Linkfest - Lots of Reviews

This round of links on the latest in Transformers toys both official and not is just full of reviews. We reviews of Beast Hunters toys, latest MP release, and 3rd party upcoming releases like Tetra Squadron, not STunticons, and more. Also have reviews of past releases like a 30 year old Gobot gestault and God Ginrai. Not reviews include a look at the lastest addition to the Super GT line, encore Fortress Maximus, a new Megatron statue and Transformers Go comparisons.

Super GT Galleries - GTR Maximus | GTR Megatron
Takara has released a few more official images of their successors to the Binal-Tech line for Super GT racing. Four molds now are planned with Optimus Prime (GTR-01), Saber (GTR-02), Megatron (GTR-03) and now Maximus (GTR-04). I think its the same mold but with color differences and different heads molds for each character but not 100% on that. The average price of each is around $120 each with the first two coming out in the next month or so.
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Concept Art for Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Updated)

Transformers: Dark of the Moon concept artists Josh Nizzi, Joel Chang and Warren Manser have each posted concept art from the movie on their websites. Among the interesting tidbits it reveals is the near use of Steeljaw (called Warpath) and that Shockwave and Soundwave probably had other Decepticon codenames to prevent the leaking of details about the characters assuming the art didn't leak. Shockwave was being called Blitzwing while Soundwave was being called Breakdown but the artwork makes it very clear who they were going to be. Driller was being called Colossus but I am betting Marvel owns that name so couldn't get it cleared. Of the group, I think Nizzi's art is my favorite. If a Transformers 4 (reboot or continuation) is made and only one of this team can be brought back, I hope it is Josh Nizzi as he has shown the most command of Transformers design over the years. Below are sample of my more favorite pieces but make sure to hit the links for much more art.
Update: Aaron Sims, another DOTM concept artist, has now posted his TF3 work online. Read More »

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"Mad Max" Truck Is...

Warning, this post is a plot point spoiler warning for Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

...Megatron! Yesterday a few prototype images of Transformers: Dark of the Moon toys were leaked online. One of them was of a tanker truck looking thing that wasn't painted so lacked the detail needed to completely verify its identity but most people assumed it was what I have been calling the "Mad Max" truck seen periodically during filming in Chicago and DC.

Later, more images were posted of the truck's robot mode that proved it is Megatron complete with cape, confirming the rumor from September. The pictures on Facebook (account required) show that half the face remains scarred (like Two-Face) as a result of the battle with Optimus from the end of Revenge of the Fallen. Where is the robot image you ask? Hasbro demanded all the various websites pull the images, more or less officially verifying this conclusion. Thanks to rumah for the link.

Update: The cat is out of the bag for Hasbro as JoBlo.com has posted the images of the robot mode. While they claim "dandy anonymous scoopers" but the same root source as above. If the three images no longer appear, probably means JoBlo either blocked my linking to them or Hasbro successfully got them to pull the pics.

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Megatron Rumor, Florida and Detroit End Date

This is kind of a catch-all post for various news and rumors related to Transformers 3 which continues production in Detroit. The rumors in include a Megatron alt mode, Florida casting, and Detroit schedule info.

To start, a new rumor is making the web rounds that Megatron might have a new alt mode. Specifically the Mad Max-ish truck that was spotted in Chicago back in early August. The Imagination Studios posted info without any sources or details to attempt to vet its veracity. Just add it to the theory pile along with the rest (the Ferrari, the Fire Truck, etc) for which vehicle is for which character.

Next, a source tells me that today began the casting process for extras for when TF3 shows up at the Kennedy Space Center. Specifically it was for "badged" employees at the center so not really for the general public. Sounds like work is going to get a lot cooler for a select few. Update: An added note is around 600+ Space Center employees were at the extras casting call with the intent to use them sometime during the September 29th to October 7th date range of the shoot in Florida.

To swing things back to Detroit, The Detroit Times blog is reporting that filming in the city is schedule to end on October 1st. Filming will continue along a "three-block stretch of Griswold. The Griswold stretch, from State Street, past Capitol Park and up to Clifford Street, looked like a war zone, with charred cars flipped everywhere, building burned out, and broken concrete scattered. It was really cool to walk through." This was the location that J1000 and Surge29 captured their images and video. Filming along that stretch will wrap over the weekend.

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Frank Welker Profile

Newsarama has written a profile on legendary "voice acting god" Frank Welker as part of the release of the cartoons on home video. Welker will also soon be seen on the big screen in flesh and blood playing the father of Matt Damon's character in the Informant. The actor has more than 600 credits to his name, often providing voices to some of the most famous icons in cartoons besides Megatron and Soundwave. He is also less known as pretty much "voicing" a substantial number of animal noises used in films. His roles include Scooby Doo, Fred Jones, Barney Rubble, Garfield, Curious George, and so many more. Below is sections of the profile, with the full article here.

“There’s many a time you have to audition hundreds of actors,” the former director [Eric Radomski] of “Batman: The Animated Series", "Spawn", "Xioalin Showdown” and “Scooby Doo: Get A Clue!” once quipped, “only to prove the only actor for the role is Frank Welker.”

“That is incredibly flattering and I love hearing it,” Welker said. “In a way it is a bit scary too. I hate missing opportunities to work with different directors. One thing that seems to surprise the studios is finding out later my willingness to audition. Under the right circumstances I actually enjoy it very much. If I can audition to picture on a sound stage it works so well for everybody. I can see what is needed and audition under fire in real time, meet the director and see if we both connect, and the studio can see and hear what they need to make their decision. But [that quote] makes me feel great.”

“[Megatron] would have to be at the top,” Welker admits. “Number one, is he is different than any of the other voices I have had the privilege of providing. Also, the fact that he has remained a fan favorite and caused a bit of controversy along the way qualifies him for my personal hall of fame. I think he and Soundwave have set themselves apart from the other robots in terms of sound identification and that makes me a proud papa.”

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Revenge of the Repaints Continue

It seems that Hasbro's love of repaints will continue with the Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen toy line, at least based on possible toy leaks to various websites (or they could just be custom jobs). Click the links below to view the galleries for each.

Voyager Optimus Prime
A possible repaint for Voyager class Optimus Prime with metallic blue paint, longer flames and gray front cab. Personally I don't see how it’s much of an improvement and worth a release of any kind.

Voyager Megatron
From an EBay auction it appears that Voyager Megatron got repainted in his Generation Two colors. This one strikes me as a likely custom job and not a potential Hasbro release but just in case posting about it.

NEST Deluxe Bumblebee
From TF08.net, below is a single image of Deluxe Bumblebee with NEST logo on the side door.

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Transformers Movie Universe Preview

Transformers: The Movie Universe hardcover by DK books is coming and as part of that it includes bio on the various Transformers in Revenge of the Fallen. Thanks to Rodrigo, below is a few sample pages from the book for The Fallen, Devastator (who is described as having six components, no Overload), the Twins, and Megatron.

Book description:

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Transformers including footage from the films Revenge of the Fallen and Transformers, with this explosive guide.

Read behind-the-scenes stories from the Transformer movies, secret dossiers, mission objectives, stats, top 10s, amazing facts and more. Get access to the data files of your favorite heroes from Optimus Prime and Megatron to Bumblebee and Sam Witwicky.

Step into dramatic battle scenes and learn everything you ever wanted to know; from an insiders guide to Cybertonian history to the secrets behind the Transformers military hardware. Plus, fantastic cross-sections will take you deep inside their incredible world

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New Transformer Wallpaper

Hasbro has posted new wallpaper images Transformer 2 characters including Sideswipe, Megatron, Prime and more. Below are the 800x600 size of each but additional sizes and more wallpaper from Transformers: Animated can be found here. Thanks to Crisp for the link.

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Story Spoilers from ShoWest? (Update 3)

In the new theatrical trailer thread, an anonymous post reveals some potentially spoiler information about the Transformers 2 story based on information they got at ShoWest. Normally I don't post these but in this case the information is consistent and logical enough with the information we have that it makes me wonder if it is not legit. At the very least it will probably lead to a lively (and hopefully insult free) discussion in the comments. I have edited the post a bit (mostly using bullet points) to make it easier to read. My comments are in brackets [].

I work in the effects industry but I am not affiliated with this film. We do have an online community (member only) where we discuss various projects around the various studios. I have some knowledge about some of the robots in the shots from the trailer.

- The robot with the "loose" treads is called Scrapper. Hence the reason he is "fist" fighting with Bumblebee.
- The yellow robot is Rampage.
- The helicopter is Blackout. You could see it at the ShoWest if you were there but more now with a HD feed of this trailer you can see that Blackout has rust on him just like Megatron does. Blackout is mostly intact.
- The robots crashing into the aircraft carrier are the Constructicons. Many people believed it was members of Starscream's air force but as you can see from the video there are no robots present. We saw an additional scene where Long Haul and Mixmaster are destroying the ship from within and end up ripping the hull of the carrier in half.
- What I was told is Soundwave has been scanning vehicles and when the Decepticons come to earth they fly by him in space and receive their alt mode on the way down. [Strategically and story wise, this is a genius idea]
- This is why Long Haul, Scrapper, and Mixmaster are as their alt modes over Megatron. Brawl and Bonecrusher do not return. They use Brawls parts to reform Megatron underwater (tank tracks and fitted with a particle cannon that Soundwave provides.
- Soundwave is only seen in the trailer as one of the 4 robots down in the ocean. By the way if you think Long Haul is huge Soundwave is about 6 feet taller. The other plot point is the cold and pressure does not affect their bodies like the humans thought they would. Two Decepticons give up their sparks to revive Megatron and Blackout who we find out is 3rd in command behind Starscream.
- Michael Bay made Soundwave's role as Megatron's most trusted friend (aka bodyguard and secretly unknown to Starscream as the real number 2) hence the recovery effect by the Decepticons.
- Mixmaster and Megatron can semi-fly in the film but not much. Megatron has back rockets and Mixmaster has the spinning gears turbines under his arm shields (cement mixer barrel) that he uses a few times. Mixmaster has a lot of screen time. [This would explain how Megs "swimming" up so fast and how Mixxy gets on the bridge]
- We saw a short 5 second shot where Long Haul stomps on Jazz's corpse underwater. [Sorry but I have not and still don't think Jazz returns and I could see this being Bay's definitive statement on the matter]
- There are 5 other jets that fly with Starscream but have not been named at the time of the show. I do not know the type of aircraft.
- Barricade is the one crashing into the library but isn't seen.

We saw more of that shot at the ShoWest show in private. Finally the major spoilers is as follows so look away if you don't want to know.

Remember when Michael Bay said Ravage does something no other transformer does? Well Alice is Ravage. Well they kinda gave it away when they said she had a tail and a tongue. Ravage is really small like a real jungle cat. He is sent to kill Sam but realizes Sam has information about The Fallen so he tries to get it from him. Once she turns on Sam and comes after him then she shows who she really is and Barricade shows up to help. Enough said. Now I said enough but hey there was 300 plus people at the ShoWest after party. I am out. Enjoy Revenge of the Fallen because a lot of great lads at ILM and DD did the work. [This is an elaboration on a plot point that video and story leaks indicated and Orci indirectly verified]

Update: To add to the above, a post from a possible DreamWorks employee confirms some of the above and denies other. It has a tinge of the realistic to it and is convincing enough to make it worth posting. As always though, all of this remains unproven but very interesting. Some edits made for clarity, my comments in brackets.

This is a shock to us here at Dreamworks. We are NOT asking you to remove this info [maybe a few months ago we would have] but we will clear some up for you. I will say that most of the info is correct but some is not.
- The robot that is fighting Bumblebee is NOT "Scrapper" because if you look closely he is seen by the wall [yellow bot] when Shia & Megan jump from the blast of Starscream. We aren't revealing if the red bulldozer has a name just yet. Around 10 bots will be nameless.
[Could this be Overload, the 7th Constructicon recent articles mentioned?]

- 2 Decepticons do NOT give up their spark for the return of Megatron. It is just one. If you look through TF mythology this won't come as a surprise. This character willingly sacrifices himself.
[I believe this is a reference to Beast Wars series which created the Spark concept and made them transferable. Who does the sacrificing? If Blackout does comes back, does a Decepticon also die for him?]

- A lot of people speculate that the tank tracks on Megatron are from Brawl--they are NOT. His tank tracks are Cybertronian metal and that is the reason most of his body has rust but the tracks do not. He is built from deceased Decepticons but not from the Laurentian Abyss. There is a double-meaning to the name Long Haul (think back to his F.A.B. toy bio)

- Isabel's character is NOT a human form for Ravage. I will not say who but think back to the videos I am sure you have seen with the crew & the puppet-like minion. Ravage actually has nothing to do with the college aspect. Soundwave enlists someone else for that job. All I can say is this...Ravage is far too big [unlike the info you have] to be Isabel.
[This does not discount that Alice is not a pretender, just not a skin for Ravage but another un-named Transformer such as the Frenzy-like creature. Mass wise, Ravage does seem way too big.]

- There isn't a character in the film named "Gridor" because it indeed is Blackout. We had that toy made because we weren't going to show him until this final trailer and we felt if the toy was leaked with that name [we were right] it would ruin the surprise. Mike insisted on the scene with him in it for the Vegas footage. Fans will indeed see a Blackout toy after the release of the film.
[Looks like Blackout, attacks like Blackout, if sounds like Blackout, must be Blackout, but why the white coloring?]

- Starscream does have re-enforcements however there are only 3 that accompany him. They also use the same scanning technique. If you remember, we had an original artwork with Soundwave in his satellite mode where meteor bots are flying by. Ehren came up with the idea like Teletran-1 for the Autobots. This is but one of the many things Soundwave adds to this film. Mike loved this idea because it saves time on having each individual bot scan & transform.
[This is a genius idea because now very little screen time has to be wasted on getting Decepticons in an alt mode, they just literally do it on the fly and go right into the main story]

- That was a secret of ours however, one of our biggest secrets is now revealed regarding Barricade. As Mike would say...the cat's out on that one. The crew knew the cop car would draw attention on set hence the reason there wasn't a confirmed set-picture---the car is CGI for roughly 3 seconds before a transformation to robot form occurs.
[We already knew Barricade was back, just not how he would be used]

- The rest of the info is indeed accurate along with the info on Jazz. We knew a lot of people wanted him to show up but if everyone returned it defeats the purpose of having tragedy in the franchise---same with Brawl & Bonecrusher.

I'm sorry if any info has been spoiled for you but the great thing about our dedication to this film was for each and everyone of the fans out there. We listened to all the good & bad comments over the past couple of years. Enjoy the film!!

Update 2: The plot gets a little more interesting as the orginial poster comments on the the above which was a comment on his first post and adds a few more potential story details. Honestly these two posters are not really opposing viewpoints, at most the differences come down in identifying what Constructicon is which and who Alice is the Pretender of.

Hey all of you. I am the poster from last night that provided the information that I am surprised has grown so much. I just wanted to respond to the guy that claims he is from DreamWorks. I have a feeling this guy is a fake. Industrial Light & Magic and Digital Domain are doing the visual effects for this film. DreamWorks and Paramount are making it. This guy is talking like he is sitting in on the visual effects sessions which only the writers, producers and director would do. Plus he is stating that quote:
"That's right, some big secrets were revealed that we didn't want published, so what I am going to do is confirm them for you. Then add a bit more that you didn't ask to hear because we want to keep it tight lipped around here. --DWE"

Now why would someone who works for DreamWorks start confirming secrets and add a bit more if they want to keep it tight lipped? Also without Michael Bay's permission and all cast members have to sign a contact not to release information.. I do not work for DreamWorks as I stated last night nor did I work on Revenge. I am friends with people at ILM and DD and our company was one of many that attended ShoWest. I am not under contract to keep my mouth shut because like I said I have nothing to so with the production. They sign as DWE meaning DreamWorks Entertainment. There is no division under that name. It is only DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG. I suspect this is someone trying to toy with the information I have provided. I don't really care either way.
[All valid points, personally I thought DWE meant DreamWorks employee]

I am myself a huge fan of Transformers and just thought I would volunteer the information I was made privy to at ShoWest. I would love to provide information as to who I am but just in case it may get me or someone at ILM or DD in trouble I shall remain in the shadows. Like I said there were 300 plus people at the ShoWest after party so I felt it was safe to tell you guys what I know.
[Also like more information, so volunteering is good but people are going to muddy the waters which is easy to do until the movie comes out.]

I am just posting this last time so if you see anymore posts claiming it is me then don't believe it. If you need straight facts or get a 100% confirmation then take the word of Roberto Orci or Alex Kurtzman over some guy claiming to be from DreamWorks.
[Couldn't agree more, if doesn't come from official channels, it remains under the speculation category.]

In closing I will say I sent a email this morning to someone in the know to clarify about the changes on Scrapper and Rampage and I was told is the yellow bot chasing Sam is Rampage but he was changed from the toy seen as the yellow Rampage to the a wheeled construction machine and his head was moved to that robot model. Look at the head of Rampage on his toy box on this site and then look at the scene with Sam jumping off the roof and you will see Rampage has the same head as the toy but is another mode. Scrapper was given his body, color changed, and a different head for the film. Same thing was done with Demolishor from the movie to the toy itself (different colors).
[Hasbro production means toy designs had to be locked about a year ago to get the engineering and manufacturing done in time for the movie. ILM and Bay are not under any such restraints so they can make adjustments right up to the very end so this is very plausible.]

Another tidbit and a spoiler is as follows..
So it was mentioned by the DWE guy about the shots of the Frenzy like creature on Sam's dads Saturn car being Alice. Well after Sam gets chased by Barricade and Ravage and Bumblebee shows up to fight them off right as Sam's dad arrives and they get attacked by this creature who is with Barricade. They escape and drive home which isn't far from the college but the creature is hanging on the car. That is when more of these creatures attack their house and hurt his dad and that is the scene where Bumblebee crashes through the fence to save them. From here they go to see Simmons and find Prime aka the graveyard scene. The scene where Bumblebee is dancing in the garage and the house damaged outside is because Bumblebee accidently falls into the side of the house and that is why Sam is kind of cold to him in the garage about how he isn't coming to college with him after his dad lets him have it.

Update 3: DWE replies to the above. I edited it to specific story stuff but you can find the full post in the comments.

...however I must add another clarification:
Trust me when I say this......all of the toys that associate with the major classes [SCT, FAB, DLX, VOY & LDR] will be named correctly. The name "Grindor" is only for the F.A.B. toy and that's it. There will NOT be any mix-ups...I can give you my word. Ehren has been VERY adamant about this fact as well---he will be the first to say that he's the ultimate "fanboy"

To be honest we haven't read a post from one person yet that has the ending figured out [not to say that someone doesn't know it...we just haven't read it] but the fans on this blog as well as the others are VERY smart at picking up details.

Megatron returns..I never said who he gains the spark from.
Alice is a pretender..all you know is that it's not Ravage.
The seekers were obvious..I didn't say who the 3 were.

I hate to do this again but as you know Sam & Mikaela have a long-distance relationship and the info you were given in the 2nd update is also incorrect to an extent. The college Sam attends is an east coast university so the school and his house would NOT be in a close proximity to each other [that should give it away right there]

If you remember [I'm sure you do--who am I kidding] the coloring book revealed a "kitchen crew" of drones. They do NOT appear while Sam is enrolled in college. Those two points in time do not intersect during the film.

[The Spark] DOES NOT come from Soundwave. Trust me when I say this as well...Bob, Alex, & Ehren did justice to the original character & the visual effects on him are AMAZING. I will go out on a limb here and say that when you see & hear the new Soundwave you will NOT look at the original in the same way. Those 3 men & Mike listened to the fans. You will LOVE this rendition of him [unless you are rooting for the Autobots]

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Megatron's Alt Mode

Latino Review has found four images of Megatron's potential new alt mode. As the robot pic suggested, it appears to be a rather strange looking tank. Not bad looking but I do find the head peaking out between the treads a bit strange looking. Thanks to Eyehut and Katie for the link.


Edit: Updated post to reflect correct source of the images.

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TF2 Megatron Image?

TFW2005's S250 has struck again. Previously he had posted pictures of concept images of the Corvette Centennial, Audi R8, and Chevy Trax (since pulled per Paramount). Now he has posted the image to the right that looks like a modified Megatron robot design complete with tank tread like feet. Proof that Megatron not only returns but gets an earth mode? Thanks to Thomas for the heads-up.

Update: More I see this car, more I like it. Too bad its price is probably outside my scope (I am betting around $30-$35k). Anyway more images are here, video of interior here.

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Megatron A Tank?

Chud.com is reporting that sources are telling them that Megatron does return in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. However, he doesn't come back in his Cybertronian jet mode but as a tank and he joins the Autobots in stopping the The Fallen.

Last week MTV essentially reran a story we ran months ago, but with different sources: yes, the villain in Transformers 2 is The Fallen, the Satan equivalent Transformer from the recent comic books. Now I'm coming at you with new TF2 news: Megatron is coming back.

OK, I don't think there's a soul out there who will be surprised when Megatron returns in Transformers 2*. If the current incarnation of the script follows the beats of a previous incarnation (which did not feature The Fallen), Megatron may be getting brought back by the Autobots, who need him to conquer the new menace. But I've learned that this time he won't be that weird alien jet. This time he's a tank.

Megatron apparently was a tank in the Transformers Generation 2 comic or toys or something (I don't know, I just looked it up on Wikipedia and I still don't get it), so this has some precedent. I imagine this is as close as we'll get to seeing him be a gun, since the movies appear to eschew the sort of size shifting antics that the comics and cartoons embraced.

As pointed out above, thanks to the general dislike over gun toys, Megatron has had multiple different alt modes over the years, including a car mode. The most common though remains the tank mode thanks to the big cannon which allows a little nod to his G1 incarnation.

Despite the precedent though, I have my doubts that this is a true. I don't know it just doesn't ring right. Seems like a lot of bother to try and set up Megatron as a huge bad guy and then soften him up for a sequel when there are much better things to be done with him. However, since we know nothing of the story any theory is valid and this is just another to add to the pile.

The above artwork is from Prowler974.
(source)

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Megatron Design Revealed

AICN posted, then pulled photos of the robot form of Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons and main villain (sorta, as only in film for about 20 minutes). Thankfully a site reader, Donald C., sent me the pics.

I do believe that if the producers et al got a ton of crap for Starscream and other leaked designs, the sh-- is about to truly hit the fan. You saw a hint of him form being built here, but now you get to see it in all its colored glory.

Now, having read the script, the idea is Megatron retained his alien Cybertron form in part because of his contempt for earthlings and all things Earth related. If you hate them, why trans-scan into a earth form. So the idea is to scream "look!, evil alien robot." On that beat, they absolutely nailed it. Sadly though if you are looking for your childhood Megatron, there is nada (but maybe get that in the voice perhaps?).

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Full Frontal Bumblebee and other Vehicle Pics

Today has been a good day for Transformers movie news. First the full cast announcement and now we have a view of robot mode of Bumblebee from the front along with some alt modes of various Autobots.

The first pic is an image of Bumblebee in robot mode with helpful human to help with scale. I have to admit, I can't decide if I like it or not. The detail looks slick, but I don't see the Camaro in there anywhere. Where is the hood? The car doors? Should be intriguing to see how this works not only in CGI but also with the toy line Hasbro will be releasing.

The weird gray spikey thing is theorized to be Megatron. I think its based mostly on the color but since they are still building whatever it is, the color could just be the result of the molding process. Its to early to tell what its is.



Here are the pics of the various Autobots. The black truck in the top left is Ironhide, whose backside with slick Autobot symbol engraving can be seen here. The yellow car in the bottom left is the Bumblebee. The truck in the middle is Optimus Prime, and the green Hummerish car on the right is Ratchet.

And finally a close up of Optimus Prime. I have to admit not loving the color scheme or the flames but I can live with it (not like have a choice anyway).

- The pic sources could have been posted here, here, and here in the Talkback section. Who came first? Beats me. As for why they are so small, its because they have all been posted that way and so far the original larger size pics haven't been posted.

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