With another week in the world of toys already passing by, I’m back to bring you a look at some of the biggest announcements and controversies from the last 7 days. This week’s column is thankfully a lot happier than last week’s, and Transformers fans are certainly going to enjoy it.

As for additions to my collection this week, all I have to report are a few Series 6 Lego Minifigures. I grabbed three of the blind-bagged packs on an impulse purchase, and unfortunately ended up with two repeat figures, the Highland Battler and Roman Soldier. I did get a Leprechaun, which I didn’t have before, and it’s a nice minifigure with great accessories that I recommend tracking down.

Let’s jump into this week’s highlights.

Vote in the Transformers Hall of Fame. This week Hasbro announced three characters that would be honored in their annual Transformers Hall of Fame. The robots being recognized are Jazz, Grimlock, and Shockwave, but Hasbro also left one spot open for fans to vote on. You can vote for the remaining spot in the Transformers Hall of Fame Fan’s Choice Poll. The characters up for election are Beast Wars Megatron, Wheeljack, Arcee, Sky-Byte, and Rodimus. I’m a little surprised to see Sky-Byte and Beast Wars Megatron, but I’m glad Hasbro is recognizing Transformers from all eras. I’m sure you’re curious where my vote lies. I’m going with Wheeljack. Arcee is another acceptable choice.

The Rise and Fall of the Beasts. A majority of toy collectors probably weren’t aware of the Kickstarter project pushing The Rise of the Beasts figures. Kickstarter is a website that helps independent projects get the funding they need to move forward by soliciting pledges from people. The Rise of the Beasts is a proposed line of figures based on the classic Battle Beasts figures of old. This story got interesting this week when the Kickstarter project was suddenly canceled despite already receiving $17,000, which was $6,000 above the goal. Folks won’t be losing their money, but a lot of them felt betrayed with the mysterious disappearance of the project and the crytpic explanation. You can find more on the debacle here, but the line does appear to be living on despite all the controversy. It’s certainly something that might interest a lot of folks, including me.

Transformers is adding another Masterpiece. The Masterpiece Transformers line is one of my absolute favorites. Takara/Hasbro takes the best figures of old and create giant near-perfect versions of them for diehard Transformers collectors. They recently announced MP-11, which is a another take on Starscream. MP-11S will be a repaint of the new figure to create Sunstorm. They each look like great additions to the line, but Takara/Hasbro also revealed plans to create a Masterpiece Soundwave. That news makes me giddy, because a high-quality Soundwave has so much potential for a lot of cool features. I absolutely cannot wait.

So those are the biggest pieces of news in the world of toys this week. Come back in seven days for more, and don’t be afraid to leave a comment to chat. I’d be happy to hear from you.

May you never cut your hand opening a toy package.

Corey Tincher