Scans of Comics for Takara Legends Chromedome, Highbrow and Mindwipe

Fellow Seibertronians Cyberpath and Silly Springer have some goodies for us. Cyberpath has done a pictorial review of Mindwipe, pointing out some fun playability not discussed yet. We added images from our Seibertron gallery to show the difference between the Takara and Hasbro version. But first, we also have a video review of Legends Soundwave which compares both versions of the toy.

SillySpringer wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:LG34 Mindwipe -- some first impressions.

Face-sculpt is really nice. Spot-on and looks kind of evil. I appreciate Takara not "settling" for Hasbro's sculpt (which was already pretty close) and taking this extra step.

First off he passes the "can hold his gun with two hands" test.

Legs are clunky but are kind of like Megatron's from the side, which is rather nice.

Transformation felt simplistic the first time, but I appreciated it more when I had transformed him back to bat, without the instructions. I like how the large red bat wings become purple legs in robot mode. And he still has proportional wings as a robot.

Except for Skullcruncher maybe, the Titans Return figures have such innovative, MP-like, transformation steps.

The lack of ankle tilt on these guys though makes it difficult to balance them on one leg, like a running pose. Because they're molded in an angle.

I don't understand or particularly care for the use of rubber. Does anyone know how to twist rubber into the proper shape/angle?


A little disappointed that you can't give him a half-beast half-man mode like Skullcruncher & Weirdwolf; but on the other hand HasTak made this very easy --

Bat mode in the cartoon was cooler looking. But I still like it. And how Vorath can tab to his back like in Rebirth.

I don't like the wrong colour limbs on Vorath though, bought some paint to fix it, I might.

Mindwipe has less articulation than Skull & Wolf in beast-mode.

The pilot hatch reminds me of the transtectors of the Destron Headmaster Juniors from the "Masterforce" cartoon.

But hands down, the coolest feature in LG34 is the mind-control abilities.. I don't know how Takara did it, but it's really neat!

Am I the only one who MUCH preffers the Hasbro version of Soundwave. I love the shoulder detail and how the central tape section is emphasised.

Takara Mindwipe looks better in colour scheme thna Hasbro's but it makes those hinges in the wings much more noticable in bat mode. Those legs still look pretty bad and overall I've never been fond of G1 Mindwipe's design (blocky robot with halloween costume wings) but it looks a decent figure for those who like the G1 design.

william-james88 wrote:Am I the only one who MUCH preffers the Hasbro version of Soundwave. I love the shoulder detail and how the central tape section is emphasised.

I prefer Takara's tape door, yet Hasbro's shoulders have the painted detail... ultimate version would be a mix/match.

On the fence about the colour of his visor though... toy and comic accurate Hasbro or cartoon accurate Takara... oh well I guess when Hasbro MP Soundwave shows up I'll have my yellow visor fix there.


Edit: btw, if anyone wants toy accurate red eyes for PMOP/LG Ginrai, LG Soundwave's Titan Master's visor lines up perfectly

prjkt wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Am I the only one who MUCH preffers the Hasbro version of Soundwave. I love the shoulder detail and how the central tape section is emphasised.

I prefer Takara's tape door, yet Hasbro's shoulders have the painted detail... ultimate version would be a mix/match.

On the fence about the colour of his visor though... toy and comic accurate Hasbro or cartoon accurate Takara... oh well I guess when Hasbro MP Soundwave shows up I'll have my yellow visor fix there.


Edit: btw, if anyone wants toy accurate red eyes for PMOP/LG Ginrai, LG Soundwave's Titan Master's visor lines up perfectly

I've been using Clobber for red eyes on PMOP. The eye is small enough on him that you get that darkened helmet look that he sometimes had in the comics. Plus, Clobber is only $5.

william-james88 wrote:Am I the only one who MUCH preffers the Hasbro version of Soundwave. I love the shoulder detail and how the central tape section is emphasised.

Why not insert a poll on SW?

william-james88 wrote:

Seeing them together like this I like the Takara version ever more. The bat head in Hasbro's version doesn't correspond with its almost entirely purple body.

Railbomb wrote:

prjkt wrote:

william-james88 wrote:Am I the only one who MUCH preffers the Hasbro version of Soundwave. I love the shoulder detail and how the central tape section is emphasised.

I prefer Takara's tape door, yet Hasbro's shoulders have the painted detail... ultimate version would be a mix/match.

On the fence about the colour of his visor though... toy and comic accurate Hasbro or cartoon accurate Takara... oh well I guess when Hasbro MP Soundwave shows up I'll have my yellow visor fix there.


Edit: btw, if anyone wants toy accurate red eyes for PMOP/LG Ginrai, LG Soundwave's Titan Master's visor lines up perfectly

I've been using Clobber for red eyes on PMOP. The eye is small enough on him that you get that darkened helmet look that he sometimes had in the comics. Plus, Clobber is only $5.

Those eyes/face looks really sweet, like it with the comic shadows. I much prefer Takara Mindwipe, however I got Hasbro one because if price. If it is a character I really like then I go Takara. Mindwipe is very close but so far I have fought the temptation.

For Vorath holding onto Mindwipe's head, is that just his hands plugged into his head, or has something folded out for him to stand on as well?

Some thoughts about LG32 Chromedome...

Cool robot-mode. I like that he can pull off the heroic cartoon pose with the knees slightly arched back.



Face-sculpt is great.. faithful to the Japanese series. I'm a fan of "Rebirth" though; and Hasbro's sculpt feels closer to that. It's fine since both versions have faceplates (and even in the American series there were several characters with two head designs.)



I went with Takara partly because of the arguably nicer colours of the body.



Wish he had twin guns instead of the seat-gun, or in addition to it. Like the original toy and cartoon. The gun doesn't look much like either.

But the tank mode is pretty nifty.




Because of his chest he can hold his gun with two hands only like this, but it doesn't look too bad --




Transformation is fun and cool, my favourite part is the leg panels. Nice one.




The car mode is great, better than I expected actually. Love the golden rims!




But the coolest part is the driver's cabin. Yes, all the TR figures have this, but somehow it's the best in the car because it's a very basic Transformer/Autobot mode. And also the hatch is so luxurious.




His little drone buddy thing, Moguru, also has some swanky paint. That gold application on the drill is nice.



I like the canopy and those sculpted wheel details on the sides.




I like LG32 more than I had expected. And the chocolate / white chocolate colour scheme is rather neat.

Insurgent wrote:For Vorath holding onto Mindwipe's head, is that just his hands plugged into his head, or has something folded out for him to stand on as well?

Arms plugged to the back of the bat's head.

Cyberpath wrote:

Insurgent wrote:For Vorath holding onto Mindwipe's head, is that just his hands plugged into his head, or has something folded out for him to stand on as well?

Arms plugged to the back of the bat's head.

cheers

Great photos as always Cyberpath!! Makes me wish I just went for the Takara versions all along..

Thanks! Takara takes longer to release though..

Cyberpath wrote:Thanks! Takara takes longer to release though..

My ninja patience level is low. Ask Cobotron

Vorath (Wipe) combined with Skullcruncher's Batora. And Grax (Skull) with Mindwipe's Servant.



Wonder why they didn't make Skullcruncher's drone in his colour scheme, like how it is with all the other releases.



And.. Tankette & Moguru as combiner legs..

itscramtastic wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:Thanks! Takara takes longer to release though..

My ninja patience level is low. Ask Cobotron

Cyberpath wrote:Some thoughts about LG32 Chromedome...

Cool robot-mode. I like that he can pull off the heroic cartoon pose with the knees slightly arched back.

I really love the Takara Chromedome as well. But prefer the Rebirth face on the Hasbro, so I got both. I usually keep Takara one in robot mode and switch heads sometimes. Then keep Hasbro one in vehicle mode. Also a perk of having both is two guns like you mentioned, they are slightly diff colours though:





I do really like the gold rims and thought about switching them over but they look too good even in robot mode on the Takara one. Like you pointed out; the inside where the TM drives has nice looking silver paint.

Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

ScottyP wrote:Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

Aaaaaaaaaand iirc, of the TF Legends line, only Arcee got a second release. But then again, this is Convoy .Ginrai we are speaking of.

Video link to Soundwave comparison broken on main news sure page. Please fix.

primalxconvoy wrote:Video link to Soundwave comparison broken on main news sure page. Please fix.

Are you sure? I just checked it and it is working good

fenrir72 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

Aaaaaaaaaand iirc, of the TF Legends line, only Arcee got a second release. But then again, this is Convoy .Ginrai we are speaking of.

Ultra Magnus did. So did a handful of others. At least at HLJ.

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

primalxconvoy wrote:Video link to Soundwave comparison broken on main news sure page. Please fix.

Are you sure? I just checked it and it is working good

He's in japan, there may be some localized blocking for whatever reason.

Ironhidensh wrote:

fenrir72 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

Aaaaaaaaaand iirc, of the TF Legends line, only Arcee got a second release. But then again, this is Convoy .Ginrai we are speaking of.

Ultra Magnus did. So did a handful of others. At least at HLJ.

Those at HLJ were delayed batches. Not actual re-releases like MP-IH, TL Legends.There are instance when MP Exhaust got a re-release at Amiami but zilch at HLJ.

Cyberpath wrote:Vorath (Wipe) combined with Skullcruncher's Batora. And Grax (Skull) with Mindwipe's Servant.

Wonder why they didn't make Skullcruncher's drone in his colour scheme, like how it is with all the other releases.



And.. Tankette & Moguru as combiner legs..

You sure are having fun with those Partner Drones.

ScottyP wrote:Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

I knew about the matching guns but didn't realize they combined until I looked at the directions, which is funny because I was wondering about that. I'm really glad I waited for this and didn't bite on PM Prime, not that I would've because I have strong feelings about that figure. My gut tells me that in lieu of a Ginrai reissue, we'll get a two pack of Godbomber and Ginrai.

My Ginrai has finally arrived in the country and is in customs. It took its sweet time to get here. Should be in my hands very soon. Totally cannot wait.

Moonshot wrote:

Cool!

Sabrblade wrote:You sure are having fun with those Partner Drones.

Heh, yeah, their easy transformations make them perfect to mess with while watching TV.

Some thoughts about LG33 Highbrow --

Very happy with the face-sculpt. I know it was styled after the Japanese cartoon but somehow it invokes Highbrow's "Rebirth" personality for me; better than the Hasbro version which looks too macho. Takara didn't make his head completely black, which also suits me.

And the weird Headmaster-port gives the neck a little more range of movement.




Finally an Autobot Headmaster with twin guns!!




Articulation is fine, glad that he has Scourge's boots in the back of his legs because they make it easier to pose him, what with the backpack and not having ankle tilts.

The copter blades can really get in the way, I wish LG33 had three blades on each side, that converged in robot-mode, like the cartoon/original-toy. (They retooled Vortex's blades..)





Colour scheme looks great, it was partly what sold me on the Takara version -- the attention to details, like how they actually painted the square area on his chest around the white cube -- or the blue hands, etc.




Can hold his gun with two hands.




Transformation is pretty simple, the arms are mostly unchanged. My favourite part is the cube on his chest, and how his spine pulls down for the legs to fold around (reminds me of G1 Deadend.)




Copter mode looks pretty good!




His drone is not as interesting as Tankette & Moguru.




LG33, I like him.

In copter mode, you have the guns pegged in wrong.

Sigma Magnus wrote:In copter mode, you have the guns pegged in wrong.

Yeah, the wheels are supposed to be on the ground. I pegged them right a couple days ago and forgot about it.

Cyberpath wrote:

Sigma Magnus wrote:In copter mode, you have the guns pegged in wrong.

Yeah, the wheels are supposed to be on the ground. I pegged them right a couple days ago and forgot about it.

Just making sure you knew. Good pics, too, as always!

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

ScottyP wrote:Idk if I missed the Ginrai discussion or not, but it's pretty swell. The heel rockers are very finicky, kinda have to pose him and then get them down as far as you can. Hasn't fallen over on me but feels like it could with only minor interference. Outside of that the toy is a complete stunner. The Ginrai TM looks freaking great for such a tiny dude. Plus, I missed the whole "has matching guns thing" at some point so that was a nice surprise. They combine for some reason, might be pointed out in the instructions I didn't read.

I'd grab this one soon if you want it, or wait for the inevitable second run over the summer. I don't spring for many Takara leaders but this was a smart and worthwhile exception

I knew about the matching guns but didn't realize they combined until I looked at the directions, which is funny because I was wondering about that. I'm really glad I waited for this and didn't bite on PM Prime, not that I would've because I have strong feelings about that figure. My gut tells me that in lieu of a Ginrai reissue, we'll get a two pack of Godbomber and Ginrai.

+ there's this

https://www.kapowtoys.co.uk/perfect-eff ... e-kit.html

to give it more of a G1 look

Sigma Magnus wrote:

Cyberpath wrote:

Sigma Magnus wrote:In copter mode, you have the guns pegged in wrong.

Yeah, the wheels are supposed to be on the ground. I pegged them right a couple days ago and forgot about it.

Just making sure you knew. Good pics, too, as always!

Thanks! Glad you mentioned it because while shooting the copter mode I was kind of trying to remember how I did it and now I do! (it's the angular side peg.)

The drone is not as interesting?! It's a car! You don't see too many of those in the line.

With regards to Highbrow, does the Headmaster have loose joints like TR Xort does?

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:The drone is not as interesting?! It's a car! You don't see too many of those in the line.

With regards to Highbrow, does the Headmaster have loose joints like TR Xort does?

Not particularly. His thighs are easy to move but not floppy.

From Takara:

The official Takara Tomy Twitter account for Transformers has just shared a new image from their Legends line, featuring a new triple-changing Headmaster: LG-40 Astrotrain! Check out the robot mode, packaging, and tweaked deco (now with purplier purple) in the image below.

See, Takara Tomy can do dark purple when they want to, they just don't always want to.

Emerje

Emerje wrote:See, Takara Tomy can do dark purple when they want to, they just don't always want to.

Emerje

They only do it when its show accurate

He does look real good, makes me wish I could afford to go all in for Takara's stuff over Hasbro's.

Amiami restocked their Ginrais but are selling them at full MSRP, so its 90$ + import costs http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail ... agecnt%3D1

william-james88 wrote:Amiami restocked their Ginrais but are selling them at full MSRP, so its 90$ + import costs http://www.amiami.com/top/detail/detail ... agecnt%3D1

Wow, so glad I pre-ordered him for $51.52 several months ago at Anime-Export.

Yeah sold out everywhere else. I think the reveal of the apex armour guy relly upped the demand. Right now, the best way to get this guy is though japanese auction sites. At that point, everyone might as well be speaking japanese to me.

LG39 Brainstorm -- Takara's final Autobot Headmaster of the original group. Shipped one month after the last batch and arrived almost at the same time.

Brainstorm looks fantastic! The proportion of the body; the contrast of the colours--!




I've already had a Brainstorm that I liked (LG09) but ordered this one too just because of scale & compatibility; I wasn't enthusiastic about it but it turned out great!




The face sculpt is really well done -- detailed and crisp. But he doesn't look like the Brainstorm that I know as he's got a mouth. There's space between his jaw and "helmet" so I might try to somehow fashion a faceplate for him that would tab there.

Hey this kind of works, no?




Yet another Autobot Headmaster that's supposed to have twin-guns but doesn't. Instead he was packed with the generic gun that Chromedome came with. He can however wield LG09's guns! The colour is not exactly the same, but it works.





I was glad to find out that you can transform him without removing the nosecone, but you can remove it if you want a less prominent back.




The articulation is very good, he's even got waist rotation that's not related to transformation; so far only the Decepticons have had it.




He's got the exact same thighs as Chromedome and the shin-transformation is similar.

The transformation is cool and impressive, love the fin storage, the way the back-rest changes into his abs; the windshield, it's all pretty great for a deluxe.




And the jet mode is just as nice as the robot! Though I'm surprised there is no peg hole for a stand.




Brainstorm's drone buddy is a little more interesting than Chromedome's. And it's got this motorbike type mode.




Didn't think I'd have a Headmaster, much less all of them (and two Brainstorms!) but here we are..



Now I "need" only Cerebros, Apeface & Snapdragon.

Is that FAB 1 for Arcee.

That's just beautiful.

grimdragon2001 wrote:He does look real good, makes me wish I could afford to go all in for Takara's stuff over Hasbro's.

You could always start selling organs. No one needs two kidneys, am I right?

Fellow Seibertronian Cyberpath has a splendid pictorial review for us of the recently released Takara Transformers Legends LG39 Brainstorm. He compares it to the previous Takara Brainstorm release and we see here how giving the old one's guns to new Brainstorm works out. Enjoy!


LG39 Brainstorm -- Takara's final Autobot Headmaster of the original group. Shipped one month after the last batch and arrived almost at the same time.

Brainstorm looks fantastic! The proportion of the body; the contrast of the colours--!




I've already had a Brainstorm that I liked (LG09) but ordered this one too just because of scale & compatibility; I wasn't enthusiastic about it but it turned out great!




The face sculpt is really well done -- detailed and crisp. But he doesn't look like the Brainstorm that I know as he's got a mouth. There's space between his jaw and "helmet" so I might try to somehow fashion a faceplate for him that would tab there.

Hey this kind of works, no?




Yet another Autobot Headmaster that's supposed to have twin-guns but doesn't. Instead he was packed with the generic gun that Chromedome came with. He can however wield LG09's guns! The colour is not exactly the same, but it works.





I was glad to find out that you can transform him without removing the nosecone, but you can remove it if you want a less prominent back.




The articulation is very good, he's even got waist rotation that's not related to transformation; so far only the Decepticons have had it.




He's got the exact same thighs as Chromedome and the shin-transformation is similar.

The transformation is cool and impressive, love the fin storage, the way the back-rest changes into his abs; the windshield, it's all pretty great for a deluxe.




And the jet mode is just as nice as the robot! Though I'm surprised there is no peg hole for a stand.




Brainstorm's drone buddy is a little more interesting than Chromedome's. And it's got this motorbike type mode.




Didn't think I'd have a Headmaster, much less all of them (and two Brainstorms!) but here we are..

Cyberpath wrote:

Arcee that's great

Cyberpath wrote:LG39 Brainstorm -- Takara's final Autobot Headmaster of the original group. Shipped one month after the last batch and arrived almost at the same time.

Brainstorm looks fantastic! The proportion of the body; the contrast of the colours--!

Any chance you could provide an extreme closeup (Seibertron.com style) of his face? The first one I bought had a paint flaw on his nose, and the 2nd and 3rd ones that I bought also have paint flaws on the nose or face, but in different places. I'm kind of OCD about facial paint flaws more than anything because of all of the close-up shots I do of their heads and upper torso/body. I just want to know if all Brainstorms have paint flaws on their face paint or I've just got 3 that do. Admittedly, they are small paint flaws, but they are paint flaws nonetheless. I'm extremely picky about their face paint.