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Howdy, y'all.
I'm writing to dicuss the differences in some of the Screen Battles (diarama) Transformers and their packaged counterparts.

The first one I got was Longarm (which I promptly head swapped with my packaged one). With the exception of the doors ("Mike's Towing" -- I dare you to call the phone number), rear panel, and Mikaela (Memphis's own Megan Fox) in the driver's seat, there's no noticeable difference. If you're looking for a driving Mikaela, legless (non-transforming) Bumblebee, or simply want to cut Orson out of his towing fee, this box is for you.

The second one (and one I most wanted) was Barricade in the "First Encounter" set. Simply put, this is an excuse for Hasbro to continue distributing movie Barricade which has been super hard to find (off of eBay) since Thanksgiving. While externally there has been no difference (do all original Barricade have the headlights highlighted with silver dots?), I've been having the hardest time trying to "eject" Frenzy. Is Frenzy not present due to the (better-looking) Frenzy diarama figure being in the box? If so, this would mean that a clever-looking slug (molded in black, not silver) is in the place where Frenzy should go. If not, then I clearly don't know how to get him out. (HELP!) I don't like having Sam (*cough*Spike*cough*) and Mikaela in such limited poses (how many fences will Sam have to jump over in his lifetime?), but like the characters included in this scene. In the background, I thought Barricade fought 70s Bumblebee that night (not the new version).

In the Desert Attack box, 3 of the SOCCENT soldiers defend themselves against a slightly dust-covered Scorponok. The "sandy" paint adjustment consists of sand-colored paint rubbings on Scorponok's claws and back. They are insignificant, and his regular paint apps seems to flow uninterrupted. When compared to packaged Wave 1 Scorponok (sitting on the same Wal-Mart shelf), the addition seemed pointless. (Now had they airbrushed the 'sand' over his tampos...) The soliders are well detailed. (I wish their names were used on the box.) I thought the black soldier carried a machine gun in the movie (in a blatant homage to G.I. Joe's Roadblock), but it's been 5 months...

The "Bumblebee gets captured" box also caught my attention (not owning a non-battle-damaged new version), with its Sector 7 troops. Fortunately, I discovered a Bumblebee amongst the non-movie characters, and saved my curious mind a few bucks. If you're interested in the Sector 7 agents, or don't have new Bumblebee or the Evolution of a Hero 2-pack, this box may catch your eye.

Oh... and for the Variant quest, most parts I didn't mention look roughly the same, but the numeraled parts (for Longarm, his back windshield; for Barricade, under the front of the car) have numbers with an "A" behind them. If the movie figures are individually numbered, this may set the diarama versions apart.

I close this article with one BIG question. How do I get Frenzy out of Barricade's front end without a screwdriver?!?

-- Cybertronian.

Last night, I found the answer to my Barricade problem.
Apparently, with the Frenzy figurine packaged in the "First Encounter" Screen Battles set, Hasbro felt it was redundant to have two of the same character in the box. To resolve its problem, a small piece of plastic is placed between the legs and torso of (Barricade) Frenzy's "engine block" mode. The flared pieces of this piece, which I'm designating the "restrictor plate", keep you from sliding Frenzy in and out of the car the way you would with the individually packaged versions. Another difference is that the entire mini-figure is molded in black, with even the eyes left unpainted.

1. To remove the restrictor plate and "play" with Barricade and Frenzy like you would the Wave 1 version, Take a #0 Phillips Screwdriver and carefully remove all 4 screws underneath the front of the car.

2. Carefully pry the hood from the undercarriage until you can use something (a free finger, the butt end of a spoon, etc.) to slide the wing of the restrictor plate from underneath the columns that the screws go into. (Note: The arms/fenders may need to be away from the hood in order to attempt this step.) Repeat the same technique to free the wing on the opposite side.
3. Transform Frenzy (or "Rumble", if you prefer) into robot mode and remove the "restrictor plate". To see how well the feature works without the plate, convert him back into an engine block.
4. Reconnect the top half of the hood to the bottom, then rescrew in all 4 screws.
5. To see how differently Frenzy works without the restrictor plate, slide down the ram bar then insert engine block/Frenzy back into car. Raise ram bar.
6. Lower ram bar (as you would with original or Recon Barricade). Frenzy engine block slides out enough for you to complete ejection process with your bare hands.
FINISH - Now both Barricade and (black) Frenzy are ready to battle the heroic Autobots!

You know what, I think I may want to get the First Encounter set now, knowing there is a black Frenzy in there.

I wondered about this myself. Good to know Frenzy is in there, just temporarily inaccessible.

Yet another reason to pass on that set!

I have the Walmart First Encounter set with Barricade and an actual BB that came out when the movie was released.

Outside of the LongArm set, the Scene Battles, although nice, are a pass for me.

Hasbro leaving parts out for the sake of not being redundant is a lazy screw to the fans of the toys.

These battle scenes are kinda, sorta, maybe cool... but not at the price of a voyager class bot.

I bought them all.



I had to have the little people figures.



Happily, Bumblebee is more movie accurate.

Counterpunch wrote:
I had to have the little people figures.

I almost bought them for the same reason

I picked them up, turned to head toward the register and then some mysterious voice said "WTF are you doing". So I put them back.

Liege Evilmus wrote:I have the Wal-Mart First Encounter set with Barricade and an actual BB that came out when the movie was released.

I found the night I wrote this "how-to" about the '70s Bumblebee/Barricade 1.0 2-pack having the same name (First Encounter). This will confuse a lot of people interested in finding either.

Liege Evilmus wrote:Hasbro leaving parts out for the sake of not being redundant is a lazy screw to the fans of the toys.

It's not so much what they left out; it's what they put in. (If I had a digital camera, I could show you the extra piece and how it fit inside both Frenzy and Barricade.) If you have a #0 Phillips (and want to perform the operation), you get a unique extra. If you were one of the collectors who disliked Barricade 1.0's Frenzy due to his lack of screen-accuracy, you now have a solution.
Since I'd like to customize something and have one-to-many bottles of paint lying around, I can't complain. If I snag a silver (or blue) Frenzy, this guy becomes my "Rumble".
In the meantime, I get to hear my best friend ask Sam (*cough*Spike*cough*) if he's "ladiesman217".

So right now, there are four (possibly five) official repaints of the Frenzy 'powermaster' fig (heh, he's an engine)

-Grey with red eyes. (Deluxe Barricade)
-Blue with unpainted eyes and darker blue chest (Recon Barricade)
-Red, no word on painted details yet (AllSpark Power Barricade)
-Black, unpainted (Screen Battles Barricade, not supposed to be removable)

Possible fifth:
-Shiny silver/grey with blue eyes (Premium Barricade)

And that's just for one itty bitty figure.
Good luck, completists

5!? I only knew about 3.
What's this Allspark Power Barricade you speak of?
I've heard of several characters getting a "premium" upgrade (such as a "Goldbug"-like Bumblebee), but never knew one was planned for Barricade.
(I heard of a rumor about a "Patrol Barricade", where he's dressed up as a Sheriff's patrol car.)

Cybertronian wrote:5!? I only knew about 3.
What's this Allspark Power Barricade you speak of?
I've heard of several characters getting a "premium" upgrade (such as a "Goldbug"-like Bumblebee), but never knew one was planned for Barricade.
(I heard of a rumor about a "Patrol Barricade", where he's dressed up as a Sheriff's patrol car.)

Deluxe Barricade is the original black/white version with the grey Frenzy.

The Patrol Barricade you heard of is called Recon Barricade. He's a silver/blue repaint decoed as a security vehicle. His Frenzy is blue.

The third is the Screen Battle Barricade discussed here, with the mini humans included.

The AllSpark Power (or something similar) Barricade is one of an exclusive wave of Movie Deluxe 'repaints'. I think Target carries them. There's also Concept Bumblebee, Jazz and Brawl. They're basically the same as the originals except for some weird added patches of AllSpark Blue, similar to those found on the other AllSpark figures like Cliffjumper and Incinerator. Barricade is interesting though, because pictures showed a seemingly red Frenzy inside, presumably a deliberate follow-up to the blue Recon Frenzy. That's one for the FIRRIB fans.

Yes, there's a Premium Barricade coming up, sporting a shinier paint job and some decals which were in the movie but weren't present on the original Deluxe. Considering the fact that itty mini Scorponok got a nifty movie-accurate paintjob for Blackout's Premium release, it seems logical mini Frenzy gets a shinier paint job with accurate blue eyes and perhaps some slight golden detail.

Counterpunch wrote:I bought them all.

I had to have the little people figures.

Happily, Bumblebee is more movie accurate.

Please tell me, is there any minor difference between "captured" Bumblebee and packaged (2009) Bumblebee?

Most of the black plastic of Deluxe 09 BB is a gunmetal grey on the Capture 09 BB

Many thanks for the tips, guys! I've now safely and successfully removed my black Frenzy!

One question - apart from the aforementioned Frenzy / restrictor plate issues, are there any differences between ordinary Barricade and Battle Scene Barricade?

Oh, and for those of you bitching about the prices: here in the UK the Battle Scenes are £19.97 each - that's the equivalent of 40 USD!