March 2018 Japanese Transformers

[DELTAprime]

The US fansites are saying we are going to get an Encore Omega Prime, not the first time that rumour has come up over the years. I hope they use plastic for the tyres if this is true. https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/rumoured-takara-tomy-transformers-encore-god-fire-convoy-rid-omega-prime-release/39699/

Also next lot of LG figures to be revealed could be Seaspray, Topspin and Twintwist.
https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/rumoured-takara-tomy-transformers-legends-lg64-seaspray-targetmaster-lg65-twin-twist-lg66-topspin/39698/

[griffin]

More details confirms (http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/02/takaras-new-star-wars-vs-transformers-vaders-tie-advanced-x1-351170) the Encore release of Car Robots God Fire Convoy (called RID Omega Prime by Hasbro), along with Legends release of Twintwist, Topspin and Seaspray (with Lione).
The list also includes reissues of MPM-03 Bumblebee and TF5 TLK-25 Nitro.

But the big surprise looks to be a revisit of the Star Wars Transformers toyline with a new mould of the Darth Vader/Tie Advanced toy, packed with a minifigure of Darth Vader and five Stormtroopers.
I'm not sure where this is coming from, as it isn't an anniversary of the toyline (which actually lasted for eight years, from 2005-2013), nor was the original toyline very successful (despite it limping along for all that time). Actually, I don't think they were released in Japan at all.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2017/100301.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2017/100302.jpg

[SharkyMcShark]

More details confirms (http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/02/takaras-new-star-wars-vs-transformers-vaders-tie-advanced-x1-351170) the Encore release of Car Robots God Fire Convoy (called RID Omega Prime by Hasbro), along with Legends release of Twintwist, Topspin and Seaspray (with Lione).
The list also includes reissues of MPM-03 Bumblebee and TF5 TLK-25 Nitro.

But the big surprise looks to be a revisit of the Star Wars Transformers toyline with a new mould of the Darth Vader/Tie Advanced toy, packed with a minifigure of Darth Vader and five Stormtroopers.
I'm not sure where this is coming from, as it isn't an anniversary of the toyline (which actually lasted for eight years, from 2005-2013), nor was the original toyline very successful (despite it limping along for all that time). Actually, I don't think they were released in Japan at all.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2017/100301.jpg
.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/news/2017/100302.jpg

So this is a new mold TIE Advanced?

I'd be interested to see Star Wars TFs revisited by the actual Transformers design team. My understanding is that they were not designed by a team that had a great deal of experience with transforming action figures last time out.

[Lint]

So this is a new mold TIE Advanced?

I'd be interested to see Star Wars TFs revisited by the actual Transformers design team. My understanding is that they were not designed by a team that had a great deal of experience with transforming action figures last time out.


I think the design brief was just stuffed to begin with. The alt modes had to be 'complete' to appeal to the Star Wars fans and as a consequence the bot modes just ended up being generic unstable humanoid with a character head. Although technology has improved over the last 10 years it looks like the design brief has not changed so even the most experienced design team is going to find it challenging to counter the inevitable shellforming.


I'm not making any excuses for the Marvel crossovers though :p

[DELTAprime]

Ouch, March is going to be expensive for me since I feel like I need to replace my Omega Prime with his cracked tyres.

[griffin]

So this is a new mold TIE Advanced?

I'd be interested to see Star Wars TFs revisited by the actual Transformers design team. My understanding is that they were not designed by a team that had a great deal of experience with transforming action figures last time out.

I got my original one out and compared it to the photo in the post above, and it is a new mould... but the new one looks a lot worse.
If the Japanese designers are on this new one, it should have looked better... but the chest and arm kibble makes it look like a TIE Advanced with a Vader head sticking out of it.
I'm not sure who designed the original ones, but considering the engineering on some of them (like the Darth Vader Death Star), I would have to imagine that they had the Japanese designers working on some or most of them.

[DELTAprime]

Official images

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/takara-tomy-transformers-legends-topspin-twin-twist-seaspray-lione-official-images-351838

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/takara-encore-god-fire-convoy-reissue-rid-omega-prime-first-images-351815

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/star-wars-powered-transformers-tie-advanced-x1-darth-vader-confirmation-images-351894

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/new-images-of-takara-tomy-transformers-legends-lg64-seaspray-lg65-twintwist-lg66-topspin/39785/

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/more-and-higher-quality-images-of-takara-transformers-encore-god-fire-convoy-with-god-magnus/39786/

Note the comparison images in Seibertron's article.

[bowspearer]

But the big surprise looks to be a revisit of the Star Wars Transformers toyline with a new mould of the Darth Vader/Tie Advanced toy, packed with a minifigure of Darth Vader and five Stormtroopers.

Any word on whether it's definitely a deluxe or they upscaled to a voyager.

I love the concept, but there's no way in hell I'm paying over $55 for it on preorder from HLJ.

[griffin]

Some more photos have been found (http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/star-wars-powered-transformers-tie-advanced-x1-darth-vader-confirmation-images-351894), giving us a clearer look of this new toy, and it looks like it must have been on display somewhere.... unfortunately, it is not next to anything else to know the scale or size of it yet.
If the screw in the shoulder is a standard sized one, you could probably estimate the size of the toy... which can be a bit deceptive with the big wings adding a lot of empty bulk to it.

[griffin]

The March items (Seaspray, Twintwist, Topspin, God Fire Convoy, Darth Vader, reissue MP Bumblebee, Movie Nitro) are all now on HLJ.

[DELTAprime]

Some info on the electronics for God Fire Convoy. They have recorded new dialog with the original voice actors and it has new sound effects. TFND says it's 40 sounds in this release.

https://www.seibertron.com/transformers/news/info-on-the-new-electronics-for-takara-transformers-god-fire-convoy-encore-release/39797/

[DELTAprime]

Voice samples for Fire God Convoy.

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/products/tf_encore/gfc_sound

[griffin]

A coloured sample of the Darth Vader Transformer (http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/16/star-wars-powered-transformers-tie-advanced-x1-darth-vader-new-full-color-images-352194).

[DELTAprime]

More voice samples, this time for Mangus.

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/products/tf_encore/audition1

[bowspearer]

In the process of trying to download the sound clips for Encore GFC and digging through my cache, I discovered that the file names for the clips were

item_tf_encore_gfc_sound04.mp3
item_tf_encore_gfc_sound05.mp3
item_tf_encore_gfc_sound06.mp3
item_tf_encore_gfc_sound07.mp3
item_tf_encore_gfc_sound08.mp3
item_tf_encore_gfc_sound09.mp3

While I couoldn't access the directories themselves, getting creative with the URLs od the sound locations did yield the other 3 clips (I checked and there is no item_tf_encore_gfc_sound0a.mp3 or item_tf_encore_gfc_sound10.mp3).

The URLs for the other 3 sounds, which appear to be for Fire Convoy, are:

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/wpadmin/wp-content/themes/tf/img/products/tf_encore/item_tf_encore_gfc_sound01.mp3

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/wpadmin/wp-content/themes/tf/img/products/tf_encore/item_tf_encore_gfc_sound02.mp3

http://tf.takaratomy.co.jp/wpadmin/wp-content/themes/tf/img/products/tf_encore/item_tf_encore_gfc_sound03.mp3

Unfortunately I can't find a webpage to access them from that I can put through Google Translate.

The second clip is clearly "Blizzard Storm! Fire!"+Sound Effect, but the other 2 are a mystery.

Anyone able to translate the first and third clips?

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

First one says
AI, Member Select!

third one says
A destron has appeared.

Also on the Legends side, Amazon Japan has the next wave as being out on Nov 17
Sixshot, Broadside, Misfire and Doublecross

[bowspearer]

Thanks Tetsuwan. I think I may need to strongly consider this release now, as much as I'll likely hate myself for it heh.

[DELTAprime]

Even though it's really expensive I'm looking forward to getting Encore God Fire Convoy. All the effort Takara are putting into the electronics is great.

If I lost my entire collection Car Robots would be the one non-CHUG or MP line I replace. I love that line.

[griffin]

More official images of the Star Wars Transformer (http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/11/26/star-wars-powered-transformers-tie-advanced-x1-darth-vader-new-stock-pictures-video-354250), and a transformation video as well.

[griffin]

TakaraTomy have released a transformation video (http://www.takaratomy.co.jp/products/starwars/cat37/#) for their Darth Vader Star Wars Transformers toy, with some sample screen caps here (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/01/18/star-wars-powered-transformers-tie-advanced-x1-darth-vader-new-official-video-356993).

[griffin]

The March items from TakaraTomy will be released in a few days time, and some photos of the box for Omega Prime have been revealed (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/20/takara-tomy-encore-god-fire-convoy-packaging-images-361047), giving us a good look at the altered deco of the toy.

So, is anyone here getting this who already has the original version (or the Hasbro RID version)... or will be getting this for the first time?

At almost AU$400, it will be a big expensive boxset (double the price of the original pair, although that was 18 years ago)... but it will be a lot of fun for those who haven't experienced it yet.

[DELTAprime]

The March items from TakaraTomy will be released in a few days time, and some photos of the box for Omega Prime have been revealed (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/20/takara-tomy-encore-god-fire-convoy-packaging-images-361047), giving us a good look at the altered deco of the toy.

So, is anyone here getting this who already has the original version (or the Hasbro RID version)... or will be getting this for the first time?

At almost AU$400, it will be a big expensive boxset (double the price of the original pair, although that was 18 years ago)... but it will be a lot of fun for those who haven't experienced it yet.

At the current exchange rate he's $305 on HLJ https://hlj.com/product/TKT10732 . But as much as I'd love another Fire Convoy and God Magnus I couldn't justify that much money in the end on two characters I already own. Instead I preordered a LG-EX Grand Max from TLTC since I don't have a Grand Max in my collection at all.

[griffin]

More photos of March's Japanese toys (out of packaging) now that they have been released - Omega Prime/God Fire Convoy (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/23/takara-tomy-encore-god-fire-convoy-package-content-images-361223) and Legends Seaspray, Twintwist, Topspin (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/23/takara-tomy-legends-lg-64-seaspray-lg-65-targetmaster-twin-twist-lg-66-targetmaster-topspin-hand-images-361198) (including a new "fan mode" combination of the two Jumpstarters that were drawn into the included mini-comic)

[DELTAprime]

Photos of LG-EX Greatshot and Grand Max packaging.

http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/27/takara-tomy-mall-exclusive-transformers-lg-ex-grand-maximus-packaging-361441

http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/28/takara-tomy-mall-exclusive-transformers-lg-ex-greatshot-packaging-361450

I hope these two end up on my doorstep soon.:D

[griffin]

Some in-hand images of Greatshot and Grand Maximus (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/30/takara-tomy-legends-ex-greatshot-grand-maximus-hand-images-361595), showing us the mould changes to Greatshot (Grand Maximus is just a redeco).

And with the first of the Star Wars Transformers released, we have some in-hand images of the Darth Vader toy (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/30/dark-side-force-takara-tomy-star-wars-transformers-darth-vader-hand-images-361576), and another promotional video on youtube from TakaraTomy (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-M-3Ihz7Qo) for the new series (of two so far).

[DELTAprime]

Some in-hand images of Greatshot and Grand Maximus (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/30/takara-tomy-legends-ex-greatshot-grand-maximus-hand-images-361595), showing us the mould changes to Greatshot (Grand Maximus is just a redeco).


Oh darn, I had hoped for the price they were asking for Grand Max Takara would go all paint apps and no stickers. Well I guess I'm going to have to set aside some time to sticker him up.:rolleyes:

[griffin]

The mini-comics included with Greatshot (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/31/takara-tomy-legends-lg-ex-greatshot-pack-manga-361650) and Grand Maximus (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/31/takara-tomy-legends-lg-ex-grand-maximus-pack-manga-361659) - showing a lot of nice cameos.
One thing to note is that they've used a black redeco Twinferno/Doublecross, as Black Zarak. Unfortunately the toys would be way out of scale (Deluxe to a Titan), but I guess that was the best they could do with a recently existing toy. (they could have just drawn the original toy, as they don't only have Legends toys in these comics, and it would have made more sense for scaling... and a good red herring to fans wishing for a Titan Scorponok)

[shockNwave]

The look of Greatshot walks all over Sixshot I have to admit. That 1970's/early 80's look is like classic rock, it never goes out of style.:)

[Penetrator]

did they really pull out the pretender shell for Grand Max?? :confused:

[Penetrator]

The March items from TakaraTomy will be released in a few days time, and some photos of the box for Omega Prime have been revealed (http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/03/20/takara-tomy-encore-god-fire-convoy-packaging-images-361047), giving us a good look at the altered deco of the toy.

So, is anyone here getting this who already has the original version (or the Hasbro RID version)... or will be getting this for the first time?

At almost AU$400, it will be a big expensive boxset (double the price of the original pair, although that was 18 years ago)... but it will be a lot of fun for those who haven't experienced it yet.

me.

[DELTAprime]

did they really pull out the pretender shell for Grand Max?? :confused:

It didn't reach 3000 preorders at TTM which was the condition of the Pretender shell in Japan. Don't know about Hasbro HK's version.

[griffin]

I'm still waiting to hear about the Asia release (which is obviously out as RK showed off packaging photos last week), but it doesn't sound like it did.

[Penetrator]

I'm still waiting to hear about the Asia release (which is obviously out as RK showed off packaging photos last week), but it doesn't sound like it did.

sad

[Penetrator]

so mine have arrived today and I can confirm there is no pretender shell....

very sad as it is only an extra $5 for takara to include that and it would have been another step closer as a homage to the original toy.


oh well... still a cool bot though! :p