OTHER TF STUFF
(TF-themed but probably not transforming)
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MEDICAL: Icepacks in the shapes of Optimus Prime's and Bumblebee's
heads from TF:A, meant for treating injuries. 1/29/09: $4.88 at Wal-Mart
(you may have to look around a bit, I found some in the clearance aisle but
not on clearance). 2/21: TF:A Band-Aids™ for $1.88 at Walmart.
TF:A DINING SET: Cup with Optimus Prime, bowl with Bumblebee, plate
with Optimus Prime. Box set for $7.99 in little kid sizes. The bowl is
generally flatter than the one from the TF:Movie set, and the cup is clear
blue plastic rather than clear colorless. 11/14/08: Found at Target mixed in
with leftover TF:Movie dining sets. 8/13/09: Individual elements (plate,
bow, cup, plus covered cups) are available at Hy-Vee.
GAMES: 11/6/09: The TF:A board game part of that big box set
from last year (the one with the minifigs mentioned above) is now available
as a "Game Folio" for $14.99 in Target's stocking stuffer aisle. Not as much
stuff as the full box set, and some Walmarts may still have the box set for
less than $15, but if you want the game (or the "decoys") and missed them the
first time out, here it is.
CLOTHING: 11/14/09: This has probably been around
for ages, but today I saw a TF:A belt at Walmart for $6, kidsized. The
buckle is a metal version of the "split faction symbol" logo seen on the tags
for a lot of TF:A artifacts.
BOOKS: 3/5/10: Amazon has the AllSpark Almanac II on pre-order, and
what looks to be a TF:A sequel book of some sort (but there's no details up
at the moment).
KNOCKOFFS: 11/28/09: Those Sharper Image style RC toys in both sizes
are starting to show up a lot of places. Gordman's has an "X-Bot" series
that claims to be "Die Cast" (and surprisingly has a lot of metal in them)
with lousy transformations but decent vehicle modes: $9 cars, $10
motorcycles, $13 trucks. CVS is carrying a quartet of "Xtreme Bots" with
lousy transformations and uninspired vehicle modes for $7.99 (buggy, ATV,
dirt bike, street cycle). 2/6/10: K-Mart's starting to set out the Easter
stuff, so far just the same old stuff as previous years (like the Groinmaster
dinos).
CD/DVD: 1/12/10: The second half of G1 Season 2 DVD set is out now.
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NON-TF STUFF
(Things a TF fan might be interested in.)
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MATCHBOX HERO POP-UPS: These are six-wheeled trucks (dumptruck,
garbage truck, possible others) that have the front end rear up to make a
sort of robot mode. The $15 size does so at the push of a button, with light
and sound accompanying it. The $20 size appears to need manual
"transformation" but has more light and sound gimmicks. The cabs are not
cartoony or made to look like faces, so the robots are fairly non-human.
2/27/10: Spotted at Walmart.
WALGREENS STUFF: Walgreen's is getting their "buy two get one free"
toys out for the holiday season, and there's some new stuff of interest to TF
fans. They have some of the "not knockoffs, just crappy" sub-Roadbot toys in
both $7 (three for $14) and $10 sizes. I recommend avoiding these. They
also have new M.A.R.S. figures, an assortment of six possible pop-and-swap
figures packed three at a time in such a way that it's difficult if not
impossible to get all six in just two packs. Of course, since they're part
of the "three costs as much as two" set, it's not too hard to get all six by
finding the right three packs, and then you have spares for kitbashing or
something. 9/6/09: Probably out at most Walgreens now. 9/26: Dollar
General is carrying the M.A.R.S. three-packs for $5.
BAKUGAN COMBINER: A TRU exclusive, with seven existing Bakugans
(including regulars, specials and traps) that connect via their magnets into
something resembling a large beast. May involve some mold re-engineering.
$39.99, sounds massively overpriced to me. 8/30/09: Hawthorne CA.
9/18: There's a second combiner, made from new Trap units, called the Bakugan
Maxus Dragonoid. It is reportedly total scalperbait, though. TRU in
Hawthorne CA had some, but they're probably already on eBay. 10/4:
Target.com has the Maxus for $39.99 online-only. 10/9: Walmart now carrying
Maxus in store for $34. The Maxus holds together with pegs, not magnets.
FOOTBALL ROBOTS: "Cleatus" the 10" tall Fox Sports robot has popped
back up at K-Mart for $19.99. 9/26/09: ProBots has a line of football robots
licensing the likenesses of various players. The 10" versions are $20 and
feature a Power Rangers-style head-flip that swaps between robotic helmet and
player's face. The general aesthetic is somewhat Gundamy, and they use
magnets to hold the football in the robot's hand. I wasn't impressed enough
to drop $20, though. The assortment includes Romo, Eli Manning, Brady and
ROFLs...er, Roethlisberger. There's also a 6" line listed as a co-sell, but
I haven't seen those in the store yet. 10/31: Spotted the 6" assortment at
TRU for $11.99, grabbed ROFLsburger. Er, Roethlisberger. Comments once I
actually open it. 11/3: Eh, not really worth $12. The jointing is a bit
loose, the magnet in the forearm that's supposed to hold the football isn't
all that strong, and the head-flip gimmick comes out of true pretty easily.
HOT WHEELS BATTLE FORCE 5: A sort of "Wheeled Warriors"-like series
with 1:48 (or so) scale cars that "transform" to reveal weapons. There's
three hero vehicles and one "Monster Mind"-ish villain vehicle in the first
wave. Supported by a CG cartoon. 8/29/09: TRU has 'em for $3.99. The
hero ones are pretty unimpressive, practically Happy Meal toys. The villain
one isn't too bad, though. 9/26: At the $13 price point are transforming
(more or less) vehicles with tiny drivers, the only one that really changes
modes (rather than simply popping out weapons) is the motorcycle/hovercraft.
I picked that one up, and it's pretty crappy...practically knockoff quality.
There are also regular Hot Wheels-sized cars, a two-pack of the leader cars
packed with a bonus DVD of the first episode of the (pretty awful) cartoon is
about $6, so the individual cars will probably run $2.50-$3.00. 10/1: K-Mart
has the small cars for $3.49, they come with snap-on weapons a la Speed Racer
(but not compatible with those). The female racer's car is, naturally, very
seriously shortpacked.
BATTLE MACHINES: From Jada, a licensor that had a piece of the classic
Speed Racer market last year, this is a $3 price point 1:64 car set of armed
and armored regular vehicles, a la Deathrace or Car Wars. Each model has two
color schemes (with slight mold variations in some cases). Neither of the 69
Camaro versions is yellow, though, and there's nothing really close to
Frankenstein's Monster from the recent Deathrace movie (I've got a Matchbox
of the base vehicle sitting around waiting to be kitbashed, though). A
little more cruddy chrome than I'd like, but looked good enough for me to
pick up a couple. 8/20/09: Walmart is carrying these, at least. 9/19:
There's 1:32 versions at the $5 price point, and 1:24 at $12-13. 10/25: A
pair of roughly 1:24 remote control Battle Machines sells together for $45.
MARVEL UNIVERSE MEGA BLOKS: Another series of these has started
showing up, with Wolverine, Spider-Man and Iron Man in the assortment.
7/11/09: Spotted Wolverine at TRU, passed on it. I might get Iron Man
if I see it, but at $15 I'm rather reluctant. 8/20: I have heard that Mega
Bloks brand is teetering on the edge of bankrupcy, so we may never see the
rest of this line or the Neo Machines.
LEGO: 12/22/09: Power Miners year three includes the $20 price point
Magma Mech 8189. It's shorter than the $20 Exo-Force sets, and is
articulated in much the same way as the $8 mining mech from the first year,
but has some nice gimmicks. Also, the Ben10 Alien Force sets are out, $15
Bionicle-ish figures (rather than Galador-like) that could be raided for
mech-making. They're not really worth $15, though, and share about as many
pieces as early Bionicles (i.e. differing mainly in color, head and a few
details). Humongousaur is the only one with unique hands, for instance.
1/12/10: Pictures have started showing up of Hero Machine, the successor line
to Bionicle.
MEGA BLOKS: 7/27/09: Spotted in the Phillippines and Amazon.co.uk is a
new line, Neo Machines, in which the Neo Shifters turn into vehicles, more or
less. The lowest price point is just redeco'ed PlasmaTech figures with new
guns, but then there's a $10 or so price point and a $25 size. The vehicle
modes are pretty skeletal, but at least it's not more spheres! 8/20: As
mentioned above, Mega Brands' financial difficulties mean we may never see
these in America, sigh. 8/29: The Magnext line now has Halo figures.
2/3/10: The small car and jet Neo Machines sets have started hitting
Walgreens (Ft. Lauderdale FL sighting, will check my local ones soon).
The jet is reportedly kinda RotF-Soundwave-ish.
POWER RANGERS: 11/10/09: The second wave toys for RPM have been slowly
trickling in. The $13 price point morphers have finally hit, with the Road
Attack Zord (turns into a wheel) and then two remolds of it with Red and Gold
Ranger heads and chests. Like the really lame first wave morphers, these use
Engine Cell pieces as keys to unlock the transformation (really just helping
pop one piece of the hub off). Articulation is lacking, as one might expect,
but it can carry all its kibble other than the Engine Cell in robot mode
(there's a launch ramp that becomes a backpack). 11/14: The new MMPR toys
have started to hit, a 3.75" line with the six rangers, Alpha (with Zordon),
Goldar and Putties. Zed is available in a gift pack, and most of the ranger
weapons come with the Putty figure (all weapons are, oddly, in black
plastic). Articulation is okay for the size, but not great (peg-and-swivel
shoulders and hips, hinge elbows and knees, swivels at neck, gloves and
boots). Alpha lacks elbow and knee joints, but it's not like the character
itself is particularly well articulated in the show. And he comes with
Zordon in a tube. Despite their small size, they use 4mm peg holes on the
feet. $6 price point. 12/28: The Morphers are out, the foud male Rangers
turning into various kids of dragon (although Black Ranger looks more like an
eagle, they call it a Dark Dragon). $11 price point, giving these a pass.
12/31: Turns out that the pegs on the legs where the blue and yellow Zords
attach as legs are the same size and shape (within reasonable tolerances) as
Energon combiner limb pegs. So you can attach Zord limbs to Bruticus or put
tank legs on the MegaZord.
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