Yesterday was the last of the four Hasbro livestream videos on YouTube. They unveiled the collaborative toy that was code-named Project: Rennaissance, and to nobody's surprise, it's a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles crossover:

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-collaborative-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-x-transformers-party-wallop-figure

The character's name is Party Wallop, which is a play on Party Wagon (the alternate name for the Turtle Van) and the van can transform into a turtle-themed robot. It's customizable with different signature weapons and mask colors, as well as a belt initial that can be changed, so the toy can represent Raphael (red), Leonardo (blue), Donatello (purple) or Michaelangelo (orange). I like that they went with this approach instead of trying to create an original robot character. It reminds me of the bootleg Teenage Mutant Ninja Brawn toys from China that you see on eBay sometimes.

...It sold out rather quickly. I suspect there were a number of fans buying four of them, so they could have one to represent each Turtle. And with the toy being of interest for both Transformers and TMNT fans, it's no surprise that it went fast.

They also unveiled the comic book version of Shockwave, which is up for pre-order. Somebody on the message boards discovered that the disembodied Optimus Prime head that comes with him is compatible with the Earthrise toy, so you can create your own Marvel Comics Optimus Prime toy, after a fashion.

https://hasbropulse.com/products/transformers-generations-comic-edition-shockwave

They also went into detail about the new Target four-pack. Squeezeplay comes with a gun-mode accessory of Browning, the Megatron-like gun character who appeared in the Masterforce cartoon and toy line.

Mark Maher likes the phrase "reign supreme." He uses it a lot.

Hasbro is bringing back their official G1 cartoon soundtrack, though it's not clear if it's going to be officially available digitally or whether it's only going to be released to vinyl again. There was also a brief discussion with Matt Ferguson, who put together the album art, and Kelly Rose from the Hasbro franchise team kept calling him "Matt Fergenson" for some reason. Like, maybe get the guy's name right?

As an aside, while the official album does contain about 45 minutes' worth of music, I'd like to remind everyone that the unofficial music restoration I took part in, a number of years ago, contains about 181 minutes' worth of music and is far more complete:

http://www.thetfcog.com/news/g1-season-1-2-3-restored-soundtracks-available-now.html

The upcoming toys that are in development, but not shown yet, finally include Studio Series '86 Leader-class Swoop. We all knew he was coming eventually, but Hasbro's been kind of quiet about him lately, so it's nice to get some solid, official confirmation. I honestly can't wait for him.

Zob (and then I'm sure they'll start selling us the Dinobots all over again in G2 colors...)

> Hasbro is bringing back their official G1 cartoon soundtrack, though it's not clear if it's going to be officially available digitally or whether it's only going to be released to vinyl again. There was also a brief discussion with Matt Ferguson, who put together the album art, and Kelly Rose from the Hasbro franchise team kept calling him "Matt Fergenson" for some reason. Like, maybe get the guy's name right?

> As an aside, while the official album does contain about 45 minutes' worth of music, I'd like to remind everyone that the unofficial music restoration I took part in, a number of years ago, contains about 181 minutes' worth of music and is far more complete:

> http://www.thetfcog.com/news/g1-season-1-2-3-restored-soundtracks-available-now.html

This is possibly the single greatest achievement to come out of the fandom, and you should be incredibly proud of yourself for delivering on every G1 fan's wildest dreams. It's a shame Hasbro hasn't consulted you, especially in light of their very incomplete official release (limited only to a niche format, with truncated and abbreviated sections of the score, and new names for each track, rather than the originals). Your version is constantly on repeat on my state-of-the-art Zune music player. Theirs gathers dust in a corner of the mancave.

On 3/29/2024 2:35 PM, Zobovor wrote:
> I like that they went with this approach instead of trying to create an
> original robot character.

I would have liked the Turtle Van to transform into Metalhead. But I
suppose he's too obscure.