Aug 26
Linkin Park Soundwave Now Available Online
If you like your toys to shatter into a cloud of golden glitter after a decade in storage, then this news is for you: The limited edition Linkin Park Soundwave, complete with matching Ravage, Lazerbeak, Buzzsaw, and Ratbat, is now available in LA-based SURU’s online store for a mere $150.
Based on the original G1 Soundwave mold, the special Linkin Park Soundwave is made almost entirely from gold plastic with a few gold chrome accents and is ready to use weaponized rap rock against all who oppose Megatron’s rule. Can you get $150 of enjoyment out of this toy before the plastic completely disintegrates?
Aug 26
Death’s Head Makes His HeroClix Debut
Game Trade Magazine has images from the upcoming Invincible Iron Man HeroClix set, and as some had theorized (well, me and my roommate, at the very least) the set will include Death’s Head!
WizKids Games, makers of HeroClix, ran a poll last year to let fans choose an upcoming character and Death’s Head beat out characters like Silver Sable, Hellcat, and Annihilus to become a HeroClix mini. The Freelance Peacekeeping Agent has been a thorn in Iron Man’s side lately thanks to British writer Kieron Gillen, who like so many of his generation in the UK grew up with Marvel UK’s Transformers comics, so it makes all kinds of sense to include him in this set.
The only downside is Death’s Head here is in his lowly human-sized form, forced on him by the Seventh Doctor, so no 30-foot DH HeroClix action for us. Still, it’s a great figure, yes?
Aug 24
TF Prime: Season 3 now on Netflix!
The title pretty much says it all. I don’t have The Hub anymore, so I haven’t seen any of this season. Therefore, anyone who spoils it in the comments will be fed to the Sharkticons.
I’m blocking out some time to binge-watch the season on Saturday night/Sunday morning. I do hope you all will join me. Feel free to discuss the season, spoilers and all, in the forums!
Aug 21
Chinese legislators try banning TF – in 1989!
Just something I found while digging through the Lexis-Nexis article database, which might help explain the current upsurge of TF activity in the Asian market…
The Associated Press
February 19, 1989, Sunday, AM cycle
Legislators Urge Ban Of U.S. Television Cartoon
SECTION: Business News
LENGTH: 270 words
DATELINE: BEIJING
Twenty Chinese lawmakers have condemned a futuristic U.S. television cartoon as poison and urged the government to ban broadcasts of “The Transformers” and its toy characters, a report said Sunday.
The legislators “believe that the absurd ideological content of ‘The Transformers,’ especially its promotion of war as something good, will poison the next generation,” said the official People’s Daily said.
“The Transformers” is a futuristic cartoon about robots who can alter their shapes to become cars, planes and weapons, and who battle other evil robots.
The official Xinhua News Agency said it has been shown on Shanghai and Beijing television in translation, and several publishing houses have issued picture books of characters from the cartoon.
U.S.-made toys of the cartoon characters also have been sold in China for the “excessively expensive” price of about $$270 per set – nearly as much as the average Chinese worker makes in a year, the news agency said. The toys are sold in the United States by Hasbro Inc.
The legislators who objected to the program and toys are members of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, which meets periodically between annual sessions of the full congress.
The reports did not say if any government department had responded to the appeal or if the legislators planned to push for the whole congress to take some action on it.
The congress has had a real voice in drafting and approving laws only for the past few years, but legislation still is proposed by government ministries or the ruling Communist Party, not individual legislators.
Aug 21
In Stores Today – 8/21/2013
…I got nothin’.
If your store ordered any and you’ve got $125 to drop, Diamond is shipping the Last Stand of the Wreckers Red Label edition to shops, but that’s the only Transformers book shipping this week. But don’t worry, it looks like August 28th is going to hit like a sledgehammer with MTMTE, ReGeneration One, and Beast Hunters all out on the same week. Spend this week preparing your Feels!
Aug 19
MTMTE #20 iTunes Preview Now Online!
Over on Tumblr, our own forum-member Serika Izumi has posted readable images of the MTMTE #20 iTunes preview, which includes the first three pages of the comic. Get on over there and take a look!
Aug 19
“Wreck And Rule” And Maccadams Tees Now Available Online
Have you seen the sweet “Wreck And Rule” and Maccadams tees in this summer’s convention pics but couldn’t make it to a con to pick one up? Now you can finally get them online!
The woman behind the tees, Aimee (@ladyofwreck on Twitter and co-host of the Underbase podcast), has opened an Etsy shop to make these shirts available to everyone! These are printed on super-soft, 100% cotton American Apparel shirts and will quickly become your favorite tees – trust me, I have one! Click the logo below to get your own!
(Full Disclosure: …Actually, this was in no way solicited or paid for, I just think this is a great project and felt it deserved a plug.)
Aug 19
TFCC Reveals Nick Roche Turnarounds For Upcoming Chromedome Figure
This morning the Collectors’ Club Twitter account shared some more news on the upcoming Subscription Service toys, specifically the turnaround art for Chromedome – designed by none other than fan favorite Nick Roche! They also revealed that one other toy for next year’s Subscription Service will have a Roche-designed head sculpt. Does this mean another MTMTE character is in the works for the FSS? Share your baseless speculation in the comments!