Transformers Mash Ups

I got my Soundwave in a few days ago and I really like it.  I have a second on order since I want one to be Soundwave and another as the Thunder Machine.  I really wish the grey parts were black like the vintage, but since it's a vehicle I never owned I'm glad to just have one.

I already have the vintage versions of both figures and while it's nice to get mint copies, I'm let down by Zartan.  Zarana is fine, but Zartan should have been the original version with clear armor parts.  It would have made the release so much better.

Overall, I'm very happy with the set.  Soundwave is my favorite transformer and he looks great.  I bought the Bumblebee one just for Stalker and I kind of hated everything about Bumblebee.  I never liked how he looked anyway, but the figure was a floppy mess in robot mode. I'm really glad that's not the case for Soundwave.

Sound Wave the Punk Rock Thunder Machine is in route! 

I’m officially shopping for O-Ring Buzzer, Ripper, and Torch. From what I’ve seen it’s about $30 a figure for good copies. I’ll get Zandar, Thrasher, and Monkey Wrench latter. I’m not going to buy a second one until later when they go on sale.

I hope Triple T/Kup isn’t the last one. It would be a bit anti-climatic. They have to make Prime. What Joe vehicle he would be that is in the same size transformation as Megatron is hard to pick. I still see an out of the box option like the Mauler or MOBAT tank being a good fit. Mauler is more angular like Prime. It’s also a good good guy “white hat” to the Megatron bad guy “black hat” look. I like it better than Havoc or APC. But MOBAT may be better than Mauler in regards to size. Both are already bigger than the HISS. Actually the more I think about it MOBAT would allow for a cool option where Prime’s ion blaster cannon could have a handle that folds up and it attaches to the turret to make the MOBAT cannon barrel. Oh that would be cool! 

Starscream gives the same design challenges when restricted to Joe/Cobra vehicles. I think Firebat is interesting but probably limited in mass. Rattler seems too big. Can’t really use the the Sky Striker. 

I keep wracking my head as to which Autobot I will change Kup from to be a better companion. Ironhide seems the best option. I’m just not sure how much conversion it will take till I see Hasbro’s toy.

Thwipp!

Not to be overshadowed by the HasLab HISS, the Thunder Machine arrived, and I think I might like it more than the HISS. It’s just the coolest. It’s easily the best of the GI Joe crossovers. The conversion is nice and tight and surprisingly challenging. I wish there was less parts-forming but this is a challenging design to translate into a transforming Decepticon while maintaining all functions for a 1:18 vehicle. Zartan and Zarana are fine, but a slight afterthought. I’m always happy to add fresh O-Ring figures to my small modern collection. And they’re beauts, but just a little less exciting than the Machine. Ravage is a great addition, and love that he transforms (also surprisingly more complex than I remember) AND fits into Soundwave’s chest. Just an all around great set.

I'm also loving the Thunder Machine.  I transformed him once and immediately put my Dreadnoks around/in/on him.  I love that I can get a Triple T the same way eventually.  I have several HISS and AWE Strikers, so didn't feel the need to get those two.  Prime as a Mauler would be great.  One of my biggest regrets is not getting a Mauler.

I have the 80's movies crossovers and love them.  They're basically new characters for the collection.

The G.I.Joe ones interested me, but I think Soundwave and the new Skybound comics will finally get me to dive in if I have space.  They look so cool and fun to have the in scale Joes with them.  I hear Optimus will be Rolling Thunder.  That will be impressive - I wish I got Megatron when BBTS had the sale a few weeks back 😐 

Posted by: @ditko

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I have the 80's movies crossovers and love them.  They're basically new characters for the collection.

 

The G.I.Joe ones interested me, but I think Soundwave and the new Skybound comics will finally get me to dive in if I have space.  They look so cool and fun to have the in scale Joes with them.  I hear Optimus will be Rolling Thunder.  That will be impressive - I wish I got Megatron when BBTS had the sale a few weeks back 😐 

Megatron will pop back up for sale again I'm sure.  He seems to have been either way overproduced, or the interest isn't there for some reason.  Either way he is still readily available at lots of places and I'm sure he'll end up on sale again.

I don't really know how it happened, but I have somehow made myself quite a collection of these TF collabs.  I have yet to get any of the Jurassic Park ones due to price.  I know BBTS has it fairly cheap, but I'm in Canada and BBTS with shipping and exchange works out to about the same as buying it directly up here.  So I am waiting to find one a bit cheaper.

Otherwise, outside of the newest releases (Soundwave, Stranger Things and Frankentron) I have pretty much all the collabs.  I just love the mash-ups, especially since they seem to put a bit more effort into them than earlier tries (Star Wars). 

The Joes though are my personal favourites.  Combining my two biggest toy loves from the 80s, AND, making them compatible with the O-Ring figures?!?!  HELL YEAH!!!!  I can forgive some of the clunkiness (Megatron) because this is exactly the kind of line I have been wanting for years. 

I tend to get the GIJoe collaborations mostly to use as GIJoe vehicles! They feel heftier than the originals, which were always so hollow. I've rarely transformed them back to robot mode other than when I first got them.

I also like a lot of the other collaborations, but only if I have an attachment to the other license. I didn't get any Universal Monsters, but I do have the Delorean, Ecto-1, and Jurassic Park T-Rex/Explorer. I want the Dilophosaur and Jeep, but I'm waiting for a deeper discount. I skipped Top Gun and the X-Men Blackbird because I don't care about Top Gun, and the X-Men one is comic based rather than '80s movie. I will probably skip the Stranger Things one too.

@ditko Just saw on Amazon.com that the Megatron/HISS is on sale for $40US right now.  Obviously no idea how long that will last, but if you are looking that is a pretty good price as well.

WOW!!

The Full Force Podcast is reporting that JTPrime17, who is a notoriously accurate leaker, has posted finding a listing for another Joe x TF collab.  

Apparently it is Optimus Prime as the MOBAT with General Hawk!!!!

I highly doubt there will be working treads, let alone motorized ones at that.  Mostly because I can't see how that would work with the transformation.  Still I can't wait to see what they did to make this work for Prime. 

I do worry that we are going to get a bit of a mess of a transformation, ala Megatron/HISS.   Hopefully I'm wrong.

As for Hawk, it does say General Hawk so I would assume it is the 86 version and not the Colonel Hawk 82 version.

After such a fantastic Soundwave set, I did not expect to be so let down by the next reveal.  I truly hope I'm proven wrong, but nothing about this announcement currently interests me.

Posted by: @captaincracker

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After such a fantastic Soundwave set, I did not expect to be so let down by the next reveal.  I truly hope I'm proven wrong, but nothing about this announcement currently interests me.

Why's that?

Has Kup as the Triple T with Slaughter been announced officially yet? I know that this Opti-MOBAT Prime is still a rumor for now.

@canprime I think the biggest thing is that he's a MOBAT.  That in itself makes me think it's going to be a "shellformer" like Megatron.  Plus, the whole thing about the vehicle is that it rolls and there likely won't be working threads. Also, as a personal preference, I don't want to really see Prime as a tank.  As far as the figure, General Hawk was never a favorite of mine so he adds nothing to the set for me.

Like I said, I hope it comes out great and I'm completely wrong right now.  I just can't get excited about it.  On the other hand, bring on the Kup Triple T!

@captaincracker I can see those points, but I am being optimistic (ha!).

Although I will say if you put the MOBAT beside the HISS it is a fair bit larger than the HISS.  Outside of some new shrinking technology to copy what the Transformers did in the cartoon, I don't see how Prime can be equal in size to Megatron.  He is going to be bigger which I don't think is a good idea.  I've always felt/seen Prime portrayed as either the same size as Megatron (in robot mode), or a bit smaller.  Never larger.

Maybe there is a bit of partsforming like with Megatron and some sections of the MOBAT will come off and not be part of the robot mode.

As for Hawkl, I guess it was just doing a leader figure to go with Prime.  I don't really know if the logic is solid considering they did the Baroness with Megatron and Stalker with Bumblebee.  However I'm fine with it as General Hawk was a pretty good figure in my opinion. 

I do wonder if there will be another figure included, or not?  The first two releases only came with one figure, but the next two came with, or  is coming with, two figures.  Maybe the size of the MOBAT alt mode means they don't have to include more to "bulk up" the offering.  Instead it will already be the largest vehicle alt mode offered in the line to date.  So that will already cost a pretty penny.

MOBAT was my new favorite option as a vehicle for Prime. I think this figure will be much like G2 Megatron only the barrel for the tank turret will be his Ion Blaster. Ion right? Anyway. I think they can control how big Prime will be as there’s plenty of plastic in the MOBAT. It will probably be pretty hallow in robot mode. They will have splashes of red and blue like they gave Bumblebee a splash of yellow. I remember an IDW or Devil’s Due comic where Prime is a tank or big ordinance vehicle and the chest reminded me of G2 Megatron. It makes sense.

I trust JTPrime’s scoops. Now I think if Triple T and Thunder Machine sell well enough we may see a sixth set with another Decepticon. Starscream is my hope. 

I’m totally customizing the Kup Triple T. It will become a G1 Bot I care about.

Thwipp!