Morning all.

Just seen over in the news section that Earthrise toys have been seen at US retail  

At least this time around some ER figs are repacks of late-wave Siege toys, as I'd like a Battlemaster Rung for my kid. Only seen him so far online, bundled with other *master-scaled toys I'm not interested in. (She'd like Spinister too, Ebay has a few at £20.99 posted from a UK seller so just gone for that. Let's see if I can stick to my guns and not claim it for myself - previously I decided to wait for an OS KO  

 

Enjoying your continuous metamorphosis into legolas Kit! Good luck in the upcoming competition.

Arrow Rattle sounds like the name of a third string micromaster.

For a one stepper that whirl looks rather spiffy.

I have no shame in admitting I've never played BG in anything higher than easy mode, and still had my arse kicked. The mid-quel isn't too bad from what I'm told.

Action stations people.

 

Shit! Read for filth!
In my meagre defence, I did say Siege Shockwave looked the tits from the get go. Everything else I will cop to, M'lud.

I LOVE MY RUNG TOY!
"Well you never threatened to shoot a friend of mine"
From MTMTE #6 'Interiors'

 

I can just imagine the rest of the Lost Light Crew doing this to Whirl after.



Double insult innit? bragging about their opposable thumbs.

I hope you are right about a Commander Class Thunderwing, but I'd be happy with Leader class or Voyager. The 'voyager with add-on armor' stchik is just calling out for a few Pretenders to get a look in - like Thunderwing and Bludgeon.

And Vroom? Hasbro? No?

 

Happy birthday @Brooticus!

anyone in the market for Siege Jetfire? - lovely figure, but just haven't got space for the lad - drop a Dm if you're interested with a sensible offer - he's got his box and all his parts effects...

 

Brutal!

Vroom makes me think that it's funny how Thunderwing and Blackshadow are the Pretenders that get a free pass, as far as updates go.

Hand on heart I'd prefer Leader Class Thunderwing, but I'm trying to think it through from Hasbro's perspective. Having done that and seen how GF:OP with Cog add ons scales against Jetfire I doubt we're getting Thunderwing in any size class for quite a while now.

Also, if the Modulators don't get redone as Hook, Line, and Sinker I'm just going to use these three.

 

I mean they worked just as well! Hook, Line and Sinker might work better for repaints next year Barry when the monster planet himself gets released  

I wouldn't rule out Thunderwing just yet. They are sitting on the design they had from the POTP fan vote. You never know! Star Saber and Thunderwing both share that jet guy that combines with other jet-bits to make a big jet-guy so maybe they could end up both getting releases as redecos of each other? I'm not expecting to see anything of them at Toy Fair though.

I have to admit I'm probably more excited at the prospect of what wee surprizes like the Powerdashers we might see from the Select Series this year. Who ever saw that coming?

My predictions for the select series this year include:
A massive redeco of POTP Starscream into Liozack to finally make CW Liokaiser complete.
Thunderclash (because I will never not want Thunderclash) from Siege Magnus.
Rotorstom from Spinister.
Cybertronian mode Drift from Siege Springer (not that I really want it, but come on)
G2 Leadfoot from Siege Mirage.

But my predictions are always comically off.

We haven't seen anything of that Armada Prime that Takara showed off last year with Star Convoy. I wonder when that'll drop.

 

yeah, this has been occupying a fair bit of my thoughts while i've been scouting new 'mon on Sword - and i'm sure they have something in mind, but it's completely escaping me - the only thing i keep coming back to is Throttlebots - but then there's always the issue of how to handle Wideload and Rollbar ( not obvious reshells, unless we've got a deluxe Brawn ( same scale as Cliffy) and Landfill lined up??) - then maybe Triggerbots/cons for WFC:3?

all total speculation and likely massively wide of the mark..

 

Hmmm I need more Swindles.

 

I mean... if they wanted to keep things Legend class for the Throttlebots, TR Brawn would be an easy enough retool into Rollbar. Or at Deluxe scale it could be another use of the Hoist mold?

We could see Wideload and Landfill sharing a mold, but I have my doubts that would happen. Tis a shame, Wideload was my first Throttlebot as a kid, so I've fond memories of that shitty toy.

Yes... yes you do! A gaggle of Swindles? A clouder of Swindles?

 

A big thank you to The Arrow aka @tikgnat for the beautifully printed top trumps. Hubcab Jr is extremely pleased at the prospect of destroying me in a game. "Look what I got- Astrotrain, baby!"

 

I must have blanked out the fact they'll likely use that shocking Hoist mould again... I hope it's retooled to all hell.

 

same - wideload was one of my first too -
prior to the ER wave 1 reveals, i would have been well on board with Legends Throttlebots (with the TR brawn retool covering Rollbar) - but having seen ER Cliffy and the rumbles of Battlechargers, i do wonder if they'll go the deluxe route - but yeah, wideload remains the issue - not beyond the realms of possibility that Landfill could happen (who saw Scoop coming way back when?) in later waves.. maybe even have the throttlebots straddle ER and WFC3 - Three in each line? would fit the Trio of releases..

whatever happens, i need updated Throttlebots in my life..

 

Happy birthday @Brooticus !

Good moldmate shout on rollbar and wideload.

I’m similarly fond of wide load! Good colour scheme and headsculpt.

 

I am full of tips. I am wise in the ways of BG. Biggest tip: don't listen to anyone that tells you that thieves aren't important and you can get by with a pansy-ass dual- or multi-class thief. That way boring lies. A high level assassin with poison and backstab up the wazoo is a goddamn powerhouse.

Also sorcerers are great but there's only one NPC one and he's a prick. I'm considering doing the midquel with a second custom party member because I really want to try a fighter/mage to play with spells that don't just throw out direct damage.

All that said, I recently played through Icewind Dale for the first time and ploughed through it on core rules as usual, but it was a slog. The final battle was so much of a ball ache that I just slammed the difficulty down to easy in a sulk.

Vroom and especially Crossblades are crying out for new toys, though I'd prefer without the human faces.

As for Thunderwing... I really hope they can finally move on from the Stormbringer face and go back to traditional snarling Oni fangs. I seriously doubt they'll sneak him into Earthrise, so we're probably waiting until WFC3. And if he's not in there... we riot.

And nah, can't see him being bigger than leader size. I was honestly hoping for him in Siege, as the armour gimmick would be perfect for him, and Earthrise seems to have moved past it for separate accessory trailers.

And oh shit I just thought of putting a modern Thunderwing next to ER Starscream and started thinking about post-Underbase Screamer and... okay I might want one now.

 

Happy birthday @Brooticus

"Did it work?"
From MTMTE#22 'Little Victories'

 

@Brooticus,
Happy Birthday!

@Avon,
I went back through the Newage vanbots thread and found the required info so Ratchet's torso now stays together better so thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

Had a package arrive this morning with the Despecialized OT in it so I'll be going through those the next few days.

 

Got a spare £250? Then you too could build a Lego Old Trafford. I mean, if this is your thing then fair play to you, but the price...

 

Cool! Glad to be of use!

 

At the risk of starting a Monty-Python-esque one-upmanshipping ("I had to walk 50 miles, carrying the donkey")...
ditto, I resisted him during the TRU MP flog-off where I buckled like a belt on Op and Grim (MP-the beginning for me...),
then bought him on FB Marketplace with a few other bits for a tenner a few years ago.

Robots-wise...nope...I got nuffin.

Laters.