Tag Archives: transformers generations

Feb 14 2013

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Vortex by Hasbro

There were a lot of enjoyable levels in Fall of Cybertron, but surprisingly, Vortex’s were among my favorites. The big open area and the ability to strafe Autobots, transform into robot, beat the hell out of them, and then transform back into helicopter and fly off was really damn cool. I replayed his parts more than any others and all the time I had a big smile on my face while thinking, “Damn, it’s good to be a Decepticon!” It’s pretty sad and ironic that such a fun character in the game wound up with the worst of all the Combaticon figures. There’s no way to sugar coat this, so let me take a couple of belts of Jameson and then we’ll dive right in.

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There’s the Generations packaging. Amazingly, it still looks good while holding such a shitty figure. Vortex is probably the best use of the BUILD GIANT ROBOT sticker, because when I saw him hanging on the peg, I wanted to leave him there, but then I realized that if I didn’t buy him, I couldn’t BUILD GIANT ROBOT! I’ve come this far, what’s another fifteen bucks to see what Bruticus is all about, right? Combiners are the C&Cs and BAFs of the Transformers Universe. It makes you buy figures you don’t really want. I don’t have a lot more to say about the package, other than it looks like Hasbro tried to tone down his awful colors for the character art, but that’s like toning down an exploding sun and it doesn’t help when the actual figure can be seen right below it. Let’s start with his helicopter mode.

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Vortex is a helicopter in the most abstract of senses. He’s a big angular mess with rotor blades on top and some landing skids. He kind of looks like a crude polygon model of a helicopter from an early PlayStation game. If helicopters had mothers, this helicopter’s mom would have drowned it in the tub. It’s possible that the concept of a Cybertronian helicopter just doesn’t work that well, but it doesn’t change how awful this mode is in execution. And then there are the colors. What the hell were you thinking here, Hasbro? Vortex looks like he’s made to represent the worst, most obnoxious deco that Generation 2 had to offer. Which is crazy, because there is an actual Generation 2 version of this figure and it looks subdued and rational by comparison. The horrible combination of that purple and red coupled with the piercing yellow on his swords makes my eyes bleed hot tears of burning agony. Maybe Vortex’s robot mode can save this figure…

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Ah, nope. While not nearly the atrocity that his alt mode is, Vortex’s robot mode is decidedly average. The proportions are ok but his arm articulation is awkward and I don’t like the way his head just hovers a bit above his chest. He also feels unbelievable cheap and hollow and nothing like a $15 toy should feel. Seriously, there’s just something about his complete lack of heft that sets him apart from the other Combaticons and makes him feel like a knock off. It probably doesn’t help that he’s missing his Decepticon emblem on his chest. There’s a space in the mold where it was supposed to go and it’s pictured on photos of the toy on the cardback, but either my Vortex missed out or Hasbro decided it wasn’t cost effective to stamp a tiny emblem on a $15 toy that feels cheap and small to begin with. Sheesh! The colors in robot mode are a tiny bit more palatable, but only because he shows more purple and a little less of that terrible and obnoxious red.

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Vortex comes with a pair of swords that are every bit as obnoxiously colored as he is. Someone at Hasbro clearly said, “the colors… not obnoxious enough… make the swords blinding, neon yellow!” The swords can clip onto Vortex’s skids in his helicopter mode or he can wield them in his hands.

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It seriously pains me to hate on any Transformer, but I can’t help it here. Vortex is poop. Just about every aspect of this figure offers me something to dislike. If you’re a fan of the trippy neon colors of the G2 era, than maybe you’ll find the deco to your liking, but even if that’s the case the rest of the figure is still garbage. And as much as I dislike the engineering and the deco, it’s the fact that this figure feels so cheap that I’d expect to find it hanging in a Family Dollar store on a generic card that said SUPER CHANGING ROBOT HELICOPTER or some other nonsense. The Fall of Cybertron toys have been fairly solid thus far, but when Hasbro releases crap like this figure and charges $15 for it, they are further sullying their reputation. At this point, Hasbro, you’re driving collectors into the arms of the Fansprojects, Perfect Effects, and TFC’s out there. I’d much rather spend $60 on a better looking, better quality, better engineered, deluxe sized figure from one of them, than $15 a piece of crap like this.

Feb 9 2013

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Starscream by Hasbro

It’s more Fall of Cybertron love from Hasbro and this time we’re taking a look at everyone’s favorite traitorous Air Commander… Starscream. Unlike yesterday’s entry, Starscream actually played a pretty major part in the game. While he didn’t quite rise to the levels of hip-thrusting outrageousness as he has in TF: Prime, he did ham it up pretty good with some memorable moments. I was super disappointed that we didn’t get a figure of him out of War for Cybertron, so I was particularly excited to get this release into my collection. Let’s see how he turned out.

Yep, there’s the Generations packaging… again. The card has some pretty good character art and while his bio is a little bland, I do like that Hasbro make the connection between Starscream isolating himself on his orbital platform and him becoming a total nutter. While G1 purists may scoff, I think Fall of Cybertron came up with some clever retconned explanations for some of the characters we all know and love. I also dig the fact that one of the game’s achievements was destroying all of Starscream’s self-aggrandizing idols and statues. Fun!


Starscream’s jet mode may not be the sexiest aircraft out there, but the design does seem to feature a little something for everyone. There’s a tiny bit of the old tetra-jet design in him, but most of what’s here looks like a cross between Energon Starscream and a dash of War Within. The sculpt itself is kind of plain with more than a few smooth, featureless surfaces. I guess the guy that does the panel lining was off this day.  It locks together very well, although he’s so simple, you only have to look at him for a moment to deconstruct all there is about how he will transform. In theory, the deco is good and I like the use of the G1 colors, but I don’t find the grey plastic and matte red and blue paint all that appealing. The toy just looks unintentionally dark and bland. I think Hasbro would have done well to use a plastic more similar to WFC Megatron and used some glossy paint to make the figure pop more. Still, when all is said and done he’s a pretty good representation of the in-game jet.


As I’ve already hinted, transforming Starscream is frightfully simple, but that seems to be par for the course with the Fall of Cybertron figures. I can think of any number of jets that Hasbro put out over the last 10 years in the Basic/Scout assortment that are more complicated than this Deluxe. On the plus side, he avoids a lot of the fiddly nonsense that came with Jazz and Sideswipe. Sometimes simple isn’t a bad thing, especially if you’re a kid playing with him and want to be able to get him from mode to mode with relative ease.


Overall, I dig the configuration of Starscream’s robot mode. It’s pretty close to the in-game model, and while The Seekers were probably my least favorite of the High Moon Studio designs, I still like them well enough. I think it may be the underdeveloped feet that bug me the most. Still, I consider it a plus that he retains a lot more of his traditional G1 design than many of the other characters. The angled wings look cool, as does the re-imagining of his shoulder intakes. The hollow torso is a bit of a turn off when viewed from certain angles, but his silhouette from the front is pretty solid. I’m extremely pleased with the way the head sculpt turned out and the light piping is the eyes is exceptionally effective.  The deco is also very G1 inspired, although as with the jet mode, I’m still rather unhappy about the bare grey plastic and the drab, matte paint.

While Starscream still suffers from the slightly diminished size of the other Fall of Cybertron Deluxes, I’m glad to see he does scale quite well alongside WFC Megatron and the other Decepticons. Just don’t stand him next to Bumblebee or Cliffjumper.


Starscream comes with a large double minigun that can split apart into two weapons. They look rather reminiscent of the missile launchers used by the Bayformer Starscream toys. He can hold the combined weapon in either hand, or you can split it and have him dual wield it, or you could mount them on his arms in traditional null-ray fashion. Options are good.


Starscream is a fairly solid effort, but he’s very simple for a Deluxe Transformer and that’s likely to bother a lot of collectors. While you could certainly argue that fifteen bucks should net you more complex engineering, Starscream’s simplicity isn’t really a sticking point for me. The deco on the other hand is. So much so that this may be the first time I seriously consider importing the Takara version. The grey plastic looks about the same, but the glossy paint used on the import makes a big difference. Either way, after finally having this figure in hand, I can’t help but wonder about the Starscream we might have got if he were released in conjunction with the previous game, when Hasbro’s standards were a little higher.

And that’s another week in the bag. I’ve got more Fall of Cybertron stuff for next week, but in the interest of variety, I’ll save those for the end of the week and we’ll start out on Monday by taking a look at an action figure line that I haven’t featured around these parts before. Virgin territory! How exciting!!!

Feb 8 2013

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Sideswipe by Hasbro

It took me a while, but my Xbox is up and running again and I was finally able to play through Fall of Cybertron. And play through it again, and one more time. Needless to say I enjoyed the hell out of it, and it’s given me a new motivation to track down some of the remaining figures. Yeah, Jazz’s figure left me cold and he made my naughty list for 2012, but the three Combaticons I’ve featured so far more than made up for him. Let’s see if some remolding and fresh paint can make the Jazz mold better the second time around.

There’s the Generations packaging. I love it, but I think I’ve said all there is to say about it. Sideswipe comes packaged in his robot mode and his card sports some very nice character art. I also really dig his bio on the back of the card about him being a contender for racing champion before he joined the Autobots. He didn’t play a very large role in the game, but we won’t hold that against him. As always, let’s start in vehicle mode.


So, obviously Sideswipe is a remold and repaint of Jazz, but Hasbro did some nice reworking and recoloring of the mold to make him look like a new vehicle. The top of the alt mode is completely new, including the configuration of the hood, front bumper and spoiler. Gone are Jazz’s exhaust pipes and in their place is a more conventional looking car canopy. Sideswipe features less sculpted panel lines, but makes up for it with a more dynamic deco. The bulk of the body is red plastic with painted white racing stripes and silver and black accents. All in all, I had no problems with Jazz’s vehicle design and I dig Sideswipe’s too. It comes off as a much sleeker, speed machine, although some may take issue that he looks more like a concept Earth car than some of the other Cybertron alt modes in the game. Me? I’m fine with it.

Despite the changes to the mold, Sideswipe transforms exactly the same as his Autobuddy, Jazz. It’s a frightfully simple transformation on paper, but in practice, it’s oddly finicky. Going into alt mode requires a lot of tabs lining up just right, and going into robot mode requires a ridiculously annoying mechanic involving the torso, which can’t be adequately conveyed in the instructions. I found I just had to fiddle with it, becoming white with rage, until I finally remembered how it works.


In robot mode, the parts shared between the figures are a lot more obvious. The legs and arms are identical molds, but the paint differences distinguish them apart pretty well even when the figures are standing alongside each other. Sideswipe’s deco is really sharp and it shows just how far some nice coloring and good paintwork will make a mold. I’m still a little iffy on how the head just kind of floats inside the torso, but I do really like Sideswipe’s head sculpt. It really suits the character. Sideswipe also still has that extra set of wheels in robot mode, but as with Jazz one set is mostly concealed at the shoulders. Unfortunately, Sideswipe still has Jazz’s size problem. In robot mode he just feels a little too small, especially if he’s standing beside WFC Bumblebee or Cliffjumper.


Sideswipe comes with a huge ass gun with an extending barrel. I can’t decide whether it’s a cool BFG or just awkward and goofy. He can hold it in either hand or it can mount onto his vehicle mode, but it looks terrible mounted on his alt mode. The weapon is a decent enough design and sculpt, but it’s really way too big and I don’t tend to think of giant guns when I think of Sideswipe.


So, yeah, this guy is a cool little figure and I do find myself enjoying the mold a lot more than Jazz. Maybe it’s because Sideswipe’s red plastic and more accomplished paint apps look so much better than Jazz’s bare white plastic. Maybe it’s because I had a better idea of what to expect from the figure having already owned Jazz. Whatever the case, Sideswipe shows that Hasbro can be masters at tweaking a mold and making it work very well for different characters. He’s still not a lot of toy for $15, but maybe I’m getting desensitized to that as well. Sure there are things that irk me about Jazz’s design, which are still present here, but I’m not at all sorry I picked him up.

Jan 4 2013

FigureFan’s Disappointments of 2012, Part 2

Thought yesterday was depressing? Oh no. Don’t pass out on me. Not yet… Here’s the last five.

Thundercats: 6-inch Classic Lion-O by Ban Dai… Make no mistake, I don’t think this is a bad figure. It certainly has issues, like unpainted joints and an unfortunate head sculpt, but it’s still a solid figure. So why does it appear here? Because it was completely unnecessary. The 8-inch Lion-O was probably my favorite figure of 2011, and there was no reason for Ban Dai to backpedal on it. Nonetheless, Ban Dai got hammered by fans for making the figure in the oddball 8-inch scale and then when they relented and re-released the figure in a more standard 6-inch scale, collectors railed against them for starting over. I’m not saying Ban Dai didn’t mishandle a few things with the Thundercats license (that Tower of Omens was a piece of shit!) but overall I like what they delivered and I was sorry to see the line not work out. This Lion-O figure represented the beginning of the end for the revival of Classic Thundercats and while I still bought it to support the line, just looking at it makes me sad.

Transformers Generations: Fall of Cybertron Jazz by Hasbro… Poor Jazz represents everything that is wrong with Transformers these days. He’s too small, too simple, has too few paint apps, and he’s too expensive. Compare him with the Deluxe toys from War for Cybertron and he just comes up wanting in every possible way. While some figures in the line have escaped these cutbacks, Jazz personifies the struggle that Hasbro and other toy companies are having producing quality product against the rising costs of plastic and production.

Mass Effect 3: Miranda by Big Fish… I know what you’re thinking… Thane was way worse than Miranda. True, but I wasn’t looking forward to Thane, hence he wasn’t really a disappointment. Miranda, on the other hand was a major disappointment. Plus, her left arm fell off. As shitty a figure as Thane was, at least he didn’t break while being removed from the package. This line certainly had its ups and downs, and it’s a shame that Miranda had to be one of the downs.

Young Justice 4-inch Series, Wave 3… Ok, let me clarify. Sportsmaster was in Wave 3 and he was a solid figure, so what I’m really talking about here are those three shitty stealth repaints that I had to buy to finish my Hall of Justice. I’ve honestly bitched about this sorry situation enough in the individual features, culminating in my need to go onto Ebay to get Stealth Kid Flash. Because it wasn’t bad enough Mattel made us buy these, they also made it impossible to find the last figure in the wave. This situation, my friends, is customer appreciation at its finest.

DC Universe Classics: Orange Lantern Lex Luthor… What is it with Mattel making me buy shitty figures to complete Collect & Connect constructs? They’re evil marketing geniuses that’s what. I hated this figure so much that I actually considered paying more to get just the C&C part off of Ebay so I wouldn’t have to admit to having purchased the figure. He’s pure garbage, and while he might appeal to collectors with a translucent plastic fetish, all he does for me is make me mad when I see him peeking out from the back of my Lantern shelf.

And there’s the light at the end of the tunnel and we have emerged into 2013. We’re done with canned recycled retrospective feature week and tomorrow I’ll be back with the first new feature of the year.

Dec 11 2012

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Blast Off by Hasbro

Yesterday’s Lego set was a brand new purchase, so it didn’t help me weed out the receivings pile that has been growing ever larger over the last couple of weeks. In an effort to start chipping away at that, we’re going to delve into some Transformers. Later in the week I’m going to check out an older one from the Cybertron line, but today’s feature is one that should be showing up on the pegs by now. It’s another Combaticon from the Fall of Cyberton game. A game, I might add, which I still haven’t finished because my Xbox is still lying in pieces on a desk in my spare room.


Ah, the new Generations packaging. I never tire of admiring its beauty. But we’ve looked at it more than a few times now, so I’ll try not to dwell on it. Blast Off comes carded in his robot form and the package points out in various ways that he is but one component in your quest to… BUILD GIANT ROBOT!!! Delightful! You get a pretty cool little bio on the back along with the welcome return of Tech Specs. As usual, I’m going to start with Blast Off’s alt mode.

Awww, yeah. Now that’s a cool alt mode! Blast Off pays homage to his G1 roots with a purple space shuttle as his vehicle mode. Of course, he’s a Cybertronian shuttle. But, “FigureFan, that makes no sense. Blast Off was created on Earth by Starscream so he shouldn’t even have a Cybertronian mode.” Well, my friend… Firstly, Blast Off was given a new body on Earth, but his Spark (or whatever they called it in G1) was stolen from Cybertron to give him that new body. Obviously he had another body before his Spark was imprisoned on Cybertron, so maybe this is his original body. Secondly, Blast Off’s new body was a derelict WWII fighter that miraculously turned into a space shuttle, so this is all bullshit anyway. May I proceed?

I absolutely love this shuttle design. It has the vague profile of an Earth-type Space Shuttle, but it’s beefier and obviously built for combat. The detailing in the silver engines is really striking for a Deluxe Class figure and makes this thing looks like it’s ridiculously overpowered. I’d like to imagine it leaves a trail of thick, black exhaust fumes wherever it goes. Everything about Blast Off’s hull looks jagged, like he was made to inflict pain and destruction.

The coloring is almost perfect. The traditional Decepticon purple looks great with the black accents and the silver-grey of the exposed engine. I’m not terribly keen on the fluorescent yellow. It’s bright and gaudy and while I think it would have worked ok for just the window area, I don’t like it at all on the weapons. If Hasbro had just toned down the yellow a bit, I would have had zero complaints.

Blast Off has a pair of detachable weapons that are very reminiscent to the weapons of the G1 toy. You can clip them onto his wings in two different configurations. One way gives him extra tail fins on his wings, the other way extends his wing tips just a bit. Either way you clip them on, they provide him with some serious wing-mounted cannons.


Transforming Blast Off is fairly simple and when you’re done you one very cool looking Decepticon warrior. He has good proportions and, like his shuttle mode, he’s brimming with sculpted detail. He doesn’t really have any feet, and while he stands just fine, I think some actual feet would have complemented his aesthetics quite a bit. I do love the way his giant engines form his shoulder armor, they give him a powerful, linebacker kind of look. Or maybe he’s cosplaying World of Warcraft. The head sculpt includes two beady yellow eyes and a mouth plate. I can’t say as I remember his G1 headsculpt all that well, so I won’t comment on the homage. You have a few options on what to do with his wing cannons. He can hold them like guns, or you could clip them onto his arms two different ways.


So where’s the problem? The problem is with articulation and the design of Blast Off’s arms and shoulders. While the shoulders do peg in during transformation, they still float around on a ball joint. When you articulate the arms at the shoulder, the entire shoulder plate has to move with it and I can’t help think how much better Blast Off would have been if the shoulders remained static while the arm moved. It also inhibits the arm’s articulation a lot and will pop out if you try to over articulate it in the slightest. The legs feature ball joints at the hips, swivels in the thighs, and hinges in the ankles, which is all very good in theory, and yet the legs still feel kind of stiff. I think it’s because there are no feet.


Blast Off and Onslaught really have a lot in common. Both are amazing looking figures, but have some serious design flaws in their arms. And like Onslaught, I’m going to give Blast Off a pass despite his design shortcomings. His shuttle mode is one of my favorite Transformers alt modes in a long while and his robot mode is no slouch either. The toy is packed with great coloring and superbly sculpted detail, making him feel like Hasbro actually put about fifteen bucks worth of love into this figure. Alas, the design of the shoulders and the overall articulation make him not all that much fun to play with in robot mode. I’m sure a lot of this has to do with having that third alt mode (i.e. Bruticus’ right arm), but it definitely detracts from him as a stand-alone figure. Still, I have no regrets having picked him up.

Dec 1 2012

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Onslaught by Hasbro

I think I’m finally cracking under the weight of the Holidays. So, I figured I’d have a couple of Jamesons and check out another one of the Fall of Cybertron Combaticons. If booze and Transformers can’t cheer me up, nothing can. Swindle turned out to be pretty good, so I’m anxious to look at the Combaticon leader, Onslaught.

Yup, love that Generations packaging. Onslaught comes packaged in his robot form on this beautiful card, which points out that he is number one of five Combaticons needed to build Bruticus. He’s not only the first, but also the leader of the pack and according to his little bio on the back of the card, he’s a master strategist and a damn good fighter too. Of course, original Onslaught was a lot bigger than the other Combaticons, whereas the Fall of Cybertron version he’s a Deluxe just like his brothers in arms. That doesn’t bother me; I like a little uniformity in my Transformers sizes these days. Let’s start with Onslaught’s alt mode…

 


Ok, I’ve mellowed on this alt mode a lot since I first transformed him. But let me give you a little taste of my initial impressions… What the hell is this? I know it’s supposed to be an alien war machine and all, but it just doesn’t look like anything. Hasbro calls it a missile carrier, I call it bullshit. I’m trying to be a little forgiving here since as the torso of Bruticus, Onslaught requires the most engineering for his third form, but this jumbled mess on wheels is really pushing it. I don’t even see any goddamn missiles. Even an alien missile carrier should have missiles. I just see two big guns. Now, like I said, I’ve mellowed on him a bit since. He’s still an odd conglomeration, but looking at the way his back is designed, he actually looks like he’s designed to be a cab for a larger military vehicle. And that’s kind of cool. Hey, there’s your cue, Fansproject… build him a trailer! Also, on the plus side, the coloring isn’t as bad as I originally thought it would be. I do wish Hasbro had toned down the neon green a bit, at least to match the more subtle green of his dual cannon.

Moving on to Onslaught’s robot mode… here’s the deal, folks. Onslaught looks really good standing on the shelf. He’s nicely proportioned, he has a slew of cool panel lines in the sculpt, and his head is a beautiful homage to the G1 toy and animated character. I’m not crazy about how the huge cannon looks in his hand, but you can clip it onto his arm and I think it works pretty well that way. I do wish Hasbro had designed the cannon so you could peg it onto his back with the two barrels coming up like the G1 design. Either way, he’s one bad ass looking robot and therein lies the problem…

The problem with Onslaught is I want to pick him up and play around with him, and that’s when I realize how screwy his arm designs are. His upper arms consist of his entire front wheels and when you rotate them at the shoulder, it’s just awkward. His forearms connect to his shoulders with hinges that don’t lock into place, and the swivel and ratchet joints in his elbows don’t help much either. Worst of all, his shoulders have no lateral movement. His legs feature decent hinges in the knees and swivels in the thighs, but his hip joints are ratcheted so tight it feels like I’m breaking him when I try to move his legs. Sadly, he’s definitely a toy that is best enjoyed when admired on the shelf.

In the end, I’m going to have to give Onslaught a pass. Call me a Transformers whore. Call me a Hasbro sycophant. Call me whatever. Maybe it’s the Jameson talking. Sure, Onslaught’s alt mode is pretty questionable, sure his arm designs are terrible, but truth is he still looks damn fine standing there among my Decepticons. And besides, I’m really not in all that forgiving a mood today, so if I can still find some good him, that’s worth something.

Nov 26 2012

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Swindle by Hasbro

Why yes, my Xbox is still out of commission! Thanks for asking! As a result, I still haven’t made it through Fall of Cybertron. I have a replacement drive for it and I keep telling myself I’m going to fix it and I never do. But then, I also told myself I wasn’t going to buy the trade editions of the Combaticons, because I didn’t like the colors, and today we can see how that turned out. It seems like I enjoy lying to myself… a lot. Yesterday, I found three of the five Combaticons hanging on the pegs, and here’s how that went: “Well, I’ve got to buy Swindle. Swindle is the man,” says I. “But, hey, Blast Off looks really cool too!” And then I just said “Screw it!” and tossed Onslaught into the cart as well. But I’ll get to the others in good time. Today is about Swindle, and yes, Swindle is indeed the man.

Oh, God, what glorious packaging! When I saw this on the peg, I never had a chance. I’ve already pontificated on my love for the new Generations cards, so I’ll try to keep it quick here. The old G1-style grid pattern is awesome. And check out Swindle’s character art. I love the smarmy look on his face and the way he’s pointing to his weapon. I can’t tell whether he’s going to shoot me with it or try to sell it to me. Swindle was always one of my favorites from the old Sunbow cartoon and I think this artwork does him justice. Well played, Hasbro. Swindle is carded in his robot form, which seems to be par for the course with the Fall of Cybertron figures.

The only real differences in the packaging here over the other Fall of Cybertron figures I’ve looked at is the fact that Swindle is a combiner and the package goes out of its way to tell you that. First off, there’s a big sticker on the bubble that says “BUILD GIANT ROBOT!” That’s the kind of glorious Japanenglish that I expect to see on Hong Kong bootlegs, not on a genuine Hasbro release. The top corner of the card also proclaims that Swindle is “Part 4 out of 5” for Decepticon Bruticus. The back of the card has an excellent little bio of Swindle and a diagram showing where he falls into the Bruticus build.


Let’s start with Swindle’s alt mode, which is a Cybertronian transport. It’s nothing terribly special, but aesthetically, it fits in pretty well with the other Cybertron vehicles we’ve seen in the Generations series. I like the fact that it has no windows (because Cybertron alt forms shouldn’t!) and the way the gun plugs into the top. There’s a lot less panel line detail to the sculpt than we last saw in Jazz or Shockwave. I’m guessing Hasbro had to cut back on the sculpting a bit since Swindle is sort of a triple changer. Then again, he forms Bruticus’ leg by standing upright in vehicle mode, so there isn’t really any added engineering for that function. Overall, I’m ok with the coloring. For me, Swindle had to be yellow, which is why I can’t commit to the exclusive G2 version of Bruticus. The purple is a traditional Decepticon color too, so I can’t complain about that and he’s rounded out with a little black and grey. I just wish the yellow wasn’t so bright, because it clashes with the purple to give off a blinding neon vibe. Still, I can deal with it.

Transforming Swindle is as easy as it gets. The fact that he’s designated as a Level 2 Intermediate makes me wonder what Hasbro would consider a Level 1. Still, I don’t need my Transformers over engineered just for the sake of it. Swindle’s transformation has a clean and simple G1 feel to it and the figure works well with everything pegging in to make a solid vehicle and a solid robot.


In robot mode, Swindle looks damn good… from the front. From the back he looks rather hollow and unfinished, reminding me a lot of the Energon Rodimus figure. Nevertheless, he has nice, clean proportions and a lot of good detail on his legs and arms, and the way his shoulder armor can pivot front and back is nice. I really like his head sculpt, although a grey paint app on the face would have been welcome to really bring the figure together. I should also point out that Swindle is a nice sized Deluxe. I’ve taken great umbrage with the shrinking size of the Deluxe Class figures as of late, but Swindle is on par with the War for Cybertron versions of Megatron and Soundwave, and considerably bigger than poor little Shockwave.

 


Like I said, once I saw Swindle on the peg, I never had a chance. I love the character and that Generations packaging practically hypnotizes me into forking over my money. But while I’m happy with how he turned out, $15 is still way too much for this figure, Hasbro, and I didn’t truly realize how absurd it is until I picked up three Deluxes at once for $45. Holy shit… $45!!!  But price notwithstanding, Swindle is a cool addition to the Generations line of Cybertron figures, and while I’m not exactly jonesing to build Bruticus, that’s ok because he works great as a stand-alone figure.

Nov 3 2012

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Jazz by Hasbro

With my Xbox still on the repair heap, I haven’t progressed past the first four levels of Fall of Cybertron. At this rate, I may just Red Box the PS3 version so I can do it. In the meantime, I continue to experience the game vicariously through the toys. Today, we’re checking out Jazz, who was a pretty cool character in the game… at least what I’ve been able to play of it.

Jazz is branded as part of the return of the Generations line. We last saw this packaging when we looked at Fall of Cybertron Shockwave, and I still love it to pieces. I fully approve anytime Hasbro uses the old G1-style grid pattern on their packages and the character art is pretty great. Jazz comes carded in his robot mode with his blaster pistol beside him. The back of the card has a little bit about his character and Tech Specs. Hurray for Tech Specs! Everything about this packaging is love, so much so, that it almost made me buy that shitty new dumbed down version of Cybertronian Optimus Prime. Almost. Instead, I just ran home and hugged my beautiful but overly complicated War for Cybertron Optimus.

 

Let’s start with Jazz’s alt mode. I really dig the various Autobot Cybertonian modes in these games. They walk the fine line of being sort of alien and yet still reminiscent of the Earth style alt modes that we associate with these characters. I’m not crazy about the way the unpainted white plastic looks, but I do appreciate all the sculpted panel lines in the mold. Jazz’s weapon plugs into the top of his vehicle mode, allowing him to dish out a symphony of hurt even when he’s not in bot form.

Transforming Jazz into robot mode is pretty simple in theory. Swiveling around his torso into the right configuration is kind of fidgety at first, but everything else is woefully simple for a Deluxe Class figure. I’m pretty sure I could come up with a handful of recent Scout/Basic Class toys that have more involved engineering. That could be good or bad, depending on how much you want your Transformers to challenge you.

In robot mode Jazz is… ok. I’m still not at all happy with the look and feel of the bare white plastic. It kind of feels cheap, although again the detailed panel lining in the mold helps a bit. The biggest flaw with the figure is the way Jazz’s head just kind of hangs there in midair. It just looks odd. Also, I really don’t get what Hasbro is doing with the extra fake wheels in the robot modes these days. I just saw this in TF Prime Cliffjumper and Bulkhead, and here it is again. The only difference is these are actually painted and more obvious. Why have three pairs of wheels showing on the robot when the vehicle only has two pairs? Why, Hasbro? WHY? Hang on, I need a sip of Jameson. Whiskey makes everything better… let’s move on.

Jazz features serviceable articulation, and a brand new style of ratcheting joints that I have not seen in Deluxe Transformers before, nor do I really see the point. They’re not as versatile as ball joints, and considering how small the figure is, I don’t see the need for the stronger ratchets.

I think what disappoints me the most about Jazz is his size. In the game, he’s paired up with Cliffjumper and he’s a bit too small when standing next to my War for Cybertron Cliffjumper. To be fair, the problem lies more with the WFC Bumblebee and Cliffjumper molds being too large when compared to the other Deluxes, like Optimus Prime and Megatron. So it’s not all Jazz’s fault and the two bots certainly look great hanging together on my shelf.

One might argue this could be a conspiracy to sell collectors a new Cliffjumper figure, but I doubt he’ll be remade in the Fall of Cybertron line. I don’t think Hasbro could possibly make that design work with the cuts they’ve been making to the Deluxe figures these days. Even if they did, I wouldn’t pay more money for an inferior figure, and that’s why you won’t see me feature the Fall of Cybertron Optimus Prime here anytime soon. That figure is a joke compared to the War for Cybertron version. I know what you’re saying, you’ll buy him when he’s repainted as Ultra Magnus, won’t you? Shut up!

In fact, while we’re on the subject, it’s interesting to stand Jazz and Cliffjumper together and compare them to see just how many cuts Hasbro has had to make in the line as of late. Cliffjumper isn’t quite two years old (I bought him in December of 2010) and at the time he was about $13 at Walmart. He’s bigger, his plastic feels better, the paint apps are more intricate, he uses some translucent plastic parts, including two built in retractable energon blades, the engineering is far more complex, and he has far more articulation, and he came with a gun. Even if we write off the two dollar price difference to inflation, you were still getting a lot more toy back then for the same price.

It should also be considered that no one really expected War for Cybertron to be the runaway success that it was and Hasbro never really committed to backing the game with a lot of figures. It was something of an experimental side line and only produced a handful of Deluxes. The success of Fall of Cybertron was all but guaranteed and Hasbro expanded the line with a lot more figures. And yet still, the limited, experimental line of figures, from two years ago, is far superior.

Sorry, Jazz, I didn’t mean to use your spotlight to get on my soapbox, but I thought it was an interesting illustration of just how much toy companies, particularly Hasbro, have to cut back on what we’re getting. There’s a reason Hasbro is pushing the Cyberverse line so much, because the figures use less plastic and less engineering. Of course, we’ve also seen it in the articulation in lines like GI Joe Retaliation and Avengers, and it seems particularly obvious in lines like Transformers where you can’t reuse parts like you can with Marvel Legends, Marvel Universe, or DC Universe Classics. All that having been said, Jazz is a solid enough figure. I don’t hate him, but he certainly has his issues, probably the biggest of which is his price tag. At $15, he’s just not a terribly good value.

Sep 17 2012

Transformers Fall of Cybertron: Shockwave by Hasbro

I rarely buy games when they first come out, but I was happy to fork over the sixty bucks for Fall of Cybertron on Day One. Unfortunately the next day my Xbox decided to give up the ghost and die on me, so I’m still only three levels into it. The irony is that I actually had the PS3 version in my hands and then put it back and went for the 360 version because all of my gaming friends only play on Xbox’s Network. So, until I can get motivated enough to swap out the DVD drive on my 360, I’ll have to enjoy this game through the toys, which have just been hitting the pegs in my area this past week or so. I’ve been waffling a bit on Optimus and Jazz, but when I saw Shockwave, I grabbed him right away.

It’s so good to see Generations back on the shelves after the tsunami of Dark of the Moon has come and gone. With the return of the line comes newly rebranded packaging and I’m really digging the new look. The G1-style grid on the card tugs at my nostalgia strings, as does the very G1-inspired portrait of Shockwave. The back panel has photos of the toy and a pretty cool bio blurb about how he’ll murder you with his logic. And holy shit, check it out… they brought back the tech specs! Shockwave is packaged in his robot form and held on to the tray with a ridiculous number of string twisties. Overall, this package design gets my stamp of approval and I do hope they continue to use it forGenerations beyond Fall of Cybertron.

With Shockwave out of the package I find myself blown away by this figure. Yes, I am biased with my love for Shockwave, but it really is an absolutely amazing update to the character we all know and love. But more than that, the design is so clean and solid, the proportions are so right, that it feels more like an action figure and less like a Transformer. The head sculpt is a perfect homage and the light piping for his eye works exceptionally well. The arm cannon is also a great design, as Shockwave can simply fold back one of his hands and the cannon mounts onto either arm. It’s bigger than G1 Shockwave’s arm cannon, but not as ridiculously big as say, Energon Shockblast’s arm cannon. The sculpt features a lot of panel lines and great little details, like all the cables molded around his neck.

The one thing that I’ve been the most disappointed over with this year’s Transformers has been the lack of paint apps. Shockwave is no different, but his color scheme works without it. He’s mostly sculpted in traditional Decepticon purple, with some great translucent purple plastic and some silver paintwork on his trim. The ensemble is perfect and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. His Decepticon logo is kind of small, but I don’t know where else you could put it to make it larger.

Shockwave sports solid articulation. The head turns, but is not ball jointed. The arms rotate at the shoulders and have hinged lateral movement and ball joints in the elbows. The legs are ball jointed at the hips and have both swivels and hinges at the knees. A waist swivel would have been welcome, but I don’t think its absence really hurts the figure a lot.

I was a little concerned about Shockwave’s size, especially since the TF Prime figures have been getting smaller and smaller. He does look small in the package but once I got him out and stood him next to my War for Cybertron Megatron, my fears were vanquished. He’s perfectly sized to stand beside his leader. Some might have preferred him as a Voyager, but I’m really happy with Hasbro streamlining the figures into mostly Deluxes. It may create some scale issues in alt mode, and sure, some Transformers should be bigger than others, but Shockwave here is scaled perfectly in robot mode for the other Classics and Generations figures.

I actually had to look at the instructions to get Shockwave into his alt mode, and that’s something I almost never have to do. The reason here is not because he’s a complex Transformer, but rather his alt mode, unlike a car or jet or tank, is somewhat abstract, so it’s tough to figure out where everything is supposed to go. He’s billed as “Cybertron Mobile Artillery” which is basically like a big hovering cannon. I like to think of him more as a spaceship, but either way it is a very nice nod back to his original G1 gun mode. The alt mode locks together very nicely and looks damn good too. I’m impressed with the number of panel lines in the sculpt and while there aren’t a lot of paint apps, (he basically has the exact same color scheme as his robot mode), the coloring on the figure doesn’t feel like it’s missing anything. Well, maybe a Decepticon logo would have been nice.

How about the price? Dang, these things are getting expensive. True, I haven’t been buying a lot of Transformers since Dark of the Mooncame out, but I still remember only paying around $10-11 apiece for those Deluxes. Shockwave was $15!!! It’s kind of outrageous considering the size of the figure, but I can justify it by passing this off as a collector line. Plus, I love this figure so much that I probably would have paid even more for him if I had to. But then, even the TF: Prime Deluxes have shot up to the $15 price point at the local Walmart. I’ve been a Transformers fan from Day One, but even I think Hasbro is starting to overestimate the demand for these guys.

Shockwave has had some decent re-imaginings in lines like Energon and Animated, but this release is a bona fide stab at bringing the character into the Classics continuity. Sure, it’s his Fall of Cybertron version, but since the character never got an Earth alt mode, it fits right in, much the same way that I prefer to use my War for Cybertron Megatron and Soundwave as my default Classics versions. Shockwave is definitely a solid and well-engineered figure, and while I don’t like to use the word perfect a lot, I think this guy comes closer to being a perfect Transformer than any I’ve seen in a while. I just love him to pieces and he’s sure to be a popular release with the fans.

Apr 25 2011

Transformers Generations: Wheeljack by Hasbro

I can’t tell you how difficult it’s been to score any of the newer Transformers in the Generations lineup. Forget about Reveal The Shield, those never even turned up in my area. There was a time when Transformers were the only toys I collected that I could actually find on the pegs anymore, but it seems like that hasn’t been the case for most of 2011. I’ve managed to pick up Kup and Scourge, but what about Perceptor? G2 Optimus Prime? Jazz and Tracks? Grapple? or Wreck-Gar? I did get Wheeljack, Thundercracker and Warpath last week, but that’s only because I pre-ordered them online and paid a bit of a premium to get them. There was no way I was missing out on Thundercracker and Warpath. But today we’ll start with Wheeljack, and he’s no slouch either.

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Ah, Generations packaging. It’s been a while and I’m actually glad to see it. So what was the deal with Reveal The Shield? Why did Hasbro bother? Why not just release Jazz and Tracks on the Generations card? Meh, I care not. It’s just something I tear open and toss. Wheeljack comes carded in his sportscar mode with his two tools/exhaust pipes mounted next to him. I like his bio, as it suggests his inventions are dangerous. He is, afterall, the one with the brilliant idea to create the Dinobots and make them stupid, highly destructive and easily swayed to the Decepticon cause whenever the writers needed a story idea. Nonehteless, I always loved G1 Wheeljack. He was like the crazy old irresponsible uncle who would let you play with his arc-welder in the garage.genjack4

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Starting off with his alt mode, Wheeljack is a really nice homage to his original G1 version. As mentioned, I don’t yet own Tracks, but it’s really hard to believe this toy is a repaint/slight remold of that figure. You’ll hear me say that again before this review is over. No, Wheeljack doesn’t look anything like a corvette. The tools clip onto the sides of the car as exhaust pipes and look pretty good in place. I love the transparent windshield and the green and red striping is perfect. I’m still going to worry about the white plastic yellowing over time, but I guess that’s unavoidable. Oh yes, and no f’ugly rubsigns, thank god, just a nice clean Autobot insignia right on his roof. Beautiful! The sculpting on the front bumper is pretty nice, but the tail end of the car looks like it could have used a little more something. Maybe a few more paint apps would have helped.

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Transforming Wheeljack isn’t too hard, although there’s some auto-transforming that takes place in the torso, which can be a bit tricky the first time you do it. Once you’re done you get a beautiful homage to the original Wheeljack’s bot mode. Again, this figure came from Tracks? Really? The only place where I find it obvious is in the design of the shoulders, and you can fiddle about with the tires to get a different look if you want. The head sculpt is very good, but then since we’ve seen quite a few good Wheeljack inspired headsculpts over the years, it’s nothing to get too excited about. Those of you who own Tracks will notice that Wheeljack’s leg construction is a bit different and creates stubbier legs to better replicate the G1 toy’s lower body issues. Of course, if you don’t already own Tracks, there’s a good chance you’re going to break your new Wheeljack figure, as the instructions show the Tracks leg construction and instruct you to pull on your figure’s legs until they extend outward a lot more than this remold is capable of. Thankfully I had a heads up from a friend and avoided ripping my new figure apart. It’s interesting how Tracks’ wings become similar to the two wings that G1 Wheeljack had on his shoulders in robot mode. Not quite perfect, but not bad. Hasbro really planned out everything with this guy.

Besides being tools that he can hold in his hands, you can also attach Wheeljack’s exhaust pipes to his back and turn them into shoulder mounted weapons. He also comes with a missile launcher (non-firing) that can either be mounted on his shoulder, if you want to go with the more Gee Wan look, or held in his hand like a gun.

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Honestly, Wheeljack wasn’t one of the new Transformers I was most excited about getting. That’s probably because Energon Downshift has stood in as my Classics/ Universe/ Generations Wheeljack quite nicely. And also probably because he was eclipsed by the sheer joy of finally completing my updated Seekers. Still, now that I have Wheeljack in hand, he’s really quite a nice figure, and the fact that Hasbro was able to create him and Tracks from essentially the same mold is a pretty incredible bit of planning and designwork. He’s a great figure and well worth hunting down, even if you have to pay a couple of extra bucks to get him.