Transformers Beast Wars Issue 15 Review

Hi, this is Dan Gilbazan and you're listening

to the GeekCast Radio Network. Hello and welcome

to all things transformers I'm your host Steve

Megatron and joining me on this adventure into

the transformers fandom is TFG1 Mike Hello. Hello

How are you? Good good. And so we have a couple

of episodes coming one of which is This one with

some of the news roundup and of course the review

of the the Beast Wars number 15 and a little

Quasi review of toy robot magazine which will

lead into something about the next episode Yep,

so and then after that because you don't know

this yet, but after the toy robot episode that

we're gonna do I will finally round out the Transmissions

Crew HTCF Origins episodes with producer Mike

over there. He also does their Transformers RPG

game Empire of Rust. So that will be after the

interview episode. So we've got at least the

next three weeks, folks, you're going to have

all things Transformers week after week after

week. Well, it is all things Transformers, so

sure So yes, let's get this show on the road

According to teletran one motor master should

be coming down this road right about now First

up is the Transformers June live stream recap

velocitron red shattered glass and more All of

our news is coming from TFW. I've liked some

of the Transformers Red figures, but there is

one that I might actually buy that if I see it

in stores or online. That is the Transformers

Prime Megatron. Honestly, he looks as if you

took the actual transforming version and just

stripped the transformation. Looks exactly the

same. Yep, which I gotta give them this this

one looks No different than the other figures

that have come out in the past only it doesn't

transform Whereas the other red figures I've

not been a fan of for one reason or another and

it's usually because like the head decos are

terrible like Cheetor is really bad or the plastic

just looks super super cheap and I just can't

get behind it. However, in this particular instance

and like Optimus Primal and funny enough, Thundercracker

here. Yeah, Thundercracker looks good too. Yeah,

they look pretty good. Starscream for whatever

reason just didn't look very good. I almost pulled

the trigger on it and I was like, I don't know.

It wasn't doing it for me. Rather than own a

Starscream, which funny enough, I have the core

version of Starscream from Kingdom. that my kid

gave me for Christmas. A lot of these figures

look super cool. 80 % of them are repaints. Other

than the red figures, the other ones have either

a head replacement like blur. With blur, I love.

I love blur because - Right, because they made

it the IDW smirkhead. I love that, that is cool.

And look, we know, you started this podcast in

2008. We've been Transformers fans since we were

born, or since at least the franchise has been

online since 84. We know that the company is

going to reuse and re - and great, hey look,

if they can reuse something, like - If you have

the Studio Series 86 Blur body and you put the

comic head on it, fine, great, amazing. That

way you don't have to tool a whole new figure

to have it be whatever. I've seen the Lego Optimus

Prime in various things. I think Rodimus Primal

did a couple of live streams trying to put that

thing together. what i like about what i've seen

of lego optimus prime is that once he is put

together you can transform him from robot to

truck and truck to robot without having to disassemble

and reassemble the entire i think that's cool

especially with it being lego because normally

if you want to build something else with lego

you have to disassemble it and then reassemble

it in the next thing you want it to be yeah and

it's it's It looks super cool. I just that's

one of those ones I can't afford, but it looks

awesome. I love the cosmos figure. I think that's

great. Yeah, that one's new. And I love how they're

doing. So we knew we've known for a while that

they were going to end up doing closed box. Now,

and we've talked about this before, how like

the bulkhead and a few of the others were open

box. Well, now they're having to do either fully

closed box or go back to doing the windows, the

window boxes, because some of the accessories

are falling out of the open boxes or as we've

talked about, people might, you know, go in and

be creeps and steal the stuff. But fully closed

box, you know, it is what it is. It's the way,

you know, hey, I don't know. It doesn't bother

me. I know it bothers some collectors. I just

I don't care. Like it's it's not that impactful.

Yeah. Was there anything else from the live stream

that you wanted to bring up that you had interest

in? I mean. I think that, you know, the idea

of the Velocitron or the the Cybertron character.

Mm hmm. Override, I think it is. Yep. Yeah, I

mean I like the design and then Scourge is just

a repaint of Basically what they did is they

took laser prime which that's normal. They've

done that with like RID Yeah, unfortunately,

they didn't give it the RID paint job of Scourge

they gave it the Nemesis right deco which people

don't particularly care for which means that

you're going to probably see a repro labels that

retcons all of that. Right. Since, you know,

they're pretty good at fixing a lot of things,

you just have to pay extra for it. Yeah, but

yeah, otherwise, I mean, I think that, you know,

majority of the things that are coming out are

interesting, but I was kind of hoping for some

other stuff to show up in this live stream, like

wave three. Yeah, well that's common. I mean

we've got a story about leader class for next

year stuff here soon Well, that's that's wave

four. Oh Well, there you go three has like inferno

Okay, you know gotcha and wave four has Transmetal

to you know Megatron. Yeah, so I'm well invested

in what those are going to look like Yeah, Wave

4 is Transmetal 2 Dragon. Yes. Yeah. That's the

only one for Transmetal 2. What's funny is, and

that's supposed to come out in 2022, but there's

also one coming out like a package refresh coming

out in 2023 with a slightly different deco. Interesting.

Rumor has it, because they're calling it Metallic

Megatron. Mm -hmm. So what I'm wondering is is

if one of them is going to be more organic and

one of them is going to have the transmetal color

Mmm, and unfortunately, we don't know which one

is which at this point in time Yeah, I mean cuz

if it's like a slight thing like Galvatron where

you know Kingdom he's got the battle damage and

legacy. He doesn't Yeah, that's not a big enough

deal to I mean, that's why I've seen a lot of

Galvatron shelf warming Yeah which is crazy.

But the other aspect is, is I'm hoping that they

figured out the transmetal to or the transmetal

metallic look for, for legacy. Cause I know that

they're coming out with more transmetal type

stuff in the future. It's just a matter of what

and how. Yeah. So Megatron, are you ready to

be monopolized? No. You should be because we

are getting a Beast Wars Monopoly game. Oh My

god, I I have to read I just can't not read this

Attention Beast Wars collectors and board game

fans a listing an Australian website Pop culture

will have our first look at a new officially

licensed Monopoly Beast Wars Transformers This

new Monopoly comes in a nice Beast Wars retro

art box with a full Beast Wars themed board featuring

Maximal and Predacon tokens in both robot and

beast modes. This board game is already in stock

for $89 .99 which is about $62 .22 USD. We still

have no concrete information about the availability

of this board game for the US market, but you

read the full product description after the jump,

blah blah blah. It's Maximals vs Predacons in

a battle for the Golden Disk, the Monopoly Transformers

Beast Wars Edition board game for the kids ages

8 and up. is a must for a Transformers fan. This

2 -6 player game features gameplay inspired by

the Transformers universe and iconic Transformers

artwork. Race to take control of key locations

and powerful spaceships, obtain stasis pods,

and wield the Golden Disk. Properties include

Biodome, The Ark, The Floating Mountain, and

instead of houses and hotels, this edition features

Energon Cubes and Energon Crystals. The player

with the most Energon wins the game. This is

cool like If I find this on any website that's

legitimate that I am buying this and I am sending

this to you because This is fucking I'm sorry.

I'm putting an explicit tag on this show. This

is fucking awesome. It just is What I like about

it is it's got the art from the old boxes. Yep,

as well as the CGI Yeah, it's amazing. Do you

remember the old game in the 90s? Yeah. Not the

video game, the old card game. Oh, yeah, yeah,

yeah. Yeah, I used to own that. Yeah. And it

had similar art. Yeah. And I've been playing

Monopoly since I was a kid in the 80s. I haven't

owned a copy since. Well, yeah. But I'm saying

like Monopoly, along with like Trouble and Sorry

and all those board games back then, those were

the things we played for board games. And Monopoly

used to only be just the regular Monopoly. And

ever since then... It has the golden disc. Yep.

Yep. And in robot modes. Yep. Ever since then,

they have done Monopoly for... There's a Monopoly

game for every fan. Oh yeah. There is an actual

other, there's a G1 Transformers Monopoly game

too, I believe. There's a Jeopardy, there's a

Wheel of Fortune, there's Monopoly for everything.

And I saw this and I'm just like, Steve's gonna

crack up. And I'm literally trying not to jump

out of my chair because even though I probably

won't buy this for myself, but like, holy crap,

this is awesome. I really do like it though.

Yes. Yes, very much so. Up next, we have the

in -hand images of what we were just talking

about with Transformers Prime, Optimus Prime,

and Megatron from the Red series. The Optimus?

I don't... He's kind of meh. Yeah. I'm not a

big fan. I'm not feeling it. No. Which is sad.

I don't know. Yeah. Although, I have to say his

Season 3 version was better. Yeah, yeah, I would

have preferred that but I get why they're doing

that one. The cool thing is I mean he does have

the matrix he does you know all that but It's

kind of like the the Megatron is just is so much

better. Yeah, it's like I mean accessories too,

but it just the design is just better and I like

the You know, there's no extra kibble on it.

Whereas yeah, I never had the Whatever classy

was in the prime toy line, but I know in the

prime toy line the Megatron toy Look literally

looks just like this But it was you know your

normal class of figure and this just looks amazing

and awesome and oh my god like I Think the only

thing that would get me into the red series You

already know yeah, I know I know it would have

to be beach to ours. Uh -huh. Yeah, and he'd

have to be a particular Predacon Yes, I know

And I'm not he like okay, so a Lot has happened

folks. I Don't know if anyone can tell a difference

in the audio But I am in a completely different

place right now Since the last episode, I took

my little wings and flew across the country from

Washington state to Indiana. So I now live in

Indiana, which I know it's a red state, but whatever.

And it's one of those things where I have gotten

certain things since our last episode. Just dropped

off to me this morning was an original 85 astrotrain

because I saw Esther train the other day and

I'm like, Ooh, I wonder how much he's going for

on eBay. And it wasn't bad. It was under 20 bucks.

But I also have, before we go on to the next

news article, I did say I was going to end up

getting those Jada Toys nano figs, the nano metal

figs, the die cast ones. I haven't, you can hear

the but I haven't opened it yet. I don't know

if I'm going to open it. It looks so good with

them in the package and I don't know how difficult

this is to get them in and out of the package,

but once I get fully settled in the new apartment,

I really want to open these and put them on a

shelf somewhere. Up next we have IDW's Transformers

comic solicitations for September 2022. These

are books coming out in September of this year.

Transformers best of RC this is various writers

all of these are best of books so best of RC

best of bumblebee best of Starscream and then

we have the Transformers IDW collection phase

3 volume 3 which I don't know what it collects

it lost light issues 8 to 12 and Optimus Prime

issues 7 to 10 And a few other things, and then

we have Transformers Last Bot Standing, the trade

paperback for the Last Bot Standing series will

be out in September. And then Shattered Glass

is actually getting a two, so there was the first

Shattered Glass series written by... Oh, Danny

something, I know they... What is their... I

don't remember what... What their name is, but,

uh, so basically transformer shattered glass

too. So issue number two is coming out in September

from IDW. So I don't know when they're going

to lose the license. As we've said, cause there

hasn't really been to be the end of the year.

Probably it'll be like the beginning of January.

It'll say they'll come out with something or

maybe at Christmas time, they'll say, this is

it. This is the last hurrah kind of thing. Have

you ever played transformers forge to fight?

I've tried. I don't like it. I Have never played

it and I watched a bolt matrix on YouTube He

does his daily giant robot news and he did a

he did he mentioned this that Rodimus prime from

generation one has joined Transformers forge

to fight but in his video he specifically says

you have to pay if you want to win Pretty much,

because you have to upgrade to the characters.

And it's with any game now. No game is immune

to it. They're all going this direction, which

is rather unfortunate. I mean, yes, they're all

free. Yeah, great. Hurrah. But if you want any

upgrades you want anything decent like you you

literally have to like the nickel dime you on

every game now like you. You don't really have

a choice like it's it's you have to do this or

you're not going to win or you're not going to

progress or they give you limited crystals are

limited you know recharges before you have to.

Basically just sit and wait like it's hurry up

and wait. Once you get to a certain point, which

is again, it's annoying and I'm I'm not a big

proponent of of having to do that Yeah, but I

mean what choice do you have? Yeah There are

a couple of games that I play on my phone like

I play minion rush, which is one of those A self

run and gun kinda games where it runs for you

and you jump and you move and whatever. And it's

okay. It's a nice little time waster kinda thing

but... Why can't we have an actual Transformers

video game now? I wish that news article was,

Rodimus Prime is the first to join us in a new

and I know in the live stream thing they mentioned

something about... teaming up with Dave and Buster's

for Transformers VR. Yeah, who cares? I don't,

that's not, I mean, yeah, it's great if you're

into that thing, but like I don't, I would like

to see them like revisit older franchises. Yeah.

Like older, like let's put, for instance, like

just putting my, my like for the original, you

know, Beast Wars aside, like the game was terrible.

It was the graphics were terrible. The vocals

were terrible. It just it was not a good game

whatsoever I want but I would like to see them

go the direction of having Like I mean the Armada

game was actually pretty good despite what people

thought and I I would like to see them kind of

go back to that pool Yeah, what I want is and

I'm just checking now to see their website looks

really really bare I Don't know if they went

out of business or not, but I want High Moon

Studios and I want a license. They're still still

around Right. I understand that but that's what

I'm saying. Like I want them to get the license

back and make a new game Based off whatever you

want to have it based off of because those two

games were great Even though I never played them.

I think I played maybe war for Cybertron for

a little while, but I never I played actually

I have them on my PC Yes, they are Up next is

Transformers legacy leader class listings for

2023 and this is where the dragon is unleashed

Yes. We assume. No, because they do say that

he's a, it says Leader Metal Meg's package refresh,

which means Laser Prime will be back out Blitzwing

and Metal Megatron, which means they may come

with different decos. They don't really say yet.

It's a package refresh. So basically they're

going to give them a new, a new box because that's

what they did with with Galvatron and Hot Rod

and some of those other ones. Yeah. Now, let

me ask you. You have the show accurate pterosaur

from Kingdom, correct? Yep. Is that the one that's

your pterosaur, you don't need any other pterosaur?

Yes. What's interesting about this is I I have

this this thing I have to have one of the version

not like every copy because like I mean they

come up with a million of everybody Yeah, different

decos like the the new terrorist or I think they've

got three different decos out or coming out They're

having the original toy deco and then they're

having like the laser beak deco Coming so I I

don't particularly like a lot of their decos

in general, because they're missing paint detail.

But the one that came out with the golden disc

is the one that I have and like, and I just,

you know, I repainted what needed to be repainted.

But overall, it's a solid figure. They use the

tooling of a razor and it works. Yeah, and it's

it's like I said, it's a solid figure Yeah, the

reason why I ask is another story that we're

just kind of kind of gloss over is that there

is a in -hand image of the Transformers Beast

Wars 1995 reissue pterosaur. Yep. So this is

his original toy deco unpainted beat green spots

black and purple robot parts blah blah blah.

I Does anybody really want? Okay, so pterosaurs

specifically Would people rather have that first

kingdom figure or a figure that's just a re -release

from 1995? This is the thing that's odd. Some

people like to complete their collection. Some

people like to have these older figures. Some

people like to collect them in general. The only

the only old figures I have from like the original

Beast Wars run right is I Have the 10th anniversary

cheetor Which is essentially just a package refresh,

you know redeco They gave him more of the proper

blues instead of the the bright blue that was

on him on the original 96 release It's more of

a subdued grayish blue with a more it's it's

kind of like a hazy looking yellow for the tiger

or for the cheetah look which is why i went with

that one instead of the original and i have like

the reissue uh rat trap which i got for five

okay and and i have the original iguanas like

the original not I know they're coming out with

that again too. What I like about some of these

are is yes, they're very accessible for kids.

As far as like my son is concerned where he doesn't

want all of the extra transformation, like the

flip transform, my kids love it because it's

quick. For playability, it's awesome. So I get

it. Same point. If they've seen the source material,

it doesn't do it for them because it's not show

quality or not as good. I think for a completionist,

somebody that has to have a version of it, even

if it's not the original figure, I think that

that's more where it's geared for because they

cost the same and it's different amount of plastic.

I prefer the more show accurate content. Yeah.

Whereas some people just don't care. They just

are completionists or they have to have like

the original run, which, you know, I mean, if

you're collecting the original run and don't

care for the new releases, you know, that's great

too. And, you know, to each their own, I'm more

of the, it has to be show accurate, but there

are some figures where I kind of break that mold

and I literally have every version of Rat Trap

that's out right now that's been released by

Hasbro. Yep. I mean, that's like me. Like, yes,

do I want more Transformers Funko Pops? Absolutely.

Will I buy every trans? Probably not. Depends

on the character. But for me, it's like, I want

them for the character. I don't necessarily want

them for the - like, okay, yeah, I just mentioned

earlier that I grabbed a - Classic 85 original

astro train but his transformation is like. It's

like 10 steps or something just to get him into

robot mode not even you know playing shuttle

motor whatever but just from train to robot it's

like 10 steps it's easy he's sitting on my desk

right now right behind night wing like for me

with toy collecting now as an adult it's all

about. What's the best display of the character

and like you said show accuracy or? Specific

like this night wing that I have is red and black

night wing Which is basically from Kyle's run

on the new 52 for DC Comics is night wing The

same thing why I bought these these these Gina

Toys Nano metal fades is because I wanted characters

like It's a side, sideways, not sideways. What

the hell? Side Swipe and Sunstreaker, like, oh

my god, they look amazing in this thing. Cliffjumper,

Hot Rod, Bumblebee, even Optimus looks great.

I think the only thing, no, there's Megatron.

You know, it's just one of those things where

for me, it's not necessarily about the transformation

anymore. Like, I don't need that. I just want

to have a... character representation and like

you like you said it you know it's all about

show accuracy moving on to our second to last

story we have the 2023 transformers listings

discovered legacy year two and velocitron wave

two So there are no images with this, but these

are just the listings coming up in 2023. For

legacy year two, we have Voyager Leo Prime, Voyager

Tarn, Leader Prime Skyquake. So that's interesting,

they're making a Leader Transformers Prime Skyquake.

Leader Armada Megatron, that's gonna be interesting.

Core Sludge, so you're gonna have a tiny sludge.

Deluxe Needlenose, Hot Shot, and Junkion 1, a

Core Sound Blaster, and a Core Slug. So you get

a Core, Sludge, and Slug. I'm sorry, I know Slug

is his name, and I am absolutely for the reason

why Slug is his name now. I'm all in favor of

it, and that's great, but... Sludge and slug,

it's just, it's not illiterate, but it's just

too, too close for me. And then in the Velocitron

Wave 2, Deluxe Shadow Striker, Deluxe Crasher,

Voyager Hot Rod, and Leader 2. I think that they're

just not releasing who that's going to be. Right,

yeah. That's why I said Leader 2. I'm interested

in, as far as like Leo Prime, because it's Leo

Convoy. Yep. I like the idea of core Dinobots,

to be honest. What would be cool is if those

core Dinobots could transform into the Dino King.

Volcanicus. Regardless, I like the idea. I like

that they're delving into other... Series to

not just you want not just these tours are getting

you know not just g2 they're getting yes and

these tours to some are mad i think they're kind

of test in the water with some of it which is

kind of cool for those that are involved in that

is certainly will probably sell a lot better

than some of the reissue stuff which doesn't

have discounted until it does and i have a little

bit on that. in a moment. Well, why don't you

talk about that? Yeah. There's more vintage beast

war reissues. Iguanus is one of them. Terrorsaur

is one of them. We've discussed that. Then K9

Wolfang, one of the two, is coming back out.

I like the idea of Wolfang, but that's because

I want to customize it, if I am so inclined.

I would have to get it cheap, though. But what's

funny is none of the stores are putting any of

these on sale. They're shell forming hard. I've

seen Optimus Primal at Walmart. He's shell forming

so hard that he's in the clearance aisle for

30 bucks and they have a stack of them and they

won't go any lower. I was like, yeah, if I could

get it for like 10 bucks, I'd complete my primal

collection, but you know, or like same thing

with Megatron. And last week they actually had

something crazy on walmart .com. They had, you

could get the original reissue Beast Wars Megatron,

the Ultra for $12 .78. But you had to pay like,

you couldn't, this was the kicker. And I know

you saw my tirade on Twitter and some people

probably saw it on the ATTF feed. The app had

it for $12 .78, distributed by Walmart themselves,

which I get if it's coming from like TF Source

or Wizards of the Coast or one of those ToyWiz

something, one of those usually picks it up and

there's other alternatives on them or Target

or whatever. They, technically, as long as they

carry it, will match it. If it's in store. The

funny thing was, is like you have to order it

online, have it shipped to you, which costs like

six bucks, seven bucks, maybe eight, somewhere

in that neighborhood. So it ends up being about

20 bucks. And I happen to know that one of the

Walmarts had it in stock. And I happen to know

that it's still in stock. And it's been there

for months with a beat up broken box and they

don't discount it because the broken box they

just are like it's there and they've It's it's

40 bucks For the figure in the store. And so

I one day thought that hey, this would be interesting

to see if this works and I walked it up to You

know the scanner or whatever and the guys like

I did the call for help thing and he's like,

oh, you know, what's what's wrong? And I says

that shows on your app here that you know, you

guys supply this says fulfilled by Walmart. I

says it's 1278 I said I Can't order it site to

store which is weird enough stupid yet stupid

because I'm like, I don't want it shipped I've

like I have it in my hand It's 40 bucks. Yeah

stores 1278 on the app. It's like let me price

match And then we don't even have to do the shipping

thing like it's physically there and the guys

like yeah He's like, I don't know if we can do

that. It's not fulfilled. You know, it's not

by Walmart It could be a third party. I says

it says Walmart right on it. Yeah, and the so

I take it up, you know the the guys looking at

it and He says well It's not in stock in the

store. I says or he says I said well I showed

him on the app. It says not in stock in stores

And I had it in my hand. And he's like, well,

that's not right. And I said, this is what I

see every time I look at your app. I said, nothing

ever shows up. Or it'll say things are there

and they aren't. And they'll be like, well, they

may be in somebody's cart. And I'm like, no,

they're not. They're just your inventory system

blows. And I was like, well, it's here. It's

in my hand. I'm like, you could sell it to me

for the 12 bucks or. And he's like, well, I can't

do that because blah, blah, blah. And I said,

all right, take it off. And I was like, I walk.

Yep. Because I'm like, I don't need it. I have

kingdom and it's far superior. It's just I like

the idea of having one in beast mode. And if

I'm playing with my kids, I was like, I have

a Megatron I can beat the crap out of because

I know it can take it. Because sure, I know that

I did it as a kid. Um, but yeah, anyways, so

it was just kind of annoying that they don't,

they don't discount them. But if you go to like,

there's some like obscure stores in other parts

of the country where like people were finding

rat trap reissue, like stacks of them for like

two to $4. Wow. And, or, you know, as, you know,

upward of like five and then cheat orders were

like 10 bucks and it's like, Oh, their original

pricing and. You know, I think you can order

a rat trap on Walmart now for like 10. And then

Cheetor is like 17. And Megatron's been downgraded

to 32. And Primal is 28. But you have to get

them through the app. So I don't know, I'm just

it's just it boggles my mind. Like the lack of

logic. in doing those things, but yeah, I'm just

kind of like, eh, whatever. I guess it is what

it is. I don't need them that bad. But yeah.

Yeah, that's not... That's not good. It's like,

sell me your toy. Do you not want me to have

your toy? Okay, so if it's 40 in the store and

it's 12 on the app... At least, you know, go

as low as insert amount. So I went to, I did

this with Target one time. I went to Target.

I found a Funko Pop or whatever it was, and it

wasn't a normal pop. It was one of the larger

ones or something. And I was like, oh, well,

it says it's this price on the app. Well, I can

only go like... Like I can meet you in the middle

I can take $10 off and I was like, okay fine

like originally the thing was like 30 bucks Because

it was one of those it was either a multi pack

or it was a larger figure or something So it

wasn't just a single three and a half to four

inch pop that is usually like seven eight nine

ten ninety nine It was a you know larger what?

Oh, okay. So instead of thirty I pay twenty.

That's fine That's whatever for me, but you know,

it's just some of this like price match stuff

just sucks. Well, it's like, it's like, okay,

they'll match the exact same item for other stores,

but they won't match it for their own. And it's

not the first time I've had this issue. When

I was buying, I think way back when Windows 7

came out. Yeah, that gains it quite a bit. I

bought Windows 7. Walmart had it online for It

was like 30 bucks cheaper than in -store Maybe

40 and It was for the upgrade of Windows You

know from Windows XP to Windows 7 professional,

you know home edition or something and I said,

you know, I Knew I was upgrading I wanted it

and I didn't want to pay in a crazy price. I

wanted to get it today and Because I was doing

the upgrade that night they I went to buy it

online or price compare to their online and they're

like, oh, we don't match online. And I was in

the store looking at it, you know, and I said,

what do you mean you don't match your price online?

And they're like, oh, we don't do that. You have

to buy it online. And I said, okay, but I'm here

to pick it up now. And they're like, oh, you

have to do site to store. And you have to deal

with our site to store at department, which is,

you know, at the electronics. And I says, okay,

I'm standing in electronics. I'm like, can I

just buy it for the online price? They're like,

no, you have to place an order online. And so

I'm standing there in the electronics department.

And this is, you know, back in the day of like

crappy smartphone and 2009. Yeah. And I'm sitting

there and I'm going, so I go in there and I I'm

purchasing it on my phone so I can get the invoice,

which I have to then show the person in the store

to prepare my package, which is sitting behind

a cabinet. It took them 25 minutes to decide

to open the cabinet to grab the thing for me.

Yeah. So I had to wait 25 extra minutes. So I

waited there about an hour altogether to get

that copy of Windows for 30 to 40 bucks cheaper

than what I would have bought it in their store

because their policy was so stupid. So I mean

it's the same mentality that they have now with

their app. They don't they don't match anything.

They're like, oh we want to ship it to you It's

like maybe you know if it's in the store Just

sell it to me for the price that you're selling

it for and then they all got bought out and then

they went they skyrocketed over 60 bucks because

third parties were selling them and then As of

like yesterday Walmart started selling them again

fulfilled by them for 30 bucks I'm like, yeah,

you guys know you goofed and then you know, but

they did the same thing with the It was the War

for Cybertron Kingdom Megatron that comes with

the Matrix and comes with that purple dinosaur

thing. That kit normally is $50 to $80, depending

on where you get it. They were selling it on

Walmart .com for $16. I was looking at it. I

was looking at it. I like it. I don't care about

the dinosaur. I like the Matrix part. I like

the Megatron. I like that he's metallic and he's

very cool looking. But I have G2 and I don't

really care to have it. But it was very tempting

for $16 because it's a leader class figure with

another figure that is almost leader class and

then just the bonuses in general. So it sold

out the same time that the $12 Beast Megatron

reissued it and they came out with, I think some

other retailer was selling it for 150 bucks after

that. It was like, oh yeah, price gouge, buy

it for 16, sell it for 150. So going in line

with this and sadly, I've told this story recently

in the last, not the last few episodes, but I

know I've told the story this year at some point

on this podcast. In December of last year in

2021, we lost Derek J. Wyatt, who was the designer

for Transformers animated. Back when I think

season three hit on Cartoon Network, it was a

Saturday. It was like four or five in the morning

Eastern time. And he was on Twitter and he was

like, yeah, target is going to have. Leader shockwave

or Voyager shockwave, the purple wave, the one

that's being revealed because they did the whole

color swap to be the regular traditional shockwave

purple. And it's $5 at Target. At that time,

I was maybe a five minute walk away from a Target.

I was there at 7 .59am before they opened the

doors. I immediately go over. I don't say anything

to anybody. I grab a shockwave. I go to the you

scan or whatever the hell it was. I scanned.

Yep. Five bucks. Okay. Fine. This leader club,

this Voyager class figure was probably back then

going for supposed to be going for the somewhere

between 12 and $17 price point. So this whole

price thing is just, is just crazy, crazy stuff.

All right. The last thing we have to talk about

is the Transformers Tonka collaboration figure

Tonkinator revealed and Street Fighter reissues.

First of all, I don't like the fact that Transformers

is crossing over with Street Fighter. That's

just weird. I don't like it either, but I like.

Yeah, I mean, it's interesting. I like I do have

to say I like the molds. Yeah. For the figures

i do like the fact that that for one for tonka

that just makes sense i mean it's funny i think

it's funny that there are robots i was gonna

say that yeah because i was looking at these

pictures and i'm like okay i see that so i click

on the first picture like wait a minute. I know

that's whoever it is and i know wait why is there

a auto bot symbol and then i start standing on

my. oh my god they all like what is going on

like mix master has a giant red autobot symbol

on his yellow mixing thing and i'm like oh my

god and then they form tonkatron or whatever

but like tonkinator there you go oh i think it's

funny though like because they're the original

yeah it's like the original gift set yeah so

i'm i'm i'm done with that i think it's cool

Think it's cool. The other ones the the Street

Fighter stuff the crossover there I'm not a fan.

No the paint jobs, but I do like the the prime

and the Megatron bodies. Yeah The Megatron because

he I mean he's a triple changer same thing with

prime. I like the fact that he's laser prime

And he turns into the semi and the semi is completely

integrated into his body and he turns into a

jet and it's completely integrated into the body.

Like it's not, I don't feel like the trailer

is useless. Right. I, you know, and then the

Megatron, I like him because it's kind of an

original take on it, which is funny because I

don't like the original deco, which is the gray,

but I also, I liked the purple deco, which is

the G2. Time frame that he had like the tank

type look Not just the green but the the purple

one, too so What's funny is it? I mean they cost

about the same amount to get the original figures,

you know, if you're buying both, right? It cost

them same amount to get the originals. I like

the the laser prime quite a bit actually but

Again, it's not one of those things. I mean Judging

based on the leg joints I could tell that they're

leader class I Can tell because I have leader

class Skywarp right from combiner wars and they're

about the same height or same build as far as

like the leg joints the ratchets that are in

them and the shoulders and stuff like that so

I can I can kind of Tell but it's also a headmaster

like both of them, right? Yeah So, I don't know,

I like them if they had the capability to be

repainted. Yes. Yeah, that would be cool. So,

I just thought it was merit to bring it up because

I like the designs in general. I just don't like

the paint deco. Yeah, absolutely. Don't know

so we've had let's just just from my memory.

I'm not looking at anything. Let me just run

down the list that I know of Transformers Top

Gun Transformers Ghostbusters Transformers Back

to the Future Transformers Street Fighter Transformers

Tonka Transformers Jurassic Park X -Men Marvel

Yeah, I'm yeah, but like and that's great, but

Star Wars Star Wars in the past and things like

that and those are all great and everything else

but Transformers and Street Fighter I just can't

When I hear that I want to see Optimus Megatron

Hot Rod Astro like I want to see them fighting

in the game. I don't want to see action figures

based on what their potential looks might be

in the game itself. I don't know. I'm just weird

like that. Any other news that you've come across

or anything else you want to bring up before

we kind of switch gears? Yeah, before we do the

comic and then the magazine review. Yep. So there

is one final thing and I'll send it to you. Separately

you may not be able to see it. I can see it because

I don't know if you're in that. Okay, so somebody

I know on on Facebook is Having this commission.

It's a g2 Megatron 3d printing at Voyager scale

and He Let's put it this way it transforms like

the original thing Wow, that's cool with with

modern details and modern transformation schemes

and you know the hole in the back and you know

the everything folding up the way it does and

they show it transformed it doesn't have the

cannon yet on the shoulders but the guy's like

i'm a huge g2 megatron fan and he says i commissioned

this he says costing me a small fortune he says

but uh he said it's He says he's just a huge

G2 Megatron fan and it's, you know, it's kind

of one of those dream figures and it's proper

and everything. And I said, yeah, I get it. I

said, I have the generation selects because it's,

you know, like poor man masterpiece here. And,

well, it's not my favorite because it's clearly,

you know, war for Cybertron. It's not, you know,

I mean, I have the chest add on. For it. I don't

have the rest of it because I managed to Wrangle

that pretty decently without the rest of the

kit because they're like, oh, there's some paint

chippage and I Would you know me being an idiot

I'm like, oh that's uh, let's start sanding and

start scraping at it. And you know, it had a

pretty decent color was off and I spent I think

two hours mixing different paints together to

get Somewhat close to the original paint job

of the generation selects for that thing And

it's you know, I've repainted it. It looks it

looks pretty solid now it doesn't look like a

3d print anymore because of the color and the

paint but It's you know, I mean it it needed

to be there to be g2 But i'm still waiting on

like the guy that's commissioned this this g2

megatron. He is making his own shoulder cannon

That's not like giant bulky like the normal 3d

print that everybody's doing He's like, you know

that the one that everybody else is doing it

falls off it's so heavy like it's so top -heavy

it and it doesn't stay on and Between modes the

one he's making will stay on between modes and

I was like, well if you're you know, you know

how much and he's like No, I'll just send it

to you when I'm done. I says, oh great So I'm

waiting on that to have a more complete g2 Megatron.

And then funny enough, the same guy is like,

I like to model different characters. And I like,

you know, I like Beast Wars Megatron too. And

he's like, and I showed up because I showed him

a picture of my custom that I'm still working

on some of the paintwork. And he says, you know,

if you don't mind not having it transform, he

says, I could make a robot mode of that Megatron.

And I was like, I was like, Oh, I'm gay. Of course

you are. I'm like, I don't even care if it transforms.

Like I just, I, you know, cause yeah, I mean,

isn't that why we've always bought to like, look,

I got back into collecting late 2005 throughout

2006. And then I hit it heavy in Oh seven and

Oh eight. But you know, I, that's when I started

collecting again and like from 2005 to 2011.

If it was a transformer, you always buy two,

because if you want to - If you can afford -

Well, yes, obviously. Luckily, at that time,

I had a really good job. You know, but like,

again, for me, it's like, whatever, like with

you, Beast Wars Megatron, that's your thing.

Whether it's original, whether it's Transmetal

2, whether it's Transmetal 2 Dragon, whatever,

your thing is Beast Wars Megatron and apparently

a million rat traps. And all that and it's fine.

No, it's fine. I'm gonna say I'm no I have I

have primal masterpieces Transmetal and then

optimal masterpiece. Yeah, you know, I mean optimal

Beast Wars Megatron and then I don't understand

why I have the level of rat traps. I do I don't

But I think it's because out of the other characters

in the show That's the only one that like resonated

with me outside of it because I love his sarcasm

If I was to get a beast wars. And or beast machines

figure. Like just to have in robot mode, basically

not necessarily like one of these nano figs that

I have or one of the die cast things that I have

and whatever, but just like a stand, like a statue,

essentially like they have the DC click. It would

be trans metal to cheat or. So it would be black

and yellow kitty robot mode and or Beast machines

cheat or in some sort of action pose with his

blades But that's it like I am NOT going crazy

and my whole point of saying the whole thing

of Why we why as collectors we usually end up

buying two of the care of the same character

that we love is because we want to display both

either inbox and out -of -box or both out -of

-box in each mode so we don't have to transform

them to and fro. I don't know. It's just one

of those things. Yeah, I mean, I get it. I really

do. If funds were no issue, I would, but therefore

they're all in robot. Speaking of robot, we should

talk about toy robot because we're going to have

the people that Make this wonderful transformers

the magazine for fans of transforming toys we're

gonna have them on interview for the next episode

of the podcast. In the this is volume two issue

seven summer twenty twenty two it has a optimist

prime generation one toy fighting ravage they

are chatting with mark watts original transformers

artist. And this magazine is cool. Yeah, I I

really like it. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I. I was

reading it and I was going, OK, this is this

is laid out nice. This is very. well -written,

it's very elegant, it's got a lot of great pictures,

it's got a lot of different vantage points, a

lot of things that jump back and forth. They

even debate the movie in one of the issues about

Hot Rod and Prime. Oh, Lord. They play devil's

advocate really well, actually. They're like,

it's Cup's fault. That's not even cup wasn't

anywhere near. Oh, yes. He was he says do it

prime finish Yeah, but he wasn't and then and

then hot rod goes running up He's like stay back

boy. That's primes fight and it's like cup could

have just as easily shot Megatron From the side

and it's like okay It's like it threw that a

totally different curve ball that nobody would

have ever seen You know, it's like everybody

blames hot rod and it's like cup just stood there

It's like he watched the whole thing happen.

It's like, you could have helped. Instead, he

let him die. As I'm scrolling through this magazine,

I got to say there is a lot of awesome. I have

known this for years now, doing the pull bag

and covering all of the IDW run and everything

else. A lot of great transformers artists, whether

it's the toys, whether it's comics, whether it's

just illustrate. Like I literally am scrolling

through, I'm on page and page 24, 23, 24, somewhere

around there scrolling through this. And I'm

just like, Oh my God, this are, look at that

Devastator. Look at that Optimus Prime. Look

at the Starscream with shockwave. He's got. He's

got iron hands head on a pike. Oh Starscream

you sick bastard The trypticon art and then you

get into the punch counter punch article here

yeah, this is gonna be fun talking to these people

that make this magazine cuz You know what? I

I eventually want to do like a magazine episode

of geek cast radio of the overall flagship podcast

because when we were kids I had Nintendo Power,

I had this, I had that, I mean, say what you

will about sports and Sports Illustrated, but

it was cool getting the Sports Illustrated issues

as kids, because, you know, our parents all wanted

us to be sports people, and whatever, at least

most parents, whatever. Anyway, but the point

is, if we had Toy Robot in the 80s when we were,

oh man, this would be so cool. Man I'm gonna

have to read this one article that's in this

issue the savage ravage versus the second to

none steel jaw 12 rounds very cool So good Yeah,

and I'm waiting for the next one because I think

that they're having optimal optimus in it. Oh

nice So I'm I'm I'm a sucker for any time optimal

optimus shows up or Megatron. So, you know that

Pretty much any time Beast Wars shows up and

it's a main character. I'm gonna be all over

it Yeah, that's your that's your bag. That's

yep. That's me and I'm yeah, I was like if you

ever wanted any Any any extra guest writers for

no payout exactly like I will create you the

best trance Megatron Beast Wars fan fiction you'll

ever see I Did write one back in the you know

what I mean though. Yeah And the other thing

before we get to the comic that I wanted to bring

up is I also got a chance to, and maybe one of

these days we can have these people on because

that would be interesting. It got funded in less

than a day, but I was able to fund the Transformers

Cybertronic Spree Ravage Kickstarter. And it's

coming, when is it supposed to be here? Let's

see. Estimated delivery October of 2022. And

I got the Transforming Ravage USB, which includes

all the other tiers previous to that tier. So

it's got, this is their, this is the Cybertronic

Spree. This is their first full length 11 song

album LP. of original music so this isn't them

doing they they may do transformer stuff i don't

know but this isn't them like singing a transformer

song because hes bro or whomever said hey do

a transformer song for this or for that or this

isn't them doing covers this is them having their

own original album so that's going to be cool

and i would love to have them on the show at

one of them at one of these uh One of these points,

one of these days, one of these whatever. All

right, we are going to take a quick break and

come back to talk to you about IDW Publishing

Transformers Beast Wars issue 15. We'll be back

after this. Hello, all sentient beings. Want

the latest on everything going on in the Transformers

multiverse? Check out the Transmissions Podcast

Network. We've got weekly podcasts covering everything

from Alpha Trion to Omega Supreme, from Old School

G1 all the way up to Cyberverse and beyond. And

you don't want to miss Empire of Rust, the world's

first and only Transformers Live Play Role -Playing

Game Podcast. If you love Transformers, there's

something for everyone at transmissionspodcast

.com. Discover a world of vintage and modern

toys that's more than meets the eye with the

Triple Takeover Toycast. Hosted by toy writers

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Square One, this informal and chilled out series

of discussions cover everything from vintage

Transformers to Mask, Diaclone, Microman and

more, be it nostalgic or current. Whether you're

a seasoned collector or a casual robot enthusiast,

all are welcome. Triple Takeover Toycast. Alright,

we're back here on all things Transformers. Steve

Megatron, are you ready? Ready for what? Ready

to get your ass kicked by the Valk. No. I can't

get him to... some voice actors, man, you just

can't direct them. Anyway... We are here to talk

about IDW Publishing Transformers Beast Wars

issue 15 The main cover is Megatron with all

of the Valk around him Megatron and Primal with

all of the Valk around them As you know written

by Eric Burnham art by Winston Chan on this with

colors by Ellie Wright letters done by Nathan

Widwick and Jake Wood. So Jake, it's interesting.

Jake dropped his M, his middle initial. It used

to be Jake M. Wood. Assistant editor is Riley

Farmer, editor is Jasmine Joiner, supervising

editor David Marriott. We get the story so far,

catching us up from issue 14. We get the roll

call featuring Optimus Primal, Megatron. Saberback.

Saberback. What is that? Razor, not Razor Claw.

Polar Claw. There you go. Tigatron, Air Razor,

and Inferno, who are all the children of the

Vok. And then you have... Which I find that very

funny. Mm -hmm. And then you have Tanrar, Tikar,

and Pekak as the Vok people. And yeah, we start

this off with Optimus Primal wondering where

they are and he and Megatron are trapped in some

really powerful stasis electro fields. I love

on the Comixology app on on every smart device

out there like mobile phones and things like

that on the guided view it zooms in because Primal

is kneeling and Megatron says Well, if nothing

else I got to see that and Like the the panel

in the guided view is like super zoomed in on

his heels like he has Like like his his feet

are actual heels. I think that's that's hilarious

So Primal and Megatron are trying to figure out

where they are and how they can get out and they

come up against the children of the Vok Which

as you said is interesting to see which characters

are Children of the Valk that's one way to introduce

them a new and different way to introduce them

so there's that I I do like how Megatron is basically

talking to his dinosaur head in the cell I also

like the fact that we're And I like Josh Birchham's

art. No, this is Winston Chan you Yeah, I like

his art, but I'm saying I also like this. Yeah,

because I get Megatron in a different one Yeah,

Josh draws Megatron more Show accurate kind of

Like he's but yes, well Josh's is more the block.

Yeah look and when Which I have no issue with.

I think it's kind of cool. If there was a figure

of it, I would do that too. I know that people

have 3D printed it, but besides that, I'm liking

this look. It's just more realistic. Yeah. It's

kind of like going from... When I say this, it's

not an insult. Okay? It's kind of like going

from Batman Forever to - Well, it's apples to

oranges. Right, but I'm saying it's kind of like

going from Val Kilmer in Batman Forever to Christian

Bale in Batman Begins where, like you said, this

is more a realistic look of Megatron than an

actual cartoony look of what he would look like

when Josh is doing it. Will say the backgrounds

are pretty simplistic. Yeah, I was listening

to transmissions and Charles and Darrell and

dr. Pants and everybody and That's the thing

about this comic It's character -driven. It's

been character -driven since the first issue

We although I will say it's easier to cut the

background out Because the background is one

color. Yeah, and that's what is that's what I

like about it. I like that the backgrounds are

so simple and they are just either one or two

colors or just a solid color. We still haven't

figured out. They have not stated if this is

Earth or not. I don't think it's Earth because

I think if they really wanted to get the Beast

Wars fans in at some point, they would have had

Optimus and Dinobot figure out. Oh. Optimus,

Dinobot and Waspin, one moon now. They would

have done something. I cannot wait to see if

they state if it is Earth. I don't think they

actually ever do because I have read to the end

of the series and I don't think it's ever said.

But the basic one color, I'm looking at the panel

where Primal gets out of the force field here

and Megatron says, impossible. It's just a pinkish

-purplish color, and then Megatron is his purple,

and Optimus is his blue, at least for this part

of that first panel there on that page. This

is page 13 out of 32. And I don't mind that the...

This is a character -driven comic. I don't mind

that the backgrounds are simple. Like I said

already, I know I'm repeating myself. I like

that because it makes you focus more on what's

going on, whether it's action or whether it's

them having a discussion. So, yeah, I'm really

enjoying the, like I said, the art, but I'm also

enjoying the direction, you know, the, you know,

primal. conversing with Tigatron, who's more

calm of the group. Airazor and all of them are

like, we're more of the planet, not of you. Megatron

arguing with them and I think it's funny that

Inferno throws in Queens. in his conversation.

Well, he has to because he's a child of the Valk

at this point. He's not Megatron's flaky, which

Megatron basically just takes him up and like

demolishes him. Poor Inferno. He just can never

catch a break. And the Valk finally reveal their

true selves to Megatron and Primal Primal. And

yeah, they have to figure out how to defeat the

Valk. And the last panel is, Megatron says...

Very last panel, bottom of the page. Of which

page? Very last page. Of the comic? Megatron

says... I'm getting there. Cause I was skimming

other parts of it. Is it the part where he says

we're doomed? We're doomed. There is no chance

for us. You surprised me, Megatron. I figured

if anyone would be up for a fight against a powerful

enemy of pure spite, it would be you. Besides,

there's always a chance, and we're going to make

this one count. Next, it's almost the end. Yeah.

Despite Megatron's irritation and being scanned.

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And the Vok are learning

from Optimus and Megatron because, you know,

there's this whole page here where Megatron murders

a couple of bots and the Vok are like, don't

you want him to be killed because he just, you

know, and Optimus goes on and says, you know,

They were attacking us, so they got killed. We're

not going to straight up murder somebody. He's

going to have his day in court kind of thing.

I like that. I like that they're teaching the

Vox something. It's kind of like any of those

versions of It's a Wonderful Life. I know this

is so stupid to compare this to that, but the

one I can think of is the episode of Beverly

Hills 90210 when it's the man and the woman star

people angel thing, but they're shown as stars

in the sky and they're arguing back and forth,

back and forth. And then they see what Jason

Brandon and Brenda and all of them do to, to

come together to fix. An issue or something.

It's the same thing here where the vodka like,

why would you do that? Why would you? You know,

and it's because it's the right thing to do.

One of the things I absolutely love and we always

absolutely love the, the, the alternate covers,

but the cover art for this on the pull bag will

be Megatron close up on his face. This is done

by James Marsh. With him holding an Optimus Primal

plushie, basically crushing it in his fist. I

love that. I do like that one. So awesome. So

very awesome. Is there anything you didn't say

about issue 15? Is there anything else you want

to say about it? I mean, I really like the art.

and the hair on like Tigatron and in Airazor.

I like the fact that Primal figures out how to

get out by watching them. Yeah, that was cool.

Because he transforms into beast mode, touches

it and he's like, and then Megatron's like, impossible.

And then they both escape and, you know, the

the Valkyrie kind of. watching and waiting as

they put them through the paces and I think it's

funny how Megatron takes them all out but Primal's

doing it like smacking them. Yes. Like very calmly

and but Megatron when he's in beast mode and

he takes out Polar Claw. Yeah. And Polar Claw's

like oh this is less fair a fight off the ground

release me and fight more honorably and Megatron's

like no. And Inferno's like, you killed him.

That should be obvious. Yes. Ashenwood comes

next. And then he gets into the fight. I think

it's funny how Primal and Megatron have to work

together to take him out. And then he finds them

both kind of cloaked, Saberback and Inferno.

And and how he he basically wipes them out. He

doesn't show him kill inferno, though Yeah, no,

it doesn't show him kill inferno and I don't

which leads me to believe that the Valk will

release tiger trying an air razor for the Maximals

and inferno for the Predacons But again, I haven't

read the final issue. So I have no idea I have

read through the end and oh man, I Feel so We're

going to get to it faster than you think, folks,

here inside the pull bag and on all things Transformers.

Even though the next two episodes of all things

Transformers, we have the guy from... How many

people is it from Toy Robot? Two. We got the

people from Toy Robot next on all things Transformers,

and then I've got Mike from Transmissions for

an Origins. After that, we will get to the Beast

Wars annual and then issues 16 and 17 for the

finale. So it's going to be coming up this summer.

Well, we're already in the middle of summer.

It's after June 21st, but it'll be sooner than

you think. And God, I, I wish this was, I wish

IDW was not losing the license because I just

feel like they just started. Like they didn't

get Seventeen issues is not enough like we've

enjoyed if we had little nitpicks about this

series. Yeah sure, but overall we've enjoyed

The hell out of this because it's a completely

different Way to show us the Beast Wars characters

and they're doing different things with them

and it's interesting and it's fun and Damn, and

I'm gonna miss it. Yeah, what would you rate

issue 15 0 to 5? I'll probably get a five. I

really enjoyed the banter between the two leaders

and the fact that they took out the VAC and you

get to see a brand new plethora of maximal Predacon

variants. Yeah, absolutely. I am also going to

give it a five. There wasn't anything in here

that I didn't really super enjoy and like you

said, it's all about the character and and how

Primal and Megatron eventually decide to team

up at least for now kind of thing so it's so

much fun all right folks that's going to do it

for us here inside the pull bag and also on all

things transformers uh for the pull bag you've

just heard the comic review but over on all things

transformers Everyone heard our news catch up

coverage. Where can the people find you online,

sir? Well, they can find me on the Twitter's

at SCP 21. You can also follow at GeekCast Radio

for all the other network updates at the pull

bag for our updates here on this podcast. At

all. Thanks, TFV3 for that show. I am at TFG1

Mike. Make your great escape into comics and

join the Transformers universe today. I have

no script in front of me so that's what happens.

I was not prepared. I wish to speak to my lawyer.