The June Hasbro Pulse stream brought Micronus Prime, a new-mold Alpha Trion, Onyx Prime and Selects G2 Snarl and Slag, and Micronus Prime stole the show. Target’s Age of the Primes four-pack wins over most of the crew, with Missing Link Junior Ultra Magnus, Horri-Bull, Animated Nemesis Prime and Bumper. The panel also weighs the SDCC Void Rivals Jetfire, Star Optimus Prime in hand, a stalled Walmart Cybertron capsule and a Seiko Megatron watch. In What We Got This Week, Chris calls the new Sky-Byte basically perfect, and Brian finally lands a complete G1 combiner and a boxed G1 Blurr.

News

Selects G2 Snarl and Slag Shown on the Hasbro Pulse Stream

The Hasbro Pulse stream finally showed the Selects G2 Snarl and Slag two-pack. Brian is excited and wants them. Chris said the colors aren’t saturated enough but is buying them anyway. Another host called Snarl’s muted red the bigger offender. The leader-class price for the pair is hefty. One host was more excited that the stream confirmed G2 Swoop and Sludge for next year. [Source: TFW2005]

Amazon Exclusive Sandstorm vs. Slugslinger Gets New Faces and Rebirth Colors

The Amazon exclusive Sandstorm vs. Slugslinger set gives Sandstorm a full face instead of a faceplate. Slugslinger gets darker colors, which the crew read as a Rebirth homage. Several hosts wish Slugslinger came with his Targetmasters, the way Spinister did. One host wonders if the Voyager-class Sandstorm ate the budget. Another would love a catch-up pack of Targetmasters for every Titans Return figure that should have had one. Hasbro said on the stream it is still looking for a way to re-release Misfire. [Source: TFW2005]

Age of the Primes Fireflight and Skydive Round Out Superion

Age of the Primes Fireflight retools Slingshot with a new cockpit, head, chest and calves. One host called his busy chest a straight Sunbow cartoon design. Skydive didn’t even get a new chest, just a filler in half of it. One host is buying both to finish Superion anyway. The crew noted the jets stick far off the back of Superion’s legs. They want third-party dummy limbs that clip onto the combiner frame instead. [Source: TFW2005]

Micronus Prime Is the Best Reveal of the Stream

Rob loves Micronus Prime, and the crew called it the best reveal by far. The little robot turns into an Armada Mini-Con panel on one side and a data-disk-style Mini-Con on the other. It rides in armor modeled on the Apex Armor from Transformers: Prime, which becomes a one-wheeled cycle. The figure is also a Weaponizer, and the wheel can detach as a shield. One host finds the colors boring. One host wants a Miko recolor with the Prime armor, and others suggested a Scrounge redeco. [Source: TFW2005]

New-Mold Alpha Trion, Flatline and Venom

Alpha Trion is a new mold with a book, a quill and a removable Autobot symbol. Diecast spotted that the symbol is the coder remote from the G1 cartoon’s third season. One host loves the book and quill and will buy it at $25 or less. That host also sees pre-tool parts for a Thunderwing or Black Shadow. Flatline left one host cold. Another explained Flatline started as a Decepticon medic in the IDW Robots in Disguise comics, designed by Andrew Griffith as a possible Trailcutter retool. Venom drew preorders from hosts who own the other three Insecticons. [Source: TFW2005]

Onyx Prime Shows Off Its Centaur Modes

Onyx Prime has both four-legged and six-legged centaur modes. The crew counted it as the first centaur in a Transformers line, with Brave’s Pegasus Saber as the only close relative. A chat member pointed out Animorphs had two. One host likes the design but doesn’t trust the plastic. That host would rather see the alternate IDW comics colors. [Source: TFW2005]

Target Exclusive Age of the Primes Four-Pack Up for Preorder

Target’s Age of the Primes four-pack includes Missing Link Junior Ultra Magnus on the Legacy cab Optimus Prime mold. It also has Horri-Bull, a heavy retool of Titans Return Skullcruncher, plus Animated Nemesis Prime and Bumper. One host wants all four, a first for these packs. Another wishes Bumper had a different car front. For Don, the crew explained how fans first called the yellow Minispy sedan Bumble Jumper. Dreamwave later used the name Bumper, which stuck as official. Several hosts want a third party to make a full transforming trailer for this Ultra Magnus. Mark Maher shared photos of the set on his Instagram. [Source: TFW2005]

Gamer Edition and Devastation Redecos Leave the Crew Cold

Target’s Gamer Edition Optimus Prime and Megatron are slight redecos, with grays and blacks swapped on Optimus Prime’s windows. Devastation Wheeljack and Sideswipe add a dash of cel-shading on the windows, and Wheeljack gets a new gun. One host might buy Sideswipe if it drops to $17 on clearance. Another is simply tired of both molds. [Source: TFW2005]

SDCC 2025 Exclusive Void Rivals Jetfire First Look

The SDCC 2025 Void Rivals Jetfire looks great in a cartoon-style light blue deco. It comes with two O-ring figures of Void Rivals comic characters. One host would buy a cartoon-deco Skyfire, but not with figures from a comic they’ll never read. The crew guesses the set lands between $125 and $150. Others noted the Siege mold already carries off-white paint, and they hope for a Pulse sale. [Source: TFW2005]

Star Optimus Prime In-Hand Images of Age of the Primes Titan

New photos show Age of the Primes Titan Class Star Optimus Prime standing head and shoulders above Omega Prime. One host saw it at New York Toy Fair and liked it far more than expected. Hasbro Pulse shows it shipping next week. A couple of hosts canceled Amazon preorders to buy from Pulse instead. [Source: TFormers]

Walmart Reportedly Passes on the Rest of the Cybertron Capsule

Excellion and Sideways may be all fans get from the Walmart Cybertron capsule. Word is Walmart passed on the rest of the planned toys. JT Prime’s original report named a Voyager Cybertron Skywarp, an unidentified leader and possibly two more deluxes. The crew figures unproduced redecos are a small loss for Hasbro to write off. Fan Channel remains an option if Hasbro wants them out. [Source: not found]

Transformers x Seiko Collaboration Megatron Watch

Seiko is making a Megatron watch limited to 300, following its Optimus Prime watch. It runs about $400 from Japan. The crew agreed it is a genuinely nice watch, and the price sounds about right for Seiko. [Source: TFW2005]

What We Got This Week

Chris

Chris got Sky-Byte, and says he is indeed the greatest shark around. His only wishes are more colored paint dots and a clear Predacon spark crystal in the chest. The riveted shark-flank shoulder panels can sag, and one side on his copy is loose. Otherwise the joints are solid, the claw fingers articulate, and the shark mode even lets the head pitch down. He calls it the Sky-Byte he wanted 11 years ago, and with some Gundam marker dots, something basically perfect. Outside the HasLab Omega Prime set, it is the first Robots in Disguise 2001 update Hasbro got exactly right.

Matt

Matt got Transformers Compendium Volume 1, collecting the Marvel series issues 1 to 46 plus Headmasters 1 to 4. He confirmed the Headmasters issues are inside and the coloring is vibrant. Matt has Volume 2 on order.

Rob

Rob’s first birthday present of the year came from Diecast: the Jada Toys Street Fighter II M. Bison. Rob is floored by the quality at that price. Snap-on shoulder pads let him display Bison with or without his wired cloth cape.

Don

Don picked up the Carnivac set, still unopened. He also got Heatwave and thinks the mold has never looked better. His last pickup was Bingo Toys Jazzy, which he plans to shelve with his Cross Dimension Optimus Prime and Megatron.

Diecast

Diecast won a Bingo Toys Jazzy in a raffle from the Transformers ERC Facebook group, thanks to Chris Horton. He also got the TakaraTomy Dramatic Capture triple takeover set with Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Starscream for under $100 at Deep Discount. He loves the huge box art and wishes more box-art books existed.

Brian

Brian found the Swapticons two-packs at $8, not $20, and grabbed Tigatron and Cheetor plus Megatron and Shockwave. He also got Heatwave, Sky-Byte, Transformers Compendium Volume 1 and the Yolopark AMK Series Starscream kit. From Mandarake came two Beast Wars Neo Versus sets, Longrack vs. Guiledart and the gigantic Big Convoy vs. Magmatron. A friend who deals toys sold him a boxed G1 Blurr with a minty toy, an unused sticker sheet and the glow-in-the-dark poster. He also landed a mint-in-box Transmetal Optimus Primal in purple. The big one is a complete G1 combiner with plenty of gold plastic, which he will never combine.

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