Via 三粒星星玩具屋 on Facebook we have images the latest Figure King Magazine. Figure King #314 features new images of Legacy United Armada Tidal Wave and the latest Studio Series Core class toys.
This month we have just 3 pages of Transformers content:
- Transformers Legacy Wave 20 for August 2024 – We have 3 pages with new images of TL-70 Armada Tidal wave showing off al his modes, poseability and combination with Legacy Armada Megatron.
- Studio Series Wave 48 For March 2024 – Only release will be SS-128 Bumblebee Movie Starscream.
Click on the bar to see all the mirrored images on this news post and then share your impressions on the 2005 Boards!
TFW2023
They still need mini-cons to complete the look
mx-01 archon
Because you can see how the toy is constructed. The only spaces that CAN be significantly hollow house the Dark Fleet.
blamformer321
ChrisJAam said this on a recent youtube video, but I feel like HasTak is kind of baiting us with Tidal Wave because we all want it so bad.
Let's assume the toyetic / play pattern first features are too expensive for the most part. And that they wanted to focus on accuracy to appeal to collectors. Cool.
However the burning megatron feature was one of the most "toyetic" / bonus features of the og TW toy. But it was still a bonus that buyers didnt even know about. The main toyetic features were the ones that utilized Ramjet. Optimus Prime, despite not having a minicon, kept the main play factor …the combination with his trailer to super mode. So that's why even though he doesn't have Sparkplug we are all so forgiving because the main play mechanic is still there.
Armada Megatron's main play factor – argably the interaction with Leader 1 and other minicons…and Tidal Wave's..arguably the minicon interaction as well…were both left out in favor of creating an almost "2 for 1" kind of buying situation where you can't really appreciate each figure independantly, thus forcing consumers to buy both.
So to me, if I'm HasTak and not prioritizing toyetic features, why would I include the one that the least amount of people originally knew about or are universally excited about? And why would I neglect the *one* feature that makes the scale of a Titan Class worth it / valid? I mean, the Minicon is *right there*.
I feel like it very well could have been suits at HasTak saying, "hey this will make consumers buy TW and Armada Megatron" and that's why this is what it is.
I'm not saying that this was 100% the intention, but it feels that way and maybe it was.
I don't have the toy yet so maybe when I get it I'll be proven wrong (if I don't cancel my preorder), but I think they should have not done burning megatron at all. They should have used that budget / engineering for keeping the minicon / micromaster interactions and given us a ramjet minicon/micromaster. Then, they could have built in a standing platform on Tidal Wave's upper back that Armada Megatron could click into, almost like he's controlling/riding TW like a mecha suit.
Heck, I'd even be open to a 250.00 titan if they kept everything as is AND added Ramjet and the toyetic features.
As of right now, I never thought I'd be here, but I'm finding myself seeing Magmatron as my most anticipated figure of 2024. Commander classes seem to give the most bang for the buck these days and the feedback consistently seems uniformly strong: "improved on the visuals and components of the original and kept the main playability factors save a shooting missle".
I'm not knocking anyone excited for TW…heck I am…but I do feel a bit confused about what they chose to focus on and didn't, I guess. I don't work there so I don't know all the inside baseball of it all.
But I DO know that when we all figured out that Armada Prime integrated with Overload from like 20 years ago, something that HasTak did not have to do, we appreciated the care and intention and shout out to fans. This doesn't feel as authentic…that's just my opinion… ::shrugs::
Negativedark
Budget. I'm pretty sure that they couldn't get the budget approved for that, which is a shame, it wouldn't have taken all that much more and would have made the value go up a lot.
The toy industry isn't what it was when Armada came out. Dedicated physical retailers like Toys R Us are not as much a thing (Well in the states), and kids would rather play fortenite or watch Tik Tok than play with toys. The market's shrunk, and collectors tended to care much less about real firing missiles, blinking lights, and other features like that than how good it looks on a shelf and posiblilty.
Yeah, if they'd taken that out he'd have definitly had the budget for Ramjet. Just looking at the parts counts for the smaller battleship, I think you could get a core class. Heck, even a tiny minicon like the original (And Ramjet's the smallest minicon I own) would have been amazing, because it'd helped with the scale of the ship. They had a lot to do with this figure, and it ended up comprimised because they tried to do too much, especially with the combination. The main figure with Ramjet would have been better.
Honestly the back not having a proper cover is making me consider cancelling my preorder. At least I can already see the 3rd party upgrade kits, and I can even see someone doing benches and a replacement for the forearms that can fit a little ramjet and elevator.
Mojom
How can you say Tidal Wave has none of that "empty boxes" feel when he still isn't anywhere close to retail release? Have you by any chance got to handle a leaked copy? If you want my opinion he looks like he has this "empty boxes" feel here and there – his upper arms, and his lower legs once the upper legs are flipped out. Let's just wait for the figure to come out before continuing further on this debate.
LUTW still has toyetic gimmickry. The problem is it's been shoved in the wrong direction to the point of wrongful compromise. Instead of Ramjet and a deploying plane elevator we instead get this mess of a Mini-Wave just to force in a "has something to combine with Megatron" gimmick, which results in the massive hole in his back and his arms if those pieces are taken out. If the mini-ships at least could transform into a mini-wave this would be somewhat amusing and easier to look past.
And we also get this ridiculous base mode of a yoga pose that no one asked for (and to pour salt into the wound, appears to have zero ramp connectors to interact with other deluxe/titan baseformers) just so the designers can use that as an "ackshully, gotcha, he's not a partsformer" – despite the loss of being able to transform directly into robot mode from combined ship mode.
Hardly feels to be that good of a wish coming to reality when important flagship features have been stripped out, like Legacy Armada figures missing their minicons.
Bustermaster
Seats will be made by a third party that use the same adapter that the megatron parts use to store. As for elevators and spring activated things. All that increases the budget for a toy that already uses its budget for transforming and articulation. Not many big what we would call “holiday/big ticket item” bots or now Summer bots as titans always debut in middle of july now Feature things like that except for hollowed out areas to store little guys.
If you want elevators and seats and all the bells and whistles on this size of a toy you have pay the bigger prices in which 500+ because the only things that really serve those gimmicks nowadays are Diaclone and super 7 made to order play sets.
Rewind
Agree with all of that. It looks great, yes, but almost every single detail that made the original so much damn fun, even by today’s standards, has been left out. No Ramjet, no launch bay, no troop transport seats, no option for all-in-one transformation. All so they can say “HE BIG!” And what’s really unfortunate is that figures this size are rarely enjoyable to play with unless they have lots of fun features. So he is big for the sake of big, a bigly bot to stand in the back of the shelf and look big, and not be touched.
And yes, despite all of that I will still buy one. I only complain because I love Tidal Wave so much and want him to be perfect. Fingers crossed for some major upgrade kits.
mx-01 archon
They don't have many visible gaps, but in handling them, you can tell that their limbs are empty boxes.
Tidal Wave has none of that.
As for the "soulless" sentiment, it shouldn't come as a huge surprise. Generations hasn't featured toyetic gimmickry for about ~10 years now. The only gimmick is transforming. Just what all the "adult" collectors were clamoring for when Armada was fresh and new. Now those wishes have become reality.
Mojom
Mild disagree. Most of the other titans themselves have no visible gaps or hollows – Trypticon, Fort Max, Nemesis, Scorponok, Omega Supreme etc., all Tidal Wave needed at the most extreme minimum was a panel to cover up the hollow back even if it has to be popped out like a remote control's battery cover and I wouldn't be bitching about it like I am now.
Far, FAR too much has been sacrificed to modernize Tidal Wave. He could have his Armada toy pit against the upcoming titan and it would unironically be the "Soul vs soulless" meme. You may say he is the least hollow, but I say he is the hollowest of the titans and I don't necessarily mean physically.
ZipperMan29x
he look so good can't wait to him get and Galvatron
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DarkAxalonSyde
I'm glad I'm not the only one who's feeling more and more underwhelmed by this figure. I'll probably get it, once it drops to a reasonable price, just cause I want a big Tidal Wave, but the lack of Ramjet, Minicon features (even non-spring-loaded ones), the forced partsforming and the more gappy look to his combined vehicle really weighs this figure down. It really is an annoying trend that the updates of older figures are almost always smaller, flimsier, lacking in features and don't even offer anything new style-wise, except when they're taking away the style, in favour of making them look more G1.
Chaotic91
Same energy
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SMOG
I'm really agreeing with many of the comments here regarding how this figure was adapted to a new version.
Naturally, we shouldn't expect the new versions of these characters to be exact replicas of the originals, but increasingly I'm finding that in spite of the updated articulation, the designs somehow feel inferior to the first editions… and a big part of this is just that there's less to be impressed with. Some of that is the decreased size and flimsier construction on the newer toys, but also there's something disappointing about the lack of gimmicks.
Back in the day, I was never a huge fan of the gimmicks. I mainly just wanted functional, posable Transformers. I thought the Minicon/Cyberkey gimmicks were generally unimpressive, and also required internal mechanisms that compromised the figures on some level. And yet, somehow it feels like we're missing out.
My most recent example of that would be the Legacy Armada Megatron. It's a sturdly little figure. The articulation is mostly great. Aesthetics are on point. But WOW… comparing the Legacy version to the sheer number of neat gimmicks on the original is sort of shocking.
How did they fit so much into such a small figure??
Anyway, and now we have this MUCH larger version of Tidal Wave, and it feels wrong that a lot of the little neat features on the original are just not included here.
He still looks cool, of course. At least there's that.
zmog
Matrixbeast
I wish he included Ramjet over the mini fleet to combine with Megatron. I feel Titans having a small buddy included both increases the play value and really showcases their size.
Oh well. Wonder if we'll get him in Energon colors.
TheDragonDAFan
I see now why people wanted Tidal Wave to be a Titan. I can't wait to get my hands on him.
mx-01 archon
Any marginal loss in height compared to the other Titans, at least, is owing to the fact that he's the least hollow among them. Yeah, there's giant gaps if you remove the mini Dark Fleet, but it doesn't change the fact that he has the plastic to fill those gaps.
Mojom
Here you go, it's as I suspected: The seats were removed to accommodate the new transformation where the legs swing up and out instead of sideways.
Same. I've always had that feeling even as one or two clowns here mocked me for it, but I hate seeing it officially confirmed all the same. No more carrier elevator with minicon, no more transport ship seats, lost ability to transform from combined ship into robot without partsforming, massive hole in the back, yet another yoga pose "base mode"… And add to that him being one of the smallest titans to date.
All they really had to do at the barest minimum was give the original toy improved articulation and people would have eaten that right up. Now we have an oversized toy with major compromises to fit in powerup accessories for Armada Megatron which not everyone may have.
octobotimus
I’m starting to kinda grow less and less fond of this figure. With how large it is, the fact it has none of the cool minicon play features is rather lame honestly. It’s a lot of empty space not getting used, kinda like fort max…
Bustermaster
A few things, no idea why the mini ships can’t just form a small tidal wave aswell, hell it could just be simplified engineering of the original would be a great way to have both game scale and disproportionate anime scale.
Glad the middle of the base mode is hollow so you can store something in there as a hanger bay. I’m hoping to be able to store core energon megs into the back cavity of the robot mode.
ShockSound6
Was going to say this