Is the Rodimus figure actually going to have a rubsign, or is that just an early pic? I'm a bit surprised they didn't pack it with a Cyclonus in Universe 2 (G1 toy) colors. Still going to watch closely for that Windcharger/Wipe-Out pack pre-order, since I'll never find RtS WC (at least at a decent price, scalpers can choke on theirs). +-MWG-+
Or even PoS digibash of BiS Roddy? Seriously that is one of the things that could make me sceptical about this, aside from the slightly puzzling/interesting use of a Maximal ship name on a Decepticon figure. Well well, this all seems kinda intrigueing after the possibility of new MP Megatron and Ultra Magnus flared up. In the same thread, I was one of a only a few people who commented on Takara's stance on the United line, which seemed to imply a 'wait and see' approach, and that they'd only catch up on Generations releases. As I think I covered in that thread, United is four figures behind Generations so far, but that would only amount to one monthly output from Takara as they have done previously in this line so their waiting for more figues is reasonable and the remold/repaints teased on Generations figure's intructions would flesh this line out alot more. Well the treatment of Windcharger was easy enough to predict; a red Autobrand plus maybe a coat of metallic paint, perhaps a less deep colour than the RTS version. Warpath gets a similar symbol of course and drops the catch phrases. Thunderwing seems to have some lavenderish grey on the feet and cyclone launchers, plus black thighs. Interesting addition to the colour scheme seeing as the latter will be all over Sky/Black Shadow, whom I'm interested to note it looks like they won't wait to release in Japan before Thunderwing. The plot thickens...
They could have use the Henkei Ironhide/Ratchet mold to remold a bit to issue under Trailbreaker or even Hoist.
Given my almost non-exsistent interest in classics, the only figure here that arouses any sort of curiousity in me is Rodimus convoy and if that figure remotely resembles Hot Rodimus my diminishing interest in classics will plummet another ten fold, if that's possible!
This probably got lost in my wall of text, but: Hopefully someone will confirm very soon (and hopefully someone will provide the real decos soon as well).
Thank you for the pics, Red leader Pretty good news for Japanese fans I guess...most of those moulds aren't released in Japan even though many keen collectors should have Hasbro versions already (and that's where the crazy chrome comes in!). Purple Megs and Warpath are tempting.
I just hope that the repaint of Rodimus will then not be better then the Henkei release which I have on pre-order.
The red text below some of the pictures roughly means, "Picture is of the overseas version. The coloring, etc. may vary for the domestic version." Have hope - all is not lost.
The list of pics doesn't fully agree with the list of prices. I though Ark Unicron might be that Cybertron mold, until noticing it has the price of the "voyager"(scout 2-pack), not the price of the other deluxes. Is the image wrong or is the price wrong? Or is there something extra packed(a minicon or legends figure?) with Unicron?
I think the translated interview with the Henkei designers mentioned a couple of things that relate to this: 1) They initiated that line about a year after Classics. So in a way I'm almost wondering why Takara didn't wait to do more of the teased Generations repaint/remolds. In any case, two months or releases seems somewhat scant after the rollout of United releases earlier in the year. 2) There was some interest in creating a Rodimus Convoy and this came to mind quickly when I saw this thread. Any anticipation for something completely new was restrained by noting the Deluxe pricetag, but not completely because any attempt would have to be taller than Henkei Hot Rodimus. What now seems to be a reversion to the existing mold for the United line seems odd considering the somewhat hybrid-named Classics C-05 Hot Rod has appeared as a Takara release in several online stores. That said, Hasbro have recently released two versions of this figure in sets that became available quite close together. Hmm.
Unless you're just looking for a different color scheme, Warpath has been well stocked here in Texas. Yeah, I'm hoping that Optimus Primal is recolored so that stupid tiara is gone. What an awful design choice on an otherwise excellent figure.
Also does not seem like any new molds at all. It is good Japan is getting what were USA exclusives basically but so many repaints and remolds are not very exciting at all. At this point Junkyard the Junkion from Generations is the figure I am most excited about. Hasbro needs to get on the ball and release G1 Arcee and Triple changers like Blitzwing and Springer.