Well, actually some might say it was very restrained of me to wait two whole days before splurging on TransFormers movie toys. Street date - global, by the sounds of things - was 2nd June, and I waited till today before visiting Brent Cross Toys'R'Us and grabbing an armful.
Admittedly, I only really waited because my boss asked me over the weekend if I fancied popping down there (largely because, at the time, she was considering visiting some nearby shops to get a new party frock for the upcoming celebration of the 100th issue of one of our magazines). Much better to get a lift down there and back home with my haul, than to get the bus down there and carry an oversize plastic bag all the way home.
The trip was almost called off at the end of the day because I developed a headache. While I blustered that "no force on Earth could keep me from TF Movie Toys!", had the headache not been on the improve, I would have opted to head straight home.
I'm glad that wasn't necessary as, while the selection on offer was oddly stilted (Ratchet and Blackout were the only Voyager-class figures on offer, and Optimus Prime was the only Leader-class, with no deluxes at all, but pegs full of Real Gears, Legends, 3" Titaniums and Fast Action Battlers), the display was awesome. The TF display has taken the place of the Doctor Who selection right at the front of the store, with a massive 3D display on the wall above the racks of products. Along with the toys are oddities like the dinner set, lunch bag, bath fizz and transforming tooth brush(!), not to mention a selection of stuff from the older Cybertron range, and even some Classics.
My haul this evening was as follows: Leader-class Optimus Prime, Real Gears Longview, Spyshot, Speed Dial and Highscore, and Cybertron Swindle. They are running a "buy one, get one half price" offer largely, it would seem, because every other bugger is. It's rumoured to have started with Argos, whose computerised ordering system just couldn't understand people buying two of the same thing (perhaps because their daft ordering system has one order number for an entire size class, regardless of how many models there are in that class). Who knows, and who cares? The end result is that you kind of wonder why they don't just reduce the prices across the board. Of course, "buy one, get one half price" easily explains why they only had the one Leader-class toy.
I'll get some photos up soon (I'm off work next week!), but in the meantime, I offer a brief overview. Of the Real Gears, Longview is the only disappointment because I expected him to be slightly larger. He turns into binoculars barely large enough for a child. OK, fine, these are intended for children, but you'd need a very young 'un for Longview to be the right size. Spyshot is a very convincing camera and, while his viewfinder is useless, he does have a satisfying click to his shutter button. It doesn't to anything but click, but it's still pretty cool. Speed Dial is a fairly convincing replica cellphone, even down to the little ring on which one can hang charms, though he's easily the weakest in robot mode. Highscore is a very well executed handheld game system on which the thumb pad and buttons all move - not entirely convincing as the thumb pad is essentially one big button and doesn't move quite right, but cool nonetheless.
Leader-class Optimus Prime is quite awesome in his complexity. Bits fold over, under and around each other, and the gimmicks are actually very well thought out and very well executed. Literally the only letdown is the sparse paintwork on the robot, and the complete lack of chrome effect on things like the truck's grille and the petrol tanks. Even if these were the only chromed parts, that would make all the difference... Still, it's an excellent action figure and a very well-designed truck... with electronic lights and sounds, thanks to the very well-planned addition of two battery compartments on either side of the truck/robot. Easily worth the cash.
I'll sign off now, but more will follow on these fabby toys.
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