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2018 may have been and gone, but it has left us with a lot of good memories. From the Power of the Primes line to the Masterpiece series to Siege to the Studio Series and several other releases alongside these lines, there has been something for everyone to enjoy. As traditional, the TFW2005 staff have come together to present to you our favorite toys from the past 12 months. These are our opinions as individuals and do not invalidate any of the other awesome toys released last year – there were plenty of great toys to choose from, after all. We’ve taken our list from when we compiled last year’s list – so latecomers arriving in the final weeks of 2017 were also eligible, since most of us didn’t get them until 2018.

Read on to read what each of the crew felt was their favorite new robot from 2018!

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under General Articles, Other News

The sinking ship that is Toys R Us has, after months of the same minor discount, increased its store-wide sale to 30-50% of everything in the store. For some this may be too late as many stores have no doubt been cleaned out of Transformers and other big-name brands at this stage of the game, but for others this may be a good time to strike before all the good stuff is gone. The liquidation sale also includes Babies R Us, so those looking for cheap baby toys and supplies may want to act soon.

While their online store has been closed for some time now, Toys R Us still has a site up and running with a store locator and updates regarding the sale. To find a store or more info on the sale and the closure, head here.

under Animated, General Articles, History of Transformers

On 26 December 2007, a new Transformers show, Transformers Animated, made its debut with a three episode pilot which launched a new and different take on the Transformers mythos. Where Optimus Prime was once the supreme commander of the Autobot forces, now he was just a lowly starship captain of a spacebridge repair crew. The Decepticons were powerful and formidable, and the setting was an Earth 50 years into the future, where high technology made robots commonplace and technologically enhanced super villains a part of life.

This was Transformers Animated. We’ve chosen to mark its ten-year anniversary today, on the anniversary of its first non-pilot episode airing, to reflect how Transformers Animated was Transformers in the year 2008, sandwiched between two movie years. We’re also going to dive into how Transformers Animated was a show cut tragically short by a combination of circumstances, and what its lasting legacy has been.

Read the full discussion after the break!

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under History of Transformers

2017 has come and gone, a year of ups and downs for our beloved Robots in Disguise. On the positives we had some excellent new toys including the ongoing Titans Return line, an all-new convention in Hascon, and a strong conclusion to the Transformers: Robots in Disguise show. On the less positive, Transformers The Last Knight became the worst performing of the five Transformers live action movies with an equally poor performing toyline, and fans were undecided about the reboots of IDW’s Transformers comics.

Join us as we dive into the year that was 2017.

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under General Articles, Generation 1

As we near the end of the calendar year, we draw closer to the full release of J.E. (Rik) Alvarez’s upcoming, updated version of The Unofficial Guide to Vintage Transformers.  This is not just a remix of his previous three books, but rather a whole new walk through.  Thanks to Mr. Alvarez and Schiffer Publishing, we were given the opportunity to have an early look at the encyclopedic tome of toy robots from decades past. The book features photographs of his personal collection with additional ones coming from the Transformers fandom and community, making it all that much more special. It also features a plethora of facts regarding those figures, and knowledge that can be appreciated by fans young and old.

Check out the full review after the jump or you can grab your copy on Amazon right now.

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under Conventions, Interviews

Last week at Hascon 2017, TFW2005 had the chance to interview two of the leading forces in the Transformers brand right now – Product Design Manager John Warden and Marketing Director Ben Montano. Both were eager to talk about the brand, where it is and where it is going. We touched on the future of Masterpiece, Transformers Cyberverse, possibilities for Apeface and other yet to be released Headmasters, state of the fandom, Transformers The Last Knight toys, and more. Read on to see what they had to say, and then sound off on the 2005 Boards!

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under Conventions, Interviews, San Diego Comic Con

Amidst all the chaos this last week at San Diego Comic Con 2017, TFW2005 met up with Hasbro Designers John Warden and Lenny Panzica for a short interview about what was just revealed, the future of the Generations line, the current movie line, and Robots in Disguise as a whole, and a few specific queries regarding design choices! We’ve transcribed the interview from start to finish, and it can be read in full after the jump. Enjoy!

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under General Articles, Transformers Movie (Just Movie)

As a part of our celebration of the Transformers Movie series hitting its tenth anniversary, and Transformers The Last Knight launching, we set out to complement our previous two articles with a list of the top five heroes and villains of the Transformers Movie franchise. Seems easy enough, right? Pick five awesome Autobots and the five coolest villains.

Well, you know what they say about the best laid plans.

In place of that planned article, we’ve written this piece recording my experiences trying to put together a list of the top characters, and what it means about the characterization of the Transformers in the live action movie series.

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under General Articles, Transformers Movie (Just Movie)

One of the things that Michael Bay, and by extension the Transformers movie series, is known for is hard-hitting, intense action sequences. There is no shortage of outstanding fight sequences in the Transformers movies. In this second part of our celebration of ten years of Transformers live action movies, TFW2005 news staff and movie fan SilverOptimus looks at his personal favourite picks of Robot vs. Robot, Metal vs. Metal, Autobot vs. Decepticon.

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under General Articles, Transformers Movie (Just Movie)

June 28, 2007, Rhode Island. Botcon 2007 was kicking off, and fans eagerly filled auditoriums at the Providence Place Mall’s multiplex theatre. This was the moment. After close to two years of leaks, advance information, and trailers, this gathering of fans would get to experience Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg’s vision of the Transformers in live action.

The lights dimmed. The presentation began.

Cue Peter Cullen.

Before time began, there was the Cube. We know not where it comes from, only that it holds the power to create worlds and fill them with life. That is how our race was born. For a time, we lived in harmony. But like all great power, some wanted it for good, others for evil. And so began the war.

The audience erupted into cheers and applause. The original voice of Optimus Prime was back, and with it, the Transformers franchise, reinvented and reborn for the big screen.

(Of course, to fans, the brand had never gone away. It had continued near unbroken for over 20 years. But in the public consciousness, Transformers had gone away around 1986, and was now returning in force.)

It has been ten years since that initial fan premiere event, but the memory of that event, and what made that first movie so special, still burns bright in me. 

Article continues after the break.

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