I thought cliffjumper just painted over the transparent plastic?
back when people were wondering about the possibility of regular no-diecast releases of the Titanium designs.
SS-CORE TF5 The Last Knight Mohawk
Been a bit behind on knocking these BTS posts out for you all, so trying my best to put a post out each month. For the first time ever in his character debut, we finally have a Mohawk figure! Despite how little screen time this character had in the film along with many of the other newly introduced Decepticons, Mohawk made a lasting impression. I personally didn’t love the “2016 Suicide Squad” approach to introducing these characters, but I was a huge fan of this design for the film. Mohawks robot mode reminds me of a Guillermo del Toro tooth fairy and having him transform into a motorcycle gave me that much more appreciation for the design. Sadly Mohawk sees a quick end as disposable Deception fodder which likely resulted in him not receiving an initial figure release alongside of the film.
Having the core scale gave us a perfect format to release this figure in studio series. His skeletal robot mode led to some interesting challenges in developing a transformation. But despite not having much of the alt mode details present on the robot mode, we were able to design a pretty faithful robot that transforms into a successful alt mode that is inspired by the screen used bike. I partnered with Koki Yamada at TT who has done such an incredible job with these core class cycle bots in the past, and he did not disappoint with this one.
Feature wise, we chose to accessorize Mohawk with his concept art knife. Mohawk appears to be a blade-smith, and his robot mode is outfitted in a variety of cutlery, forks and spoons. I’m honestly surprised his alt mode wasn’t a silverware drawer. Mohawk’s presence on screen was indeed a “merc with a mouth”, so jaw articulation to show off his Decepticon insignia braces was critical for this character, along with equipping him with a removable head that was blast effect compatible for recreating his encounter with Bumblebee.
SS-CORE TF5 The Last Knight Mohawk
Been a bit behind on knocking these BTS posts out for you all, so trying my best to put a post out each month. For the first time ever in his character debut, we finally have a Mohawk figure! Despite how little screen time this character had in the film along with many of the other newly introduced Decepticons, Mohawk made a lasting impression. I personally didn’t love the “2016 Suicide Squad” approach to introducing these characters, but I was a huge fan of this design for the film. Mohawks robot mode reminds me of a Guillermo del Toro tooth fairy and having him transform into a motorcycle gave me that much more appreciation for the design. Sadly Mohawk sees a quick end as disposable Deception fodder which likely resulted in him not receiving an initial figure release alongside of the film.
Having the core scale gave us a perfect format to release this figure in studio series. His skeletal robot mode led to some interesting challenges in developing a transformation. But despite not having much of the alt mode details present on the robot mode, we were able to design a pretty faithful robot that transforms into a successful alt mode that is inspired by the screen used bike. I partnered with Koki Yamada at TT who has done such an incredible job with these core class cycle bots in the past, and he did not disappoint with this one.
Feature wise, we chose to accessorize Mohawk with his concept art knife. Mohawk appears to be a blade-smith, and his robot mode is outfitted in a variety of cutlery, forks and spoons. I’m honestly surprised his alt mode wasn’t a silverware drawer. Mohawk’s presence on screen was indeed a “merc with a mouth”, so jaw articulation to show off his Decepticon insignia braces was critical for this character, along with equipping him with a removable head that was blast effect compatible for recreating his encounter with Bumblebee.
I'm a fan of the more authentic and personal feel to both these, and some of the Hasbro reveal videos. I used to cringe whenever some random marketing staff in a random TF t-shirt would start talking in a fake, chipper voice about "synergy" or something along the lines of "Hello fellow kids".However else the brand grows and moves in the next several years, I hope we never lose this great behind the scenes talk with these people who clearly love what they do.
It'd be neat f it's a boombox that can also split/lay flat/whatever to have a side that's a faux front grille or bumper for Barricade's altmode.If they can take a design like Mohawk and make it work, I want Core Class Movie 1 Frenzy with boombox alt mode. He's the last Movie 1 Decepticon.
It'd be neat f it's a boombox that can also split/lay flat/whatever to have a side that's a faux front grille or bumper for Barricade's altmode.
Maybe just go all out and release a new Barricade that can house this Frenzy at the Voyager price point, basically the first Movie toy with with more articulation for both of them and no action gimmick. Good pportunity to drop the clear plastic too; I Ihink I only transformed the original Studio Series release once, as the breakage possibility was so concerning.
Throw in the Interrogator Barricade extendo arms, a disc launching blast effect, a glowy shrunken Allspark, along with the spikewheel accessory from the first release.
I think people are misremembering how small Frenzy was in that movie.
Core class ROTF Ravage with "spray of Reedman pellets" blast effect, and instead of a backdrop in the packaging it's combined form Reedman.Pfft. You call that thin? Call me when they make SS Reedman.
Yeah, it'll always be a concern if we're sticking to that. He's about the size of a person, but compacts down into a boom box. For all the effort put in to avoid mass shifting in that movie, he kind of skirts it.I think people are misremembering how small Frenzy was in that movie.
You should be able to pre-order it from Amazon Japan. The Yen is rather weak at the mo, so the total price, including shipping, might not be so bad?Question: has anyone found SS86 Ultra Magnus in the wild, such as Target or somesuch? I know that he is sold out online in most places. Mine is misassembled from the factory (one of the hinges is installed backwards) and it makes proper transformation impossible:
View attachment 18652
I have been working with Hasbro customer service - who have been great, btw - but they don't have any replacements. They are doing the usual though, of sending me *something* for my troubles, but I don't know what it will be, and I'm betting that it won't be something that I'll be over the moon about.
Question: has anyone found SS86 Ultra Magnus in the wild, such as Target or somesuch? I know that he is sold out online in most places. Mine is misassembled from the factory (one of the hinges is installed backwards) and it makes proper transformation impossible:
View attachment 18652
I have been working with Hasbro customer service - who have been great, btw - but they don't have any replacements. They are doing the usual though, of sending me *something* for my troubles, but I don't know what it will be, and I'm betting that it won't be something that I'll be over the moon about.