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[Ironhidensh]

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

IMG_4391.JPG

If you can give us a location, like state and city wise, in a PM or a news email (see my sig), we can news this! it's the first North American leader sighting!

****. Looks like I'm headed to all 4 local Meijer stores tomorrow.

[Hellscream9999]

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

IMG_4391.JPG

If you can give us a location, like state and city wise, in a PM or a news email (see my sig), we can news this! it's the first North American leader sighting!

****. Looks like I'm headed to all 4 local Meijer stores tomorrow.

Saw stinger tonight, figured I'd wait a bit since wave 1 is gonna be everywhere, you still liking yours?

[Ironhidensh]

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

IMG_4391.JPG

If you can give us a location, like state and city wise, in a PM or a news email (see my sig), we can news this! it's the first North American leader sighting!

****. Looks like I'm headed to all 4 local Meijer stores tomorrow.

Saw stinger tonight, figured I'd wait a bit since wave 1 is gonna be everywhere, you still liking yours?

I am. Of the 5 Studio figures I have so have, I'm a huge fan.

[Hellscream9999]

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

IMG_4391.JPG

If you can give us a location, like state and city wise, in a PM or a news email (see my sig), we can news this! it's the first North American leader sighting!

****. Looks like I'm headed to all 4 local Meijer stores tomorrow.

Saw stinger tonight, figured I'd wait a bit since wave 1 is gonna be everywhere, you still liking yours?

I am. Of the 5 Studio figures I have so have, I'm a huge fan.

That's enough for me, gonna try to get him to go with 'scream

[william-james88]

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

IMG_4391.JPG

If you can give us a location, like state and city wise, in a PM or a news email (see my sig), we can news this! it's the first North American leader sighting!

Luckily Meijers is only in one small part of the US so it already narrows down the region. I will be newsing this now.

[william-james88]

Good news to those looking for the Transformers Studio Series leaders. Both Blackout and Grimlock have been found at Meijer by fellow Seibertronian EvasionModeBumblebee.

Meijer is a regional US department store (similar to Walmart) and has been a place where several sought after Transformers toys have been found, such as last year's Titans Return Ramhorn. Sightings for these two Studio Series leaders have come from both the states of Michigan and Indiana.

These two were both $49.99 USD, which is the MSRP for movie leader class toys now. Since this is quite a bit of money for many fans, we do have a lot of material for you to check out if you are not sure about the purchase.

You can see a video review for Blackout here and one for Grimlock here.

We also added an image of these two leaders compared to previous movie leaders for you to get a sense of the scale.

Just checked out a nearby Meijers and they had the entire wave 1 (even the leaders) except Optimus. I only picked up Bumblebee, but the others were there!

The picture's kinda crappy, but you can see Grimlock down at the bottom, Blackout's behind him.

[Carnivius_Prime]

Man... 50 US dollars works out about 35 british pounds... but Leaders are often sold for between £50 and £65 here.

I need Grimlock. Blackout is a strong possibility too. But I really can't afford either in UK prices at present. I did get Ratchet and Bumblebee cheaper than expected (2nd hand ex-review ones still as new with packaging) so I'm happy there but that Grimlock...it's almost like a statuesque work of art in Hasbro/Takara standards with that level of sculpt detail and paint.

[Ironhidensh]

So I have today off for the Easter holiday. However, I completely forgot to turn my alarm off. So promptly at 5:30 a.m., I get woken up. I go to the bathroom, take a morning constitutional, then go out to make some coffee. Well s***, we're out of coffee. So I get dressed, hop in the car, and drive to Meijer to get some coffee. While there I remembered to look for something.

[Nathaniel Prime]

50$ for that Leader Grimlock is an excellent bargain IMO! I have yet to see a review on Blackout but he looks great too.

[william-james88]

50$ for that Leader Grimlock is an excellent bargain IMO! I have yet to see a review on Blackout but he looks great too.

I posted a link to a review in this post: https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... ail/40988/

Also, while Blackout does look great, I am not too fond of paying leader prices for a toy thats closer to a voyager sized figure:



That is TLK voyager class megatron, if anyone is wondering.

I really thought I would be rcreating the forest battle scene wth my ROTF Prime and Megatron and HFTD Leader Starscream when this leader Blackout was first rumoured. But instead it looks like we can only recreate it at the voyager class scale.

[ZeroWolf]

Is that a star wars dvd I see hidden behind blackout? Nice find though ironhidesh! Do you have the original blackout to do a comparison with?

[Carnivius_Prime]

I really thought I would be rcreating the forest battle scene wth my ROTF Prime and Megatron and HFTD Leader Starscream when this leader Blackout was first rumoured. But instead it looks like we can only recreate it at the voyager class scale.

But it's your choice of Prime, Megatron and Starscream there that are out of scale compared to Blackout who is meant to fit with the Studio series where he is correctly larger and bulkier than any of those three. To match those Blackout would have to be a chunk bigger than any Leader class figure.

[Hip-Hoptimus Rime]

Should we start a new thread for these Leaders, for comments, issues, etc?

Got my Blackout this morning, and the first thing I noticed is that the side panels that the arms mount to don't tab into their slots very well at all. I messed with the tab and slot, deforming them so they interfere more tightly with each other, and it's a little better.

Also noticed that the alt mode kibble that forms the bottoms of his feet could be removed if you pulled the big metal pin that holds it on. It would still give him good feet, I think, more screen accurate than the way they come. But then you'd have loose chopper panels to deal with.

Lastly, I wish he had that fold-out chest cannon that he tried to roast Epps with. He's still huge and awesome though!

EDIT- he has a lot of really cool molded details!

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Should we start a new thread for these Leaders, for comments, issues, etc?

Got my Blackout this morning, and the first thing I noticed is that the side panels that the arms mount to don't tab into their slots very well at all. I messed with the tab and slot, deforming them so they interfere more tightly with each other, and it's a little better.

Also noticed that the alt mode kibble that forms the bottoms of his feet could be removed if you pulled the big metal pin that holds it on. It would still give him good feet, I think, more screen accurate than the way they come. But then you'd have loose chopper panels to deal with.

Lastly, I wish he had that fold-out chest cannon that he tried to roast Epps with. He's still huge and awesome though!

Nah, they are part of the line, all members of the line stay in the thread. Helps streamline things more.

And I am looking forward to the leader. I am planning to focus on finding them before the deluxes I want, and I'm not getting either voyager

[TFmonkeybiz]

Since we're on the subject of sightings I recently spotted the first wave of deluxes at the entertainer in the Derby Intu center u.k.. I didn't pick any up as I'm not paying £25 for a freaking deluxe .

[Ironhidensh]

So Blackout is an amazing display figure, but not much playability, which is fine with me, but may bother some.

Lets take a look:


Here he is in robot mode glory.





This is by far where he shines brightest. The molding detail on this figure is simply gorgeous. While there is some kibble, mainly in the arms, its kept to a minimum. Hands aren't that great, but easy to look past. The legs really shine as well. He really looks like he just stepped off the screen. I do think he could use a few more paint apps.

Here is robot mode:



This mode does have a glaring issue: the bottom.



As you can see, there are some big, glaring empty places. Granted, the one in the tail will be filled by the little Skorpinok figure (who I left fastened in the packaging) but it is quite hollow. Thankfully, is on the bottom, and no9t easy to see.

Now, some have questioned his size (looking at you, WillyJ ) so lets take a look at some comparassin pics with common figures.





I feel the Helicopter mode is quite large enough, and the the bot mode works for me as well. I think maybe some have an issue because his head sits so low compared to the top of his rotor assembly.


So lets look at the line up. Of figures released so far, I'm only missing Grimlock, and I'm still on the fence on buying him.



By the way, have I mentioned how much I love the packaging on this line?






So, in the end, a little honesty. I wonder if part of the reason I love this figure so much is because we have never actually gotten that large or great of a Blackout figure. This guy has his flaws, but the positives greatly out weight them, in my humble opinion.

[-Kanrabat-]

I'd consider a Blackout, but only on sale.
Grimlock however will be bought on sight, money be damned.

[Hip-Hoptimus Rime]

I'd consider a Blackout, but only on sale.
Grimlock however will be bought on sight, money be damned.

Funny, I'm the exact opposite- just bought Blackout, nothing was going to stop me, but Grimlock will wait for a good sale. Cheers!

Edit: I have yet to see a side-by-side comparison between AoE Leader Grimlock and SS Grimlock. Somebody step up!

[-Kanrabat-]

I'd consider a Blackout, but only on sale.
Grimlock however will be bought on sight, money be damned.

Funny, I'm the exact opposite- just bought Blackout, nothing was going to stop me, but Grimlock will wait for a good sale. Cheers!

Maybe because I'm impressed in how that Grimlock look. He's so different than the AoE voyager and he look artsy and unique. Blackout barely improve on the 2007 voyager. A figure that I already have and he look way too similar. That's why I'm less exited for him.

[Ironhidensh]

Blackout barely improve on the 2007 voyager. A figure that I already have and he look way too similar. That's why I'm less exited for him.

I know different strokes for different folks and all that, but you couldn't be more wrong here. SS Blackout is INCREDIBLY different from the 2097 figure. Some engineering is shared, but that's it. It's a vast improvement.

[-Kanrabat-]

Blackout barely improve on the 2007 voyager. A figure that I already have and he look way too similar. That's why I'm less exited for him.

I know different strokes for different folks and all that, but you couldn't be more wrong here. SS Blackout is INCREDIBLY different from the 2097 figure. Some engineering is shared, but that's it. It's a vast improvement.

Limited space make me way more picky than before about buying figures. ¯\_ツ_/¯

[william-james88]

Fellow Seibertronian Ironhidensh has recently bought Studio Series leader Blackout and has written a review for us accompanied by images. Hopefully this helps those unsure to spend $49.99 on this toy. Enjoy the review:

So Blackout is an amazing display figure, but not much playability, which is fine with me, but may bother some.

Lets take a look:

Here he is in robot mode glory.





This is by far where he shines brightest. The molding detail on this figure is simply gorgeous. While there is some kibble, mainly in the arms, its kept to a minimum. Hands aren't that great, but easy to look past. The legs really shine as well. He really looks like he just stepped off the screen. I do think he could use a few more paint apps.

Here is robot mode:



This mode does have a glaring issue: the bottom.



As you can see, there are some big, glaring empty places. Granted, the one in the tail will be filled by the little Sccrponok figure (who I left fastened in the packaging) but it is quite hollow. Thankfully, it is on the bottom, and not easy to see.

Now, some have questioned his size so lets take a look at some compassion pics with common figures. (editor's note, we thank Ironhidensh for all the comparisons we can get)





I feel the Helicopter mode is large enough, and the the bot mode works for me as well. I think maybe some have an issue because his head sits so low compared to the top of his rotor assembly.


So lets look at the line up. Of figures released so far, I'm only missing Grimlock, and I'm still on the fence on buying him.



By the way, have I mentioned how much I love the packaging on this line?





So, in the end, a little honesty. I wonder if part of the reason I love this figure so much is because we have never actually gotten that large or great of a Blackout figure. This guy has his flaws, but the positives greatly out weight them, in my humble opinion. SS Blackout is INCREDIBLY different from the 2007 figure. Some engineering is shared, but that's it. It's a vast improvement.

[Quantum Surge]

I agree that the height is a bit weird for the leader, but such is my need for a big boy Blackout that it's not very bothersome. And even if we don't agree, then at the very least, I'm sure KBB or whatever company that makes upscaled toys can make a BLackout as tall as Grimlock or even ROTF Optimus. Speaking of Grimmy, even if you don't like the design (keep in mind that the first RID Grimlock wasn't a T-Rex and the second RID Grimlock didn't act like him much), then it may be best to rename him as Cruellock while better appreciating the paint work on him. It's very Marvel Legends Sentinel BAF-esque in terms of capturing the grittiness of the real world patina deco while being a sculpt that is worlds better than the AOE Leader ( )

[william-james88]

The first wave deluxes from the highly anticipated Transformers Studio Series have been found in the UK at the collectables store. Fellow Seibertronian TFmonkeybiz has found Studio Series Ratchet, Crowbar, Bumblebee and Stinger at the Derby Intu center U.K. location of Toy Planet. They are £25 a piece, which is $35 USD (taxes included), a pretty high mark up from the usual deluxe price. This is still cheaper than the prices these toys are currently reaching on e-bay, but not by much. This higher price point is being felt all across the world with this line, in varying increments, and first began with Transformers: The Last Knight Premier Edition toys.

Since we're on the subject of sightings I recently spotted the first wave of deluxes in the Derby Intu center u.k.. I didn't pick any up as I'm not paying £25 for a freaking deluxe .

[-Kanrabat-]

English video review of Blackout: