New images of Unite Superion set + Slingshot's new head confirmed

All in. Looks amazing to me. The yellow is a little jarring but it's cartoon accurate.

Takara I love you and hate you at the same time. It will be hard to justify this with the missus

Definitely prefer this set and can't wait for it to be released! The U.S preorder price really gives me hope that the overseas stores will have this listed at a ridiculously low price, but if not that's fine too, as it's already cheaper than I thought it would be.

That's a great value for Takara products, but I don't see myself double dipping on these. I'll wait for the Hasbro Slingshot. I am quite fond of the white feet and hands though.

ZeroWolf wrote:Takara I love you and hate you at the same time. It will be hard to justify this with the missus

Do you already own the Hasbro one? The missus allows me to buy select transformers, and a more expensive version of one I already have would not work. Good thing I dont own the hasbro one yet. Not sure what I should do now.

I don't own the hasbro one yet its just the price and then shipping+import cost. I can get the hasbro one locally from tru but the takara ones are very pretty

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Takara I love you and hate you at the same time. It will be hard to justify this with the missus

Do you already own the Hasbro one? The missus allows me to buy select transformers, and a more expensive version of one I already have would not work. Good thing I dont own the hasbro one yet. Not sure what I should do now.

Sometimes, what the missus doesn't know can't hurt me

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't own the hasbro one yet its just the price and then shipping+import cost. I can get the hasbro one locally from tru but the takara ones are very pretty

But if you are in the UK, arent you better off with japanese online retailers? You will still be stuck with import fees and shipping but the base price might be cheaper.

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't own the hasbro one yet its just the price and then shipping+import cost. I can get the hasbro one locally from tru but the takara ones are very pretty

The Takara one is very pretty indeed, and a lot more accurate, especially with Slingshot in there. However, I don't think it's justified, price wise. The Hasbro ones are still good, and there's not enough of a change to merit spending a lot more £££.

william-james88 wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:I don't own the hasbro one yet its just the price and then shipping+import cost. I can get the hasbro one locally from tru but the takara ones are very pretty

But if you are in the UK, arent you better off with japanese online retailers? You will still be stuck with import fees and shipping but the base price might be cheaper.

Never went with a Japanese retailer before so I'm not sure which one is considered the best

Preordered! You can't beat that price. I'm curious if Takara has a good read on exactly how much of their product is sold on foreign markets?

Wolfman Jake wrote:Preordered! You can't beat that price. I'm curious if Takara has a good read on exactly how much of their product is sold on foreign markets?

I think the recent redeco of MP Exhaust should answer that for you

reluctantyouth wrote: I'll end up foregoing future Hasbro combiner limb releases and donate my Hasbro version with Dragstrip arm to St. Jude at the hospital I work at. The kids cannot get enough Transformers...especially when they are going through something out of their control. Bringing a smile to their faces in worth more than anything.

Puts things in perspective a bit.

Optimum Supreme wrote:

reluctantyouth wrote: I'll end up foregoing future Hasbro combiner limb releases and donate my Hasbro version with Dragstrip arm to St. Jude at the hospital I work at. The kids cannot get enough Transformers...especially when they are going through something out of their control. Bringing a smile to their faces in worth more than anything.

Puts things in perspective a bit.

Hey, where can I send some to donate? (Not kidding)

Still waiting to see what HLJ will have for a price on this set before I preorder. They're so unpredictable on their preorders, they finally put MP G2 Bumblebee up this morning, after most stores have had him up for weeks now, and they even put up preorders for the new Transformers Adventure line this morning.

For some reason though, they haven't put these guys up yet, while most other stores have them up.

Desslok2201 wrote:

Optimum Supreme wrote:

reluctantyouth wrote: I'll end up foregoing future Hasbro combiner limb releases and donate my Hasbro version with Dragstrip arm to St. Jude at the hospital I work at. The kids cannot get enough Transformers...especially when they are going through something out of their control. Bringing a smile to their faces in worth more than anything.

Puts things in perspective a bit.

Hey, where can I send some to donate? (Not kidding)

Dont you have donation centres in your area? You could write your town name and "donation centre" on google and see what comes up. You can also go to a local church and ask if they accept donated toys.

I'm having such a hard time pulling the the trigger on this. I LOVE this, but it's hard to justify Superion without Menasor, and what I've seen of him doesn't sit well with me. As great as Motormaster's robot mode looks, the lack of a trailer and the cab feet kind of sour me on him, even if Takara does come up with a Wildrider, as I expect they will, I'm not sure they can fix Menasor's kind of weird head.

Since I dont have the hasbro version yet, I am really debating getting this one. The price is fine and for once is not the issue, it's actually the deco. I dont really care about the character since I wasnt born when the show was on, but I do care for his toy since its one of the few G1s I have. And for once it seems Hasbro is the company more faithful to the G1 toy deco while Takara is more faithful to the G1 cartoon characer deco (so you see Shockblast 2, its like Jetfire's chrome, you cant make reason of these trends). While Takara's Superion looks nice and clean with all his white, the individual Silverbolt's yellow is really offputting to me. I LOVE the gold on the G1 toy and in it's context, it actually comes off as non flashy and darker, more similar to Hasbro's tan that they use instead of bright yellow. And while it is amazing that Takara has white on Silverbolt's chest and a full red upper chest on Superion (which the G1 toy could not do since both Superion and Silverbolt had that same chest piece), the full red chest makes Hasbro's version also more G1 toy accurate. Oh, decisions, decisions.

Seibertron wrote:New images have surfaced of Takara Tomy's Aerialbots from the upcoming Unite line. As speculated earlier this week, Slingshot will have a new head mold similar to his G1 cartoon head. These pictures are courtesy e-hobby.co.jp which you can view here. We've mirrored the images below. Join our discussion about the Japanese release of the Combiner Wars figures by clicking here.

Need a new diaper.

william-james88 wrote:Since I dont have the hasbro version yet, I am really debating getting this one. The price is fine and for once is not the issue, it's actually the deco. I dont really care about the character since I wasnt born when the show was on, but I do care for his toy since its one of the few G1s I have. And for once it seems Hasbro is the company more faithful to the G1 toy deco while Takara is more faithful to the G1 cartoon characer deco (so you see Shockblast 2, its like Jetfire's chrome, you cant make reason of these trends). While Takara's Superion looks nice and clean with all his white, the individual Silverbolt's yellow is really offputting to me. I LOVE the gold on the G1 toy and in it's context, it actually comes off as non flashy and darker, more similar to Hasbro's tan that they use instead of bright yellow. And while it is amazing that Takara has white on Silverbolt's chest and a full red upper chest on Superion (which the G1 toy could not do since both Superion and Silverbolt had that same chest piece), the full red chest makes Hasbro's version also more G1 toy accurate. Oh, decisions, decisions.

I totally understand your dilemma. I think what sways me towards Takara on this is the little details. The painted kneecaps, wingtips on the shoulders, etc. Superion's combined form is a hands down winner to Takara for me, but if you take Silverbolt alone, it's just the little bits that push him over, as I agree that Hasbro's is closer on that one.

Desslok2201 wrote:I totally understand your dilemma. I think what sways me towards Takara on this is the little details. The painted kneecaps, wingtips on the shoulders, etc. Superion's combined form is a hands down winner to Takara for me, but if you take Silverbolt alone, it's just the little bits that push him over, as I agree that Hasbro's is closer on that one.

Thanks man, and yes, that is exactly my dilemma. Takara Superion is no question he better one. BUT I really preffer Hasbro's Silverbolt. And though the painted wingtips are nice from takara, he lack of paint matches with the G1 toy. Oh, first world problems.

maybe alpha bravo was meant to be vortex

Do you have to buy this as a set? Why not buy the Hasbro versions of the others, then buy Slingshot separately? Would it be more expensive or less expensive that way? Questions...

I know bigbadtoystore is selling them for $130 as a set. I'm just not sure what the individual prices are, and I apologize if I missed them earlier in the thread.

Either way, that would be petty cool to have all 5 Aerialbots, instead of 4 Aerialbots and a helicopter....

Stryfe Convoy wrote:Do you have to buy this as a set? Why not buy the Hasbro versions of the others, then buy Slingshot separately? Would it be more expensive or less expensive that way? Questions...

I know bigbadtoystore is selling them for $130 as a set. I'm just not sure what the individual prices are, and I apologize if I missed them earlier in the thread.

Either way, that would be petty cool to have all 5 Aerialbots, instead of 4 Aerialbots and a helicopter....

They are only sold as a set so there are no individual prices. But thats not an issue since a TRU listing states that Hasbro will also release a Slingshot seperately. There is no issue in that sense then. The only issue is which version of superion to get if you are only getting one. It's about the deco in this case.

william-james88 wrote:

Desslok2201 wrote:I totally understand your dilemma. I think what sways me towards Takara on this is the little details. The painted kneecaps, wingtips on the shoulders, etc. Superion's combined form is a hands down winner to Takara for me, but if you take Silverbolt alone, it's just the little bits that push him over, as I agree that Hasbro's is closer on that one.

Thanks man, and yes, that is exactly my dilemma. Takara Superion is no question he better one. BUT I really preffer Hasbro's Silverbolt. And though the painted wingtips are nice from takara, he lack of paint matches with the G1 toy. Oh, first world problems.

While hasbro's deco on Silverbolt is closer to G1, Silverbolt's section of Superion is not. Those wonky bits of red going down the sides were totally covered by the large white chest shield in G1, Takara's nicely duplicates that. So I guess it becomes a matter of how you'll display him. If you want Silverbolt, Hasbro, Superion, Takara.

I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

This takara version rocks ! I might just skip the hasbro version altogether since the only ones ive found is alpha bravo and drag strip. But june is a hell of a long wait. I can see my self double dipping just out of bordom waiting for takara.

Rated X wrote:I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

Some people who grew up on G1 toys didn't grow up watching the cartoon.

If, say, you had lived in the UK instead of Miami back in the 1980s, you would not have grown up watching the Transformers cartoon because it didn't air there. The UK got the toys and the comics (even creating a ton of UK-original comics the U.S. didn't get back then) and the 1986 movie, but the cartoon barely ever aired over there, airing only a scant few episodes of season 1 before just disappearing from UK television completely. UK fans in the 1980s had only the toys and the comics to get their fill of the Transformers, and since the comics largely drew from the decos of the toys themselves moreso than the cartoon did, people developed a certain fondness for the look and colors of the toys over what they characters looked like in the cartoon (cuz they weren't watching it since it wasn't on).

Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Not everyone allowed the cartoon to dictate how they feel a character should look. Some simply preferred how the toys looked over their cartoon looks, and some didn't even get to watch the cartoon to really make a choice and just defaulted to the toys' looks anyway.

And for those of us who had both, sometimes choosing between the two is a tough call to make

Not big on the yellow toon accurate or not.

Optimum Supreme wrote:

reluctantyouth wrote: I'll end up foregoing future Hasbro combiner limb releases and donate my Hasbro version with Dragstrip arm to St. Jude at the hospital I work at. The kids cannot get enough Transformers...especially when they are going through something out of their control. Bringing a smile to their faces in worth more than anything.

Puts things in perspective a bit.

This just gave me a great idea.

Good post sir.

Ontopic:
I think Hasbro will also release Slingshot at some point.
I already have wave 1 so I won't get the Takara one. I like Alpha Bravo, he's
different enough to have an extra limb. Something like Slingshot dissapeared in
a battle and they needed a new member. Later the dude returned from whatever and
then there were 6 team members.

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

Some people who grew up on G1 toys didn't grow up watching the cartoon.

If, say, you had lived in the UK instead of Miami back in the 1980s, you would not have grown up watching the Transformers cartoon because it didn't air there. The UK got the toys and the comics (even creating a ton of UK-original comics the U.S. didn't get back then) and the 1986 movie, but the cartoon barely ever aired over there, airing only a scant few episodes of season 1 before just disappearing from UK television completely. UK fans in the 1980s had only the toys and the comics to get their fill of the Transformers, and since the comics largely drew from the decos of the toys themselves moreso than the cartoon did, people developed a certain fondness for the look and colors of the toys over what they characters looked like in the cartoon (cuz they weren't watching it since it wasn't on).

Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Not everyone allowed the cartoon to dictate how they feel a character should look. Some simply preferred how the toys looked over their cartoon looks, and some didn't even get to watch the cartoon to really make a choice and just defaulted to the toys' looks anyway.

Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

Some people who grew up on G1 toys didn't grow up watching the cartoon.

If, say, you had lived in the UK instead of Miami back in the 1980s, you would not have grown up watching the Transformers cartoon because it didn't air there. The UK got the toys and the comics (even creating a ton of UK-original comics the U.S. didn't get back then) and the 1986 movie, but the cartoon barely ever aired over there, airing only a scant few episodes of season 1 before just disappearing from UK television completely. UK fans in the 1980s had only the toys and the comics to get their fill of the Transformers, and since the comics largely drew from the decos of the toys themselves moreso than the cartoon did, people developed a certain fondness for the look and colors of the toys over what they characters looked like in the cartoon (cuz they weren't watching it since it wasn't on).

Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Not everyone allowed the cartoon to dictate how they feel a character should look. Some simply preferred how the toys looked over their cartoon looks, and some didn't even get to watch the cartoon to really make a choice and just defaulted to the toys' looks anyway.

Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

In my case though, I was born after the G1 show so I never watched it. But I did get to play with the toys and own some, hence my attachement to the toys rather than the show character.

In all reality there is nothing "wrong" with Hasbro's take on Superion. The Arielbots all look great and all we are missing is Slingshot, and it seems Hasbro may have us covered in that respect later down the line. It's really just a matter of personal aesthetic preferences

Sabrblade wrote:Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Somewhere they even got weird comics where Optimus was replaced by Jetfire. I wonder if those people are nostalgic for that.

ZeroWolf wrote:Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

That so? Well then, as I was going by things that Simon Furman and James Roberts had recalled from the 80's, I guess there were some small details that they weren't fully aware of.

Optimum Supreme wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Somewhere they even got weird comics where Optimus was replaced by Jetfire. I wonder if those people are nostalgic for that.

Twas but one single catalog mini-comic (in which Shockwave was also replaced by Soundwave in the former's prehistoric fight against the Dinobots), but I wouldn't be surprised if some held nostalgia to it.

Sabrblade wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

That so? Well then, as I was going by things that Simon Furman and James Roberts had recalled from the 80's, I guess there were some small details that they weren't fully aware of.

Optimum Supreme wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Somewhere they even got weird comics where Optimus was replaced by Jetfire. I wonder if those people are nostalgic for that.

Twas but one single catalog mini-comic (in which Shockwave was also replaced by Soundwave in the former's prehistoric fight against the Dinobots), but I wouldn't be surprised if some held nostalgia to it.

Weren't those mini comics in the Milton Bradley releases?

Desslok2201 wrote:Weren't those mini comics in the Milton Bradley releases?

It was from Milton Bradley in European markets, yes.

Wasn't there an issue with prime that made it necessary to change him out of the story on the Milton Bradley releases?

ZeroWolf wrote:Wasn't there an issue with prime that made it necessary to change him out of the story on the Milton Bradley releases?

It was more of a licensing issue in the Benelux area: at the time, Joustra was still releasing their own version of Diaclone (which included Microman molds), and Optimus Prime was one of them. MB was unable to release him as long as Joustra still had the rights straight from Takara.

pre-orderd and pumped to get this guy

the white hands make it looks sleek and uniformed......what a diff paint makes.

I love the Slingshot and hope that it comes out here in the states can't wait. The helicopter Alpha Bravo should have been held back for the Protectobots or Combaticons series if that happens just change the head for Blades.

alpha Bravo probs is going to get a head change for blades though takara are stuck for groove as he's only a legends with Rook taking his place.

ZeroWolf wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

Some people who grew up on G1 toys didn't grow up watching the cartoon.

If, say, you had lived in the UK instead of Miami back in the 1980s, you would not have grown up watching the Transformers cartoon because it didn't air there. The UK got the toys and the comics (even creating a ton of UK-original comics the U.S. didn't get back then) and the 1986 movie, but the cartoon barely ever aired over there, airing only a scant few episodes of season 1 before just disappearing from UK television completely. UK fans in the 1980s had only the toys and the comics to get their fill of the Transformers, and since the comics largely drew from the decos of the toys themselves moreso than the cartoon did, people developed a certain fondness for the look and colors of the toys over what they characters looked like in the cartoon (cuz they weren't watching it since it wasn't on).

Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Not everyone allowed the cartoon to dictate how they feel a character should look. Some simply preferred how the toys looked over their cartoon looks, and some didn't even get to watch the cartoon to really make a choice and just defaulted to the toys' looks anyway.

Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

I remember it being on every morning on ITV, either before or part of TV:AM.

ZeroWolf wrote:alpha Bravo probs is going to get a head change for blades though takara are stuck for groove as he's only a legends with Rook taking his place.

Not only that, if they have to include Legends Menasor would pose a problem. Blackjack was never released as is in Japan, instead he was redecoed in black and yellow into the Cybertron (Autobot) Micromaster Blackheat. I guess TakaraTomy will either keep his US identity or turn him into a drone.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:alpha Bravo probs is going to get a head change for blades though takara are stuck for groove as he's only a legends with Rook taking his place.

Not only that, if they have to include Legends Menasor would pose a problem. Blackjack was never released as is in Japan, instead he was redecoed in black and yellow into the Cybertron (Autobot) Micromaster Blackheat. I guess TakaraTomy will either keep his US identity or turn him into a drone.

Or release him as Runabout.

So far it seems that only bombshell is going there as part of the adventures line

SkyWarpsGhost wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Rated X wrote:I never understood why people would want a cartoon accurate mold/sculpt in vintage toy accurate colors. It boggles the mind.

Some people who grew up on G1 toys didn't grow up watching the cartoon.

If, say, you had lived in the UK instead of Miami back in the 1980s, you would not have grown up watching the Transformers cartoon because it didn't air there. The UK got the toys and the comics (even creating a ton of UK-original comics the U.S. didn't get back then) and the 1986 movie, but the cartoon barely ever aired over there, airing only a scant few episodes of season 1 before just disappearing from UK television completely. UK fans in the 1980s had only the toys and the comics to get their fill of the Transformers, and since the comics largely drew from the decos of the toys themselves moreso than the cartoon did, people developed a certain fondness for the look and colors of the toys over what they characters looked like in the cartoon (cuz they weren't watching it since it wasn't on).

Some kids in other markets had ONLY the toys and NO cartoon or comics, having to play with the toys by making up their own stories with them, and making their attachment to the toys' looks even more justified.

Not everyone allowed the cartoon to dictate how they feel a character should look. Some simply preferred how the toys looked over their cartoon looks, and some didn't even get to watch the cartoon to really make a choice and just defaulted to the toys' looks anyway.

Actually the videos of the cartoon were easily accessible and the key to vector sigma and a lot of the following episodes were aired as I watched them growing up from videos taped off tv. We even got season 3 on tape. don't quote me on this but the wide awake club programming block may have shown it all.

I remember it being on every morning on ITV, either before or part of TV:AM.

I was born a bit late (88) for the whole thing, but my exposure was mostly through the Goldbox Classics figures and vicariously, through video store rentals and VHS tapes we owned.

They seemed to be well distributed from what I remember. I remember seeing a lot of episodes on video

Starscream's brigade, revenge of bruticus, the key to vector sigma, dinobot island, more than meets the eye, nightmare planet, only human, forever is a long time coming, ghost in the machine/starscream's ghost.

Even if the TV showings were obscure, it seemed pretty easy to have stumbled over the cartoons.

ZeroWolf wrote:So far it seems that only bombshell is going there as part of the adventures line

Skrapnel/Shrapnel too: he's TAV17, right after Bombshell. Powerglide and Cosmos will appear there too.

Anyway, in a more contributory post;

The 2 pack figures mentioned in the listings for the upcoming takara figures seemed a mystery, I've been nosing through HLJ on my lunchbreak and they have them both listed as GRIMLOCK vs. STRONGARM Rival pack and BUMBLEBEE vs. STEELJAW Enemy pack.

Nothing new and interesting there then.

MemphisR56 wrote:Anyway, in a more contributory post;

The 2 pack figures mentioned in the listings for the upcoming takara figures seemed a mystery, I've been nosing through HLJ on my lunchbreak and they have them both listed as GRIMLOCK vs. STRONGARM Rival pack and BUMBLEBEE vs. STEELJAW Enemy pack.

Nothing new and interesting there then.

The first one is actually "R Strongarm" (short for "Redeco Strongarm"), which turned out to be Decepticon called "Greejeeber". You may know him as RiD 2001 Rollbar There's also a third set, but the contents are unknown at this point.