More Packaging Art for Transformers Combiner Wars by Marcelo Matere

The art of Armada Megatron looks a lot better than the actual figure. The tiny head just kills it for me. You gotta emphasise those glorious horns!

Huh, the Combiners' sketches contain a few things that are interesting to note:

- Sky Reign aka Lynx King already has Smokescreen instead of Ratchet at this stage. Either Smokescreen is not a "replacement member", or including Ratchet was a TakaraTomy idea.
- Blackjack seems to be missing his shield/axe.
- Mismatched HFG's on both giants, and Menasor has his limbs in a different configuration.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:- Sky Reign aka Lynx King already has Smokescreen instead of Ratchet at this stage. Either Smokescreen is not a "replacement member", or including Ratchet was a TakaraTomy idea.

I thought the latter was a given when we first learned that Fun Pub did Ratchet for BotCon 2016 because Hasbro told them to release Ratchet for that con since Hasbro themselves weren't going to release the Ratchet tooling otherwise.

Sabrblade wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:- Sky Reign aka Lynx King already has Smokescreen instead of Ratchet at this stage. Either Smokescreen is not a "replacement member", or including Ratchet was a TakaraTomy idea.

I thought the latter was a given when we first learned that Fun Pub did Ratchet for BotCon 2016 because Hasbro told them to release Ratchet for that con since Hasbro themselves weren't going to release the Ratchet tooling otherwise.

Doesn't mean they were at least considering it, given it was already built-in.

Oh how it warms my heart to still see line art used to produce finished artwork for modern-day toy packaging. I'd seriously buy a book of this stuff.

We have some more art updates for those of you interested in what type of work goes into toy packaging, and this time we're combining (heh) posts on Facebook from two artists: Marcelo Matere and Ken Christiansen! Now that both have received permission from Hasbro to show the lineart, there's pretty much a steady stream of Transformers Combiner Wars designs coming through on their feeds - and the latest are below.

From Matere, we have Computron, G2 Superion (with an added Cybertron behind him), and the poster that came with Menasor and the Stunticons G2 box set. From Christiansen, on the other hand, we have Technobot leader Scattershot, plus Decepticon Cyclonus and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus). Check them all out!

From Matere, we have Computron, G2 Computron (with an added Cybertron behind him), and the poster that came with Menasor and the Stunticons G2 box set. From Christiansen, on the other hand, we have Technobot leader Scattershot, plus Decepticon Cyclonus and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus). Check them all out!

Quick! Someone alert Tfwiki that G2 Computron would have traded in all of his normal alt modes for jets!

Lore Keeper wrote:

From Matere, we have Computron, G2 Computron (with an added Cybertron behind him), and the poster that came with Menasor and the Stunticons G2 box set. From Christiansen, on the other hand, we have Technobot leader Scattershot, plus Decepticon Cyclonus and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus). Check them all out!

Quick! Someone alert Tfwiki that G2 Computron would have traded in all of his normal alt modes for jets!

Computron. Superion. Who's really keeping track?

Emerje

Va'al wrote:and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus).

And totally not wearing Star Convoy's pointy hat.

Sabrblade wrote:

Va'al wrote:and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus).

And totally not wearing Star Convoy's pointy hat.

And totally not a Monopoly piece.



No, but seriously, why would Hasbro choose that over a Monopoly piece of vanilla Optimus?

Emerje

Something odd about the Superion (cut him some slack, guys) and Menasor art: the Menasor one was indeed used for the poster in regular colors, and it uses Offroad instead of Wildrider, while Superion's was used for the box art and card instead.

Emerje wrote:

Lore Keeper wrote:

From Matere, we have Computron, G2 Computron (with an added Cybertron behind him), and the poster that came with Menasor and the Stunticons G2 box set. From Christiansen, on the other hand, we have Technobot leader Scattershot, plus Decepticon Cyclonus and the CW creation of Battle Core Optimus Prime (who is totally not an inner Magnus). Check them all out!

Quick! Someone alert Tfwiki that G2 Computron would have traded in all of his normal alt modes for jets!

Computron. Superion. Who's really keeping track?

Emerje

All Transformers are cars anyway.

(Edited, thanks!)

Battle core Prime reminds me of Nova Prime more then anyone else really.

While we’re here, is there a way to make Sky Lynx’s head secure in torso mode?

MagicDeath wrote:While we’re here, is there a way to make Sky Lynx’s head secure in torso mode?

You mean the shuttle nose/"beast" head? I don't think so. I just let it swing like the tail of a happy little kitten.

I cant recall if The instructions say to have it up or down however, while its not tabbed/locked into a position, it does stay fairly stable in either position.

Thanks once again to Ken Christiansen's Facebook page, we have a look at some cool line art he did for the SDCC 2015 Combiner Hunters box set of Chromia, Arcee and Windblade. While not responsible for the toys' decos, Ken did get to draw all three fembots for their box art, and the series of images below and on his page shows them off, and also gives us a glimpse at their full body poses that were cropped for the final product, as well as something of the challenge he had in drawing three separate figures as well as making all three drawings look natural as a group.

Back view of the SDCC Combiner Hunters box...the trick to these was that I needed to fit all three into a closeup shot for the front, and still not have them floating, or standing on each other's feet when you pull back to see the full figures.

This is a pretty cool glimpse into what goes into making the art for toy packaging. Let us know what you think below!

very pretty art

That is some gorgeous art. A shame that the attention paid to the body detail was not also paid to giving Optimus/Motormaster's torso mode secure shoulder sockets (bigger tabs or better yet mushroom pegs would make all the difference in the world. That's all it would take.)

Gods I'm hoping the CW limbs get reissued. Also Optimus Prime.

We've been sharing a lot of Generations line and concept art, and we have even more today from artist Marcelo Matere! We're a bit Decepticon-heavy this time around, however, as Marcelo's new images feature Combiner Wars Leader Megatron and Starscream! These are, as stated above, line drawing versions of the packaging art. It's interesting to see pieces like these, to spot differentiation from the actual toys, and to see the full art. We don't get to see these in their full glory typically, as they get cut off by packaging designs. Check out the two works below, and stay tuned for more concept art coming later today!

At long last, the unused headsculpts for Combiner Wars Hoist (Trailbreaker's pretool) and "Ironclad" (Rook's original pretool) have finally been shown to the public thanks to RoboCon's Facebook:



As can be seen from the above image, both heads were part of proposals for more Fun Pub figures, the above ones in particular being SG Autotrooper (the Offroad mold w/ the Hoist head) and SG X-Brawn (the Rook mold with his pretooled alternate head).

The reason I said "Ironclad" as Rook's pretool is, well, there's a bit of a story in that. See, Rook's original head pretool was actually Brawl, with the pretooled head made to resemble Brawl's noggin as, at the time, Hasbro hadn't yet made the separate Brawl mold that we ended up getting, so Rook being used for Brawl was a "just in case" backup plan if Hasbro needed it. They didn't, since Brawl did get his own mold, which left the Brawl-headed Rook pretool unneeded.

Then, when Hasbro was making plans for their Computron giftset, they brought back the Brawl-headed Rook to see use in that set as a new Technobot named "Ironclad", who was gonna replace Afterburner/Afterbreaker since he was gonna instead be made from the Legends class Groove mold (much like how Rook had replaced Groove in Hasbro's Protectobot releases). But then TakaraTomy went and made an Afterburner retooling from their Unite Warriors Deluxe class-sized Groove, so Hasbro quickly got their hands on that and scrapped their plans for both Legends class Afterburner/breaker and new character Ironclad.

Still, the Brawl-headed Rook pretool was not completely forgotten, as Fun Pub used it as the inspiration for the SG X-Brawn character who appeared in the final Shattered Glass-themed Club magazine comic storyline "Another Light". Based on the above image, SG X-Brawn was evidently one of Fun Pub's earlier proposals for BotCon 2016 along with SG Checkpoint (Offroad mold w/ the Trailbreaker head) and the SG Autotroopers also pictured above. But since that con ended up being another Beast Wars-themed con to pay tribute to both that series's 20th anniversary and BotCon's own legacy of having really taken off during the Beast Era, these proposals never came to fruition.


As for the other three proposals seen above, they are Maccadam/Alchemist Prime, Liege Maximo, and Solus Prime, but since those three aren't from Combiner Wars molds, their relevance is nil in this thread.

It's a shame that Hoist head is so heavily photoshopped over, can't even tell if there's really a sculpt underneath there or if it's all digital paint. Hopefully they have the real thing at the con.

Emerje

Just to confirm though...these are only for display, and are not being sold at the convention correct?...I mean I already have 1 CW quest I'll probably never finish, I don't need another.

Definitely display for now. Here's the updated info for the convention:

Pete's Robot Convention 2018, June 9 and 10.

Sweet to finally see them, did they get any information pertaining to original intent before Ironclad?

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:Sweet to finally see them, did they get any information pertaining to original intent before Ironclad?

...Like I said, the head was meant for Brawl to be made out of Rook before Hasbro changed their minds and made him his own mold. These heads were Hasbro-made like Ratchet, Reflector, Counterpunch and Nemesis Prime Toxitron.

As for displaying, I'm not expecting any these to be seen there in person. These proposals will likely just be images seen only on a screen at the Night Shining, Inc. panel, much like how all the old BotCon 2011 and TFSS 7.0 proposals were shown as images-only at last year's RoboCon. The Solus head seen there, for instance, is just Arcee's head with Cybertron Override's horns and helmet crest photoshopped onto it (the final would have been an all new sculpt had it come about).

Hey, quick question:

Who would you all recommend between CW Silverbolt and Onslaught? They both look good, and they form the torsos of my 2 favorite combiners, but I can’t decide which to go for between the two. Onslaught may be the easier of the two to get limbs for with Blast Off getting a release soon, but I’m not sure.

Silverbolt is the torsobot that all other torsobots wish they could be. Simple and super effective transformation that's rock solid. Jet mode isn't particularly great though.

Emerje

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:Hey, quick question:

Who would you all recommend between CW Silverbolt and Onslaught? They both look good, and they form the torsos of my 2 favorite combiners, but I can’t decide which to go for between the two. Onslaught may be the easier of the two to get limbs for with Blast Off getting a release soon, but I’m not sure.

Are you asking who is better between CW Silverbolt or Onslaught or who is better between CW Superion or Bruticus?

Because there are very different answers depending.

Here are some lists to help you:

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... ors/39357/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers ... -g1/39500/

Thanks for the help! I think I’m going with Silverbolt. Man, I can’t believe I didn’t get the Aerialbots when they were at retail!

Speaking of Hypotheticals....Now that I have PotP Inferno, I am going to pair him up with TAV Override. So that leaves my Wreckage Team without a Legends Class Figure.

I know there is a fan-mode to configure the Huffer/Pipes mold to fit in the open slot for the Optimus/Motormaster styled CW Voyager (which Toxitron is...) It's just with that pea-soup green, I'm not sure which would go better. I'm thinking Huffer *(considering Toxitron already has one orange HFG anyway...) But if anyone wants to make a case for Pipes (or Huffer), let me know...

Emerje wrote:Silverbolt is the torsobot that all other torsobots wish they could be. Simple and super effective transformation that's rock solid. Jet mode isn't particularly great though.

I'm a jet guy - and a Concorde guy - and seeing Silverbolt's jet mode really made me check out on him. I totally understand why he is the way he is though, a Concorde/Concorde-inspired transforming alt-mode seems impossible to pull off in toy form! MP Silverbolt would be an insane figure.

EvasionModeBumblebee, I know you pretty much made up your mind, so I'm just reaffirming your decision. Silverbolt is the better torso, probably the best of the line. Personally, I prefer Cyclonus, but only because of the color.

o.supreme, personally I would go with Huffer, only because orange looks good with green and purple. Pipes should go with BCOP.

One quick and BIG warning with Silverbolt: the Superion head is prone to breaking off the hinge if not handled and moved properly. The issue was fixed with later releases of CW Scattershot, including UW Cyclonus, boxset and UW Scattershot, and other redecos and retools released around that time. Any version of Silverbolt is out of luck however

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:One quick and BIG warning with Silverbolt: the Superion head is prone to breaking off the hinge if not handled and moved properly. The issue was fixed with later releases of CW Scattershot, including UW Cyclonus, boxset and UW Scattershot, and other redecos and retools released around that time. Any version of Silverbolt is out of luck however

Whoa, I hadn’t heard of that issue before. Thanks for the heads up!
Edit: pun not intended

Silverbolt has arrived, and he’s really cool! Robot mode looks spot-on, the Superion torso looks awesome, and I actually like the alt-mode. I mean, yeah, it’s a robot doing yoga glued to the bottom of a jet, but it handles it much better than POTP Starscream.

Now unfortunately the only CW deluxe (and up until now only CW figure) I have is Prowl (which is ironic because CW is my favorite line from prime wars), so I’m having to get creative for limbs.


Now only if the Aerialbots didn’t cost an arm and a leg. . .
pun intended

That bee makes a fantastic foot!

Wolfman Jake wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:As for why I think the CW Optimus/Motormaster mold prevents knee bend in gestalt mode unless you have the legs facing tires-side forward? I found out FROM EXPERIENCE that it does so. With the legs facing the intended way, several limbs will bump against the feet and have to be forced past to bend further. The Breakdown mold doesn't have any issues, but the Dead End/Streetwise mold does, especially the Streetwise version. Which makes it feel like the toy was designed more as a standalone Optimus, because you'd think -you'd hope - that if the mold was designed first as a combiner torso they'd have been paying better attention to clearances.

Well, from my experience, I've not had any trouble with bending the knees back 90 degrees on the Optimus/Motormaster mold. How are you getting "clearance issues?" Those wheels behind the legs don't bump into anything at the combination joint, nor on the back of any combiner limb. The robot mode feet of the Voyager torso stick off to the side. That's the intended configuration. Are you putting the feet at the back or front for some reason? That's not the correct configuration. Like I said before, I just earlier today played around with my Menasor after you made your complaints and found none of what you purported to be accurate. Why don't you take some pictures of what you think the problem is?

No, I'm putting the feet on the sides where they belong:

I just have Motormaster's tires facing forward, because when I have them on the back Dead End's doors like to bump on the edge of Motormaster's foot.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:

Wolfman Jake wrote:

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:As for why I think the CW Optimus/Motormaster mold prevents knee bend in gestalt mode unless you have the legs facing tires-side forward? I found out FROM EXPERIENCE that it does so. With the legs facing the intended way, several limbs will bump against the feet and have to be forced past to bend further. The Breakdown mold doesn't have any issues, but the Dead End/Streetwise mold does, especially the Streetwise version. Which makes it feel like the toy was designed more as a standalone Optimus, because you'd think -you'd hope - that if the mold was designed first as a combiner torso they'd have been paying better attention to clearances.

Well, from my experience, I've not had any trouble with bending the knees back 90 degrees on the Optimus/Motormaster mold. How are you getting "clearance issues?" Those wheels behind the legs don't bump into anything at the combination joint, nor on the back of any combiner limb. The robot mode feet of the Voyager torso stick off to the side. That's the intended configuration. Are you putting the feet at the back or front for some reason? That's not the correct configuration. Like I said before, I just earlier today played around with my Menasor after you made your complaints and found none of what you purported to be accurate. Why don't you take some pictures of what you think the problem is?

No, I'm putting the feet on the sides where they belong:

I just have Motormaster's tires facing forward, because when I have them on the back Dead End's doors like to bump on the edge of Motormaster's foot.

Can you turn your Motormaster's legs around the right way again (tires in back) and show me the clearance issue or bumping of the doors against the legs with pictures? I've got my (Unite Warriors) copy in the intended orientation, and I'm NOT getting the problems you're saying you are with the Dead End/Wildrider mold. I can get a 90 bend with no problem whatsoever.

Certainly, Wolfman Jake. Here you go:

Thank you, Zelda. Here is my rebuttal:

https://i.imgur.com/24XDs4i.mp4

Well, I don't have issues with Breakdown snagging either. But I wonder why I have issues with the Dead End/Streetwise mold snagging and you don't.

I don't know what your trouble is either, but it's clearly not a systemic issue with the mold. Maybe something is funky with your copy of Motormaster.

Just tested it on my Optimus Prime and had the same problem. Which makes me wonder if it's a problem tied to the original version of the hip tooling - the feet are on the same sprue as the hips and pelvis after all. Unite Warriors Motormaster uses the retooled version of the hips.

ZeldaTheSwordsman wrote:Just tested it on my Optimus Prime and had the same problem. Which makes me wonder if it's a problem tied to the original version of the hip tooling - the feet are on the same sprue as the hips and pelvis after all. Unite Warriors Motormaster uses the retooled version of the hips.

That's entirely possible. I can't test that, unfortunately, as I only have versions of the mold with the fixed hips, Unite Warriors Motormaster and Convoy, Legends EX Grand Scourge, Combiner Wars Battle Core Optimus Prime, and TFSS Toxitron.

Observation I've been meaning to make for some time but never got round to, don't know if anyone else brought it up.
I think they botched Battle Core Optimus.
They gave him a new headsculpt based off of Star Convoy:


That's all well and good.

The screwup is that they still used the regular Optimus Prime combiner chest panels:



To further the Star Convoy homage, they should have used the Motormaster chest panels:


Like, just look at it! There's a blatant recreation of Star Convoy's chest there!

That looks more like a coincidence than anything intentional. The "windows" are partially blocked and the "lights" are the wrong way. There's no "star" on the chest, the grill is too low, and the entire thing is tiny. The existing Voyager chest windows feel like more of a homage thanks to the way the bottom corners are cut out recreating the shape of Star Convoy's chest windows.

Emerje

Even with all that, the particular shape of those blocked-out windows and the overall look still brings it awfully close in my eyes.

EvasionModeBumblebee wrote:Whoa, I hadn’t heard of that issue before. Thanks for the heads up!

All you have to do to fix this is slice off the small tabs on the arm the head swings up on, especially since they only serve to break the head off
Though that might not be enough, the creamy plastic is particularly poor, but this will go a long way to helping avoid breaking

Battle Core Prime is still my favorite "Generations" Prime I own, I love him

Ok, so I know I'm opening a pretty old thread here, but I finally won an auction for Sky Lynx. The price this figures goes for I'm wondering why. Is this a great figure. I'm just going from pictures and it looks good, but I've purchased figures that look good in pictures but when i got them I was less than impressed. Probably should have asked before I dropped the cash but kinda had to take the opportunity when it arised.

I think it's more the novelty of wanting to own a "Generations" version of Sky Lynx talking rather than the quality of the toy. I don't own him personally, but from what I've read he's pretty decent. The only problems he has are loose joints in the tail and legs.

He does gain points for using the Lynx part in combined mode, plus his use as Liokaiser, and his sword (I like bots with swords). Shame he has no limbs to call his own, he could be a second Magnaboss.