As Hasbro's Transformers team wrapped up its upcoming products panel at Botcon 2014, they teased the audience with a silhouette that looked an awful lot like the original Generation 1 character Superion: the massive combined form of the "Aerialbots" team. Just over a month later, the company kicked off their San Diego Comic Con 2014 showing with a bang by revealing the toy in full! The upcoming Transformers: Generations Superion was shown off at the SDCC 2014 Hasbro Breakfast Event alongside a corresponding Menasor, the famous "Stunticon" combiner. We were also hit with the news that the overarching theme of next year's toy releases would be "Combiner Wars," meaning there are more to come!
"Combiner Wars" is a solid idea for the Generations line, as the combination gimmick is always one of the most clamored for amongst the Transformers collecting community. The sheer number of third party attempts to fulfill that demand over the years — as well as how much cash fans were willing to shell out for them — should make that crystal clear. I can imagine the idea will still resonate with kids as well.
While restrictions such as staying within retail price points in a less than forgiving economy and meeting strict safety regulations might keep them from matching some of the higher hopes of adult collectors, I think Generations Superion and Menasor look promising thus far. There's a nice overall balance between paying homage to the original designs and adding a bit of modern sensibility. As such, I figured it'd be fun to assemble a quick comparison of the new toys with their original counterparts (both toy and character model alike.) Let's go!
Generations Silverbolt (the Aerialbot leader with a fear of heights) looks to have been approached similarly to his 2008 Universe counterpart. I recall that being an unpopular toy given its simplistic transformation. The engineering doesn't look much more complicated here, but I'm sure the ability to combine will do a lot to win over collectors that worry over such things.
I must say, Generations Air Raid is looking pretty spot on. The big ol' "boots" almost remind me of his War for Cybertron design.
Said boots are seen again here on Generations Skydive, whose appearance has been fairly streamlined. I miss the blocky head a bit — and the arm construction looks a little strange — but the colors are great. I also like how unique it manages to look despite sharing parts with Air Raid.
Generations Firefly (originally known as Fireflight) is based more on the original toy than the character model, and I really like the way it came out. This might be my favorite of the Aerialbots' individual robot modes.
OK, here's where it gets a little weird. The original team didn't have a helicopter — or a character with this name — but here's Generations Alpha Bravo all the same. His colors have been designed to homage Slingshot, the otherwise unaccounted member. It seems obvious that this is going to get a redeco as Vortex, the helicopter Decepticon from the "Combaticon" combiner team. The lower legs and their corresponding vehicle parts also give me some Blast Off vibes. Alpha Bravo is an unfortunate example of necessary corner cutting due to budgetary issues, but it's not a bad looking toy.
Finally, here's the full combined form of Generations Superion. I think he looks awesome! It's unfortunate that the super skinny thighs from the original toy have returned, but it's not a huge deal as long as they offer enough support. If I were to nitpick further I'd say the fists look a little dopey, but they're perfectly serviceable. I'm really liking what I see here.
Okay, it's time to jump over to the Decepticon side of things! First up is Generations Motormaster, the Stunticon leader. Our first look at this base mold was an Optimus Prime that garnered a fairly lukewarm reaction. It looks much, much better here. The only aspect of this guy that I'm not sure of is the facial expression. It looks like he's just eaten something sour.
One of the best surprises of the Stunticon assortment is that the "rollercar" comprising Menasor's chest has been replaced by Generations Blackjack! This is the same character from the Micromaster Sports Car Patrol Team, and he looks fantastic here. Hasbro went through a phase of homaging Micromaster characters (like Tread Bolt and Storm Cloud) left and right a few years back, and they were always halfhearted redecos of toys that were far too big. Seeing a character from that lineup get a proper update is rad. I hope there are more to come.
Next up is Generations Breakdown, another solid looking figure. There's nothing too fancy going on here and that's absolutely fine by me. Breakdown has always had a pretty simple design. While the expensive Transformers Collector's Club version from last year was a decent placeholder, it's great to have a fully combining version created primarily with this character in mind.
Generations Dead End takes some liberties with its color scheme, and I'm totally OK with that. I do miss the giant tire shoulders a bit, but the most important elements are all there.
Ah, here's Generations Dragstrip. This guy has always been one of my favorites from the Stunticon team. The slight color changes help give some much needed visual flair. I find myself missing the tires on the shoulders even more in this case, but it's pretty easy for me to shrug such things off these days.
Like with Alpha Bravo, the Stunticons have a character substitution. In place of Wildrider is Generations Offroad, a 4x4 truck that feels like quite a departure. While it's a bit harder to figure this guy out, the truck mode has a port in back that would probably help make it a decent update to the Combaticon Swindle.
Now, here's Generations Menasor! Unfortunately, I'm not sure this turned out quite as well as Superion. My issues lie with the overall proportions. The torso feels a bit too squished in, as if the chest goes right into the waist. If the arms can be shortened some it'll probably look more balanced. If I ignore that, he looks like a pretty bad dude. The width gives him a fairly stocky appearance that works well with the old idea that these combined forms are hulking brutes. That was especially true of Menasor, so I'd say this design is pretty successful overall.
With one foot heavily planted in nostalgia and the other poised to venture into new ideas, these toys look to have been made with my favorite approach towards G1 updates. That design sensibility is largely why I love the likes of Generations Scourge and Classics Optimus Prime so much. While I can't say I'm especially floored by any of the new Aerialbots or Stunticons, I think they've turned out fairly well considering all of the adversity inherent in the struggling retail action figure market. They also reflect numerous improvements over Fall of Cybertron Bruticus, the most recent officially released Transformers combiner. I greatly look forward to seeing where all of this "Combiner Wars" business goes from here!
Boom. If you want to see more of my ramblings, be sure to keep an eye on my Twitter and Facebook profiles!
They do look infinite miles better than FoC Bruticus, but there's still something making me say no. Especially Menasor. Maybe it's just bias. Or that I sold mine recently. :itsamystery:
ReplyDeleteA lot of my positivity is based around leniency given that I'm sure there were a lot of difficult logistics to work out given their restrictions. I do legitimately think Superion looks nice in the official photo outside of the skinny legs however. Menasor isn't quite my jam but I can talk myself into appreciating the bulky build at least. Perhaps the overall assortment will end up like that Powercore Combiner line, where the last few were starting to improve.
ReplyDeleteI think a fair amount of the individual dudes look pretty decent though. I honestly wouldn't mind just picking out a few favorites and leaving it at that.
I could never pick and choose with combiners. Pleas of the heart resound far louder than the pleas of my wallet.
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