Japanese Transformers

Alfes2000 of the Higekuma Toy Blog has posted some in-hand images of the recently released Takara-Tomy Generations Blaster. This incarnation of Blaster is a Japanese release of Fall of Cybertron Blaster with Steeljaw. Blaster sports silver on his legs which in vehicle mode links up with the silver on the arms and a deeper red. Steeljaw features a darker yellow and both have additional paint details over their US releases. Check out the gallery at the link above.

Toys R Us Japan have updated with product pages for the next four Transformers Go! releases. Coming this June are the three Autobot Samurai Kenzan, Jinbu and Ganou - who combine into three different giant robots based on who forms the upper body, torso and legs - along with the Predacon Gaidora, a Lazerback retool with a new head and new deco.

Courtesy of Alfes 2010's blog, we now have a vast in-hand gallery of the recently released Super GT GT-R Prime and GT-R Saber (who are both retools of the first Alternity Convoy mold, as are the others in the line as well) with shots of their vehicle and robot modes, comparisons with the Alternity Convoy mold and galleries of their out-of-scale Microman-esque Race Queen companions that are bundled together with each Super GT release. Take the jump to view the galleries.

Takara-Tomy have announced a pair of Arms Micron campaigns to celebrate the launch of the Transformers Go! Samurai team. There are three clear Arms Microns paired with each of the three Autobots - a clear A.R.C. paired with Kenzan, a translucent yellow S.2. paired with Jinbu and a translucent red S.W. paired with Ganou. These are included free with a purchase of the corresponding Autobot at certain stores including Toys R Us Japan, Amazon Japan, and Yodobashi Camera.

The second figure campaign is a translucent blue version of the Optimus Prime Blaster Arms Micron, which is available by obtaining a ticket from TV-Boy magazine.

New images have surfaced on a Japanese Image board with scans from a new Hobby magazine and it showcases a lot of new upcoming Takara product, including our first look at Masterpiece Tigertrack and their version of Metroplex (albeit in black and white). All together shown here are new images of the following:

• Masterpiece 12-T Tigertrack
• Transformers GO - G01 Kenzan
• Transformers GO - G02 Jinbu
• Transformers GO - G03 Ganoh
• Transformers GO - G04 Gaidora
• TG-19 Grimlock
• TG-20 Ratbat
• TG-23 Metroplex

E-Hobby have updated their pre-order page for Classics Magnificus with some pages from the comic that will accompany the toy. The comic features a plethora of obscure Transformers characters, from the appearance of an unreleased ape Pretender to Generation 2 Eagle Eye, to the Japanese leader who never got a toy, Scrash. Could this comic play into the fiction that accompanied the Transformers United EX toys? Stay tuned for more news on this release.

Takara-Tomy has added a promo to their Youtube channel for their iteration of the Bot Shots line, BeCool. The video features some cute stop-motion of the toys and an irritatingly catchy song to go with it all. Check it out below:

TFYuki has posted an in-package image of the next two releases in the Takara-Tomy Transformers Generations line. Next up are the Voyager class Autobot Blaster to go with the Autobot Data Disks set recently released and the so far Japan-only Fall of Cybertron Skywarp - which right now looks like it will be the only way to get the third Seeker and complete the trio in their War / Fall of Cybertron guises.

By way of Autobase Aichi we have a nice selection of images to share with you from Japanese toy show Daiomochahaku (lit. Large Toy Expo), being held this weekend at the Shinagawa Prince Hotel in Japan. The display that Takara-Tomy is laying on is so far light on upcoming releases, focusing instead on a diorama of the recently released Transformers Go! toys and a display of the sucessive versions of Convoy / Optimus Prime. There is also a Transformers GT display with the final versions of GT Prime and GT Saber on show.

Some new images of the Transformers GT special exclusive figure, Safety Prime, have been posted on Portarmy's Photozou. This figure, a redeco of the Legends Class Reveal the Shield Prowl, is an exclusive only available in Japan to children participating in a Takara-Tomy sponsored Kid's Walk. Check out the images at the link above.

A second scan from a Takara-Tomy retailer catalog, this time by way of Robot Kingdom, shows us a look at the Transformers Go! Ninja team. They are a trio of animal themed robots who can combine into three different giant robot combinations like the vehicle transformation Samurai team. They are Gekisomaru the lion, Hishomaru the phoenix and Sensuimaru the shark. Yes, Transformers Go! will give you a ninja star wielding shark for your collection!

The scans also show (in small callouts on the larger scan with the artwork) the three different combinations of both teams. One of the scans also shows what Takara-Tomy's Hunter Smokescreen will look like - he will be a pure white version of the Beast Hunters mold, without many of the extra paint details Hasbro added - in fact the picture is unclear but it looks like there isn't any red paint on him at all.

Check out these scans attached to this story.

An image posted on Twitter by @trafes20120505 from a Takara-Tomy product catalog has revealed the remainder of the decos of the Transformers Go! Predacons and confirmed that they are all redecos of the Hasbro Beast Hunters Predacons. The confirmed decos are:

G-07 Bakudora - redeco of Ripclaw, red wings, black and silvery-blue body. May feature a new head.
G-21 Judora - redeco of Skystalker, mostly black body with golden wings and legs.
G-08 Budora - black, red and yellow redeco of Grimwing.
G-09 Goradora - only shown in silhouette, but the silhouette is a match to the Cyberverse Abominus combiner, confirming previous speculation that the five might be issued in Japan as a single giftset at the Voyager pricepoint.

Check out the scan attached to this post.

E-Hobby have updated their page for the Takara-Tomy Transformers Generations TG-24 Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, Roller and Blaze Master four pack with new official images of the set. All four feature metallic finishes, as standard for Takara-Tomy's releases, which includes giving Bumblebee a full-on gold shiny finish. Take a look and see what you think of them.

Toy-World.com.uk has posted scans from the May 2013 edition of Figure King. The big news in these scans are fresh images of the Japanese Generations Blaster and Skywarp, notably Skywarp's purple seems a shade lighter in these images making him appear a little closer to the animation colors of another Decepticon, Cyclonus. A series of Masterpiece Prowl resin prototype images, showing how the shoulder cannons deploy, are also shown. Other items shown off on these pages include Kre-O's Japanese release (unchanged from the US version) and Transformers Go!'s April releases (all of which we have seen previously). Check out the scans attached to this post.

By way of Cybergundam and Dengeki Hobby's June 2013 edition, we can share an image of the Transformers GT series packaging. The GT series toys - and specifically the first releases in the series, Optimus Prime and Star Saber - are packaged in a wide, square box, with the toy in vehicle mode on the left visible through a window, and artwork of the robot on the right. Between the toy and the artwork in roughly the center of the packaging is the Race Queen figure. The boxes look very nice for display, although significantly bigger than the Transformers Alternity packaging, which previous versions of these molds were packaged in.