August, with Astro Squad, I believe.

 

Hoverboard mode is pretty cool.

Just, y'know. Not $70 cdn cool.

 

This Skylynx is AWESOME!!!

 

Well to be clear, I don't pull up new Leader class pictures hoping to hate the results. SIEGE UM took T30 UM's place on my shelf due to having a better G1 design in bot forms. I only but SIEGE Shockwave because I won a $25 gift card otherwise I would've waited for a clearance deal. Nothing else under Leader class has won me over since. They should've given Optimus a Trailer when I bought him over a year ago. And the 3 back to back Leader class Titan's Returns Phase Sixers (Overlord, Sixshot and Blackshadow) still represent true Leader class scale, quality and the last time that Hasbro actually listened to IDW fans back then.

Or just skip them.
John Warden had to have realized that the few recent and upcoming Leaders these past 2 years are competing with previously made CHUG characters. So it's up to them to make replacing them with $50 versions a plausible choice for fans and collectors.

For me it goes like this....

SIEGE Leader Class Shockwave vs Deluxe FOC Shockwave: Winner is SIEGE SHOCKWAVE! Mostly because it's still technically our first Voyager CHUG version of Shocky. Honorable mention to the 3 Combiner Wars Legends class Shockwave's that I still keep as Shockbot minion's.

SIEGE Leader Class Ultra Magnus vs Thrilling 30 Leader class Ultra Magnus: Winner is SIEGE UM courtesy of the G1 bot mode and White Optimus. (I still keep T30's version around for having the best truck and trailer mold though.

SIEGE Leader Class Galaxy Upgrade Optim..... PASS!

SIEGE/Earthrise Leader Class Astrotrain vs Takara Legend Class Astrotrain: Winner is Takaka Legends! I only see most collectors buying the Leader class if they previously had the Titan Return version and finally got a chance G1 Cartoon Dark Gray Astrotrain at retail.

Earthrise Leader class Optimus vs SIEGE Voyager Optimus: Winner is SIEGE Optimus Prime! 3rd party if you're listening, I'm sure me and many others would be interested in a decent trailer for SIEGE Optimus if it's $20 or less.

(pending)Earthrise Leader class Double Dealer vs Thrilling 30 Double Dealer: Winner is T30 Double Dealer. Nothing about that ER version is worth $50 bucks... The bird mode is a blocky mess, the vehicle mode is just okay and the Bot mode is a bulky hollow joke.

Even the 2 Leaders that I did cave in and eventually bought were a struggle whereas the Leader class line use to have greater potential.

 

Only problem with these lists is that it...the T30 and Legends just aren't G1 enough. Different strokes for different folks but as far as I'm concerned I'd rather have fully G1 takes on these guys than poor imitation jokes, like the TR and T30 takes on these guys are.

 

What's the purpose of the leg hinge on DD?

 

Shockwave √
Ultra Magnus √
GUO √
Siege Astrotrain, is in my opinion, the better figure; the only problem with it, is it's height, otherwise, a higher quality figure.
Earthrise Optimus Prime, is in my opinion, the better Optimus; the thin box Hastak calls a trailer is the only setback.
Earthrise Double Dealer may be a brick, but it's still the character, and not that weird repaint of a bad figure from the T30 line.

 

Yeah I understand. Astrotrain was never a Head Master. But in Takara Legends defense he's not a pudgy bot with an incomplete shuttle mode either. So swapping my Takara version for the ER/SIEGE Astro would've barely been a lateral move IMO.

And no, T30's DD doesn't have a bird mode but I was never a follower of DD (or the show he was featured in) to begin with. I was just buying repaints to deepin the Decepticon ranks in my collection back then and nothing about this pending version convinces me to replace it.

 

Isn't that where the Matrix of Leadership is supposed to go?

 

why would he interact with the matrix of leadership?

 

Well, TR/Legends Astro isn't even a space shuttle nor a believable train either.  

I'll give you Doubledealer. If you've got no attachment to the character then that's it. But for me, it ain't Doubledealer without being a missile truck and a vulture, and well the T30 one fails miserably on both fronts there!

 

No argument from me there. Like many recent Transformers, I only bought Takara's version for his bot mode.

 

Definitely down for the Seeker pack!
No real attachment nor interest in the clones.

Now just need to start seeing some cones!

 

I have nothing but praise for what Hasbro has been doing with the '87 and '89 figures. They are faithful and great all round figures.

Well, maybe one complaint... I want more of them  

Can we finish the Autobot Powermasters and Targetmasters?

Maybe some Firecons, Triggerbots/cons? Squeezeplay, Fangry and Horri-bull?

I'll start to help out - New mould for Sureshot. He can be reused for Joyride and Ruckus. Then all you need is Slapdash and Pointblank.

The Firecons would basically be one mould that could be reused for the three with slight re-workings.

In a greedy world, I wouldn't mind proper versions of Darkwing and Dreadwind.....

 

I’m still gutted we didn’t get a PotP style Monstructor from the Terrorcon/Dinobot molds! Sure they wouldn’t have been 100% accurate, but I don’t see us getting actual combiners with Pretender shells anytime soon, & a set with a few remolded parts (ala Deszaras & Computron) would be better than nothing.

I could still see Takara doing the Dinoking version, but those would just be the Dinobots with new heads/a few new parts rather than the Decepticon monsters.

 

 !

 

Pre-ordered my Sky-Lynx on pulse, can\'t wait for it to come in!

 

if takara was to tackle Dinoking they’d probably attempt it to be as faithful as possible. Kinda their MO. They’re pretty picky bout what they wanna do and if it something that’s just a new head and deviates from the source they won’t bother. Their Computron is evidence of that