... so that said, the main reason I set up this thread right this minute is that goddamn, if I don't have a huge haul that's way too big for the actual haul thread.
Came home yesterday after spending a month at my mum's Christmas. Had a nice time, saw my friends and family, was an absolutely wonderful holiday.
I came home to this.
Needless to say, I was pretty freakin' happy!
And all of it's Transformers stuff!
WOO! TIME TO FINISH UP MY CHRISTMAS HAUL!
So, box numero uno. This technically wasn't part of my Christmas, it's actually a late Birthday present (my birthday being November 17th). Because I live in Scotland, and my friend live in Canada... and I was away for a month. WHOOPS! Friend was beginning to think it was lost in the post and so was I to some extent so it was a joy to see this at my door.
So let's open it up!
Oh? What's this suspiciously G1-y Megatron besides a blurb?
Well, she only went and got me
The entire freakin' G1 boxset
Sans the movie and Japan-exclusive series, but jesus christ! That's 98 20-minute episodes! With bonus features! And really nice covers! And she said she'd try to
top this next year
It also came with a note but it's kinda personal; bottom line though? She's way too good to me and I'm so lucky to be friends with her.
So, yeah, pretty much everything about this was unbridled joy. Nothing could spoil this day! Package number two!
It's not very big, so it should just be a small breather before the big thing I--
Oh no.
Ohhhh nooooo.
You dare show up in my house? You
dare? After all my rants, after all my saying you're even worse than All Hail Megatron, after all the hell you made me go through while waiting for Optimus Prime and Lost Light...
you show up at my goddamn house?
Joking aside, these are the Revolution cards from the Humble Bundle. And they're pretty good.
Some lovely art, some nice bios... not sure exactly if there's some sort of card game you're supposed to play with them, but I really like them. Just a shame I learned way more about the characters from these cards than Revolution itself; oy vey...
Now, the reason you're really here.
The
TOYS
EeeeEEEHEHEHEHE YESSSSSSSS I'VE WAITED SO LONG FOR THESE!!
Right, first things first, CLOBBER! Freaking awesome little toy! Not quite as good as hype had led me to believe, but he's still awesome! Cute little dragon, great headsculpt, and a fun stand-in for Soundwave's Action Master buddy Wingthing imo. Which I really wanted. Because according to Animated Almanac, Wingthing's entire character is screaming and I can kind of relate.
Oh yeah, and he forms this adorable little t-rex too! I admittedly had a bit of trouble getting him in there and it was a little frustrating, but I'll happily go through it a thousand times for this cute little result. Look at him! Look at his little face and his tiny arms and his legs he probably just waddles around in! I love this toy and I need more Titan Masters now. I NEED them!
Oh yeah, Clobber has a head too, doesn't he? Well, there was a certain Titans Return deluxe who I loved in every single way aside from the head. Time to fix that up!
Hell. Yes. This aesthetic totally works for me. I mean, it's a monochrome head aside from the eyes so it'd probably work for anyone, but still - this is great! Since I don't really care for either character I'm very happy to leave them like this, it looks so good.
And... and call me crazy for what I'm about to say. Call hearsay on me for what I'm about to say. I probably deserve it.
... putting Grimlock's head on Wolfwire... to me, at least, somehow made him look more feminine. I'm not even going to try and begin to explain how that works. I don't know how I'm seeing it that way, I don't know why I feel this...
but I do, it looks feminine to me! ... and I like it! I have no clue what's going on, but... **** yeah. Female Grimlock that turns into a wolf? Wasn't quite expecting that when I picked up either figure, but I'm rolling with it.
So yes, Clobber. Phenomenal figure I'm in love with, great in every mode... somehow makes Wolfwire look feminine. I'm happy.
But let's get to the real star of the show!!!!
Screaming. Internally.
I'm pretty hyperactive tonight. I'm really sorry if it's getting annoying in any capacity, but this guy's kind of a big reason behind it! Ever since we saw that one leak months back, I've been excited for this guy beyond belief. And... yeah, I get it. He's just Blitzwing with a different head, weapons and maybe chest. Blitzwing is probably gonna fit the mold better. This is just Hasbro being cheap and re-using the mold and yadda yadda yadda... I don't care. Far as I'm concerned? This is the best damn CHUG Megatron we've ever gotten and I'll be damn impressed if they can top it, and I've been waiting for one with these qualities for absolute ages.
Classics Megatron? It's a pretty cool and unique design and unlike others I kind of like the idea of him being a Nerf gun, but it's not quite up my alley. CW Megatron? Awesome, but he's too big outside of a dedicated Leader-class display or as a Masterpiece stand-in imo. Megatrons from other series like Energon and Prime? ... nah, not quite for me.
But this guy! This guy. This. Guy. He's bulky. He has a flight mode and firepower mode. He's got perfect proportions, a perfect balance of original design elements and new elements, a Fusion Cannon that's not too small and not hilariously oversized. The headsculpt is beautiful, the articulation great, just... I haven't even got past the first picture yet! That's how much I love him! He's just about everything I want out of a Megatron toy, just... aaaa he's so great! Stock photos and renders make him look so terrible, but please don't dig into them - in-hand he's a completely different story, and even the legs that looked skinny beforehand actually feel and look bulky and in proportion with his body when you have him.
There's a few flaws, admittedly. He really wants a wrist swivel, I don't know why they made the second gun grey when it's clearly supposed to be a Fusion Cannon extention, and unfortunately on mine his right arm (that is, his right) has a loose pin on his shoulder so every time he brings his arm up normally it flops back down. Which is a shame considering it's his Fusion Cannon arm, but there's alternate methods and it's just one annoying point against an otherwise incredible figure. And despite all the reports of QC issues and things not tabbing in right, that's the only QC issue mine has!
So, first of his few modes! Tank!
When I first saw it from the con pictures, this was probably my biggest problem with the figure. It... looks really weird, to say the least. It doesn't look that much like a real tank, it's trying just a bit too hard to work with the pieces, and things are jutting out everywhere. Not enough to ruin the figure for me - I was mostly getting it for that excellent robot - but it was still a little annoying.
In-hand? Yeah, it looks nothing like a real tank... but now I actually have it, I kind of adore it. It feels less like a mismashed effort and more like a bizarre alien vehicle used in big-budget sci-fi war movies; some weird super space tank with enough weird elements to make me love it. The jet mode thrusters being on the front actually help this quite a bit!
Unfortunately the barrel's not able to move up and down exactly. For me a tank mode has to do two things right; the turret has to swivel, and the barrel has to move up and down. Don't even need the treads to move, as long as those two are done I'm set. So while it does the former correctly, it unfortunately doesn't do the latter well. Still, given the engineering on this toy it's easily forgiveable, and I can kinda fudge it with this. Actually kind of works with that whole bizarre alien vehicle excuse I put up there.
Oh yeah, and it can do this. For when your dumb alien super space tank GOTTA GO FAST
And this, friends, is where I fell in love.
Now I like the tank. It's a cute thing. And with the whole alien vehicle excuse it kinda works, especially since I love cybertronian vehicles.
But this?
This?
This is pure, utter beauty in jet mode form. It's sexy. It's sleek. It's one of the best damn jet modes I've seen, I think I actually might like it more than the leader seekers! I'm not usually on the whole redeco-this-into-everything thing, but damn, if this doesn't get used after Blitzwing it'll be a crying shame because it's so beautiful. Give it to the seekers! Jetfire! Silverbolt! Goddammit, give it to Needlenose for all I care; this potential can't go squandered!
... so yeah, I like his jet mode. It's pretty freakin' sweet.
Despite the kibble underneath. It's not quite aerialbot levels, and everything considered it does hide the bulk underneath pretty well. That's another thing I haven't mentioned yet; the engineering. This is my first experience with a TR Voyager and I'm really impressed how they managed to do a triple changer like this without sacrificing the aesthetic for at least two modes (the tank does suffer, but again, I like it). It's one of those figures where I just step back, look at it and think "how the hell did they do this", try and think of how I'd do it and come up with not knowing where the heck I'd start on making something like this, and I just end up blown away by the geniuses at their design departments. When I got Megs out the box I actually had no clue where to start and I had to get his instructions, he's that complex! I've never had to do that! And yet, once I've done his transformations for the first time, I'm able to do them by myself without taking even a second glance at that grey piece of paper that really needs to be a bit more clearer seriously someone's gonna hurt their eyes looking at too many of those. So yeah, the transformations are really fun and really clever. It helps make him feel so much better than the CW Voyagers (which I adored!)
... so all that considered, I can forgive a little bulk under the jet mode. Especially when it makes such good use of it for the fusion cannon mount, which kind of makes me think of Animated Megatron's jet mode. It's really cool that Megs gets a good way to use his signature weapon in all three modes.
Also there's a tiny little Blitzwing in there. Love it. Honestly a little touch about Transformers figures I always like is when cockpit space is available; when it's evident that someone could actually ride in these vehicles rather than a whole bunch of robot mode stuff being shoved into where the car seats should be. Makes it more believable and helps the illusion. That's part of why I like TR's gimmick as a whole, because it means by definition every vehicle mode needs somewhere to sit the Titan Master inside. So this IN ADDITION to the ridiculously good engineering already found throughout Megatron? I love it.
So yeah! That's the end of my Christmas haul unless I end up picking up a Hot Rod with my christmas money (which I do plan to, IDW Rodimus is kind of my favourite character). This has been a wonderful Christmas for me and I hope it has been for you guys too; have a good new year and stuff! ... she says two weeks after the new year has started!
never thought of it that way. 
