Video Review for Rise of the Beasts Flex Changers Nightbird and 2 in 1 Optimus Blaster

This is going to tickle a few of you out there, remember that Blitzwing toy/charcter from the Bumblebee movie that looked more like Starscream than anything else? Well the voyager sized Nitro Series Energon Igniter Blitzwing toy we got from that line has actually been repainted in G1 Starscream colours and is being released as Starscream in the Rise of the Beasts toyline.
It was found in Mexico, along with Flex Changers Cheetor (one step Cheetor), which is also a new toy we never saw before. This Starscream does have a wavemate and it is a rerelease of the voyager sized Nitro Series Optimus Prime, which sports his Evasion Mode body. These Energon Igniter mold reuses are all part of a Autobots Unite subline which we are assuming is store exclusive, with good odds of that being Walmart.

Hasbro had stated that the voyager class velocitron Hot Rod was not picked up by Walmart which instead was prioritizing exclusives for the Rise of the Beasts film and this could be that exclusive line they are going all in on. Of course, that is yet to be confirmed.

The images of these new Mexican sightings were found here.

I'm digging some of these repaints!

Now that's what I call "going full circle!"

Regardless, I want it.

That Blitzwing and Dropkick were the best toys in the Bumblebee line. Although I was disappointed that the engine for Dropkick didn't spin the rotors even though it was designed to.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:That Blitzwing and Dropkick were the best toys in the Bumblebee line. Although I was disappointed that the engine for Dropkick didn't spin the rotors even though it was designed to.

Same. And yeah, that Blitzwing was good, even more complex than I'd imagine for a gimmicky toy aimed at younger kids.

I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Now that's what I call "going full circle!"

Regardless, I want it.

But for five hundred and fifty-seven dollars? That almost as much as HasLab Unicron!

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

Nothing has appeared in my area/country either. The release date for the line is April 10th, so that's when I'm expecting a full blown release.

I wonder if Starscream will have the face changing gimmick, and will they do a new alternate face? Anything I've gotten thus far have been from an Amazon order I made a couple of months ago, ebay, and Bros with local Targets.

The first images we got for the Transformers Rise of the Beasts voyager class Optimus Primal were unflattering. He seemed barely painted and all monochrome. While that may still be the same opinion you draw after seeing the photos below, they at least show us that there is some colour variation. We also get to see the beast mode which has that prominent arched back like a silver back gorilla. The photos come from Negronicus who posted them on TFW2005. We also have a very quick transformation video to share which was posted on youtube. Let us know what you think!































We also have comparison images to the other gorilla modes from tf fan Jeff who posted them on Facebook.

It's interesting how the smaller Primal figures are using the "Traditional" Primal head while this one is going for a more stylized look.

Hmmmm.... So far, I think that may be the best gorilla mode a Primal ever pulled of. Not only are the proportions perfect, but I find genius that the robot's thighs transform into parts of the gorilla's torso instead of becoming either the arms, or overly thick legs.

This makes me wonder even more what the LEADER SS Primal will be like.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

I agree with the megs render. I also have a theory why Megs was only a full on villain for one movie, the general audience.

In the G1 cartoon, it was fine to focus for megs to shake his fist and run away. Try that for several movies in a row and you're probably going to get a different response. A way around it was to throw in another villain who can get killed with the abandon of someone who you don't need for a sequel. Megs can then shake his fist and run away (as he did for two movies)

As for why he was killed off in the first film, I think it was to make it self-contained if the movie didn't do well. Afterall there wasn't any open plot threads to carry over, and the second one started rewriting what came before it proving there wasn't a plan for the series, just for what ever movie came to hand.

We see the same thing happen in Dark of the Moon where Megs met his second death in what was supposed to be Bays last film for the franchise, closing all plot threads...till Hasbro and Paramount took wheelbarrows full of cash to his house that is.

Really I'm glad that the movies have explored new villains (to different levels of effectiveness) as it shows that there is plenty of characters beside megatron they can draw from, and even more once you look into the other media.

Gotta say, I really love the looks of Primal now that we know there's more to the transformation than twisting its torso around and bending it. It's nice to see it has more in common with Kingdom Primal with the back arch rather than upright with stubby like a giant chimp.

Emerje

That Primal looks bootilicious.

I do like him, and seeing more transformation in play is fun too. I will get him and the SS leader.

I think the mold looks great, but yeah, those colors are really boring. There's no reason his robot bits couldn't have a better color variety.

Looks like I’ll be purchasing the mainline versions of the Maximals, they all look great.

Lore Keeper wrote:I think the mold looks great, but yeah, those colors are really boring. There's no reason his robot bits couldn't have a better color variety.

I will be shocked if Hasbro doesn't at some point repaint this into original BW colors as an exclusive or something. It would be a waste of a great looking mold to be left largely unpainted like this.

Emerje

With the Rise of the Beasts mainline voyagers out, we are getting a better look at them. Below you'll see more images of the voyager Optimus Prime, which is a slightly shorter and more streamlined version of the Bumblebee Optimus Prime design we've previously had in Studio Series. Negronicus posted this quick pictorial review to give you an idea of what's in store with this guy and he posted images on the TFW2005 message boards.
We posted them below along with a size comparison image we have previously seen. If anyone is wondering about the flaps at the edges of the alt mode near the smoke stacks, they are from the real truck, but exaggerated in proportion. We have an image for you to compare the alt mode.

I know alot of people are going to get put off by his size (and lack of paint apps), since his vehicle mode is deluxe size and robot mode is a bigger deluxe. However, i really like the detail and articulation of the mold, and I hope it comes back with better paint apps. Only complaint i have is head is on a swivel instead of ballpoint, other that that articulation is on par with SS BB prime, the waist articulation is a little but limited by the mold.

On that voyager, the gray smokestacks "wings" are in the wrong direction and that Optimus is now a mini dumper truck for reasons.

Hard pass. Even on sale.