It’s that time again! And same as last year, the Transformers Wiki is sending me and another fellow over to Times Square in New York this weekend for Hasbro’s Toy Fair 2011 Collectors Event, where we’ll be learning about G.I. Joe, Transformers, Marvel, Star Wars, and all sorts of other things. But, really, we’ll be there for the Transformers. Coming with me this year is Matthew Karpowich, otherwise known as “Monzo” on the Internet. He’s our dude who sets up this stuff, and was the guy who netted us this opportunity for the first time last year, so he’s more than earned his right to attend. Plus he’s got a mind like a steel trap. I won’t even have to pay attention.
Because Toy Fair stuff is gearing up, USA Today gives us a look at the first Transformers Prime toy, Deluxe Class Arcee! Woooooo! Man, I wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to pull these off, especially Arcee, but they really seem to have done it. I mean, I was trusting Hasbro/Tomy to be able to do so, I guess, since, well, they managed to succeed at engineering Animated-style toys, but it’s hard to truly believe until you see it.
So here we are.
UPDATE: Oh, hey, and UGO has Starscream.
UPDATE 2: And IGN has Bumblebee.
UPDATE 3: And Ain’t it Cool News has a Prime/Megs/kids giftset.
Must…have…toy…
Wow. I don’t think Prime is going to be a line where I must have everything (unliked Animated) but I’m certainly getting Arcee. Fingers crossed Starscream will look that good.
YES!
….
*weeps with joy*
Not exactly show-accurate, but it’s Arcee and she looks good in both modes, and that’s all I really hoped for.
has almost the same engineering as Movie Arcee, but not the ROTF one. She even has the same slots in her forearm
the star scream fig looks like the top half of a jet with some robot legs folded up underneath it. I hope it’s just mis-transformed. That would be a serious step back in engineering at this point…
Looks neat.
I saw some clips of Prime…wasn’t really impressed by the CGI, it looks dated (like Butt Ugly Martian or Monster By Mistake grade!). The backgrounds look empty, like the whole show is happening in the middle of the desert and the Transformers look too…floaty. The armor pieces look like they barely have any weight. The humans looked good though.
The whole show does take place in a desert, and a small, sparsely populated ,town in Nevada.
Personally I’m liking the robots, but I think the kids look a bit weird at times.
That’s pretty cheap… sounds like the kind of setting late 90s Mainframe would use more than something from 2011.
arcee is a definite purchase if they release the prime figures in the UK but im not to sure about the rest at the moment, i may buy starscream just for an extra decepticon in the background of my collection but otherwise im not that impressed with the mold(of course if they do repaints for other cons down the line it may look better)
I can’t believe it O_O so amazing. I didn’t think they’d pull off teh Animated designs either, but when it happened, I knew they could do this.. so great..
Just because everyone’s gushing opinions, I think they just need to fix the humans’ mouths. They’re all too high, with like no upper lip-nose-border area when they talk. Everything else is awesome.
Optimus looks decent, but I’m not a fan of his fake chest. Megatron looks pretty awesome if you can overlook his exposed head in vehicle mode.
These are Deluxes, right? I’d assume that they are and that this is the Prime equivalent to the “Battle Begins” set we got in Animated, in which case I’m more willing to overlook the toys’ flaws (they certainly look better than their Animated equivalents, at any rate.) I’m hoping we get another attempt in another size-class, though.
These figures all look pretty sweet. The only pass are the “human germs.”
But this does make it less likely to get a Generations Arcee any time soon. And that sucks.
Generations Arcee has already been found in Wal-mart computer listings, possibly the same wave as Warpath (or a revision wave)
We know that Warpath is new all by himself in his wave, so if there’s an Arcee, she comes later.
Thing is, the three Generations deluxes that we know about in Walmart computers are Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee. …which matches what we learned about today. So….
Hm, good point. I assumed Bumblebee was the Camaro-striped Classics Bee from the recent wave, and I forgot Starscream was even listed, but I guess this all lines up with TF:Prime. But wouldn’t Prime be its own line? Unless I’m remembering it wrong (entirely possible), the Warpath and Arcee were listed as Generations
There’s some debate about that. Some are thinking (worried?) That the Prime toyline, at least initially, will only be a subline, like the WfC within Generations. However, 3 stand alone dlx releases and a 2 pack set are a lot for a limited line. If a few more Prime toys get revealed, then it probably would be enough to constitute a main line.
Ofcourse, we could just be getting these five this summer to tide us over, wtih Prime becoming a “full” line late this year to next year. there are certainly fans chomping at the bit for Ratchet, Soundwave and the Erradicons, so you never know.
On the plus side, if we’re not getting a G1ish Arcee, then that means I don’t have to replace my Animated one!
You know, I never quite understood why so many people were worried Hasbro/Tomy wouldn’t be able to translate the Transformers Prime designs into toys. I mean if they could pull off some of the far stranger — and I would think, far more difficult — designs of Beast Machines, the live action movies and Transformers Animated, I figured Prime toys should be a snap.
They look good. But I’m not sure yet if I’m going to get them. The noseless faces bother me. Yes, I know it’s the same esthetic as Animated, and I know that there’s no real reason a Transformer actually needs a nose. But I’m just not sure yet. Maybe when I see them in person. Good point from Willis that these could be the Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee from the Walmart list.
We’ll see.
Beast Machines was back when they were still willing to fudge it. They wisely made the botmodes the focus for once so none of the beastmodes were show accurate. We didn’t even get a good BM Primal until RiD was wrapping up!
Still, what they did with Animated was all the proof I needed that they were going to be able to pull off the Prime aesthetic. Now I just need cable so I can actually watch the show!
The funny part to me isn’t that people thought “they couldn’t translate the designs to toys,” but that they “might not be making toys at all.” Friggin a dozen threads a month asking “WILL THERE BE PRIME TOYS? HOW COME WE HAVENT SEEN ANY” on any given TF board.
See those humans? THAT IS WHAT I WANTED FOR ANIMATED, DAMMIT.
Haha, same here. My first thought wasn’t “hey, cool looking toys,” it was “Are you serious? Fans showed interest in a Sari toy and were denied at every turn, but we get these dorks right out of the gate?”
I like this new series, but damn those kids are the most suicidal group of TF human buddies they’ve ever had. At least Jack only puts himself in danger to save the others, but Raf almost got them killed for his computer and I’m pretty sure Miko is one of those thrill-seekers who free climbs mountains without training.