June 21, 2009

What started out being a two-part article has already expanded to a three-parter, and it's still growing! There's been so many new toys hitting weekly, it's tough to keep up. I'm trying to limit my purchases & reviews to characters appearing on screen. Keeping in teme with Transformers, we're also going to take a look at the sold out Masterpiece Grimlock!

Voyager Class Megatron

I'm still not sure if Megatron appears in this form, kind of a winged, flying tank (?) in the final film, but I am sure of this - it's an interesting toy, which is why I bought it. I wish he were as large as the Leader class toy, but I'm sure this price point will be more agreeable with parents, which is why he exists in the first place.

Sideways

Decepticon spy Sideways appears this time around in the form of the venerable Audi R8, one of the very few vehicles which does not hail from GM.

Ravage

This time around Ravage transforms into.....well....he's a black turd. I'm not sure what else to call him, but I'm sure he's fired to Earth from space by the satellite, Soundwave. A cool toy, even if the scale is probably off just a bit.

Human Alliance Bumblebee

Now we're talking! This new scale is in line with the previous alternators line. In fact, in many ways, this feels like an Alternators toy. Nice & solid, transformation is innovative, but not hyper-complex. The new gimmick here is that he includes a little (2.5") Sam action figure, which is very nicely articulated, and can sit inside the car and interact with the robot mode. By interact, he plugs on to various points, like behind his shoulder, on the arms, or in his hand. This is a great toy (he's even got the battle mask!), and I can't wait for the next offerings, Sideswipe & Skids. Hopefully this line will continue, I'd LOVE to see Optimus Prime get this treatment!

Masterpiece Grimlock

As you know, the Masterpiece Transformers have a certain pedigree to live up to. Grimlock here exceeds those expectations, and then some. The previous mold, Starscream, suffered greatly for the benefit of his alt mode. The designer wanted to make a perfect F-15 Eagle, not the perfect Starscream. Also, his scale was considerable smaller than Optimus & Megatron. Grimlock here is bigger than Starscream, but smaller than Optimus. He FEELS like the perfect size to handle. This time, the designers set out to make the perfect Grimlock. He's remarkable close to his G1 counterpart in terms of design & transformation, but they've extrapolated the extra details, and incorporated some conventions from the cartoon, such as the hidden tail parts in bot mode, as well as the fully articulated (yes!) flamethrower nozzle inside his mouth. Did I mention that his energo-sword & gun light up as well? Also, his eyes change from red to blue in both modes, so you can display him like the toy you borke as a kid (red), or how you remember him from the catroon (blue)! A must buy. He's currently sold out, but our friends at bigbadtoystore.com tell us he'll be back in August, don't miss out!

Come back next time for more Revenge of the Fallen toys!!! Happy toy hunting!

June 09, 2009

Megatron

Last time Megatron was a bit of a dissappointment, to say the least. This new version is better in almost every way. Of course, it depends if you like the new design, which I do. As you can see, he's bigger than last time, and like most new figures features the new "Mech Alive" gimmick. Pressing down on the lever in his chest this time makes his eyes & chest flash red which he screams "I AM MEGATRONNNN!!!!". This also actives some spinning gears in his cheast, and make the plates on his chest move slightly. His head also moves a little side to side. It's pretty underwhelming, but the spinning gears inside are kinda cool

The Fallen (Voyager class)

Little is known about the film's titular character. This is not the first toy of the Fallen, as a 6" offering from the ill-fated titanium line saw limited distribution around the time of te first film, based on his comic appearance. One of the original 13 Transformers, we only know that he's a real bad @$$.
Right now he's in very limited distribution, but I expect him to be more plentiful in a few weeks as the film debuts.

Starscream (Voyager Class)

Starscream, features his fresh war paint following his exploits on Cybertron after the events of the first film. If you recall, the last thing we see after the credits is Starscream leaving earth after the fall of Megatron & the Decepticons. The previous mold was more than a bit dissapointing, and this new version, while not perfect, is a huge improvement. When you turn is head, it spins the translucent orange gears in his chest. Hasbro has announced a Leader class version is coming, which is long overdue.

Bumblebee (Deluce Class)

Bumblebee is nearly the same exact toy as the first film, but with a few new additions that are just enough to warrant another purchase. This time around, Bumblebee features a new, MUCH more accurate head sculpt and his cannon arm. Also, he features a new hood and front fascia which now accurately reflects the new Camaros's styling, which GM altered for the final release.

Sideswipe (Deluxe Class)

Sideswipe is no longer a red Lamborghini. It's just something as a Sideswipe fan I'll have to live with. His new form is awesome, however, as the new concept Corvette Centennial Stingray. For those already getting excited, I personally would not expect this car the be made in the future, especially with GM's recent financial difficulty. He does look cool though, which is all we could hope for! His wheels-as-feet design makes standing him a real challenge, but otherwise he's a top notch toy.

Optimus Prime (Leader Class)

This new version of Optimus is an 100% all-new mold, and it really delivers. This time around Optimus is much more screen-accurate by comparison with 2007's offerings, and is truly the highlight of the first round of toys. Pushing on the retractable tab on his lower torso makes his chest expand & look up. This rotates the "mech-alive" gears behind the cab windows, make his chest flash red, his eyes light up green, and he declares, "I am Optimus Prime". He also features 2 flip out swords from his forearms, as seen in the movie's trailer. Seriously, if you buy only one toy from this film, it's a no brainer; this is it. WARNING - his transformation is mind-numbingly complex. I've shown you several of the steps here, but be warned, you will feel like you'll break this toy when you transform it.

December 30, 2008

September 21, 2008

Not widely known among collectors and Hot Toys fans, JC Hong – a talented Korean painter in the collectible market, who has passed his unique painting technique on to various sculptors and painters in Korea. We can say JC Hong is a mentor to most of the Korean collectables’ artists in the market today. He is also the Chief Paint Art Director of Hot Toys Ltd., besides painting prototype head-sculptures, his main mission is to ensure the paint ops on the final product are accurate with the prototype.

From the time JC became a key member of Hot Toys, with the dense workloads, he seldom has a chance to present his absolutely outstanding painting dkilld on a figure. Today, JC would like to demonstrate a very different version of THE JOKER figure, and share his great paint job with all of our fans!

This demonstration perfectly illustrates JC’s superb technique, especially the original Joker head which has been transformed into an entirely new expression after having been touched by his magic hands! When you focus on The Joker’s eyes, they seem to follow you!

Some collectors may ask, “Why don’t Hot Toys use this higher-quality sculpt and paint as the promotional picture?” As a responsible collectible manufacturer, we wanted to present a product photograph which will be 100% accurate to the final product we solicit, and NOT give a false impression.
Hot Toys and JC understand that this complicated and intricate of a paint job is impossible to apply to the final product due to technical reasons. We also didn’t want to disappoint our collectors by showing a custom painted figure and not the actual product!

Nevertheless, Hot Toys is ready to take this challenge with improved techniques and aims to bring you as close J C Hong masterpiece product in the near future.

Lastly, JC has promised to release his personal paint job on his blog (http://blog.naver.com/tiger231) sometime, so please stay tuned at http://HotToys.com.hk as we’ll bring you more news very soon!

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