Honestly, as its own standalone thing, I really like that figure and sometimes regret selling it on when I was desperate for money a while back.

As a representation of the character as he appears in the show? Terrible.

 

That.

The utterly jarring nature of some of the character-massacres, the tedious story and the So-ugly-they-signposted-Baybots designs actually made me regret chasing down hookey torrents to find it. I know there are those that love it, but not me.

Anytime I have a down on a figure I can always look at BM Nightscream and KNOW it could always be a lot worse.

 

My main bugbear isn't the mismatch between show model and actual toy, it's that they missed the "organic" part of Tecno-organic by a country mile, that is an explicitly robotic ape mode , just smoother & more contoured than G1 blocky, without a hint of fur, and the ape skull fright mask do nothing to say Cybrid Lifeform. Even the visible brain under his glass hat doesn't work, the inners needed some colour or material difference to sell it.

Then there's Silverbolt...

 

*Sigh*

Iron Factory joint tolerances strike again. Hoping the old brass wire trick will work.

 

I am, however, with you 100% on Silverbolt.

 

It shouldn't be too much of a job to turn one of the BWBB Terrorsaurs into a more show representive version, mainly would involve paint stripping the purple and painting the black pieces silver/steel.

I was lucky enough to get in on Terrorsaur when he was first announced so haven't felt the need to get the Buzzworthy but the Kingdom version itself needs some paint apps to be accurate anyway

 

Pointblank is back in the Kapow sale alongside the Legends Negative 2 pack.

 

I almost cheered multiple times reading this. As someone who only came to the entire hobby through reading that comic, this resonated HARD! Even through the sophomore slump, I still got a buzz when a new issue came out (that buzz didn't really diminish until Lost Light, which despite moments of occasional greatness, was a very flat experience). I still hold out in vain hope that we'll get more MTMTE characters, like Tyrest, Ten, Pharma and proper versions of Rung and Nautica, and getting Tarn gave me a little more hope. The MMC version is still the one staying on my shelf, so in some respects Legacy Tarn is a bit of a redundant purchase for me, but it felt great to be about to vote with my pound for more like this.



Oh, thanks for showing up, Needlenose. You do know that the entire War for Cybertron trilogy concluded a year ago? Yes, the two time fan vote loser has finally been given a Generations figure. As I trawl through my memories of this guy, I think losing those polls may be his moment of greatest significance.

I remember Needlenose showing up in those gloomy, post ‘Time Wars!’ days, when the UK strip had been robbed of all colour, both literally and figuratively. He was the somewhat panicky new recruit to the Mayhem Attack Sqaud who found himself flailing under pressure. He was also mainly in the background during those more exciting issues where the Mayhems were hunting the deserter Carnivac, who later offed him. Except that was in the ‘Earthforce’ era, so kinda sorta non-cannon. He showed up in Matrix Quest as one of Thunderwing’s stooges and that was that, we thought. Then over 20 years later, John Barber decides to pair him up with the soon to be deceased Horri-bull, make him Tracks estranged brother (CAN YOU SEE? THEY’VE BOTH GOT THE SAME SORT OF HELMET!) and made probably more interesting than he ever deserved to be.

Ok, maybe that’s a bit harsh, but when I look at my G1 Needlenose I can’t help but feel like the franchise had fallen out of love with itself. Now, I don’t want this to come off like a diss of the 1988 line. I know some people think the line should have ended in 1987 (or 1986. Or 1985. Or possibly even 1984. Some may even think it should have remained Diaclone and this whole Transformers thing is a travesty), but I really think there was a load of brilliant Transformers released that year, such as the smol Headmasters, the Powermasters, and even a load of the Pretenders. But there were definitely some duds in there too, and Needlenose was one of them (see also Crankcase).

Much like my G1 Crankcase, my G1 Needlenose is a scuffed up mess, so unimportant to me he was, beyond just completing ‘the set’, that I clearly felt ‘that’ll do’. I don’t think I’m missing much. In robot mode, he’s a charmless and undistinguished block. His wing lend him a nice profile, but the transformation makes his legs look like he has a minor case of rickets. He does have, I must say, pretty fine arm articulation.

The biggest sin of the bot mode is also it’s greatest strength. The overall design of Needlenose’s head is really strong. The helmet looks like it has some sort of flip down grated visor, and the day-glo yellow face really ‘pops’. I’m sucker for a faceplate, and this is a really nice one, with long side vents. However, due to some utterly crap engineering, it’s impossible to make the helmet looks good. It’s positioned in such a way that it either sits too high on his head, if aligned straight, so that his face is far too…open looking, and if you tilt it down so the brim of the helmet sits above his brow the whole thing sits at an unfortunately jaunty angle. And all so you can cover up roughly half his face in jet mode. Bit late to start worrying about jet undersides, lads.

Which bring us to the jet. It’s one grey piece of plastic with a blue front. The blue start randomly halfway through a section. It’s incredibly lame. All the robot kibble is very visible. It’s really poor, and not worth further comment.

I should, of course, mention that Needlenose is a double Targetmaster and comes with…Zig Zag and Sunbeam (what, seriously? Zig Zag? Sunbeam? Fucking Sunbeam? Like a little ray of joy illuminating and uplifting all it touches?). So, while in many respects the ’88 little Targetmasters are crappier than their ’87 bretheren, but they make it up for it with far more paint apps. I say far more. They’re a single piece of coloured plastic with two paint apps. The ’87 versions were two pieces of differently coloured plastic and a paint app. This ’88 take, I think, is more visually striking with much more contrast between the colours. I even think the molds are superior, with Sunbeam actually having a molded gun in his hand. What a lad!

All this apathy might make you think that I’ve not been excited by the prospect of an update for Needlenose, but know this dear reader; I voted for him back in those pre-pandemic glory days of 2019. I actually think he has a design that could be done great justice in a Generations update, and I was fond of the character as written by John Barber. So I was delighted that this celebrated two time loser hadn’t been written off.

And, I’m delighted to say, he’s a really handsome looking figure. He looks…exactly like he should. That helmet (which I only now notice makes him look a lot like Getaway)has finally been done justice. Everything that was good about the original design has been enhanced. I’m mildly peeved that we now have a normal tone of yellow, but the red paint on the eyes really makes up for it. His proportions and colours are spot on, and he’s nicely detailed all over. I’m really taken by the little touch of metallic paint on his lower leg vents. Very tasteful!

He’s well articulated to, having all the points of articulation that we’ve come to expect, plus his wings are now on a hinge, meaning his back is no longer a solid plank of plastic. However, I’m really sensing budget cuts when I look at his knees and elbows. He’s definitely got a bit of the ol’ CW Constructicon empty elbow/knee joint. I get that it’s most likely an artifact of the transformation, but I really don’t love it.

The transformation is actually very well done, so I shouldn’t whine about elbows too much. The way the back panel, with the wings, unclips and slide back over all that leg and arm kibble is quite elegant. Like nearly all jetformers, there’s a pile of less than aerodynamic bulk sitting on the bottom, but it’s far from the worst I’ve ever seen.

Viewed from the top, or the right 45 degree tilt, the jet looks nice. They’ve used a little more of that metallic paint on the wings, which is nice, but I do wish they’d taken the opportunity to make the move from blue to grey paint make a little more sense.

Zig Zag and Sunbeam (still struggling with this) are incredibly faithful updates of the originals, with a the odd touch of extra detail, like the rivets on Zig Zag’s armour. Very nice.

So, eagle eyed fans have noticed that Needlenose has four seemingly pointless gaps in his chest, which – it transpires – seem to tab into the forthcoming Leader class Transformers Prime Skyquake, who has a significant amount of detail that looks like G1 Skyquake. This can only mean one thing; PREDATORS! Like the precious little thing I am, I actually think Needlenose is a very poor candidate pre-tool for any given Predator jet. I mean, his canopy is on his back. True Predators wear their jet canopy on their chest with PRIDE! Nonetheless, I am thrilled at the prospect of getting these guys and I hope some wizardry occurs that satisfies my petty and trivial grumble.

Anyway, well done Needlenose. Better late than never!

 

He pretty.

I love Transformers. I really do. Even when the fiction fails us (*Glares at TLK*), usually I can comfort myself knowing we've gotten some awesome toys sprung from it.

But Beast Machines... oh boy. Thank fuck for some decent Vehicons.

My god! So the guy I saw earlier sporting the same beanie at me... was really my brother? Great review big B.

Preach brother!

But... Rotorstorm was the same, and his Generation figure still turned out well. I'm still stoked. Most likely Talon?

I'm just hoping against hope that Falcon turns up in some form. Preferrably sporting his own mold.

 

Well these little things are great, aren’t they!

 

Game have cancelled my Bomb-Burst order, sort of expecting a barrage of emails of cancellations tbh.

 

My local smyths have 14 velocitron scourges in stock. Ok universe, i can tell when you're trying to tell me something. I'll go pick one up this afternoon.

 

Tonkanator is online at Game.

 

I have the LEGO set of that ship - though just called Mandalorian Star Fighter - it is a cool design  

 

Exactly this. Heck, I still choked up on Code of Hero on my rewatch when I got back into Transformers  

Ditto. I imagine if I hadn't already chosen to cancel my Laser Prime order myself I'd have got a similar email about him... it remains to be seen if they'll do the same with my Renew Your Vows ML set.

Guess the hunt will resume for Bomb Burst... can anyone remind me what his RRP is/was?
Though, was he tail end Legacy? Do we know if he's getting a Package Refresh in Evolution?

 

Yeah, third wave of Legacy. Cores are... 13 quid these days? He's apparently getting a package refresh this year, I believe there was a product code for it found a while back.

 

Life finds a way…..

 

In-store, Game Middlesbrough

 

Thanks   maybe I'll wait for that then.

 

G1 Toy Vs. Marvel Comics...

...then they team up against the True Villain, of course!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLD! (And black & blue.)


And whilst I'm on Yellow Fellows I am disproportionately fond of - LEADFOOT!

The Toyhax decals just finish him off right proper like, and though he was well past the still getting G1 Auto-badges I felt like sneaking one in on his car nose here (in part because it's in the wrong place for where his Wrecker tag ends up in robot mode)!

 

Has anyone had movement on their Game order of Velocitron Galaxy Shuttle?