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/transform...release/39699/

Also next lot of LG figures to be revealed could be Seaspray, Topspin and Twintwist.
https://www.seibertron.com/transform...topspin/39698/

[griffin]

More details confirms 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.


.

[SharkyMcShark]

More details confirms 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.


.

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

[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/t...-images-351838

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/t...-images-351815

http://news.tfw2005.com/2017/10/10/s...-images-351894

https://www.seibertron.com/transform...topspin/39785/

https://www.seibertron.com/transform...-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, 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.