War for Cybertron: Kingdom/Golden Disk Collection Terrorsaur

I mentioned in my write-up of Kingdom Airazor that it would be pretty much criminal for Hasbro to fail to produce a Terrorsaur figure having developed such a good remake of the Maximal falcon, so it came as no surprise when he was eventually announced. What was a surprise was that he would be made available as one of Hasbro's much-vaunted 'capsule programme' sets - in this case, the (technically) Amazon-exclusive Golden Disk Collection. Split across four 'chapters' (comprising Road Ranger & Puffer, Jackpot & Sights, Mutant Tigatron and this one), it's basically a bunch of mostly uninspiring (and uninspired) repaints with the exception of Terrorsaur, who is a substantial reworking of the Airazor mold.

This was not unexpected, but the actual execution of the figure was certainly not what I'd hoped to see. So, the big question is, are there any other surprises with this figure, and is it a worthwhile representation of the Predacons' less accident-prone flier?

Winds of Change?

Not really... But, having preordered Flame Toys' Furai Model Kit Windblade in March of last year, it finally arrived today:

I'm not going to start working on her immediately - I've got a few important things to do right now, and it feels as though it would be prudent to keep this as a 'reward' for having completed them.

Considering I tend to rail against any non-transforming TransFormers-branded product, it may seem strange for me to have bought this... But it's a Femme-Bot (this is as close as I'm going to get to a Femme-Bot Friday post until the Bumblebee movie/Studio Series Arcee turns up), and beautifully designed - very evocative of Sarah Stone's artwork in the original Windblade mini-series of comics from IDW.

I can see myself picking up the upcoming Arcee and Blackarachnia figures, but I don't think Furai Model Kits are going to be appearing on this blog with any real frequency... Much as I like their take on Hot Rod, I can live without a non-transforming sexy beefcake Hot Rod, and most of the others are nowhere near as appealing. If I do ever feel the need to lay my hands on a three-dimensional interpretation of that design, it'll be either the Mastermind Creations version, Calidus, or the one from SXS Toys, Hot Flame... But I'm honestly not that invested in the character, so neither are particularly likely acquisitions for me.

Desert Island (Golden) Disks?

Last week, I received a slightly early notification that another of my Hasbro Pulse preorders - specifically Golden Disk Collection Terrorsaur - was ready for despatch. I believe it was only one day earlier than it was due to ship, but Hasbro UK were clearly very pleased with themselves.

As has been the case on the last couple of Yodel deliveries, the shipping notification was swiftly followed by the courier's own notification that the package was on its way, with the usual estimate of delivery in two days' time... and, of course, it arrived the following day.

When I was out for most of the day, helping my folks with their loft clearance and then going on to my local computer club in the evening. Thankfully, Courtney was working from home and able to accept the parcel, so it was waiting for me when I got back home that night.

I've had a quick play with him, and am largely pretty happy... The windowless presentation box appears to be on a par with Hasbro's usual 'event' sets, features generic art on the front... and Terrorsaur himself is strung up in an awkward position, which had me thinking uncomfortably of shibari for some reason...

As always, full write-up coming 'soon'...

Big Cat Arrives

And so, just a day after the arrival of Kingdom Slammer, and the day before he was originally due to ship according to Hasbro Pulse, Tigatron has arrived.

I've got a few other things on my plate at the moment, so I'm probably not going to get either photographed fully till I've dealt with at least the most pressing stuff but, in the spirit of keeping things up to date, here's a quick photo:

Looks pretty good, I think, aside from the rigid tail and the Gut Gun sticking out of his belly... Full write-up on the way, eventually.

Perhaps I should start an Instagram account for situations like this..?

Marvel/Grandreams TransFormers Annual 1985

Back in my youth, publishers of comics and teen-oriented magazines habitually ended the year with a hardbacked book featuring either retrospectives or - frequently, in the case of the comics - some wholly new material. In those days, I would always get such annuals for Christmas, and amassed quite a selection over the years, from The Beano to The Eagle (shared with my sister) to TransFormers, all of which ended up in the loft at my parents' place.

Cut to just before Christmas 2021, and my mother mentioned that she wanted to do a massive clear-out of the loft. Earlier this month, I popped over there a little earlier than I normally would when attending a local computer club, and assisted with the sorting effort. While most of my time was spent identifying toys/toy parts and grouping them together by type, we did find a couple of bags of annuals, so I grabbed the four TransFormers ones just for fun...

But then I figured I may as well take the opportunity to write about them, as they're as much a piece of TransFormers history as the toys. Here's the first...

On Hasbro Pulse, and Courier Frustrations II

While I'm very grateful that Hasbro Pulse UK exists, I have to admit I still have serious doubts about Hasbro's distribution strategy. A couple of months back, I preordered Kingdom Tigatron, then Golden Disk Collection Terrorsaur and Studio Series Jolt, then Kingdom Slammer, as each were added to the shop. All but Jolt were labelled as due to ship this month, with the first and last scheduled just a few days apart, and Terrorsaur expected toward the end of the month. Jolt shipped on his own as soon as he came into stock back in November, so Hasbro are clearly happy to split orders if that seems appropriate, even when not specifically requested.