Overview description of the new MC newsletter, which arrived today:

- Preview of the Astrotrain figure, along with box/bio art (but not a picture of the box, alas).
-Pictures of CLASSICS BUMBLEBEE. My opinion: Some may be dissapointed with Bumblebee not being a VW bug anymore, he's more of a futuristic, small squat car. I think he could use more mold detaling, but otherwise looks pretty nice. He has the traditional Bumblebee colors, but with white stripes down the middle and a gray trunk that can open and release a miniature scooter/ATV thing. His robot mode is very similar in design to the Infiltration version, and looks very good all arouund, with a full range of articulation except perhaps the waist (which is my only complaint with the robot mode-- his waist doesn't look substantial enough behind his roof-chest).
-Interview with the Hasbro Team about the classics line. They say that the Classics line will hit in November (NOT September), and will last until next summer. They didn't actually CONFIRM that there will be repaints in the line, but they might as well have, as Aaron Archer says a couple of the molds "lend themselves well to being re-painted". There will be no toys of G1 characters who did not previously have toys. They will be focusing on the popular characters. At this time, they are only planning on the line having the two size classes already known about, but they said that if the line is successful, it "might open up more possibilities in the future".
-Interview of the newest Hasbro Team member, Mike Ballog, mostly detailing his background.
-Contuination of the Road Map to the Transformers Fiction Multiverse, by Greg Sepelak (MSipher)
-Bios for Cybertron Soundwave and 10th Anniversary Primal
-The Final Adventure of Lil' Jerry mini-comic
-Transfan art gallery
-IDW Solicitations for June and July (nothing we haven't already seen)
-A look at "Beastformers", the Japanese version of Battle Beasts
-"Revelations, Part 3" comic, featuring:

*SPOILERS*


....Cybertron Soundwave (who talks like his G1 self), with Laserbeak doing some good ol' Infiltration work-- and, what's really cool is that this version of Laserbreak apparently has a shadow form. This comic is also REALLY dark, as an entire nearby planet falls into madness, gluttony, and rage, then destroys itself as UNICRON is reborn from the interior of the planet. Ruh-roh, Raggy...

 

*wonders how long before pics of Bumblebee leak onto the net.*

All sounds awesome though.

 

Won't be by me, I can tell you that. To stem the tide of PMs last time I did this with people asking me for pics; do not, I will not PM you them. Subscribe to the club or wait.

 

How is it Aaron does not already know this line will do well?

 

I hope the line does extremely well, so that it may pick up after the movie line, or run alongside it. I love what I see, I dont want it to end.

For the people who have the club magazine already (COME ON, MAILMAN), does bumblebee have the traditional bumblebee chest, or something that looks similar?

 

Does 10th anniversary Primal's Bio make mention of the Multi-verse like Megatron's does?

 

My copy did not arrive yet, but probably tomorrow. since the last issue of the fan club magazine I have been really looking forward to the next installment of the comic. From your quick review Beastbox X it seems like I will not be disappointed.

 

But what does the scooter thing do and is it totally Xtreme!! ?

 

w00t I've got 5 pics that I colored in this issue! I CANNOT wait to get it!

 

Sounds good... I need to go check the mail... hopefully the line does get extended. I'd like to see Thundercracker and Skywarp repaints of Starscream. Can't really think of who else they'd repaint though witht the exception of Megatron to Galvatron and Prime to Magnus... although, to be honest, I'm sick of those repaints. Astrotrain really can't get one unless they were to do an anime accurate one as a store exclusive later or something... can't really see them doing two different colored Astrotrains in the mainline when it's going to be so short. Hot Rod could actually make a convincing Sideswipe or Sunstreaker in vehicle mode, but I doubt they'd do that since the robot mode is too Hot Rod if you know what I mean. And Bumblebee to Cliffjumper could work, but I haven't got my magazine yet so I don't really know if it would work with the new design.

Of course, what I really want to see and know, is when are pictures of Grimlock, Soundwave and Jetfire coming? Also, when are they going to announce who the other three deluxes released with Grimlock are going to be in Wave 2? I'm hoping for some more characters that aren't going to be redone anywhere else. Although, since they're focusing on the "popular" characters and (given the ratio) I think we'll see one more Autobot and two more Decepticons in wave 2. I'm not really sure whom they plan on doing for the other Autobot, but (if they don't start repainting Screamer by wave 2) I'd say that Blitzwing and Shockwave both lend themselves well as "popular" Decepticons from the G1 era. My only guess on the Autobot (and this is also taking the fact that I don't want this line, unless extended, to retread Alternator's path) would be... Blaster or Blurr, or Kup... actually, I want ARCEE! Give me a nice show accurate Arcee (or at least accurate in robot mode... making her a sleek modern day white & pink convertable would be awesome) to put next to my nicely updated Hot Rod! Not to mention Energon Arcee is too small and Botcon Arcee is too big for him, but a deluxe in this line would be just right!  

 

I should clarify this, as the description of what I wrote on the front page lists something that I guess Joe Moore misunderstood-- the newsletter does NOT have the actual Bio for Club Exclusive Astrotrain in it, just the bio art (or box art, I'm not really sure which) and the same description of the toy that's found on the Club website. Sorry if I misled anyone on that bit.

Better than that, it pretty much summarizes everything that was suppoed to have happened in the canned 3H Universe comic. It also explains why he looks different (Unicron virus contamination, he had to be reformatted completely or risked madness), what happened to his version of Cybertron, the reawakening of BW/BM Megatron, and that Primal actually has a "Matrix of Purificiation" now.

You can only see half of it poking out from the trunk of Bumblebee's vehicle mode, that's why I'm not entirely sure what kind of a vehicle it is. It looks like it's just a little vehicle that rolls around, nothing more.

Something pretty similar, not exactly the same, it's more steamlined.

 

Fixed the frontpage listing about Astrotrain. My bad.

 

So it has no function in robot mode?
I thought it looked as though it had something mounted on his arm in the blacked out pic.

 

Nope, nothing's mounted on his arm. His entire trunk section is on his upper back in robot mode, I presume the scooter/ATV thing stays in there.

 

EDIT: Double post, something's going on with my connection...

 

Is the head "anime" Bumblebee, or toy-style Goldbug-esque?

Possible repaints/remolds:

Starscream = All the Seekers. (easy)

Bumblebee = Cliffjumper, Hubcap, Bumper.

Astrotrain = Lightspeed, Skylynx (a streatch)

Hot Rod = Sunstreaker, Sideswipe, Blurr? (a streatch again)

Prime = Magnus.

Megatron (Galvatron with new head)


ZacWilliam, molds I want to see: Grimlock, Soundwave (with multiple cassettes), IRONHIDE, RATCHET (those last two need cartoon style toys SOOO badly.)

 

Spot-on anime Bumblebee.

 

Because collectors alone can't carry the line. Kids will have to like them too.