Courtesy of Seibertron.com, Toyworld Japan have released images of TW-T01; An upcoming 3rd Party homage to G1 Throttlebot Rollbar, of whom appears to be the 1st of several forthcoming figures. :eek::cool:
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Courtesy of Seibertron.com, Toyworld Japan have released images of TW-T01; An upcoming 3rd Party homage to G1 Throttlebot Rollbar, of whom appears to be the 1st of several forthcoming figures. :eek::cool:
Lol I dunno man....having the spare tyre transform into a gun because they didn't know where else to put it...feels a tad unimaginative.
Gosh at this rate we're gona have all of our G1's given the classics/universe treatment in no time :rolleyes:
I don't like the gun either and boy is he tall!
Wasn't somebody else also doing Throttlebots?
I was just thinking a third party Throttlebot would be cool.
He doesn't look as polished as some of the latest third parties, but he is still quite cool. I guess he is deluxe size judging by the picture which I suppose is ok.
Gun is boring but I'm still digging the rest, depends on how much they wanna overcharge us, as more and more third parties hit the market companies are going to have to do more to get peoples attention, or make em cheaper.
but will they make Wideload?
Looks promising! Do appreciate somebody bringing back a background character whose namesake has had some allegiance issues in the past!
Looks like a much cleaner transformation compared to the recent iGear Mini-Warriors who all seem like they've been hitting the gym a bit too much.
Guess they're re-doing Goldbug, I missed out on the recent new heads sculps for United Bumblebee, so I may go with this one!
oooh nice, the paint is kinda shiny metallic ei? Can't wait to see what searchlight would look like. Hmmm, They wont make Wideload I suppose from the look of those preview silhouettes. :(:(
I need to see more but I certainly would be interested in 'Classic' Throttlebots,
Beelzeboss had recently posted a concept drawing, which many believed were members of the Throttlebots. As far as I know nothing has been confirmed yet.
Anyways, after purchasing the Beelzeboss Goldbug head, I am looking forward to owning all of the Throttlebots. I will wait to see whether anything comes from Beelzeboss' concept drawings first though.
http://www.fullmetalhero.com/content...throttles.jpg/
actually liking the look of this guy
There are other throttlebots in the works also (along with the above ones), I don't think that I'm allowed to say where though.
I'd wait until you get a looksie at these ones as iirc the 7 were being done at once.
I find the Throttlebot press-release interesting, but for a completely different reason to most here.
With 3rd Party stuff in general, each fan has a line in the sand. Some like the upgrade kits, and nothing else. Some like everything, while others hate everything.
I think this figure shows me where my line is - interesting figure, great design. Don't feel the need to buy it for 3rd pary prices.
Just to be clear, these aren't really throttle bots are they. No auto transformation gimmick proposed? It's just that the concept pick shown would be feasible, the toy prototype shown doesn't look like auto transformation
Auto transformation is a Battlecharger gimmick anyway, Throttlebots just had pull back and zoom!
Finally some news on this awesome looking little guy - pre-orders via RobotKingdom and BigBadToyStore :) RK has once again got the lead on the first batch to be delivered - by a full 3 months it seems.
The final colour in the RK page looks different. Seems to have lost the metallic look about it, which if the case is a real shame. Looked great but maybe they were worried about GPS.
Either way $60 is a bit above what I'd be willing to pay anyway.
So a pass for me.
On the plus side, the dull brown colour does make it look more G1-accurate.
I agree with your thoughts regarding pricing - was actually hoping it would be around $45(?), seeing how their initial solicitation included silhouettes of the rest of the Throttlebots. Looks like this will be one expensive group ito collect :( TW Hegemon was reasonably priced, and whilst TW Grind Rod (terrible name) is slightly smaller than a deluxe, it seems like they're pegging their prices with FP's Insecticons initial recommended price (also the same scale).
I was actually happy he is only $60. yeah cheaper would have been better. But as a rule I always expect 3rd Party stuff to cost about $100
60 bucks?! He's only 14cm tall. Sheesh
He does not cost much more than a regular 3rd party figure of that size. FP Insecticons are shorter and were $50.
Yeah most third party items tend to be around double the RRP of an equivalent sized Hasbro TF, in this case Deluxe size.
And he's still cheaper than Runamuck and Runabout/Over-run were.
I wasnt complaining about the price in general, I was saying that I have no attachment to this character nor any throttlebot (even though I had them all as a kid). Thus $60 is more than I'm willing to pay for this character.
I think there will likely be a number of people feeling much like yourself dude, I too had these bots as a kid (Have a complete set of them now :D) and whilst their toys didn't do much for me, their characterisation in the 80s Marvel Comics did; so with the rather intriguing engineering & that these 3rd Party figures look to be quite high in production quality, I'm quite tempted to pick up one of these guys myself. :)
That said, if it comes down to having to decide between these guys or FP Not-Stunticons - I'll be going with the later in a heart beat. ;):D
More production shots of Grind Rod/Rollbar looking more greener and less rusty-coloured (I think I prefer the rustier look, but either way the paint looks shiny).
Also, check out a suspiciously combiner-foot-like mode for Grind Rod. If these not-Throttlebots do combine, then Toyworld has done a fantastic job at hiding gestalt mode kibble on their solicitation photos. I'd like to imagine these guys combining into Sixturbo-like gestalt, that stands slightly shorter than the other third party combiners :):p
TFSource has gone out and confirmed that Grind Rod will be apart of a not-Throttlebots combiner! The combiner joining parts will come packaged with the final not-Throttlebot release.
-- via TFormers.com.
Really looking forward to the finished product, and more importantly, the finished design the combiner head. I'd like something with spiked antennae, perhaps a visor, and preferably without a mouth guard (or better yet, a bunch of interchangeable face pieces like Green Giant) :) Giving him a new kid on the block look :D
Damn it Suspectimus! My wallet hates you for bringing this to my attention. :p
Where I previously had zero intentions of getting these, I now think I want them.
Must. Resist. Urge… to buy!
In all seriousness though. Wow. The kept that one pretty quiet. We'll have to wait and see whether the other members are as kibble free as the 2 we've seen so far. But that in part would be helped by the fact that all the combiner parts aren't intergrated into the bot.
Still, this is cool.
My Grind-Rod has already shipped from RK, I expect to receive it early next week.
Personally, I don't care much about the combining aspect, I wanted the Throttlebot characters. So as long as they are not compromised by the combining function, I am happy.
I personally was unsure if Grind Rod combined, that 'leg' mode kind of seemed like a 'fan mode' as in someone being clever with the engineering for fun.
I'm still tossing up between picking up Grind Rod now, or wait/hope for a gift set which may lighten the cost of shipping a bit -- would Toyworld follow Maketoys with a lavish gift set box? Or just leave things as is like TFC? Seeing how the Throttlebots weren't originally combiners, there is no particular demand for a G1-esque styled gift set repackaging.. :(
The only 'compromise' visible from the pics so far would be the two inconspicuous grey 4/5mm holes on the rear of the car near the lights -- perhaps to carry combiner parts whilst in alt mode? Can't really see how a foot would require the use of those holes in those positions. But looking forward to your photo gallery + review as always :)
(Especially interested, as there's quite a difference between the initial rust-brown/olive complexion and the final production mint green)
It's possible that they are both the same color and it's just flash and lighting making the effect. I know that when I take camera phone pics of toys with indoor lighting, they come out all sorts of weird colors.
We shall see about the toy overall as although Hegemon was awesomely engineered, his plastic was not that high end and more comparable to Hasbro's. I am expecting Grind Rod to be the same.
Judging by the in package photos it's definitely not that rusty colour. Looks indeed like a mint green, but with a slightly metallic sheen to it. Probably similar to Hegemons slightly metallic looking grey.
Wow Grind-Rod sold out from RK already. Lucky I didn't hesitate.
He'll be back (probably).
3rd Party Store still has them as well as Hegemon and an Auora place-holder :)
I haven't bought anything from these guys yet, but they only sell Toyworld stuff, so does that mean they're affiliated with them similar to the FP/FPC relationship?
Someone placed a Classics Hound head on Grind Rod- It looks pretty good!
http://imageshack.us/a/img805/2465/dsc03673n.jpg
I like Grind-rod just the way he is, with his fine stache, even though given his name it oughta be a pornstar stache not a handlebar one. Though yeah he could pass as Hound to with a head swap.
He really is a nice shade of metallic green too, It's hard to believe Hasbro used to make toys like this for their deluxe lines.
My Grind Rod gallery with special guest appearance from Renderform minibot upgrades.
I may fill it in with a review some time later if I am feeling up to it:
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod1.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod2.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod3.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod4.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod5.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod6.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod7.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod8.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/.../grindrod9.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod10.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod11.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod12.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod13.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod14.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod15.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod16.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod17.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod18.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod19.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod20.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod21.JPG
http://kupscigar.com/collection2012/...grindrod22.JPG
I've had Grind Rod on my desk for a couple of weeks and he's really become my fav deluxe figure :) Plugged a spare FP Sidearm into his left port and made him an honourary Targetmaster (in Suspectimusverse :p).
Can't wait for Aurora :)
Grind Rod is certainly above anything Hasbro is currently making. It is such a sleek and well designed toy while still being fairly simple and easy to transform.
Strangely enough, Grind Rod's design does seem streamlined enough to be something that Hasbro would be capable of making even under budget. Sadly they seem to no longer have the skill or willingness to do so.
Looks a lot flashier than what I originally thought for a throttlebot! Perhaps they'll giftset them after they've all been released at a much more reasonable price. Having said that though, I wouldn't be surprised if these guys popped up as $20-$25 official deluxes in stores in the near future