It’s the time of year once again where Hasbro lifts the veil on what is in store for 2015! Our team is on site at Toy Fair 2015 in New York to bring you news of what is coming your way in the Transformers world throughout 2015!
After the break, view our coverage of Hasbro’s Toy Fair 2015 panel! Refresh for the latest additions to our reporting. [13:10] This is a full panel for all of Hasbro’s brands, so we’ve got a few other presentations to sit through before we get to Transformers. First up is Marvel, with an assortment of Marvel Legends and other releases.
[13:21] Still with us? Hasbro is talking about Spider-Man right now.
[13:30] Jurassic World up next. Me Grimlock say Dinobots superior, dinosaurs inferior!
[13:36] Star Wars is up next. The Force is strong with this one. (These are not the droids you are looking for – Mechafire)
[13:45] Furby Chewbacca – Furbacca – hums the Imperial March. We’re not making this up.
[13:45] And now – the Transformers!
[13:46] Hasbro loves Transformers fans, and is saying it with a Shockwave valentine.
[13:47] Rescue Bots up first. Showing a clip with NEW RECRUITS.
[13:48] New recruits are Salvage, Blurr, and High Tide
[13:48] On to Robots in Disguise. Showing a clip we’ve already seen. Bumblebee in Optimus’ shadow.
[13:49] The Robots in Disguise premiere on 14 March will be the first two episodes.
[13:50] Talking about the Robots in Disguise app. A McDonalds promotion was also discussed briefly.
[13:51] On to the toys! One Steps, we’ve seen already.
Legion Wave 3, Underbite, Fixit.
Drift, Fracture and Thunderhoof One Steps
Sideswipe and Jazz Warriors. Jazz looks good. Very G1.
Slipstream and Jetstorm Minicons for Drift. Beast Box is one of the other ones coming.
3-Step Changer Steeljaw
[13:53] The Mini-Con single packs feature clear, removable peg armors. The Deployers, Drift and Fracture, were shown.
Showed off the Mega Optimus and the Super Bumblebee “biggest Bumblebee ever”. Mega Optimus can attach a load of Mini-Cons – around 10.
[13:54] On to the Combiner Wars!
Kicking off with hype for the books, issues 40 and 41 of Transformers with Defensor and Devastator covers. Bit of discussion on the Fan-Built Combiner poll too.
[13:56] Hasbro rep wonders if they could do an all-female combiner?
[13:57] Defensor confirmed.
[13:58] Combiner Wars Legends Wave 3 has the Warpath from Megatron retool, blue Powerglide “Viper” (who is based on the G.I. Joe Cobra Rattler), and the Legends class Groove! Groove forms the chest of Defensor.
Deluxes, Blades is confirmed as an Alpha Bravo redeco. New head.
Rook and Streetwise were also shown. Rook is a SWAT truck, he’s white
[13:59] Deluxe First Aid shown, he’s a jeep
[14:00] voyager Wave 3, Cyclonus and Hot Spot. Cyclonus in combined mode has Galvatron’s head. Cyclonus is a retool of Silverbolt. Hot Spot looks vaguely like Onslaught, so possible retool potential there.
Leader class Magnus shown. Leader Wave 3 release, IDW look.
[14:01] MINIMUS AMBUS comes with Leader Ultra Magnus. Is in the chest. Can transform on his own, into a car. Not needed for the main transformation – he’s small, like a Mini-con
[14:02] Hyping Devastator now. Showing some G1 clips.
[14:03] New Devastator is big. Like, Scrapper on his own bigger than original G1 Devastator big.
[14:04] All six Constructicons present. Hook, Long Haul, Scavenger, Bonecrusher, Mixmaster, Scrapper. Limb connectors are their individual guns. All six look great, seem to have knees, elbows etc, and vehicles all look as they should. Looks structurally like their G1 counterparts with some upgraded proportions and articulation.
[14:05] That’s all for Transformers. Next up – TFW2005 site owner Tony_Bacala is emasculated by sitting through a My Little Pony presentation. Then pics from the showroom.
Autovolt 127
OK that's perfect!
BidoofdudeofOz
Transformers have always been reused and retooled. The only difference is, they're not replacing just heads and things, they're replacing various parts so that the toy is essentially a new mould. I'm all for it.
Optronix1087
So no confirmation of those reissues we heard about? Seems strange they just sort of pushed out the Insecticons with no announcement.
Billzilla
Archduke Hanz Wilhelm Von Cockenblocken.
Afterburner
The amount of remolding going on is troubling. There are limits to how much that works for a line like Generations and they are crossing the line. Yes, everybody combines the same way, but that doesn't mean chests and legs should all look the same. This line started very promising and frankly is starting to vindicate my purchase of 3rd party combiners rather than supplant them. Typical Hasbro. Also – paint some god damn wheels already. Leader Magnus looks like a Lego toy in vehicle mode – the paint there would help immensely.
Devastator looks good overall, better than I expected to be honest. He is big and combined mode is impressive. I don't agree with how they did Long Haul and Scrapper's arms but that is my only main complaint.
Still, I will wait and see what TakaraTomy does on each and every one of these releases. Devastator could use some purple hands, all the the toys painted wheels, etc. I hope somehow they find a way to ditch Rook but I am not sure they will. Unlike the other two fuck ups, Hasbro really screwed us on this one by making Groove a Legend motorcycle. Or did they? I guess you never know with TakaraTomy. Also, that Cyclonus looks good in vehicle mode, but bad in robot mode. They couldn't get rid of Silverbolt's iconic shoulders? Really?
As for RiD, it's official – TransFormers is now on par, quality wise, with Power Rangers. A sad day I honestly never thought I would see with technology what it is today. If I was a kid there would be no reason to buy a RiD toy over any other – there is no special styling or detail or function. It is the ugliest line I have seen possibly ever and I am extremely disappointed with it. If we didn't have Generations, I would likely be quitting Hasbro collecting.
Ironic the two RiD lines are like night and day – one saved vehicle TransFormers, the other might kill TFs off for kids.
Gen1rep
Wonder if hasbro will release any of the CW combined figures (superion, menasor, defensor, computron etc) in a giftset version?
femmebotfangirl
Awesome. Do it Hasbro, look at MLP for what happens when you get girls and boys buying your shit rather than one or the other. Maybe they are softening up the fanbase for revealing the fan built combiner is going to be female by default.
Defensor and the Protectobots look fantastic, definitely a must have. Love the homage to G1 without being slavish.
I like the Constructicons and I don't give a fuck about one of them not having elbows. I think they look like excellent updates in robot and vehicle form and Devastator is easily the best version yet, 3P or otherwise and fantastic for the price. His head and arms look in much better proportion than in the earlier photos too. No gripes worth mentioning.
Cyclonus is beautiful, definitely getting her.
Ultra Magnus is nice, not sure I'll get it, too many other priorities.
Needed more fembots, still an amazing array of toys.
Jalaguy
Huh? Simply by looking at First Aid you can tell that he's a heavy retool of Offroad. Like, there's zero doubt in the matter.
Specifically, First Aid has all the parts that are blue and silver on Offroad, plus the wheels and axe. The rest (i.e. the head, chest, and truck parts) is new. It's a similar level of retool as Skydive to Air Raid, or PRID Arcee to Chromia.
Bumblebee1048
Not to be rude but from multiple accounts it was confirmed as a new mold more to be reprinted into swindle
gbm
Does Devy have any head articulation? Doesn't look it.
Autovolt 127
It was an alright panel. I mean we knew every we were getting because of leaks in the system and in a way I wish we didn't know all of this cool stuff till today. It feels less special than it should have been even with all of the cool stuff we have this year.
His name should be Hanz Wilhelm Blocker. :
gbm
Where did you see Menasor photos?
aledromo
Do we have estimated release dates for all this?
DVD
That's all kinds of awesome! Again, could care less about Ambus, but the gun + missle pods = hammer is just genius. Man oh man…
grindcore138
Shit is being flipped. Dat Magnus! Absolutely amazing. I can't believe they did a little Minimus as well! I like that for those not down with IDW they can just throw him off to the side without affecting Magnus (not that it won't stop people complaining about it, mind). And his shoulder missiles and guns can apparently combine into a massive hammer for him to weild. Rad.
He's perfect as far as I'm concerned.
I was cautiously optimistic about Cyclonus being a Silverbolt retool but he actually looks really good. Lack of massive MTMTE horns aside that's a pretty nice headsculpt. Not sure how I feel about his Combiner mode being Galvatron, I thought they might've gone for a Unicron-ish head there, but I won't be displaying him like that anyway so it doesn't really matter.
I'll definitely be getting the Protectobots. I was was really looking forward to seeing Defensor and although he's a tad on the chunky side I do really like him.
The Constructicon's robot modes aren't doing much for me, but they'll be spending more time in combined form than anything, and given how great that combined form is I can't say it bothers me.
It's a pretty great time to be a Transformers fan, although a terrible time to be my wallet, haha.
I am a very happy man right now.
SeanTF1967
Rescue Bots new recruits, I like it, wait they showed there appearance I need to find it
Cosmoglide
Jazz is a a straight up remold of PRID Bumblbee. It looks like the exact same engineering with some new panels to try and hide it. Kinda glad I have chosen to forego the RID toys for financial reasons, now, because I kind of hate that mold. That said, Sideswipe looks pretty sweet. I also kinda dig the three step Steeljaw.
Biggest bumblebee ever will keep them shelves super warm, I wager.
Soundbarricade
New pics up on the Twitter link a few pages back!!
Ultra Magnus' guns combine with his shoulder launcher for Magnus hammer!
His entire chest opens and his head swings back to reveal Ambus "chair"!!
I love it beyond words!! 😀 best Magnus ever! And no butt-flap! XD
Silen Prime
Everything looks good IMO. Ultra Magnus looks straight out of the comics and armed to enforce some Robocop justice. The Rid warriors look good, Jazz looks like he could have been remolded from Prid Bumblebee though (I hope he comes with a visor). I knew Cyclonus was going to look good once I heard the rumor and visualized the designs. The Protectobots and Defensor look good, (maybe Rook can be remolded into Brawl). I can't wait to get those constructicons, I like how bulky Long Haul is. And of course Devastator will be devastating my shelf.
DVD
Ok, now that I've had a little bit to process all of this awesomeness:
Ultra Magnus: I could care less about the little bot he comes with, but actual Magnus is awesome. 2 guns? Do they combine? It will be interesting to see official pics from Hasbro. Love both his vehicle mode and robot mode, though. Cannot wait. Repaint him as Powered Convoy and I'll buy him too!
Protectobots: I'm just going to lump them all in here. First Aid looks awesome, and that's one hell of a re-mold. Rook looks awesome, esp with the hand gimmick. Very interested to see where that takes us. Did we already hear a rumor of Rook remolded into Brawl? Because that would make the most sense. Hotspot is beyond perfect in both modes. I don't think that bot mode could be more G1 if it tried. And holy arsenal, Batman! Groove looks good, and I've always had a thing for Scout/Legends size motorcycle bots. Really wish they would have given Blades new arms, but oh well. Streetwise looks super imposing and I'm loving it. Defensor as a whole doesn't do a thing for me, though. I'm really hoping you can leave Groove out and he's not essential to making the combined chest.
Cyclonus is awesome looking, but man has he put on a few pounds! He'll be akin to Optimus on my shelf and rarely, if ever, be combined with anyone. Unless they did something crazy like have Misfire, Triggerhappy, Slugslinger, and Needlenose as the limbs. Otherwise he'll stay Cyclonus.
Devastator and the Consctructicons in general look amazing. If some had to sacrifice articulation to ensure stability, then I'm all for it. The robot modes look spot on and other than the missing articulation, I have no gripes. Devastator himself looks massive. 18"! Not just tall, but massive. I don't know where I'll put him, but I'll make room!
Legends Warpath and Viper are neat ideas, Viper especially.
Now while I'm really liking everything we're getting, there is some stuff that makes me scratch my head. Cyclonus is a prime example. Also, looking down the road, we know we're going to get Bruticus/Combaticons, but do they all have to be repaints/remolds of the Protectobots? Seriously, even in different colors, they're going to look really whacky. First Aid will be Swindle, Rook = Brawl, Hot Spot = Onslaught(just replace the ladder with a double cannon), Blades = Vortex, and toss in an Aerialbot of your choosing for Blast Off. It makes sense, but kind of a disappointment at the same time. All in all, awesome showing by Hasbro!