So I waffled badly about ordering this set. I pre-ordered it back in January 2021, waited for a year and a half, and then last month I cancelled my pre-order. We've had a lot of expenses associated with moving into the new house (getting curtains and curtain rods, having to replace the washer and dryer, buying a lawnmower and other yard care supplies, etc.) and money was a little tighter than usual last month. It's hard for me to justify, even to myself, throwing hundreds of dollars at Even More Plastic Robots every month.

But, when I saw people online beginning to post pictural reviews of toys like Banzai-Tron, I started to get a severe case of the #FOMO's. It's one thing when people are buying things I don't care about (like Michael Bay movie toys) but I really, really like G1 and I don't like to miss out on stuff like this (I have almost all of Takara's SCF figures and all the G1 characters from MegaSCF). I thought I was going to get bumped to the back of the line when I reordered, but Big Bad Toy Store shipped, like, a day after I reordered. Happy day!

The toys are packaged similarly to the Ninja Turtles Ultimates. Plain cardboard box, plastic bag, decorative box sleeve, another decorative window box inside that, and the toy itself is in two plastic trays. It's like Hasbro sent Super7 all the plastic they've stopped using for their packaging and went, "Hey, can you use this for anything?" It's such a completely opposite approach.

OPTIMUS PRIME

He's got tech specs on the back of the box that give him 10's for everything except for Speed (seven) and Skill (nine). This doesn't correspond to any version of Prime I remember.

It's always interesting to see how people interpret the G1 cartoon models. Some of them cannot be reconciled even with themselves (i.e., the characters change shape when going from a front view to a side- or back view) so realizing them in three-dimensional space can be tricky sometimes.

So, Optimus Prime is eight inches tall. He does not scale with, well, anything else in your collection. He's too big to fit on a G1 or War for Cybertron shelf, but too small to hang out with Masterpiece toys. It's a satisfyingly large action figure, though. I had expected he was going to be made entirely of PVC parts, but he's got some ABS to the legs and body, so he's got hollow parts and is lighter than I'd anticipated.

The sculpt is more or less true to his G1 animation design. I feel like the chest windows are a bit too square (they should be slightly flat rectangles) and he's missing a handful of details (the little notches on the insides of his upper legs, the details on the front of his upper knees, the doors on his lower legs that his truck wheels tuck away into) but for the most part it's a faithful interpretation. Sometimes I think fan artists, and I guess toy sculptors, draw what they *think* they see instead of what they *actually* see. (As an aside, I wish Super7 would credit the individual sculptors and designers on the packaging the way NECA does.)

The color mapping is pretty good. He's a bright red and a vibrant blue, with his pelvis and upper legs and smokestacks a light grey (it was closer to white in the cartoon, which is typically how they animated the vac-metal parts on the G1 toys). A lot of parts are just different plastic colors instead of being painted; the smokestacks on his arms, and gas tanks on his legs, are separate grey pieces instead of just being painted grey, which is nice.

His articulation is good, if a bit limited. His shoulders rotate, pivot out to the sides, and also have a little bit of an up-and-down internal joint, the equivalent of a collarbone. He's got a bicep swivel as well as an elbow swivel, and his elbows can bend about 45 degrees or so. (It's a balancing act. To give the articulation a wider range, you need a more visible ball joint, which ruins the aesthetic, as was the case with MegaSCF). He's got a waist swivel and ab crunch, which works beautifully and is nicely hidden. His knees bend 90 degrees, and his feet wiggle a little but are mostly trapped within the confines of the boots.

His pelvis is made of a rubbery PVC "diaper" so that when you pose his upper legs, if it begins to interfere with the movement of the legs, it just buckles and gives a bit. Super7 has done this with the TMNT Ultimates and it makes more sense on an organic sculpt than a robotic one. But, it also reduces breakage during play, so that's nice.

He comes witha bunch of mostly scene-specific accessories. One odd choice was to include a G1 toy head that can replace his cartoon-based head. It makes him look like a Sofubi toy from Japan, or some other piece of merchandise that was based directly on the look of the G1 toy. It's a bit silly, but Super7 seems to be leaning into the silly aspect of the franchise.

He's got his rifle, which fits into his weapon-grasping hand if you kind of bend the fingers open and wrench the handle in there. He's also got his energon axe (made of unyielding stiff orange plastic that's airbrushed a yellow-orange), which replaces his hand and plugs directly into his wrist. He also has a grey rocketpack, as per "More Than Meets the Eye" part 3, but there are no pegs to attach it. It just had a block that wedges between the rounded parts of his existing backpack. It would have been cool if they had added a five-millimeter peg instead, and made it compatible with Hasbro toys.

He also comes with a Matrix accessory, which incorrectly has a front opening on both sides, but his chest doesn't open at all so there's no place to put it. Other accessories include a tiny Spike Witwicky figure (about 1.25" tall, roughly the size of the figures that came with Masterpiece Ultra Magnus but with no articulation) wearing his hard hat, energon chains as seen in "S.O.S. Dinobots" (semi-translucent glittery, rubbery plastic with some airbrushed blue on it, and it smells REALLY BAD) and a surfboard as seen in "The Ultimate Doom" (it includes pegs that plug into the bottom of each foot) and also a 1.25" basketball from "The Master Builders" (it has a hole that fits the corresponding peg on a special ball-grasping hand). So that's six hands in all: two closed fists, a gun-toting hand, a basketball hand, a left "finger of doom" hand, and a right grasping hand. All the hands are articulated at the wrist joint.

What distinguishes the Super7 Prime from the R.E.D. or MegaSCF versions is that Super7 is willingly embracing the goofy aspect of Transformers instead of taking it too seriously. I mean, we've never gotten a basketball-playing Prime toy before or a surfing Prime. Those are silly moments.

As a fandom, we're accustomed to getting Leader-class toys for this price point ($54.99 on BBTS). This is a taller toy, and comes with more goodies, but it does less. I've been collecting the Super7 Ninja Turtles stuff for a while as well as the NECA 2-packs, so I've been desensitized to paying fifty bucks a pop. But, it's a hard sell to the Transformers fandom, especially since the more affordable R.E.D. equivalent exists for only $20.

GHOST OF STARSCREAM

STR: 7, INT: 7, SPD: 9, END: 7, RNK: 5, CRG: 8, FPW: 7, SKL: 7.

What a great version of the character to start with, right out of the gate. Ghost versions of Starscream (SCF, eHobby G1, etc.) have always commanded a high premium, partly because we just don't get them that often.

Starscream is 7.5" tall at the head, with the tops of his shoulder intakes bringing him to almost eight inches. This version of the character is his disembodied ghost, as seen in season three episodes "Starscream's Ghost" and "Ghost in the Machine," and to that end, the entire toy is rendered in translucent smoky grey, red, and blue plastic embedded with glittery metallic flakes. Pretty much all the other ghost Starscream toys we've gotten (and there haven't been many) have just used translucent clear plastic, so to do his actual color scheme, and to include the metallic speckles, really adds to the etherial, ghostly quality of the character.

He's mostly solid ABS plastic, with PVC plastic used for the arms, wings, guns, and pelvis. At first, his arm guns felt like rigid plastic that could snap, but they're not. They're just a much tougher, solid PVC plastic than we're used to seeing. Some of the load-bearing parts are made of opaque plastic (like the shoulder struts and ankle connectors and wrist connectors) but they're reasonably well-hidden.

He's also got an ab crunch as well as a swivel waist, but both are limited somewhat by the presence of his chest-mounted cockpit. This character is always a challenge because of the cockpit... sometimes they cheat the size, sometimes they just immobilize the waist joint altogether. This time, they just said "screw it" and added all the articulation, even knowing that the cockpit would get in the way.

It's a good rendition of cartoon Starscream, but I feel like his head is a little big for his body. It's nearly as tall as the air intakes mounted to his shoulders. Super7 made him roughly ten heads tall, but I wonder if eleven or twelve heads tall would have worked better. (He's about one head shorter than Masterpiece Starscream Two-Point-Oh.) He has six hands: two fists, two weapon-toting hands, and two outstretched hands. (The right outstretched hand is clearly doing the "my fellow Decepticons! As your new leader..." bit from The Transformers: the Movie, so I guess we can expect a Coronation Starscream redeco in the future.)

On Saturday, June 4, 2022 at 1:34:00 PM UTC-6, Zobovor wrote:

> Sometimes I think fan artists, and I guess toy sculptors, draw what they *think* they see instead of what they *actually* see.

I'm comparing the Super7 Ultimates Optimus Prime now with the Transformers R.E.D. version, and the Hasbro toy is just so much better on so many levels..

For one, Hasbro's colors are better. They used a darker red, a more muted and darker blue, and the pelvis and upper legs are closer to off-white, and all of that reads more like the animation model to my eyes. Super7 used a darker shade of grey for the mask, which seems more correct to me, but that's about the only Super7 color choice that I like better.

The proportions on the Super7 figure are just off. Now, I know most of the 1984 models were drawn from a weird perspective, a human's-eye-view that makes them seem very leggy, and it's difficult to translate that to what their "true" proportions probably are. But, Hasbro's sculpt is far more technically proficient and far closer to what feels like Prime's true proportions. The chest windows are rectangular and slightly flattened, the abdomenal area surrounding the front grill steeples up slightly at the center, and the yellow panels on the front of the pelvis are the right shape.

Now, Hasbro had to cheat the shape of the arms slightly due to the way they designed the articulation. The inside corners of the shoulders are slightly rounded, as are the insides of the elbow joints where the bicep meets the elbow, in order to accommodate the moving joints. But, the R.E.D. toy can actually bend its elbows at a 90 degree angle so it has a much better range of movement. The Super7 toy does a better job of hiding the joint, but its range of movement is also extremely limited. The Super7 toy is also missing a chunk of the bicep for some reason.

I dislike the Hasbro toy's mid-thigh swivel, since it interrupts the square, blocky lines of the upper leg. Super7 embedding the hip swivel within the hip joint is a much cleaner solution. But, the double-knee joint on the Hasbro toy is infinitely superior, and allows Prime far more dynamic posing.. The simple Action Masters style knee joint on the Super7 toy allows for comparatively fewer poses, especially since the forward movement of his upper legs is hindered by the pelvis.

Looking at the Sunbow animation model, the Hasbro toy is also more accurate in terms of body proportions, the design of the toy as seen from the side view, especially the relationship between the lower legs and the feet. On the Super7 toy, Prime's toes are recessed too far into the boots and don't poke out far enough. The boots are also too rectangular, and should flare out more at the back.

I just don't know how Super7 got Prime this wrong. I mean, he looks approximately like Optimus, give or take, but the R.E.D. figure is such a more well-crafted reproduction of the animation design. The Super7 version of G1 Megatron doesn't look like it will have the same problems, though of course it's hard to tell until I have it physically in my hands to examine.

Zob (nitpicker extraordinaire)

I wonder if it was an intentional move to differentiate their product from existing Optimuses (Optimi)? At that price, they need to offer something different to justify purchasing yet another Optimus (especially in another scale), when 3P and Hasbro have thrown so many satisfying Optimus toys at us just in the last few years alone.

On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 8:59:00 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:

> I wonder if it was an intentional move to differentiate their product from existing Optimuses (Optimi)? At that price, they need to offer something different to justify purchasing yet another Optimus (especially in another scale), when 3P and Hasbro have thrown so many satisfying Optimus toys at us just in the last few years alone.

In some ways, Super7 is enimently market savvy, and in some ways I feel like they're woefully out of touch. It's such a strange and bizarre juxtaposition.

Like, their pitch for Ultimates Soundwave is something like "he was one of the coolest G1 toys, and that's all we can really remember about the character, so buy this new one!" It makes it sound like they're relying on vague memories from thirty years ago. How can that be the only thing they've got to say about Soundwave, unless they just have no knowledge of the lore? And yet they know enough about the show to be able to include a sniper rifle for Starscream that he only carried in a single scene in one episode? They know enough about Marvel Comics to know that Soundwave had an alternate head design with a mouth? That makes absolutely zero sense.

Their business model always has seemed to be that they just want to make the cool toys that nobody else will make. And that's fine, because it's worked well for them. They obviously have at least a fondness for the Transformers brand. And, yes, they've got to populate the Ultimates line with at least a few core characters, because nobody's going to collect a toy line full of characters that no one has heard of. But, their approach seems to be to mix popular characters with expensive, hard-to-find characters and that's not the same thing. Yes, Action Master Bombshell is expensive on eBay, but that's because he was a market exclusive, not because fans are in love with the character. They're doing the same thing with TMNT Ultimates. The only reason Scratch the prison cat is notable is because his 1992 action figure was underproduced and is worth insane amounts of money. It's got nothing to do with people longing to own a representation of the character. Making oversized counterfeits of valuable things doesn't make them instantly desirable.

But, I'm buying the damn things, anyway (even Bombshell and Scratch), so they're obviously doing SOMETHING right.

Zob (would be fine if every Transformers Ultimates was a really big Action Masters character, honestly)

On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 11:23:08 AM UTC-5, Zobovor wrote:
> On Saturday, June 11, 2022 at 8:59:00 AM UTC-6, Codigo Postal wrote:
>
> > I wonder if it was an intentional move to differentiate their product from existing Optimuses (Optimi)? At that price, they need to offer something different to justify purchasing yet another Optimus (especially in another scale), when 3P and Hasbro have thrown so many satisfying Optimus toys at us just in the last few years alone.
> In some ways, Super7 is enimently market savvy, and in some ways I feel like they're woefully out of touch. It's such a strange and bizarre juxtaposition.
>
> Like, their pitch for Ultimates Soundwave is something like "he was one of the coolest G1 toys, and that's all we can really remember about the character, so buy this new one!" It makes it sound like they're relying on vague memories from thirty years ago. How can that be the only thing they've got to say about Soundwave, unless they just have no knowledge of the lore? And yet they know enough about the show to be able to include a sniper rifle for Starscream that he only carried in a single scene in one episode? They know enough about Marvel Comics to know that Soundwave had an alternate head design with a mouth? That makes absolutely zero sense.
>
> Their business model always has seemed to be that they just want to make the cool toys that nobody else will make. And that's fine, because it's worked well for them. They obviously have at least a fondness for the Transformers brand. And, yes, they've got to populate the Ultimates line with at least a few core characters, because nobody's going to collect a toy line full of characters that no one has heard of. But, their approach seems to be to mix popular characters with expensive, hard-to-find characters and that's not the same thing. Yes, Action Master Bombshell is expensive on eBay, but that's because he was a market exclusive, not because fans are in love with the character. They're doing the same thing with TMNT Ultimates. The only reason Scratch the prison cat is notable is because his 1992 action figure was underproduced and is worth insane amounts of money. It's got nothing to do with people longing to own a representation of the character. Making oversized counterfeits of valuable things doesn't make them instantly desirable.
>
> But, I'm buying the damn things, anyway (even Bombshell and Scratch), so they're obviously doing SOMETHING right.
>
>
> Zob (would be fine if every Transformers Ultimates was a really big Action Masters character, honestly)

I have not seen Transformers Super 7 Ultimates in person yet, but I've seen a lot of the TMNT and those things seem massive. It looks really detailed, and if I had the space I might get somebody, but wave 1 hasn't struck my fancy. I don't need a bigger Bombshell at a time when I'm asking myself if Legacy Kickback might be a little too big. I can get the OG banzai-tron for $30 and at least that way he's in scale with his original section of his toyline.

I have so many Optimus after I just sold my Siege 30th Optimus, and while Starscream's Ghost might be interesting I don't think he scales.

I also stopped hoarding transforming robots that lack transforming. I managed to pass on RED at 2/5ths the price, though at that price point I was tempted. They're going to have to fet more obscure.

We were close to getting a train transformer in the live action series for TLK, but then they decided it's a trashpile transformer instead. I could have gotten on board with a train in a US appearance. I don't want my toys to look like piles, that's not a real transformation.

On Monday, June 13, 2022 at 5:25:23 PM UTC-6, Ob1k...@att.net wrote:

> I have not seen Transformers Super 7 Ultimates in person yet, but I've seen a lot of the TMNT and those things seem massive.

The Transformers Ultimates are even bigger. They're gigantic. I can clutch Optimus by the leg and carry him around, and I feel exactly like I did when I was a little kid. As I've said before, there's something to be said for really large action figures that recreate that visceral toy-to-hand size relationship. There's something super disappointing about acquiring a toy I owned as a youngster, only to find that it's ridiculously small in my adult-sized man-hands.

> I have so many Optimus after I just sold my Siege 30th Optimus, and while Starscream's Ghost might be interesting I don't think he scales.

He doesn't scale with anything in existence. That is the biggest problem with the Transformers Ultimates. They don't match up with anything.

Zob (well, R.E.D. Bumblebee kind of looks good next to Ultimates Optimus, because R.E.D. Bumblebee is absurdly large)