Action Master Starscream

This spotlight is for the Generation One Action Master Starscream. This figure was released in 1990 at the end of the original Transformers toy line. The toy featured the legendary Decepticon reborn as an Action Master (stronger, faster, more alive, but not able to transform). The color scheme for Starscream was based heavily on his previously released Pretender form. The figure itself resembled Starscream in his design. It was strange however to see that is wings were no located on his back, but rather they were shrunk down and attached to his arms. Other than that, the figure looked really good.

Starscream came with the Turbo Jet vehicle. The jet wasn't anything special. Starscream basically sat on the jet like a motorcycle, and it sort of resembled Ramjet in terms of design (not in color scheme). The battle station mode was really goofy looking as the rear of the jet flipped to the top to reveal some missile launchers and the rest of the jet transformed into what looked like ... who knows. At least Wheeljack and Sprocket's vehicles actually looked like something else. Action Master Prowl's motorcycle had the same issue as the Turbo Jet. It was like Hasbro thought they had to make the alternate mode look like something, so let's make it do this and call it that. Didn't work for me, but this is a great piece for collectors. Personally, I would just get the figure.

Limited Edition Piranacon

This is one more awesome piece of news from BotCon 2010. Apparently, the Seacons will be getting rereleased in stores at long last! All six Seacons in their original colors will be released as part of the Transformers: Generations toy line in a box similar to that of the U.S. releases of Transformers: Masterpiece Skywarp. This is great news for collectors who missed out on the opportunity last year to get their hands on the Transformers Collectors' Club exclusive.

The Seacons have been rumored for release to retail since the days of the original Transformers: Universe line. The figures unfortunately never saw release. Hasbro did finally decide to release the figures as an exclusive to their Transformers Collector's Club with new colors and a new box. Now, the Seacons will return, and hopefully be easier and cheaper to get.

Thrust

In honor of all of the new Transformers: Generations figures being previewed at BotCon this year, I thought I would post some images from the original versions of these characters (except Blurr, I posted on him a long time ago). This image is of the original Generation One version of Thrust! He was a remold of the popular Starscream mold from the first year of the Transformers toy line. With the year two Seekers, Hasbro decided to retool the wings on Dirge, Ramjet, and Thrust. The transformation of the figure is exactly the same as the year one Seekers (Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker), however the animated series and Marvel Comics encouraged kids to not fold back the nosecones officially creating the cone-heads. Their box art showed the figures with a normal head, but everyone remembers these characters as having their nosecones as part of their heads. It is hard for me to pick a favorite Seeker from year two, but Thrust is pretty close. I am really looking forward to his pending release as part of the 2010 Transformers: Generations toy line.

More Awesome Generations Figures!

The images in this post are pulled from seibertron.com. Hasbro is really pulling out all of the stops with the new Transformers: Generations toy line. There are so many great figures on the way, I think if I were still an avid collector, I would be broke. I really only collect the legends figures, but there are a lot of great ones coming out like G1 Megatron, G1 Optimus Prime, G1 Prowl, and G1 Starscream. For the deluxe class figures, Jazz, Soundwave (WFC), Megatron (WFC), Thunderwing, Tracks, and more are on the way. It is going to be a great year if you are a fan of Transformers: Generation One!

Generation 2 Breakdown

Since I may be out of pocket for a couple of days, here is one more post in honor of BotCon 2010. This is the original Transformers: Generation 2 Breakdown! This figure was released in 1994 as an exclusive figure at the first BotCon. The toy is a direct remold and repaint of the original Generation One Breakdown. As such, his transformation is exactly the same in that you pull back on the rear of the car, unfold the legs, flip the hood back, and flip up the arms to form the robot mode. Great, but definitely hard to get, toy!

The story behind this toy is really unique. Originally, Hasbro planned on rereleasing the Stunticons and Protectobots in the Transformers: Generation 2 toy line. An extremely limited number of figures actually made it to the packaging stage. However, with the line fading away, Hasbro cancelled the figures. The only one to ever see release was Breakdown when he was released as a BotCon 94 exclusive.

Transformers: Generation 2 BotCon Box Set

BotCon 2010 is underway, and here is an image of the BotCon 2010, Transformers: Generation 2 Redux box set. The set features multiple remolds crafted and painted into classic Generation 2 characters. The only names changed were Pyro (now known as Spark) and Streetwise (now known as Streetstar). The set also includes a recreation of the European exclusive figure Clench (repainted with new head from Onslaught figure), an appearance from the Robots in Disguise figure Sky-Byte, and the Stunticon Breakdown (a repaint and retooling of the Sunstreaker mold) in his Generation 2 colors.

There are also plenty of other Generation 2 exclusive toys at BotCon 2010. Other Classics figures got the repaint treatment (my personal favorite being Rapido). Also, it seems that the Transformers Collector's Club exclusive Punch/ Counterpunch figure is also available at the convention. All this to say, there are a lot of great toys at BotCon 2010. Happy hunting!

New Generations Toys!

I recently saw this post from seibertron.com. Apparently, Hasbro has some great figures in line for the upcoming Transformers: Generations line (which is basically Transformers: Classics 3.0). The highly anticipated Dirge will join the line as well as Red Alert, and Blurr (who will be a retool of Drift, but still looks awesome!). Other figures will include Megatron and Soundwave from the new video game Transformers: War for Cybertron who will join Optimus Prime and Bumblebee who will be released in wave one. Classics is the only current Transformers toy line that I can stay excited about, and I am really looking forward to the next round.

Transformers Artwork #17

This piece is actually the cover of the last Transformers: Spotlight issue to date, Spotlight: Metroplex. This image features the titanic Autobot in robot mode with the Throttlebots battling the powerful six-changer Sixshot. Metroplex was a great character in the Generation One universe. He transformed from city mode, to battle station, to a giant robot.

Unreleased Generation 2 Legends

Transformers: Generation 2 was a great toy line that helped bring the Transformers brand back into the hearts and imaginations of kids and adults in the early 1990's after Hasbro canceled the original toy line. However, nostalgia would only take the line so far, and it was cancelled after a three year run. Several toys were unreleased due to the ending of the line. Among the casualties were the Generation 2 versions of the Stunticons and Protectobots. Both combiner teams were set to be rereleased for the toy line, however with Hasbro shifting the Transformers brand to Kenner (their boys' toys division) and their focus on creating the Beast Wars toy line, the two teams were canceled after an extremely limited production run. The ten figures were all finished with their paint applications and their cards (I assuming the leaders were boxed, but I have never seen a boxed sample) intact for the sample stage. Over the last four years, the few carded "limb" figures were sold on e-Bay for crazy high prices. Good luck finding any of these figures. It took over 15 years for any samples to surface. The only figure of the ten to see any type of public release was Breakdown who was released in limited quantities at the very first BotCon in 1994.

Double Punch

This is one of the European exclusive figures from the Generation One toy line. Released in 1991, Double Punch is one of the Action Master Elite figures. The Action Masters were part of a sub-line near the end of the original Transformers toy line which consisted action figure versions of classic and original Transformers characters. These toys were unable to transform into an alternate mode, however the four Elite figures had a limited ability to transform.

Double Punch transformed from a robot to a scorpion. His design is heavily influenced by the Japanese exclusive figure Black Zarak. The robot mode looks virtually spot on, however the colors for the figure features teals and blues rather than gold. Transforming this figure is really simple. From robot mode (I know, this is reversing how I normally do this), you flip up the arms, flip down the scorpion legs, fold the legs over the back, and flip out the guns. It's a pretty good looking mode, and it was neat to see an Action Master that could transform. I still say it would have been great to get these toys (and all of the European exclusives for that matter) in the United States. Why Hasbro, why?

Raiden

Here is a gem from the 1987 series Transformers: The Headmasters. This is the gift set for the Trainbots. These figures were Japanese exclusives and unfortunately never saw the light of day in the United States. These six figures each transformed into train cars, and they could connect in their vehicle modes to form a full train. The figures could then combine to form the super robot Raiden.

One interesting note about these toys is that each figure is the same size as the six individual Constructicons. This is because the Trainbots were originally part of the Diaclone toy line which preceded the Transformers line. Like the Constructicons, the molds for the Trainbots were incorporated into the Transformers toy line and became regular characters. They never appeared in toy form or in animated form outside of Japan. The six Trainbots were regular characters in the animated series Transformers: The Headmasters which many fans consider to be the lost fourth season of the original Generation One series.

We Now Return...

With this post, I wanted to officially state I will be returning to my blog. I have updated the look to it, and I hope you guys enjoy it. I plan on doing some additional posting over the next few days. Thank you all again for your patience, and God bless!

Rodimus Convoy