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12 Jan 2004 |
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Hi guys and welcome to yet another edition of your favourite bi-weekly Transformers newsletter, published by those nice folks at Theyareamongus.com in Australia!
We're kicking off 2004 with another packed edition, featuring the second part of our in-depth Optimus Prime feature, more Heavy Metal War tips and tricks, details on recent releases from the past couple of weeks, news on the latest Alternator figure, glimpses of the new Energon cartoon, and, most exciting of all, our exclusive interview with the nicest guy working in Transformers today: Joe Ng from Dreamwave!
Have fun and remember, never share a drink with someone who's been eating crisps! - Editor, Stephen Jesson
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TAAU MEMBER INTERVIEW 002: JOE NG
If you are a fan of Transformers then you have probably read a comic or two. If you have read a comic or two then chances are you have seen some of the fabulous art of Joe Ng, who is one of the insanely talented artists working at Dreamwave in Canada.
After having seen his work posted on many internet art boards and watched his professional and friendly attitude as he went from fan to pro, I can honestly say it is a role that he more than deserves.
Joe agreed to take time out of his busy schedule (3:00am to be precise!) to be involved in this interview.
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FIRST LOOK AT ENERGON / SUPER LINK ANIMATION
As many of you will probably know by now, Energon (or 'Super Link' as it's known in Japan) is the next instalment in the Transformers saga. Although not due to air in Australia for a while yet, everyone is eagerly awaiting its arrival and many still have high expectations for the new series, despite some of the failings of Armada.
Energon will be using a mixture of computer generated and hand drawn animation, much like Zoids, and as the new series approaches, Japan-based Transformers site, Fan To Fan, have kindly made some clips of the show available for everyone to view and enjoy! Thanks also to Transfandom.com who have kindly hosted these files on their mirrored site.
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NEW 'DREAMMIX TV: WORLD FIGHTERS' GAME TO FEATURE TRANSFORMERS
It seems computer game companies are going Transformers crazy at the moment, with Transformers: Takatai from Winky Soft being released late last year, and Transformers: A Prelude to Energon from Melbourne House due to hit stores in June, 2004. After many years without anything but a forgettable Beast Wars game, we're finally being treated to some decent titles on next generation consoles.
Well, believe it or not, the fun doesn't stop there, as next on the horizon is DreamMix TV: World Fighters, a collaborative fighting game from Konami, Takara and Hudson which allows you to play many pop culture icons, including our very own Optimus Prime and Megatron!
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THE MYSTERY OF ALPHA Q: WHO IS HE?
That was the question on everyone's lips when the name was released in Japan amongst the various media announcements for the upcoming Super Link series (known over here as 'Energon').
TV Tokyo was first to answer that question as they unveiled the character list for the upcoming show, and from this we learnt that Alpha Q is possibly the last surviving Quintesson. We were also treated to the first picture of Alpha Q which showed him (or possibly her) resembling that of an original G1 Quintesson. The big difference here however is that, according to the TV Tokyo site, Alpha Q only has four faces as opposed to five from G1. Or does he/she?
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THE NEXT ALTERNATOR TO BE A MAZDA RX-8
At a recent Automotive show, Mazda beat Hasbro to the post by revealing the next Alternator. Did they jump the gun? Well, this isn’t the Corvette everyone has been waiting to see, but is instead a Mazda RX-8, as can be seen here.
He may not be the next in the line as Hasbro have been hinting that the Corvette will have that honour, however once again the Alternators line continues to astound all who look upon them. All I can say for certain is that many fans will be waiting on the edge of their seats for a chance to add this bad boy to their collection.
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THE GREATEST HERO OF THEM ALL: OPTIMUS PRIME (PART 2)
So Optimus Prime is the greatest action hero of them all, but with every great action there must come a toy:
From his early diaclone days, the original G1 Optimus Prime figure has captured many a transfan's imagination. He was simple to transform and came with a really cool battle station in his trailer, and this is possibly why his G1 incarnation is by the far the most popular, inspiring a number of variations from his original 1984 self to a release with a Pepsi trailer through to variations in packaging and knock-offs which saw him grow in size!
Nearly 20 years on (though he was given a 15th anniversary release in Japan) and he has been re-released three times; New Year's Edition, Toys 'R' Us exclusive (complete with shortened smoke stacks which angered many a fan!) and the Takara Collector Series. G1 Prime was also unique in that he never actually combined with his trailer, although this changed in the later years of G1 with the release of Powermaster Prime, a completely new Optimus Prime who's cab was able to transform to robot as his trailer transformed to battle station, but was then able to combine with his trailer to form a much larger (and less articulated) Optimus Prime. This figure also saw a release in Japan* as God Ginrai, who came with a second trailer which could also be combined to form an even larger figure.
Generation 1 also saw a new version of Prime, though he wasn't Prime. Originally released in Japan as Powered Convoy, this figure was the first Prime to be able to combine with his trailer, he was later recoloured and released outside of Japan as a new character (obviously not to clash with the future release of Powermaster Prime), Autobot City Commander, Ultra Magnus.
But with each generation, a new Prime was produced.
Generation 2 saw the return of G1 Prime, only this time he was sporting a nice black trailer and came with new weapons as well as a voice box. Generation 2 also introduced us to not one, but three new looking Primes, the smallest of which saw Prime move away from his traditional semi-trailer and took the form of a sports car; yes Spychanger fans, this is where it all began as Optimus Prime took command of the Autobot Go-Bots.
The biggest Prime of that era saw perhaps the best Prime to date, Laser Rod Optimus Prime. He didn't combine with his trailer but who cared? Here was a large, impressive figure who had amazing articulation for a toy in those days, and not only that, but he also came with lights as well as an arsenal of weapons. The toy was so impressive that he was brought back a decade later for the Robots in Disguise line in what seems to have started the trend of painting a Prime black, slapping a Decepticon emblem on him and calling him Scourge.
The final Prime from G2 came in the form of Hero Optimus Prime; back in his truck form but this time with a gimmick in the form of an air weapon. He's a bit of rarity too, as this mold was also given the repaint treatment in the RiD line and released as Destructicon Scourge, a figure equally as hard to find!
Following G2, Transformers went into hiatus for a few years and returned in the form of Beast Wars. Beast Wars saw the introduction of a new Optimus, Optimus Primal, however in Japan Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal were the same characters, but outside they were two different characters. Our favourite Prime appeared in both Beast Wars and Beast Machines as his G1 self; first in Beast Wars laying dormant in the Ark, and later in Beast Machines as a hologram.
Around the same time as Beast Wars, a small, store exclusive line was released, known as Machine Wars. This generation's Prime saw him in typical semi form but given a futuristic make-over, in fact he was nothing more than a repaint of the G2 Thunderclash figure. Possessing as much articulation as Powermaster Prime, his only redeeming quality was to those who loved the Machine Wars line. He did not have the face of Prime and his only resemblance to his G1 counterpart is his alt mode.
Following the end of Beast Wars, a new line was introduced, Robots in Disguise (R.I.D.), and as mentioned before, this saw the return of the Laser Rod mold in the form of the evil Decepticon Scourge. This generation's Prime broke completely with the traditional 'Prime must be a semi' belief and was released as a fire truck. Like those before him, his cab could transform into a robot (though the cab alone couldn't function without the rest of 'trailer') while his remaining 'bits' were able to transform into a battle station. He could then combine with the battle station to form a much larger robot who still boasted a lot of articulation. His one bad point would be his lack of weaponry, but still a memorable Prime nonetheless. Also from RiD came his Spychanger version, a much smaller version of himself but still quite fun to play with.
Then came Armada and the transformers community rejoiced as Prime returned to his roots in the form of a semi. Armada alone would see numerous versions of Prime, with the first being the super base which had the gimmick of infra-red, and when you transformed the cab, the trailer would automatically transform into his legs (or as it was so nicely termed, 'pants'). Following in Armada tradition, super base Prime was given the repainted 'Powerlinx' makeover, or as he was called, 'Final Battle Prime'. Both versions were able to combine with two other Autobots, the first being Jetfire who transformed into another set of legs (or 'pants') for Prime, as well as Overload who connected to his back to add more firepower.
The other Prime for that generation came in a smaller version which didn't have a trailer but had far more articulation, and was generally known as 'Baby Prime' or 'Bendy Prime'. There is at least three different versions of him floating around; one with silver headlights, one with yellow headlights and one sporting an Autobot symbol on his bonnet. Following what seems to now be a growing tradition, 'Baby' Prime was given the black evil make over and renamed into Nemesis Prime.
Before the end of Armada though, we were shown something that made many fans around the world wet themselves with excitement: 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime. The biggest and baddest Prime of them all. He's big, solid, and bloody heavy, and the best representation of the original cartoon character. His transformation is similar to that of the original Prime but also different to fill in gaps and make him look more solid.
Sadly though it seems 20th Anniversary Prime was a decoy to distract us from a whole new Prime in the form of Energon Prime. Dubbed 'Fatimus Prime', he may quite possibly take the worst Prime ever, stripping Machine Wars Prime of the title. Barely resembling a semi and hardly hiding his robot features is bad enough, but transform him and you'll see the beer belly he's sporting. His gimmick though is new in that he can combine with four 'drones' to form a larger, leaner and meaner Prime, but is it enough save him? We'll know soon enough.
Back on the repaint wagon and we were treated to a recoloured version of RiD Prime for the Universe era, sporting a lovely yellow which will blind you if you look at it; he features no new changes to the mold, just a new colour scheme which is far from impressive.
Finally, very little known is about this Prime. Barely released in America, we see the repaint scheme in reverse. Released in RiD, Spychanger Scourge was a nifty little bot and a very good representation of his bigger self. He however has been given the repaint makeover and is now sporting a G1 Prime style colour to match the upcoming G1 Spychanger line. Cutest Prime ever? We'll wait and see.
*Please note, for the purpose of this article I have discussed western releases only, as there are far too many 'Convoy' figures from Japan to deal with! I have made referenced to them though.
- Story by: Darryl Anderson
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INTERNET GAMING AND TRANSFORMERS UNITE (PART 2)
In the last issue of the TAAU newsletter I spoke about Heavy Metal War and hopefully intrigued you all enough to check it out and maybe even start your own team. Well, this week I thought I'd follow that up with some tips and tricks to help you progress in the game and inflict some serious damage upon your enemies!
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SNEAK PEEKS AND RECENT RELEASES
As time rolls on, so do the sneak previews and teaser pics of upcoming releases from Hasbro and Takara. So just to satisfy that 'I need to know' urge that runs through all of us out there, here are latest releases from the past week or so. Get ready to drool people!
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