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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 8, 2014 17:46:36 GMT
Here you speak the truth. Just like a Fuzor Silverbolt is the true Silverbolt and an unmade black & red Rhinox is the true Ironhide
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 8, 2014 21:49:43 GMT
Week 57: 1997 ToysYour top 5 toys from 1997. This is the second year of Beast Wars in the US and the first year of Beast Wars in Japan & the rest of Europe, but not the UK :-( It's also the year of the shortlived Machine Wars line.... See www.tfu.info/year/97index.htm for some help As with 96 my own views on what constitutes the 97 line up probably doesnt match any official list. While 96 has essentially no bad toys barring the megas, 97 is more of a mixed bag. Half of them are every bit as good as 96. Jetstorm, Powerpinch Snarl and other are just hard for me to get interested in. 5. Optimus Primal - Bought on holiday, got for my birthday. Its really kind of perfect, though I wouldn't mind the slightly remoulded version. 4. Tripredacus - Has grown on me a lot of over the years, the non humanoid robot mode of two of the 3 individuals and the combined form was off putting, I also found it really hard to transform, not the good MP Megatron, ROTF Prime kind either. But Cicadacon is brill. 3. Megaplex - Bought by mistake, was aiming for Megatron, but bought the one that was coloured like Megatron rather than the the one that said Megatron on the card. Has always made me yearn to know what a full scale Machine wars line up looked like if Beast Wars hadn't been opted for. Deluxe vehicle Transformers comparable to first wave BW deluxes I think I would have loved greatly. 2. Magnaboss - I have a clear memory of getting these guys on holiday in Canada (so Beastie packaging as with most of the above) and the first time I attempted to combine them (without instructions as always) was in the back of the hire car in the dark attempting to catch glimpses of what I was doing from the street lights zipping past. The set edges out Tripredacus, because the individual figures are on balance slightly better, thats to say I really like Prowl and I prefer my combined modes more human ish looking, basically I prefer Magnabosses hands. 1. Fractyl and Packrat - Almost forgot about these 2. Bad me. Love everything about this set. It's existence made me happy long before I owned it. 2 great moulds (flipchangers like these and Megaplex are how you do simple and fun Transformers Hasbro), 2 great repaints. Andrew Wildman boxart. G1 style packaging. Brand new Furman comic. I would have loved to have owned the comic in 97 especially, as it was a time with no comics, by the time I got it in 07 a new Furman TF comic wasn't a big deal, though new (good ) Beast Wars stories were. The only down side is that the packaging it incredibly fragile/flimsy/cheap. Bubbling under: Tigertron, I dont understand why Hasbro though using a colour that looked like yellowed whte plastic was a good idea, but thankfully Takara stepped in. Black Arachnia, I found one missing and arm and everything else on holiday, eventually completed it using parts from a Tarantulas. MW Optimus Prime having missed Thunderclash was happy to get, but sad it wasn't remoulded as the artwork suggested. BW Megatron, I'm not a huge fan of the mould or wasn't for a long time, it never seemed as elegant as Primal but it was having to do much more. TM Megatron was significantly better to me. Transquito, first mega class toy I really enjoyed. Claw Jaw misses out because it got 2 way better repaints. Fantastic mould though.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 8, 2014 22:04:06 GMT
Week 57: 1997 ToysYour top 5 toys from 1997. This is the second year of Beast Wars in the US and the first year of Beast Wars in Japan & the rest of Europe, but not the UK :-( It's also the year of the shortlived Machine Wars line.... See www.tfu.info/year/97index.htm for some help As with 96 my own views on what constitutes the 97 line up probably doesnt match any official list. All of those listed were first released in 97 somewhere in the world!
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 8, 2014 22:37:15 GMT
I noticed that once I was finished. But with the way the lines release was staggered around the planet I suppose its not such a shock.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 8, 2014 22:42:34 GMT
It possible to vote for certain year 1 BW toys 3 years on the trot thanks to their US, European/Japanese and finally UK releases!
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Post by legios on Jun 9, 2014 19:03:32 GMT
Week 56: Third Party Add Ons/Accesories 4. Sidearm - Classics Rodimus was in great need of a Targetmaster, and this one integrates nicely with the Protector Armour as well. 3. Aerialbot Upgrade Set: A genuine upgrade to the Energon/Movie Aerialbots. The way that the various parts attach to the fighter modes is more than a little derivative, but in their combined form it makes such a vast difference, giving it proper feet, forearms and elbow jointing. 2. Protector: A decent stab at an armoured suit to turn a Classics Rodimus into a Rodimus Prime. Doesn't have huge amounts of play value, but it makes a good display piece. 1. City Commander - Gets a proper Ultra Magnus out of the Classics Prime repaint. Looks best in the Powered Convoy colours though 5. Machine Wars Starscream - a great late "The Transformers" euro-mould, given a rather nice B-2/SR-71-style black colour scheme. Lovely. 4. Machine Wars Megatron - Nice little basic-sized toy, a lot of fun to play around with and still manages to have some fantastic display potential. Great stuff, and the flat colour scheme actually gives it a bit of a real-world vibe. 3. Machine Wars Megaplex - See above, only with striking "invasion stripes" as part of the colour scheme. 2. Machine Wars Skywarp - Once again a poseable, display-friendly toy with great play value. Lovely to see some more diversity in alt-modes, with this being the first non-US real-world military alt-mode since a handful of Micromasters. 1. Machine Wars Thundercracker - all the fun of the Skywarp version, but with a rather nice "display aircraft" kind of colour scheme. (The weapons for these toys are great as well - the way they stow in the legs is clever, and the general look of them with the boxy body and suppressor attachment gives them an aesthetic a bit like the Ingram/Cobray Mac-10 favoured by senior mooks in so many later 80's action movies). Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 9, 2014 21:58:44 GMT
I can't get behind the MW Flipchangers, or at least the MW versions of them. They look cheap. All have better decos elsewhere. They obviously have lightpipes in the MW versions and they've cheaped out of using clear plastic on them. Both the Autobot ones strongly suggest different colour schemes as do Thundercracker and Skywarp. And Megatron & Megaplex probably have each other's names!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jun 11, 2014 10:08:18 GMT
Week 56: Third Party Add Ons/AccesoriesGlad I popped in to see this while it was still relatively fresh. First off, some worthy mentions: - U.F.O.'s Battle Shotgun. Based on movie Meg's boom stick, this finished off my Guzzle custom nicely. - Shapeways Guzzle custom head and chest kit. Opening a can of worms by putting any Shapeways items on here but this piece is particularly well thought out. Parts for Octopunch, FoC Seekers and Botcon Pyro have all surpassed my expectations. - Dr Wu's Full Gear Xmas edition (which arrived some time in March). A nice chunky Forge of Solus hammer that saved me breaking open Platinum Magnus just for the weapon. - iGear's Kup Heads. Echo everything said here. Properly finishes the figure. It's a nice touch that box sits in the trailer of the alt mode too. - Transformazing Toys 'Pandora's Box' add-on set for FoC Ultra Magnus. A neat piece of engineering and certainly more useable that FP's City Commander but the loose joints totally ruined it for me: He refuses to hold his gun out. - SXS Blitzwing Head and Shoulders upgrade kit. I'm not a huge fan of the mould generally but this kit not only fixes the biggest problem with it but gives a nice new head and missiles accessory. I didn't realise the original head had three faceplates until I'd removed it. - Terminus Hexatron Dazzling Glory gun and helmet set. Can't imagine him without it. - Maketoys' My First Blaster. Really should have been packaged with Trashtalk and Cogwheel but I can understand why it was omitted. Made with pure love, I'm sure. 5. Zenith Forge's Cretaceous Advancement kit for FoC Grimlock. Offers a modest fix for the biggest problem with the dino mode and gives a better head, weapon and shield. Iron Factory's Upgrade Kit for FoC Grimlock deserves mention as it fixes the biggest fault of the dino mode but also compliments the robot mode better. 4. Dr Wu's Arms Blaster Rain Storm guns. Wrecker-centric weapon upgrades for Springer. Really finished the figure for me. 3. XTransbots' Boosticus Upgrade Kit. Finally gives me a FoC Bruticus I can believe in. Gets extra points for the awesome stop motion video. 2. DreamMaker WFC-01 & WFC-02 Upgrade Kits. The first upgrade kits I bought, really allowed me to personalise WFC Prime and Megs. Prime's gone on to acquire a new massive axe and Megs, a new massive mace (SXS), but it all started with this kit. 1. Maketoys' Armageddon Upgrade Kit for Omega Supreme. Pictures to come...
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Post by legios on Jun 11, 2014 19:13:42 GMT
I can't get behind the MW Flipchangers, or at least the MW versions of them. They look cheap. All have better decos elsewhere. They obviously have lightpipes in the MW versions and they've cheaped out of using clear plastic on them. I would agree that these are the weakest versions of the moulds (and I say that having owned, as far as I know, almost every non-Botcon release of them at one point or another - and a sizeable collection of KO's into the bargain), but looking at the list of toys released in this year I have to say that if I am going to judge just by which toys from 1997 have given me the most joy it is these. I think it makes sense that Megaplex is the one that looks like you think Megatron would look - after all, his job is to be a decoy to draw attention away from the real thing... :-) Karl
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 11, 2014 23:53:44 GMT
You may have a point!
Sine it's Thursday it's teaser time:
Can the repaint king score a direct hit this week?
(an easy one I think)
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 13, 2014 6:26:50 GMT
Week 58: SwerveYup, everyone's favourite Transformer bartender gets his week in the sun. Yay! But before James Roberts brought Swerve to life he was a byword for "Random Repaint". This table may help you this week:
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 13, 2014 8:09:32 GMT
Just missing out: Arms Micron Swerve. The more I look at it the more the design reminds me of the original Sewerve in vehicle mode. Yes I know Swerve's a pick up with something on his his flatbed but overall these two are similar. The main problem is it's too big. A red version of the Cyberverse Bulkhead as Swerve would have been fab. 5) Generations Swerve (from Kup) Yes it's a pickup. But somehow the robot mode doesn't work as Swerve. I expect better from a Generations toy. 4) Cybertron Swerve (from Clocker) A good fast car Swerve. But somehow this design in red, with a few colour tweaks, would have made for a better Hot Road. 3) Universe Swerve (from Blurr) The start of the "take a random toy, paint it red and call it Swerve" phase. But the thing is this, like the Cybertron version, is so so much better than it's original: Red Robot Theory strikes again. I kind of like now that there's a Swerve who's a repaint of Blurr considering they are both the barmen in the modern TF comics. I'd quite like to see a red original Blurr as Swerve..... and maybe a red Mirage too as Swerve. 2) G1 Swerve (from Gears) Where it all started. When I first saw Swerve on the shelves the colours made me think ambulance and assistant for Ratchet. The head remould is very nice, though it's always annoyed me that the red isn't the same as the rest of the vehicle. The Encore repaint, with the painted face is even better. 1) 30th Legends SwerveRaved about this toy enough recently. It's very Very good. The original, upscaled, with added articulation :-) A perfect plastic rendition of his robot mode as he appears in MTMTE.
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Post by Pinwig on Jun 15, 2014 16:35:05 GMT
Week 56: Third Party Add Ons/Accessories
This is still an area which is new to me, so I have limited experience, but I do love the way 3P fills niche needs. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one looking at a toy thinking, yes, but if…
5. Rain Storm Springer Guns These are pretty plain, just black guns, but they do make Springer look extremely bad ass.
4. Dr Wu Prime Wheeljack Upgrade Don’t own this, but if robot kingdom still have them next time I order I will stick one in the basket. I love the Prime/BH Wheeljack, and I’m loving what this does to him.
3. Iron Factory FoC Grimlock Upgrade This figure gets a barrage of abuse, but I like it. You just need to stand him sideways so you can’t see how thin his upper legs are. I don’t own this addon, but I have checked robot kingdom regularly for the second run since Sifu’s pictures showed how good it is. I have told myself if this does get a second production run and I can buy it, I’ll get Caelus too.
2. Transformazing FoC Magnus Armour My views on this are explained in detail in the review section, but if I’m making a top five I can’t leave it out. It may be flakey when put together, but it does have the massive bonus of turning an entirely rubbish toy, which is the wrong size, into something that works with the Thrilling 30 figures. It does look good. Just don’t breathe on it.
1. Maketoys Armageddon upgrade Don’t own this so I feel cheeky putting it at number one, but I love Omega Supreme, I love the Energon version, love the Platinum recolour, and love the way this kit brings him so close to being a proper Omega Supreme figure. Omega Supreme just rocks. Did I mention that? Omega Supreme rocks.
Week 57: 1997 Toys
I felt this was when Beast Wars got creative. These figures are among some of my favourites from the whole of the Beast Wars era.
5. Retrax He gets a nod purely because of the absolutely mental beast mode. I mean look at it. You can’t not include it for novelty value.
4. B’Boom Striking shiny colours and a fairly well balanced robot. Was never sure about the overly human robot head, but he stands nicely.
3. Magnaboss I remember really struggling initially to get this chap to combine, but if you want a beast combiner I don’t think you can get much better than this. His individual component parts all have flaws in robot mode, but put together the end result was superb.
2. Transquito Three great modes and as usual, the deciding factor for me, a robot mode that has the right proportions. Facing him off against Bonecrusher was always a highlight.
1. Bonecrusher Just brilliant. Love the mouth firing gimmick, love the colours, love the bison mode, love the bulky stature and well proportioned robot, topped off with a superb chest. If you compare this chap to someone like Polar Claw from the year before I think the difference is phenomenal.
Week 58: Swerve
Not a character I have an awful lot of experience of.
3. Cybertron Clocker was rubbish in terms of the colour scheme, this repaint made it work far better. Car mode is top. Hints of Hot Rod.
2. G1 Took the Gears mould and improved it with a better colour scheme. Just needed a bit of extra paint on the visor.
1. Thrilling 30 This is just an excellent toy for the size. The proportions are right, the colours work, great articulation, he has a good head sculpt, and the chunky lower legs make him feel like he’s much bigger than he actually is. Makes you question what a deluxe size executed this well would be like.
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Post by legios on Jun 15, 2014 18:20:41 GMT
Week 58: Swerve
5. Alternators Swerve: Take great Alternator design, paint it the red colour which it was crying out for from the beginning. Slap random name of red robot on it. Produce decent looking Alternator repaint. (Lets face it, a lot of the "Swerves" we've had have pretty much come from the "random name reassignment machine".
4. GDO Swerve: For some reason I look at it and it says "post van" to me rather than metallurgist, but this is a good fun mould and a decent choice for a Swerve.
3. Cybertron Swerve: The Clocker mould is great, and this is a great redeco of it.
2. Universe Swerve: Likewise, a lovely recolour of a great fun Armada mould.
1. "The Transformers" Swerve: The original, one of the mini-bots that I had as a nipper (I had the Diaclone pre-Gears as well) and still a firm favourite. Fun transformation, good colour scheme, pocket money pricing... A real winner.
Karl
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Post by Bogatan on Jun 15, 2014 21:14:14 GMT
5. Cybertron Swerve - Nice looking repaint 4. GDO Swerve - The head is worse than Kups, but the colours are nice and it feels like they decided to make a swerve rather than assign the name to a toy after deciding to do it in red. 3. G1 Swerve - Will always take second place to Gears, but it was still a perfect little toy. 2. Aveo Swerve - Such an odd creation, but still the first Swerve that wasn't a repaint or wasn't repainted. Nicely unusual toy, licensed car and stocky robot mode. A bit of a movie vibe but feels like a classic. 1. Generations Swerve - Simple. Fun. A great update and comes with a great targetmaster. Bubbling under ROTF Swerve, its Sideswipe so why rename when repainting it red. I don't get it.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 19, 2014 7:06:14 GMT
Thursday Tease:
Again?
Bonus clue: TFU says otherwise but there's actually TWO chances for Ian to play his favourite answer this week!
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Stomski
Fusilateral Quintro Combiner
YOU INTERRUPTED MY SPEECH!! But don't worry. It won't happen again.
Posts: 6,096
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Post by Stomski on Jun 19, 2014 8:48:36 GMT
1997!
Lots of repaints here, finding it difficult. Airazor, ClawJaw, Sandstorm, Soundwave, Hoist
Swerve!
5. Alternators Swerve (Not keen on the flame tampo, too Hot Rod, but it's one of the better Alterator molds) 4. GDO Generations Swerve (Again, certain things on the paint job disagree with me, but the big shoulders suit the character) 3. ROTF Swerve (Sure, why not? Could do with more white on the paint job though)) 2. G1 Swerve (Can't beat the old minibots!) 1. 30th Legends Generations Swerve (Oooh a beautiful looking update)
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 20, 2014 6:35:44 GMT
Week 59: Universe 2This is the line with both new "classics" toys and some more absoloutely mental repaints! See www.tfu.info/series/uni2-0.htm for help.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 20, 2014 13:51:02 GMT
I *was* going to just list toys bubbling under the top 5 ..... but this week I think there's room for some separate top 5s for each sub portion of the line. Anyhow Overall: 5) ProwlDecent update. Chest isn't quite wide enough for my liking. 4) HoundTop toy. Really good. 3) CyclonusHallelujah the first proper TM up[grade and he can simulate what the Japanese Cartoon TMs can do by wearing his TM on his wrist. 2) Legend MegatronI would never have thought you could down size the Megatron tank so well. Just fabulous and with more articulation than the original. 1) WarpathJust fabulous. The only toy I have EVER taken a knife too and by slicing that yellow box off his chest it improves the toy 1000%. A turning gun barrel that can face the right way, unlike the toy as produced, and a superb update. Best Legends toy EVER
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 20, 2014 21:58:52 GMT
OK Breaking Universe 2 down....
First the new toys Classics part... Honourable mentions: Acidstorm for eing a njew Decepticon plane trooper and Inferno even though it misses the mark by forgetting his ladder. 5) Wal*Mart/Japanese Powerglide Take the main line attempt, which was a nice mould, and get the colours right! 4) SunstreakerThe engineering on the Lambo twins was fab to get both of them out the same mould. Sunstreaker looks more like he should though there's "something" not right about Sideswipe. 3) Prowl2) Hound1) CyclonusAll as above.
Legends: Honourable mentions: most of the ones I haven't named. But especially Bumblebee who's still in use six years later! 5) RodimusA less futuristic looking Rodimus. Fab toy. 4) WheelieWheelie as a normal car! 3) CosmosEngineering is fabulous. Not sure of the tailfin though. Almost identical design to the 30th larger Legend. That last Universe Legends wave was gold it's such a shame it was so hard to find and never got here. 2) Legend Megatron1) WarpathAs above.
Radio Rental repaints (none of these made my top 5 overall, but there was some solid stuff going on which on the whole the UK got. Honourable mentions Skyhammer & Bodyblock two great Minicon repaints, Blades (red robot theory), Ratbat the first robot Ratbat and Roadbuster - I think Botcon Springer was a tinsy bit better. Roadbuster needed a new head. 5) CountdownBig red robot theory. Looks fab and I'm not a fan of the mould. 4) Leo Prime3) Target Leo PrimeI can see what they're doing with these two. The normal version is in Prime colours so should give Energon prime red lion arms. The white is an obvious choice. I wish I had pairs of both, best versions of this toy 2) Dropshot1) OverloadDifferent colours. Both fabulous. Mould repainted twice in just a few waves.
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Post by Shockprowl on Jun 21, 2014 8:02:18 GMT
I wondered! I wondered!!
1. Prowl. Yes no surprise I'm sure (I don't want to upset Doc' again). Like Big Phil I have issues with this figure. The chest is two narrow with the way the front wings end up behind the doors. Poor head articulation. But at the time.... I was so happy! I was over the moon that they'd done a 'Classics' Prowl! So this figure brought alot of joy to me. Plus, I love his launchers, love the head transformation, he's far from being a bad figure. Good attempt at an update, could -should- have been better, but a much loved figure all the same.
2. Sideswipe/Sunstreaker. I think this mold is genius! Pure genius!!!! Two character accurate robot modes out of one mold, brilliant, and fits the brothers perfectly. One of the best updates ever.
3. Hound. Now 'Classics' Hound is a better update than 'Classics' Prowl! Great figure. He's even spent some time with my Masterpieces (although he's not a perfect match).
4. Cyclonus. A magnificent update. Best of the line, and one of the best 'Classics' figures they've ever done. Beautiful face sculpt excellent transformation. Prowl and the others only beat him 'cos I like their characters more. But Cyclonus is awesone. He should have been voyager though!!!
5. Legends Brawn. Brawn was my first Transformer. I find this figure of him an accurate and fun update.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 9:04:34 GMT
Ian fails to vote for second Prowl shocker! Sideswipe/Sunstreaker..... I think Sunstreaker is in many ways easier to do. Get the chest right, the head right and the colour right and it yells Sunstreaker even though the vehicle doesn't look quite right 1984 www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Sunstreaker/sunstreaker.htmUniverse www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUSunstreaker/sunstreaker.htmIt's the part that doesn't look quite right that has the impact on Sideswipe, namely the front of the car & the chest. It's the wrong shape, especially the black section at the top with the Autobot Symbol 1984 www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Sideswipe/sideswipe.htmUniverse www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/TFUSideswipe/sideswipe.htmAnd where Sunstreaker didn't have much in the way of weapons, Siodeswipe's are so distinctive that they're missed. I do think they missed a trick with this toy: they should have given it no thumbs, ofr a kind of neutral mid hand tnumb or even a moulded thumb on both top and bottom of the fist. You could have got two robot modes out of every toy and that would have made things much easier when Punch came along. For all that I think bioth versions of this mould is in the top half of the efforts for Universe. The lower half of the draw, Smokescreen's poor paint job, Ratchet/Ironhide, Cheetor, Dinobot and Hot Shot, is pretty dreadful.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 9:06:44 GMT
1. 30th Legends Generations Swerve (Oooh a beautiful looking update) Have you got one yet?
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Post by Shockprowl on Jun 21, 2014 10:25:28 GMT
Ian fails to vote for second Prowl shocker! Whaaa?! I've missed a Prowl?!?!?!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 10:32:08 GMT
Oh yes. There's a Prowl released in Universe 2 packaging that's not on TFUs list!
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Post by Shockprowl on Jun 21, 2014 16:07:37 GMT
AAARRGH!!! The Legends figure? He was much later.... Titanium?
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 16:10:55 GMT
The RTS Legend was 3 years later. Titanium is it's own line.
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 16:17:10 GMT
I'll give you a clue: this Prowl was available in the UK both individually and as part of a UK exclusive 3 pack. It was also in a multipack within the line you'd assume it was from! IIRC the multipack got a UK release through Tescos too.
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Post by Shockprowl on Jun 21, 2014 16:19:09 GMT
Minicon?
MINICON DEFENSOR!!!
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Post by Philip Ayres on Jun 21, 2014 16:29:43 GMT
That's Universe 1!
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