MMC Reformatted R-28 Tyrantron / Tyrantronus

2017 has been the year of Megatron. We've had the glorious Masterpiece MP-36, we've had Spark Toys version of the War Within Megatron and now MMC give us the long-awaited IDW Megatron as seen in the pages of More Than Meets The Eye/Lost Light, Chaos Theory and Megatron origin...R-28 Tyrantron/Tyrantronus. MMC have been going at the Lost Light cast and crew something fierce, with the DJD, Turben (Whirl), Calidus (Rodimus) and more to come. Tyrantron is a major draw for lovers of the title, especially as James Roberts writes Megatron in an absolutely compelling, complex and multi-faceted way that has brought him to life for me and others in a way little other TF fiction ever did before. Tyrantron is a big deal.

MakeToys MTRM-11 Meteor

When MakeToys revealed their intentions to do a Masterpiece-style Starscream, it was seen as a very bold statement of intent. One that indicated the Boys at M'Toys not only felt they could improve upon the official MP-3 and MP-11 iterations of Masterpiece Starscream - in itself something most believed wholly possible - but also convince enough collectors to buy it and replace the expensive incumbent to make the project worthwhile. Well, Meteor - formerly Howling Meteor - was released in short supply at TFCon just recently and is due for full release later next month. I've got the figure in question right now, so it a success or a howler? 

Open And Play Big Spring

In August 2016, another Masterpiece style 3rd party Springer was teased by scene newcomers Open And Play. The toy that would eventually come to be known as Big Spring looked promising, the modes seemingly based directly off the Transformers: The Movie representations of the Autobot Triplechanger. The figure was released approximately a year later in what can only be described as shoe box-style packaging, with zero paperwork. Talk about minimalist, there were not even instructions! I guess the idea was that owners would bust out the toy, play around with it and figure it out, hence the name of the company. I am certainly on board with that kind of design concept and philosophy for modern transforming toys!

MMC Reformatted R-25 Oberon

Alongside MMC's Reformatted R-24 Turben came R-25 Oberon, their version of Beast Machines Obsidian. I think it does represent a slight risk for them to release two figures simultaneously that share so many common features as a mould, but the influences for each toy are far apart, so I can see how it might capture the interest of collectors who would need both, or split the audience in a way. Anyway, Turben (Whirl) was the one I went for first thanks to my love of IDW's More Than Meets The Eye comic, and I enjoyed the figure a great deal. Oberon had to wait for his moment in the spotlight, but here it is.

MakeToys MTCD-03SP Thunder Erebus

MakeToys, the highly popular 3rd party Transformers toy manufacturer, continue to put out figures for their Cross Dimension line. This Classics/Generations-scaled sub-line is being given a fair amount of support alongside their highly rated Re:Master offerings. Of the five figures officially released or unveiled for Cross Dimension. four of them have been some variant of Optimus Prime, so the line really needs to diversify. However, Striker Manus, Striker Noir, Rioter Despotron and now Thunder Erebus are all really good figures. I'd go so far as to say Thunder Erebus - in many ways - represents the best of what MakeToys have ever offered. That's going to take some explaining, I know...