My Transformers coverage this year is going to be more limited than normal. If you really want to check out some in-depth Transformers goodness, always check out TFW2005! They’ve got great panel coverage & a ton of pics of both the booth and tons of official images.
In order to pursue collecting the Masterpiece line, I’ve tried to keep my other TF purchases to a minimum. I’ve watched Combiner Wars with that familiar collector tug – they look really good! But I’m trying to stay to the sidelines. Devastator looks particularly amazing, I could see faltering while trying to avoid that big guy! I do love Defensor though, he’s my favorite Combiner and so that is where I will dip my toe on Hasbro’s Combiner Wars offerings. The new Hot Spot looks great. And all my favorite limb-bots are back with nice looking TFs too: First Aid, Streetwise, Blades, Gr- wait, who’s this Rook guy? Defensor’s one kind of obvious drawback is that his motorcycle leg is the same size as the police car, ambulance, and helicopter. Now, scale and mass shifting and whatever, I’m good. But I can see it on this one. So enter Rook – a SWAT vehicle to make the fourth limb. The great news though: Groove isn’t out in the cold! He’s an appropriately scaled Legends Class figure that will form some handy Defensor armor! It’s not the most G1 accurate, but I think it looks great enough to buy.
Hasbro is also teasing me on three other fronts. A new Leader Class Ultra Magnus, and a Voyager Class Cyclonus (these two are always stuck together). The Cyclonus is particularly awesome because he’s a buck-mate with Silverbolt and you can barely tell. Props to the Hasbro designers for a job well done. And since he’s Silverbolt – that kinda makes me wish they’d do them some Sweep limbs. How cool a combiner would that be?!?! And finally, there’s a pretty sweet little Powerglide repaint, Viper. He’s kinda Cobra blue, isn’t he? And that’s a Cobra/Decepticon logo on it, isn’t it? Fantastic!
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Combiner Wars will be hard to resist, but doing the math, each 5 piece combiner will run you about $85. And since I’ve really been less-than-impressed with most non-Masterpiece TFs in the last few years, I’m not sure that’s a plunge I want to take just to see if These will be to my liking.
That Avengers 4 pack bugs me, because I already have a Hawkeye (and don’t like the character at all) and 2 Black Widows (the Tron-esque paint elements do nothing for me), but I like the Thor and Banner figures.
The BAFs these days are killing me, because it’s been a really, really long time since I’ve liked an entire wave of MLs enough to want the whole thing. Back in the day, the BAFs felt like a really nice bonus for buying figures I’d already be getting anyway, Now I feel like I’m obligated to buy more figures I have no interest in than ones I do just to get the parts for the BAFs, and the BAFs are usually more desirable than the actual figures in the wave. I’d have been happier paying twice as much as a regular figure to get a stand-alone Groot than to be saddled with a Nova and Space Armor Iron Man I don’t want. I’d love an Odin, but the only figure from that wave I was willing to put money down on was Captain Marvel, and even then the cheapness of the parts reuse hinders my enjoyment of it (seriously, invest in some legs/arms with sculpted boot/gloves, Hasbro. You’ll be able to use them again).
I’ll be all over the Avengers movie figures, but I have no desire to own a Batroc. Spider-Woman’s a must-buy, and I won’t mind a Hellcat, so I guess Thanos won’t be the most painful BAF I’ve completed in recent memory. I’ll gladly buy the black/gold Iron Man and the mark 2 War Machine (glad they found a home for that after IM3 wave 3 was canceled. Now can we get that Rescue Figure?), but the rest of those figures are just so cheap on the parts reuse that any desire I might have to own the figures is really being hampered. It’s too bad, because I like Valkyrie, but that figure looks so bad. But Hulkbuster Iron Man is a must-have, right?
I’m definitely down for Misty Knight (seriously, a Misty Knight figure?), and probably White Tiger, but the rest of that lineup does nothing for me.
A funny aside, just yesterday I saw someone refer to Hasbro “flogging us with that Spider-Girl buck” with White Tiger. If my count is correct, White Tiger is maybe the third time we’ve seen the Spider-Girl body, the second being Jubilee (who was a BAF that most people could never complete because some idiot decided that the only figures that should be found at retal were Wolverine and Stryfe, and maybe once in a great while Cyclops). Someone correct me if I’m missing anyone on my counting there. But White Tiger’s line mate (and probably case assortment swap partner) Misty Knight is using a body that we’ve seen, what, a dozen or so times, at least, since Hasbro brought back ML. Some people.
The Combiners are some of the best TFs we’ve seen in ages! You need to at least get a couple to try out!
I’ll have to wait for Defensor, budget is tight til then!
We’ll see. I’m loathe to invest $85 in a set of TFs just to see if maybe I like them better than I have any mainstream TFs since the Prime First Editions (the last mass market TFs I really liked).
I think I want most of these. I would love to have the Movie Avengers complete. I sure hope Amazon keeps that 4-pack as an ‘open order’ item and not some stupid small limited run. I’d also like another 4-pack with Stark, Coulson, Rogers and Fury.
Hey, aim big, you never know. 🙂
There’s a 3pk with Coulson, Fury, & Maria Hill due out “soon”.
I’d be more excited about these if Hasbro hadn’t buried so many of the variants and running changes from the first few waves of the RoML like Dani Moonstar, Blade, etc. It’s been over 30 years and we’ve yet to get a proper New Mutant – jeez! I’ll also be surprised if we even see some of these, particularly Misty Knight. Hasbro’s taught me not to expect anything they’ve shown until it’s actually resting in my hand…
Semi-Agreed, but Bulldozer gives me hope!!
Bring it, Hasbro. Bring it all. My wallet shall weep bitter tears, but I shall rejoice.
The desire is there for me, but the kid does need diapers now & again! 😉
No X-Men? http://www.toplessrobot.com/2015/01/the_top_x-men_characters_that_still_need_marvel_le.php
Damn them.
Ultron, Thanos, and Hulkbuster are the only ones I was hoping to get as Hot Toys is rapidly pricing me out of that hobby, and all of them are BAFs? All of them?! Damn them to hell. I guess it’s either ebay or hoping for Diamond Select at some point.
I didn’t somehow miss Agent Coulson, did I? He I also need to get but I haven’t heard anything about him since it was announced last year.
I haven’t heard of him hitting yet so I think we’re good.
So much stuff I want. DST Ghostbusters, Marvel Selects, DC and BTAS, most of the Combiner Wars, NECA and TMNT. I don’t know how much longer I can resist starting collecting again.
I wouldn’t get too excited about all the Marvel Legends just yet. Heck, I’m still waiting for the “final” wave of Iron Man 3 figures; specifically the Mandarin and Pepper in the Rescue armor. Any word on those? No?
I’m not saying that to be a downer. Just recognize that Hasbro has had a hard time getting stuff to market lately. I’ll dance a jig of joy if they actually release everything teased.
Hasbro has stated they’re planning on doing Combiner Wars into next year, so I have to wonder once they use up all the vehicle combiners, will we see the animal themed ones like Abominus, Predaking, and Piranacon? They won’t really be able to reuse any of them without severe modifications done to them.
Hopefully they’ll get to all those, but you’re right about the animals. Then again, Feral Rex reused nearly everything twice.
so much WANT, and I’m about to lose what I do have in storage. AGAIN.
so many more delays getting my gdfkg Disability. Judge: “you should see it by the end of the year” = 2525?? seems like it.
I appreciate organizing that Legends list. Copy and pasted to the wish list.
That list is killer for me.
This is going to be such an expensive year! The Combiner Wars Transformers have been great so far (don’t just them by the official photos. They suck as always), and if they start to come out with new ones (Cyclonus as a combiner??), I’ll be in fanboy heaven. Titan Devastator looks amazing, and an IDW Leader Ultra Magnus…with a MINIMUS AMBUS?? That’s just insane!
And Marvel Legends?? Man. I’m alreay dying for that Hulkbuster, and as I was never able to track down an Iron Man 2 War Machine at a decent price, I’m pretty pumped for this one. And Ultron? And that Rhino? Sigh….
I haven’t run across any Combiner Wars in the willd, so I am reserving judgment. What has me the most excited is the repaints of other characters though! It definitely looks like a good year for Transformers.
Have to laugh at people crying on Part reuse. Isn’t that most of MOTUCs? Liking a lot of these but movie figs are not for me but th Ant-man is a maybe. I can see some fun with the alt head on.Rhino. Next to figuarts thats where my moneys going for me. The Combiner Wars I need to.start but Japan pulls a fast one.and we get Slingshot in the Takara version thats making me want that set. Devastator oh how I want they but doubt will ever see. Reasonable anyway. That Ultra Magnus is too cool looking to me.