JP Unite Warriors Menasor now official

[Trent]

Not so much that Menasor specifically, but the use of redecos to make the figures more Geewun, the lack of the Legends-class team members, and limiting the line solely to combiners make me feel like Takara don't really care that much about Unite Warriors and would rather keep selling their Legends and Adventures toys (or even just Adventures and Masterpiece).

Ah. Yes, in that sense I agree with you. Although it is still early on for the Takara line. We may see more reveals as time goes on.

[Defcon]

IMO Its to early to judge Takara's Unite series. Hasbro has done an excellent job of the first two waves, which makes it a little bit harder for Takara's offerings to stand out. Its a long wait for the release of Superion in June? and then wait some more for the other eventual releases.

[DELTAprime]

Come on HLJ, I want to preorder!!!

[Lord_Zed]

Not so much that Menasor specifically, but the use of redecos to make the figures more Geewun, the lack of the Legends-class team members, and limiting the line solely to combiners make me feel like Takara don't really care that much about Unite Warriors and would rather keep selling their Legends and Adventures toys (or even just Adventures and Masterpiece).

I'd have to disagree based on what we've seen so far given they target their local market which is a big fan of all things geewun and the TakTom colours are definitely more spot on than Hasbro's. As for the lack of scouts it's not like they were ever part of those combiner teams, and quite frankly most look like mecha tumours when attached to their combiner team. the gift sets mirror the original Japanese releases of combiners so it's not hard to see why TakTom might skip them.

Also putting them all in one box means they are cheaper than buying them separately, even for those of us in OZ the cost should be no more than buying them cheaply locally shipping included.

[Zommael]

I'd have to disagree based on what we've seen so far given they target their local market which is a big fan of all things geewun and the TakTom colours are definitely more spot on than Hasbro's. As for the lack of scouts it's not like they were ever part of those combiner teams, and quite frankly most look like mecha tumours when attached to their combiner team. the gift sets mirror the original Japanese releases of combiners so it's not hard to see why TakTom might skip them.

Also putting them all in one box means they are cheaper than buying them separately, even for those of us in OZ the cost should be no more than buying them cheaply locally shipping included.

Part of my problem is that the adherence to the G1 cartoon is too faithful, to the point of using a redeco in place of a figure that was designed to fit in with the team. CW Superion and Menasor are great homages to the G1 toys, but the inclusion of the new characters Alpha Bravo and Offroad at least makes it feel like the brand is still moving forward and still finding new ways to entertain both kids and collectors. The Takara version is trading on pure nostalgia, which always feels stagnant to me, and doing it in the worst way possible by using redecos instead of new moulds, which makes their versions feel like the Energon combiners to me. But it's the same reason why I don't have all that much interest in the Masterpiece line: pure remakes don't excite me. I want to see the line continue to move forward, even while it looks to its past. The story is the same with the Legends class figures; they might not have been part of the groups in G1, but they add something new and make things feel different.

That's why, for me, the Takara releases feel lacklustre. They simply aren't contributing anything new beyond modern engineering to the toyline. That may be Takara's prerogative due to their market, but it feels like a poor decision to me, and these toys feel like poor man's versions of the more interesting Hasbro releases.

[UltraMarginal]

You could also say that the 'new' characters we are seeing on the Hasbro teams is just a repaint of a mold needed for one of the other teams..

[BigTransformerTrev]

Im liking the whole 'gang' motif. As in between Hasbro and Takara we are getting the original 5 Stunticons as well as two new characters. As long as they don't get rid of the old guys I have no problem with them expanding the subgroups rosters with new characters. Give me my G1 nostalgia with a bit of new stuff on top and I'm very happy

[griffin]

From a post in the BBTS topic, we get to see a little more of the Japanese Menasor & Wildrider, but is still a grainy picture.

United Warriors Menasor too

Give us another, but not clear, look at TakTom's Wildrider toy in all robot, car and limb mode.

It does let us know the approximate time-frame for its release in Japan though, as BBTS have it listed as August.
They have Superion listed as June, which is the Japanese release month, so it is possible that Menasor will be released in August in Asia.

[Bidoofdude]

Cool, but Hasbro is enough for me.

[Lord_Zed]

Hard to tell from the grainy pic but the colour schemes for Dead End, Dragstrip and Wildrider look way nicer for me. I need to see better pics but I'm pretty sure if I do get the new Stunticons it will be this set.