TFW2005 boards member Slingshot has stumbled upon listings for some new Generations Combiner Wars figures – Protectobots First Aid and Rook! These details also seemingly confirmed that a Defensor figure will indeed be coming.
Protectobot First Aid Action Figure• Includes axe and comic book
• 2-in-1 Protectobot First Aid figure has robot and combat vehicle modes
• Figure becomes an arm or a leg to build a Defensor figure (other figures sold separately)
• Converts in 8 steps
• 6 Inch
Protectobot Rook Action Figure
• 2-in-1 Protectobot Rook figure has robot and armored truck modes
• Includes weapon and comic book
• Figure becomes an arm or a leg to build a Defensor figure (other figures sold separately)
• Converts in 9 steps
• 6 Inch
Hopefully we’ll be seeing these soon at Toy Fair.
Check them out after the break!
Raiyuki
So much talk about Ratchet. I'll toss this in there; Armada Red Alert (who's pretty much Ratchet in everything but Hasbro name; Takara fixed that) was an SUV. If they were to make a new Ratchet Ironhide mold as an SUV, it'd of course lack the G1 proper altmode but if they could give that a G1 bot mode I think it'd workout well and for me it'd also be a dual homage to Micron Legend Ratchet as well (heck they could pull a later redeco as that guy as well). It'd certainly make it easier to design a robot mode around as you'd have a front section to form arms (or even legs) out of.
shockwave2010
I'm looking forward to minasaur.
LegendAntihero
I thought PRID Ironhide was great, especially if we had gotten a Hasbro version
TheSupernova
I totally get it. I'd have loved to see First Aid to have a more traditional vehicle mode, and I also agree that true civilian (boring) vehicle modes are certainly missing from modern Transformers. I'd personally love to see civil aviation represented better!
Autovolt 127
PRID Ironhide wasn't a half bad design. Though I still wished Hasbro had released it as Ironhide instead of Kup.
We really do need a good Classics Ironhide and Ratchet.
I could have seen that being the original intention. Skids's head and Ironhide's are rather similar.
SMOG
Exactly. Where's my ambulance Ratchet?!
The real reason is that quasi-military SUV-type trucks are doused in testosterone, so what else could Michael Bay possibly use?
zmog
Kraken
Bayformer Ratchet isn't actually an ambulance though, he's a fire department emergency response vehicle. He's not designed to carry passengers on a stretcher in the back, he's more for on the spot emergency first aid and stowing equipment like the jaws of life and stuff.
SMOG
Yeah, I still don't feel that it reflects his personality that much. But then, I'm also a big advocate for more boring alt modes. I'm actually pretty indifferent now to all the tough supertrucks and hot muscle cars. Give me a city bus or a banal minivan for a change.
I agree, and if that figure wasn't pathetically small, he would be my Generations Ironhide.
C'mon, Chinese KO makers… Voyager Micron Legend Ironhide! Make it happen!
Yeah, it's sort of crazy how many of those designs and characters got shuffled around. There's a lot of great "could have been" combos that they didn't end up going with. I always thought the Viper (with the roof) was a much better match for G1 Wheeljack (though it was designed to be Tracks). And then there were designs like Mirage, who didn't realy look much like anyone, but were damn cool anyway.
Agreed. I don't need my transformations to be unnecessarily fussy or complicated. The CW Deluxes mostly look familiar, seem to be a good size, and don't seem too compromised by combining gimmicks. I'm optimistic about them.
It's just too bad Hasbro feels the need to muck with the roster of each team in some way.
zmog
WhiteMocha
Oh, in general I agree. If we're talking a new-design, new-mold Ironhide then yeah, I think "big and tough" is the way to go. Mostly I was talking in terms of the Alternators Scion mold, which does a good job accomplishing "little and tough" and, due to its very Ironhide-y headsculpt, seems like it was originally intended to be Ironhide anyway. I wish that version had happened, I think it would have looked nice.
(Side note: boy, in retrospect the BT/Alt line was such a peculiarity in terms of "molds who were supposed to be someone else but were changed somewhere along the way." Others lines might have that from time to time, but for BT/Alt it seemed to happen for about half the figures in the lineup.)
I agree, I've really enjoyed the first wave of Combiner Wars. Sure, they aren't complex, but that is actually refreshing. They look nice and have lots of personality, are enjoyable to transform, and I find them a lot of fun.
Maximo Prime
I am excited to see Defensor. I have wave 1 so far, and superion (and op as the torso too) are sturdy, fun, and easy to transform. I will likey never buy another 3rd party combiner.
Also, I applaud you all for carrying on a civil conversation for 11 pages and counting!
unicronic
I think the recent PRID Ironhide got plenty right with how a modern Generations Ironhide could look. ]
The 4×4 vehicle that still resulted in a pretty iconic looking Ironhide.
Something similar would make me very happy in Generations.
In all honesty we haven't ever had a good CHUG Ironhide or Ratchet. The universe mold was awful at the time of release and is even worse now.
TheSupernova
The closest that I've come to seeing one was a Ford Explorer that was used as a paramedic's transport. It was decorated up with the same colors and striping like the ambulances around here, but it certainly couldn't transport any patients.
I've also seen the same thing done to a current generation Chevrolet Silverado. So seeing First Aid as an Off-Road redeco isn't completely out of the realm of possibility to me. I would think that even a pacifist like him would want to choose a more rough and tumble vehicle mode in order to reach patients that may be located in remote, less hospitable areas.
SMOG
Y'know… I see lots of modern ambulances and I have never once ever seen a 4X4 SUV ambulance in person. In Michael Bay movies yes… and on toy shelves, sure… but not in real life at all.
When I do a google image search for "ambulance", I don't see a single SUV (except one image of Bayformer Ratchet).
So I'm not sure if I'm really convinced that the standard has changed. SUV style ambulances are just not sensible. They give a rough bumpy ride even on smooth roads, and it makes it harder to load patients if the rear entrance is too high up. It doesn't make sense.
zmog
shockwave2010
Has anyone seen a modern ambulance they look more like any off road 4 x 4 so first aid they might be going with a modern ambulance. As far rook goes not sure what he will be.
Autovolt 127
I have to agree with SMOG, Ironhide needs to be a heavy duty truck/van. Ratchet would get away with being a more compact ambulance.
SMOG
This.
Partially true. A friend of mine had a vanette in the late 80s. It was small, but still appropriate for ambulance work in that you could get a stretcher and a medic in there (though maybe not with the same EMT capacity as newer bigger ambulances of course). As WhiteMocha's links show, there was a precedent for such things, especially in countries where narrow streets and small vehicles were already the norm.
Also:
I realize that's a slightly longer version of the Nissan, but it's still pretty small, and certainly evokes a "Ratchet" styling. Traveling in Asia and the Carribbean especially, you notice how many of the vehicles that are HUGE in North America are often considerably smaller over there.
like this adorable firetruck I snapped in Tokyo
That much is undeniable. Those things are hatchbacks with delusions of grandeur.
I think my issue is the degree to which "macho" vehicles like SUVs (under the guise of "emergency response vehicles) have largely eclipsed other vehicle types in Transformers, such as the humble ambulance. I like it when a vehicle mode also says something about the character, and in First Aid's case, this is especially relevant.
Plus, I'm not sure I'd want to ride to the hospital in an SUV. Not the smoothest ride.
I'm kind of the opposite. I feel like Ratchet can be a humble vehicle, while Ironhide needs to be a big, tough ol' gas guzzler.
zmog
WhiteMocha
Well, you know, that's a good point! While dinky little ambulances do exist (and perhaps more so in the 80's), they're certainly not ideal. And I'm not sure if the Nissan Vanette specifically was ever used as an ambulance. It would be a cramped little thing, for sure.
I'd probably be more forgiving of the Universe mold being an SUV if it didn't look like an SUV that had been shattered and glued back together again poorly.
Love Scion xB's, by the way. Cool little cars. I still lament that we never got an Ironhide repaint of the BT mold. Even if, as you say, it wouldn't work for Ratchet, I could buy Ironhide as a tough, compact little cannonball like that.
Gauntletblade
So who wants to Wager that SDCC exclusive will be a G2 reapaint set of Defensor and Menasor?
Flash1087
See, I think Ratchet being a vehicle that has no business being an ambulance is just keeping with tradition. Have you ever seen the van he and Ironhide turned into in G1 in real life? That thing is WAY too small to be an ambulance. And if the rumors about him being the second repaint of Alternator Skids would have turned out true back in the day, that would have been even funnier – as an owner of a Scion xB that thing has no damn business being an ambulance.
So if Ratchet turns into something that shouldn't be an ambulance that still has sirens and crosses all over it? Why not, that's what he's always turned into.
(in all seriousness I do agree but I thought Movie Ratchet was pretty good too – the bulkier vehicle gave him a more 'combat medic' appearance which I like a lot but is perhaps more Hoist's job than Ratchet's, and I could see First Aid turning into one without it looking overly 'combative' and not matching his character)
TFcustoms91
Hasbro is making a Defensor Combiner AWESOME! i guess there is no point in getting the Generations Protectobots.