You will masturbate to this book.
I’ve been complaining (sort of) about the lack of Transformers to buy over the past few months. Well, that’s certainly over. Between the ten new guys I got at BotCon and the buttload of stuff that’s starting to show up at Toys “R” Us, I officially have Too Much. So much that I probably should have started blogging these guys days ago, or I’ll never ever get through them! I have to be at a convention in just about a week!
(Speaking of which, come see me at ConnectiCon!)
But first, lemme remind you to pick up the AllSpark Almanac II, which came out yesterday. The first volume was like a veritable Transformers orgasm, and the second one is like a whole sexy evening of Transformers orgasms. Even better, I have some contributions within it! The back cover illustration is mine, plus I’m the guy who put together the Ninja Gladiator game sprites. A few of the character selections were my own, and you can probably tell. You’ll know what I’m talking about. Also, co-author Jim Sorenson kept me around to make sure he wasn’t going too far off the edge on some things. He does kinda need to be reigned in sometimes! Unchecked, he’s a monster!
Graham loaned me his G2 Firecons. Heck if I have these guys!
Anyway, BotCon toys. I think I’ll talk about Cindersaur first, because conceptually I think he’s the most high-concept BotCon figure in a while. Back in Generation 2, they put out redecoes of both Flamefeather and Sparkstalker, but not the third and final dude Cindersaur. Well, let’s fix that! And so BotCon gives us a G2 Cindersaur 15 years after the fact. That’s only really part of it.
I also like how they arrived at Cindersaur’s color scheme. They extrapolated it from the other two dudes! See, both G2 Flamefeather and Sparkstalker had bright green and purple robot parts, but were mostly a third translucent color. Flamefeather was green, purple, and translucent orange, while Sparkstalker was green, purple, and translucent red. Well, clearly Cindersaur has to have green and purple robot parts, plus they gotta choose a third, dominant color. And that’s just what we got.
Ha ha, everyone thought this was gonna be Cryotek.
Unfortunately, plastic tolerance issues being what they were, BotCon Cindersaur was unable to make all of its blue translucent. But it’s the thought that counts. And, hey, the toy won’t split into pieces in a few years, so that’s good.
I really like him ‘cuz at this point anybody can throw an existing character’s colors on a toy and call it a day. That’s done all the time! It’s old hat. But how often do we see potential color schemes extrapolated from other toys? Plus, hey, it’s the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary Megatron mold, which is like the best Tyrannosaurus rex Transformer ever. Hot damn.
Hmm. Who should I do next? Who from this set haven’t I given enough love? … on the other hand, I also just got Leader Starscream today, so…
Fun fact: On the Headmaster’s “Yatter” page, there’s a little bit that says “#TFARP”. That’s an old hashtag from a Twitter based RP some of my friends and myself started. Oh, and Jim plays Sentinel Prime.
Which is probably how it got in the book.
Sky-byte! Sky-byte! Review Sky-byte!
You could also order Disney Label Buzz Lightyear from Japan :p he’s a Headmaster!
Sky-Byte? Spark!
Do Leader Class ROTF Starscream! I’d like to hear your opinion on him before I fork over the money!
(Also the best Tyrannosaurus rex Transformer ever is Masterpiece Grimlock. Just saying…)
Oh, and in case you care, you made a cameo here: http://www.aorange.com/?p=526
Reading the Season 4 plan and seeing some of the unproduced resin models almost brought a tear to my eye. Actually when I saw the Hot Shot 3D models I thought that somewhere out there Walky is screaming “AAARRRRCHEEERRRRR!”
You mean like the Triple Changer Megatron? Pure Sex.
Hey Willis. I ran into you at Botcon a couple of times, bought a book from you on Friday (hai!). The book is great. It’s cool to have the commentary when going back over those strips. I was at the dinner two tables from the front. When I sat down, I was with three of the Hasbro designers. Then, before it started, one of the Botcon guys asked if a group could move so a family with kids could move away from the speakers. So, instead of chatting with designers, I got a couple and two kids under five. When they announced Dinobot, I looked around to see if you were screaming, but I didn’t see you. Botcon and the parks were a great time.
I was the guy in the far right side, standing on his chair with his arms up in the air!