Oh man, I can't go through that again!

Yeah! Siege has been pure crack for 80's TF comic nerds! I love it!

And Straxus would fit in perfectly with the whole WfC trilogy. I seriously hope we get a new take on him!

First ramble of the year/decade, and it's a good boi!



So, I'm an old school comics head. You know that by now, right? Even as an adult it feels, to me, like the superior bit of 80's TF fiction. When it found the space to use a character, it often did far more than the cartoon would. And Ratbat is a prime example of this.

In the cartoon Ratbat was simply another voiceless, beastly subordinate to Soundwave. In the comics he served as leader of the Decepticons. And one of the bleakest (and arguably most effective) leaders at that. Conquest, sadism, and ego didn't come into it for Ratbat. Just efficiency. It's a brilliant take for a villain and rings as true now as it did in the 'greed is good' 1980's. Perhaps even better. For me, his defining scene is when he recalls Trypticon from Earth back to Cybertron because he'd exceeded his allotted energy allowance. Talk about the banality of evil.

(Others of you may remember 'Buster Witwicky and the Carwash of Doom' and use this as your rebuttal for Ratbat being cool, to which I say "like, whatever dude!")

If nothing else, it was cool that a dinky little toy that came double packed with a rereleased cassette from two years earlier could be treated with such gravitas. Leaders don't always need to be the premium point item, right? Another point to the frequently maligned Mr Budiansky.

Ratbat was one of the more minor notches on the 'we didn't get 'em in the UK' bedpost. Despite liking what Budiansky did with him, I didn't feel too aggrieved that I couldn't get the toy. I picked him up in 2013, when I was buying up those Encore four packs of cassettes. Straight out the pack I could tell I was looking at a star. I never thought the cassettes were cheap or crappy. They always seemed like smart designs that gave serious value for the price point. But man, Ratbat goes next level in the design stakes. The little ridges on his toes, the double hinge on his wings. The claws that fold out from the wings. Those adorable little ears. His fangs! all this detail adds up to give you such a well developed little toy.

That said, I am so glad that whoever was doing the cartoon design used their judgement so. Cute as his little flat head is, the design in the cartoon has so much more character and menace. When I think about Ratbat, that is what I see in my mind's eye.

So, just to dispel any feelings of suspense or suchlike I'm going to come straight out and say I love Siege Ratbat. Like Laserbeak, he's one of the few examples of the Micromaster price point that I find satisfying. And like Sideswipe, Prowl, and Soundwave, he takes some cues from his MP version. Alas, I sold my MP Ratbat KO, so I can't compare like for like, but when I got Siege Ratbat in hand I felt like I'd held this brand new toy before. Broadly, I approve of this trend. When you nailed it, you've nailed it, and there's no point of reinventing the wheel, especially when the results are so satisfying.

But I digress. Ratbat is just magic. I love this little toy so much. The tactile, fiddle pleasure of this recalls the joy that Titan Masters and Prime Masters gave me. That tiny headsculpt is so incredibly well detailed that I can't help but marvel at the wonder of it. And it absolutely looks the part, and feels like the character in the comics down to the proverbial 't'. He's not perfect. While the detail across him is mighty fine, it's striking that the engineering in his wings isn't as complex as the original G1. Just a single hinge? Are the budgets that tight?

And the alt mode is...really bothering me. I mean, yes...of course it's sort of a cassette except it's not so it was always going to be weird. But what really bothers we I that these things are meant to work as shields. But the 5mm peg is on Ratbat's back. so, uh....when you have the shield attached to a larger size class figure Ratbat's face is facing outwards, unhidden. Just waiting to receive a blows from a sword, or axe, or blaster. Was his reign really so poorly received by his fellow 'cons that they now want him to repeatedly hit in the face? It's not a big deal, really. I'm almost never going to have him in alt mode. But I'm struggling to think what Hasbro were thinking.

I'm so happy to have this figure. It really has brought me the platonic ideal of a personal favourite to the Generations line. And that fact it has been done so well speaks to the strengths of this War for Cybertron project.

I just wish Rumble didn't suck so hard. But we can revisit that if/when Frenzy gets released.

 

Yeah, I just keep mine in alt mode so I don't laugh every time I pass it!

"That's my 'back massager', how dare you..."

Yeah, bad enough I'm paying a silly amount for a repaint of a slightly outdated figure without displaying him with his pink protuberance.

Though to be fair, you'd definitely run away in terror.

 

I

Do you mean Reverse Convoy?

In the siege line its mostly pins and such, and not ball joints - so parts are not easily swappable and thankfully dont fall off or go super floppy like the alsmost no pin lines like combiner wars.

 

I was talking about guiltar. Another tfw-er reminded me of the name.

I didn’t buy megs or op so I was unsure. Plus pins and whatnot doesn’t stop the radicons/customs guys. Lol.

also ngl but I have some pw3 figures with tighter joints then some of my siege without having modified either with floor polish. So it’s not perfect but it’s definitely a less of a chance of it happening.

 

'Reverse Convoy' sounds like something nobody needs to see  

 

See? Told ya! Lol, joke!

'Reverse Convoy' is what I'll call those awkwardly-combined Micromasters now...

 

great shot

 

I haven’t found him anywhere and until I saw this I wasn’t interested now I’m leaning towards scalper prices options he looks soooo 80s. My wife has a red convertible diecast gonna recreate the marvel comics cover on my shelf

 

"Go ahead, Hasbro, make my day - and the rest of my teammates!!!"

 

At last I have Omega Supreme. Such an awesome and impressive figure! Thank you Hasbro!

 

Definitely the best of the Titans, in terms of sophistication if nothing else. In my own ever so humble opinion, of course. All the while I was enjoying this figure, and being impressed with how well they'd pulled it off, I still had this nagging thought in my head "If Omega Surpreme is this good, then Scorponok is going to be off the charts". I cannot wait!

 

ah ha. Thanks. It’s as cool as I’d thought it was.

 

I have the Takara Legends Astrotrain and color wise he is fine but I will replace this for the Siege version. Don’t care if he is a bit short.

 

SIEGE Astrotrain's height isn't my problem. It's the incomplete shuttle mode, stocky Bot mode and unnecessary $20 accessories. Now if they release a new Blitzwing that doesn't have those issues then I'd surely swap my TR version in a heartbeat.

 

Fixed it up:

 

I hear ya on the incomplete shuttle mode but Matrix Workshop got that covered.

 

So I did some limb swapping between Battlemasters to see how close I could replicate their G1 iterations. I don't have any of the exclusive packs, only mass releases. I think if I get one more Aimless and Blowpipe I can sort out Caliburst and make some newbies too. Or just an Aimless and dye the arms blue, give those to Hairsplitter, and give his blues to Caliburst.

 

This guy is pretty cool. I like him a lot more than I was expecting too. I love how variable his armor is and how easy it all is to switch back and forth



Kinda odd how the battle damage paint is on the inside of his forearm armor right?

 

Whack!