Withith Transformers: Rise of the Beast upon us, let us review the toys for the characters of the movie, under the Studio Series line, brought to you courtesy of Hasbro SG and Hasbro MY
First up, SS-97 Airazor, voiced by beloved Malaysia legend, Tan Sri Michelle Yeoh
In package
A bit of background. Rise of the Beasts comes under 2 different toylines which are the Rise of The Beasts (mainline) and the Studio Series.
For those who were wondering why they released 2 lines simultaneously, it's due to the delay the movie had. Supposedly the mainline would come out before the movie and Studio Series version would come out maybe a year after. Hence that's why some of the mainline releases have different design than in the movie
Now for a figure that I was more curious about than the rest, SS-99 ROTB Battletrap. I can't put my finger why Battletrap feels a bit more different aesthetic wise, from the rest of Studio Series Live Action releases.
In Package
I really like the character artwork on the box, wouldn't mind if they made it into a collector card of some sort.
Next is SS-100, the face of Transformers Live Action movies, Bumblebee. It doesn't look like a coincidence that the first 100 SS lineup starts and ends with Bumblebee.
In Package
If you noticed, the Bumblebee in the artwork is bulkier and less lean compared to the Bayverse version. He resembles Volkswagen Bumblebee from BB Movie more in terms of proportion.
As you are all aware, the latest installment of Transformers Live Action Movie will premier on 8 June 2023, titled "Rise of The Beast" (ROTB).
Checkout the Trailer below
Supporting the movie, there are 2 mainlines being release concurrently for the movie which are the Rise of The Beast line and also under Studio Series.
In conjunction with the release of the movie and the toy lines, Hasbro is giving a chance for the fans to collect an exclusive Rise of The Beast merchandise, badge/coin collection.
Let's go through the merchandise first.
The set consist of of 1 Collector box and 5 unique badges/coins.
The box has a nice finishing to it, with premium feel.
This is the review for the complate wave of Marvel Legends Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3, released ahead of the premier of the movie, courtesy of Hasbro MY and Hasbro SG.
The set consists of 7 characters which are Star-Lord, Rocket, Drax, Mantis, Nebula, Kraglin and Adam Warlock. There are 2 Star-Lords per carton of 8. The figures retailed at RM124.90 each for Malaysia.
Another thanks to Hasbro MY and Hasbro SG for providing this review piece.
Now, time for a new Hasbro offering, from the newly started Dungeons & Dragons Golden Archive for the upcoming D&D movie, Honor Among Thieves.
Just a bit of a background. A Gelatinous Cube (or an athcoid) is a cube-shaped mindless, gelatinous matter that appears in countless D&D media.
In Package
The Gelatinous Cube (GC) comes in a windowless box, as per Hasbro Plastic-Free Packaging direction. The artwork is nicely done with both classic RPG vibe and board games.
One of my issues in collecting. I had kept 1 Legacy Armada Starscream since I have an extra unit but he'd be lonely. So I need to have Armada Hotshot.
Jokes aside though. This year we'll see the release of rebooted Armada figure, namely Armada Optimus Prime (Commander Class) and Armada Megatron (Leader Class).
Of the 3 Unicron-Trilogy series, Armada is the one that desperately need a reboot due to the poor execution despite cool concept.
Alt Mode
This is the 3rd mold for Armada Hotshot after the original release and Universe 2.0
I must say it looks to be underwhelming. Personally I preferred the Universe 2.0 Hotshot's alt mode better.
BUT, he definitely resembles his original toy better.
There is unmatching yellow color on the hood of the car due to being colored transparent plastics. The rims are unpainted which is something that Hasbro really need to stop doing.