Transformers Device Label Ravage and Tigatron Released in Japan

Just got a payment request from hlj.com for my Ravage USB drive, which means they are in stock and ready to ship!

Cool! Can't wait for Blaster. But he's probably still scheduled for December right?

Yeah, according to HLJ's website, Blaster is still set for a December release.

i still want to see Music Label Soundwave and Device Label Blaster side by side

Damn! I hope he is worth the wait

Mine already shipped (wow that was fast)! I should probably have them Tuesday or Wednesday (heck maybe even on Monday)!

Randy

Well that explains why I couldn't find USB ravage anywhere in Tokyo last week...

Won't have the money for mine till next week.

My Ravage and Tigatron just shipped as of this morning! Can't wait!

Just got my notice from BBTS!

Ravage and Tigatron are in the POL.

Awesome as Ravage is, I can't quite bring myself to spend $45 for a 2 gig flash drive right now. I guess I'll just have to content myself with Classics Ravage alongside my Music Label Soundwave.

Sweet! Looks like I'll have to get my hands on Device Label Ravage.

For anyone who wants to see more pictures and what they can do:
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transf...-tigatron.html

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transf...ar-ravage.html

Basically, people that want these are paying $40 for the little transformer and $5 for the USB drive, since you can get a 2GB US for $5 or less anymore (I got one free for buying $10 worth of canned air awhile back). They are cool, but like much of the Japanese TF front, they are WAY WAY overpriced.

I'm paying (er.. Paid) $45 for the figure and $0 for the USB drive I'm sure as shit not going to ever use it to store anything other than what comes on it.

These would have been way more practical had they been Micro-SD adapters or something. But even then we can still debate the practicality of a USB transformer toy doing anything other than "novelty".

Mine shipping today from BBTS. This has been a weekend of TF Cassette love.

Ravage can now join my other cassette new additions - Noizu, Gurafi, Dairu and Zauru.

I cant wait for all these to arrive.

Yup, my Ravage and Tigatron just dropped into my PoL at BBTS. Have been looking forward to them.

Unfortunately, Ravage is now the ONLY thing in my Pile of Loot. And I really don't believe iGear's Ark playset or DCUC wave 11 are going to hit this month. So now the question becomes: do I wait, ship him by himself, or find something else to add into the Pile to make the shipping more tolerable?

damn, i live in japan and i saw these last week. guess i should have posted some pictures. they are only 3400 yen over here. can't wait for blaster to come out!

damn, double post.

WRONG!

Tigatron and Ravage have a disc that installs on the computer and puts virtual representations of them on your Windows Desktop. They can do a few activities too.

So, you're paying like... 5$ for the Drive, 20 bucks for the figure and 20 bucks for the software. (Plus whatever shipping)

It's relatively safe to say you're getting what you paid for.

Wait a sec.. these actually come with a disk when they could have just put everything on the USB drive? What the hell?

No no... there's no disc... the software itself is on the USB drive, so when you plug it in, there's an option for you to install it.

Once installed, an animated version of either Ravage or Tigatron will appear on your desktop, whenever you plug the USB drive in, and prowl the screen. Here's a screenshot:



If you click on him while he stalks, he'll crouch and look around, then give a leap or two and a pounce. Now and again he'll stand and turn his head and kick his back legs...

Kinda cute...

EDIT: yes, my mistake, I hadn't played with it enough. Both cats are available no matter what USB drive you have. He can also roar and eat icons.

No, all the software comes on the USB drive itself, plus English, French, Spanish (i think) and Chinese instruction manuals to install and run the software. EITHER character can be used on the software that comes with BOTH USB toys, so you can have Tigertron on your desktop with Ravage connected to it.

You guys are getting ripped off methinks. Amazon Japan had them for a mere 2-2,500 yen.

Does it work on a MAC?

Can you download the software out?

According to the back of the box, the USB drive works with:

Windows Vista, XP, 7
Mac OS 10.0.2

expected that the drive itself would work with any modern OS (what one doesn't), but what about the apps? are they Windows only?

Device Label Jaguar

Amazon Japan has them for 5800 yen. How, exactly, are we being ripped off? The median price on these (and I'm assuming the MSRP) is 3990 yen. Some places have them for more, some for a little less. $41 (the price CapturedPrey.com is charging for them, and what I'm personally paying) is not much more than the MSRP.

that's exactly what i wanted to know too, and it looks like it does...i'm waiting for the aerial appendage upgrade to restock at BBTS so i can get these shipped together. i cant wait.

and i think the price is a bit high for a 2gb stick, but we're getting a cool looking ravage...if this had a US release, i'd bet it would be price around 20 bucks. japanese price seems fair to be about double.

Yay, screwed again on the preorder with TFsource. I go with BBTS, TFsource gets it first. I go with TFsource, BBTS gets it first.

I can't win. This is the third time in a row. I guess I should just preorder EVERYTHING with BBTS and just cancel if TFsource gets it first.

MMM that's what i do...

except i've got credit with BBTS so i'm just waiting...

does anyone know how to take apart a USB stick? i want to take apart my 8 gig stick and put it inside Ravage...

to be honest it *should* be a piece of piss, but most usb sticks aren't screwed together, they're fixed internally and/or glued which is a problem.

if you're just going to try to transplant the insides, i'd suggest finding out which hardware vendor makes the USB component and looking at their similar products - i'd bet any money it's a standard chipset stuck in there.

if anybody who's got one of these could get a dump of the drive's properties (you can use something like usblyzer or whatever app you prefer) then we could find out who made it and specifically what bit it is.

for example, this is a dump of my USB stick...

so based on that we could find other products using the same stuff inside.

Don't plan on upgrading the storage. Most USB flash drives now use a system in package (SiP) module, which is essentially a small circuit board with the plastic shell molded onto and around it.

These are toys. If you want something to store files on, spend the extra $10-$20 and pick up a real USB flash drive.

This. It's as bad as the people who complained about ML Soundwave being a craptastic MP3 player.

And feedback thread with gallery is live.

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transf...el-ravage.html

i use a variety of USB sticks at work, i like transformers, a transforming USB stick pushes my buttons. you want a new ravage toy. is device label ravage intended more for you than me because it is a transformers branded product?

nah. they're USB sticks with legs and heads molded on - just because you think of them as toys doesn't mean they aren't for storing files!

there is a rather funky optimus prime bubblebath out at the moment, i want one because i like the robot shaped packaging, but he's still (optimus!)primarily full of bubblebath.

You miss the point. This is a toy that happens to have another, slightly useful, function. And because of that Tak/To put in the smallest cheapest thumb drive package they could find. Which is why it's 2 gigs. The whole of his electronics fit into the square section behind his head with 'con symbol on it. The foot print of where they could fit the actual drive components is around the size of my thumbnail. About as thick as the finder joint under my thumbnail too. And you got to consider that the USB connector slides too. Which also takes up space.

So like Music label Soundwave Tak/To took the most barebones MP3 player/thumb drive they could find. So they would have a small enough gizmo to then build a half decent toy around.

No, i'm really not missing the point - of course it is in part a toy, but implying that unless you've got a 256gig flash device you're just playing at storing data is silly.

A cheap 2 gig capacity was a cost concession on an already overpriced item, not some kind of admission that this isn't a usb stick at all but a toy for toy collectors to collect. As far as the size goes, a 16gig sandisk cruzer micro looks like this..



which is why i'm thinking a transplant could be do-able if you could find the right bit We already know it's a Toshiba from the software which narrows things down. Given how long it's been in development, i suspect half the problem is that technology outstripped the design process rather than putting in last-gen memory being part of the spec.

How much storage space do you need on your thumb stick anyway? i use mine for moving plaintext format files and images. The entire jquery JS lib is like 19k, meaning on ravage i could store over a hundred thousand copies of it - the extra storage transplant is more to satisfy the nerd in me than any burning desire to move DVD ISOs around

Well Hasbro said it takes a year to develop a regular deluxe. So these device toys could have easily taken 1.5 years to 2 years. Which is a VERY long time for consumer electronics. So in 2007 a 2gig thumbdrive might have been the most cost effective way to go.

On your other point, I don't even use a thumbdrive. But 2 gigs isn't much if you got to move PDF files. Bloated ass format that it is.

good point...this is definitely something that's been in the works for awhile...and i use my 8gb ALL the time to transfer albums and movies from my various computers to each other...but i can still use a 2gb for things as well...if needed...i currently have 4 or 5 different sized sticks. i mostly use my 8gb, but i've got a 2gb, a 1gb and a 256mb stick too...maybe one more...but the small one my wife uses just for text, and i just use the 8...this will mostly be a display piece for me, and if needed it'll be a USB device...unless i can mod it with my 8gb flash...or buy a second 8gb flash to use inside ravage...

i already have the 1 GB version

That is by far the dustiest Universe Ravage I have ever seen. The figure isn't even a year old and he's super dusty! lol