Animated Powermaster Optimus

From the looks of it, a third party company will be releasing a custom armor kit for Animated Optimus Prime:

This will likely be based heavily on the design shown in the Allspark Almanac 2:

Being a huge fan of Animated, I was enamored with this design when I first saw it.  If this comes to fruition, I'll definitely be getting one.  In fact, I'd get another Animated Optimus figure to go with the set.

But, it'd be really expensive.

New DotM Spot Reveals Spoiler

A new spot that was apparently just shown today has a huge spoiler in it.
Watch at your own risk.  Also, be wary of comments on Youtube.  You can check it out there.

I think this one might get pulled.  It's a pretty big spoiler, as far as I'm concerned.

I do find it kind of funny that it was even released in the first place.

Revoltech Optimus Prime

Revoltech will be releasing another Optimus Prime figure this September.

While the original, was based on the G1 version of Optimus Prime, this new one is obviously based on the Movie design.

I'm excited for this figure.  I love Revoltechs and I do have the original Optimus figure.

I hope he'll be packed with accessories, but I think there are a few that he must have:
1. His sword
2. At least one blaster
3. The Matrix

I hope this is not the first and only new Revoltech Transformer.

Dark of the Moon: 153 minutes?

Well, in IMAX, anyway.

Apparently, the IMAX release has some extra footage.  Revenge of the Fallen had some extra footage in the IMAX release as well, but it was only a few minutes.

Dark of the Moon is supposed to run about 134 minutes, so in IMAX that's about 20 minutes of extra footage.

I hope it's all added to the Chicago battle.  It's supposed to be huge; I'm pretty excited about it.

HA Leadfoot

When I first saw the new Human Aliance Leadfoot, I was rather disappointed.

The Human Allaince line features characters in a larger size class and includes minifigures of characters from the movies that can interact with the robot.

This first picture of Leadfoot above is not very flattering.  In fact, I think it looks down right horrible.  Teeny-tiny legs supporting a massive upperbody?  And, a huge gut?  It didn't appeal to me at all.

Well, some new pics came out featuring better shots of Leadfoot and suddenly I want this guy.

Okay, he still has all of those things, but this angle makes them look a little better.

Crankcase Debacle Re-up

In the new Dark of the Moon line, one of the Decepticons named Crankcase has been pretty popular lately.

Crankcase has some long middle fingers.  The figures of many have been found to have had there fingers clipped off into short stumps.

There are a couple of theories why.  Safety is one.  His fingers are made of hard plastic, so they would be sharp and could be a danger for kids.

Personally, I like the funnier route.  They've been clipped because Hasbro doesn't want to release a toy that flips the bird at everyone.

While it is possible tho get a Crankcase without clipped fingers, they are probably very rare however, I've never looked for one myself.

Recently (as in, like, today), another variant was found.  These new Crankcases have no clipped fingers but rather the remolded hands found on the Takara version.  Takara is the Japanese distributor of Transformers.

These hands were made without long middle fingers, so there is no need for clipping.

Personally, I want the one with the middle fingers.

Whoops.

I accidentally deleted my Crankcase post.  I'm so stupid.

Anyway, I've got my TFCC Cheetor and a Botcon Stunticon set on the way.

Maybe I could review them when they get here?

Wazzzzzzpinator Wins!!

Waspinator has won a spot in the Transformers Hall of Fame this year.  He was the fans choice entry.

A true champ.

Being a fan of Beast Wars, I think this is pretty cool news.  This marks the second year that a Beast Wars characters was picked by the fans to enter the HoF.  Last years entry was Dinobot.

I like Waspinator.  He's not my favorite Predacon (that happens to be Tarantulas), nor do I own any figures of his (and none of Tarantulas for that matter).  But, he's a very likeable character.  Mostly because he's funny.  In almost every episode of Beast Wars, he is maimed in some way.  He's pretty much the Predacon punching bag.

Waspinator also appears in the sequel series, Beast Machines, which I also enjoy though I've heard most people don't.  

Also, trying not to spoil the shows too much but, comparatively, Waspinator ends up being the luckiest of the Predacons.

Waspinator happens to be in the series "Animated" as well.

This time Waspinator started off as regular, ol' Wasp, a rogue Autobot whom was charged with treason and escaped custody.  He was later mutated into the Waspinator above.  Sadly, he only appears in one episode in this form.  While, he wasn't meant to be comic relief like the BW Waspinator, he does actually get blown to pieces like his counterpart.

Anyway, congratulations to Waspinator on his success.

Why I Don't Like Sentinel Prime, Even Though He's Pretty Cool

The Dark of the Moon line is awesome.   I will say this despite owning only a single figure.  The downgrade in size puts me off a little bit.  My little bro has about half of the figures but, strangely, I'm the one who often plays with them.  Those Mech Tech weapons: I absolutely love those.

The one figure I have is the big Leader Sentinel Prime.  This guy looks so cool.  He's big and imposing.  He's got a double sided buster sword and a big ol' shield.  Parts of his design make me think, "Gundam," especially his shoulders, and his chevron(s?).  He's got a cape thing.  He's red.  He reminds me of Fire Convoy, one of the oldest and mostly undamaged figures that I have.  I could go on and on about why he looks so cool and why I love him.

It also helps that he has a psuedo-Stealth Force mode.

But, that's the thing, he looks really cool.  But, when I had him in hand, I was rather disappointed:

1. He Won't Stand
This reason is more concerned with my figure.  His right foot is very loose, and getting him to stand is a chore.

2. Why Do His Feet Sit Like That?
This reason has to do with pride.  Usually the first thing I do when I get a new figure, as I'm sure is the norm, is that I try to transform it.  I often do not use the instructions, and I figure out the transformations perfectly fine.  I was utterly confused with Sentinel, since his feet rest on top of each other in Vehicle mode.  I wasn't able to figure that out myself.

3. Panels, Panels, Panels
He is panels.  Sentinel Prime is panels.  Pretty much his entire lower half is panels, and transforming him to vehicle mode is a very arduous challenge, since they like to pop apart.

4. Tabs, Tabs All Over His Body
He is held together by a bunch of these little black tabs which I think will get warped and get bent up at some point.  Or they'll break.  I've already deal with that on my Leader Starscream.  That's a story for another time.

5. His Sword Looks Better With Sideswipe

I'm sorry, but he totally rocks that sword.

***

So, Sentinel has officially become a shelf figure, one that I'll seldom play with.  And, that's kinda sad, especially since he's the only Leader figure that I bought at full price.

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone from buying Sentinel.  It's more of a forewarning.

Those Kre-Os

I've always thought that Lego and Transformers were a great mix.  This years Kre-O sets got me very excited when I first heard about them, however I was disappointed when I found out that they were not truly transformable and were big ol' partsformers.

I've seen some awesome Lego Transformers, so it can be done.  Hasbro's attempt with these are very disappointing.  Personally, I find the designs poor and silly.  At least for the robot modes.

I'm leaning towards a complete disregard of these.  However, there are two saving graces for these new sets:

1. The Vehicle Modes Are Rather Nice
Some of them look fantastic.  The rest look okay.  If I were to pick any up, it would be for the vehicle modes.

2. The Minifigs
Actually, they're called Kreons.  That link there takes you to a pic on Seibertron showcasing a bunch of these little guys.  Turning to my experiences with Legos, I foresee that these will be really popular.

Maybe it isn't up to what I wanted, but as long as they're packed with those Kreons, I think that the new Kre-Os can do pretty well this year.

If I do get any at all, it'll be the big Optimus Prime.  I think that one looks the absolute best.

First Post

I like Transformers! Other people like Transformers! This blog is now about Transformers.

Probably other stuff too, but mostly Transformers. Like, what I think about recent news, specific figures, and the like.

With the new movie on the way and news from Botcon coming soon, I think I'll have enought to talk about for a while.