It's Transformer Tuesday! Today on Hasbro Pulse, they dropped the "Battle Across Time" 2-pack, featuring Beast Wars Grimlock (a redeco of Kingdom Dinobot, looking not-quite like a dalmatian) and a remold of Siege Mirage:

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-kingdom-battle-across-time-collection-deluxe-wfc-k40-autobot-mirage-maximal-grimlock

Grimlock is a little disappointing. The Beast Wars guy is just a pointless redeco, so he's not a character I've ever really had any fondness for. But this toy isn't even authentic to the vintage version. I ordered dalmatian spots! Where are my dalmatian spots? He's got a resculpted head, looking a little like the original face sculpt (which is NOT the same face that Dinobot had in CGI), so there's that.

Mirage is a little better. I had thought it was just a straight redeco of Siege Mirage with the numeral "26" on it, but then I started looking closer and they changed lots of little things. The front wings have been modified (on both the actual car hood and the faux hood on the robot mode chest), the knees are different, the spoiler is different, and the canopy was changed from a closed, rounded cockpit to an open canopy. So, I guess they did change him up quite a lot. It's just not really obvious at first blush.

Amusingly, instead of having Elf as a sponsor (the French oil company), as he did during G1, now his racing sponsor is "Orc." Get it?

The set costs $52.99 and ships on 11/01/2021. I ordered it, regretted it, thought about it a bit more, and regretted it a little less.

Zob (flipping stuff on eBay and trying not to feel too bad about it)

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 6:33:23 PM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> It's Transformer Tuesday! Today on Hasbro Pulse, they dropped the "Battle Across Time" 2-pack, featuring Beast Wars Grimlock (a redeco of Kingdom Dinobot, looking not-quite like a dalmatian) and a remold of Siege Mirage:
>
> https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-generations-war-for-cybertron-kingdom-battle-across-time-collection-deluxe-wfc-k40-autobot-mirage-maximal-grimlock
>
> Grimlock is a little disappointing. The Beast Wars guy is just a pointless redeco, so he's not a character I've ever really had any fondness for. But this toy isn't even authentic to the vintage version. I ordered dalmatian spots! Where are my dalmatian spots? He's got a resculpted head, looking a little like the original face sculpt (which is NOT the same face that Dinobot had in CGI), so there's that.
>

It looks like they had a decent idea, but the execution is terrible. There are so many breaks in the dino deco as far as colors that it's just no good looking

> Mirage is a little better. I had thought it was just a straight redeco of Siege Mirage with the numeral "26" on it, but then I started looking closer and they changed lots of little things. The front wings have been modified (on both the actual car hood and the faux hood on the robot mode chest), the knees are different, the spoiler is different, and the canopy was changed from a closed, rounded cockpit to an open canopy. So, I guess they did change him up quite a lot. It's just not really obvious at first blush.
>

Still seems minor though. I know basically every surface was resurfaced, but it doesn't look that different.

> Amusingly, instead of having Elf as a sponsor (the French oil company), as he did during G1, now his racing sponsor is "Orc." Get it?
>
> The set costs $52.99 and ships on 11/01/2021. I ordered it, regretted it, thought about it a bit more, and regretted it a little less.
>

Battle across Time makes it seem like they'd be fighting, so are Maximals and Autobots on opposing sides now? I always wondered why BW Grimlock wasa Maximal when the dinosaurs were supposed to be Predacons. Apparently Beast Wars Grimlock is G1 Grimlock, so our battle pack is 2 Autobots by that logic.

>
> Zob (flipping stuff on eBay and trying not to feel too bad about it)

Is this a new Golden Lagoon Optimus or is this a re-release of something I only vaguely remember?
https://hasbropulse.com/collections/hasbro-pulse-exclusives/products/transformers-takara-tomy-golden-lagoon-gl-01-convoy-optimus-prime

On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 8:55:49 PM UTC-6, Ob1k...@att.net wrote:

> It looks like they had a decent idea, but the execution is terrible. There are so many breaks in the dino deco as far as colors that it's just not good looking.

Yeah, I totally agree. He's awful looking. (The good news is that Cruella De Vil will leave him alone, though. So, that's a win.)

> Still seems minor though. I know basically every surface was resurfaced, but it doesn't look that different.

Same here. It's weird that they spend all that money to remold a toy and ended up with something so visually similar to the old toy. They could have just not spent the money and sent it to me or something instead. (I'm not saying that was a likely scenario. But it was an option.)

Makes you wonder what the Earth mode Sideswipe is gonna look like. Fix or fail?

> Battle across Time makes it seem like they'd be fighting, so are Maximals and Autobots on opposing sides now?

No, if you go to the site and read the blurb, it talks about how Grimlock and Mirage are tasked with hunting down Starscream and Waspinator and Dinobot (who I guess is still a Predacon at this point). So, it's a team-up.

> I always wondered why BW Grimlock was a Maximal when the dinosaurs were supposed to be Predacons. Apparently Beast Wars Grimlock is G1 Grimlock, so our battle pack is 2 Autobots by that logic.

Back in the day, I always thought that warm-blooded animals were Maximals but cold-blooded animals were Predacons. Dinosaurs were sort of an evolutionary middle ground between the two, so they could be both. (But then Hasbro came along and started making fish characters into Maximals, and ruined my theory.)

> Is this a new Golden Lagoon Optimus or is this a re-release of something I only vaguely remember?

It's the same one as the TakaraTomy Mall exclusive from 2019. They added some of them to Hasbro Pulse in late 2020.

Zob (not surprised that nobody wants to spend $180 for an Earthrise Prime with no trailer)

On Wednesday, May 12, 2021 at 7:04:46 PM UTC-4, Zobovor wrote:
> On Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 8:55:49 PM UTC-6, Ob1k...@att.net wrote:
>
> > It looks like they had a decent idea, but the execution is terrible. There are so many breaks in the dino deco as far as colors that it's just not good looking.
>
> Yeah, I totally agree. He's awful looking. (The good news is that Cruella De Vil will leave him alone, though. So, that's a win.)
> > Still seems minor though. I know basically every surface was resurfaced, but it doesn't look that different.
> Same here. It's weird that they spend all that money to remold a toy and ended up with something so visually similar to the old toy. They could have just not spent the money and sent it to me or something instead. (I'm not saying that was a likely scenario. But it was an option.)
>
> Makes you wonder what the Earth mode Sideswipe is gonna look like. Fix or fail?
> > Battle across Time makes it seem like they'd be fighting, so are Maximals and Autobots on opposing sides now?
> No, if you go to the site and read the blurb, it talks about how Grimlock and Mirage are tasked with hunting down Starscream and Waspinator and Dinobot (who I guess is still a Predacon at this point). So, it's a team-up.
>
> > I always wondered why BW Grimlock was a Maximal when the dinosaurs were supposed to be Predacons. Apparently Beast Wars Grimlock is G1 Grimlock, so our battle pack is 2 Autobots by that logic.
>
> Back in the day, I always thought that warm-blooded animals were Maximals but cold-blooded animals were Predacons. Dinosaurs were sort of an evolutionary middle ground between the two, so they could be both. (But then Hasbro came along and started making fish characters into Maximals, and ruined my theory.)
> > Is this a new Golden Lagoon Optimus or is this a re-release of something I only vaguely remember?
> It's the same one as the TakaraTomy Mall exclusive from 2019. They added some of them to Hasbro Pulse in late 2020.
>
>
> Zob (not surprised that nobody wants to spend $180 for an Earthrise Prime with no trailer)

I had the opposite reaction - I think the Grimlock redeco looks fantastic, even if he has no canonical precedent other than a GPS-plagued repaint (which I own in all its crumbly glory). Really brings the mold to life, especially with the new headsculpt. The new Mirage renders his Siege version obsolete, and makes me wish that Siege had leaned more strongly into sci-fi-themed Cybertronian designs, rather than Earth-modes with various appendages.