Tag: Transformers

I found these robots from the Transformers: Rescue Bots series at Big Lots. I had seen them before at Toys R’ Us and Target. I never realized this was a cartoon. I had seen the toys before, but I am surprised this was an actual branch of the animated series. Toys R’ Us was blowing out the huge two foot Optimus Prime robots from this series for $12 in January. That is the largest Optimus Prime I have ever seen. This is another option for kids to enter the Transformers franchise, but I much prefer the Hero Mashers line to this one. The cartoon started in 2012 and I think it is still going. The  Playskool Heroes brand is aimed at young children, so  you won’t likely see any other posts on robots from this line unless they look really cool. The Bots Boulder the Construction-Bot, Heatwave the Fire-Bot, Blades the Flight-Bot, Chase the Police-Bot kind of look like a knock off line robots with better except with better quality and design than most knockoffs. Although I do not care much for this line of robots, it is fun to see different robot lines and interpretations of the Transformers. I would love to see some of the Generation 1 robots in this format. Especially the bad Seekers. Too bad they only made these robots with which I have familiarity. Oh well, this is money I will not spending these robots.

This is Construction(lamest name ever, right?). I found this combiner robot at Danny’s Carwash 6 years ago. Aside from the robot’s name and brand Polyfect Toys, there is almost no English on the package. It’s all in Chinese. But what this really is, is a really cool knock off of the Generation 1 Devastator. Go figure. I had hours of fun playing with these at my desk at work transforming them when I was bored.

 

The only other English on the box besides Construction is the name of each combiner robot, the distributor, and the choking warning. The names are as generic as you can get(Building, Feeding, Picking, Sanitation, Ravage, Disguise). Wonder what genius figured out those names? Anyway, I lost this piece and I found it again at the Dollar Store. Guess they keep pumping out more of these, but I am glad they did.  I see some Spanish on these, so they must be selling it in Spain or Mexico too. Probably China too, seeing as there is Chinese all over it.

This is a fun piece to have and such a great price. I only ever had 2 of the original G1 Constructicons, so it is nice to have them all in this piece. I am wondering why they are still selling the Polyfect Construction after all these years. I am thinking Takara must have sold them rights to use the original molds as they look identical to the original Devastator. The quality is not that great(the plastic is cheap and the paint job is not that good), but now I feel much more comfortable transforming each of these as I did not spend a ton on these robots.

On a recent trek to Toys R’ Us I found a stack of Masterpiece Sunstorms. It was a pleasant surprise and they were fun to look at. I am afraid that the bright yellow color is so ugly, that I will never seriously consider adding this piece to my collection. Maybe if they blow Sunstorm out here on clearance for $30, but I will not be paying $79.99 to add this Toys R’ Us exclusive due to limited funds and space.

I do not have a Masterpiece Seeker in my collection and would love to add one of the other ones like Skywarp, Thundercracker, or Starscream, but Sunstorm is very low on my list. I wish they had chosen another robot for the Masterpiece edition. Say Shockwave or Arcee.  Instead they do a redeco of Takara’s Masterpiece MP-11 Starscream mold, which kinda tells me they are too lazy to make a new mold. They are really milking this one.  The sculpt is the same one they used on the Acid Storm and Thundercracker which were also Toys R Us exclusives as well. It is an amazing sculpt and I do not blame them for re-using it, but it would be nice to get some new original product. Maybe if they used the orange/goldish color in the first cartoon I would actually be interested in this robot.

 

The most amazing Transformers robot to come out in years, just showed up at my local Toys R’ Us(For me, feel free to dispute my claim. I am partial to planes.).  I am a huge fan of the new Generations Jetfire, which puts the “Thrilling” in the Thrilling 30th Anniversary of our favorite robots. The robot looks amazing as a robot and a plane, but the robot form takes the cake.  I have been waiting months for this robot to come out and I have not been disappointed. Jetfire looks pretty darn close to his G1 roots as a robot. Which is great as the original Generation 1 toy looked nothing like the cartoon. It was based on the Takatoku Toys Macross VF-1S Super Valkyrie which I have and love(it is one of my only 1980’s Valkyries), but was disappointed as well. It was not until the Classics Jetfire Transformers Voyager line in 2006 that we actually received a Jetfire robot that remains true to the show.  It only took 20 years. So if you do not want to throw down the dough for the 2006 Jetfire(which is a great piece, this is an awesome alternative).

Jetfire comes with a few accessories a missile launcher, arm cannons, turbo thrusters, and removable battle helmet. My favorite is the helmet. It makes him look a little like the old Macross Valkyrie, but with it off he looks like the G1 robot we have all been waiting for.  The thrusters and arm cannons give him weapons and the thrusters are nice as they remind me of on the ones on my original Jetfire G1 robot. I do not really care for the metallic red on the thrusters and guns, but it is more of a matter of taste as it does not really detract from the robot itself. If you are as excited about Jetfire as I am, you can buy him from Amazon here.

 

 

I haven’t purchased Jetfire, but I am sure I will have one soon.

When I found the Transformers Hero Mashers at Toys R’ Us, I almost picked them up. I find these robots very appealing as they are faithful to the Generation 1 cartoon. This is one of the better Generation 1 renditions of Megatron. The original G1 robot form was so poorly done, I have never wanted to add it to my collection. I wish they had concentrated on the robot form instead of how it looks as a gun. The Optimus Prime Generation 1 robot was always the cream of the crop. Awesome looking robot, looks great as a truck.

I may pick up the Megatron, Starscream,  Optimus Prime and Bumblebee. I find the Megatron and Starscream are the best looking figures in the bunch followed by Bumblebee. I love the Starscream as you can see the smirk on his face or Megatron the sneer of disgust. It brings back so many good memories. The size is perfect for display or just playing around with your kids. The only fault I see is that the robots do not transform. But they are not meant to be transformed. You are supposed to pull them apart and mix up the body parts like Mr. Potato Head. Imagine Megatron Prime or a mashup of Grimlock and Optimus?

The Hero Mashers offer a fun option for G1 collectors who want robots that look more like the original cartoon, than their original G1 counterparts in the 80’s or just a great way to get your kids love the Generation 1 Transformers as much as we did. I am glad they came out with these instead of another reissue.

The Optimus Prime is also pretty sharp too, but they have so many decent versions of him out there. A good Megatron or Starscream figure is much more appealing as it is harder to find cartoon faithful rendition of those figures. I am sure several of these will fill a happy space in my collection.

I found these Platinum Series Optimus Prime & Supreme Starscream at the local Toys R’ Us. Both are repaints of previous releases, which is disappointing. You would think on the 30th Anniversary, they would provide us with some new products. I don’t care much for the gold grill on Optimus Prime, but it is a marvelous piece aside from that. I really do not understand why some robots are re-released in gold versions. They all look terrible.

I went through all my robots and found out I do not yet have a G1 version of Optimus Prime. I am sure they will issue another 2 or 3 in the next 5 years so I can wait. I am tempted to save up and buy the Transformers Optimus Prime 20th Anniversary Figure as I feel it is the best Optimus G1 figure I have ever seen.
Now the Starscream I am thinking about picking it up. It looks great as a robot and the ship it turns into reminds me of the Ark. Looks like this is a shared exclusive with Big Bad Toy Store. They are both nice pieces, but the boxes are so big. I am reluctant to add a piece with such a large box. I am sure if I had the space, I would have them all.

Here is your Robot of the Week! Beachcomber from the Generation 1 Transformers mini vehicles. So if it looks like I am doing a run of G1 mini vehicles, you would be correct. I will probably eventually do a run of Go-Bots from Generation 2 and Machine Robos when I get around to it. So Beachcomber is a pretty cool little robot. Stands good, you don’t have to extend the legs(like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper) which can cause issues down the line if you transform these baby’s long enough. Blue and gray work pretty good colorwise for this little dune buggy. It is a simple design, but simple can take you a long way when you got a nice looking dune buggy and decent looking robot as options. The transformation is simplistic as well, but it’s nice as I have done it about 3 times while writing this little blurb. The dune buggy mode reminds me of a Lego car. The pieces mold tightly together and you would hardly know it was a Transformers robot if not for the Autobot sticker on the hood. It’s a nice Generation 1 robot that really would not cost you much to add to your collection loose.