I must admit, for characters from a show i've never seen, or really appealed to me, I actually find this super exciting!
Maybe it's because of my love of the molds they're using, i dont know...
Shouldn't be much dearer than the cost of 2 Leader Class figures, maybe a bit above that as a limited exclusive. I personally save like nuts between waves when there are no new toys to buy then throw my money at retailers when new toys are released (or available for preorder). I end up saving more than I spend because while I spend a lot when new waves hit, in the intervening weeks or months with nothing to buy I just save.
I wonder if they still have the moulds. I vaguely recall them reusing the Dai Atlas mould for some other toy line (Brave Series?) Don't know about Sonic Bomber andthat red dude whose name eludes me atm^Roadfire. Another issue might be demand. As Late G1 characters there may not be sufficient demand to justify reissues. I know they reissued Star Convoy who's an even later figure, but given that it's Optimus Prime I suppose it was iconic enough to sell. <shrugs>
Also remember that Dai Atlas is a hugely controversial and unpopular character among Japanese fans. In terms of inciting fan rage, Dai Atlas is to Japanese fans what Wheelie is to Anglophone fans. Being a widely hated late G1 character would explain why they're doing it as a limited exclusive repaint of existing moulds.
Dai Atlas and Sonic Bomber only ever appeared in one episode. Transformers Zone is the Japanese equivalent of The Rebirth Part 1 -- basically a toy advert episode because they knew that it was the end of the G1 cartoon series (only that it came out 3 years after Sunbow's and was a direct-to-video release). Oh, and it was also much better animated (Japanese Toei vs Korean Akom ).
Although Akom's gotten a lot better now (they animated The Simpsons among other things). But 80s Akom... yeeeeeeessh! XO
I will buy this set for sure
They've released a full set of high-quality images of all three components now in both alt and robot modes:
Takara Tomy Transformers Legends LG-EX Big Powered Robot and Alternate Modes, Color Images, TakaraTomyMall Pre-order - Via Seibertron.com
Love this, love it love love love it.
An observation, the tank turret from the original molding has moved onto Roadfire, and the jet cockpit seems to be on Sonic Bomber, so looks to be a Leader and two Deluxe+. So Dai Atlas only has the one crawler vehicle mode now.
Enjoy!
Fan-made English dub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tNiPa92rao
Japanese with English Subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8hBgYCJzkI
Just dropped an order for me. My thirst for Headmasters is unquenchable! I am also pretty impressed at how they managed to make existing moulds fit to the original characters! Also, they are all good moulds!
Also Gok, Why is Dai Atlus a controversial character? Is it because of the killing of enemies (I remember quite vividly him cutting Predaking in half without batting an optic-lid)
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Just preordered from Toybot Importz
Yeah. Dai Atlas was the first "Murdermus Prime" long before Bayformers.
It's really a matter of "RUINED FOREVER" because Dai Atlas dared to be something different. Because in the G1 cartoon continuity, Autobots never killed. Even in TFTM it was the Decepticons who killed Autobots, but Autobots only ever wounded Decepticons who were then later rebuilt by Unicron. Okay, some nameless Sweeps might get killed (although they were more likely to be killed by Galvatron ), but generally Autobots didn't kill. Dai Atlas took no prisoners, and a lot of Japanese fans view this as making him a more cold-blooded and ruthless Autobot leader. Yes, as adults today we can say that it's no big deal - it's war and you gotta do what you gotta do. But you could say the same thing about the death of Optimus Prime in TFTM. It's war and he was a casualty. Logically this makes sense (and I honestly had no issue with this when I saw TFTM in the cinema in 1986), but a lot of people get emotional and don't care about what logic dictates. Same with Dai Atlas being a "Murdermus Prime." You can try to argue the logic... I've tried... but people are still upset, ya know... cos feels.
From Takara/Toei's POV I totally understand why they made such a big change in Dai Atlas. Generation 1 was dying. They wanted to try something new. They've given us a convoy of Optimus-like leaders... Rodimus Prime, Fortress Maximus, Ginrai and Star Sabre - they all followed the same basic Optimus template. The shiny white knight heroic leader who will never ever kill. Dai Atlas broke this template by killing every Decepticon that he fought against (well, in Devastator's case allowing him to die through inaction). And logically... it makes sense. If an enemy combatant is attacking you with lethal force - and Trypticon was blasting him with the power of the MacGuffin - you have every right to retaliate with lethality. Also, Dai Atlas wasn't just fighting to save himself, he was fighting to defend Earth and the galaxy from the Decepticon menace. He could spare their lives so that they could escape and return to threaten the galaxy next week... or just kill them and be done with it. Predaking's death is the most disturbing. Aside from the graphic nature of it, it's also because Predaking was not an active combatant at the time that Dai Atlas slayed him. Predaking was retreating and begging Dai Atlas to stay away (「来るなぁ~!」), but Dai Atlas just cleaved him in twain. Yeah, that's some Michael Bay level stuff right there.
The funny thing is that in the IDW comics, Star Sabre and Dai Atlas are the polar opposites of their G1 counterparts. Dai Atlas is a pacifist whereas Star Sabre is a murderous loon.
I love these coloured images. Now where is my "shut up and take my money" gif of Fry when I need it???