Generations Selects | Hubcap

Transformers are a big franchise not only for its expanded universe spilling over various media from graphic novels and videogames, but also a plethora of characters that rarely gets a spotlight. Some of them are just background characters that in the original G1 animated series are also mistaken error. But since most of the characters never got screen time in the original cartoon their stories are told in the comicbooks originally published by Marvelm its UK piblication, then by Dreamwave, and now with IDW Publishing. Hubcap is one of these characters are considered deep cut from this expanding TF universe.

War For Cybertron: Siege | Rescue Patrol

The Autobots has taken form of cars, trucks, boats, and aircraft. Mostly, they are also recognizable as emergency crews and rescue vehicles with the exception of Barricade that changed the dynamic as the first Decepticon to be able to disguise as a law enforcement vehicle in the movies and now with Siege. But despite all that there are still Autobots that continue to take the form of Police and Fire Rescue like these two Micromasters introduced in the second wave of War for Cybertron: Siege in 2018-2019 release. The Rescue Patrol Team has been known for not only its name, but the team behind it. They make their return as part of the characters introduced in this new trilogy from the franchise.

TF Sightings | Kingdom Update at TRU Glorietta

The past few days have been quite a surprise if you’re keeping eye on the War for Cybertron: Kingdom. Local retail is slowly ramping up their shelf displays and for the stores that gets a complete assortment it is a rarity. Though it might be too early to celebrate surely there’s more where that came from. In the case of Toys R’ Us they’re the store that get most out of the new stuff. As mentioned before not all stores get their shelves updated this is due to the strategic location of the stores for the reason they’re getting new stuff while the others aren’t. Though it appears to be unfair but at the end of the day it is a business tactic why these stores are updated compared to the others even if the store carries the same name. If you’re not from Makati City you’ll be surprised.

TF Sightings | Toy Kingdom in SM Makati

War for Cybertron: Kingdom is slowly getting restocked in selected retail stores in Metro Manila. But is it enough to give the market the demand it needs? Well, depends on which area you’re located, but the local distributor continues to make sure there are enough for everyone despite growing numbers of interest for the toy brand that made Hasbro continue to make toys for the big boys. Despite the challenging logistic demand is it enough? The third installment of the War Far Cybertron Trilogy in Kingdom has had a rough start being stocked late in January 202i making them fly off the shelves instantaneously not even lasting a week. For those who had limited access to this product there is hope.

TF Sightings | Landmark & TRU Glorietta

By now everyone is getting the first wave of WFC: Kingdom, which started appearing in local retail at the tail end of January 2021. But not all stores have it as most that get the stock are the ones that get foot traffic. With the pandemic continues in 2021 there will be stores that receive restocks. Though, not enough to fulfill the market in areas that still needs to have them. In the stores in Makati City, there are quite a few that gets them on the shelves. Most of the first wave for WFC: Kingdom is broken up. Some of the highly sought after characters don’t actually make it to the display it is either that the product gets bought online or it was not included in the delivery. This is just an update on both stores with Landmark and Toys R’ Us in Glorietta...

Dream Tomica | Transformers Optimus Prime

Optimus Prime has been a semi-truck in various iteration, shape and form. When you mention of his name the first thing that comes to mind is the alternate mode that he turns into since making his first appearance in the classic cartoon that Teletran has scanned his vehicle form that would become part of the character’s identity. Takara Tomy, the Japanese toy manufacturer has produced countless Optimus Prime merchandise outside the action figure that appeared in 1984. The most significant product would be the non-transforming diecast cars. The company that also owned a diecast brand Tomica expanded to include Opitmus Prime as part of Dream Tomica.

TF Sightings | Babes Children's World

01.26.2020 – In case you haven’t been to Babes Children’s World, a specialty toy store which is located in the second level of Virra Mall in Greenhills has been around importing and also selling toys from local distributors in the Philippines. The last time sighting reports on what they have in stock was almost eight months ago. This time just a quick look at the store’s available assortments from the Transformers brand at the same time a sneak peek of their other products that you may find here. Interesting enough as an alternative for those who can’t find the character or toy that they can’t get at local retail is the second or third best thing to make a visit.

TF Sightings | Babes Children's World

05.29.2019 – In Metro Manila there have so many options for collectors to acquire their coveted toys ranging from diecast cars to high end actions figures. Local retail is fairly standard default option for anything that appears in every toy shelf in the country. But sometimes it’s quite a challenge if the one you looking for is sold out. There are A LOT of specialty shops out there that offer the same toys, but sometimes the price is not about right. You’d be surprised that some of the toys that already disappeared in toy shelves end up in those stores, but not Babes Children’s World.

TF Sightings | Search for LG-25 Hot Rod

05.28.2019 – There was an unexpected sighting yesterday at Toy Kingdom’s flagship store in SM Megamall. The toys that were sighted are Evolution Nemesis Prime (Amazon Exclusive), Transformers Legends Hot Rodimus, and Bumblebee Vol. 1 Retro Rock Garage that were available in the store. In the three mentioned the most sought after is the Transformers Legends LG-25, which Takara Tomy version of Titans Masters Autobot Hot Rod that was only available in selected markets outside Japan until it became available locally.

TF Sightings | Toys R' Us Noarlunga

02.20.2017 – Over the weekend a drive to Toys R’ Us Noarlunga was unprecedented as a rare opportunity to see what this store have when it comes to the Transformers brand. It’s surprising that the have something that Big W, Kmart, Target or even Myer doesn’t have that makes it even more interesting. The stores in Australia are diverse but not as complete like the ones in the Philippines or not even closely similar to the stores in South Korea. But definitely you get to see something there that’s worth the trip if you really have found that Transformer toy.

TF Sightings | Shin Tokyo in Adelaide

02.02.2017 – Specialty store in South Australia is a rare breed of business preferably you’ll see them in downtown Adelaide along with the four competing comic shops. Most of these specialty stores carry more licensed brands to western influenced popular culture that rarely you’ll get anything from Japan. Shin Tokyo would probably be the go to store for Japanese imports straight from the rising sun for anime, manga, gaming and even clothing apparel. They have a slice of Japan that also Gundam model kits that it’s only available here, but what stands out on this store are also the Takara Tomy released Transformers toys!

First Look: TF Legends Ultra Magnus!

08.10.2015 – The Combiner Wars certainly giving fans the interest in catching up with the toy versions of the characters featured in IDW’s comic book series. Under this theme they also released Ultra Magnus, which was produced by Hasbro. In another part of the world in Japan TF Yuki who is active on micro blogging site Twitter continues to surprise fans all over the world. A few hours earlier he just revealed Takara Tomy’s version of Ultra Magnus under Transformers Legends!

Little Changes: The Saga of Q-Transformers!

THE great Japanese tendency to take the usual and transform them into smaller, cuter iterations is easily encapsulated by eye-popping, aww-inspiring world of Super Deformed (SD) toys. Being one of the great toy lines of the world, Transformers have seen several different manifestations of the SD effect, but the newest, most multi-faceted iteration is the new Q Transformers line of tiny transforming figures.

            The long story of the Q TFs begins with another toy altogether, Takara’s Choro-Q line in 1978 (the company is now known as TakaraTomy). The Choro-Q toys were 3-4 inch cars boasting oversize rubber back wheels and pullback motors.; they were officially licensed. These toy cars were a hit in Japan and in the United States, where they were known as Penny Racers.

            When Takara was building its Microman line, they decided to include robots that transformed into tiny toy cars. Take note: The cars were toy-sized, so the robots were supposed to be tiny. Takara called them MicroChange robots. These toys were the fat, short versions of cars like the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 924 Turbo, keeping the same big back wheel but dropping the pullback motor. When Takara and Hasbro put together the Generation 1 Transformers, they included these two MicroChange robots—which are now instantly recognizable as the original Bumblebee and Cliffjumper toys.

            Through the years, Takara has paid tribute to the idea of Choro-Q, but never fully committed to an actual, mainstream toyline until 2014, when they began releasing the Q-Transformers. Take note that the line’s name includes the (listen carefully) word “Cute,” so you know what they were aiming for.

TFCC Reveals Combiner Wars Fitor for 2015!

04.01.2015 – Transformers celebrated the brand for thirty years introducing familiar characters from the vintage release and releasing them in them modern appearance. But some have been introduced in a whole new way. Takara Tomy sometimes announce these releases often a little bit of shocking for most fans overseas to be excited about. For this year the Transformers brand expands with the Combiner Wars robots able to form an even larger robot but what if one of them is a Gobotronian?

TF Sightings at Westfield Marion!

12.31.2014 –In the city of Adelaide, South Australia there’s not much abundance of Transformers toys unlike in the Philippines, but there are some of the assortments that are available in retail that’s quite interesting that is something unique for this country. There are selected TF toys sighted at Westfield Marion, where stores like Big W, K-Mart, Target, and Myer (A counterpart of Rustan’s in Australia) have some exclusive offerings that have not made it to Philippine retail that’s what makes them unique on their own.

Masterpiece MP-24 Star Saber March 2015 Release!

10.06.2014 – Transformers G1 cartoon lasted until 1987 with Headmasters, and the rest of the toyline for Micromasters did not receive any animation. But Marvel who originally published the comic books until 1991 with an open ended that was revived in 2012. Of course IDW Publishing made it possible to wrap up the comic book earlier this year. The cartoon ended without any new Transformers but in Japan it kept chugging with Masterforce (Japanese Powermasters) and Victory that introduced Star Saber!

Transformers Legends Teaser by Hisashi Yuki!

10.02.2014 – TransFormers Legends will be Takara Tomy’s latest series of toys based from previous line. This would replace the TransFormers United series that has been part of Takara Tomy’s flagship brand. Hisashi Yuki late after noon teased some interesting images courtesy of Maximal’s iconic saboteur and Arcee great grand nephew Rattrap. The line has promising figures that was revealed via Yuki’s Twitter account, which will be released soon.

Takara Tomy at the Japan Model & Hobby Show 2014!

09.26.2014 – @TFYuki has just shared Takara Tomy’s next event appearance at the Japan Model and Hobby Show. He's inviting the local fans as well as international visitors to visit their display featuring the movie characters from Age of Extinction. Takara Tomy is still heavily promoting the fourth live action Transformers film, which stars Mark Wahlberg. This could be Michael Bay’s last time to sit in the director’s chair after taking a step looking forward to other future projects like long awaited Bad Boys 3 that made him a household name.

Top Five Best TRANSFORMERS Toy Photography!

07.12.2014 – Transformers Age of Extinction has dominated the Philippine cinemas, and around the world raking box office tickets like it was an energon goodie that Hot Rod was giving away. This is when he was stuck with Kup on the planet where they crashed in the Transformers: The Movie in 1986.

Back in the Philippines you can definitely see the passion of each fan to share their adoration for the TRANSFORMERS brand. There’s a local community that promotes a similar passion through ‘Toy Photography and here are some compositions that made it to the TOP FIVE BEST Toy Photography.

Robot Masters RM-05: R-Blade!

05.02.2014 – Almost 10 years ago Takara had a similar toy line to Hasbro’s ‘Transformers Universe’ prior to 2008. It was dubbed ‘Robot Masters’ and most of the figures in the line are recycled and redeco from previous toy line with exception to Optimus Primal (Beast Convoy), Beast Megatron, G1 Starscream and Optimus Prime. The rest like the Japanese Beast Wars series and Cyberjets from G2 are reused to fill up the character roster. One of the Cyberjets that gets a second look is R-Blade...