May Mayhem is upon us – and as was the way in 2015, Hasbro has a sharp new exclusive Combiner Wars figure for us to enjoy. This year, we’re getting a Combiner Wars release of the deluxe class Groove, to round out the classic style Defensor and Protectobot lineup!
Groove started out life as a new mold made by Takara-Tomy for their Unite Warriors version of Defensor. Where Hasbro had made a Legends class version of Groove – so that the motorbike would not be the same size as a police car or a helicopter – Takara went with the homage to the original look with a full on Deluxe class toy. Since I went Hasbro with my Protectobots, this is my first experience with Groove, and it is good. The design is very faithful to the Generation 1 Groove – right down to the boxy body proportions and squared head. Poseability is excellent, though since most of the Combiner Wars ‘bots share a basic design I expect this by now. Shoutout goes to the twin pistols, which are unlike any other Combiner Wars weapon, and look excellent (especially the nice detail of the sirens on the backs of the guns).
Overall, Groove is a great addition to any Combiner Wars collection. It’s very nice to have the traditional design of Groove for the Protectobot lineup, and equally it’s nice to have a few options to vary up the combined form of Defensor. Check out his gallery to see what you think of this one:
bellpeppers
Just ordered my Groove from Entertainment Earth.
So I can get ris of Rook…. but I'm thinking of keeping the mini Groove, but re-naming him Rook.
BB Shockwave
It's not in stores or online, just available at the re-sellers, at inflated prices, who bought it from Taiwan…
Sol Fury
You might want to check out this thread: http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-news-rumors/1067485-may-mayhem-groove-now-available.html
Alternatively Nevermore has a super-useful availability tracking thread in Toy Discussion.
BB Shockwave
It's the end of May already… wasn't he supposed to be sold in the USA as part of this "May Mayhem"? I will be pretty pissed if Hasbro does not release him elsewhere, just in Taiwan. Why make an international packaging when you will only sell him in a chinese-speaking country?
Autovolt 127
Definitely picking one up at TFCon.
Sol Fury
Yes, I'd heard the 24th as well. It'll be this week in any case. Since next week won't be May for very long.
The pegs would probably scrape on the ground, and you'd only get them on the one side. They'd possibly look oversized in the robot mode.
Glad you like the pics! To be honest I'm not super-negative or nitpicky, and I really liked this one, but if I had to cite a couple of issues, I'd say that maybe the design is overly Generation 1 – with a too-square torso and all – compared to the more reinterpreted others. But, I don't see how you could do the particular transformation without a square torso. I have a couple of other issues but they seem to be unique to mine so not really worth mentioning TBH.
Also, not a Hasbro sample, and not pandering for any Hasbro love. I'm just an optimistic guy. Also, the Legends Groove thing was intended in case anyone who's not intimately familiar with the fandom clicked on the post – I generally try to write all my posts to be accessible, since any of my posts could be someone's first exposure to the Transformers fandom.
Wackimus Prime
The Dork Side online shop has a preorder page up for Groove that shows availability on the 24th. This may help confirm the 24th or it could just be coincidence.
Transformers Generations Combiner Wars Series May Mayhem Deluxe Class Groove PRE-ORDER
Nevermore
^ This. Although the same source that mentioned the May 24 street date for Groove was spot on with the street date for Victorion.
Scott_XIII
I got my hands on Groove, then Shockwave stole him for a getaway!
Novaburnhilde
Groove looks great, especially with the other Protectobots.
Namekjohn
I do plan on picking him up, but i like the idea of rook being the tank character and groove being the little guy way too much, so he'll be on the shelf to the side, its still a great mold.
Smokescreen
The rumored street date is May 24th, but nothing is confirmed.
Jetfire37
Thanks for the gallery, I was really on the fence about whether or not to buy this guy since I already have the Legends Class Groove and Rook whom I have always thought made a better fit. It's a nice figure and would have looked great as a stand-alone or even with Galvatronus but Defensor??? & What he costs most places online? nooo thanks, Deluxe Groove makes Defensor look like he has a peg leg next to Streetwise's size.
It would have been nice to have the mold but I will enjoy it as Afterburner with my UW Computron I already have on pre-order.
kronos
+1 when's street date?
WinstoBot
I can't wait to get this guy. He can hang out with my RTS Wreck Gar and Junkheap as motorcycles, giving my Deluxe guys rides. Oh yeah, and be Defensor's leg too.
Starscream 91
So excited to get him in the mail hopefully Thursday.
griffn29
That's a nice motorcycle mode.
Spyne98
Is there a street date yet?
shadowfall1976
Its weird how Hasbro did their normal odd colors on Slingshot and Wildrider and they looked less like the UW versions. This Groove is a carbon copy or the UW version, I'd have figured they'd do their own take like Black thighs or arms or something odd. Or even go White, Silver and Red toy colors…nope, carbon copy.
Not complaining, I'm glad it was the same because my Son wanted him, just commenting.
XW1n5t0nX
I think he's an online only deal. If so when do the orders go live? Though he is already on Ebay if somebody wanted to get him now.