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MOLDS PREPOSED OH TINY TITANS

For March's Patreon-backed @tfwiki pictures, I'm plugging some gaps in the Tiny Titans coverage, particularly the not-Robots in Disguise ones, because I love the RID-style renditions pf characters not from RID. Like these bots from Series 2 above. Stylin'!

Each series of Tiny Titans has 12 figures, 4 each cast from one of three colors of plastic. Topspin's design there is... I'm not sure where it came from. Definitely a more liberal interpretation of the original.

G1 and RID make up most of the Tiny Titans, but not all of them! We got a few others, like Beast Wars Megatron thrown into the mix starting in Series 3. They also tried some more dynamic posing. Which uh... yeah.

After the first Series, this line wasn't heavily carried by big-box retailers, mainly showing up in drug stores... usually. Series 4 (where Inferno and Roadbuster here come from) as well as Series 2 were largely skipped by even those outlets, making these 24 figures harder to find.

There were some repeat characters across the line. The G1 Optimus from Series 5 was actually the second G1 Optimus. Plus pretty much all the main cast of RID ultimately had two figures. Curiously, there was never a G1-style Megatron Tiny Titan. An unexpected omission.

Okay, so... that knife Unicron got. Let's be real. That's pretty sweet. Yes, it's overkill for a being the size of a freakin' planet but like, it's Unicron, "overkill" is like half the point. Also it's interesting how often we see Cheetor in his Beast Machines form over the years.

If you dig these looks through the corners of the Transformers toy timeline, consider tossing a tuppence into my Patreon! Every little bit helps get more and more pictures up.

You can find it at Patreon Dot Com, at "gregstfwikipics"

[sternerstufftoys]

I'm glad people are liking this toy, but it doesn't do anything for me. But then I was looking at my ER Jack and SSBB Jack together and the latter just looks so much more exciting these days.

Whats that you say ,”You hope theres enough energy in these conductors to last a quartex” well well well, lemme tell you something Jacky, you have officially energized my bionic soul for an entire astrocycle! Finally, our 40 year wait is over folks, Origins Wheeljack is ready to hover into your collection!!!

Huge shout out to my bot brother Yuya san, he has turned my concepts and dreams into an engineering masterpiece. He has been just raising the bar on every character we work on, its insane, legendary designer!

I’m jumping right in because there is literally so much to tell yall about! Blurr style: hover vans vehicle blastshield can be a used as an air glider in robot mode but also partsforms into the cybertronian racetrack featured in the first g1 episode, the transformation sequence resembles the exact transformation in the cartoon, the bottom of the vehicle mode sits on tabs to give it that sweet cybertronian hover look, origins bee can not only fit into the back of the van but his golden rods can plug in on the sides for a cool thruster look, he scales correctly in robot mode with Jazz and BB, articulation and deco are on point, the buzzsaws on the front bumper have been designed to also be used as dominator discs 🤯

Wheeljack, yesssss, his OG look, no pablo’s or que’s here bruh, just good ol genius Jacky looking like he has been doing metric ton squats with Bulkhead. After all, its one thing to have the gift of gadgets but its another to be able to back up Optimus in the war.

Legacy United hittin hard in the 40th anniversary celebration of this brand that keeps me smiling all the way to Iacon! 😎

[sternerstufftoys]

Yall like Lugnut still?

[sternerstufftoys]

"Oh, I'm so glad we've finally had this... little chat."

(Hot damn but these two look good together)

[sternerstufftoys]

It's Krok! And now with his little gun pal, incorrectly sold as Skullcruncher rather than Gatoraider. I was a little concerned they wouldn't go together, what with the latter's muted movie colour palette and the former's blinding shell suit, but they seem to work! Hooray!

[sternerstufftoys]

I took some pictures of Lego.

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An old picture, but definitely one of my favourites. Not many figures can look as flustered as Rung.

[sternerstufftoys]

Ugh. It's looking less and less likely I'm going to make it to tfn this year and this... it's killing me.

I...made new huge Tyrest wings for an updated cosplay. TFNation here we come~

[sternerstufftoys]

Transformers: Legacy Evolution Armada Optimus Prime - first look.

[sternerstufftoys]

KICK-OFF DIGIBASH

alt-modes are for wimps! nobody tell SIXSHOT that

[sternerstufftoys]

These are fantastic, especially the ice cream van!

Player characters from a Transformers TTRPG I’m going to run next year. I know I didn’t HAVE to draw them, but one of them is an Icecream van! How could I not!?

[sternerstufftoys]

Happy New Year! Farewell 2022, Welcome 2023. Here’s to a brighter future for us all!

[sternerstufftoys]

Top of the Bots 2022

#4: Buzzworthy Bumblebee Goldbug

Oh, the fuss I made. Oh the very depths of anguish I dug from... only for this set to not be nearly so scarce as was first feared. But I think I can remain blameless (as well as charming and very handsome) in this; the previous Buzzworthy four-pack had been pretty hard to source, and absolutely no hint was given on this one until the 11th hour whether Goldbug would be using the Beetle or not-Beetle version of the mould, where it would be available from and for how much... and then was sold out from IDT within a the space of a squirrel's cough. An emotional wreck was I.

And honestly? It's not perfect even now. I'd have liked a bit more deep blue on there, perhaps the legs and forearms, the alt mode doesn't quite fit together right... but who am I kidding, I absolutely love this thing. It's not just nostalgia for the G1 toy which I had but lost as a kid (something of a shorter, less emotionally fraught version of my Thunderwing sob story) but also that honestly, the Cliffjumper/Bumblebee mould is actually really good. And this is pretty much going to be the last word in G1 styled Goldbugs pretty much forever now. If this really is the last word in the contentious licensing deal with Volkswagen, then it ended on a very, very pleasing note.

I never much cared about getting Bumblebee in the first place. Goldbug is where it's at.

#3: Legacy Jhiaxus

Funny thing, that. Everything about this toy screams that it should never have been made - a mismatched colour scheme that is more Bozo The Clown than Sinister Space Dictator, a scrunched up face based on some of the worst excesses of 90s comic design, that awkward translucent white plastic that was so objectionable on Siege Apeface, and the fact that Jhiaxus was never actually that big a deal to anyone outside us turbo-nerds.

But it works. Even the alt mode works, daft as it is. As with Goldbug, this is a definitive version of the character. We're unlikely to ever see Jhiaxus toys again, but boy howdy did they ever pull an absolute blinder with this. The robot mode has a towering stature beyond the simple voyager price point, it has poise, grace, and articulation that sets it apart from most others. And opening hands! What luxury! Not even Cyclonus got opening hands! I want every voyager to have opening hands, and it'll be a serious disappointment every time we get one that doesn't.

[sternerstufftoys]

Top of the Bots 2022

#6: Legacy Minerva

Come now best beloveds, don't tell me you saw this one coming. Out of nowhere, an Elita-1 with suspicious arm stacks and then just *poof*! There's Minerva. And I certainly couldn't give less of a good about Elita-1 while the big hench PotP gal exists, so thanks be to Minerva for allowing me to experience what is actually a really fun mould.

I think I'd be more disappointed if the alt mode wasn't so dumb. There's plenty of perfectly fine car modes out there, so having Minerva show up in the most dorky vehicle mode imaginable (well nearly - see below) just adds to the charm. And in robot mode she manages to mostly avoid girl-in-a-box syndrome that plagues lady robots even today with a stature that seems pretty fitting for a teenage idiot inhabiting a robot body and being totally out of her depth as she's conscripted into an ancient interstellar war.

Yes, Minerva is Shinji. I will not be taking questions at this time.

#5: Studio Series Brawn

Oh, you think your alt mode looks dorky, Minerva? Bitch, you weren't even awake when Brawn started dorking himself up. Come back when you've got a little bubble cockpit and a drill on the top.

And don't start on the whole drill/rifle thing. This was never designed for combat. Brawn turns into a Cybertronian milk float and we all know it. His name is Ernie. And he turns into the fastest milk cart in the West.

Ah, but Brawn is near perfect in robot mode too. Exactly the right size to look tough but not a giant, that wonderfully oversized bullet helmet that you just know he uses to headbutt his enemies, big chunky roundboy styles, ah yes, this is a Brawn for the ages. TR Brawn was fine, but boring. Any future Brawn well be even boringer. This guy gets it.

[sternerstufftoys]

Top of the Bots 2022

#8: Cyberverse Deluxe Slut

Ah but gee golly begorrah lads if it isn't an absolute stunner, and out of nowhere too. You can keep your SS86 version, he's much too big for a Triceratops and his face is boring and red. This guy's a complete nutcase with his over-the-top transformation, his handy battle-axe, that utterly furious scrunched-up face and big royal frill behind him. This is a man who is going places, even though it's not entirely clear where those places may be and what fresh horrors await there.

"Oh but if only they'd done all the dinobots like this blah blah blah" yeah alright whatever. I mean, that was clearly not the point of this, rather that they put each dinobot in a different sub-line that was going - Sludge with the Energon armour, Swoop as a crash combiner, Snarl as a Warrior and Slut here as the Good One. If you're a grumpy old shit like me, not a child who's there to enjoy it of course.

And yeah, thanks be to TK Maxx for getting in massive crates of unsold stock out of the blue and flogging them for a song.

#7: Shattered Glass Ultra Magnus / Regular Glass Delta Magnus / Overload

I know, what a nerd I am getting this one guy who's designed like another guy and then pretending he's yet another guy. But honestly, this one is good enough to serve as all three. I don't much care about Shattered Glass, but Delta Magnus is a fine boy, and getting a robot that looks enough like a grown-up version of micromaster Overload is a lovely bonus. Onto the Bigromaster shelf he goes!

I guess people are a bit cold on the Kingdom Magnus mould? I get it. CW Magnus is still the best one out there, and by comparison this one is a poor reflection, especially in alt mode. But it's amazing how little that matters when it's a different character that doesn't have to look much like anything in particular. And the tubby dad bod robot mode is also far, far better when distanced further from Optimus Prime and his need to be all hench-like. And hoo boy, such wondrously rich colours.

So yes - good Overload, good Delta Magnus, crap Ultra Magnus. That's more or less fine though, isn't it? Yes?

[sternerstufftoys]

Top of the Bots 2022

#10: Energon Snow Cat

Ah, but what better to see out the festive season than one of the only bots of the last 40 years actually built for cold weather? Snow Cat came to me during TFN's glorious return, and what a nice chunky lad he is. Like all the best Energon figures these days, he occupies a unique niche that hasn't been superseded. And sure, there's some little niggles to be found with him, notably that his alt mode doesn't actually have any way to tab together, meaning that creative arrangements of panels needs to be done to give him the solidity he needs for being enthusiastically brum-brummed around the carpet.

But oh me oh my, what a lovely thing he is once the niggles are dealt with. The angles! The windscreen wiper! The big tubby belly! That headsculpt! Oh, absolute joy, now and forever and ever. Unless he breaks or something, then he's going into the bin.

#9: Legacy Iguanus

In case you were wondering if the mischievous side in Hasbro's designers had been buried under years and years of Prime Wars and WFC redoing the same old 1984 lot over and over... Lizardbike!

LIZARDBIKE!

The absolute state of this thing. A lizard head on a robot body, decked out in vibrant purple and gold like he's just been crowned Byzantine Emperor or something, running around like the utter dork that he is. You put Iguanus next to any other Decepticons and it's clear he's never going to fit in with the likes of them as a hard-nosed space warrior robotman. He looks like his job is to hoover up around the Nemesis while Soundwave and the other lads are out. I kind of want to get him a tiny feather duster and a maid's pinny so he can really lean into his role.

Yeah, this isn't how I wanted the return of Pretenders to go, but that doesn't mean my curmudgeonly heart can ignore the sheer joy and silliness in this one. Charm oozes out of every joint, like brandy butter.

[sternerstufftoys]

Shortpacked!: Victory!