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Quick impressions:

Studio Series

Core Terrorcon Novakane - Probably get one since I only got one Freezer.
Core 86 Frenzy (red version) - Definite buy.
Core Noah Diaz Exo-Suit - I love it! It's not movie accurate by any means but it looks really cool!
Deluxe Nightbird - Probably get on sale. Like Mirage she's just got way too much kibble.
Voyager 86 Ratchet - Get.
Commander 86 Ultra Magnus, arms can be ripped off, no inner white Prime - Arms aren't the only thing that's a rip off. First Commander I don't intend to pre-order. Bot mode is fine, truck mode looks terrible. Instead of making him in scale and giving him a white Prime mode they made him way oversized just to fit the price point. Only buying this guy at a good discount.

Amazon Exclusives

Movie Decepticon set including Barricade, Starscream, Megatron and Blackout - Don't need, got them all. Why on Earth is Blackout not using the updated Grindor hands? That's just dumb!
Deadeye Dual 2-pack including deluxes Kaskade and Javelin from IDW series - Studio Series Arcee mold! Called it! Will get this.
Voyager Nacelle based on the Siege seeker mold - Dumb choice. I get why it's the Seige mold for this set, but since it means we most definitely wont get a Earthrise mold version later they should have just chosen someone else entirely. Still going to get it to complete the mold, but I won't be happy about it.
Leader Nova Prime from IDW based on the Siege Ultra Magnus mold - Fantastic as expected, will get!

Pulse Exclusives

Pulsecon PowerLinx Hot Shot w/ MiniCon Jolt - Definite get.
Menasor Combiner Gift Pack - Don't need
Shattered glass 2-pack of Sideswipe and voyager Rodimus (Hot Rod mold) - Getting for sure

Emerje

Hey, look! Another Siege Seeker redeco!

Oh, huh, just noticed from looking closer at the pictures that the Menasor pack is of the toy-accurate versions. Definitely gonna be picking that up!

SpaceEagle wrote:Oh, huh, just noticed from looking closer at the pictures that the Menasor pack is of the toy-accurate versions. Definitely gonna be picking that up!

If they could have retooled the chest to be the shape of the original car chest I would have been a little more interested, but they didn't even do the red panels. It's weird that Breakdown was the only one leaked.

I also don't get the box. They promote it as being like the original gift set (apparently it even has tech specs on the back) but didn't use any G1 style graphics. Feels like a wast of a rare window box.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:

SpaceEagle wrote:Oh, huh, just noticed from looking closer at the pictures that the Menasor pack is of the toy-accurate versions. Definitely gonna be picking that up!

If they could have retooled the chest to be the shape of the original car chest but they didn't even do the red panels.

I also don't get the box. They promote it as being like the original gift set (apparently it even has tech specs on the back) but didn't use any G1 style graphics. Feels like a wast of a rare window box.

Emerje

Yeah...guess I'll have to get the upgrade kit to swap out the chest! I guess there wasn't enough in the budget to change too many parts aside from Breakdown's head (afaik...)

And yeah, they just digitally touched up the art to sorta kinda maybe resemble the original lighting if you squint and look at it from far away, but it would've been awesome if they put the same effort they did for the G1 Headmasters releases for this set's box art.

Well damn, it just occurred to me that that Nova Prime can double as SG Nova Prime, since they look identical. Wonder if those wings are removable.

Naked Nova Prime (that mouthplate being silver instead of black is disappointing):




Individual Stunticons from the toy-accurate giftset:

Those Stunticons look great, I know I already said I'd get them but now I really want 'em. I do find it weird that only Breakdown gets a new head, guessing being a retool already helped that.

My thoughts on the reveals:

Core Noah: Wonderful surprise, even if it looks a bit janky, where did that jet mode come from? Will get.

Core Novakane: I will get 3.

Core Frenzy: easy pass.

Deluxe Nightbird: also looks a bit janky, and where are the wings?

Voyager Ratchet: looks decent, but I know the mold isn't good, so easy pass until they make a dead version.

Commander Magnus: they can **** themselves with a rusted iron pole there. No way.

Decepticon 4 pack: neat, but I wish more than Barricade had gotten some nice new paint work. I think I'll pass on this one.

Nacelle: it's nice, but i wish it was a Thrust repaint/retool.

Nova Prime: highlight of the con for me, that is gorgeous. Instant preorder.

Kaskade/Javelin: Javelin looks nice, and is the first live action SS retool into a non-live action figure, so that is really neat. Kaskade is whatever, that mold sucks.

Powerlinx Jolt: I can't believe they got me to buy that figure again, nice job with the minicon. Thrust from the ER seeker mold does not inspire confidence at all.

Menasor: easy pass, still waiting to form the G2 one.

SG Sideswipe/Rodimus: neat pack, even if I am annoyed that it's SS86 Hot Rod and not the commander Rodimus core bot. Sideswipe with his partner is a nice indicator that more minicons may come, and that Armada Wheeljack will come. Very nice.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:My thoughts on the reveals:
...
Commander Magnus: they can **** themselves with a rusted iron pole there. No way....

It's so weird to me how polarizing Magnus is. All of the responses I've seen so far are either very positive or very negative. Most of the complaints are either the Commander class price point, the lack of an inner bot, or both. I was pretty sure we wouldn't get an inner bot, since that was the main design element of Siege and Kingdom Magnus, and those figures are less than five years old. I think SS86 Magnus accomplishes exactly what they set out to do with him, so I'm excited, though I understand why others wanted something different.

I remember when we had the first rumours of Magnus 86 come theiugh and I said he wouldn't have the inner bot because it wasn't in the cartoon. Feels odd to be right for once. I never intended to get him anyway and the reveal doesn't change anything for me. I think the problem they had was that they couldn’t justify the price point at Commander Class but it was way more than Leader Class (and we know what happened to Magnus at that price point). Adding the inner bot (as in accurate as that would have been) might have tipped the scale too far the other way.

Nova Prime, on the other hand, I've wanted an official toy of him ever since reading the IDW run of the pre-All Hail Megatron era. A fantastic design that begged for plastic. This one, while not perfect (would have liked longer, more poseable wings) is a godsend. Its definitely fun to contrast this with battle core prime (which was definitely nova inspired).

AcademyofDrX wrote:

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:My thoughts on the reveals:
...
Commander Magnus: they can **** themselves with a rusted iron pole there. No way....

It's so weird to me how polarizing Magnus is. All of the responses I've seen so far are either very positive or very negative. Most of the complaints are either the Commander class price point, the lack of an inner bot, or both. I was pretty sure we wouldn't get an inner bot, since that was the main design element of Siege and Kingdom Magnus, and those figures are less than five years old. I think SS86 Magnus accomplishes exactly what they set out to do with him, so I'm excited, though I understand why others wanted something different.

You misunderstand, it's not that I wanted this Magnus to be something else Magnus-wise.

I wanted this Magnus to not exist in SS at all. Throw him in Legacy or something.

It looks like they gave it a lot of attention. But we have had so many Magni lately, it feels incredibly redundant.

AND, in the same show where they showed off 3 more RotB toys, the FIRST SS Commander had a much more obvious pick, and he was in the movie to go with it too. But no, we had to go G1 again for the first commander.

I don't want this Magnus here. They just introduced the Commander price point to SS, and utterly wasted it on a redundancy that is committed to the G1 circlejerk that Hasbro cannot get themselves out of.

What does Death think of the coming offerings (besides "where the heck is leader Swoop")?

Terrorcon Novakane: Looks like a repaint of that... other Rise of the Beast figure whose name I can't recall. Pass!
Core 86 Frenzy (Red): Repaint of Core 86 Rumble (Blue). I'll pick one up, just because I have all the other Micromaster cassettes. Good thing he's not hugely expensive!
Core Noah Diaz Exo Suit: I never saw RotB, so I presume this is a character from that film. I have no attachment to the character, and don't see anything that tempts. Looks like a flip-forming G1 Aerialbot throwback. Pass.
SS Deluxe Nightbird: More of the movie-verse figures, which I generally eschew. Pass.
SS Voyager 86 Ratchet. NOOOO! After demonstrating they knew how to NOT use clear plastic with the Ironhide/Prowl "Dead" Pack - they show with this that they've learned nothing! And once again they wimped out and didn't use medical crosses on the shoulder. So it will never be 'accurate'. Most likely a pass.
SS 86 Commander Ultra Magnus: Interesting. I'll have to see more of this before I make any decision. The proportions seem a bit off in robot mode.
Shattered Glass Sideswipe/Rodimus Pack: I don't have any of the SG figures, and I don't see anything in THIS set that makes me want to break that record. Pass!
Powerlinks Hotshot/Jolt: Didn't care for Legacy Hotshot and never bought it. So I'm not planning to get it even bundled with a Jolt minicon. Pass!
Decepticon Four Pack: They're all based on the SS Bayverse figures. I didn't get them when they were separately sold, and even if these have new paint and some altered sculpting, it's still a hard pass.
Kaskade & Javelin 2 Pack: Siege Moonracer returns, and a heavily resculpted SS Bumblebee movie Arcee. Pass.
Nacelle: It's based on the Siege mold, and I divested myself of all those quite a while back. New colors doth not a new figure make! Pass.
Nova Prime: I admit, the wings look pretty boss. But it's still Siege Ultra Magnus with modified sculpting. At leader prices, a repaint/remold becomes harder to justify because of all the space they take up. Pass.
Menasor Five Pack: I've already got Legacy Menasor, and even if they did some tweaking with this set, it would be hard to justify paying full price for the same figures. I'll have to see if they've done anything that makes this set worth selling the original Legacy figures and replacing them with these.

So, in the end? Not seeing much that makes me want to line up and put any of them on pre-order. Most of them are passes, with a couple of tentatives. And you would think, when setting up the photos to show off these figures, that SOMEBODY would have taken a little more care to make sure they don't look.... weird. Even the G1 Megatron figure is laughing at this one....

Magnus looks good to me, it will just make other truck bots look more ridiculous that they were out of scale in truck mode to begin with (Primes/motormaster) and it will replace my Platinum (combiner wars) magnus on my movie toy shelf when the price is right.

Siege Magnus felt a rip off at half price or why it got so many uses when it wasn't good for any of the toys they used it as, is beyond me -yet they use it again for nova. I'm pretty sure i got the official MP delta magnus for the price of £90 and it will be the case of what people call mini MPs being sold at around the same as true MPs whilst not being as good.

*also ouch on prices but they will likely be cheaper on amazon rather than through other retailers though it was teh other way around for the wreckers etc

the deluxe two pack javelin/kascade £55
Nacelle £38
Nova £62

Again disappointment. They make a Noah in the exo suit and

They could have made an in scale figure with four points articulation and packed him with mirage. Instant buy.

Below you will see the official stock images for every new Transformers toy that was shown at SDCC 2023, except for Noah Diaz. Some exclusive will be available for preorder tomorrow while a bulk of the non exclusives will be available later in August.

Studio Series

Core Terrorcon Novakane
Core 86 Frenzy (red version)
Deluxe Nightbird
Voyager 86 Ratchet
Commander 86 Ultra Magnus

Amazon Exclusives

Deadeye Dual 2-pack including deluxes Kaskade and Javelin from IDW series
Voyager Nacelle based on the Siege seeker mold
Leader Nova Prime from IDW based on the Siege Ultra Magnus mold

Pulse Exclusives

Pulsecon PowerLinx Hot Shot w/ MiniCon Jolt
Menasor Combiner Gift Pack
Shattered glass 2-pack of Sideswipe (with mini-con Whisper) and voyager Rodimus (Hot Rod mold)

It's not like Hasbro and Takara haven't already given us four "inner robot included" Ultra Magnus options for us to pick from in the last five years, those being Siege, Netflix, Premium Finish, and Kingdom.

Nova Prime is good. Ultra Magnus is great. The rest's a no because of my shelf space limitations.

I have Siege Ultra Magnus and I still like it... So I guess I'll have to repaint it into Delta Magnus so I can justify getting the new UM... when it goes on sale. I don't think it commands the, ahem, Commander class price. Especially after Hasbro came up with Armada OP & Motormaster recently. If Hasbro can figure out getting an inner bot out of the cab (I know, I know... it's not movie/toon accurate, but I'm looking at it from an engineering/plastic/part count v Price point perspective), then it's worth the full price.

cloudballoon wrote:If Hasbro can figure out getting an inner bot out of the cab (I know, I know... it's not movie/toon accurate, but I'm looking at it from an engineering/plastic/part count v Price point perspective), then it's worth the full price.

or they could have played loose and fast with studio series as they sometimes do, and included a deluxe of the car/robot that came with the original diaclone toy.

Sabrblade wrote:It's not like Hasbro and Takara haven't already given us four "inner robot included" Ultra Magnus options for us to pick from in the last five years, those being Siege, Netflix, Premium Finish, and Kingdom.

Yeah, but all of them had the wrong alt mode, they were something new, not the original. This was their chance to do things right, make a perfect Ultra Magnus that's cartoon accurate in both modes and still have the white Prime mode. Instead they went with a mini version of the Masterpiece, but not even a particularly great one, and made the robot mode oversized for no real reason and yet his alt mode doesn't seem quite right.



Emerje

The Legacy ones are available for preorder on Amazon, and already sold out on Pulse

Emerje wrote:and made the robot mode oversized for no real reason and yet his alt mode doesn't seem quite right.

20230720_133958.jpg

Emerje

Dunno, siege was always vastly undersized and needed the third party add ons to make him proportionate. In that photo the cabs rear wheels look more bent outwards than motormasters hope it doesnt have QC issues right out of the box.

Imho the commander class are figures they can sell for 45 and make profit on like they did with the first three, so I dont expect them to be all singing and dancing for the price. The problem with that is when they sell them for double that to offset losses or maximise profits.

Only one's I'm really looking forward to are Frenzy and Nightbird. Noah is kind of cool but I'm on the fence since I don't see a Human head anywhere.

Magnus, not really feeling it just from those images alone. A definite wait an see, and a maybe.
Already have a sufficient Ratchet but he does look good.

I do like the Stranger Things Crossover Code Red though! The rest are of no interest to me.
I'd like to know the status of the War Dawn 2-pk. And I'm still hoping for a Powerglide reveal!

The more I look at Magnus pics the more inclined I feel to get him. I do agree that making him big just to be big is a bit of a thumbs down for peeps - and while I'm not a scale nut nor a 'toon accuracy fan - I'm guessing they did so because UM was a big pretty big lad in the cartoon (when drawn correctly, or if you wanna reenact the scene where he smashed his Constructicon figures together!).
I also agree it feels a bit weird we're not getting something commander class for the movieverse instead, whether it's something else from RotB (like Stratosphere) or earlier films (maybe something like TLK Onslaught? Coulda chucked in Mohawk with him too to "fit the budget" of commander class.)
But oh well, more G1.
At least this UM will have better articulation than the Siege mold, eh?

Magnus is a complete and utter waste.

Dude has gotten 5 toys of Leader class or larger in the past 10 years, and he has gotten 4 in the past 5 years.

His latest toy was only 2 years ago.

He is completely redundant, and he takes away a slot in a size class that is finally granted to SS.

That slot should have been Stratosphere. He would've released with his movie brothers and sisters too. The timing was perfect.

Ultra Magnus is a toy that should have been pushed 2-3 years out.