Video Review for Rise of the Beasts Flex Changers Nightbird and 2 in 1 Optimus Blaster

This is going to tickle a few of you out there, remember that Blitzwing toy/charcter from the Bumblebee movie that looked more like Starscream than anything else? Well the voyager sized Nitro Series Energon Igniter Blitzwing toy we got from that line has actually been repainted in G1 Starscream colours and is being released as Starscream in the Rise of the Beasts toyline.
It was found in Mexico, along with Flex Changers Cheetor (one step Cheetor), which is also a new toy we never saw before. This Starscream does have a wavemate and it is a rerelease of the voyager sized Nitro Series Optimus Prime, which sports his Evasion Mode body. These Energon Igniter mold reuses are all part of a Autobots Unite subline which we are assuming is store exclusive, with good odds of that being Walmart.

Hasbro had stated that the voyager class velocitron Hot Rod was not picked up by Walmart which instead was prioritizing exclusives for the Rise of the Beasts film and this could be that exclusive line they are going all in on. Of course, that is yet to be confirmed.

The images of these new Mexican sightings were found here.

I'm digging some of these repaints!

Now that's what I call "going full circle!"

Regardless, I want it.

That Blitzwing and Dropkick were the best toys in the Bumblebee line. Although I was disappointed that the engine for Dropkick didn't spin the rotors even though it was designed to.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:That Blitzwing and Dropkick were the best toys in the Bumblebee line. Although I was disappointed that the engine for Dropkick didn't spin the rotors even though it was designed to.

Same. And yeah, that Blitzwing was good, even more complex than I'd imagine for a gimmicky toy aimed at younger kids.

I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Now that's what I call "going full circle!"

Regardless, I want it.

But for five hundred and fifty-seven dollars? That almost as much as HasLab Unicron!

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

Nothing has appeared in my area/country either. The release date for the line is April 10th, so that's when I'm expecting a full blown release.

I wonder if Starscream will have the face changing gimmick, and will they do a new alternate face? Anything I've gotten thus far have been from an Amazon order I made a couple of months ago, ebay, and Bros with local Targets.

The first images we got for the Transformers Rise of the Beasts voyager class Optimus Primal were unflattering. He seemed barely painted and all monochrome. While that may still be the same opinion you draw after seeing the photos below, they at least show us that there is some colour variation. We also get to see the beast mode which has that prominent arched back like a silver back gorilla. The photos come from Negronicus who posted them on TFW2005. We also have a very quick transformation video to share which was posted on youtube. Let us know what you think!































We also have comparison images to the other gorilla modes from tf fan Jeff who posted them on Facebook.

It's interesting how the smaller Primal figures are using the "Traditional" Primal head while this one is going for a more stylized look.

Hmmmm.... So far, I think that may be the best gorilla mode a Primal ever pulled of. Not only are the proportions perfect, but I find genius that the robot's thighs transform into parts of the gorilla's torso instead of becoming either the arms, or overly thick legs.

This makes me wonder even more what the LEADER SS Primal will be like.

D-Maximal_Primal wrote:I for one am happy that little legion sized camaro Bee is getting reissued, i regretted missing that one.

Starscream from Blitzwing is hilarious. I love that mold as Blitzwing, so I am content with not getting it again.

That Megatron render is frighteningly awful, wow. It's obviously not a great look, but i think he ranks with Soundwave, Shockwave, and Ravage as having really ugly "G1 but movie" designs. I am glad that he has not appeared looking like that.

that mainline voyager Primal looks a bit boring, but I want him, he looks fun.

As of this week, I have yet to see any RotB in stores. Nothing. Hoping to see stuff soon.

I agree with the megs render. I also have a theory why Megs was only a full on villain for one movie, the general audience.

In the G1 cartoon, it was fine to focus for megs to shake his fist and run away. Try that for several movies in a row and you're probably going to get a different response. A way around it was to throw in another villain who can get killed with the abandon of someone who you don't need for a sequel. Megs can then shake his fist and run away (as he did for two movies)

As for why he was killed off in the first film, I think it was to make it self-contained if the movie didn't do well. Afterall there wasn't any open plot threads to carry over, and the second one started rewriting what came before it proving there wasn't a plan for the series, just for what ever movie came to hand.

We see the same thing happen in Dark of the Moon where Megs met his second death in what was supposed to be Bays last film for the franchise, closing all plot threads...till Hasbro and Paramount took wheelbarrows full of cash to his house that is.

Really I'm glad that the movies have explored new villains (to different levels of effectiveness) as it shows that there is plenty of characters beside megatron they can draw from, and even more once you look into the other media.

Gotta say, I really love the looks of Primal now that we know there's more to the transformation than twisting its torso around and bending it. It's nice to see it has more in common with Kingdom Primal with the back arch rather than upright with stubby like a giant chimp.

Emerje

That Primal looks bootilicious.

I do like him, and seeing more transformation in play is fun too. I will get him and the SS leader.

I think the mold looks great, but yeah, those colors are really boring. There's no reason his robot bits couldn't have a better color variety.

Looks like I’ll be purchasing the mainline versions of the Maximals, they all look great.

Lore Keeper wrote:I think the mold looks great, but yeah, those colors are really boring. There's no reason his robot bits couldn't have a better color variety.

I will be shocked if Hasbro doesn't at some point repaint this into original BW colors as an exclusive or something. It would be a waste of a great looking mold to be left largely unpainted like this.

Emerje

With the Rise of the Beasts mainline voyagers out, we are getting a better look at them. Below you'll see more images of the voyager Optimus Prime, which is a slightly shorter and more streamlined version of the Bumblebee Optimus Prime design we've previously had in Studio Series. Negronicus posted this quick pictorial review to give you an idea of what's in store with this guy and he posted images on the TFW2005 message boards.
We posted them below along with a size comparison image we have previously seen. If anyone is wondering about the flaps at the edges of the alt mode near the smoke stacks, they are from the real truck, but exaggerated in proportion. We have an image for you to compare the alt mode.

I know alot of people are going to get put off by his size (and lack of paint apps), since his vehicle mode is deluxe size and robot mode is a bigger deluxe. However, i really like the detail and articulation of the mold, and I hope it comes back with better paint apps. Only complaint i have is head is on a swivel instead of ballpoint, other that that articulation is on par with SS BB prime, the waist articulation is a little but limited by the mold.

On that voyager, the gray smokestacks "wings" are in the wrong direction and that Optimus is now a mini dumper truck for reasons.

Hard pass. Even on sale.

Wow. Looks like I'm saving a LOT of money from this line.

First primal looks bad (colors) and now Prime looks like a truck that should haul this mold away. My wallet thanks you hasbro.

Oof, that comparison image. Granted, SS Bumblebee OP was an amazing figure, so obviously a tough act to follow, but OOF. Not sure why you would pick the right one up if you already have the left one.

There's gotta be some mistransformation or misassembly here too, right? Like someone else pointed out, those flaps on the smokestacks appear to be backwards, and when he's transformed he has big gaps on the shoulders that looks like those should cover.

Spider5800 wrote:Oof, that comparison image. Granted, SS Bumblebee OP was an amazing figure, so obviously a tough act to follow, but OOF. Not sure why you would pick the right one up if you already have the left one.

Yeah, it's not for those who have the BBM prime. It's for parents who want to buy an Optimus Prime toy for kids. Most people getting this toy were only 3 years old when the BBM prime toy came out.
And there is a SS voyager Optimus Prime coming anyways to Target, for any fan who doesn't have the BBM prime and doesn't like this one.

There's gotta be some mistransformation or misassembly here too, right? Like someone else pointed out, those flaps on the smokestacks appear to be backwards, and when he's transformed he has big gaps on the shoulders that looks like those should cover.

I hate those flaps for how nonsensical they are. They don't add anything to the bot mode, so I have no clue why they are done this way and so out of proportion. Their orientation is correct though, so this seems to be how it's intended by the designers.

Ah, this was my confusion, I thought this WAS the SS version of RotB OP. Keep forgetting RotB has it's own separate toyline with simplified figures. This makes a lot more sense now.

Spider5800 wrote:Ah, this was my confusion, I thought this WAS the SS version of RotB OP. Keep forgetting RotB has it's own separate toyline with simplified figures. This makes a lot more sense now.

Doesn't really help they're reusing "Deluxe Class" and "Voyager Class" for the "Core" set with no extra gimmicks, setting the bar rather high on first sight. However, this isn't Generations, not even Studio Series; their approach is closer to the Cyberverse and the current Earthspark Deluxes.

So... we kinda need to be extra specific now.

So this images of Prime are prototype images yes?

Nemesis Destron wrote:So this images of Prime are prototype images yes?

This is the kiddie line, not Studio Series.

Sabrblade wrote:

Nemesis Destron wrote:So this images of Prime are prototype images yes?

This is the kiddie line, not Studio Series.

This is towards the kiddie's, really?

Nemesis Destron wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

Nemesis Destron wrote:So this images of Prime are prototype images yes?

This is the kiddie line, not Studio Series.

This is towards the kiddie's, really?

I think this list will explain everything. For the Rise of the Beasts toy line, we have:

Generations
Studio Series Core
Studio Series Deluxe
Studio Series Voyager
Studio Series Leader

"Core" (No gimmicks other than transformation)
Deluxe Class
Voyager Class

Beast Alliance
Beast Battle Masters
Battle Changers
Beast Weaponizers (2-packs)
Beast Combiners (the Cyberverse Spark Armor wanna-bes)

Plus some more "-Changers" that can actually be told apart

Spider5800 wrote:Ah, this was my confusion, I thought this WAS the SS version of RotB OP. Keep forgetting RotB has it's own separate toyline with simplified figures. This makes a lot more sense now.

Yeah it gets confusing. Though I don't know if I'd call these simpler than Studio Series figures. Just maybe less screen accurate. In terms of complexity, they seem on par. I mean deluxe SS Airazor and Bumblebee are rather simple figure.

Nemesis Destron wrote:This is towards the kiddie's, really?

Depends what age you labels kiddies at. If 8 years old, then yes. And, fyi, all non MP TF toys are made for 8 year olds or younger.

While we got a ton of sightings for the Rise of the Beasts toyline, we have to remember that it was just the first wave and even more is to come. Case in point, this new Wheeljack figure. This Targetmaster type of toy is a Beast Alliance figure like Optimus Prime and Optinus Primal except he comes with the Rhinox Targetmaster which can also be bought separately. It's good that we get wind of this toy now so that fans who may want this toy know not to buy the Rhinox figure early. The images come from this Instagram post.

Well at the very least, that Rhinox has a different deco. There doesn't look to be any silver paint on the tech details in beast mode and the horns are painted off white instead of silver while the legs and body are cast in a different color plastics.

It could've been worse. It could've been just some minor paint detail changes on the sword and the eyes like the retail version of Lionizer and Dazzlestrike. Other than the effect part that is.

Will Toys R Us and Walmart Canada even bother ordering these?

Well this sucks, didn't think they would double dip with the Battle Masters. At least it's Rhinox, one of the best.

really enjoy this

We have some more images of voyager class Optimus Primal, this time from the @transformers.snapshots page on Instagram. These show a comparison with Kingdom Optimus Primal. While both are of the same character and the same size, it is interesting to see how they are also completely different toys in terms of sculpt, detail, look and even have a different transformation, from what we see in the video below. Of course, the Rise of the Beasts one looks woefully in need of colour, though it is trying to use the colour palette of the live action film.

We also see that it is only slightly shorter than voyager Optimus Prime. There will be a Studio Series release of ROTB Optimus Primal as well, which has yet to be revealed.

Thanks to Movie Primal, the Kingdom Primal looks like a million bucks standing side by side. I guess it's true that you should have an uglier friend next you in pictures to make you look better.

I might get ol grey butt and pretend he's a variant from a grey world lol.

I'll get a RotB Optimus Primal for sure but I'll wait for the SS leader to come out first. Then I'll decide which one is better.

Just realized something, not sure why it didn't occur to me until just now.




That SS Leader Optimus Primal is going to end up being quite a giant considering these RotB line figures are quite a bit smaller and less complex than their SS counterparts. I got the impression that Primal is bigger than Prime in the movie and is certainly going to be a bulkier figure than the SS RotB Voyager Prime since it's based on the SS Bee Movie figure. RotB Prime and Primal are average sized Voyagers while Bee Movie SS Prime is a fairly large Voyager by todays standards.



I imagine SS Leader Primal will have things like internal weapon storage and such.

Emerje

I just need some Beasts to show up, I am ready to dive in. stock them already here!

News from the Rise of the Beasts toyline just keeps piling. In the world right now, the two waves of voyager class figures are being released simultaneously. Which makes sense as all these toys were produced last year and are only now making their way to retailers all at once. We saw that voyagers Primal and Prime were found in Mexico and now we have Pre (repack) and Rhinox found in Australia at KMart. That same sighting also shows us more single packed deluxe figures, like Bumblebee who we had only seen in that three pack. The images below come from Tf fan Ratchet 208.

In other sightings news, a new Mirage toy was found in the US and on E-bay. It is part of the Battle Changers assortment, which are similar to the mid sized Authentics toys.

These photos are actually really nice, comparing Kingdom and the other Mainline & SS figures for ROTB. With these coming off Instagram, my page per say @transformers.snapshots , i really would have expected some mention or recognition. I have posted there ALL my photos for mainline primal and even Optimus along with ALL the other mainline and SS. I do Hope this can be edited with a proper Mention. Much appreciated!.

Hey, 300 news credits; nice.

How do you remove SS Wheeljack's head?

Error wrote:How do you remove SS Wheeljack's head?

Follow these instructions:

https://youtu.be/WKv5E1cl3CU?t=331

It's pretty effective.

Tf.snapshots wrote:These photos are actually really nice, comparing Kingdom and the other Mainline & SS figures for ROTB. With these coming off Instagram, my page per say @transformers.snapshots , i really would have expected some mention or recognition. I have posted there ALL my photos for mainline primal and even Optimus along with ALL the other mainline and SS. I do Hope this can be edited with a proper Mention. Much appreciated!.

Thanks for writing in. We added the mention in the article and gave you a news credit as well. If ever you have other images of fun stuff you want to share you can let us know on these boards. Take care!