Blokees

Fero McPigletron said:

Mixmaster doesn't turn into a leg with a smiley on his knee like Scrapper does tho, hehe

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Well not with THAT attitude!

I was pleasantly surprised to find these today.

All I know about those is having heard that some (?) have GPS in some form, so be careful. Especially around the hinges.

(Although I think that was an earlier set than this one -- apparently these are annual? -- so maybe they've sorted it out. Here's hoping, not least because this has Beachcomber in it.)

I was hoping it wouldn’t be an issue but I did snap a joint already. The joints in these kits are preassembled out of the bags. I put an arm together thinking it was going to pivot as it should but it wouldn’t budge. It snapped before it would move. Lesson learned, from then on I exercised the joints before assembling anymore. Thankfully that was the only problematic one. I sent an email to Blokees so we’ll see what happens.

Aside from that, they look slick. I don’t want to tempt fate so I probably won’t play with them too much, but they’re definitely a cool addition to my collection.

So turns out it is Rodimus Prime in Defender wave 4. So probably Hot Rod in Galaxy.

I kinda dig this dino mode Grim, and really appreciate that Rodimus now has the blaster pipes. Maybe if I get lucky and snag doubles of this I can upgrade the Hot Rod.

The Carl Fredricksen proportions on Rodimus (the big collar heightens the no-neck part of the SD aesthetic) are kinda funny.

From the front page: the Blokees socials have revealed pics of the full fourth wave of Defender Version figures. Next combiner seems to be Bruticus, as this leads with vehicle-mode Brawl (with a conspicuous peghole toward the front of the tank).

And THAT is why he's the Matrix's Chosen One, ya haters!

I need to get this new wave and the last one of the little kits.

Insane amount of cooking here.

Frontpaged!



This wave is the first time I've got this many I'm interested in, not least due to its apparent flood of Rodimus Primes. I may even try to track down the Super Special Secret Armored Game Of The Year And Knuckles version, which looks gorgeous.

I don't THINK I'll be retroactively completing the first few waves, not just yet. But I like this the most of the Blokees stuff. (Galaxy) Defender Version always had my preferred aesthetic (the chibi-ing smooths over a lot of wrinkles that keep me away from the main kit scale). The size is also preferable to me -- one, it's right in that miniature category that scratches the itch that Kre-O and Minimates did (two other lines I've been big on), although it trades in the unifying block-figure aesthetic for more distinctive shapes. Each have their own appeal, and if I had time and display/storage space I could see myself customizing a legion of these the way I did those two other lines.

Two, even in packaging and cases this smallest scale isn't nearly enough to crowd out mainline transforming toys from shelf space, the way bigger Blokees and Yolopark etc stuff have here. I don't mind ancillary merch like this being available or even widespread, but locally it's been a sad sight to encounter toy shelves full of these admittedly-cheaper alternatives and almost totally bereft of mainline TFs. Just one more reason to move away from the in-person hunt, at least at smaller branches/locations.

Really my one complaint (aside from the true-blind nature of the blindboxing, which turns me off of any line) is the altmodes cluttering the wave, the main appeal of which seems to be combiners I don't really want either. But I won't say no to a vehicle mode Rodimus Prime and dino mode Grimlock. Plus, it's far cheaper than anything else they offer; I remember even the Kre-O Microchangers costing a bit more locally. It's perfect as a little impulse buy thing.

I want those Rodimuses.

I wonder how they would look around Fortress Maximus...

Well, here's a Hot Rod with other Hot Rods on Star Optimus Prime:



---Dave

Rodimus Prime finally gets a vehicle mode that isn't designed around Hot Rod's vehicle mode, and it's this non-transforming chibi thing.

Someone had to do it though. Let this become the norm again.

I am a little miffed that it seems to echo one of the worst aspects of the POTP version's vehicle mode: the angled, cut-off pipes. A huge part of the original's appeal are those crazy curved pipes that extend the Hot Rod exhausts into this absurd curving shape that turns giant box into giant hot rod box. The POTP one stylized them into an obtuse angle and then slashed them so they are near, but not part of, the ones that clearly start from the sides of the car/cab. It's just unsightly as hell and is actually kind of making this one seem less cool. Especially because the bottom half doesn't get any paint, making it feel like a totally different section.

But I'm with you on wanting a non-Hot Rod take for a Rodimus Prime altmode, especially for the car/cab. I'd actually like to see a Rodimus Prime car/cab that keeps the G1 front -- shortened hood and cockpit, spoiler starting basically right after the cockpit -- but has for the back half a long, flat rectangular box that's the same height. Basically Siege Ironhide but flatter; this could fill in the bottom front of the trailer box. (Sure, let's say the spoiler is on an arm that can reposition it further back for trailerless mode). The transformation could then take cues from the Titanium (or, really, Siege Ironhide, lol) where that back half folds up into the boots. At the time, I kind of thought this was what Kingdom would do -- the G1 toy but more substantial than a gaunt dude planking -- and I was surprised that they went with "beefier, boxier Hot Rod altmode" and terrible interaction with the spoiler/trailer pipes.

I'm content to not get a Studio Series 86 Rodimus Prime for a while if that means they can go the Optimus/Megatron route (those new molds get a LOT of love and engineering savvy) and not the Galvatron (great new colors, but that's it) or even Springer (some retooling, but mostly the same toy) route but IDK if he really holds that kind of sway.

Just realizing after the excitement fades:

The problem with being interested in the rares is, well, they're rares. Burning justice Rodimus is 1/144. Matrix Rodimus is 5/144, as is Waiter Grimlock. They do tout "Secret Hidden in every case", but that requires getting, well, a box... And I don't mind either Grimlock, but (1) the odds are far greater that I may get a regular non-metallic Grimlock anyway and (2) I would mind it if it meant getting it instead of either Rodimus.

I'm particularly baffled by how even REGULAR Rodimus is 1/24. Does that mean you could buy a case of 12 and not get him at all? I don't know how odds work. Or math, I guess.

lastmaximal said:

I'm particularly baffled by how even REGULAR Rodimus is 1/24. Does that mean you could buy a case of 12 and not get him at all? I don't know how odds work. Or math, I guess.

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In each case of 12, you get one of each character (with the vehicles each counting as a character too), so each character has a 1/12 chance of being in any single box. However, each case will contain a chase version of one of the two applicable characters. I.e. each case will have a Rodimus, but there's a 50/50 chance as to whether it will be a normal Rodimus or a chase Rodimus. So while each case will have a Rodimus and there's a 1/12 chance in any single box you'll get a Rodimus, it works out to a 6/144 (or 1/24) chance of getting a normal Rodimus, a 5/144 chance of getting a metallic Rodimus, and a 1/144 chance of getting a divine-fury Rodimus.

But what happens if you add Kurt Angle to the mix see, this is why math gives you trouble...

Thanks for that. I think it's making sense now, as it's dawning on me that of course the specials don't replace anyone ELSE in the lineup other than their regular versions. Right? You'll always get the lineup of 12, it's just a question of which version of (say) figure 5 or 7 that is.

So regular Rodimus is 1/24 (only) because there are TWO other versions he could be swapped out for? That's not terrible. Every box could have chase Rodimus or chase Grimlock, and whichever isn't a chase will be regular. I'm not even allowing myself to assume the ease of finding the super duper chase, but if it is there, I can get a regular one as well without too much trouble. (It helps that this price point makes for a relatively affordable case of 12.)

I've also seen some preorders for singles and the two rarer versions from an online dopamine dropshipper storefront in the region that aren't ridiculous, so worst case, there's a way (while the price on a 1/144 is like ten individual Defender Versions, and that still gives me pause, that IS still just 10x a fairly low price).

Thanks!