I love transformers, but never bought one as an adult until Studio Series 86 came along. I've tried really hard to limit which ones I buy because I don't need or want boxes of these things. Besides the constructicons, I have Optimus, Megatron, Grimlock, Jazz, Bumblebee, Hot Rod, Kup and Galvatron. I don't even think they're that fun to mess around with given how complex the transformations are. But I love the movie and sometimes I just can't help myself.

I won't buy Thundercracker or Skywarp as they were pretty irrelevant to the movie, but I'll probably get Starscream when he comes. I already pre-ordered Soundwave, but otherwise I think that's it for me.

Not that I want to tempt you but SS Ultra Magnus is a fantastic figure too. I wish they gave more love to both Blurr and Springer.

I just can't justify another $90 for one of these, especially one so huge. I'm also really partial to the pre-movie characters, even though I love the movie and had the original Ultra Magnus as a kid. I told myself Hot Rod and Galvatron were the only "new" characters I was going to buy, but in a moment of weakness I ordered Kup on eBay one night. Didn't even remember I had done it until I got the shipping notification.

Back in the 1980s, Transformers never had the kind of reputation toys like Cabbage Patch Kids or Tickle Me Elmo had, but Transformers were nearly impossible to find. As soon as they went on sale, the high-profile ones got picked over fast. I never saw an Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Jazz, Prowl, or Grimlock on store shelves. It was always stuff like Skids, Hoist, Insecticons, or Swoop, and even those eventually sell out.

Once the cartoon ended, Transformers tended to clutter up the shelves. Nobody wanted stuff like Powermasters or Pretenders. And that was that for the line.

But you could always find Gobots. Lots and lots of gobots.

Swoop? Really? I never knew anyone who had Swoop and never even laid on eyes on one until I was an adult.

Wow, I never thought I'd ever have a reason to use this movie quote with such vast and complete relevance for reference as in this time right here.

"Me Swoop no see nothing!"

A sublime pleasure as a kid was fighting my friend's Devastator with my complete Superion.

Dear Lord.

X - Formerly Twitter

Got my first and what will probably be my last Big Rubber Guy of Ric Flair with the title. These are the LJN WWF knock offs that Matt Cardona (Zach Ryder) and Bryan Myers make. It looks good but is way too solid compared to the old ones. Did NOT pass the squeezing the legs test. The World Heavyweight Championship it came with is really nice though and I will enjoy having it on Flair and other figures whenever I get around to displaying those again. Hope the WWE versions that come out next week are a little more bendy. Still only have Logan Paul preordered but plan to pick up the rest (which were sold out) in store whenever I can.

If anyone likes these figures and wants a good alternative theres a independent company/person who sells them on Etsy under the name XOXByRandomTreasures who does great work though they are pretty expensive (usually around $80 unpainted/$135 painted).

I can NOT believe they DIDN'T include a gloved hand giving A FREAKING THUMBS UP!!!

That Terminator Hot Toy is awesome. But what do those premium toys normally cost? $200?

Depends on the figure there range from 200-400 and more for the deluxe editions and such. I preordered the Terminator 2 one for 290

Got the Logan Paul LJN style Mattel figure last week. Really impressed with the quality. It looks just as good as the Big Rubber Guy Flair but the bendability/feel is just a little bit closer to the original line which matters a lot when dealing with throwbacks. Now just have to find Dusty Rhodes and John Cena. Hopefully they restock soon.

It's ending in an hour or so so I should have thought to post this earlier, but better late than never:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...e-1985-edition

Mighty Orbots was one of those "blink and you'll miss it" 80s shows, mainly because despite being nominally based on the Japanese Godmars, it was a cartoon first and not a toy and had no toyline or even a single toy made for it. A lot of cartoons at the time, as we well know, were basically 22 minute advertisements for toylines, and even the existence of a toyline meant a lot in terms of keeping relevancy in your mind as a kid (and adult).

Albert Penello, the marketing vet who pushed the Xbox to fame, had a lifelong dream of making the prototype toy a reality. So this is his kickstarter. He teamed with Ramen Toys for production. It's kind of old school chogokin-like goodness, and I realize that the price and the aesthetics won't appeal to most. But the guy was super super enthusiastic about it. Tragically, he passed away earlier this month.

Anyway, nothing in kickstarter is guaranteed or anything but I hope this comes out and fulfills his lifelong dream. Just thought it was a cool story. Plus I loved Mighty Orbots back in the day even though I missed like half the episodes (and I don't think they ever reaired). Now where's my Dinosaucers toys?

Here is some of my haul from last week’s Transformers Con in Los Angeles. If you missed my posts about it, it’s in the Comic convention thread. Megatron and Cliffjumper are Yolopark figures and not actual toys.

I still have a few more to open.

Oh I'll have to check it out.

I just ordered a set of those wave 2 Yolopark figures, but man they could've done a bit better on poor Cliffjumper's feet, especially since he doesn't need to transform. And I know it's blasphemy but those non transforming Yolopark and Blokees "model kits" are really cool to fiddle around with. Not sure if they showed any off there but Yolopark looks to be repositioning their bigger line into non transforming combiners...

Will Megatron ever turn back into a gun? I'm not saying he should, but has that ship simply sailed? He's been a tank and a cannon lately, is that correct?

I feel like my movie quote should have received more likes back in October and now I have a dopamine deficiency.

He can turn into a nerf gun or something like that, but he's never turning into a realistic looking Walther P38 Semi at least not on American toy shelves, without some major changes in toy laws. The last one was that Masterpiece that was sold only in Japan and even when imported had to have an orange cap installed on it (not even sure that tactic would work again).

I think it's in "The Toys that Made Us" or somewhere else but they always tell that story about the guy who was bringing the original toy back and forth from Japan to the US for approval being stopped at the airport and he had to show them it transformed into a robot.

He's usually depicted as a tank like his G2 version (the cannon I think is mostly Galvatron, besides the Hearts of Steel retro one)

Somehow they are hesitant on even transforming things to unrealistic guns. The most recent Shockwave has an "unofficial" gun mode only. Meanwhile as a kid I learned a ton of machine gun names from the all black Larami and Entertech motorized water guns.

"The look, the feel, the sound, so real" indeed

I had a pair of Entertech Waterhawk waterguns and they were so cool. Yes, they had red painted on the tip and yet, yeah, what made them look cool also made them dangerous. A few years later they put them out with wild, splashy colors and zig zag patterns like zubaz pants but I didn't want anything to do with the new paint jobs. Or zubaz.

No. The current laws about toy guns are so squirrely that it's easier for them to just make him into a tank or dinosaur or whatever.

Wonder if they could have him transform into some other kind of futuristic gun (like Shockwave).

Even then, though, I remember McFarlane Toys had the license for Star Trek Discovery and had trouble getting phaser toys made... and those look more like an impact driver than an actual gun.

Part of that might be the licensor being squeamish about guns. I know DC famously wouldn't allow any toys of their characters to have guns, including stuff like the Joker and Harley and Peacemaker (the Mcfarlane Peacemaker at the time came with like an axe or something). Even now there's some weirdness where guns are packed in but they aren't shown in the toy's hands.

I saw the OG Megatron gun at the Transformers show. Someone was selling it for $3K.

The one silver lining to Megatron not being allowed to transform into a gun is that in the context of the other transformers, the gun mode doesn't really make any sense anyway. He's the one character that is pretty much always going to stay in robot mode.

Even as a kid I questioned that. "So he's as tall as Starscream in robot form, but he transforms small enough for Starscream to hold in his hand?" But that G1 toy was super cool.