Good surprise or bad?

I thought it would be more like January, so I'm actually quite pleased.

 

I was hoping for sooner. If the UK gets Hasbro Devs within the next few months I don't think I'll be able to resist! Especially if the 3rd party upgrades keep coming  

 

I know what you mean. He's already selling at a good price on Amazon US it seems, although Kapow and the likes are already sold out.

I'm going to hold strong though. I just want a pre-order locked in already!

 

I know I'm in the minority here, but I would have rather Takara improved the Alt mode articulation. A telescoping crane for Hook, a working scoop for Scavenger, and a moving bulldozer blade for Bonecrusher.

 

I think most people would have liked those things too, although if it was a choice between that or better arms & knees, I'm glad they went the way they did.

 

I agree with you. But I would have liked Alt mode and 'Bot mode articulation. If Takara can do one, they can do both.
Looking at Bonecrusher, his alt mode seems to have some kind of movement on the Dozer blade, just like his G1 counterpart, but it looks very limited.
Mixmaster is missing the rotating mixer drum that the G1 version had.
Scrapper looks to have the same basic moving bucket that the G1 toy had, but I'll admit some extra articulation to mimic a real bucket loader would have been nice, like a tipping bucket.
Longhaul looks like he can't tip up his truck back, something that the G1 Longhaul could do. There also seems to be large holes in the rear truck section, so useless for carrying dirt, really.
Hook is a real letdown, the G1 alt mode was much more articulated, with an extending crane boom and also a rotating crane jib. At least Dr. Wu looks to be bringing out an extending boom, but it's not a huge use without the rotating jib/crane cab section. I wonder if another 3P will help us out here?
I can't tell if Scavenger has the same alt mode articulation as his G1 version. It looks like the bucket arm still moves in two places, just like the G1 toy, but it would be nice if the bucket actually rotated like a real excavator. I also can't see if the top part of the excavator actually rotates around the tracks, the G1 toy did, and it's a pretty important movement for an excavator to do.

It just goes to show how awesome the original G1 Constructicon vehicle modes were in the first place, that 30 years later we are getting "updates" with less alt mode movement functions.
Fingers crossed some enterprising 3P can help out...

 

nice price, but then you add on shipping and BBTS becomes more appealing.

 

Looks like Perfect Effect is coming out with an upgrade kit to address Hook and Scavenger. Also a different front for Mixmaster - more G1.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/trans...c-06-pc-07-add-kits-prowlstator-new-arms.html

 

Yes, I've just seen that, thanks.
Comparing PE's Hook crane boom to the Dr. Wu version, the one by the good Doctor looks a bit nicer to me. But the PE Scavenger addition looks very good, I hope it has the bucket articulation.
I guess nothing can be done for Mixmaster's drum, but at least the PE cab looks nice.
Still need Hook's crane cab to be able to rotate somehow.

 

AE has Devastator for $147 USD. Not sure if anyone has reported this.

 

So, does it appear to anyone else that Long Haul has bicep swivvles?