Robzy's Rant:

"No More Disguises"

The Vault is here! The Vault has been opened! Time to review it...


Yes indeed, here is a photo review (and I'm not kidding about the photos) of the new Transformers Vault by Pablo Hidalgo. This book is chock-full of amazing pics and information about the history of Transformers. I got mine at Target for around $29, and I definitely think it's worth the price. If you already own the 'Transformers Ultimate Guide', like I do, you may already know most of the G1/Beast Wars elements but it's still interesting nonetheless. That Ultimate Guide is somewhat out-dated now (in regard to the newer cartoons and movies), so it makes this new book a very worthy purchase. For newbies, this is a must buy!



First of all, the presentation... The book comes in a clear plastic cover that has the Autobot symbol and Optimus Prime on the back. Slip that off, and you have the Decepticons' logo and Megatron on the back. Fairly straight forward but a nice touch.




Inside, we are first greeted by a Foreword by Peter Cullen himself. Again, nothing strikingly new, but it's great to read.



Now that the Vault is truly opened, we get a history of where it all started... the toys! There's some excellent pictures of the toys from G1 to movie-verse.




Also included are a number of images of toy artwork, conceptual artwork and Japanese exclusive prototypes. We also get a little pull out Toy Catalogue and some Tech Specs with Red Decoder.







Next up, the Comics get the treatment. This section is not quite as large, but still fascinating!



Included is a pull out sketch by IDW's Casey Coller...


This is followed by the history of Transformers on TV. Lots of great info and pics, as well as 2 Posters, one of which you can take out (the Japanese version), for the original 1986 animated movie (TF:TM). There's also a previously unseen character profile of Hot Rod from the film. This section also includes a mini animation film cell from the G1 TV show. The chapter covers all the TV shows, including Beast Wars, The Unicron Trilogy, TF: Animated, and TF: Prime, extensively.






Now, on to the films. This section is quite small, but gives some insight to the 3 (at this Review's time) live action movies. Included is a 'Screening Ticket' to see 'Revenge of the Fallen' at Mann Village Theatre on July 22, 2009... all I need now is a Time Machine


And at the very end, we have the Future... what lies ahead for Transformers? What are Hasbro's plans? Will there be more TF movies without Michael Bay? This last section is very short, and mainly deals with 'War for Cybertron', setting it up as the next direction the Transformers brand will be heading towards.







Overall, it all makes for fascinating reading... not to mention a superb coffee table book.

Robzy's last word: Highly recommended!