I am guessing early next month. I hope they really nail the QC on this one.

 

Is UT known for having defective products? I believe UT started by copying hasbro transformers, which makes me worry since I'm considering dropping 140 bucks on it

 

We don't. You'll see plenty of guesses that are variations on "soon," because of the review sample that's making the rounds. My personal guess would be late next month or early September. But anyone who's still waiting on DX9's Montana can tell you that a review sample doesn't necessarily mean that the release is imminent, so take our guesses with a grain of salt.

Kind of hit or miss lately, to be honest. Peru Kill, their movie Lockdown, was by all accounts a fantastic figure. Their G1 Swindle and Brawl were both very good as well, although the plastic seemed a little soft and the ratchets were a little weird (like you'd get more clicks moving the joint out than you would moving it back to its original position somehow). Their Onslaught was ok, but the ratchets in the waist failed on almost every copy, and a lot of people had ratchet issues in the hips. Then their Vortex and Blast Off came out, and both feel pretty rushed with some poor tolerances that some parts way too tight and others way too loose. For what it's worth Prime looks to be more like their Lockdown than their Combaticons and I decided to go ahead and preorder him, but yeah, buyer beware.

 

I am not worried because their line of Bayformers are not being designed nor built by the same people who made their combiners, which look beautiful, but plagued with problems...

 

Spoiler: SPOILER

Yup, vastly different designers  

 

Yes in a couple of the video reviews they confirm he has rubber tires.

More important than that is the fact that Hastak now has the ILM CAD files, which means that every headsculpt and the molded details they can now do are 100% awesome. 3P is still doing it the old way of looking at reference images and movie stills (and maybe occasionally scanning a hasbro toy) to do their molded details. Even challenger, who looks amazing, will never have as good a headsculpt or chest details as even voyager TLK prime did.

I wonder if hastak's designers are allowed to look at 3P stuff or if it's frowned upon in the company. They might say "sure, do whatever you want!" or they may have a strict "pretend 3p doesn't exist and I don't ever want to hear mention of one in the office" policy, which I would also understand.

 

Most prolly TT and 3P cannibalize and reference each other back & forth.

 

I've said it in a couple of other posts already but I feel that head sculpt is the one thing that TT have a clear advantage over 3p. It's not even close. Be it G1, CHUG, or Movieverse stuff, with or without the 3D rendering, I think TT destroys every single 3p out there. It may have ultimately come down to the modelers at TT who are masters at converting 2D drawings to 3D CAD models （I had thought that the designers do the modelling themselves but read in one interview that TT do have dedicated CAD modeler/drafters)

It used to be that 3p stuff was not easily accessible in Japan, but from what I've seen when travelling there, lots of hobby shops seem to have started carrying them. I bet some designers would pick up some 3p figures on their way home to see what's what. I know I would if I was designing transformers and there's 3p stuff available, even just as an industrial designer looking at other designer's work, out of curiosity 

 

One of their more well known YouTube reviewer Wotafa even reviews 3P TFs on a regular basis nowadays.

 

The HAVE to be at least looking at the 3p stuff. As human beings it’s just natural to be curious...even if not allowed at TT office then as said above some1 could have bought themselves

 

So then I hope stuff like PK and Challenger starts to influence hastak for the better, since they really seem to have the basics of making a successful movie bot work down pat. I mean, I love SS deluxe Lockdown for his detail but as a transformer he’s got a really phoned in transformation and kibble placement. There must be 20 other carbots who transform just like him, and his kibble is basically a turtle shell of panels with doors on his arms. Super lazy. Now imagine if they had seen PK and realized they should fold the kibble into the torso with the doors on the legs? Would have been amazing and I think they could have done a dumbed-down version in deluxe size, PLUS the detail they achieved in the head, chest, and leg areas, which PK lacked in comparison.

 

Painted mine and it turned out great but all the joints suck and it will fall apart if you look at it the wrong way. Not sure why people love 4ever so much when it's the same deal with the joints even.

 

TLK Voyager sucked. I'd bet my left nut Challenger beats it on all counts.

 

Mine looks pretty amazing after some mods and extensive paint work, but also one is a $30 mass retail figure and one is a $130 collector's item. If challenger didn't beat it in almost every single way there'd be a serious problem. My point is the molded details are there, especially in the head and chest area. Those will be superior to Challenger for the sole reason that Hasbro has the ILM files.

 

So... another month or two?

 

one thing that probably only i give a shit about is how similar the parts placement is in both modes to the tlk voyager. the front of the vehicle collapsing into his lower legs with the doors ending up on the upper body is awesome. i appreciate when multiple toys of a design transform consistently, really sells me on it.

 

The price of freedom Is actually a buck O'five...

 

Well we got another tlk prime this time from Toy World we now have 4 options for a knight prime

 

Too bulky on the arms. I am still going with UT.

 

I'd rather see all this attention going to Peterbilt Prime. This is a bit bulky but both headsculpts are pretty spot on. I've subbed to its thread for more pics.