Having seen quite a bit of the upcoming Combiner Wars toy range and the toys accompanying the recently previewed 2015 TV series, TransFormers: Robots In Disguise (not to be confused with the 2001 version), I'm beginning to think I won't be collecting much new stuff for a while.
It's not that I object to the simplification of the toys - hell, I'd be happy to keep buying TransFormers toys that were only as complex as the old Diaclone-derived toys - but that combined with the clumsy designs is really putting me off. The new TV show's focus on Bumblebee is another sticking point - we've had far too much Bumblebee ever since the 2007 live action movie. The theory is that he's the 'kid appeal' character, but they haven't made him especially appealing or relateable thusfar because, until now, he's been unable to speak. When Will Friedle (previously Terry McGinnis in the excellent Batman Beyond) was cast as the voice of Bumblebee in the TransFormers: Prime finale movie, Predacons Rising, he made a brief - but all important - difference to my opinion of the character, so I'm pleased that he's been kept on in the new series, and further pleased that a new fem-bot - Strongarm, with a very familiar voice courtesy of Constance Zimmer - has become another prominent character.
Dropping plastic crack-related litter in the zen garden of your mind since 2008
