The Canadian Hasbro Transformers website has updated with new official photos of the upcoming Generations Combiner Wars Leader Class Thundercracker.
Thundercracker is a heavy retool of the Leader Jetfire figure and is based on Guido Guidi’s IDW Seeker design.
Check out the photos after the break!
Novaburnhilde
I can't wait to see the Starscream-colored version of this mold.
Nevermore
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1034156-leader-class-thundercracker-hand.html
Generations Combiner Wars Leader Class Thundercracker In-Hand Images – Transformers News – TFW2005
Omegax80
Looks like someone overseas has him in-hand already
Generations Leader Thundercracker
Newsworthy?
swOd
This guy + gold Sharpie = new Dreadwing
Movebuster
If it weren't for the fact that I already have all three Movie seekers and am running out of shelf space, I would be all over this and his inevitable recolors Starscream and Skywarp. IMO? It's better than the classics mold. It's bigger and I am a huge fan of scale accuracy. I can't think of a single generations transformer in recent history that didn't have some hollow space, so putting this mold on a pedestal is unfair. I see nothing wrong with the colors. I could be mistaken but i'm pretty sure the Americans don't fly F-15's anymore. Also, the original Decepticon team were fewer in number than the Autobots, so they damn well better be bigger, or there is no fight and Megatron's whole idea is just suicide. I have recently purchased some figures twice and I never found the same flaws in both figures, so claiming that any mold itself has issues is not usually accurate. And I've had a number of Hasbro Transformers that I feared would break if I transformed them based on the way they felt. Apart from the ones with GPS, they never did.
General Magnus
Comic accurate: Check.
Not an lame F-15 that was done ad nauseum? Check.
IDW inspired? Check.
I´m sorry, what are the reasons to not get this toy?
LegendAntihero
Yay! This will be the perfect bad guy for my Leader Jetfire to fight!
Autovolt 127
I can see it happening.
artiepants
I'd be shocked – SHOCKED!!!! if in the next 18 months we didn't see Starscream and Skywarp redecos in some manner. Mainline, Store/convention exclusives, Takara Tomy, Hasbro Asia…. someone will do it.
Raiyuki
Hasbro did the trio in the FOC mold and they've now done the (new) Legends mold as well. Since 2012 that's at least two sets in two different size classes. I think Thundercracker though is being done as a stand alone but if you want completed trios there's two with one being completed really soon (and actually the new Legends mold has four Seekers so it's more than a Trio once Skywarp hits the pegs)
Prime Aspect
Bumblebee and other car bots, sure, but given that a leader size class Seeker is still only about half as tall as he should be to be in scale, it's certainly a step in the right direction.
My issues are:
1) at roughly the same size as MP Thundercracker, it doesn't really seem to have much point other than price.
2) As I mentioned earlier, the fake cockpit chest irks me on both Jetfire and Seekers.
shadowfall1976
We're getting a Legends Skywarp to go with new Generations Legends Thundercracker and Starscream. Mind you it's a small set of the 3, but I'm stoked for it.
Afterburner
They don't license stuff at all for Classics and probably never will. The Classic Seeker mold is not a match for an F-15.
I'm guessing it is more that they have simply decided that they've done plenty of F-15's and there are other jet profiles that work and feel more with the times (though the F-15 has shown remarkable longevity).
Shin Densetsu
I don't mind it, Jetfire and Air Raid sport stealthy yet unique designs based off the F-14. The retooled parts for Thundercracker turn it into a stealthy F-15.
If anything these seem like natural progressions towards modernization, like they don't seem too far off for the characters IMO.
I don't know if this also plays a part but Boeing is known for being difficult to get licenses for models/toys based on designs they own, including the F-15, F/A-18, et al. Whereas Northrop Grumman(F-14) and Lockheed(F-22) are easier to obtain licenses from.
Anthony _aggro
Do they really need this? I am still a little peeved that there was never a U.S. release of legends class Skywarp from a few years ago, only the EZ collection that is really hard to find.
It would be nice if Hasbro focused on giving us at least the set of the Main 3 seekers before starting a new mold in another size class. It is cool when there are new figures and molds, but with these three, can't they just give us a set of three.
As far as design, it is kind of cool. I like the jet mold in the pics.
griffin-of-oz
I wonder why Hasbro have stopped using the Gen1 F-15 Eagle jet form in their toys now?
The Generations Legends jet mold used for Seekers resembles the F-22 Raptor.
The Generations Leader jet mold to be used for Seekers resembles the F-14 Tomcat.
The Generations Deluxe jet mold to be used for Air Raid also resembles the F-14 Tomcat (the Gen1 toy was F-15 like the Seeker Jets).
Are they just trying to create a more "universal" fighter jet toy to milk even more redecos and remolds from the one mold?
Wasn't 31 different toys from the Classics Deluxe F-15 mold enough… do they now need to make it possible to add in Jetfire and Air Raid redecos in a future Seeker mold as well if required?
I think that if they are going to do a "Gen1 homage" toy, it should be more than just slapping that character's color scheme on a completely different alt-mode toy… if it is possible to still mimic the original alt-mode in the toy. This would be like having a generic car mold redecoed into ten different Autobot car toys, just because it's still a car alt-mode so should be "close enough". Would most fans accept ten different decos of a VW as Prowl, Hound, Mirage, Ironhide, etc… the swapping out of the F-15 for the F-14 or F-22 for a "Gen1" homage Seeker or Air Raid toy, is exactly the same.
shadowfall1976
Jetfire is roughly 8 1/2" (Head), 9" (Black Thrusters) & 9 1/2" (Wing Tips)
MP-10 roughly 9 1/12"
ROTF Leader Class roughly 9 3/4"
He's still closer than the old Ultra Class are. And as I said, Jetfire is about an inch shorter than MP-10. He's about an inch and a quarter shorter than ROTF Leader Prime if you go by the head tops. If you go by overall height of the entire figure, he is close to the old scale.
Monari
Whoops, sorry guys, I was asleep so i'm a bit delayed in replying! No, I don't have him in hand, har har, but I have Leader Jetfire which is basically the same figure. Will the plastic tolerances change? There's a chance for that, I admit, but at the same time I think we can be about 95% certain that they won't given that it's not so much about the plastic that's used as the way the figure is designed – that being honeycombed and with thinner, more hollow parts. Even if you used a higher grade plastic, I would very much doubt it would affect the figure that much. Anyway, apologies for the delay, let's go!
No.
See above for my rationalization – yes, Leader Thundercracker may feel different in hand, but I highly, highly doubt that. If i'm wrong i'll happily eat crow because I think the Leader Jetfire mold is awesome, but suffers from some shortcuts that make it feel cheap in hand. Anyway, why does it matter how long you've been collecting Masterpieces? If that's how it goes, then i've been collecting them since Takara's MP-1 first released, and even the newest ones have a substantially higher level of complexity, parts, quality and construction above those of current Generations figures. Implying that Leader Jetfire and MP Starscream are comparable, or that Combiner Wars Air Raid and MP Sideswipe are similar, is absurd.
See above.
soundwaverulls
The Voyagers' size changes quite a bit. Back in 2007, they were huge. Then in 2009, they became a lot smaller. Then they became even smaller in 2011. Finally, they seemed to have upsized them since 2012.
As for Megatron's height, note that he is a lot skinnier than Jetfire/Thundercracker.
johnbonhamatron
Huh, well, there ye go, then.
The size difference between that mould and Megatron is dead easy to explain, though: those honking great wings.