Courtesy of Loopaza Mega Store we have our usual doses of Figure King Magazine scans. Issue #278 features some new images of Haslab Unicron, Kingdom Commander Rodimus Prime, Transformers x Top Gun Maverick, Masterpiece Skids & Reboost, Studio Series and more.
This month we have and 6 pages of Transformers content:
- Haslab Unicron – The chaos-bringer has been released in Japan and we have official mages of the final product in both modes.
- Transformers Kingdom Commander Class Rodimus Prime – We have a HQ images of the previously seen new promotional images of the highly anticipated new Rodimus Prime mold. The images show scale compared to Studio Series Hot Rod, Primus sword storage, Matrix compartment, trailer, gimmicks and some of the included blue blast effects.
- Transformers Collaborative Top Gun x Transformers Maverick – Stock images of this crossover figure which will be released for the Japanese market in August.
- Masterpiece Skids & Reboost – Better quality image of the color prototype Masterpiece Skids and his new redeco and remold as Reboost.
- Studio Series Releases For August 2021 – We have images of the upcoming Studio Series SS-68 Revenge Of The Fallen Bumblebee (with a Sam figurine) for the Japanese market. Keep in mind that Takara Tomy use a different numeration than Hasbro.
- Prime 1 Studio Premium Masterline Age Of Extinction Grimlock – Official announcement of the release of this 15-inch tall statue for the Japanese market.
Click on the bar to see all the mirrored images on this news post and then share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!
IronEnder17
That would be toon accurate. Almost every aspect of this figure is toy accurate. That explains the shape of the fin, the lack of detail on the front of the trailer, the turret inside the trailer, the shade of red, etc
mx-01 archon
Split knows that. Think he just had one of those brain farts where the fingers worked independently of the brain on that one.
gibdozer
Looks to me like price point determines its class.
tf_one ebay
Absolutely THIS to everything you said, I’m in Japan too and it’s true all of it
tf_one ebay
Also just to bring a fact:
Up to this monthly magazine now, I think it’s the first time we see the Unicron final release in images, here in Japan, where I’ve been for a while and I check all the news about TF in the magazines.
The ´Generations 2021’ comes out in May 13th, and up to now I’ve looked at all hobby magazines monthly here in Japan, all of which have been covered on this website. I’m pretty sure I’ve only seen pre-production pictures, and prototypes, of Unicron here in Japan. The TT website did not do any updates to my knowledge. I could be wrong about these aspects though.
I wish to share that i’ve been able to acquire this Unicron from getting in on the crowd funding by Hasbro Pulse, which was distributed through Takaratomy Mall in Japan. I got him delivered last Saturday.
The important point I want to make here is that unlike the Hasbro Pulse backers in the US and Canada, the backers in Japan (through Takaratomy Mall) were not given any of the Haslab updates, like other backers. Of course, through this website I’ve been able to enjoy the updates and pictures & videos, but I know many Japanese buyers are not necessarily connecting to the international websites.
So this magazine feature of Unicron makes a lot of sense, to show this 2021 release in Japan for possibly the first time, domestically.
mx-01 archon
Ooh, someone's triggered again that we've gone a few hours without fellating daddy Takara, and giving them 150% credit for everything good ever done with the Transformers brand.
LOL, you're too precious.
Pixelmaster
He was the former lead designer. Of course he’s gonna go to conventions to promote toys. It’s like going to a Cannes Film Festival and after a premiere the the director isn’t in the Q&A session
IgnikaMarcus
John Warden wasn't the brand manager.
[Wing_Saber-X]
John Warden goes around like he's some kind of Transformers brand messiah. Lmao…
IgnikaMarcus
Pardon me while I roll my eyes then.
And I'm sure plenty others have been over this when Wing Saber was spouting the same nonsense, so I'm not gonna bother.
Bandithu
I saw a panel lined one and it looked pretty good
RodimusZero
Until I see Takara give a press conference and unequivocally say they were not bullied into stopping their Japan-original paint schemes by Hasbro (i.e. the "brand unification") …
… I'm inclined to believe that yeah, Hasbro deserves some blame.
Edit: on the flip side, we also can't/don't know that Hasbro isn't saying to Takara "no, you can't sell this Generations Selects in Japan, you can only sell this and this". All we can do is assume (and hope) that the relationship between the two is amicable, but seeing the odd shift in power and the lack of releases as I noted, I have a fear that it's not–it's antagonistic. Hasbro's not dumb either–they likely know or have figured out that overseas buyers can buy (under duress and at needless expense) US exclusives via online retailers, so for all we know, they've forbidden Takara from selling them so they can pocket the money by selling from their domestic stock.
[Wing_Saber-X]
AMEN.
IgnikaMarcus
Well, I'm not surprised, since Takara has tried in the past to outright replace TFs in their product library.
And honestly, even with the points you make, the "fuck Hasbro" isn't needed.
They're not to blame for what Takara does.
RodimusZero
Preach!! What really sucks is iirc the last legit "Japan exclusive" figure we got was maybe that lame SIEGE Nemesis Prime? that Hasbro has since one up'd with the Netflix version… Maybe the two G-Shock Primes were about that same time… yeah, but hardly anything exclusive for Japan anymore.
Not that I'm trying to deny the US from getting "official" distribution of Japanese exclusives, but the opposite is true, and we're only getting maybe a third to half of the exclusives that come out in the US over here in Japan. Then, those of us that want the stuff that doesn't come out here have to pay very high prices to import it ourselves through Amazon US, BBTS, or a Japanese local importer, or miss out. it SUCKS. I know it could be TakaraTomy making the decisions to import or not import this or that, but it sucks that the company who created all these toys originally is now playing second fiddle to a company that absolutely 1000% could not produce any of these figures on their own if they tried. And for anyone who doesn't understand how their Transformers are made, they are still drawn, sculpted, tested, and engineered in Japan. When people like Warden claim to have "designed" this or that, they're really just asking Takara to make this this way, or make this color like this, that's it.
Anyway, that part of the rant over for now… but yeah, it also sucks that a figure like Rodimus here–you Hasbro territory people should rejoice that it's "only" $80. We're paying over 10,000 yen (around $100, that's with discounts, MSRP is closer to $130) for it here in Japan and it's the same shitty spec as the Hasbro model. For that money (and it would've been the case back in LEGENDS) we would absolutely have painted rims, the notch on the hood, heck, probably even had a remolded/slightly more show-accurate cockpit.
I just hope that TakaraTomy gets new management or something sooner or later.
I don't know if people outside of Japan realize how bad the Transformers situation is here, but for example, Transformers aren't sold at Toys R Us here anymore, they're losing shelf space at Bic Camera, and of course half of the "mainline" toys that overseas people can find at their local stores, sometimes on discount, are all "TakaraTomyMall Exclusives" here for premium price. I don't know if the good old days will ever come again, but things like the Tokyo Toy Show limited figures, the little campaign Mini-Cons or chrome weapons freebies at stores, and of course local exclusives like the e-Hobby stuff… there's still so much potential, I just want to see Takara realize it again. Sorry, but f**k Hasbro.
[Wing_Saber-X]
Tell me about it brother.
Johntimus Prime
In a stunning twist, Takara will do him in the "dead" Energon deco all of us got sick of seeing in the early 2000s
maltesefalcon
i still say my only issue with rodimus is the colour as the dark maroon/burgndy would have hidden a lot of the vehicle modes issues
PoweredConvoy
Same as elsewhere. By preorder only based on how many pre-orders they received.
PoweredConvoy
Probably wanted to show off the final product. Not sure if he's shipping from TakaraTomy Mall yet, but I have seen some Japanese collectors with him. His release is early 2021 on TTM'a website. https://takaratomymall.jp/shop/g/g8000000001310/