick them up!).   The head mold is completely new, and the paint app looks incredibly detailed.  Also its Animated!  The Blurr mold has barely any use, and its awesome to see it resurrected for a new fig, an even giving us a taste of what Transtech would have been.  The price still has be a bit surprised.  I am really trying to figure out if I can rationalize this to myself, and more importantly to my wife for this investment.

GENERATION 2 RAMJET:  $58.00

Hello sticker shock again! If i remember right the Seacons were like $89.00.  Here we have a deluxe figure for 58 when two years ago I got a G1 Gestalt for twenty bucks more... whats the deal.  Well since Cheetor is 52, then Ramjet should have so much remolds and new molds to make it more worth wild right?  I have yet to see any remolding on this figure... so why the high price tag?  Maybe because the seeker mold is a highly desirable mode, Hasbro wouldn't want to part with it.  Hold it a second, remember the Decepticon Games set with not one but three Seekers... that had a price tag of 400 bucks, and it came with 3 seekers, a Bugbite, and a Voyager mold... something has to be up.  And speaking of molds, Master Collector already had the mold changed for that missal too!  I remember when I got my sets in the mail... hopefully Master collector remembers that the missal launchers are two separate molds this time.  When I received my three Decepticon Games sets I was so happy to receive 2 lefts of each missal launcher, and 4 rights... making it great to call them and try to make it right.  All I see of this mold is a way to milk the fans out of money.  I am once again happy that I missed the Gen 2 Redux line because I don't even have to listen to my completest conscience.  The way I see it this is complete waste of money... and Savage is just tying to dig into your wallet. 

I love that the club is enlarging the universe that I love, but as of late I have been let down.  Last year I missed Punch/Counter Punch because of what i consider bad planning, and this year any enthusiasm I have is kind of just eh.  When Savage saved us from Hallet's going under and offered a free second year of membership for taking a first I was incredibly happy.  However since that time I feel that Master Collector has been very little help.  I have received damaged items from them, and I feel that they are just trying to rip off a captured population.  I look at their club store and very seldom see a great deal or an amazing jump start for a collection.  They were supposed to allow us to preorder and get our figs direct, but it seem as of late they are a dollar more expensive and a month behind. 

 This price reveal has just been another brick in the wall.  To add insult to injury from what I found on TFW2005, the cheapest shipping is set at 15 bucks. so if you just get a deluxe G2 Ramjet your looking at a 73 dollar deluxe (12 dollar) figure.  I have no problem paying a premium price for a premium product, but that price is astronomical.  $125 for 2 deluxes shipped... PLEASE, I paid less for my complete G1 Metroplex!

As of last week I was on the fence whether these two would become part of my collection, and today I decided that I will leave Ramjet for another eager collector.  I am still not sure about Cheetor, but I am definitely leaning toward a NO.  I love that my club membership this year has went to my Sideburn and about 10 minutes of reading material, but I guess that's how the cooking crumbles.

Perceptor

A precursory evaluation presents distinct problematic apprehension.  In English...like everyone else it seems like I have been trying to hunt down a Perceptor.  About a month ago I stumbled across my Scourge and Kup, but Perceptor and Wrek-Gar continued (and continue) to elude me.  Luckily I logged onto Hasbro Toy Shop at the right time and finally got a chance to order this guy.  Then after a nice little wait... he finally arrived to me on a rainy Ohio Saturday.

So the number one question... was he worth the wait and the hassle?  Definitely! Perceptor is an amazing re imagining of our favorite Autobot inventor.  He captures his old look perfectly in his robot mode.  I absolutely love the lack of an expression on his face.  Also as you can see... he can grasp his percetor!  Sorry for the same pose (and bad pictures) but I absolutely love this about him.  The alternate mode looks really amazing, but I couldn't allow myself to take Perceptor out of his amazing robot form. 

Also Hasbro was nice enough to include a flip down chest plate... just like his microscope precursor. 
I have to say that this is again one of my favorite figures for this line.  He is definately worth the wait.  my only grip is that he didn't come with a sniper rifle (Sorry I love All Hail Megatron).  I thought that he was supposed to come with one from earlier images, but I believe that my mind is playing tricks on me.   I may remedy this by picking up another Blurr, and giving Percepts the rifle, maybe Blurr can find his way over the the toybox at James' crib...

Name:  Perceptor
Faction:  Autobots
Accessories:  NONE (What a Gyp!)
Line:  Generations (Reveal the Shield)
Price Point:  Deluxe ($9.00-$12.00)
Grade:  A+

Chris Latta

Most Transfand know that Chris Latta is the voice of our beloved Starscream... and Cobra Commander (WASSSSSSSSSSSSS a MAAAAAAAAANNNNNNN), sorry I digress.  But recently I found that he did standup as well thanks to my Transformers Collector Club Newsletters.  I did a quick YouTube research and wanted to share it with all.  Here is Chris Latta (billed as Chris Collins) for your viewing pleasure. 
I was excited to finally place a face with the voice... and quite surprised... after doing a little research I found that Chris was in most of my favoite shows from yester-year... including one of Al Bundy's bunch in NO MAAM. 
This just makes me a little bit sad to know that I never had a chance to meet him, nor get his John Hancock...
RIP Chris... I know you're cracking up the Man Upstairs.

Collecting Warehouse

OK, so this isn't primarily a Transformers update, but still I felt that it could be a great resource for everybody.  I recently stumbled across a company called Collecting Warehouse.  The are an amazing resource for any collector, no matter what the media.  They have anything you would need as an action figure collector, including ziplock bags for TF accessories, or even bag your loose collection.  Additionally they provide high quality stands, and cases to keep everything dust free.  Also for the loose display they have awesome acrylic risers so that the guys in the back don't get lost! 
I am a Transformers collector, but I have also gotten into some Marvel Universe, Star Wars and G.I. Joe, and they have awesome stands for all the figures that I have amassed over the years, with a nice selection so you can choose your own flavor.  They also carry a full line of Star Cases for MIP Wars and Joe figures (the ONLY way to display your Pimp Daddy Destro!)
The best part is that they are a collectors resource for collectors and are run by collectors, so they treat you like you would like to be treated.  I am lucky enough to have them in my home town for a quick friendly order pickup, but I highly recommend that you head on over to http://www.collectingwarehouse.com/ and check them out!  They will definitely have whatever you need to help organize and display all of your Formers

HEAD ON!!!

Recently there has been an announcement that for the fist time we are going to receive a stateside release of the Japanese Headmasters series.   Personally I am a bit excited, not just because for the first time in my life I can buy a movie called Headmasters off of Amazon and bring it into the house during the daytime, but because I have always wanted a good quality version of this series.  The first time that I got a chance to watch the series was off a set of VHS tapes (anyone remember those magical "video cartridges?") that my cousin let me borrow and of course make my own, more degraded copy.  I then later scored a copy of Headmasters with the rest of the Japanese series on VCD which had a bit better quality, but I am still excited for a stateside NTSC DVD copy.
Headmasters takes place following Season 3 for the Japanese story line.  It completely replaces the story line laid out in the Rebirth series.  The story takes a  completely different route than Rebirth did as well, but I would expect since stateside we had 3 episodes, while Headmasters had a full season.  The season does have some fairly large events that occur... like the complete destruction of C... Seibertron.  Also they tend to let Fort Max build slowly, instead of showing everything all at once.  They also have amazing character development for Sixshot.  He is one of my favorite TF characters, and in Rebirth all I get to see is what a "one man army can do."  That was it, where in Headmasters, he is a main stay player, and a key player at that...
Headmasters does have some slow points, but all things considered it is an amazing storyline, and I am excited about this set.  If for no other reason, I would recommend purchasing it just so we can get Masterforce and Victory stateside.  I would love to have good quality versions of these great series on my TF DVD shelf. 

TF News for End of March

TF CON
I just read on TFW2005 that TF Con is hosting Pat Lee.  I just found it funny that he will be attending since the bankruptcy of DreamWave (that left ooo soo many artists and writers unpaid for their hard work).  The reason that it made me chuckle is that he will be signing and sketching for fans... I am almost tempted to go just so I can have a sketch by Pat, signed by Pat.... that PAT ACTUALLY DID!  It would be nice to have one of the few actually pieces of Pat art... instead of a ghost artist with pat's name on it.


Sentinel Prime
I am also very excited to parrot that Leonard Nimoy is once again gracing a TF film for the first time since voicing ("What he say his name was?) GALVATRON!   Nimoy has however traded in his Decep Cred, and is voicing to role of Sentinel Prime.

Botcon 2011

Botcon 2011: Animated Stunticons

When I heard that the 2011 con was going to be Animated based, I was crushed that I couldn't attend.  I thought that maybe I would try to get an Iacon package so that way I could at least add the figures to my Animated Collection.  I absolutely love the Animated figures.  Ever since I first saw the images, I was hooked.  I spent endless nights defending that green duplo truck's honor, always saying.... hey, Bulkhead looks perfect in both modes... what else would you want.  Animated Stunticons... hell that's two of my favorite things all rolled into one... count me in... and then Botcon touched it. 

I love to attend Botcon, but as of late I have been let down by their decisions.  It has been ran by Master Collector (I know its Fun Publications, but they started with Master Collector/Joe con), and some of my experiences have made me feel that they forgot the collector in their name, but I digress.  The first fig released was Dead End, and that just confirmed my excitement.  My buddy James and I spent an hour tracing out how they would fill out the rest of the ranks... and I really wish I would have took notes, because we were WAYYY wrong.  Dead End made me think that the set was going to be the best since the seekers, and a definite grab. 

 The next figure released was Breakdown.  Again the figure looked great, and I was still on board with the set, I love the HotRod figure from Animated, and I was happy to see the mold reused.  But this reveal was not as exciting for me... I wasn't sure why, but I knew that something had to be up. My stomach was correct for the next reveal...

Drag Strip was tooled from the Animated Arcee mold.  Again, a great mold, and and an amazing figure, but DOES IT FIT?  My simple answer is no.  I am not trying to be sexist here but DragStrip is no chick!  Thanks to riding in my wife's car all I can hear when I see DragStrip is Lady Gaga... Don't be a drag, just be a Queen!  I promise that I will not quote the gaga again, but I felt it fit here. 

The set continued to let me down with the next choice.  Wild Rider found new life in a Lockdown mold.  Again a great mold, but fit for a stunticon, maybe not.  The stunticons were all racing cars with the exception of Motormaster, they were meant to give Decepticons ground superiority.  Lockdown is a badass figure, one of my favorites, but he just isn't sporty enough to fit for a stunticon.

The final nail in the coffin was the reveal for Motormaster.  James and I argued that they should use a Wrekgar mold.  That way Motormaster would have his trailer, as well as be nice and blocky as Motormaster should be.  However, they decided to use the Optimus Prime mold. The head looks like a perfect Motomaster for Animated, but on the stream lined body of Optimus, it looks horrible in my humble opinion.

All of the sets have now been sold, and I have to say that I didn't even throw my hat into the ring.  I am sad to say that I wasn't even disappointed that I didn't get a set this year.  Again., I just feel that the set had great possibilities, but just let me down as the reveals were released.  I am happy that they showed all the figs before I threw my money at it.  Well at least there's always next year... Here's hoping that they give us a set worth attending for.

SHMAX

I was checking out the TF3005 boards the other day and I saw a guys post followed by an interactive link that gave statistics on his collection.  Being the inquisitive me that I am... I followed the link.  It took me to a site called SHMAX.com.  I had never heard of this great resource for a TF collector before and decided to share it here.  SHMAX is an online database for TF collectibles.  They don't just stop at figs, but actually include stuff like the small games and stuff like that.
The best part is that they allow you to create a free membership and begin to catalog your collection.  All you have to do is register and you can browse their database and simply click the add to collection button, and that will add it to your profile.  You can then list the condition that you purchased it in, (MISB, AFA, MIB, Loose) and click any and all instructions, and parts that you have in your collection.  It also allows you to add multiples of a figure, and fill out the info of what you have complete, and additionally it allows you to place your purchase price into the equation. 
They even take it to the next step and allow you to create a wish list based off of the database.  To increase functionality, you can select to be notified about EBay auctions, and just like that you have an amazing watchdog for the TF's you can't get enough of. 
They also create a collection value ability.   Based off of what you have added to you profile, they will calculate a complete collection worth, using data they collect from somewhere.  This is my only small gripe about the site... the worth still has some kinks to work out.  Firstly I am not sure where the data comes from for price.  I think that it comes from eBay auctions, but I am not sure.  Secondly, there are many different formers that do not have any value in the system.  This is definitely apparent when you collection is mostly loose and complete like mine  (I figure they are toys... they deserve to be freed from their plastic prisons don't judge!).  This kind of erks me because I added alot of my collection, and then its like... ohh that's great... I added 49 figures for a total of 5 dollars to the collection!  Hooray!
Outside of the collection worth, I really find this to be an amazing resource.  Not only does it allow you to figure out what is with each figure (not with Transmanual accuracy or detail, but still a good idea) but it also provides an amazing log ability.  It even allows you to download your collection, or wish list to a .xls file for a personal record.  I have made countless data sheets and excel files to log my collection, and I always find myself slacking off.  SHMAX provides a great ability to go back and include my figures based off memory, and they also show a MSRP so if you purchased the figure retail, it will help track the price fluxes in the past few years.  I am incredibly happy that I found this resource... and that's why I wanted to share.  Make sure you check it out!  They even track your collection against all of the other users of SHMAX... so register and try to see how high up the ladder you are. 
Finally I can proudly tell my mom that I am the winner... I am the man who is dying with the most toys! 
http://www.shmax.com/

Jolt

 For the longest time I passed on Jolt.  I really kept walking past his figure on the pegs because I wasn't going to get tied back up in the Revenge of the fallen product.  I had already picked up the figures that I really wanted, as far as I figured I was finished.  That was until I was on a mad hunt for the Animated Arcee figure.  All my wife knew was that I kept freaking out looking for a $10.00 female Autobot named Arcee.  When she came home from the store and presented me with the ROTF Arcee I couldn't help but to be excited.  That "forced" me to go out and search out the rest of the Revenge of the Fallen cast to complete my TF2 shelf.
As shown above, Jolt's alternate mode is a Chevy Volt, Chevrolet's consumer electric car.  He made is first appearance (movie-verse) in Revenge of the Fallen, but can be lost or forgotten quite easily.  In the movie he has no really important lines, and he is rarely in the foreground of the camera shot.  His shining moment is when he zaps Optimus Prime and  Jetfire so they can combine at the final fight.  Other than that he is just another robot on the big screen.

 Jolt's figure really has some room for improvement.  His robot mode is quite blocky like the old G1 bots, which is great for an 80's Transformer, but can't compare to the molds used in Classics/Generations.  I know that the movie designs are really hard to correctly capture and for that part make sure that the toy can correctly transform, but I think that Jolt really missed the bar.  And for me the most important part is the head mold, which really leaves much to be desired.

 Jolt's weaponry is his two electrostatic whips which rotate out from his arms.  In the movie you can see him use the whips to try and scare the US Armed Forces when the Autobots are taken into custody, and in the scent mentioned before where he helps Optimus and Jetfire combine.  As far as a gimmick goes, again it is a bit disappointing of an accessory or action feature.  All things considered, my ROTF Jolt will much like his character in the film, fade into the background.

Name:  Jolt
Faction:  Autobots
Accessories:  None
Line:  Revenge of the Fallen
Price Point:  Deluxe ($9.00-$12.00)
Grade:  D-

Drift

I figured that since I reviewed Blurr, I might as well review Drift as well.   Drift is an IDW character that found his way into plastic in the first wave of Generations in 2010.  I know that when I first heard of a fan project Drift I was interested to see what he would end up looking like, and didn't think that Drift would make it in an official release. 

Drift's alternate mode is a tuner sports car with his graphics down the side complete with Kanji on the doors as he appeared in All Hail Megatron.  In car mode all of the accessories are hidden either by the clips on the bottom of the car for the long sword or the short swords are held in the hip sheaths. 

 As far as his plastic likeness is concerned, Hasbro/Tomy-Takara did a really great job in capturing his look from the books.  Additionally the swords are stored exactly how they were in the comic, and everything translates nicely into robot mode from the vehicle form. 

 The main sword almost is at least 3.4 of the height of drift, and there is enough articulation so that Drift can hold it in both hands, even with the little bit of kibble from his front two fenders.  This is something that I really cant remember seeing in any other Transformer, so i was astonished when I first did it with Drift.

Again, the other two swords fit perfectly into sheaths inside of the door panels.  The sword hilts are hinged so that they can be folded down to complete Drift's transformation.  Again they are a great design that closely follows the swords that Drift had in All Hail Megatron. 
All things considered, Drift is a very stable and articulated figure that can hold just about any pose that you put him into.   He is a great display piece.  However, he really doesn't have the appeal to a G1 enthusiast, especially if you haven't read any of the IDW fiction.  I think that everything that Hasbro tried to tackle on this figure was achieved, however, I wouldn't pick a Drift over my Blurr.  I really think that Blurr should have been the original release, while Drift got credited with the "remold/repaint" but still i feel that Drift is and incredibly stable and strong figure.  Drift fits into any Classics collection perfectly and would be a great addition, but I think that his story line is the real reason that I picked him up before a War for Cyberton Optimus of Bumblebee.  Overall I would highly recommend you to pick him up, but not at the expense of a Blurr.

Name:  Drift
Faction:  Autobots (Former Decepticon)
Accessories:  Large Sword, 2 Smaller Swords
Line:  Generations
Price Point:  Deluxe ($9.00-$12.00)
Grade:  A-

Blurr

When in heard about the chances of getting a new Blurr figure I couldn't wait!  I do not have a Gen 1 Blurr, and have always been a fan of him (WhatAboutMeMagnus?), and instead of getting a G1 reissue it was going to be in classics... I was ecstatic to say the least.  When I found out he was a repaint of Drift... I knew it would be good... I just didn't know how good it would be.  I remember looking at my Drift and thinking how they were going to do it.  I knew that it would be a good choice sharing a tuner car mode would be a great update (or downgrade) from the Cybertroninan sports car he once was.  One question wandered on my mind though... Drift was a hand to hand fighter... his swords were awesome accessories... how are they going to work on Blurr.

They fixed that issue easily by replacing the large sword on Drift's back to an awesome sniper rifle for Blurr. The engineered it to use the same "holster' points as Drifts sword and even added a second handle so Blurr can double hand this powerful beast.  I was still concerned though, why would Blurr have the smaller swords, as cool as they were.  They just don't fit!

 Again, Hasbro/Tomy-Takara came through and replaced the hip swords with two mirror imaged pistols for our fast speaking hero.  They fill the void left by the swords perfectly, and i think they even do a better job considering that the swords were jointed for their own little "transformation."  And still as an added surprise (since Blurr was a repaint, I just filed the instructions and went on my merry way) thanks to my cousin Josh, the pistols serve a second purpose.  As I said before they are mirror images...  If you take the two pistols and attach them barrel down toward the hilt of the sniper rifle they become a bi pod to give Blurr that added stability to make the shot! 

As far as a display piece this figure is amazing.  The head mold perfectly captures Blurr's likeness.  The accessories provide more than enough intersting poses. Additonally this mold is incredibly stable.  Also the joint are perfect for that intimidationg stance, and he can even hold his sniper rifle in both hands.  The only thing that i wish i could change would be to add a little more movement so that the neck could tilt up to set up that perfect crawl shot using the bipod, but its not like my Blurr will ever be caught on my display laying down!

Typically when I hear that Hasbro is doing a repaint, I really start to think about how much I really need to add another repeat mold into my collection.  with Blurr it was a no brainer decision.  I had to have him... he was a great character, and my classics Movie molds would be lonely without their rambling friend.  After releasing him from his bubble prison, he has become one of my favorite classics figures.  If you don't have Blurr, and see him, definitely snatch him up.  

Name:  Blurr
Faction:  Autobots
Accessories:  Large Sniper Rifle, 2 Smaller Pistols
Line:  Generations
Price Point:  Deluxe ($9.00-$12.00)
Grade:  A+

What to Expect from Cybertron and Beyond

So a week without a single blog and now two in an hour... I know crazy huh?  Well I figured that I would tell you what you can expect to read here on Cybertron and Beyond.  Basically I am going to try and give a bit of perspective on anything Transoformers... whether it be toys (old and new) accompanied by pictures taken by me (if they are bad to ok) or my talented beautiful wife (if they are awesome!), maybe a few show reviews from any season any series or movie, comics or whatever.  Also I am always open to requests or ideas from anyone who is reading this... so please let me know what you want to see!

The FIRST BLOG!

So I started this blog about a week ago, and since that point I have been trying to figure out what I should write about my first blog.  Finally, my beautiful wife gave me a great idea... she said "why don't you just write about how you got into Transformers."  Well here it is... on the amazing advice of my wife... how I got into the Bots and Cons!

When I was a small chitlin... I was a part of the dark side... that's right... Each morning I couldn't wait to run downstairs, and watch Gobots on Cartoon Express (God Bless You USA).  While watching the show I would sit attentively in front of the TV and stand up all of my Hotwheels and act like they were the real deal (even thought at that time the real deal was Leader-1 Scooter and the Cykill).  Never thinking that Hasbro would steal my idea twenty years later... I pined for a transforming robot.  I finally got my wish when I was walking through K*Mart with my dad... and since I was a good boy I was rewarded with a Micromaster Erector... on blue light special.   It may have not been an Optimus Prime, nor a Megatron... but hey... like I said this was way better than a Hotwheel standing on its bumper.  Since I was five at the time, it wasn't long before Erector just became a base... then a yard sale later he was gone. 


I am sad to say that the next few years were barely filled with Transformers. I really started to collect Formers due to my cousin getting back into the Formers collection due to Transformers 2000 (Car Robots).   There was a small hobby shop around my house that would sell import figs... and my cousin found the one fig he had pined for and never got... Fortress Maximus.  I received a frantic call from him one day... "Hey... I am coming over to pick you up... I just got the coolest thing ever!"  I walked into his room and there he stood... (Fort) Brave Max!  Josh started to pull out all of the old toys... and with that I got hooked.  He gave me his Canadian copy of Transformers the movie... I watched as Spike said "Shit,"  I found myself watching the film every other day.  He hooked me up with a copy of gen 1 on Real Media and .wmv... and I found myself wanting these robots to be mine... he let me borrow his comics... and within a week I had already read all of his Marvel G1 and G2 books. 

My first official Former was Jetstorm.. I needed to get something vehicle like... in the time of Beast Machines... he looked the coolest to me (deluxe size).  Then I found myself looking for Optimus Primal... since I had no Prime at this time I figured it would be close enough.  These held me off for a couple of months until Robots in Disguise was about to come out.  My first Real Car-Former was the RID Sideburn.  Funny enough I made my first purchase mistake for him... I bought him at a flee market for 20 bucks... the next week I found him and his other brothers at TRU for 10 a piece.  Needless to say Sideburn started my obsession.  I found myself tape recording Robots In Disguise.  I found my paychecks being devoted as much as possible to allow me to keep the collection up to date.  That in a nutshell... well rather large nutshell is how I got into formers.