Dinobot
10th Anniversary Edition

February 8, 2011: Ninth in a series
Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: North America, 2006
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/Dinobot/dinobot.htm

The Rundown: The 10th Anniversary Beast Wars series from Hasbro seemed to come out of the blue for me. It was quite the surprise to find six popular characters from what was to that time the best Transformers cartoon going showing up on shelves everywhere. Each figure came with a DVD featuring a particular episode and one part of the never-before-produced Transmutate.

Transformers going the way of build-a-figure. Something else I never thought I’d see.

Overall it was a terrific effort to take advantage of a pre-existing toy mould to bring product to toy shelves, one that resonated with many fans. Even better, Hasbro actually went back and colour-corrected (for the most part) the characters so they more closely resembled the show. While nonetheless lacking some of the specific colours in robot mode, Dinobot looks terrific in his dinosaur form (albeit with the maximal logo stamped on his person in a way never visible in the cartoon). But what really makes the case here is the simple choice of episodes to accompany Dinobot: Code of Hero. Possibly the best of the series, it was a coda to one of the most interesting characters, and makes the case to own this character. Again.

Collectible of the Day for February 6, 2011
(Seventh in a series)

Megatron
Cybertron - Jungle Planet rendition

Toy Line: Transformers (Cybertron)
Region, Year: North America, 2006
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2006/Decepticon/Megatron/megatron.htm

The Rundown: Not a lot to say as I (belatedly) run down the first week of Collectible of the Week. This is the four version of a Beastformer Megatron, and it has its quirks. Really, the colours are terrible, and really do not do a lot to sell or endear you to this particular toy. Strangely enough given we are still in the first week and I seem to just be running this particular toy into the ground (leaving you wondering why I decided to spotlight him in the first place), you really should only grab him if you (a) like the style of the toy, (b) missed the 10th Anniversary edition, and (c) find it at a good price. The only real advantage from this version of Megatron is that you can pair him with the more interesting Cybertron Jungle Planet Optimus Prime, and a better facial colouring.

I guess I’m just a sucker for symetry and a pretty face…

Collectible of the Day for February 5, 2011
(Sixth in a series)

Optimus Primal
Cybertron - Jungle Planet rendition

Toy Line: Transformers (Cybertron)
Region, Year: North America, 2006
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2006/Autobot/OptimusPrime/optimusprime.htm

The Rundown: I guess I planned this week of alternating Beastie versions of Megatron and Optimus Primal well, because today’s edition is fairly quick to put together. It’s Optimus Primal as introduced as a regular deluxe figure for 2006’s Cybertron line. Word from the TFwiki is that Optimus Primal was put together with this astetic look so that he could fall into the Cybertron line in case he was not released as an anniversary piece. And though it is not the first time the monkey is brown (see Universe Optimus Primal for that joy), he’s still something very very different.

Really, all I can say is that I actually got this toy pick against a backdrop, and he’s the first loose toy introduced….

Collectible of the Day for February 4, 2011
(Fifth in a series)

Megatron
10th Anniversary

Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: North America, 2006
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2006/Predacon/Megatron/megatron.htm

The Rundown: This is the trouble with running the counterpart to the character profiled just a day previous. I’ve said pretty much everything I had to say in the first post and now I have to come up with something new. But in the case of Hasbro’s 10th Anniversary Megatron, I think I have a bit left in the tank. See, unlike Optimus Primal, this rendering of Megatron does not pull from different seasons. He’s full on Season One. And he looks so very strange next to Dinobot.

Really, that’s all I got. He’s slightly different and differently strange. But an oddity like him still deserves some facetime.

Collectible of the Day for February 3, 2011
(Fourth in a series)

Optimus Primal
10th Anniversary

Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: North America, 2007
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2006/Maximal/OptimusPrimal/optimusprimal.htm

The Rundown: When it comes right down to it, there are an awful lot of Optimus Primals to spotlight. TFwiki.net lists over 20 to choose from. And somehow it’s this one that ends up on day four of the new collectible series? How? Well, for some reason, I think this particular Hasbro release is fasinating. Because this anniversary Optimus Primal is riddled with contradiction. The leader who is the same scale as his troops. The anniversary toy that is based on a repaint released for the Cybertron line. The repaint of the first season look that, owing to his figure origins, comes with the most notable accessory (hoverboard) of his second season rendering. He’s just wrong. And yet how can you not love him! He comes with an Axalon! He comes with a comic book. And he was so much harder to find than the first six anniversary characters! Long live Optimus!

Collectible of the Day for February 2, 2011
(Third in a series)

Megatron
Tekemocha Edition

Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: Asia (Japan), 2007
Essential Weblink: http://www.tfu.info/2007/Destron/Megatron/megatron.htm
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars_Telemocha

The Rundown: Well, I pretty much covered in yesterday’s post (a) why I’m leading off with Telemocha Beast Wars (which sounds like Telemondo Beast Wars and all that implies, but anyway…), and (b) how he came into my possession. I suspect he may stay mint in package, because of the loose samples that came with the set from bigbadtoystore. Unless I sell them (the loose ones I mean) which is always a possibility. What is really driving me crazy is that I cannot find the Telemocha I really want: Tigatron. Any leads?

Collectible of the Day for February 1, 2011
(Second in a series)

Optimus Primal
Tekemocha Edition

Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: Asia (Japan), 2007
Essential Weblink: http://tfu.info/2007/Cybertron/Convoy/convoy.htm
http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Beast_Wars_Telemocha

The Rundown: Based on Julie’s description, I believe this is the Optimus Primal she saw that somehow started this whole crazy exercise. A repaint of the Japanese-only Robot Master edition of the figure, I got my figure as part of a eight figure offer from bigbadtoystore, that came with Optimus, seven other figures in the line, a store promotional banner and material, and two loose figures for display purposes (another Optimus Primal and a second Megatron). Pretty good deal at the time.

As you can see, Optimus remains in his package, which comes with a Japanese-region DVD. Neat! Another DVD I cannot watch…

Collectible of the Day for January 31, 2011
(First in a series)

Optimus Primal versus Megatron
10th Anniversary Edition

Toy Line: Transformers (Beast Wars)
Region, Year: North America (United States), 2006
Essential Weblink: http://tfu.info/2006/Maximal/TRUOptimusPrimal/optimusprimal.htm
http://tfu.info/2006/Predacon/TRUMegatron/megatron.htm

The Rundown: This is all Julie’s fault. She called me up two weeks ago from the Comic Book Shoppe (yes, one of our more dependable comic book stores is actually called the Comic Book Shoppe, which makes it somewhat difficult to throw out a generic description as a rendezvous point, but I digress). Seems the Shoppe had acquired another collection and she was concerned that I know about the Japanese Beast Wars Optimus Primal and Megatron in the store. I did and later regaled her on the number of variations of the two Beast leaders that appeared to celebrate 10 years.

But a picture is worth a thousand words, particularly when the pictures can be taken from one’s own collection. And here we are.

Rather than start with the two Transformers in question (the subjects of the next two days posts, actually), I wanted to kick this new Collectible of the Day exercise with a bang. And what better bang than the reissues of both Optimus Primal and Megatron.

I honestly cannot remember where I picked up this set of figures. Probably Botcon a few years ago. It was a release limited to Toys ‘r Us, and one I never found in Canada. Based on a Japanese release of the same time, it features the original Voyager scale (i.e. CDN$29.99 price point) Megatron and Optimus Primal, in more show-accurate colours and with new head sculpts that better resemble the visages of the Beast Wars cartoon. So a tighter head for Megatron, and no mouth guard for Optimus. Like the other 10th Anniversary releases by Hasbro, the set also comes with a single episode DVD for “Equal Measures”.

It’s one of those items that always leaves me waffling on the virtues of opening the set versus admiring it in its packaging. For now, I continue to waffle. And while it may lack some of the bells and whistles of the Japanese packaged edition, including the Japanese-region only Golden Disk DVD, the price point and the ability to see the figures without constantly raising the cover flap makes it a great choice.

Additional Pictures:

Back of package.