War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

The modern comics universe has had such a different take on G1, one that's significantly represented by the Generations toys, so they share a forum. A modern take on a Real Cybertronian Hero. Currently starring Generations toys, IDW "The Transformers" comics, MTMTE, TF vs GI Joe, and Windblade. Oh wait, and now Skybound, wheee!
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JediTricks
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

Post by JediTricks »

Speaking of... Got Siege Battle Master Smashdown from Amazon, the first new character in ages. Smashdown is a minotaur which is a man body and bull head, he transforms into hammer. He's red with a little gray and blue and silver accents, in bot mode he has a tail because they couldn't figure out a way to deal with the handle better, but the tail is removable and you can kinda wedge it into his hand as a baton weapon. His arms have a big chunk of kibble on the lower half due to his alt mode, but it's kinda par for the course with minicon-style figures.

Transformation is really simple, just rotate the head 180, have every limb stick out to the side and rotated, then fold at the ab and snap limbs together.

Alt mode is a hammer with a bull head in the middle - I don't really know why. The handle is short, like Mjolnir, but has two 5mm sections so it can be gripped towards the bottom or top, and a 3mm peg at the end of that. Either end of the hammer has a 5mm port, and both sides have a fireblast peg at every corner so there's 16 of them, all squarish but they work. Detailing's simple but there is some at every face. The blast effect is a big orange smash, the inside has a 5mm peg with a 3mm port, the outside has a smooth face with a 3mm port, it's not as translucent as the design showed but fits the hammer well, and even fits Ironhide's hammer as well. If a Siege figure has a long blast effect peg, the hammer and blast effect can be attached and stay upright on their own.

Negatives:
- Bot mode's head and waist hinge don't lock into place, despite both looking like they should
- Bot head hollow in back
- Bot mode chest has hollows facing forward
- Hammer grip dislodges from hammer when placing in a larger figure's hands
- One end of the hammer has the date code stamped in, the other has the item number painted in silver

Overall, a simple but unique Battle Master. Fun to have a Mjolnir-like hammer mode, the blast effect looks great, the hammer has 16 blast effect pegs; bot mode is alright from the front but far from perfect, simple, and the back is a bit dodgy. Good figure, nothing outrageous.
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Red Alert

Post by Dominic »

I was not planning to look too hard for Wave 3. But, they showed up at the local comic store. And, I have a soft spot for Red Alert. The (not terrible) mark-up I paid was a convenience tax. (It is not something that I would make a habit of. But, in this case, I made an exception.) At this point, the only figure that I plan to look for is Impactor. (And, if I find Mirage, I will probably end up biting for that.)

Red Alert: (faux sports car/robot)
This is the obvious recolor of Sideswipe that people would expect. The paint is well-applied. The plastic tolerances on my copy are off, which I suspect is going to be common across a production run, if not every copy of this figure.

Aside from paint, the biggest change between Red Alert and Sideswipe is the weapons. Red Alert is packed with a rifle and light-bar. The two parts work well individually, but do not combine in any useful way. Oddly, the lightbar is a different mold than the light bar packaged with the wave 2 Prowl figure. (I have no idea why Hasbro opted for new tooling in this case.)

Red Alert is worth looking for if you do not have Sideswipe, and worth considering if you have Sideswipe (or have an affinity for the character). Based on the colors, Red Alert would display well with Six Gun.

Black light code: RUNG
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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The more I wait for Barricade and Rung to hit preorder, the more I realize that Siege hasn't been a home run for me. I like the pieces I've gotten, but I'm not drawn to a lot of the others in the line at a time when Studio Series is not drawing me in and Cyberverse is a total non-starter for me. If this line were this quality at $5 lower per deluxe and voyager, I'd be way more into it probably, but it's to the point where the value feels very shaky and the quality is hit-or-miss (I have no leaders from this line at all).

Also, fuck Hasbro for giving Walgreens an important character like Ratchet while that ugly, cheap-looking Crosshairs gets a mass-release.
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

Post by Dominic »

I live walking distance from multiple Walgreens. If you need a Ratchet, lemme know. (I assume it is using the Ironhide mold, making it an easy skip for me.)

What is Crosshairs molded from?


The only thing I am really looking for now is Impactor.


The worst figure that I have bought is Prowl. But, it is not bad unto itself, I like the character enough and he features prominently in the comics. (My skip rate is pretty high though.)
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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Crosshairs and Ratchet are both remolded from Ironhide.
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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Dominic wrote:I live walking distance from multiple Walgreens. If you need a Ratchet, lemme know. (I assume it is using the Ironhide mold, making it an easy skip for me.)

What is Crosshairs molded from?


The only thing I am really looking for now is Impactor.


The worst figure that I have bought is Prowl. But, it is not bad unto itself, I like the character enough and he features prominently in the comics. (My skip rate is pretty high though.)
Appreciated. Ratchet has a new head, new shoulders, new bumper, and new weapons. It's the first new G1 Ratchet mold in a decade, so naturally Hasbro thought "yeah, an exclusive to a drug store chain that barely carries our product at all and is notorious for being a pain in the ass" was a great plan. Meanwhile, Crosshairs is a recolor of Ironhide as well but only with a new head, he looks like crap, and of course he's mainline.

Impactor is available for preorder on Amazon and Hasbro Pulse. I'm passing because of how many hollow parts there are and how stubby the tank mode is.

Prowl is the figure I keep not buying because it looks so bland of a figure, but I like the character enough that I keep thinking about it. Barricade and Smokescreen look way better, tho not great or anything.
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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I think that your issue with Walgreens may be regional.

Around here, Walgreens is a good, if limited, option for toy hunting. I regularly see exclusive Marvel figures (even if I do not collect those specific lines). The only real problem is that they do not carry larger price-points.


I would have a hard time recommending Prowl to someone who does not like the character, especially with two or three recolors pending.


I refuse to buy from Amazon. Do I need a dedicated account for Hasbro Pulse? (At this point, I buy so few action figures, that it is not worth making a new account.)
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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LA has terrible coverage from Walgreens and Walmart, the area is the biggest metro area in the country yet the stores supply like they're in any other area. Some Walgreens stores carry no collectibles at all. There are very few Walgreens in the actual LA city area, no Walmarts either now that the one in Crenshaw mall pulled out, and their websites are both useless. It's miserable to be a collector with those two, it's like running into a brick wal.

I just bit the bullet and picked up Impactor, stupid rotating turret convinced me.

Prowl, Smokescreen, Barricade, Bluestreak.

I'm not sure if you can buy as a guest on Hasbro Pulse, I signed up on day one to get the free shipping for the year. In looking at a private browsing window, it does look like you can order without an account but they may require sign-up at the last step.
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Re: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline

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I am not creating a new account for a hobby that I am essentially done with.
It's miserable to be a collector with those two, it's like running into a brick wal.
Hey, I see what you did there.

I have friends with kids, and a surprising number of these kids are not interested in the normal kid-stuff. The ones who like comics like them as a sub-set of reading. But, these kids largely embrace the "activities rather than items" thinking. And, that assumes that there is over-lap between people who have kids and people who have the money for toys in a given area.
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Siege Springer

Post by Dominic »

Springer:

Good looking (if not spectacular) robot mode. Good vehicle modes, hampered by a pointlessly complex and frustrating transform process. Both vehicle forms require exceptional amounts of fiddling to get pieces to line-up.

The battle-damage paint scheme that is a staple of this line does not work on Springer, a character that is defined by bright colors.

This figure is *almost* worth getting if you like the character. Otherwise, it is obligatory to skip.
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