Best and worst of SDCC 2018?

[griffin]

This year's SDCC has probably now revealed all of the new Transformers products it is likely to reveal, so what was your best and/or worst this year?


What items are you most looking forward to, or least looking forward to?


And are you more, or less, interested in the Bumblebee Movie later this year?

[FatalityPitt]

This year's SDCC has probably now revealed all of the new Transformers products it is likely to reveal, so what was your best and/or worst this year?


What items are you most looking forward to, or least looking forward to?


And are you more, or less, interested in the Bumblebee Movie later this year?

To be honest, I was a bit underwhelmed by some of the assortment revealed so far for Siege: WFC. The toys looked cool, but nothing really struck me as a 'must-buy'. A lot of the characters were ones that already had fairly recent toy releases (regular cast members like Optimus Prime, Hound and Ultra Magnus, etc.), and the only really 'new' characters for the Generations line were Cog and the Micromasters. Not a single Decepticon was revealed. Also, battle-damage paint deco doesn't feel like a gimmick that justifies the higher prices we'd be expected to pay in the near future. But on a positive note, I think the most exciting toy of the line was Ultra Magnus. I'm quite fond of the White-Optimus-ish inner robot, and to see that in an Ultra Magnus toy (literally) just like the original G1 toy is a treat.

As for the Bumblebee movie, I'm still feeling more or less the same about it. As for the toys, the Target exclusive set with the Soundwave Cassette minions look interesting because it looks like it includes TR versions of Buzzsaw and Frenzy.

[DELTAprime]

I wish they showed off more SWFC figures at this years show. Unfortunately it's more beneficial for companies to do online reveals on a day when they are not competing with other companies at a massive show.

Aside from that and what I mentioned in the news threads about apparently we are only getting half of each 1989 Micromaster team I have no huge complaints.

As for best, I don't know, let's say more G1 charactes getting a CHUG toy for the first time.

[SharkyMcShark]

Best for me would be the two new Studio Series molds shown - BB Movie deluxe Bee and Dropkick. Some of the Siege stuff is a close second - Magnus and Ironhide in particular.

Most underwhelming? I'm still not quite sure what the point of Cyberverse is, apart from to have multiple size and price points of figures that would be probably pretty good if given proper budget and parts count.

Also there's a rumour flying around that the Decepticon WFCSiege figures will be revealed at NYCC, so this might now be it for the year.

(Also presumably Starscream and the red Decepticon whose name escapes me will probably get figures for the release of the movie, at the end of this year).

[Bidoofdude]

Best for me would be the two new Studio Series molds shown - BB Movie deluxe Bee and Dropkick. Some of the Siege stuff is a close second - Magnus and Ironhide in particular.

Most underwhelming? I'm still not quite sure what the point of Cyberverse is, apart from to have multiple size and price points of figures that would be probably pretty good if given proper budget and parts count.

Also there's a rumour flying around that the Decepticon WFCSiege figures will be revealed at NYCC, so this might now be it for the year.

(Also presumably Starscream and the red Decepticon whose name escapes me will probably get figures for the release of the movie, at the end of this year).

Starscream is Blitzwing. :(

[CHILENO20]

Starscream is Blitzwing. :(

This :rolleyes:

[CHILENO20]

On the plus side, the WFC stuff is great and now confirmation we are getting a Frenzy :)

[Jetfire in the sky]

Starscream is Blitzwing. :(

Yeah I thought that was a joke.

Maybe ok if its an actual triple changer and not a name change thing. I'm not totally up on the reasoning. Or is it a swerve??


Side note... Clone Wars news made my allergies play up big time. Help us Dave Filoni, you're our only hope. There is still good in Disney, I have felt it. :D:D

[Raider]

Yeah I thought that was a joke....


Side note... Clone Wars news made my allergies play up big time. Help us Dave Filoni, you're our only hope. There is still good in Disney, I have felt it. :D:D

Yeah I thought so too but considering I'm not likely to see the movie I will just laugh.

The Clone Wars news was my favourite by far. If it is anything like it used to be mixed in with some of the fantastic character development from Rebels then I will be very happy.

[SharkyMcShark]

This :rolleyes:


Yeah I thought that was a joke.

Maybe ok if its an actual triple changer and not a name change thing. I'm not totally up on the reasoning. Or is it a swerve??


Side note... Clone Wars news made my allergies play up big time. Help us Dave Filoni, you're our only hope. There is still good in Disney, I have felt it. :D:D


Starscream is Blitzwing. :(



Wow that passed me by.

Not super fussed by name slaps in general. In a post Beast Wars world I'm open to anything. Inferno anyone?

[GoktimusPrime]

Even G1 had unrelated name reuses.
Lightspeed and Lightspeed, Sky High and Sky High, Barrage and Barrage, Flame and Flame etc. ;) Also, remember that Cloud Starscream was a redeco of Generations Blitzwing, so the similarity between Blitzwing and Starscream isn't a wholly new thing.

Besides, how many other Bayformers look like one character but is named after another?
e.g. the black and white police car that looks like Stakeout is actually Barricade!
Then there are those which are nothing alike, such as Rampage etc. etc. etc. Also, having Starscream on Earth in 1987 might create continuity issues with the first live action film.

Anyway, back on topic...

Best of the SDCC reveals for me were CHUG Swindler and Bumblebee Movie Deluxe figure. Worst would be that Ultra Class Cyberverse toy. Geez... in 1996 Hasbro gave us Ultra Class figures like Optimus Primal which, in relative terms, rivals Masterpiece Beast Convoy. The original Ultra Class figures, like many BW figures, were ahead of its time. The Cyberverse Ultra Class figure looks pretty poor by 2018 standards. Forget rivalling MPs, it looks like it's already outclassed by the Scout Class toys.

The animation style/quality of the Cyberverse cartoon doesn't look great to me. Is it still being animated in Japan or is it all in-house stateside Hasbro animation now? Story-wise I do like how the Autobots and Decepticons appear to be a united faction. I hope that this is the actual premise of the show and that they run with it. The idea of a reunified post-war Cybertron is something that hasn't really been explored in the cartoon but has most notably been explored in the IDW comics (despite John Barber's appalling command of the English language).

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Starscream is Blitzwing. :(Sorry, I missed this bit of news. Can someone post us a link/reference/source?
Cheers in advance.:)

[Paulbot]

Sorry, I missed this bit of news. Can someone post us a link/reference/source?
Cheers in advance.:)

Here's one
http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/07/20/san-diego-comic-con-2018-bumblebee-the-movie-panel-368692

[M-bot]

Always happy to hear about a new Hound :D

I’m about 50/50 with purchasing some of the new Seige releases so kinda happy to be saving a little bit of money and not having to worry about space in the man-cave to display them.

Probably not getting any of the BBee film merch.

Most disappointing news (or lack of news) was no Seige Decepticons announced. Surely they are to come though.

[SharkyMcShark]

Most disappointing news (or lack of news) was no Seige Decepticons announced. Surely they are to come though.

Rumours circulating that they're going to be shown at NYCC, which is in October.

[DELTAprime]

Rumours circulating that they're going to be shown at NYCC, which is in October.

How much you wanna bet that by then they will be well and truly leaked?

[Paulbot]

The description of "Decepticons as revolutionaries, Autobots as counter faction" still seems odd to me...

I have been wondering if that maybe the Decepticons will have a different gimmick? Maybe Seige could be like Energon - where both sides had Energon stars and scouts, but the deluxes up had combining for the Autobots and third/attack mode for the 'Cons. There's some Decepticon Micromaster patrol names in the mix, but that's about all we know.

[Gouki]

I am so bored of the same handful of characters getting new figures over and over and over and over again. In some ways, the Classics/Universe/Generations has become the worst thing about the Franchise because it is so G1 heavy. There are other Generations. The line isn't called Generation.

Where are the awesome G2 toys getting redone? New Beats? Hell, it's time to start celebrating RiD soon! But we won't! We'll get some new figures for some more G1 characters again! Did we really need every G1 character to get a new figure? Don't get me wrong, we get some inspired figures in this line and that's great, but, shit, this franchise does not die with G1!

[FatalityPitt]

I am so bored of the same handful of characters getting new figures over and over and over and over again. In some ways, the Classics/Universe/Generations has become the worst thing about the Franchise because it is so G1 heavy. There are other Generations. The line isn't called Generation.

Where are the awesome G2 toys getting redone? New Beats? Hell, it's time to start celebrating RiD soon! But we won't! We'll get some new figures for some more G1 characters again! Did we really need every G1 character to get a new figure? Don't get me wrong, we get some inspired figures in this line and that's great, but, shit, this franchise does not die with G1!

Ssshhhh, the geewun people will hear you and go on a rampage. :p

But yeah, I totally agree. I was thinking lately that it would be nice to get more Beast Wars stuff. I thought Optimus Primal winning the 2018 fan vote would be a sign that it was time for Beast Wars to make a proper return. While I appreciate the Leader class Optimal Optimus in PotP, it would have been great to see a full line dedicated to Beast Wars. It would be a nice break from Transformers that just transform into more boring cars and planes (even if they are futuristic). Would be cool to get more modern iterations of classic Beast Wars characters like Tarantulas.

[SharkyMcShark]

I genuinely cannot understand how Tarantulas has not had an original figure since the 1990s.

[Gouki]

I was born in 1987, I do love G1, but outside of some season 2 episodes, maybe fifteen to twenty toys, The Movie And Rebirth almost all my memories are of G2 and Beast Wars. And Cybertron was what actually got me back into Transformers in a big way.

Tarantulis neglect is a crime. I would love to see a new Transmetal Blackarachnia. Or Transmeral 2 Cheetor. Combiner Wars Tripedacus, perhaps? A Silverbolt that doesn't frequently split at the crotch when posing.

[FatalityPitt]

I genuinely cannot understand how Tarantulas has not had an original figure since the 1990s.

Has it been that long? I always thought of Tarantulas as one of the more iconic bad guys in BW. Sure there was Megatron (leader), Blackarachnia (token bad female), and Waspinator (comedy relief); but Tarantulas was the truly mean one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-GPGOUsQrA). He struck me as a cross between G1 Shockwave and Starscream, where he was like an evil mad scientist with his own dark agenda.


I was born in 1987, I do love G1, but outside of some season 2 episodes, maybe fifteen to twenty toys, The Movie And Rebirth almost all my memories are of G2 and Beast Wars. And Cybertron was what actually got me back into Transformers in a big way.

I think Hasbro likes to focus on G1 in their Generations lines because the IDW comics makes them easier to sell. But I wish they'd include characters from other continuities into their Generations lines, maybe one or two BW characters and one Unicron Trilogy character, or something like that. Just to mix things up a bit. There also doesn't seem to be much diversity when it comes to alt-modes. In what we've seen in Siege so far, most of the characters turn into automobiles. Would be nice to see some more dinosaurs, birds, spiders, etc.

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Has it been that long? I always thought of Tarantulas as one of the more iconic bad guys in BW. Sure there was Megatron (leader), Blackarachnia (token bad female), and Waspinator (comedy relief); but Tarantulas was the truly mean one (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-GPGOUsQrA). He struck me as a cross between G1 Shockwave and Starscream, where he was like an evil mad scientist with his own dark agenda.To be fair though, Blackarachnia was pretty much the first token bad female and was done pretty well to boot...until Beast Machines anyway.
Not disagreeing that Tarantulas deserves more love mind you.:)
I think Hasbro likes to focus on G1 in their Generations lines because the IDW comics makes them easier to sell. But I wish they'd include characters from other continuities into their Generations lines, maybe one or two BW characters and one Unicron Trilogy character, or something like that. Just to mix things up a bit. There also doesn't seem to be much diversity when it comes to alt-modes. In what we've seen in Siege so far, most of the characters turn into automobiles. Would be nice to see some more dinosaurs, birds, spiders, etc.Totally. Even if it was just as the pre/re-molds it'd be great to get some more character variation.
How hard would it have been to do a Unicron Trilogy Red Alert from the Combiner Wars Trailbreaker remold, or a Demolishor from the Brawl mold?

[FatalityPitt]

Even if it was just as the pre/re-molds it'd be great to get some more character variation.
How hard would it have been to do a Unicron Trilogy Red Alert from the Combiner Wars Trailbreaker remold, or a Demolishor from the Brawl mold?

I recently read on one of the forums (I think it might've been seibertron) where one of the commenters said the Hot Spot/Pyra Magna/Inferno mould would've made a good RiD 2001 Optimus Prime (or Fire Convoy).

[Silverbolt]

Im holding out hope that the Bumblebee movie will finally see an improvement in the live action movies. As for toys, I was about to pull the trigger and buy the Titan Return Ultra Magnus. But seeing this new toy, that will will become the Ultra Magnus for my classics collection.

[Gouki]

I think Hasbro likes to focus on G1 in their Generations lines because the IDW comics makes them easier to sell. But I wish they'd include characters from other continuities into their Generations lines, maybe one or two BW characters and one Unicron Trilogy character, or something like that. Just to mix things up a bit. There also doesn't seem to be much diversity when it comes to alt-modes. In what we've seen in Siege so far, most of the characters turn into automobiles. Would be nice to see some more dinosaurs, birds, spiders, etc.

If we use IDW G1 only we're due a new Razorbeast, Tigatron, Airazor, Polar Claw, Stampy and Tarantulus amongst others. ;)

And if we're going to b stuck with vehicles I'd love a new Knock-Out. His. Prime toy was crap. And it still fits with IDW. Not that any of that will matter soon.

[shockNwave]

Ssshhhh, the geewun people will hear you and go on a rampage. :p

But yeah, I totally agree. I was thinking lately that it would be nice to get more Beast Wars stuff. I thought Optimus Primal winning the 2018 fan vote would be a sign that it was time for Beast Wars to make a proper return. While I appreciate the Leader class Optimal Optimus in PotP, it would have been great to see a full line dedicated to Beast Wars. It would be a nice break from Transformers that just transform into more boring cars and planes (even if they are futuristic). Would be cool to get more modern iterations of classic Beast Wars characters like Tarantulas.

It looks like the mentality now at Hasbro is "We took a risk (see BW) to revive the toy line, now let's avoid risks and make money by playing it safe." So yes, the BW revival is long overdue.

BTW the new Ultra Magnus at the show has really grabbed my attention.