Online conventions and other fan events have become all the rage at the moment, and Hasbro Pulse have certainly made the most of the format to debut some of their exciting new reveals of late! Just last week we had their Fan Fest event, during which they revealed a number of new toys and gave more in-depth looks at others too. Overall it was very exciting indeed, especially as all of the upcoming releases have something going for them!

Starting off with one of the smallest toys on show, Kingdom Core Class Soundwave is an absolute cutey at a mere 3.5 inches tall in robot mode. Still, despite its small stature, this figure seems to do a great job at bringing the iconic Decepticon cassette player to life in all his classic G1 glory. In fact I’m surprised to see so much attention to detail going on with this one, including some decent paint applications on such a comparatively tiny toy. Articulation seems pretty good too, considering the size of it again, although it may have been nice to have a dash of ankle tilt I suppose!

In fact those feet are probably the one thing letting the side down a little bit here, as they’re all-too-obvious in his alternate mode, too! Otherwise though, this looks really very good and even features an opening tape deck gimmick with a non-transforming cassette-mode Laserbreak included as a bonus. I was looking at the picture above and to my eye it really appears like the copy they took a photo of is incredibly dusty though, which is very weird! Either that or they’re trying to mix it up a bit with the battle damage look these days, who knows?

Next up is Kingdom Deluxe Class Scorponok, and no this is not a re-release of the mammoth Titan Headmaster from the Earthrise line! This is a modern realisation of the classic Beast Wars character, and boy, he actually looks really great! I suppose I shouldn’t sound too surprised when I say that, but it’s more to do with what an overlooked character this typically is. After all, despite the original 1996 toy being pretty swish itself, he’s never really come in for much attention since then (and was a bit of a no-mark in the cartoon department, too!), so it’s good to see Predacon arachnid given some new glory.

It’s an interesting take, too, as it’s relatively cartoon-accurate in robot mode, but then deviates in terms of style for the beast mode (which does feel in line with a lot of the other Kingdom updates of Beast Wars characters, to be fair). There’s a distinct animalistic quality to how the alternate form is handled, and I for one really think it works very well. He actually looks kinda creepy, if anything! He also seems to be pretty posable and he comes with his signature missiles and Cyberbee drone inside his claws, so that’s very cool. Excited to see how this one turns out, all in all.

Scorponok wasn’t the only Beast Wars character to get a bit of an update, mind.

Yes, fan-favourite Maximal, Rhinox was also unveiled at Fan Fest, and it’s fair to say this one has been anticipated for some time. After all, there is a generally good Generations take on the character already, but I know a lot of people were excited to see how the Kingdom line would tackle him too. However, it appears as though the feedback is a little more mixed on this one so far, with a lot of folks not really digging the head design, for one thing. My personal feeling is that he looks fab, though, and whilst he is a little stylised in places, there’s no doubt it’s about as accurate a representation of the character’s on-screen appearance as we’ve seen in toy form thus far. He even has his chain guns to wield, although I will say that they look a little disappointingly undersized here, but never mind.

Once again, Rhinox’s beast mode looks a lot more ‘realistic’ (well, kinda) than his traditional cartoon appearance, and it certainly leans into the more brutal side of the character! Those red eyes are probably the only bit I’m less keen on myself, as I think it would have been preferable to have something a little more akin to how he’s typically portrayed, but still this looks to be a great representation on the hulking green Maximal, all told.

Next up are a number of Fossilizers, which I’ll fully admit is a concept I’m still wrapping my head around in a lot of ways! Still, it looks to be remarkable fun and represents one of the more creative and quirky new elements from the Kingdom line!

First up we have Core Class Dracodon, who is a tiny fossilised green Dracorex (and there’s a sentence I never thought I’d type!). At 3.5 inches tall again, he’s pretty minuscule, yet seems to pack in a hefty amount of detail in terms of the sculpt alongside some attractive painted highlights.

The robot mode looks more ‘leafy’ than anything to me, but still there’s little doubt that this is one of the more eye-catching entries on this list and should no doubt prove a lot of fun as part of a larger Fossilizer collection!

Next we have Deluxe Class Wingfinger, who looks to be more along the lines of the Fossilizer toys we’ve seen previously. The Pterodactyl mode is really a thing to begin with, and looks about as elegant as a giant flying reptile with no skin is going to, I suppose.

One of the major gimmicks here is that this bag of bones can be split apart and worn by a number of other WFC toys as armour and weapons. As concepts go, it’s kind of out there, but it’ll definitely allow a lot of creativity at the same time! However, the bit that always makes me laugh me most is the in-universe explanation of how this works, with the ‘technology’ involved being known as F.O.S.S.I.L., which stands for Fossilized Osteo-Skeletal Shield Integration Loadout. I mean, obviously.

Anyway, tortured acronyms aside, old Wingfinger here seems to be a sizeable amount of fun, and even does a pretty mean G.I. Joe Storm Shadow impression in his robot mode. That’s surely intentional, right? C’mon!

And finally we have the most voluminous vertebrate of the lot!

This colourful chap is Deluxe Class Tricranius, who is sporting a very memorable lava-themed skeletal Triceratops beast mode. As you do! The official product description states that his moveable jaw is “optimal for roaring poses”, which looks to be the case from this fabulous promotional photography!

This one has a real Beast Machines vibe to me, somehow. In fact the toy it really reminds me a lot of is Robots in Disguise (RID2001) Bruticus, which of course started off as a BM design originally. It feels very much from that era of gorgeously garish toys that made abundant use of see-through plastics, and personally I’m here for it. Tricranius looks terrific.

We’re done with the boney boys now, and it’s onto some of the more familiar faces!

First is Tracks, who, and I say this without any exaggeration, always ends up with one of the best-looking toys in whatever line he’s in. Seriously, G1, Action Master, Binaltech, Masterpiece… all gold. Anyway, so appears to be the case here yet again, as this rather spiffing car mode would suggest!

They have of course included his signature flying car formation too, which is never not a sight to behold. Of particular note here is the all-red flame emblem, which is a definite departure from his more traditional look, but I think somehow works very nicely too.

Robot mode appears to be a handsome affair, hitting all the right beats to bring Tracks’ classic look to life. I thought it was interesting to see that his wings appear to be attached to his arms here, meaning that they move with the shoulders when articulated, and for my money I’m less keen on seeing the rear fins from the flying car mode so obviously on display behind the head, but those quirks aside this one looks to be very appealing indeed.

Now we move on to a toy we’ve already seen in various leaked pictures, of course! What did he say his name was?

Oh, that’s right! It’s Leader Class Galvatron! How could I forget? Probably the most notable thing about this reveal for me was seeing how much better the toy appears here than in any of the leaked images we saw prior to the Fan Fest event. I’ll never not think the official channels are an entirely preferable way for these toys to be unveiled, in all honesty! As for the toy itself, that cannon mode is growing on me quite a bit, and despite the fairly obvious robot arms, I think it does a decent-enough stab at recreating the look. I do love how you can even mount the chained-up Matrix of Leadership around the barrel, just as it happened in the 1986 animated movie!

The robot mode clearly benefits from a bit of proper posing too, particularly as the proportions on this one could be perceived as a mite peculiar. Still, it’s got all the right bits in the right places, and despite some sizeable and very kibbly tank treads hanging rather dubiously off his arms, I think it overall presents very well. Galvatron is a design that’s frequently done little justice in toy form, but taking it all in, I’m tempted to rank this as one of the more favourable entries from over the years. Behold!

Of course, every bad guy needs a good guy to terrorise, eh?

Step forward Commander Class Rodimus Prime, then! There’s been speculation about an attempt at a Generations version of the Autobot leader for some time now, and despite having already seen numerous pics of this fella, it’s still creating a lot of buzz and intrigue. Overall I think the design has really grown on me a lot, and there are definitely some major plusses to what’s been achieved here. That said, I still find the proportions of the front of the vehicle mode to be a little strange, particularly as it always looks like the spoiler should sit more on top of the windshield, somehow.

The slight deviation here is no doubt to allow for that front part to split off as a separate Hot Rod-styled vehicle form all of its own, which, it has to be said, is kind of cool. It’s also not something that any previous Rodimus toy has incorporated (MP-9 did both modes, but not quite in the same way, as it was aiming for more screen accuracy). The trade-off may be a slightly odd ‘combined’ form, but still you have to hand it to them with what’s been done here overall.

The trailer also managed something that we’ve never seen before either, as the back of it opens up and functions like, well, a trailer! Imagine that! It shouldn’t sound revolutionary, but it really is, and I think it looks to have been realised very nicely too, with little pistons and everything.

All of which means that the Hot Rod mode can even ride inside the trailer, in a bit of a twist. Hot stuff!

You can then also set up Rodimus in his robot mode atop the battle platform with all the guns and other accessories in place. It’s a great recreation of the gimmick from the original 1986 toy, augmented here by a couple of bright blue weapons effect pieces, too.

As for that robot mode, they’ve definitely captured the fed-up, had-enough-now spirit of Rodimus’ traditional fictional portrayal, and I for one think it works fairly nicely. Real DX9 Carry vibes to this one, too, or is it just me? I’ve seen a lot of debate about that headsculpt but overall I think this release looks stellar, all things considered. Others have balked at the price point too, especially as the robot mode is the same size as Leader Class toys, although Hasbro have been very keen to clarify that it’s not just about size, but about the amount of features involved too (with an opening Matrix compartment in the chest, plus other gimmicks on top of that trailer, too). Ultimately it’ll be up to you to decide if it’s worth the price of entry or not, but it’s certainly a fun-looking toy, all the same.

Then of course we have the BIGGEST reveal of all, quite literally…

Yes, Titan Class Ark was all pretty much anyone on the internet could talk about (well, in terms of Transformers) for at least 24 hours there, although that’s no great surprise! A mammoth and surprisingly-faithful rendition of the famous Autobot spacecraft, replete with a 19 inch-tall robot mode? Sign us up, please!

I’ve already published an article about all the many references going on with this release, but suffice it to say that stuff like Action Master Mainframe and the Marvel comics’ Last Autobot character getting a nod here is the kind of fan service I can really get on board with. It shows an immense love for the franchise, including all its very-many niche elements, and feels very rewarding for fans who know the nods included. I’d also argue that it’s great to see Hasbro paying this kind of attention to the franchise’s roots in a way that’s very different to just slavishly recreating the classic characters over and over. Great work!

Oh and hey, there’s definitely a lot of creativity with this one, too, particularly as it’s our first original character Titan Class release! Yes, I’m counting it as ‘original character’ despite the Ark and Last Autobot already being a thing – it’s still new in its way! One last thing too, but this toy also appears to come with a Beast Wars golden disc accessory, which, on top of everything else going on here, just about tipped me over the edge. Pre-ordered on sight.

And finally (yes, finally – we’ll talk about the Robosen Auto Converting Optimus Prime another time!), there was something to truly shatter your expectations…

Here’s Deluxe Class Shattered Glass Blurr, bringing new life to the already-popular Studio Series mould with a banging new colour scheme and a retooled headsculpt to boot! Certainly looks pretty electrifying to me. If nothing else, it’s very interesting to see Hasbro going this route, particular as it opens the doors to them giving all kinds of moulds the SG treatment of some kind. Just imagine how many more toys you’re going to be able to buy now, eh?

Anyway, joking aside, this lad is looking very vibrant indeed, and I do like the attention to detail with stuff like that eye-patch. I actually think the headsculpt looks better here than the one on the original use of this mould, interestingly. Overall though, I’ll just be curious to see how this one does and what it might lead to next… time will tell!

 

So there we go – some rather incredible reveals, all told. What were some of your favourites from Fan Fest?

TTFN