I get the no gun criticism, but honestly I think he looks better than the show model did. Cheetor always was a really cluttered, awkward-looking robot, with kibble all over his arms and back, and I think Kingdom streamlined his design quite a bit. I also think that his cheetah mode is one of the strongest beast modes in Kingdom. Sure, there are robot feet sticking out the back of his legs, but Megatron is covered in panels, Rattrap has misproportioned back feet, Blackarachnia has the robot shoulders under the head of the spider, etc. Every single Kingdom beast mode has some compromise, and I think Cheetor probably has the least.

You're entitled to your opinion of course, but I really think Cheetor is one of the strongest in the line. Top 3 so far for me, at least. He just looks like a really clean, successful transformer, albeit a bit of a departure from the show model.

 

I certainly understand why people like him, and the beast-mode is certainly very impressive.

Of the issues that have been listed, the second most confusing to me (behind the no gun situation) is the arm kibble.

I get why it's there in beast-mode, as it smooths out the cheetah belly (something that could have been done with the gun...), but when it's transferred to bot-mode, it results in these weird jutting pieces attached to his wrists. It's like a reference to the show and original toy, but it was actually done better in the show and on the original toy. It's really disappointing.

I've no proof to back it up but it just feels like he was designed in a rush.

 

Yeah I can agree that the arm kibble doesn't look quite right, but I can't agree that it looks worse than the show or the original toy. It's honestly very small and easy to ignore on the Kingdom, comparatively. (Subjectively speaking, obviously).

 

For me, those pieces were always shielding, forearm guards. That's head canon, sure, but in a war of beasts, it seems normal to have some protection.

I mean, compare the design effort that's gone in to Cyclonus versus Cheetor:





Different sized figures, different budgets, of course. But it's like they didn't even try to incorporate the robot feet into the legs. "Make a hole, stick them in sideways, it'll be fine."

But anyway. I'll still be picking him up, and, like Rattrap, I'm hoping he is better in-hand. But, also like Rattrap, Hasbro should certainly not consider the Season 1 Cheetor box ticked. They can do better.

 

I honestly think rattrap is perfect. Just me?

 

I feel like the design team(s) have had a lot of attempts to "learn" Cyclonus, though. This voyager is basically just a more articulated, larger, cleaner, version of the old deluxe.

The improvements in beast mode between the MP Cheetor and the Kingdom are actually really impressive. I would also say that Cheetor is a much more difficult design than Cyclonus to make a toy of- all the BW guys are. Making an organic animal into a proportionate robot is a lot harder than a robot into a fictional jet specifically made to be a toy.

Rattrap is unironically my favorite Kingdom figure. The rat mode is a little rough, but the robot mode looks so much better than any other Rattrap to date that I don't even care.

 

No, you're not alone in your appreciation of him. I'm just not part of the chorus.

For sure. They've certainly got their work cut out for them. It's nothing that can't be improved on the next one.

 

I don't think is fair to Cyclonus nor Cheetor. Cyclonus has a lot of boxier elements that give themselves space to hide his robot elements away in jet mode, plus his color scheme is uniform throughout so much more blends into his jet mode. Cheetor has a LOT of blue to worry about hiding away and his cheetah simply doesn't have enough space to hide everything away. I think it's amazing that they've reduced it to just his shins looking bad in alt mode and can't wait for his next iteration, but I think it's fair to say that what we have now is pretty damn good.

 

There's plenty of room in those cheetah thighs to hide/incorporate the robot feet in beast-mode.

 

So when does wave 1 officially come out? Some places are saying December, some February, and some saying even March

 

Officially, February.

In the real world of retail consumerism, incompetent shelf stockers, and the need to restock after the holidays, Late December.

 

Here's a thought: Maybe they want to do Transmetal Tarantulas in 2021, so they're doing the original design as a selects so as not to release him twice the way they rotated the Datsuns in Siege and Earthrise?

 

Indemandtoys said December

 

Hearing talk of Kingdom by next month gets my hopes up until I realize that most of my local shops still haven't gotten wave three of Siege
Walgreens, Target, and BestBuy are particularly bad offenders. My local walmart has a display up with some Earthrise wave two figures but getting my hands on anything new is a pain when they seem to pre-sell out in a matter of hours.

Side note, anything on Commander Class Rodimus? I know he's supposedly a voyager plus with a battle platform but I still see rumors about a Kingdom "Mutant Rodimus".

 

Mutant Rodimus was a bs leak that is false but people won’t let go of it

 

I’m just now seeing snapdragon in stores. And only snapdragon

 

I'll take it. Just give me the damn purple spider!  

 

Am I the only one that thinks the original transmetal tarantulas is still great

 

It’s still a good toy, but it’s a bit lacking by today’s standards. Ankle tilts and more accurate arms and you’re 90% of the way there, articulated spider legs and I think you’d be good to sell as a modern figure.

Transmetal Tarantulas was a really solid figure for the time. Much better than his first figure and I’d say a lot better than any mainline spider transformer to follow him right up until Kingdom Blackarachnia.

 

It'll always bother me that they didn't make the cheetah legs fold into the robot legs, it would have been a beautiful transformation step.