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Review and Identification Guide for Knock Off BotCon Mirage

Transformers News: Review and Identification Guide for Knock Off BotCon Mirage
Date: Sunday, November 14th 2010 2:03pm CST
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Knock Offs
Posted by: Razorclaw0000 | Credit(s): G1Sizzle

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Views: 109,237

Seibertron.com member G1Sizzle, author of the comparison guide between Henkei Thundercracker and the Knock Off version, has posted a review of the Knock Off of Botcon Clear Blue Mirage. G1Sizzle did not have a BotCon version available for comparison, but still made a thorough review based on Classics Mirage, noting all the obvious mold changes. You can view our full gallery of BotCon Mirage here.

G1Sizzle wrote:And here is a look at KO Botcon Mirage. I don't have an actual Botcon Mirage to compare him to, but I do have Classics Mirage, Fracture and Drag Strip. All of these molds appear to be alike, so I will be pointing out where KO BC Mirage differs from these molds. This will again be one half review, and one half tutorial.

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Here he is next to Classics Mirage. As you can see, the reproduction is 1:1. He's reproduced part-for-part. There don't appear to be any shortcuts taken in this KO. All parts are clear blue plastic with the following exceptions: the ball joint that the head is on, the biceps, the two inner parts of the torso, and the part that connects the thigh and the calf.

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I should apologize right off the bat for these pictures not being clearer. My camera is a simple digital camera and isn't made for high quality photos. This is the first difference I noticed between the KO and all the other Mirage molds I own. In the solid piece between the thigh and calf, there are markings. On the KO, there are 2 straight horizontal lines. On the other Mirage molds, there are 3 slanted lines.

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Also on the legs, on the upper part of the thigh, there are air intake vents right where the exhaust pipes fold up in bot mode. The KO has 3 vents. The original mold has 4.

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I'm not certain if this next difference is also present on the real Botcon Mirage, so maybe somebody who has it can let us know. If you look on the KO BC Mirage's shin, there is a lot of detailing that is not present on Classics Mirage, Drag Strip or Fracture. Also, the dead giveaway is the rubsign. KO BC Mirage has no rubsign.

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There is a seam on the outside of the forearm of each Mirage-mold figure. On Mirage, Fracture and Drag Strip, this seem perfectly bisects a detail, making it essentially look like teeth. The legit molds have the seam running straight down the middle. The KO does not. It's rather widely off center.

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Here's one that's really easy to spot. The screws on KO BC Mirage are smaller than the screws in any of its mold-mates. The holes are obviously meant for larger screws, but smaller ones are used.

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Oopsie! Don't worry too much, though. This is not actually broken. It's just a place in the torso that can be detached. All the other versions of this mold have this too. The reason I point it out is that the one on the KO slides out really easily. It showed up in my mailbox split in two, and it also fell out while I was fiddling with it. The legit figures have never done this for me.

This picture also showcases one of the dealbreakers for this figure, in my eyes. The KO BC Mirage I received cannot hold his gun. The peg on the crossbow is simply larger than the one in his fists. I couldn't get it to peg in on either fist. So when KO BC Mirage transforms, he's going to be weaponless, sadly.

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And here they all are together. As you can see, KO BC Mirage does fit in to the classics collection, as long as you don't look closely.

QUALITY: Sadly, Mirage does not live up to the high quality of the Henkei seekers. He's floppy for one thing. His joints are not tight at all. The plastic quality also doesn't feel up to snuff. I realize this is clear plastic, but the Henkei Ghost Starscream KO felt a LOT sturdier than this guy. The looseness of the figure hinders his ability to achieve all the great poses the original Mirage could achieve. Additionally, as I mentioned, he tends to come apart at the waist, and he cannot hold his weapon.

PACKAGING: There is none. No bag, no card. Er go, one of the simplest ways to ensure you are getting a REAL Botcon Mirage is to purchase one bagged. So far, anyway.

One more thing: I don't know if this is true for all of them, but there was a flaw on my KO BC Mirage's face that stemmed from it being improperly removed from the sprue.

In summary, this is only a figure to get if you are planning to get a real one in the future and want it as a placeholder. This will be really easy to spot as a fake in person. If you buy it on eBay or another online source, be sure to get close-up pictures of it. If you want it because you can't afford a Botcon figure, that's fine, but realize you're getting something that is lower than Hasbro quality.

Comparison review between Henkei Thundercracker and the KO.

Transformers News: Comparison review between Henkei Thundercracker and the KO.
Date: Wednesday, November 10th 2010 9:47am CST
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Knock Offs
Posted by: Dead Metal | Credit(s): G1Sizzle

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Views: 130,895

Seibertron.com member G1Sizzle has posted a part review part comparison guide on the previously revealed KO reissue of henkei Gentei Thundercracker. You can use this to distinguish the KO from the real deal.

G1Sizzle wrote:Since I bought two of the KO Henkei TCs, people have been asking me to review them so they'll know whether or not to purchase them. Here goes!

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This is the KO (left) standing next to the legit original Henkei Thundercracker (right). As you can see, there aren't a lot of differences between the two. The differences are mostly very very subtle. As you can see, though, the actual Henkei figure has its launchers held onto its arms by rubber bands, whereas the KO is actually able to support its own launchers. Your mileage may vary, though, as the launcher port on the KO's right arm (your left) is a little loose, but nowhere near as loose as the actual product.

To be perfectly frank, this KO is perhaps the best KO I have ever seen. It is sturdy, the transformation process is fluid, and the plastic quality feels like the real deal. I had no issues in transforming it, and it's actually a bit less floppy than the Henkei version. The only joints I thought were too stiff were on the bottom right tailfin, which took a little more pressure to fold up than I was comfortable with. Otherwise, the figure fits together in both modes quite comfortably. All in all, the KO has BETTER paint apps than the original, and holds its launchers better.

The only real problem was that one of the launchers was broken and the missile won't fit in correctly. A simple fix, really.

Simply put, if you want Thundercracker and can't afford the Botcon or Henkei versions, this guy is the one for you, and the price is unbeatable.

Now...I imagine a lot of you are wondering how you can avoid being taken in and buying the KO thinking you are getting the real deal. Well, I'm glad you asked, because I'm about to tell you how you can tell the difference between the two:

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The real Henkei version has a notch in the "knee pad" of TC's leg. The KO is perfectly squared.

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As you can see from the back of the two TCs' wings, the red on the Henkei version is a much lighter color. This is most noticeable on the wing backs, but is true for the whole figure. The KO figure's red is a much deeper red. Also, I feel like the blue on the KO is a tad deeper blue, and I'm quite sure that the cockpit is a MUCH deeper amber color.



As you can see, the alignment of the Decepticon sigil on the front of the wing is a bit off. That's only true on one wing of my KO, so I'm not certain that this is common to each figure. However, it is one of the few differences that can be detected BEFORE opening the packaging.

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This one is a dead giveaway. It's so small, it's almost unnoticeable, but there is a notch on each seeker's shoulder. On the real deal, the notch compromises the silver swatch. It's this way on every seeker that I have, including other KOs. But on this KO, the notch is significantly lower on the shoulder and doesn't cross into the silver swatch at all.

All things considered, I recommend this KO to people who don't have Thundercracker and can't afford him. And I hope this review helps those of you who want to know the difference.

Review of Transformers Ongoing #13 With Spoilers!

Transformers News: Review of Transformers Ongoing #13 With Spoilers!
Date: Tuesday, November 9th 2010 7:31am CST
Categories: Comic Book News, Reviews
Posted by: Dead Metal | Credit(s): IDW

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Views: 84,659

Well it's that Tuesday again and you know what that means – idw Transformers Ongoing comic review time!

Just this time with Dead Metal, instead of TT24, that's because TT24 is chained up in my basement, and he shall remain there until idw makes a new Transformers comic I don't hate with a passion so intense that it should be illegal.
So I'll be reviewing The Transformers Ongoing #13, a comic by idw focusing on Hot Rod Rodimus Prime Roddy the Hot Rod, that is HOT, Rodimus (?), and the role he has in the future of the comic series. Oh looks like TT24's staying in my basement for a while – OR IS HE?!

And just in case you don't know, this review contains spoilers and as the name says, these spoilers spoil the comic for you. I will include the ending in this review, so if you don't mind getting spoilt keep on reading


So idw was very happy to stress to us that this issue took place in SPACE! and not on earth, but that's not all, they also stressed that this book had Rodimus, in SPACE!.
What an exciting brake from all that boring as hell Spike waffling, pseudo political waffling, propaganda, and the most boring and unexciting way Transformers have ever been portrait, seriously, they're giant sentient robots from SPACE!, how can they not be exiting and awesome – oh yea waffling...

I'm going to start by saying something about the art, since that's not just half of a comic but also the half one notices before the story.

The art, well the line art, is done by Nick Roche, the Irish artist who not only harassed idw into hiring him (according to Chris Ryall), but also made a huge impact on the fans with the art and scripting of such titles as "Spotlight: Kup" and "Last Stand of the Wreckers", the later with a great portion of help by James Roberts. He's famous for having a style that is both cartoony and organic, and still very mechanical. He's also, in his own words "Gay for Hot Rod".

And he does not disappoint, the art is very dynamic, expressive and full of character, and still very detailed.

Now on the subject that is always good for controversy in the idw comics since the Launch of "All Hail Megatron", the designs.
Nick Roche uses a mix of character designs, The Master Piece toy design for the Seekers, Don Figueroa's new design for Hot Rod, and the rest are more or less based on the Sunbow cartoon designs, except for a mystery character!

So the art will please Nick Roche-fans and displease those that don't care for his work, and comic character design nerds will probably find something to rage about.

I'll voice my opinion on the story part of the comic at the end of this review.

Now this is where the real spoilers start!

So the issue starts with Rodimus flying with Ultra Magnus's ship (which he stole from Ultra Magnus in #06) through SPACE!. They didn't lie you guys the story really is in SPACE!.

Now I'm not really going to say too much about the first five pages, since if you click here you can read them in the pre-view.

The pages give us a basic gist of what happened earlier, Rodimus "unexpectedly" getting swindled by Swindle (also #06), oh wow we didn't see that happening back when Swindle showed up in #02, how could you not trust someone going by that name. Rodimus also goes on about how smart he is, yea Swindle thinks so too, and that Ultra Magnus has a super-duper high security safe which can't be broken by anything short of Omega Supreme, which he doesn't lock. Why Magnus went through the trouble of owning that I don't understand, but I do think it's kind of funny, stupid but funny.

Rodimus arrives at the Decepticons' asteroid base and we see Acid Storm, yes he's even actually referred to as such, and Shrapnel. They lose their cool and shoot the ship, but due to an error the ship crashes and destroys their defences.

Bombshell gets the job of telling Starscream the bad news, who doesn't really care and tells him to go and fix it. Then we have a bit of an awkward moment in which Bombshell kind of suggests he should have The Matrix and tries taking it from Starscream (I guess it's like the "one" ring), who's still wearing it with a chain around his neck. Starscream orders him to "Leave us", which is odd as there is only Bombshell and Starscream in the room, maybe he's going nuts.

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"And one to enslave them all."


We cut back to Rodimus who has survived the crash and gets ready to attack the base. However Acid Storm, Kickback and Bombshell search the wreak for survivors and useful things, and well they find Rodimus, who ambushes them and kills all three of them, well I guess he kills them.

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I guess a fridge could have also been used for this.


Rodimus himself is then ambushed by Razorclaw, they exchange some dialogue in which Razorclaw reveals he could bite off Rodimus' head and swallow it whole, which is odd since he's a robot, but then again we've seen Transformers do stranger things. Rodimus tells Razorclaw to "Swallow this!" while sticking one of Bombshell's cerebro shells in his mouth, and he does. Razorclaw is now under Rodimus' command, because well roll with it.

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Razorclaw will swallow anything smaller than his own head without question.


Rodimus then uses Razorclaw to ambush Starscream, who quickly kills him, yea sorry no Predaking in these comics.
Rodimus attacks Starscream, who tells him that he's impenetrably armoured, but Rodimus shoots The Matrix which knocks Starscream out, or kills him I'm not sure which.
click here for spoilerish image

He then takes The Matrix and goes deeper into the base, where he's surprised by Astrotrain, who's in his cartoon design, Rodimus thinks he's smart and decides to sneak up on him, while thinking to himself he's destined to bring the Matrix back. But surprise! And out of the shadows steps our mystery character! I'm not going to use any spoiler tags since, well it won't work.

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"Out of the Dark, into the light."

The mystery character is Megatron in his new design, marking the first time the design has been used in fiction.
Due to Megatron having a new body, Rodimus panics and shows us that he knows what happens when a character gets a new body and shows it off to the reads/viewers for the first time! Rodimus somehow thinks The Matrix could shield him from Megatron, possibly forgetting Megatron is not Unicron (who isn't even in this universe, but still).

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"Erm, Rodimus he's not Unicron, but whatever."

It goes just as well as one would think, and Rodimus is back in SPACE!

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"SPACE! Blacker than the blackest black times infinity!"

Megatron somehow no longer caring for The Matrix, strange, he seemed to have been all over it in AHM, guess it was important enough to start a war over it (if we ignore the fiction prior to AHM) but blasting it with a huge cannon into SPACE! is OK, guess he thinks his new body is a much better "toy".
Megatron then tells Soundwave to assembly the Decepticons since he wants "To address my followers".

And on the last page we see Rodimus floating dead through SPACE!
Image spoils the final page of the comic.

So that was it, our space related issue in the ongoing, enjoy it while it lasts as it might take a while till we get another issue set completely in space.

Now I'll get to the story part , which is the most important part of a comic. A comic can be good with horrible art as long as the story is good, just like a wonderfully illustrated comic can be bad due to a bad story and horrible writing.

The comic is written by Mike Costa, who's been writing the ongoing since #01 - poorly in my opinion. Everything's dragged out far too long, characters act weird and the plot seems to be nothing more than Costa's statement of how much our beloved alien robots suck when compared to humans, it's so poor that it overshadows the few pretty good ideas and concepts he brings in.

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"A typical and unedited page of what dialogue in the Ongoing."

However, this issue is different, it's pacing is good, although it kind of feels rushed near the end; it's dialogue is waffle free, something which we usually suffer through when Costa writes dialogue involving humans or Optimus Prime (please die Prime, you suck in this continuity now); Rodimus' internal monologues are pretty good, sometimes stupid and cliché, but overall pretty good; and the best part, no Spike!
However, there are some bad or let’s say week parts to the story, like Razorclaw's part in this, which was pretty pointless since Rodimus' would have had the same effect if he just went and attacked Starscream himself, Razorclaw was basically just there to get killed. The part about Ultra Magnus' safe, that odd scene with Bombshell and The Matrix, The Matrix in general which seems to be indestructible and Megatron's appearance, while cool is somewhat sudden and not explained. But we might get the explanation in a following issue or heck even a Spotlight, telling us the story, which idw planned from the beginning but wanted to wait, of how and why in a few months.

So yea the story's not that bad, plus the fantastic art by nick Roche, with fantastic colours by J. Brown, make a pretty good and enjoyable comic.

I give it three stars out of five, which means I must have liked it.

"This I recommend!"
5 point of cool to who gets this.

Personally I think it's not as good or interesting as idw's earlier output (-tion, Stormbringer, etc.) but not that bad and might be the first sign of the series actually getting better, but then again Megatron might come back to earth and team up with Osama Bin Laden or revive Hitler, which would sadly make sense looking at what happened in previous issues.

New Video Review of Reveal The Shield Solar Storm Grapple

Transformers News: New Video Review of Reveal The Shield Solar Storm Grapple
Date: Sunday, November 7th 2010 12:22pm CST
Categories: Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: DevastaTTor | Credit(s): Optibotimus, YouTube

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Views: 47,222

Transformers video reviewer and Seibertron.com member Optibotimus has posted a new review of Hasbro's upcoming Reveal The Shield, voyager class Solar Storm Grapple. Solar Storm Grapple is a repaint of Henkei/Universe Inferno. The video of the repainted/remolded release highlights all the changes between the two figures including the remolded arms, different head, and the crane and hook that replaces Inferno's spray cannon. Solar Storm Grapple is part of the series 1 of Hasbro's 2011 voyager figures and is expected to be released at the end of the year.



To view the original post on YouTube, click HERE.

Video Review of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz

Transformers News: Video Review of Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz
Date: Saturday, November 6th 2010 1:45pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: DevastaTTor | Credit(s): AutobotJazz87, Peaugh, YouTube

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Views: 52,501

YouTube Transformers reviewer Peaugh has posted a new video review of Hasbro's upcoming Reveal the Shield Special Ops Jazz. The review of the deluxe class figure highlights its transformation from Porsche-like sports car to robot and shows off the gimmicks that include clip-on, "HiFi" speakers and the head automorph. This figure is part of Wave 1 of Hasbro's 2011 deluxe releases and is anticipated sometime late this year.



Or to view the video review on YouTube, click HERE.

New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks

Transformers News: New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks
Date: Sunday, October 10th 2010 5:26am CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: DevastaTTor | Credit(s): Red Leader, TFW2005

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Views: 48,852

Red Leader, member of fellow fansite TWF2005, has posted some new images there of Hasbro's upcoming deluxe-class, Generations Turbo Tracks figure. Along with the photos, he also gives a brief review of the figure, written comparisons to G1 and Alternators Tracks, and shares a bit of unfortunate news: no winged car mode! Apparently the way the wings are placed inhibits the wings from being flipped out in alt mode to give Turbo Tracks his trademark look. Other than that, he give the figure a 6 out of 10 and calls it "a worthy addition to your modern G1 collection". Turbo Tracks is part of the Series 1 release of the 2011 Generations line, expected to be released in November.

New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks

New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks

New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks

New Photos of Upcoming Generations Turbo Tracks

To view all the photos and read all the comments, click HERE.

First look at Generations Kup?

Transformers News: First look at Generations Kup?
Date: Monday, October 4th 2010 11:17am CDT
Categories: Comic Book News, Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: Dead Metal | Credit(s): TheBoo

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Views: 75,807

Now this is just a bit of a follow up on yesterdays story concerning the in package images of the upcoming Battle in Space two-pack, no idea what I'm talking about? Just click here for the story we'll wait for you while you read it.
Done?
Good we may continue.

Now as you know the set comes with a comic, a comic written by Simon Furman and illustrated by Boo, fan of Transformers Animated will know him for his work on the Arrival. Well if you look at the cover you will see the new Classics Rodimus repaint standing prominently in the foreground of the cover, illustrated here:
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Upon further inspection you will notice that the Sweeps and Cyclonus are also on the cover, in their Universe 2008/Generations bodies, illustrated here:
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Now after we have noticed those we will see that the largest space of the cover is taken up by Kup, who is not in his original G1 body but a new one, illustrated here:
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That is his Generations design, not convinced?

Boo wrote:wasnt told to put Kup on the cover but i knew folks would want the toy when i saw what i was drawing because I WANT THE TOY, so i had to slip him in and it worked, now everyone is hungering like a MarvelZombie for Kup...

but what other secrets lay inside hehehe :grin:

You can see his post by clicking here and here for a journal on the comic itself.

But that leaves another question, Unicron is he on the cover because he's in the story and fits the cover or did Boo put him there as a hint at something coming our way, might Hasbro be bringing over the TakaraTomy 2010 remold/repaint of Unicron to it's markets? Only time will tell!

Post your speculation of what might be in the comic by clicking here!

Optibotimus Reviews New 2010 Takara / Tomy Unicron

Transformers News: Optibotimus Reviews New 2010 Takara / Tomy Unicron
Date: Saturday, September 25th 2010 3:39pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: DevastaTTor | Credit(s): Optibotimus, CannonFodder4000

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Views: 56,877

YouTube Transformer reviewer and Seibertron.com member Optibotimus has let us know that he's posted a new review on YouTube of the recently released Takara/Tomy 2010 Unicron figure. This update of the previously released Armada, Energon, and Universe Unicrons features a completely new head sculpt and top-to-bottom repaint that completes a look that's very accurate to the 1986 Transformers Movie character. In addition to highlighting the things that make this release appear to be the definitive version of the Unicron figure to date, he also give us a great look at the fantastic box artwork from every angle. To check out the video review, click the embedded video below.



To visit the original post on YouTube, you can also click HERE.

Video Review of Transformers Animated Jetpack Bumblebee

Transformers News: Video Review of Transformers Animated Jetpack Bumblebee
Date: Friday, September 24th 2010 2:53pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews
Posted by: Razorclaw0000 | Credit(s): Peaugh, Overcracker

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Views: 67,844

YouTube user Peaugh has published a video review of TakaraTomy's recently released Jetpack Bumblebee. The figure has been cancelled from it's original Hasbro release as Hydrodrive Bumblebee. The video details the figure's new size, transformation, and Jetpack accessory.

See the full video here or



Interested in this figure? Head on over to site sponsors TFSource, BigBadToyStore.com, or RobotKingdom to order!

The Science and Madness Behind Transformers Power Core Combiners

Transformers News: The Science and Madness Behind Transformers Power Core Combiners
Date: Saturday, September 18th 2010 7:10pm CDT
Categories: Toy News, Reviews, Site Articles, Editorials
Posted by: Blurrz | Credit(s): Blurrz

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Views: 221,978

It's been a long day. You're sipping a cold beverage at BotCon 2011 in Pasadena, California. It's one of your favorite times of the year. Not only are you in Transformers heaven, but you've made your trip to the dealer room and unleashed your wallet to buy your holy grail. Now you're hanging with all your buddies from Seibertron.com. You make sure everyone's listening, when you ask the question 'What do you think of the Power Core Combiners? I love those guys!" Everyone around you halts what they're doing. Half of your friends start to scream, while the other half shake their heads in shame. Peter Cullen is even facepalming. The bartender kicks you out for causing the mess, and then... Woah. Let's hold on for a minute here. I'm here to make sure than none of this happens at BotCon 2011, to the person who asked the question, to the friends of that person. and especially Peter Cullen.

The line itself has caused a lot of anguish among Transformers fans the past few months. I've watched forum topics pass by and by. I've tried my best to get a grasp of the situation, and understand the opinions of my fellow collectors. Ultimately I land at the question - How has it come to this? We're in the 21st century, and we've got an entire toyline that's seemingly worse than Armada Side Swipe.

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While I originally planned to do a review of the first wave of Power Core Combiners for Seibertron.com, that's something that no collector needs. An essay formed from my single opinion is nothing compared to you going around Seibertron.com, looking at photos of the figures or asking the general community of their opinion on a figure. It's really simple, toys are attractive to people because of their aesthetics. No one should be detered from buying a toy that they like from photos, because of one person's opinion. Especially not from a guy with hairy hands, playing around with a Transformers figure for 10:00 on Youtube with a low quality camera.

So what am I here to do? I'm here to convey the idea of Power Core Combiners. To let you know that it's more than just the toy, but also a movement. If you're not liking the sentence you just read, you probably might not want to read the rest of this article. You likely know me well already - I'm a crazed collector of Transformers: Armada, a Blurr fan, and I'm not exactly one to go along with popular trends. But no, this is not blind love for Power Core Combiners, it's a bit more like tough love. Whether you're laying the smackdown on these toys, or you love them to death, they're still just toys. And that brings us to the start of my discussion.

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Toy. Toys. [toi]. Looking it up in the dictionary, obviously you'll find a definition. A bunch of English nonsense, but there's a key phrase - "for children or others to play with". I'm sure you've heard of this all before, but for those who haven't, Hasbro's target audiences are within the definition. The children, and others, which are us Transformers fans. While I wish that us Transformers fans were pushing Transformers in the direction we wanted to, it's just not there. Even if Jon Doe dishes out one grand on Transformers every month, a kid and their ever affectionate parents outnumber us. We humans just can't stop making babies. Then there's Live Action. The 2007 Transformers Movie did not only include explosions from Michael Bay, no, it exploded the Transformers into the stratosphere, and it's a fair guess to assume that alot of kids jumped on the bandwagon.

To the movie toyline in particular. Leading up to the years before it, Transformers was always a singular toy line. Everyone had to go through the disco colors of Generation 2, the clashy colors of Universe, and the cool to me, but probably not very cool to you, Transformers Armada. Now in recent years we've had collective lines sharing the Transformers name under Hasbro's brand. In 2008, there were Movie toys, Universe/Classics 2.0 and Transformers Animated. Respectively we designated the figures under the different sections of the Transformers fanbase, for the movie fans, for the faithful Generation One fans, and for the kids. But there's a big problem here. In no way should Transformers Animated should have been designated towards the children population. Yes, it was a morning cartoon, but the toys were intricate puzzles. They require a force and memory, things that some young children have yet to develop sufficiently. To top it all off, Transformers Animated probably had the worst quality control in the history of Transformers. Loose hands, sloppy paint application, basically the works. Not only is that a huge turn off for us Transformers collectors, but when a kid doesn't like, or can't even play with the Transformers toy, that opens a huge can of warms. The parent's likely going to deem Transformers for being too difficult for their son or daughter. And while the majority of some Animated figures were completely shoddy, it still was successful because of it being part of a cartoon! Fans had to complete the 'cast' or get the toy of their favorite characters. Even to this day, people are demanding figures for Animated characters that have yet to receive one!

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Fast forward to 2010. It's the same as 2008 - Hunt for the Decepticons for movie fans, Generations for the G1 fans, and Power Core Combiners for the kids. I ultimately feel that Hasbro deemed that the Animated toyline was a failure, and in order for a 'kid toyline' to be successful, Power Core Combiners had to simplified. There's alot of playability, the line is really aimed for children...

..And just like Transformers: Animated and everything before it, the line has it's own cartoon! Hasbro's got the business down pact, a kid watches Huffer and his best buddy Caliburst blast down Smolder and Chopster. Then after the show's over, the young boy kindly asks his mother to take him to the toy store. Both figures are purchased so he can re-enact their battles all over the carpet floor. Wait.. something's not right there. Ah yes, I got it wrong. The kid buys a comic book, and sees Bombshock with the Combaticons, shooting down Skyburst and the Aerialbots.. Wait that's not right either.

Utterly Dumbfounded. It's been 3 months and I still can't get over the fact that Power Core Combiners has no connecting media. Not only is having no related cartoon for a major toy line breaking the trend, but having a toyline by itself is just silly to me. A single appearance in in Cyber Missions doesn't count either. Even reading Transformers Ongoing #11 got me interested in buying Generations Red Alert, Movie Firetrap (Brawn) and 2010 Takara Predaking. But for the PCCs - No toyline, no comics, no nothing. There's nothing to save this line if it's ratings fall. Compound this entire situation with the fact that the year 2010 yields no Transformers movie and no Transformers cartoon till Quarter 4 - I just see it's more likely for a child to be interested in Star Wars, Ben 10, or Iron Man. Even if a kid is a Transformers fan, I personally believe that the Movie line and Generations are alot more appealing than PCCs.

The last nine paragraphs have led to my conclusion of this situation - Transformers Power Core Combiners have purely been marketed out for children. Personally I believe that Hasbro is using this to test out if a kid-only toy line can suffice. I just don't see that this project is going to work well. An entire toyline made out of Activators wouldn't work either. Yes, maybe Power Core Combiners could work, but not at this time. Maybe in December, when it's Christmas time and toys are bought up more than fast food. Maybe next year, when Transformers 3 comes out and the Transformers buzz is back. But in the Summer of 2010, competing externally against Star Wars, Iron Man, GIJoe, and internally against Generations and Hunt For the Decepticons - PCC's at the bottom of the league, and they traded away their first round draft pick. I just don't see that there's any hope for this line.

Power Core Combiners have been engineered for younger fans, I just don't see how 21st Transformers Technology can make PCC 5-Packs look like antiques compared to their superior Generation One brothers. Is that wrong? Certainly not, I'm sure younger fans and children will enjoy these toys due to their low cost and for the reasons stated above. But to us, to the older fans, to the experienced, Seriously Hasbro? I can't even consider myself as old, but this line is a complete turn off to me - an Armada collector. These Mini-cons are a shadow compared to Targetmasters, Headmasters, and Armada Mini-cons. My fellow Seibertron.com staff member Counterpunch, a man who collects almost everything, is flabbergasted at this line.

I can put words as to why this line was created, to how we got to this point, but I've got nothing in the English dictionary to describe these toys. So, Mamma Mia! I did say that with this article, I would make sure that no one would talk bad about Power Core Combiners at BotCon 2011. I'm sorry if I came off with the intention of making your opinion of these guys to be positive. No, just let your anger and hate out now.


~Blurrz
Seibertron.com News Crew

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Transformers Podcast: Twincast / Podcast #350 - Oops! All Optimus
Twincast / Podcast #350:
"Oops! All Optimus"
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