I'll readily admit that I grew up with the original cartoon and mainly have G1, Masterpiece, Classics/Universe, and some alternators. I really enjoyed the first movie but never gave the toys a second thought. Not because they weren't G1 or whatever, but more because I felt the toy designs were poor incarnations of the movie characters. Anyway, as tech and engineering have progressed, I think I can say that Hasbro Design has learned from the previous experience and improved on their work; at least this is what I get after looking at ROTF Leader Prime vs. his 2007 figure. Anyway, I'm not familiar with the movie line at all, and before I potentially dabble in this line (I'm def getting leader prime, he looks ill), I have a few questions for those in the know. Are there many repaints, aside from the usual (repaint starscream to get seekers, etc.)? Which characters are likely to get released in multiple sizes: I know Prime and Megatron have leader and voyagers, but that's all I know. I'm particularly interested in the Fallen, but as far as I know he's a voyager size...is he supposed to/will he get a leader size figure? Is jetfire leader size? Finally, are there any molds that are just direct repaints of the 2007 line? thanks (the purpose of this post, is to save me money from buying too much shit)
Jetfire is a leader-size. Some of the Autobot cars, i.e. Sideswipe & Bumblebee, are getting larger toys at approx. Alternators scale with scale human figures of Epps and Sam, respectively. Starscream appears to also be getting a leader figure. The Fallen seems only to be getting a Voyager, but it's a biggie. I think there are some retools (Bumblebee's smaller toys, some others) and redecoes (Ratchet, Ironhide) of 2007 movie toys. There doesn't seem to be repaints like the Allspark power and premium lines, thankfully, although some could use more paint, like Leader Prime. Automorph is cut except from 2007 redecoes+retools, replaced by Mech Alive, which uses less intrusive gearing to make internal details move together with other parts. It's pretty cool and unintrusive, from what I've seen on videos and in-hand.
The only repaints in the line that I know off the top of my head are the deluxe Brawl (Deep Desert) and then there are the Voyager Ironhide and Ratchet. These are all molds from the first line. The two characters that are getting multiple size classes, that I know off the top of my head are Long haul and Jetfire. Long haul is getting a FAB (Fast Action Battler.) Voyager, and a legend.(which may be only sold in a Devastator set.) Jetfire's getting a Leader, FAB, and Legend class. There's also the Human Alliance series, which as far as we know right now will have Bumblebee with Sam, Sideswipe with Epps, Skids with Mikaela, and Barricade with Frenzzy. As far as I know, they're not doing a leader Fallen.
To be fair to Hasbro, when they designed the first round of movie toys, they used reference drawings that weren't 100% finalized due to the long lead times needed to design the toys. That is why Prime or Starscream looked so different from their toy counterparts. With ROTF, the characters that are returning can now look closer to their onscreen counterparts. Repainted 2007 figures: Deluxe -Smokescreen (repaint of 2007 Jazz) -Desert Brawl (repaint of 2007 Brawl; supposedly fixed shoulder problem though) -Bumblebee (has a retooled cannon arm, more movie accurate head, and front bumper. There is another BB coming out that is a new mold that has gattling guns that pop out of the side of the car). -Bludgeon (repaint of Wreckage. One of the best figures from 2007 line. A TRU exclusive with Whirl) -Swerve (repaint of Sideswipe with new head) -Deadend (repaint of Sideways with new head) -Scorponok (Black repaint of 2007 figure. Worst figure of the entire 2007 line IMO) Voyager -Ironhide (repaint with retooled head and guns) -Ratchet (repaint of 2007 Ratchet) -Whirl (repaint of Evac. Basically a Blackout repaint with retooled head and a life raft/gun instead of Scorponok. A TRU exclusive with Bludgeon) -Grindor (repaint of Blackout from 2007) -Ramjet (repaint of Starscream) -Skywarp (repaint of Thundercracker from 2007. A 2007 Starscream with retooled head. Walmart exclusive) Combiners -Superion (repaint of Energon Combiner team. Target exclusive) -Bruticus (repaint of Energon Combiner team. Target exclusive)
thanks. hmm interesting. I haven't read any movie spoilers but i wanted to see what the fallen would look like...shame he's not getting a leader, imo figure looks fantastic. Well so far it looks like i'll get prime, jetfire, and the fallen...not too keen on megatron, was hoping the fallen would get a leader size so i could display him next to prime in place of megatron. i'll wait till after i see the movie to decide on devastator
