He looks like it’s Monday morning and the rest of the Protectobots are about to perform an intervention.

I’m still gonna start on this set soon tho.

 

I don't particularly want to reignite the eternal blood war between FT and XTB fans, but I appreciate being shown a wonky prototype as proof of progress being made. At least it's better than years of silence regarding your combiner teams.

 

Badly displayed is better than non-existant, 100% of the time.

 

Whoever posed Commander Stack on the top shelf at BotCon should have spent some time making Vanguard more presentable. Vanguard is looking like a limp scarecrow on display. Maybe they couldn't get all the way down to the bottom shelf? Anyhow, Commander Stack is looking a lot more dynamic.

I'm pleased to see both figures out and about. Seems like fans are getting a chance to handle both prototypes which should help alert XTB of issues before production. Leaves me wondering if First Aid or Hot Spot will be the next Protectobot to hit the shelves. Was Paragon a gray scale prototype or still just a rendering?

 

It's a 3D printed prototype, they tend to be very fragile and likely don't have hardware installed. It's not going to be able to hold a sexy pose.

 

These days, I feel like a 3D printed prototype.

 

I feel that.
Deeply.

 

To keep things on topic (and not too personal), I'm not as satisfied with Moon Studios Radiatron as I was expecting, and would prefer to have a Defensor in that space. XTB is appealing, but... I'm eagerly waiting on Van Guard to see how it's shaping up.

Will there be an additional purchase like in Menasor's case?

 

I think so? But, I’m not sure if Van Guard’s combiner accessories will be as extensive as Gravestone’s whole trailer/skeleton . . . so they maybe be included with him.

I could absolutely be completely wrong.

 

Blue tack, sticky tape... come on!  

 

Any word on how this guy is gonna combine? Does Hot Spot come with the combiners parts (feet, hands, etc)?

XTB Menasor heavily utilized that trailer for the main body, but images of this look like Hot Spot is gonna be big enough to make up the main torso.

....meaning we won't have to buy a separate trailer...

 

Parts forming, First Aid comes with an arm attachment and a fist. Hot Spot will cube up and slot into a Defensor torso.

 

Im wondering if we’ll even need hotspot like menasor was where you could get away with not having motormaster. Seems unlikely though as more parts forming

 

Considering that (besides the arms and the indentations in the lower legs where Streetwise and Groove slot into) Defensor is a whole skeleton like Menasor, so he could probably stand without Hot Spot.

 

I wouldn't rule out needing a Hot Spot. Just about every Mensor can be built without Motormaster and I believe the Zeta Superion could have a backplate so you wouldn't need Silverbolt (or is Silverbolt vital?). But Zeta Bruticus has pants and Onslaught is still vital for the chest and shoulders. MMC also needs their Onsulaught for their mini-Bruticus. It is not a foregone conclusion that Hot Spot won't be required for XTB Defensor. Just seems that Motormaster's trailer is just too tempting for designers not to use when they make Menasor.

XTB has already revealed how they're going to include medical beds for the forearms while First Aid and Blades are the bicep/upper arm. Not too different than classic Devastator needing fake forearms. Not sure if there ever will be a Devastator where Scavenger and Bonecrusher can successfully pull off the entire arm and hand without partsforming. XTB's Defensor doesn't have much in the way of legs between Fuzz and Groove so we know there are knees and thighs coming from somewhere else. What happens with Hot Spot between the knees and the head? Will XTB just give us a full skeleton that Hot Spot sticks into (like Mototmaster)? Will XTB give us a waist and thighs and then allow Hot Spot to be the chest/shoulders/head? There is already a lot of magic happening with Hot Spot's ladder vanishing so I don't know how they're going to handle this. Without having Hot Spot in hand, the safe bet is that Hot Spot will just ball up and fit inside a full skeleton.

 

Perhaps Hot Spot’s combiner accessories form a third med bay type thing?

 

They do, actually.

 

ive got zeta superion and if it had a backplate, it would need to be a bloody big one. You could do it i suppose, but the body isnt as all encompassing as the XTB menasor. I got the back plate for menasor but even without it, it was great and stood well. Not sure zeta would be as well balanced.

I'm still psyched for this set as a combiner, he looks great, and if i needed hot spot i wouldnt be against it. Im just being a tight arse. Not as up for the individuals but i still love my xtb menasor, if xtb ever reprinted dead end so i could get replacement fkn pieces *shakes fist in chinas direction*

 

As much as I love making backplates, I really hope XTB makes Hot Spot integral to the frame.

 

Wow that looks way better than I thought it would