Takara Tomy Transformers Unite Warriors Groove Test Shot Images

If anything, since UW Superion is getting an Australian release via Hasbro, Menasor should not be that far behind... What are the chances of Guardian making it there, despite being an online exclusive?

To aid some clarity to my prior statement (I hope)

What I was saying was that the Takara Defensor / "Guardian" set could well be available to buy again in one of several ways :

1stly They keep some back and sell them at places like Tokyo Toyfair (remember Takara has often sold other peoples exclusives at events they are at so the product being an exclusive isn't relevant they retain the right it seems to sell them at shows too from the Takara stand.

If they do this it will be I would anticipate from stock they kept back for the purpose of doing just this rather than new stock they make especially.

The second chance for a consumer to potentially buy a Takara Version gift set is if the item get released in Hong Kong/China as an official version for that market.

As mentioned above by previous poster something can be an exclusive in one country but not another or it can be an exclusive in another store or - Also t could even be sold at another special Asian event outside Japan.

I would for example see it as pretty likely that even if the G2 boxed sets don't get (for example) TRU-J exclusive status they will still show up in some form in Asia - but how will vary depending on if they get sold as Comic convention releases or retail toys.

Not to mention Takara have made 2nd or even 3rd runs of toys before so they could simply open Defensor up for another pre-order and make some more as a second chance to buy to consumer.

The clear Henkei Optimus Prime / Convoy was sold twice for example as was THS-02 & Masterpiece Rodimus & Masterpiece Lambor to name but a few.

So I hope we see some more as I'm sure they can sell some more to people in Asia. Obviously they will still be harder to get to an International / "Western" consumer than to some one in Asia unless they have good contacts - but that is always the case that you have to sometimes jump through some hoops with some Japanese Exclusives - as was the case with some Masterpieces and some/all of the Cloud toys

I don't know if/when UW Groove will be released in the states but I already have most of Defensor; (Blades, Rook, Hotspot, Streetwise, First Aid (and legends class groove) but if we don't get an actual HASBRO release of CW deluxe Groove I will buy a KO version and I won't feel bad at all doing it.

I actually still far and away prefer the Legends Groove. It looks better to me, despite the legs

Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

Not only that but one of the big things of the Junkions is that they can ride eachother (cue immature laughter) and this seems to be a feature of this Deluxe Groove mold Yuki seems super proud of. The RTS was able to make that work too but that mold had some serious issues.

Sabrblade wrote:We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

There is currently both a legends and leader Thundercracker one on top of the other (oh man, there must be better ways to write) at both my TRU and Walmart. The idea of only having one figure of a character per line doesnt seem to hold up as much as it used to (I am reminded of that whenever I search for generations Optimus).

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

........so?

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

........so?

So take a reworked Defensor torso, four randomly colored grooves with different head sculpts and the legends Wreck-Gar and you have a Junkion combiner Which, honestly, would be such a great use of the Combiner Wars concept that I'm gonna be disappointed now when it never happens.

william-james88 wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

Not only that but one of the big things of the Junkions is that they can ride eachother (cue immature laughter) and this seems to be a feature of this Deluxe Groove mold Yuki seems super proud of. The RTS was able to make that work too but that mold had some serious issues.

Sabrblade wrote:We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

There is currently both a legends and leader Thundercracker one on top of the other (oh man, there must be better ways to write) at both my TRU and Walmart. The idea of only having one figure of a character per line doesnt seem to hold up as much as it used to (I am reminded of that whenever I search for generations Optimus).

And, perhaps ironically, the legends Wreck-Gar is based on the Legends Groove mold. It would be perfect symmetry! Well, as much symmetry as possible with Junkions involved.

ScottyP wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

........so?

So take a reworked Defensor torso, four randomly colored grooves with different head sculpts and the legends Wreck-Gar and you have a Junkion combiner Which, honestly, would be such a great use of the Combiner Wars concept that I'm gonna be disappointed now when it never happens.

For the torso, I was thinking a retool of Sky-Lynx into an '86 Movie-esque shuttle - either an Ark-type shuttle or a Junkion shuttle. It wouldn't be exact, but I can totally see the Junkions having some beastly shuttle-former.

This Groove reminds me of a certain fella:

megatronus wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

........so?

So take a reworked Defensor torso, four randomly colored grooves with different head sculpts and the legends Wreck-Gar and you have a Junkion combiner Which, honestly, would be such a great use of the Combiner Wars concept that I'm gonna be disappointed now when it never happens.

For the torso, I was thinking a retool of Sky-Lynx into an '86 Movie-esque shuttle - either an Ark-type shuttle or a Junkion shuttle. It wouldn't be exact, but I can totally see the Junkions having some beastly shuttle-former.

Aww man, that would be so awesome, cuz you know they would too; I don't even care that it would be 4 of the same mold, or that they are yet more 's, it's having fun with the line in a good way, just so long as they all have their fabulous facial hair and melee weapons

I dunno if it's the right thread, but I just wanted to share my Takara Menasor configuration. Especially with how I dealt with the Runabout chestplate. In normal "car parked on chest" mode, the thing refused to stay put and kept popping off. It looked not that good anyway so I did a mod. I just shaved a bit of plastic off runabout's shoulder joints, allowing them to fold backward. Now Runabout have Motormaster's nipples firmly in his grasp and he look like an armor peice, not a car parked in a silly place. Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

Sha-weet!









Meanwhile, Defensor wonder when the hell he will be complete...

-Kanrabat- wrote:Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

..Of his crotch.

-Kanrabat- wrote:I dunno if it's the right thread, but I just wanted to share my Takara Menasor configuration. Especially with how I dealt with the Runabout chestplate. In normal "car parked on chest" mode, the thing refused to stay put and kept popping off. It looked not that good anyway so I did a mod. I just shaved a bit of plastic off runabout's shoulder joints, allowing them to fold backward. Now Runabout have Motormaster's nipples firmly in his grasp and he look like an armor peice, not a car parked in a silly place. Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

Really? I commented in the tav thread that my runabout stays quite well on my hasbro menasor

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

..Of his crotch.

Well, if that's how you roll

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

..Of his crotch.

Well, if that's how you roll

OK. It's a loincloth. Is it that surprising, coming from TAV Runabout, official Chief of Propaganda?

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Hellscream9999 wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:Furthermore, the big is the right way, dead center.

..Of his crotch.

Well, if that's how you roll

OK. It's a loincloth. Is it that surprising, coming from TAV Runabout, official Chief of Propaganda?

Nope, I would've been disappointed if there weren't

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Man, that last shot makes Predaking look so SWEET! He is perfectly in scale and totally doesnt look out of place with these more "modern" versions which is a true testament to the quality of that figure. That is probably the best 100$ I ever spent on a TF, the value (especially considering the cost of the G1 reissues post him) is unbeatable.

I hope your defensor is complete sometime soon as well!

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Man, that last shot makes Predaking look so SWEET! He is perfectly in scale and totally doesnt look out of place with these more "modern" versions which is a true testament to the quality of that figure. That is probably the best 100$ I ever spent on a TF, the value (especially considering the cost of the G1 reissues post him) is unbeatable.

I hope your defensor is complete sometime soon as well!

Hell yeah Predaking! He IS totally in scale with Combiner Wars. Despite not having a voyager torso, the fact that all member of the team are slightly bigger than deluxes make the whole combiner in scale an very beefy looking. He's also way more solid and satisfying than the derpy and tiny G1 Scramble City combiners. That's indeed a 115$CAN that I will never regret!

Also, what do you think about my Runabout configuration?

Finally Defensor is going on a roadtrip...

Well, I'll be damn... I just wanted to post the preview as a joke, but it was harder to find than I though. I ended up finding the whole movie!

ScottyP wrote:

megatronus wrote:

Sabrblade wrote:

megatronus wrote:Everyone talks about Groove being retooled into Afterburner, but honestly, I think this mold might make a better Wreck-Gar/Junkion. The square-ish chest really works.

And honestly... who doesn't want a junkion combiner?

We're getting a Legends class Wreck-Gar.

........so?

So take a reworked Defensor torso, four randomly colored grooves with different head sculpts and the legends Wreck-Gar and you have a Junkion combiner Which, honestly, would be such a great use of the Combiner Wars concept that I'm gonna be disappointed now when it never happens.

I hopped on this topic to share my wonderful idea of Groove being remolded into Wreck-Gar only to see that all of you guys have said it already. See? Great minds do think alike! Not sure I'd like a Junkion combiner, but a 1986 combiner with Sky Lynx and some other characters would be fantastic.

-Kanrabat- wrote:
Also, what do you think about my Runabout configuration?

Your configuration is perfectly fine but I do not have anough confidence in my talents to alter my figures as you do. And plus, I actuallydo no like the chest emelishment gimick on Menasor or Defensor. I preffer them straight up without any embelishment as the Takara sets showcase. My combiner teams only have 5 members.

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:
Also, what do you think about my Runabout configuration?

Your configuration is perfectly fine but I do not have anough confidence in my talents to alter my figures as you do. And plus, I actuallydo no like the chest emelishment gimick on Menasor or Defensor. I preffer them straight up without any embelishment as the Takara sets showcase. My combiner teams only have 5 members.

Same way I'm planning to have my combiners.

i dont care how or when i just want hasbro to release that deluxe groove
and yes this mold has lots of potential as other characters like you know afterburner, wreck-gar
or maybe sideways? one can only dream!

Comparison shot of Streetwise in robot-mode from Yuki:



On the left: the Takara version, with a more cartoon/toy accurate deco.








And car mode:



Takara on the right.

Funny how much painting the wheels makes such a difference.
I don't dislike the Blue on the Hasbro one though as it complements the Protectobot giftset one that is based on Beast Hunters Prowl which has some blue on it too.

So they're re-releasing the UW Defensor NOT as a Japan mall exclusive?

@Kanrabat, that is a pretty sweet looking figure there! And I personally am keeping the 6-member teams, they actually kinda work for me

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:@Kanrabat, that is a pretty sweet looking figure there! And I personally am keeping the 6-member teams, they actually kinda work for me

Blackjack's concept works, he just makes Menasor's combined mode fat.

SillySpringer wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:@Kanrabat, that is a pretty sweet looking figure there! And I personally am keeping the 6-member teams, they actually kinda work for me

Blackjack's concept works, he just makes Menasor's combined mode fat.

I personally think it places the head closer to the front of the chest. and I like the Blackjack weapon chest better too

SillySpringer wrote:So they're re-releasing the UW Defensor NOT as a Japan mall exclusive?

It's still an online exclusive, no re-releases have been announced... yet. Never hurts to hope.

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:So they're re-releasing the UW Defensor NOT as a Japan mall exclusive?

It's still an online exclusive, no re-releases have been announced... yet. Never hurts to hope.

I've seen a lot, but I've never seen a figure re-released before it was ever released.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

JelZe GoldRabbit wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:So they're re-releasing the UW Defensor NOT as a Japan mall exclusive?

It's still an online exclusive, no re-releases have been announced... yet. Never hurts to hope.

I've seen a lot, but I've never seen a figure re-released before it was ever released.

If that re-release will actually happen, if the demand is so high, might be another six months post last week of October or mid November. That'll be around May 2016. (A big if) but I don't think it will be retail. Maybe that d@mn Tomy Mall exclusive again.

Looking at how much better Takara's Defensor is I'm probably going to sell my CW figures as a set. Hold on to Mini Groove though.

Pre-Orders closed for Guardian/Defensor now so does that mean when the Tomy Mall place actually has them they will open it to buy again when they have the actual stock ? or are they only sold on pre-order and because the pre-order sold out the toy has sold out too ?

Most probably their entire first run printing is sold out now. Mind you, those have already been paid for already. Now all we need is a little energon and a lot of.........waiting.

I thought I'd got my pre-order in ... turns out I hadn't.

What I was imply before - is that perhaps the entire production run isn't covered by the pre-orders there might be at least two more chances to get some of the initial production run in tiny numbers.

Either that held some back to sell as live stock online when they are released so if someone is nimble fingered in Japan they 'might' get a small chance to get ones they help back for that purpose.

The other way may be events like the Tokyo Toyshow may sell some on the Takara-Tomy stand.

The analogy I would use would be the Transformers Prime Tokyo Toyshow exclusives and the Exclusive Tigertrack Masterpiece.

Both of those showed up all sorts of other places above an beyond the initial place. Now in this instance I doubt they'd show up on E-Hobby since the Mall store is a direct rival to that.

But I really don't think we should rule out other ways for the 1st wave to show up in small numbers just yet - all be difficult to get ways.

Then maybe if we are very lucky a second run might get made and that might not be a Japanese exclusive it might be part of the stock that goes to Australia or delegated to Hong Kong & China distribution.

There is certainly demand for the set so I think it's "The wise thing to do" to make more of them even if the 1st run actually did sell out completely and there really is no more.

I expect there will be a few more show up though for the fleet footed types via such secondary means - just as happened with the Cloud toys relatively recently.

I know it may not be cost effective for some, but BBTS still has pre-order stock on Defensor...

[Edit] TF source, too...

-Kanrabat- wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

-Kanrabat- wrote:

Man, that last shot makes Predaking look so SWEET! He is perfectly in scale and totally doesnt look out of place with these more "modern" versions which is a true testament to the quality of that figure. That is probably the best 100$ I ever spent on a TF, the value (especially considering the cost of the G1 reissues post him) is unbeatable.

I hope your defensor is complete sometime soon as well!

Hell yeah Predaking! He IS totally in scale with Combiner Wars. Despite not having a voyager torso, the fact that all member of the team are slightly bigger than deluxes make the whole combiner in scale an very beefy looking. He's also way more solid and satisfying than the derpy and tiny G1 Scramble City combiners. That's indeed a 115$CAN that I will never regret!

Also, what do you think about my Runabout configuration?

Finally Defensor is going on a roadtrip...

Well, I'll be damn... I just wanted to post the preview as a joke, but it was harder to find than I though. I ended up finding the whole movie!

Hey K

Is your Menasor ratchets floppy/loose? Mine's kind of floppy.....arrgh!

I am actually wondering something about Takara's Defensor, are the ones available at BBTs the same available at Takaratomy mall, or are they of a seperate China run? Because both MP Skywarp and Thundercracker were takaratomy mall exclusives and very limiited in japan, but there were asia releases that were available and THAT is the version you can buy at BBTS and TFSource. Its even written on the listing:

Thundercracker:

This is the Asian market release of this product

So not the limited Takaratomymall release.

But Defensor's listing at TFSource is the following:

This is a takaratomy mall exclusive set

So are we to assume then that the Defensors we see are actually from the same run as the ones exclusive ot Takaratomy mall? If so, the price difference doesnt make much sense, wouldnt Defensor be more expensive than the markups found on Thundercracker who is not limited in distribution?

If anyone has any theories or incite as to where this defensor is coming from, let me know.

william-james88 wrote:I am actually wondering something about Takara's Defensor, are the ones available at BBTs the same available at Takaratomy mall, or are they of a seperate China run? Because both MP Skywarp and Thundercracker were takaratomy mall exclusives and very limiited in japan, but there were asia releases that were available and THAT is the version you can buy at BBTS and TFSource. Its even written on the listing:

Thundercracker:

This is the Asian market release of this product

So not the limited Takaratomymall release.

But Defensor's listing at TFSource is the following:

This is a takaratomy mall exclusive set

So are we to assume then that the Defensors we see are actually from the same run as the ones exclusive ot Takaratomy mall? If so, the price difference doesnt make much sense, wouldnt Defensor be more expensive than the markups found on Thundercracker who is not limited in distribution?

If anyone has any theories or incite as to where this defensor is coming from, let me know.

Maybe ask those guys at BBTS? Could it be a super secret contract deal?

My suspicion is that some US (and maybe elsewhere) retailers were able to secure a few cases from Tomy Mall for US distribution. I don't know what deals would have to be struck. If I were a retailer like BBTS, I'd figure there would be enough demand for this product that I would be willing to cut my margins pretty tight and not markup too drastically. (The main fear would be sitting on inventory and losing money, especially if the set is too expensive.) It may also be that initial pre-orders helped to set the overall production run, or at least the amount shipped to the US.

That's my theory...

It cant be just a few cases though. Technically this is at least the same demand as Menasor and Superion (probably more due to the exclusive groove figure). And yet the preorders are still available. So there is a large quantity of Defensors that is not exclusive to TTMall floating around somewhere.

The product may be "Exclusive" In Japan but isn't so internationally that would allow BBTS to buy it and potentially allow the China and Australian release too.

But we may not know one way or the other for a while - I might suggest write to some of the US or Asian based transformers internet retailers and ask them one of them might tell you.

william-james88 wrote:I am actually wondering something about Takara's Defensor, are the ones available at BBTs the same available at Takaratomy mall, or are they of a seperate China run? Because both MP Skywarp and Thundercracker were takaratomy mall exclusives and very limiited in japan, but there were asia releases that were available and THAT is the version you can buy at BBTS and TFSource. Its even written on the listing:

Thundercracker:

This is the Asian market release of this product

So not the limited Takaratomymall release.

But Defensor's listing at TFSource is the following:

This is a takaratomy mall exclusive set

So are we to assume then that the Defensors we see are actually from the same run as the ones exclusive ot Takaratomy mall? If so, the price difference doesnt make much sense, wouldnt Defensor be more expensive than the markups found on Thundercracker who is not limited in distribution?

If anyone has any theories or incite as to where this defensor is coming from, let me know.

BBTS is probably paying someone in Japan to sit at a computer, and order all of the figures they need, then ship it to them.

chuckdawg1999 wrote:
BBTS is probably paying someone in Japan to sit at a computer, and order all of the figures they need, then ship it to them.

The price is too low for that to be the case. Look at how much they are selling thundercracker for (200$) and he isnt even as exclusive as Defensor. Defensor at TTmall is 135$ US while he is 149$ at TFSource. That wouldnt even cover shipping and duty.

And remember that TTMall has thundercracker at 124$ while he is selling everywhere else for 200$ (because they had to resort to the Asian release).

These Defensors were not acquired though TTmall, that is for sure. But it cant be through an asian release because the price is also too low. It must have been gotten directly from takra without going through their retail division.

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:
BBTS is probably paying someone in Japan to sit at a computer, and order all of the figures they need, then ship it to them.

The price is too low for that to be the case. Look at how much they are selling thundercracker for (200$) and he isnt even as exclusive as Defensor. Defensor at TTmall is 135$ US while he is 149$ at TFSource. That wouldnt even cover shipping and duty.

And remember that TTMall has thundercracker at 124$ while he is selling everywhere else for 200$ (because they had to resort to the Asian release).

These Defensors were not acquired though TTmall, that is for sure. But it cant be through an asian release because the price is also too low. It must have been gotten directly from takra without going through their retail division.

Stupid question but based on all that is it possible that BBTS can buy directly from Takara?

chuckdawg1999 wrote:

william-james88 wrote:

chuckdawg1999 wrote:
BBTS is probably paying someone in Japan to sit at a computer, and order all of the figures they need, then ship it to them.

The price is too low for that to be the case. Look at how much they are selling thundercracker for (200$) and he isnt even as exclusive as Defensor. Defensor at TTmall is 135$ US while he is 149$ at TFSource. That wouldnt even cover shipping and duty.

And remember that TTMall has thundercracker at 124$ while he is selling everywhere else for 200$ (because they had to resort to the Asian release).

These Defensors were not acquired though TTmall, that is for sure. But it cant be through an asian release because the price is also too low. It must have been gotten directly from takra without going through their retail division.

Stupid question but based on all that is it possible that BBTS can buy directly from Takara?

Anyone tried the simple route instead of speculating? Why not ask BBTS?