Titans Return Wave 4 toys fully revealed and in-hand

[FatalityPitt]

The Jumpstarter gimmick rarely worked the way that it was supposed to, with the toys often falling flat rather than landing on their feet, or sometimes the toy wouldn't trigger properly after its roll.

But he'll always be a member of the original Wreckers! He also met a pretty gruesome death at Megatron's hands in the Time Wars... as many Transformers did (little wonder that the Autobots and Decepticons who managed to make it out of the Time Wars alive allied themselves as the aptly named Survivors). Wreck and Rule.

My response: Link

[Ode to a Grasshopper]

Krok actually looks really good. Not having any of the TR molds so far, I'm down with getting both Krok and Quake over their pre-molds, especially since there are other Skullcruncher and Hardhead options I like the look of more.

I don't say it nearly as often as I'd like, but good call @Hasbro.

[FatalityPitt]

More pics: http://www.seibertron.com/transforme...nd-more/37077/

My thoughts:
- Krok: The TFCC Krok (stealth bomber) is looking to be the more faithful representation of Krok compared to the TR one, as the original Action Master looks like it could've transformed into an aircraft vehicle like the TFCC toy. However the TR Krok still looks good and unlike Skullsmasher (first use of the mold), the crocodile's eyes looks like it's got light-piping. The colour scheme reminds me a lot of Kickback.
- Perceptor: I feel a bit bummed (more like a sigh, really) that Hasbro/Takara didn't give us this mold 6 years ago instead of that mega-complicated RTS Perceptor that turned into a Half-Track. I wasn't gonna get the Perceptor since I already have the RTS one, but the fact that it's got a simpler transformation and a faithful alt-mode makes it really tempting.
- Broadside and Topspin: Still getting these

[SuspectimusPrime]

So happy they're doing Quake! More troops for Bludgeon! I would have assumed that he'd be too obscure for them to do (with so many other good choices to be released).

Really glad that I didn't chase after for Charticon Aftershock a few years ago on eBay.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

Broadside looks nice, as does Toopspin. looking at the way the back of Topspin forms his jet, he could well make a decent retool of Sabre (you know the little jet from Star Sabre) and it would make sense since SS was a Brainmaster, so the head would be Brain, or brave brain, or whatever the heck it was called.

[FatalityPitt]

Broadside looks nice, as does Toopspin. looking at the way the back of Topspin forms his jet, he could well make a decent retool of Sabre (you know the little jet from Star Sabre) and it would make sense since SS was a Brainmaster, so the head would be Brain, or brave brain, or whatever the heck it was called.

Topspin's head even looks like Saber's (inner robot).

http://tfwiki.net/mediawiki/images2/...r_and_jean.jpg

http://static.seibertron.com/images/...and-tr-08h.jpg

[Zippo]

Now what will Takara release, and what won't they release from this wave ...

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't know if they'll release Quake and Krok as those G1 toys were never released in Japan. But then again, that didn't stop them from releasing toys like Straxus and Thunderwing... and Hasbro did release Black Shadow and recently Liokaiser. These Hasbro-exclusive G1 characters are to Japanese fans what Japanese-exclusive G1 toys are to Westerners... extremely exotic and highly sought after. It's funny seeing Japanese fans completely ignore toys like Liokaiser and Roadcaesar but drool over toys like Quake and Crankcase. Not so much Action Masters though... cos they just suck in anyone's language.

Then again, TakaraTOMY never released Scoop, another 1988 Targetmaster who was never released in Japan. So... I dunno. I don't expect TakaraTOMY to release Quake and Krok, but it wouldn't completely surprise me either if they did. But there are certainly precedents of TakaraTOMY releasing Hasbro-exclusive G1 characters and Hasbro releasing Takara G1 characters, so it does seem that both sides know that their fan bases are aware of G1 characters that were never released in their respective market. Having said that, I've noticed that Liokaiser is still shelfwarming, so I don't know how well these sort of toys can actually sell in the mass market. Obviously we hardcore fans would know who these characters are and might consider buying them... but the average casual fan may more likely look at these guys and think, "Who the truck is that?!"

[SuspectimusPrime]

Then again, TakaraTOMY never released Scoop, another 1988 Targetmaster who was never released in Japan. So... I dunno.

They did end up releasing that mould as Adventures Roadblock, so I guess they felt that the homage to the G2 Autoroller would be a bigger hit? I picked him up in Yodobashi in 2015; from memory it was priced lower than other figs in the same line (for everyone else: Japanese stores prices up/down certain characters in the same line/wave/price point based on popularity).

[GoktimusPrime]

Yeah, but TAV is their equivalent of RiD which is predominantly being aimed at kids rather than adult collectors. Sure, the foreign G2 homage is there which Japanese fans can appreciate, but it's not the staple draw for that toy. The one advantage of the kids lines is that they afford to have unknown or entirely new characters, because it makes no difference to kids anyway.
e.g. RiD Sideswipe, Strongarm and Windblade
To the average kid, they're all new characters to Transformers. To older fans, Strongarm is the only new character concept, with Sideswipe being a homage to his G1 namesake, and Windblade obviously being derived from the fan-elected character who also appears in the IDW comics. So similarly while older fans in Japan may get the G2 reference in TAV Roadblock, the average kid isn't going to care.

And sure, you could say the same thing about CHUGUR - which is probably why both Takara and Hasbro have gotten away with making products based on characters previously unseen in their respective markets. But I'd say that CHUGUR is more collector-centric than RiD/TAV... but still, CHUGUR definitely does still appeal to kids. There have been a few times when I've gone to pick up my daughter from school and I find Combiner Wars toys scattered on the ground. One time I saw a kid being distraught because he'd lost his CW Blackjack's weapon. His dad had no idea what it looked like, but I rummaged through some bushes and found it.