BotCon/Fan Club toy discussion 2015
Posted: Mon Jun 22, 2015 11:33 am
Not sure how many of these any of us will be getting. But, for all of the valid complaints about them, Fun Publications releases some damned fine toys.
Oilmaster: This is a recolour of "Generations" Swerve (w/Minicon) wrapped in a (new mould) Pretender shell. Aside from a character specific facial sculpt (which may or may not be out of order for Oilmaster), this looks to be a good toy. This is something that I would not mind paying an inflated price for (especially as I have a retro-G1 Magnificus).
Stepper: Yet another "Shattered Glass" toy that I like despite context. (Not likely to pay too much for it though.)
Zapmaster: Very nice. Looking in to getting one. (The Insecticon clones are something I I have always liked.)
Salvage: A good mould in good colours. Bonus points if it is the Bayformers character translated to "Generations".
SGT Hound: A good mould. But, unless there is a particularly impressive comic (which is unlikely) or some other media I would have a hard time seeing this toy as Hound. If I see one cheap, I might grab it though.
Crossover toys: All of these are really solid. The only real problem is that Hasbro is consistently dropping the ball about not making them general release figures. It is not the level of Thundergate in terms of scale. But, there has been proven demand for this type of thing over the years. Hasbro is ignoring potential money.
Skywarp/Ramjet: Good, if obvious, recolours. And, once again, options that Hasbro really should have beaten Fun Publications to the punch on. This is not quite getting in to Thundergate territory. But, it is awfully close. I really hope that Fun Publications gets around to Thundercracker and maybe considers Acid Storm or some other Seekers in the "Unicron Trilogy" body. (UT Sunstorm would be a recolour of UT Thrust. But, characters like Acid Storm, Hot Link or Bit Stream are still fair game.)
Mayhem Attack Squad: This is probably the best formalized effort we are going to see at making the Decepticon Wreckers. It would have been nice if Hasbro had made a few new figures a year. But, considering the more obvious things that Hasbro has missed, this is probably as good as it is likely to get.
The Target Masters are a good effort. But, Hasbro really needs to make more Target Masters.
Bludgeon looks especially good. (I can almost see Fun Publications making Turmoil out of this mould.)
My best guesses for the mystery figure are either Turmoil (from the Onslaught/Bludgeon mould) or another use of Oil Master's shell.
Oilmaster: This is a recolour of "Generations" Swerve (w/Minicon) wrapped in a (new mould) Pretender shell. Aside from a character specific facial sculpt (which may or may not be out of order for Oilmaster), this looks to be a good toy. This is something that I would not mind paying an inflated price for (especially as I have a retro-G1 Magnificus).
Stepper: Yet another "Shattered Glass" toy that I like despite context. (Not likely to pay too much for it though.)
Zapmaster: Very nice. Looking in to getting one. (The Insecticon clones are something I I have always liked.)
Salvage: A good mould in good colours. Bonus points if it is the Bayformers character translated to "Generations".
SGT Hound: A good mould. But, unless there is a particularly impressive comic (which is unlikely) or some other media I would have a hard time seeing this toy as Hound. If I see one cheap, I might grab it though.
Crossover toys: All of these are really solid. The only real problem is that Hasbro is consistently dropping the ball about not making them general release figures. It is not the level of Thundergate in terms of scale. But, there has been proven demand for this type of thing over the years. Hasbro is ignoring potential money.
Skywarp/Ramjet: Good, if obvious, recolours. And, once again, options that Hasbro really should have beaten Fun Publications to the punch on. This is not quite getting in to Thundergate territory. But, it is awfully close. I really hope that Fun Publications gets around to Thundercracker and maybe considers Acid Storm or some other Seekers in the "Unicron Trilogy" body. (UT Sunstorm would be a recolour of UT Thrust. But, characters like Acid Storm, Hot Link or Bit Stream are still fair game.)
Mayhem Attack Squad: This is probably the best formalized effort we are going to see at making the Decepticon Wreckers. It would have been nice if Hasbro had made a few new figures a year. But, considering the more obvious things that Hasbro has missed, this is probably as good as it is likely to get.
The Target Masters are a good effort. But, Hasbro really needs to make more Target Masters.
Bludgeon looks especially good. (I can almost see Fun Publications making Turmoil out of this mould.)
My best guesses for the mystery figure are either Turmoil (from the Onslaught/Bludgeon mould) or another use of Oil Master's shell.