Tag Archives: transformers

Jan 7 2016

Transformers Combiner Wars: Legends Class Groove by Hasbro

Like yesterday, today’s Feature is fueled by a little something that I was Christmas gifted by a friend and co-worker who happened to know I like me my convertorobots. It’s Legends Class Groove and it was a pleasant surprise because I didn’t have him and probably wasn’t going to buy him, but was still a little curious about him. And hey, it’s Transformers Thursday, so that’s convenient!

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A sloppy gift-wrapping job has left this card a little worse for wear. Good thing I’m not one of those MOSC sickos! Seriously, MOSC collectors… no offense. I’m my own kind of sicko. Anyway, this little Protectobot comes packaged in robot mode, but I’m starting with his alt mode. Oh yeah, Hasbro, cool it with these damn plastic strips, especially on these tiny figures. I hate these things and it took me forever to get the figure out.

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So, as any red-blooded geewunner would guess, Groove is a police motorcycle and a fairly good one. This is one of those alt modes where you can tell they made some sacrifices to balance out the robot mode, and I’m hoping that paid off. The coloring is a pretty basic black and white and grey with a little red and gold, and an Autobot emblem tampo’d on the side surrounded by a star. There’s also a kickstand to help display him as a motorcycle. So, all in all he’s not bad, but nothing amazing. I find it rather difficult to get his two back halves to peg together closely, so there’s a nagging gap. Let’s see if his robot mode can wow me…

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OK, I can get behind this. While he lacks that certain hint of G1 aesthetic that many of the Combiner Wars figures have captured, I still think this is a pretty good bot mode, especially considering that it spawned from a motorcycle. The proportions aren’t bad at all and while I find his arms to be a bit messy, he works rather well for me. The healthy dose of ball joints and hinges also make him a rather fun fella to play around with. I can’t say I’m all that enamored with the head sculpt, but I’m willing to let it slide. Of course, like Blackjack and Rodimus, Groove has another alt mode that allows him to merge with Defensor and form a chest piece. How does that work out?

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Mmmm… I didn’t think I was going to dig this because of how far the chest sticks out now, but I think I kinda like it. He adds some much needed color to Defensor’s torso. Groove secures very well to the chest too, which is ironic considering how complex this alt mode is. Blackjack couldn’t stick to Menasor’s chest for shit and that was just his car mode.

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And while I really hope that Deluxe Groove someday gets a Stateside release, I’ll confess having a more properly scaled motorcycle on the team is pretty neat.Over the years there have been some pretty weak motorcycle Transformers and some of the worst have come from the Scout/Basic/Legends scale. Thankfully, Groove is not one of them. I think Hasbro made the right call taking back a little from his alt mode to make his robot mode shine and the more I play around with him the more I dig him. He’s definitely a welcome new member of my Protectobots!

Dec 10 2015

Transformers Combiner Wars: Legends Class Rodimus by Hasbro

I almost didn’t have anything new for Transformers Thursday this week and then I saw this little guy swinging on a peg and decided to pick him up. I’m really feeling the bite of pressure from real life this week, so I figured this was the perfect day to kick back and chillax with a Legends Class quickie. Let’s take a look at Combiner Wars Rodimus…

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Package shot. He comes in robot mode. Bubble held on with scotch tape. Keeping it classy, Hasbro! Nothing else to say. Let’s move on to the alt mode…

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Of course, Rodimus is a repaint of the Stunticon Blackjack, a figure that I liked a lot as a stand alone piece, but he doesn’t really fit into my Menasor, so I don’t really consider him an official Stunticon. The car is re-cast in a pleasing crimson plastic with blue painted windows and a bitchin’ flame deco on the hood. But, why you no have Autobot symbol on your hood, Rodimus? It seems very conspicuous by its absence. But also, apart from the deco, I’m not really feeling this as Rodimus. It’s missing something…

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Oooooh, yeah. Well, plug the axe weapon into the top and it sort of looks like a spoiler and now it kind of looks more like Rodimus to me. But seriously, Hasbro, why isn’t there an Autobot symbol on his hood? That’s really pissing me off. Anyway, transformation is the same as Blackjack…

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It’s quick and easy and it results in a nice looking robot mode, but one that is still a bit of a reach for me as Rodimus. Again, the coloring works well enough, and the new head sculpt looks pretty good, but the homage isn’t as tight as it could have been. Hasbro has done some impressive stuff with shared molds for different characters, but to me, this one isn’t one of their better efforts. Maybe if there was a way to put his axe on his back, it would have helped it along a little more.

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And yes, the axe still serves as a cool weapon, but again… an axe for Rodimus? Meh, not really.

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I know what you’re saying. Quit picking on the little guy. Well, don’t get me wrong, I think this is a cool little figure and I picked it up for under eight bucks so I’m not going to be super demanding of it. It’s an attractive figure and it’s fun to play around with. So while it sounds like I’m being really tough on him, I’m still plenty glad I picked him up, as he’s another little bot to wage war around my Titan Class Metroplex. I just don’t think he’s going to get to keep his name. Maybe I’ll just call him Hot Shot.

Dec 3 2015

Transformers Combiner Wars: Prowl by Hasbro

Ugh, it’s been a brutal week and I’m pretty sure I’m coming down with something. I want nothing more than to crawl into bed and hug a bottle of Jameson. But, it’s Transformers Thursday, and I can’t let that pass me by, so I’m mustering up the resolve to take a look at a new convertorobo. Last week I mentioned that I was sitting out most of the Autobot wave of Combiner Wars. I picked up Mirage, just because I wanted to try out a bulkier version of the character for my Classics shelf, and I also picked up today’s figure, Prowl. Prowl is one of the Classic figures that just hasn’t aged well. I think the mold is passable enough, but there was a lot of clear plastic on that figure painted white and, unfortunately, it just turned out looking like garbage. And so, I decided to give the new Combiner Wars version a try to see if it could serve as a worthy stand in.

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There he is in package and since I’ve got nothing new to say on the subject, let’s take a moment to talk about mold reuse. Holy hell, it’s the fourth outing for this mold this year! Yeah, it’s been tweaked quite a bit from the Brake-Neck and Dead End figures, but still. Four times in the same line? If you set aside the Seekers, that’s got to be some kind of record even for Hasbro! Who the hell is going to buy four variations on the same mold in one series? Oh… yeah. I did. Let’s start with his alt mode…

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While Prowl may be remolded from Dead End and Brake-Neck, in auto mode, he’s a straight repaint of Streetwise. That hits pretty close to the mark, considering both vehicles are police cars and were released close enough that they’ll likely be sharing the pegs in a lot of toy aisles. That having been said, Hasbro did their best to get Prowl’s deco as close as possible to the original G1 toy. The plastic is more of a pure white and there’s plenty of black trim. The sides even have the Police Highway Patrol tampos to match the original Prowl’s auto mode. It’s an interesting homage, but to me this version of Prowl just doesn’t distance itself from Streetwise enough to make it work and this auto mode is just too far removed from his original Datsun mode.

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In robot mode, Prowl is missing all of his most distinctive G1 features. Gone are his door wings, the front bumper chest, and the shoulder cannons. He doesn’t even look like the Prowl depicted in the pages of the comic that’s bundled with the figure. All that’s left to make this Prowl is the new head sculpt and the G1 inspired deco. And yet, somehow it’s almost enough. The black trim around the chest piece works wonders to drive the homage home, despite being flat and not the front of the car. And the headsculpt? Yeah, there’s no doubt as to who that’s supposed to be. It’s a great noggin and I particularly love his blue eyes. By all reason this figure shouldn’t work at all, and yet it does… kinda.

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Prowl comes with the same shotgun we got with Streetwise, only this time cast in white plastic. Again, a big departure from Prowl’s trademark laser rifle, but I like it and it suits him.

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I know that I’ve gone on record here before about how much Prowl has meant to me over the years. He was one of my very first Transformers figures and he always factored big in whatever story I was playing out. In my own Transformers canon, Prowl has been and will forever be Prime’s First Lieutenant and Right-Hand Bot. So I’m surprised even at myself when I say that this figure works for me, at least in robot mode. Sure, it helps that the Classics Prowl figure is positively prehistoric. In fact, Classics Prowl has probably aged worse than the original G1 figure, which is just plain crazy. And maybe that’s a big part of why I have no problem putting this version of Prowl on my Classics shelf and retiring the old one. And keep in mind, this is all coming from someone who has no plans on combining this figure with anyone.

Nov 26 2015

Transformers Combiner Wars: Legends Class Skywarp by Hasbro

It’s Transformers Thursday and it is also Thanksgiving, which is very appropriate as I am always thankful for little robots that turn into other things. I’m taking today to relax and be with family so I’ll be honest, I looked for a figure that I could do quick and dirty and Legends Skywarp seemed like the perfect fit.

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Here’s the packaging and there ain’t a lot new I can say about it. Mine came from Amazon and it’s sort of beat to hell. It was way back in the Summer of last year that I started down the path of Legends Seekers with Generations Starscream. In February of this year, I looked at Combiner Wars Thundercracker and now Skywarp finally gets his due. He’s packaged in robot mode, but let’s start with his alt mode.

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No surprises here, as this is the second straight repaint of this mold. It’s a great little jet mode, which straddles the line between update and homage. Of course, Skywarp does have a leg up by sporting the most bitchin’ deco of all the Seekers. Ooooh yeah. The Decepticon flag is purple and black, baby, and these colors don’t run! Seriously, look at him. He’s gorgeous! He’s got his null rays slung under the wings and a hinged landing gear under the nose.

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Transforming Skywarp is simple and fun and the robot mode is still just as solid as ever. Again, nothing new to the mold here, even the head is the same, but at this scale who’s going to notice anyway? There’s some nice sculpted detail on the chest intakes, and a surprising amount of detail sculpted inside the chest cavity behind where the cockpit piece goes. You’ll only see it going from one mode to the next, but it’s there! I also dig that the painted face of the wings face forwards, which is something that even the Leader Class versions of the Seekers didn’t do.

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The articulation on these figures is lots of fun. You get ball joints in the shoulders, elbows, hips, and the knees are hinged. The null rays on the arms can rotate and they don’t even have to be removed for transformation.

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The price on these little Legends have been all over the place, but I was able to complete my Seekers with Skywarp at the laughable price of $7.50. What a bargain! It’s great to have all three Seekers finally together in this scale so they can start their futile attack runs against Metroplex. And so, I am indeed thankful for cheap little changeable robots that I can stuff in my pocket and play with as I’m waiting for the turkey to digest.

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I’m also really grateful for everyone who reads my crazy ramblings about toys and the many people I’ve befriended (whether through emails, comments here, or on Twitter) since I started this silly little blog so many years ago. The Internet is many things, a lot of them bad, but for me it’s shining virtue is that it can bring together kindred souls and make fast friends of people who have never even met. And so, to my Internet Family, and if you’re reading this, you have a seat at the table… Have a Happy Thanksgiving and may The Matrix light your darkest hour! Gobble, Gobble!

Nov 19 2015

Transformers Combiner Wars: Mirage by Hasbro

Y’all have no doubt noticed that I’ve been dipping into the older ChangeFormerBots in order to supplement my Transformers Thursdays. That’s because I’m sitting out most of the current wave of Combiner Wars, which gives us new takes on some of the 1984 Autobots. I am, however, picking up two of these guys and I thought I’d check out one of them today. Yes, it is Mirage!

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Here’s the packaging and I’ve got nothing new to say about it, other then it comes with a reprint comic and if you’re expecting Mirage in it, you’ll be disappointed. So instead, let me take this time to say that I went with this new Mirage just to see if it might stand in for my Classics version. Don’t get me wrong, I really dig the Classic version, but I also wanted a bit of a chunkier version in my collection. Which version of Mirage will prevail and reside on my Classics Shelf? Let’s press on and find out…

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Yes, Mirge is a repaint of Combiner Wars Dragstrip and as far as the vehicle mode works it’s a slam dunk. Indeed, this car actually works better for me as Mirage because it’s missing the extra wheels from Dragstrip’s original alt mode. The coloring here is also a lot more appealing to me and the toy looks gorgeous with the white and blue deco. Damn, the blue plastic they used here sure is pretty! You also get a little bit of black paint in the cockpit and a nice coat of silver paint on the spoiler. The nose of the car features an Autobot emblem and “62” and the side panels feature “62 Circuit Racing.” I maybe would have enjoyed having a little more in the way of decals, but what’s here is good. Yup, in terms of alt modes, I am totally in love with this toy as Mirage.

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In robot mode things get a tad more iffy. Iffy but not entirely off. Again, the colors look really nice on this figure and the arms and legs actually work perfectly fine for me as Mirage. Obviously, the biggest departure from the original Mirage design is the chest, which sports the combiner post recessed into it. Again, it’s not a deal breaker for me, and the Classics version of the character didn’t really match up to the original either, so I’m willing to give it a pass. It’s just that with some of the ingenious engineering Hasbro has been doing with shared molds these days, it’s almost criminal they couldn’t find a way to have his back land on his front. Sure, you can turn his head and bottom half around and try to fake it, but the front of the car sticks out too far and the arms are still wrong. I’m chalking it up to the fact that this is already a combiner and has too much going on to be messing with that kind of cross-figure engineering.

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Hasbro did supply Mirage with a brand new head sculpt and while it looks perfectly fine when viewed normally, when I get in real close and, OH MY GOD, WHAT’S WRONG WITH HIS NOSE? It looks like he got punched one too many times. Damn, Hasbro, how’d you muck up Mirage’s face so badly?

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Mirage comes with a combiner foot/hand piece, which I won’t be using and also the gun-sword that came with Dragstrip, this time cast in grey plastic. Nothing else to say here… moving on.

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Turns out I really do love this figure and it works better as Mirage for me than I thought it would. But am I going to swap out Classics Mirage on the shelf with this figure? Honestly, I can’t decide. On the one hand, I do like the bulkier and more G1 feel of this guy. On the other hand, the svelt body style of the Classics figure meshes nicely with Mirage’s ninja-like sneaking abilities. Chances are, I’m going to end up leaving Classics Mirage where he is and keep this guy with the Combiner Wars figures, but it’s a huge credit to this figure that it’s such a hard decision.

Nov 12 2015

Transformers Cybertron: Hot Shot and Excellion by Hasbro

It’s likely that next week I’ll have a new figure to look at for Transformers Thursday, but in the meantime, I’m rolling up my sleeve and digging into one of the Unicron Trilogy totes for this week’s feature. I came out with Cybertron Hot Shot and I dove back in to find his repaint Excellion. I’ve got no packaged shots to show you, so let’s just get started with Hot Shot and his alt mode.

 

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Cybertron had some totally bitchin’ alt modes and this is definitely one of them. Keep in mind, this is his sports car mode, before he went all “Defense Force” on us and turned into an armored personnel carrier, but that’s a Feature for another day. Here his car mode is sleek and futuristic and sports a rather large yellow tinted canopy. There isn’t a whole lot of sculpted detail on this car, but you do get some intake vents and a tiny Autobot emblem on the front of the hood. The deco is blue with some yellow on the back and a few red accents. The wheels are painted silver and you get some additional yellow tinted plastic on the headlamps. The choice of colors here doesn’t do a whole lot for me, but it’s not bad. There’s also a top mounted engine on the back, which has a port on it so you can peg in his gun. It also houses his CyberKey gimmick. Plug in the key…

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…And it just pops out a pair of rather anemic looking wings. On the one hand, it gives the toy some more of that glorious clear yellow plastic. On the other hand, I’m not sure the purpose here. Are those supposed to get the car off the ground? Eh, why not. If it worked for Tracks, I’ll buy it. It’s worth noting that the springs on my toy are showing their age and it is an absolute bitch to get the wings to lock back into place.

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Transforming Hot Shot results in a robot mode that both impresses and disappoints. Overall he has a decent profile and he’d have good proportions too if it weren’t for the derpy little forearms. His car door kibble also extends way beyond his hands making them seem beyond intrusive. If you look closely, Hasbro tried to rationalize it buy sculpting some guns in there, but they’re really hard to see. The back of the bot features the canopy hanging off as a sort of tail and the spoiler serves as heel spurs.

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But damn, look at that face! One thing the Cybertron series knew how to do was sculpt some handsome robot faces. He’s so damn regal looking, even with those ugly exposed screws on the fronts of his shoulders. The deco in robot mode adds a lot of darker blue and some more red. I dig how his chest looks almost like it’s the hood of a car, albeit a different car. Not sure if that was by design, but it sort of drives home his Autobot heritage. That was a robo-pun. And, oh yeah… that’s a sculpted Autobot emblem on his shoulder. Always a plus in my book!

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In robot mode, Hot Shot’s CyberKey gimmick doesn’t really do much except he does look better with the wings extended. Naturally, he can wield his gun, which fires a missile and is crafted in more of that delicious clear yellow plastic. I’m really not a clear plastic nut when it comes to my toys, but the Cybertron figures sure knew how to use it to enhance the look of these toys. Moving on to his buddy, Excellion…

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Thankfully, Hot Shot was repainted into a new character and not just a powered up version of himself. I know, I can call these figures whatever I want, but releasing a repaint under the same character name just cheeses me off. In auto mode, Excellion is mostly red and orange with a gold flame motif on his hood. It also replaces all the yellow clear plastic with blue clear plastic. I can’t help but presume that Hasbro was going for a Hot Rod/Rodimus homage here, although going with the gold and blue instead of yellow does kind of make it more unique than your average copy-cat paint job. Strictly as a matter of personal taste, I do like this deco better than Hot Shot’s, at least in auto mode.

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In robot mode, it’s a bit of a toss up. I think I like both paint schemes fairly equally. They’re definitely distinctive from another and in this case without the bright yellow calling attention to the door kibble, it seems a little less obtrusive on Excellion. The silver panels on his shoulders are also rather striking!

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Back in the day, in this case around 2005/2006, I remember being blown away by these figures. Nowadays, I can still see what I loved in them. The robot mode designs look great and the coloring on both figures is quite nice. On the other hand, they haven’t aged all that well as toys. The articulation is clunky by today’s standards and the arms could have used some re-work. Still, stand these guys on the shelf and they still look magnificent and rather robust for Deluxe Class figures. In my quest to weed out some of my many Change-o-bots, these guys are getting a pass and going back into the bin for keepsies!

Oct 29 2015

Transformers Cybertron: Brakedown and Brakedown GTS by Hasbro

It’s time again where I’m between new releases and therefore must dip into the Bottomless Totes of Convertobots to come up with something to talk about on Transformers Thursdays. This serves a double purpose as I’m really looking to downsize my TF collection, so looking at some of these figures again helps me to decide whether to keep them, ship them off to my nephew, or try to get a couple bucks for them on Ebay. Today I dropped my hand into that copious pit of plastic and pulled out a baggie containing these two little Scout Class figures from the 2005 Cybertron series. Let’s start with Brakedown, and then check out his repainted form as Brakedown GTS!

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Brakedown’s alt mode is a bitchin’ Cybertronian racer and it beautifully reflects some of the wonderful and imaginative alt modes that came out of a line where the designers weren’t constrained to just Earth vehicles. This thing is absolutely packed with detail and the brown and gold deco mixed with the translucent yellow pieces looks so good, it’s kind of a shame they went with just a light gray plastic for the rest of the trim. The big translucent yellow wheels gives me a warm and fuzzy Tron vibe too, which is always a good thing. What’s also cool about this car is the fact that when I first got it, I had no idea how it was going to transform, something that was not too common for the smaller Scout Class toys.

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Of course, part of the mystery of Brakedown’s transformation comes from the removal of a size-able piece to form his gun. Some may cry foul at parts-forming, but the idea of taking out what could be the car’s engine to form a gun makes for a nice Targetmaster/Powermaster mash up to me.

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Brakedown’s robot mode is all in all quite good with just a few blemishes to get in the way of greatness. I’m not a fan of the way the car’s front frame extends up over his back and he’s got tiny little forearms. Neither of these are dealbreakers for me, but that backpack does make him a bit back heavy and the ankle hinges on my figure have become a bit loose with age and those two things do not make for a happy combination. The head sculpt on this guy is pretty cool. I like the design of his “helmet” and those eyes feature some truly great light piping.

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The gun can be held in either hand and it can be activated with the use of a CyberKey, which just flips out the bayonet. Not one of the more spectacular or dynamic CyberKey conversions, but neat nonetheless.

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The repaint, Brakedown GTS, uses the same gray plastic parts, but updates the brown and gold to an aqua blue with red and yellow accents. Also, the yellow translucent plastic is replaced with regular black. In robot mode, you also get some sharp gold paint apps on the legs and arms and the “helmet” is painted silver. On the downside there’s no light piping in the eyes, just some tiny red painted peepers. The ankles on my GTS version are even looser than on the regular release, making this one a real challenge to stand up without his gun in hand to counterbalance his weight.

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It’s hard to believe these figures are ten years old already. Where has the time gone? Looking back, I’ve found Cybertron to be a rather hit and miss line with me, but this pair definitely falls into the hit column. I love their alt modes and while the robots could have used a few simple tweaks, I still dig them a lot. My only other gripe here would have been to change them up as different characters, as I’m not a fan of having a repaint of the same character. Indeed, if I had my choice, I would have made regular Brakedown a Decepticon and kept the GTS version as an Autobot.

Oct 22 2015

Transformers Generations: Brainstorm by Hasbro

A couple of weeks back, I ducked into a Ross for the first time in ages to see what toys they had kicking around. They’re usually good for cheap Transformers every now and then and while they appeared to be picked pretty clean, I did manage to grab some Hero Mashers as well as Brainstorm, one of the few Generations figures I failed to pick up when he was out at the regular stores, mainly because I was quite satisfied with my Fansproject Smart Robin. But for ten bucks? Pfft, why not?

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While the Combiner Wars packaging has grown on me, this Generation stuff was where it was at. Nostalgic G1 grid pattern? Check! Awesome character art? You got it. I love this deco so much. Brainstorm is packaged in his robot mode, but as usual, let’s start with his alt mode…

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Brainstorm is a single seater starfighter, and it’s a passable design from certain angles. From the front, he’s kind of sleek with a nice set of twin blasters mounted on the nose, some stylishly angled wings, and a flip up canopy for his little robot pilot.

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Unfortunately, as a whole package, this alt mode isn’t very good. I usually like to try changing my Transformers for the first time without the instructions, and I’m usually successful at it. Here, I was convinced I was doing something wrong and that was because the box doesn’t show the alt mode from the back. Once I looked at the instructions, I was able to see that I wasn’t doing anything wrong. It really is supposed to look like that. It looks unfinished, like it’s missing the top back of the ship. There’s no clever engineering or complexity here, it’s just the legs and arms folded back and that’s exactly what it looks like. You could argue that the original G1 toy transformed more or less the same, and I would agree. But then I think the original toy had an all around more solid looking alt mode.

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Brainstorm’s little pilot, let’s just call him Arcana has a similar problem to his partner’s alt mode. He looks good from the front, but turn him a little bit and you realize he’s just an upside down head on legs. I’d also argue here that the original Arcana toy looked better than this in robot mode. That’s not just nostalgia talking. I’m looking at a picture of him right now.

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In robot mode, it’s easy to see that the designers were working from this mode and going backwards. It shows because that iffy alt mode was sacrificed to deliver this damn great looking robot. Oh, I’m not terribly fond of the way the ungainly shoulder wings jut off to the sides, but they can be angled back or swept back all the way to fix that. The cockpit in the chest and the great proportions make for a beautifully bad-ass design. The coloring is pretty much the same in either mode with a pleasing mix of light blue, white, and gray plastics. The deco is rounded out with a little silver and red paint for trim and yellow and orange paint on the face.

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Plugging Arcana into the neck causes the cockpit seat to flip down to display his stats just like in the old days. And yes, this noggin fixes the only complaint I had about my Fansproject Smart Robin. Mouth plate!

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Brainstorm’s twin nose cannons are best detached during transformation and they can be wielded as dual handguns or, much like Smart Robin, they can be stored on his back, which is pretty cool.

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Despite a lot of bitching, I wouldn’t say I was disappointed with this figure. The alt mode definitely shows a lot less thought than I’m used to seeing Hasbro put into their changebots, especially for a Voyager Class figure, but with a robot mode this good looking, it’s hard for me to do anything but love this guy. I’m still going to look to Smart Robin as an all around better designed figure, but Brainstorm sure looks nice standing alongside some of the other Voyager Class Generations Autobots on my shelf.

Oct 15 2015

Transformers Hero Mashers: Megatron and Soundwave by Hasbro

It’s creeping into that time of year when the stores I don’t tend to think of for toys start inflating their otherwise paltry toy sections for Christmas. One of those stores is Ross, the shabby discount clothing chain that dabbles in closeout selections. They’ve been a good source of cheap Transformers for me in the past. I got almost my entire Animated collection there for half off, so it’s worth a looksee every now and then. I haven’t been there in a while, but after throwing back a bunch of drinks at a bar in the same strip mall, I decided to stagger in. I came out with these two Hero Mashers.

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I’ve been tempted by this line for a while, but with me unloading so many Transformers from my collection lately, buying any of these felt like a fool’s errand. Nonetheless at $6.99 each, I couldn’t resist. If you’re unfamiliar with the line, they’re basically action figures with pop-off parts that are interchangeable with each other. Hasbro’s also got this line going for Marvel and Star Wars and it must be popular because it’s been bleeding over to different companies. I’m pretty sure Playmates has one going for the TMNT line. Anyway, I should note that I have almost no interest in the mash-up gimmick and that I bought these solely because they remind me of glorified Action Masters.

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I don’t have much to say about the packaging, other than they are colorful window boxes and my Megatron box is badly damaged. They’re obviously aimed squarely at kids and I think it’s neat that they put the characters on the side panel in case you want to keep the boxes on a bookshelf. They are collector friendly, which would come in handy to keep all the extra parts in the tray, although I’ve opted to pitch the packaging.

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Stripped away of all those extra parts, these figures really do scratch that Action Master itch for me, only these are obviously bigger and more articulated. The G1 motif is there, albeit with a little more stylized charactersistics in Megatron. There’s also a rather impressive amount of sculpted detail on these guys and solid paint (especially on Soundwave) considering the age group their aimed at. In fact, my only complaint is that Soundwave looks naked without his Decepticon emblem on his chest tape door. OK, one more gripe, I wish Megatron’s fusion cannon didn’t have that long post. But these are rather insignificant nitpicks from an adult collector about a kiddie toy line and that in itself is commendable.

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The articulation works in conjunction with the swappable parts system. The figures are basically loaded with rotating hinges in the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, neck, and ankles, and with swivels in the wrists. The lower limbs of these joints features a socket and peg allowing you to pull the joint out and replace with another. There are also sockets all over the figures to peg in weapons or extra bits. I could totally see this being hours of fun for kids, and while the concept approaches a certain morbid sense of body horror for the Marvel and Star Wars characters, it almost makes sense with these robot characters. Hell, even ignoring the swappable part gimmick, it’s fun to have Transformers figure with blow-apart limbs!

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Megatron comes with a backpack, two parts that could serve as weapon pods or jet attachments for the backpack, a shoulder cannon, a missile for his Fusion Cannon, an Energon Mace, and Sideswipe’s arm. The backpack looks great on him, but you can’t use it along with the shoulder cannon. It’s either or. Obviously, my favorite part here is the Energon Mace.

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Soundwave comes with a couple of pieces that look like they might be intended as batteries, a black and gold gun, his iconic shoulder cannon, his hand gun with missile, and Skywarp’s arm.

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And it’s hard to deny the appeal of cobbling together Megawave and Wavetron. Or, maybe not. At the original MSRP of about $13 each, I’ve considered picking these up a bunch of times, but seeing them at $7 each and with the booze coursing through my veins, the purchase was a no brainer. Even now that I’ve sobered up I’m glad I bought them. They’re fun and quirky and kind of neat. Although I can’t say for sure I’ll be picking up many more of these, unless good old Ross stocks more of them for Christmas. Maybe I’ll do a sampling of some of the Marvel or Star Wars versions just for giggles.

Oct 8 2015

Transformers Combiner Wars: Starscream (Leader Class) by Hasbro

It’s the first Transformers Thursday in a while that I’m not talking about Protectobots, but I am still sticking with the Combiner Wars line this week. Back in July, I checked out Hasbro’s bold new take on the Seekers with their Leader Class Thundercracker, built from the Generations Jetfire mold and if you haven’t read that Feature, I suggest glancing back at it. Starscream is, as expected, a repaint of the same figure so I’m going to try to be brief and focus on the minor differences.

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Not much different to say about the box. It’s the now standard Combiner Wars deco with Starscream packaged in robot mode. There is no comic book included, but you do get a nifty art card. While there are some troublesome twisty ties to remove, the package is totally collector friendly. Let’s start with his alt mode.

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Yup, the mold is identical to Thundercracker and it’s basically the Jetfire mold without the booster pieces and with a brand new pair of wings. This is a very attractive jet mode and works beautifully for me as a Seeker. I’m also still impressed that the cockpit actually opens. Nice! The new deco is very pretty and looks appropriate for Starscream. The off-white plastic is a little light, but not too bad, and the striping on the wings coupled with the Decepticon insignia look outstanding. All the paint is crisp and clean and when you toss in a little blue plastic trim and the yellow tinted cockpit and I’m very pleased with how this jet came out.

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Transformation is identical to Thundercracker and Jetfire and I like the engineering here a lot. It’s relatively simple, but there’s some clever stuff happening. Probably not the depth of engineering everyone is going to be expecting from a Leader Class toy, but in my old age, I’m getting to appreciate figures that can convert back and forth without too much frustration.

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Obviously, the robot mode is also identical to Thundercracker, except for the new deco, which carries forward the same red, blue, and off-white as the jet mode. Again, I think the colors here are great and this robot mode makes for a fantastic updated Seeker. The only thing I’m really missing are the shoulder scoop towers, and I’m throwing it out there to all you third-parties… if you want to make a set of shoulder scoops for these guys, I’ll buy them. There are even obvious crevices where they could be made to fit. Easy money! I’m just saying!

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Of course, the cockpit on the chest is faked out and Starscream actually wears the nose of the jet mode down his back. It’s the biggest departure from the traditional Seeker look, but it doesn’t bother me all that much. I still would have liked it if the front of the wings were finished like the back, but I’m sure that would have added a lot of cost to production.

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The only real disappointment here is that the head sculpt isn’t new. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great looking noggin, and at least the face is painted differently, but for a Leader Class repaint, I would have thought Hasbro could at least pony up for a new head with a douchebag Starscream smirk. I would have much preferred it to the dopey crown.

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Yes, the crown is the only thing really new here and I’m really tired of this running gag based off such a small scene in the original movie. It can go into the Tote of Forgotten Accessories and rattle around in there with my MP Grimlock crown.

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Of course, you also get all the guns that came with Thundercracker. I like the null rays, but I still wish they pegged into the biceps rather than the forearms. You can get them into some great positions, but they sometimes impede articulation more than I would like. The smaller blue guns can still be mounted on his legs and wings, or just leave them off if you think they pollute the Seeker homage. I’m actually fine with them. Lastly, you get the same missile launcher handgun that came with Jetfire and Thundercracker, this time in black. I’m definitely giving this one to Jetfire so I can deep six his red blinged out gun. But be warned, this thing has a hair trigger and I’ve already had to wrestle the missile away from the cat a couple of times.

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There are no surprises here at all. Starscream is the straight repaint we all expected and I imagine he’ll be as polarizing a figure as CW Thundercracker. As someone who doesn’t like the Masterpiece Seekers enough to pony up the coin for them, I’m content for now adding Starscream to my MP Decepticon shelf, alongside Combiner Wars Megatron and Soundwave (and soon Shockwave!). I think he’s a great looking figure and now all that’s left is to sit back and wait for Leader Class Skywarp. And man, do I think this mold is going to look amazing in the deco!