It's February! Which means it's time for Mini-Geek Prom, ToyFair (the main Geek Prom is of course Comic-Con in San Francisco, but that's not until July). Anyway, it's the chance to see some of the toys that children and adults with a Peter Pan complex will be getting in 2009! Obviously, as one of the latter, I'm mildly curious as to what new Transformers will be out (I only buy two or three a year now, I swear).

It's a bit of a disappointment; I'm not a fan of the films aesthetic (the robot models seem to resemble Robo-Machines/Go-Bots, whereas I prefer the more humanoid non-movie TF designs), but the new Devastator sounded quite impressive. A six-robot combiner that will retail at $99.99 and stand almost as tall as Fortress Maximum (2 feet, for those of you who don't have that memorised. Or in your room). Look!

As I said, I'm not too much of a fan of the movie robots, but as a hulking monster, this seems pretty good, right. One slight snag, though - none of the individual Devastator limbs transform into a robot by themselves. So you're spending $100 for a set that isn't quite as good as the Special Teams. But don't worry, as Hasbro will sell you $20 versions of each individual robot that will transform (but not combine). So $220 for the complete experience? I don't think that's going to down well in the current economic climate.

Still, I don't want to be all full of doom and gloom. Because there are a few new Transformers: Animated toys out, and they look fantastic. Firstly, Animated Arcee:

Yes, she does appear to have glitter-encrusted plastic. After more than twenty years since her first appearance, you'll actually be able to buy an Arcee that isn't a motorbike or a spider! Hurrah!

Finally, a new Soundwave figure. If you remember, I got all excited by the first version, which changed Laserbeak into an electric guitar. How could Hasbro make a new version, you might ask? A simple recolor with Buzzsaw? Oh no, they've excelled themselves.

That's Ratbat. Who now turns into a keytar. Rock on.