Seems like the 2013 theme is going to be Machine Wars.
Seems like the 2013 theme is going to be Machine Wars.
They should of done more Neo-G2/Euros.
For sure we will be seeing that Cybertron Red Alert mold again as Soundwave. I already have too many of that mold but if it had been an Euro-G1 Stalker, I would have been all over it.
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Contents of this issue, now that it has reached our shores.
Page 1/cover - art of FunPub Circuit at Uncle Bobby B's car-yard.
Page 2 - info and contents. We are told that the first Subscription toys will arrive early February, and the next year of Magazine comic will be Shattered Glass Universe with the Subscription toy characters.
Page 3 - Packaging photos of current toys (Thundertron & Ultra Magnus, FOC Soundwave & Soundblaster, both Minions 2-packs).
Page 4 & 5 - Interview with Hasbro's Global Brand Manager Clint Chapman about Beast Hunters series and Year of the Snake toys. Shows official images of the first four BH Deluxes.
Page 6-11 - Comic, "A Flash Forward" part 6. The introduction of the Gen2 Gobots is complete (including Nightracer) as clones of various Gen1 characters, leading into the Machine Wars theme of BotCon 2013's comic.
Page 12 - Sideswipe Bio (a blending of the Gen1, Gen2 and Gen2 Gobots versions)
Page 13 - Gobots Frenzy Bio
Page 14 & 15 - Prologue comic for the Subscription Figures and 2013 Membership figure (Depthcharge), to be continued in next issue's comic.
Page 16 - Trivia on the Quintessons, and some weird mini-comics.
A better than usual issue, with half of it being comics (over half if you don't count the cover and contents page that don't add anything to the content), and three pages on current/upcoming toy images and info.
This year's comic story (A Flash Forward) was very sporadic in its appeal. The first part was good with it's (re)telling of a deleted scene in the 1986 Movie (Ultra Magnus and Autobots taking down Devastator, and then having Red Alert shot in retreat). But then the next three parts were so drawn out and boring, I had no idea what was going on in the fourth and fifth parts when I got them (forgetting what had happened two months earlier), so I decided to just read the entire story when the sixth part came in. The story as a whole wasn't too bad, but needs so much back-story from the last three years of Collector Club comics and BotCon comics for it to make sense... and even still, it is really just comes off as a padded out introduction to another story (which we will get at BotCon in 2013).
It served its purpose of featuring this year's Membership toy(s) of Runamuck and "Runabout".... but they didn't seem to be as prominent as previous year's Membership figures were in their comics.
The interview with Hasbro's Clint was by Benson Yee (for those who know him), and felt a bit wasted, as it didn't give away anything interesting or new with Beast Hunters. It does give a quick mention that the "Platinum Series" is planned to be a big thing, after the success (and impressive look) of the Year of the Dragon Optimus... so Hasbro US are looking to globalise and make more impressive future "holiday/celebration" figures, which is why there are two big fancy Year of the Snake toys. It will be interesting to see what else they are planning under this new "Platinum" banner they have created for these type of one-off toys.