Oct 3 2013

Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Leader Class Optimus Prime by Hasbro

Welcome to another Transformers Thursday, where I dig my mitts into a random drawer and pull out a Transformer figure from days gone past. Actually, if you want to know a secret, lately it hasn’t been very random! Today, I was going through some of my Optimus Primseses and I realized that I had yet to give this particular toy his due here on FigureFan Zero. Love them or hate them, the Michael Bay movies are part of the Transformers Universe, and while I’m not here to debate the merits (or lack thereof) of the movies, I can’t deny that at least some good toys have come out of the franchise. There were a ton of different versions of Optimus released in various scales for each of the three movies, but I only ever picked up one of them and that’s the toy we’re looking at today. I’ve had him for a while, there’s no in-package shot, so let’s just jump right in and look at his alt mode.

The movies saw Optimus’ alt mode revamped into a modern day extended cab. I hated it the first time I saw it. I thought the colors were all wrong, the flames were tacky, and he shouldn’t be an extended cab. You can probably only imagine how I feel about this toy. Actually… I freaking love it! It was this toy that eventually sold me on Prime’s new alt mode because it’s just so big and beautiful and majestic. It’s a beast of a vehicle mode, and I can only imagine how incredible it would look with a trailer, but then I remember he didn’t have a trailer until Dark of the Moon. Anyway, the sculpt here is excellent, right down to the little rivets! You get rubber tires and even the tiny Autobot insignia on his hood ornament. It’s a solid truck toy, that dominates the shelf and rolls along great.

I’m still not sold on the flames, but I can’t deny that the paint and deco is beautifully reproduced here. Sure, some vac-metal silver would have looked a lot better than the matte grey plastic, but in the long run, this stuff will last longer without getting chipped and worn. I need only look at my MASK Rhino for proof of that.

Yes! There are even electronics! I was surprised to find that they still work, as most of my electronic Transformers have drained the batteries long ago and I can never be bothered to replace them. There’s a button on the roof, which when depressed lights up the windshields and sounds Optimus’ air horn. I approve! This is a fun and great looking vehicle and one of the few Transformers that I am tempted to always display in his alt mode just because I love it that much. Can the robot mode possibly stack up? Well that depends…

Transforming Prime is rather fidgety, but you would expect that for a Leader Class toy. I used to have a big problem with it, but these days I can switch him back and forth relatively quickly without consulting any instructions, so it’s not too bad. There’s a lot of clever things at work here, like the way the feet auto-morph, the way the back wheels pack onto the legs with additional hinges so you can still pose him, and the way all the rest of the crap packs away on his back to form a backpack. And then there’s the electronic head reveal. Unclip the thing on the bottom of his torso and his chest auto-morphs, his head pops up, the windshields light up, and it plays some cool sounds. It just has that great gee-whiz quality that brings out the kid in me.

So, earlier I said his robot mode demands some qualification. If you’re looking for a great match to the move version of Prime, this isn’t really it. On the other hand, I find it to be an awesome amalgam of G1 and Bayformer characteristics. You can see how they tried to base it on the movie version, but the boxy torso and the bulky arms and legs, give him more of a shoebox G1 design. What some may call this toy’s failing, I celebrate as an amazingly original look that does away with much of that “bionical” feel in favor of something more substantial and familiar. Yes, the deco still shows too many flames for my taste, and yes, vac-metal in place of the grey would have made this guy look even more amazing. But still, I just adore the way this figure looks on my shelf.

Even the head sculpt on this guy strikes me as a more generic Prime than a really good approximation of the movie portrait, and that works for me too. I will say that the absence of any light piping for the eyes seems rather conspicuous. In a Transformer this size, I tend to take that feature for granted, and I think it would have looked great.

That’s not to say he doesn’t have some issues. A lot of stuff wants to come unclipped when you handle him. His hinged shoulders will sometimes open up, the backpack sometimes unpacks, and despite his heavy ratchet joints, his ankles still aren’t always up to the task of holding his great bulk. I’m not entirely sold on the way the knees hover too far out, and you can see in a couple of pictures where his right knee just kept wanting to flop down. You have to flip the knees back into place almost every time you reposition his legs. And while the back wheel assemblies are hinged to allow the knees to bend, you have to fiddle with them separately to make that happen. All gripes aside, though, I still love this guy!

Prime doesn’t have a traditional rifle, but he does have one that folds out and attaches to his right hand. It will deploy automatically as you push the sliding lever on the bottom of his forearm. The gun will fire a missile, but I have no idea what happened to mine. It’s probably become feline contraband behind the sofa in what I like to call The Cat’s Lair.

Hasbro released a new Leader Class version of Prime for Dark of the Moon and as many will point out it looks a lot more like the movie version of Prime than this one does. But then that’s why I never bought it. The truth is, I love this toy as a stand-alone piece, and I would have been a lot happier if Optimus Prime in the movies, and all the Transformers for that matter, looked more like this clunkier beauty than how they turned out. Hasbro certainly never intended it this way, and I’m sure they did the best they could, but I’m glad they weren’t able to nail the likeness, because this figure is awesome and as far as I’m concerned what we got here is so much better than what could have been.

Sep 30 2013

Transformers Generations: Trailcutter (IDW Comic Pack) by Hasbro

It seems like forever ago that I got Hasbro’s wave of IDW Deluxes and yet I’m still working my way through them. Today we’re going to check out Trailcutter, better known to some of us old GeeWunners as Trailbreaker. This release is a double payoff for me because a) We never got Trailbreaker in the Classics format and b) He’s a Hasbro release based on a Transformer as he appears in a comic that I’m actually reading!

I’ve spilled a ton of electric ink on how much I love the idea of comic packs, so I’ll try not to waste a lot more time doing it here. Suffice it to say the packaging on this guy is fantastic. Trailcutter comes packaged in his robot mode in front of a spotlight comic and on a very G1-inspired cardback. An action figure and a comic… how can you go wrong? I’ve been no stranger to Transformers comics off and on over the decades. I was a faithful reader of the original Marvel book right up until the end… more or less. I dabbled in some of the stuff that followed and even found that old Armada comic to be surprisingly good. I enjoyed The War Within and I loved The Last Stand of the Wreckers. But it wasn’t until More Than Meets The Eye that I once again went all in on a Transformers title. MTMTE isn’t just a great Transformers comic, it’s one of the best comics I’ve ever read… and I’ve read a lot of comics in my 40+ years on this planet. On paper it sounds like the dumbest idea for a TF comic ever and yet in execution, every panel is like gold. This included issue, a Spotlight on Trailcutter, gives you just a mere morsel of that book’s awesomeness. Trust me, if you aren’t reading MTMTE go read it and come back. The first four volumes are available already in TPB. Go now… I’ll wait!

Oh shit, I forgot. We’re here to talk about a toy. So… moving on to the figure itself, let’s start with Trailcutter’s vehicle mode. In keeping with tradition, he’s still a black SUV. For some reason this guy reminds me a lot of Generations Perceptor, although Trailcutter has four wheels and isn’t a halftrack. I dig the countours of the front of the vehicle and the sculpted winch on the bumper. Also, the striping on the sides and the bold Autobot emblem on the hood all give the eye something a little more than just black to look at. Trailcutter isn’t your typical SUV out to bring the kids to a soccer match either. Nope, he’s got his big forcefield emitter sticking up off the top of the roof and two guns facing forward. If you want to make him a little less threatening and more street accessible, you can take the cap off the back of the SUV and remove his guns, but the emitter remains. He’s a nice looking vehicle, but he does share a common problem with many Deluxe Transformers these days… he’s kind of small. He’s close to the same size as many of the Classic/Universe/Generations cars of yesteryear, but he’s an SUV, so he should be bigger.

Transforming Trailcutter into his vehicle mode is a little fidgety. He’s one of those figures where everything needs to be just perfect to get him to fit together in alt mode and even then, it’s a little tough to close all the gaps. Getting him into robot mode, on the other hand, is pretty easy. The result is overall good, but I he’s not getting away from me without getting a few nits picked. Let’s deal with those first. He doesn’t have an Autobot symbol on him in robot mode. It’s a tiny oversight that just bugs me a bit, so let’s let it go because the bigger issue is size. Just like his vehicle mode, his robot mode is small. Yes, it’s been an ongoing issue with Deluxes ever since TF: Prime rolled onto the scene. It doesn’t always bother me, but Trailcutter should be at least as big as most of his Autobot peers. He stands just as tall as your average Classic Deluxe, but that’s including his forcefield emitter. In reality his head comes up to the shoulders of most of his peers. He still displays just fine with my Classics figures, but in perfect world he would have been bigger.

All that aside, I really dig Trailcutter’s robot mode. He has a nice and powerful broad-shouldered look that doesn’t come away as being stocky despite his relatively shorter height. The way the front of the vehicle forms his chest is just the kind of classic Autobot design that I can never get enough of. And the headsculpt is a home run, which I’m happy to say homages the G1 style a little more than the comic style. As much as I love the current crop of Nick Roche IDW art, I’m not always so enamored with the organic quality of the faces. I know why they do it, to make the characters more expressive and easier to relate to, but I prefer something more mechanical and G1 in my figures’ portraits. The deco here is phenomenal and driven mostly by the color of the plastic over actual paint apps. You still get plenty of the black from the SUV showing up, but it’s now mixed with some beautiful red and grey accents and just a smidgen of blue.

Trailcutter comes with a shield-gun thingy that basically forms the cap of his SUV mode. Some of you might have thought I was going to call him out on this piece, but, I don’t have a big issue with it. It’s not integrated into the robot mode, so you can set it aside if you want. There are also a couple of different ways you can peg it onto his back if you want to store it.

So, yeah, Trailcutter has his shortcomings… see what I did there? But I still like him a lot. In fact, he’s definitely my favorite of the IDW Comic Pack wave so far. He has a great design in both modes and Hasbro’s team did a phenomenal job reverse engineering this guy from the IDW artwork and making him into a great looking and ultimately fun figure to play with. He’s already got a spot on my Classics shelf, filling a hole that has been vacant for far too long. Now I’m chomping at the bit to find Hoist, so my original Autobot updates can be yet one more step closer to being completed.

That’s three down, and one more IDW Comic Pack from the intiial assotment to go. Next week, we’ll check out Orion Pax!

Sep 19 2013

Transformers Robots in Disguise: Prowl by Hasbro

I know, we just looked at a Transformer figure yesterday, but he was new and Transformers Thursday is all about the figures of yesteryear. This week we’re wrapping up the Autobot Car Brothers with Prowl. I saved him for last because I recall him being my favorite. It’s been a year or so since I’ve had him out, so let’s see if that holds up! Like the others, he was released in two versions during the Robots in Disguise run and it looks like I kept the original, which is odd because I recall liking the deco on the second version better. Sometimes I don’t even understand myself.

In alt mode, Prowl is a Lamborghini police car, which is only odd if you have problems accepting G1 Red Alert as a Lamborghini Fire vehicle. Like his brothers, Prowl features a pretty realistic looking car mode, complete with clear windows, chromed out wheels, and real rubber tires, which are stamped “Transformers” on the sides. If you look inside the car, you can see that even his robot feet are sculpted to look like carseats. I love that! He has a rear spoiler and a police-style lightbar on the roof.

Prowl has a similar deco to the G1 Datsun version of the character, as he’s mostly white with a little black around the bottom. He also has Japanese lettering on the doors, which I was never all that keen on. Now, if he had the markings from G1 Prowl’s doors, I would have lost my shit with delight. Other than an Autobot insignia stamped on the hood, there isn’t much else to the deco here. Prowl comes with two missile launchers and you can clip these onto the spoiler to give him some added firepower in vehicle mode.

And there he is in robot mode… Wow, do I remember this guy differently. He’s still got a lot going for him, but for some reason I recalled him being the least kibbly of the trio, but my memory was being rather generous. Let’s look at the good stuff first. I like his torso, particularly the way the two tailpipes slant back and the way his chest looks like a giant engine block with an Autobot emblem on it. That’s classy. The shoulders are pretty cool. They’re stylish and there’s a lot of great sculpted detail in them. The legs might be a little scrawny for that big torso, but other than that they’re fine.

Yes, Prowl wears part of his car as a shield. All three of the Car Brothers seem to have been born with deformed left arms. In this case, it’s not so bad. It actually looks like shield being worn on his arm, and not like poor X-Brawn, where it looks like his arm is a snake digesting the front of an SUV. Surprisingly, my biggest issues with this figure are the doors and the way they hang off his hips. They’re on double ball joints, so you can move them all over the place, but nothing really seems to get them out of the goddamn way.

Prowl’s missile launchers can both be clipped to his right arm and they look good there and do a nice job complementing the shield. However, you can also clip them to the spoiler on the shield and give him one giant double barreled super weapon. Both ways have their merits, I suppose.

As with his brothers, Prowl features a lot of ball joints, which makes him a fun figure to pose, at least in theory. In practice, I find his kibble interferes a lot with what he can do. Again, it’s mainly the fault of those damn door hips. CURSE YOU DOOR HIPS!!!

Obviously, hindsight in this case wasn’t 20-20. I was blinded by a lot of nostalgia and Prowl isn’t quite the amazing figure I remembered him to be. In fact, I don’t even think he’s my favorite of the three anymore. On the other hand, it’s hard to pick from this kibbletastic trio. I can’t hate on any one of them, but Prowl disappointed me the most and that’s probably because I remembered having such low opinions of Side Burn and X-Brawn. These figures each still have some charm for me nowadays, but I guess I’m glad this chapter in Transformers history was a short lived one.

I’m not done with Robots in Disguise yet… next week we’ll take a look at some Decepticons from the line.

Sep 18 2013

Transformers Generations: Bumblebee (IDW Comic Pack) by Hasbro

You know it’s been a busy couple of weeks here at FigureFan Central when I let a bunch of Transformers comic packs sit around unopened. Yes, I’ve had a lot of stuff rolling in and I’m trying to get to everything in a reasonable amount of time. Well, I’m starting to catch up a bit so let’s tear open another one of these today… hey, look it’s Bumblebee!

Wow, this is an impressive piece of packaging. Bumblebee is carded in robot mode and between him and his weapons, he fills out the bubble admirably. You also get the comic book behind him with the exclusive Hasbro cover. This is award winning packaging. When I see it on the pegs, I want to buy it, even though I already have own it. I’m extra pleased to get the comic, because I wasn’t following this run when it was out. Bumblebee isn’t really in More Than Meets The Eye much, and I’ve only started reading Robots In Disguise where he’s been reformatted into a different body back on Cybertron. The comic is decent enough. It’s been tough for me to adopt the idea of Bumblebee as Autobot leader, and this issue addresses some of that a bit. On the other hand, it features two of my favorite Transformers, Thundercracker and Prowl, so I found it to be a good read even though it didn’t send me scrambling to Comixology to download more. Let’s start with Bumblebee’s alt mode.

Drawing from the comic design, which makes some nods to the Bayformer design, Bumblebee is for all intents and purposes a concept Chevy Camero. The design certainly has some cool features, like the split spoiler in the back and the flared hood, which makes it look like a powerful machine. Little touches include the dual tailpipes, detailed headlights, and the rather nicely sculpted wheels. The clear windows and windshield are always a plus in my book, even if the rear window is painted on. I’ll also point out that Bumblebee is a nicely sized vehicle for a Deluxe. While he doesn’t dwarf any of the TF: Prime Deluxes, if you put him next to a figure like Cliffjumper or Bumblebee, he is noticeably bigger.

While size has improved, I’m still not completely satisfied with the deco, or to be more accurate, the plastic. There’s something about the yellow plastic used here that doesn’t do it for me. It’s similar to the stuff used for Prime Bumblebee, but in this case it’s lighter and looks a little worse. It doesn’t feel cheap, but it kind of looks like it. More paint apps would have probably helped, and while this vehicle makes out a little better than Prime Bumblebee in that department, it still feels like it could have used a little more something in the deco.

Bumblebee’s weapons can peg into the ports located on each side near his spoiler giving him some firepower while in his alt mode. I approve, but then I’m a pretty big fan of cars loaded out to deal damage. Your mileage may vary.

Transforming Bumblebee to robot mode is easy. Getting him back into vehicle mode is a pain in the ass because of some subtle shifting that occurs with his rear window. Nonetheless, once in robot mode Bumblebee has his ups and his downs. Hasbro certainly did a nice job converting the comic design into a working Transformer. Yes, Bee uses some trickery. The chest, which is obviously supposed to be the hood is faked out, but I’m willing to cut them some slack for having to reverse engineer this guy. I like the proportions a lot. He’s a pretty clean looking robot. The head sculpt is very cool and very G1 inspired.

My biggest issue here is the shoulders, in that I wish they were stationary. When you move Bee’s arms, the whole shoulder assembly moves with them and it’s kind of awkward. The way the doors become wings is a nice homage to the Bayformer design and to some extent classic Autobot design as well, but if the shoulders were fixed, this figure would have turned out a lot better for me. I’ve had a lot of fun playing with and posing most of the recent Transformers releases, but Bee here just isn’t one of them. On a brighter note, a lot of the deco issues I have with Bee’s alt mode are toned down in his robot mode. He has more black showing and grey thighs. It helps to break up the shabby looking yellow plastic a bit and make him a lot more interesting.

Bumblebee’s weapons can be wielded in either of his hands, or you can clip them together to make one really cool looking cannon. Peg ports on the forearms would have been a nice option, but that’s OK, because I’d still probably prefer to display him with the big cannon.

I’ve been up and down on this figure. When I saw the first official pictures of him, I thought I was going to love him. When I had the package in hand, I waffled a bit. Now that I’ve had him out and played with him a bit, I’m happy to say I’m a fan. The shoulders aren’t technical issues; they’re intentionally designed that way, so my attitude toward them is just a personal preference and not a flaw in the figure’s design. The plastic is what it is. Like I said, it doesn’t feel cheap, it just looks kind of cheap. But again, maybe that’s just me.

Sep 12 2013

Transformers Robots in Disguise: X-Brawn (Second Version) by Hasbro

Remember a couple Thursdays back when I said I only kept one version of each of the Autobot Car Brothers? Well, it was a dirty lie. While going through my RID drawer I found the Rally version of X-Brawn and I remembered that I kept this guy solely because of my undying love for Sega Rally 2 on the Dreamcast. I also remembered that I have a social engagement at The Pub tonight, and so with brevity being the order of the day, I decided a quick look at this repaint of last Thursday’s figure would be a good way to go.

Once again, X-Brawn’s alt mode is fairly realistic looking SUV. This version keeps all the cool trimmings, like chrome running boards and ramming bar and a hood that opens to reveal the gold vac metal engine inside. You also still get vac metal gold wheels and the rubber tires with “Transformers” on the sides. It’s still an awesome little touch! The original version featured a rather pedestrian silver and green paintjob, whereas this version has gone all Rally on our asses.

The new rally deco is pretty amazing, although it’s still a bit subdued for a Rally style car. He’s painted with a nice thick coat of glossy white with red, green, and blue accents. Rally decals include “Cybertron Wild” on the hood and “Wild 24” on the doors. You also get an Autobot emblem on the roof along with an additional “24” and “Cybertron” on the top of the windshield. I don’t know why, but I kind of dig when Transformers have “Cybertron” printed on their alt mode somewhere. It kind of defeats the purpose of being a robot in disguise, but I still think it’s cool when we see it from time to time. I’m not entirely sure of the significance of the “24” or even if it has one.

Transforming X-Brawn into robot mode is really simple. You basically just pull him apart and make a few adjustments. Of course, we’ve already seen what this guy has going on in robot mode and all the rally stickers and pizazz in the world can’t hide the fact that X-Brawn is wearing the entire front third of his auto mode on his left arm. If anything, the new deco draws more attention to his deformed arm. It’s a shame because the rest of the robot mode is so clean looking. I guess in a way it’s good to confine all the kibble to one small part of the robot and if he smacks you with that arm, it’ll literally be the same experience as getting hit by an SUV. Apart from the front of the car, most of the rally deco is still visible on X-Brawn’s back.

X-Brawn’s right arm is still minus a hand. He’s got a socket where you can plug his running boards into to be used as weapons. They’re axes or swords or bludgeons or guns, or whatever you want them to be, I guess. I still really dig the sculpting on the chest and the coloring on the figure is a pleasing pearlescent green mixed with white plastic and some gold and grey. He’s got ball joints all around, so he’s a lot of fun to play with and pose, even with his crippling deformity. Even now I can’t stop fiddling with him, he’s just a fun little figure!

Rally Brawn features the same cool head sculpt as regular flavor Brawn. It’s a great looking noggin, although mine has a little stray paint on him. I’m a big fan of mouth plates on my Transformers. One would think since Optimus Prime has one, it would be considered “in style” and all the other Autobots would want one too. I wonder if they can get cosmetic surgery and have a face plate added. Nick Roche must have covered that in the comics at some point.

If you weren’t sold on this figure the first time around, I doubt this re-deco will make you reconsider. I have a soft spot in my heart for this guy and the Rally deco just makes me love him all the more. Ultimately, this figure can thank Sega for not being sold off with the other multiples of the Car Brothers during one of my Great Purges. It’s funny how sometimes a completely unrelated thing will make me hang on to a toy that I would have otherwise let go. Damn, I kind of wish I wasn’t heading out to The Pub, because I have a hankering to boot up the Dreamcast and play some Sega Rally 2.

Next Thursday, I’ll wrap up my look at the Autobot Car Brothers with Prowl.

Sep 5 2013

Transformers Robots in Disguise: X-Brawn by Hasbro

It’s Transformers Thursday again! Last time we looked at Side Burn, the first of the Autobot Car Brothers from Robots in Disguise. Today we’re rolling on with the second of the three. It’s X-Brawn…

X-Brawn’s alt mode is a silver and green SUV. I totally dig the realism in this vehicle mode. The silver finish looks great and he has a huge Autobot emblem stamped on his hood. The running boards and front ramming bar are all chromed out, and he even has a spare tire rack on the back. Speaking of tires, X-Brawn’s are real rubber and stamped with “Transformers” on the sides. You can even open his doors and lift the hood to reveal the chrome engine inside. Cool!

X-Brawn transforms pretty easily and boy am I ever torn on his robot mode. Unlike Side Burn, who had car parts hanging haphazardly all over, X-Brawn manages to confine almost all of it into one giant crippling disfigurement of the left arm. Yes, he wears the entire front of his auto mode as a forearm. The problem here is that it’s far more unwieldy and random than Side Burn’s roof, which actually looks like a serviceable shield. X-Brawn’s SUV front of an arm just looks random and unfortunate. I suppose he could hit people with it, but it seems like the trade-off of having to go through life with that on your arm, isn’t a good one.

It’s a real shame too, because the rest of X-Brawn looks mighty damn good. The lower legs are pretty huge, but they give him a nice solid base to stand on, and I really dig the sculpting in his chest. Even his head sculpt looks normal and not all frankensteined like Side Burns does. Toss in some serviceable ball joints and he’s a pretty fun figure to pose and play with.

One other distinctive feature about X-Brawn is that his running boards detach during transformation and become a sword or a bludgeon weapon. Yes, this poor guy has only one hand and it’s on the popeye arm, while his normal arm sports only a weapon.

Like Side Burn, I should have an enormous problem with this figure, and yet I can’t bring myself to hate on him. Yes, X-Brawn’s huge car front arm violates my ugly car kibble standards, but so much else about this figure works well for me that I’m able to overlook it. Some may argue that the coloring of the SUV mode is too subdued, but I like the fact that it just accentuates the vehicle’s realism. On the other hand, if you were looking for something with a more exciting deco, I may be able to accommodate you on the next Transformers Thursday!

Aug 29 2013

Transformers Robots in Disguise: Side Burn (Second Version) by Hasbro

As promised a couple of weeks ago, I’m going to be using Transformers Thursday to embark on a look back at some of the Robots in Disguise (2001) toys, particularly the Autobot Car Brothers. We’re going to kick things off with Side Burn. Roughly equivalent to a Deluxe Class figure, Side Burn has seen a number of repaints over the years. The original US release of Side Burn was blue, but a while back during one of my many Toy Purges, I decided I was only going to keep my favorite deco of these molds, so we’re going to be looking at his second RiD release. No package shot, so let’s just jump right in to his alt mode.

Side Burn is a very snazzy looking Dodge Viper and a good example of why I love the alt modes on these figures so much. It’s funny, but I don’t remember HasTak having the Dodge license for this line, but Side Burn definitely has a tiny little Dodge emblem on the front of his hood. It seems like a lot of expense for just a Deluxe figure. There’s a wonderful sense of realism to this auto mode that we really haven’t seen in a main line of Transformers since, and that’s probably a big part of why I get a little nostalgic for this line. Other selling points for me are the clear windows, the exposed and detailed chromed engine, the gold-vac metal wheels, and the rubber tires with “Cybertron” stamped on them. Hell, the doors even open! Fantastic!

This version of Side Burn sports a deco that is very reminiscent of G1 Hot Rod or Rodimus Prime. He’s red with flames painted on the hood and doors. He has a bold Autobot emblem stamped on his roof and you can see another Autobot emblem through his rear window. Transforming Side Burn is fairly simple, but we get to see how a lot of the Beast Wars engineering revolution carried over into this line. There are tons of ball joints and huge portions of car hanging off of hinged arms. The appropriate word here is shell-former!!!

Yup, one of the reasons that the car can look so good is because Side Burn wears a lot of it in his robot mode. The result is you get a very poseable and organic looking robot body with random car bits attached everywhere. Some of them aren’t so bad, while others are rather awkward and annoying. The stuff I like includes the engine block on his chest and the way the two halves of the hood and the doors become downswept wings. The rear wheels on his hips aren’t too bad either.

The biggest albatross is the way the top of the car becomes a riot shield for his left arm. In theory, I like this idea a lot and you could see where it would come in handy. But, seeing as it’s permanently attached it seems like having to constantly carry that thing around would get rather annoying. On the other hand, if it were removable, then poor Side Burn would be accused of being a parts-former. It is ball jointed, so at least you can position it in different ways. I’m also not a big fan of the bumper on his right shoulder. This thing just looks awkward and unlike the shield, it serves no real purpose other than to get in the way.

My least favorite thing about Side Burn is the head sculpt. I don’t know what they were going for here, but he looks all messed up. There’s no symmetry and I get the sense that he’s some kind of Cybertronian patchwork monster that crawled its way out of Wheeljack’s secret lab. I suppose it suits the overall ramshackle look of the figure.

Side Burn comes with two weapons. First, you get a little chromed gun blade. I believe the one that came with this figure was gold, but mine is silver, so the original must have gotten switched with one of my other Side Burns somewhere along the way. His rear bumper also turns into a missile firing crossbow, which I always thought was kind of neat.

Why I don’t hate this figure is beyond me. Obviously there’s a lot to love in his car mode, but his robot mode is just a twisted mess. And yet, somehow he still has a spot in my Transformer loving heart. Maybe it was because I was so happy to see an actual Autobot in the toy aisle again after so many years? Whatever the case, I can’t hate on Side Burn. He has plenty of problems, but he can still be a fun figure in his own way.

Next week, we’ll check out X-Brawn!

Aug 27 2013

Transformers Generations: Megatron (IDW Comic Pack) by Hasbro

The IDW comic packs have arrived and I am a happy camper! If you’ve been kicking around FFZ for the past three years you may know that I absolutely adore the idea of packaging action figures with comics. The presentation can’t be beat and hey… free comic! I got the first wave of these in last week and I thought I’d start things rolling with Megatron. He’s the one figure in this assortment that I was probably least excited for, mainly because War for Cybertron Megs is still my go-to Megs for my TF display. I didn’t think there was much chance of this one knocking him out of the spotlight, but let’s find out if I was wrong…

Yup… That’s what I call awesome packaging! Megs comes carded in his robot form with an issue of the IDW comic behind him sporting an exclusive cover. Honestly, I’m not terribly keen on the cover. The art is nice, but the coloring is rather bland. I think it would have worked better had they left it alone, but I can understand why they wanted something more focused on Megatron. The card points out that this is one of Hasbro’s “Thrilling Thirty” as part of the 30^th Anniversary line. As usual, I’m going to start out with Megs’ alt mode, but first let’s look at the comic!

I did not come back to Transformers comics until the debut of More Than Meets the Eye and Robots in Disguise, so this ish is a new one by me. This was a great issue to include with the figure because it involves Megatron returning to lead the Decepticons in his new stealth bomber alt mode. It’s a good stand-alone read and it focuses on the familiar Megatron and Starscream trope in what plays out like some kind of bizarre sado-masochistic passion play.

Ok, so as mentioned, Megatron is a stealth bomber, and a mighty nice looking one at that. He pegs together very well and he’s sized about right for a Deluxe. There aren’t a lot of paint apps going on here. He’s molded in black plastic and has a little red for the windows and some grey accents. I would have loved to see purple panel lining from Len O’Grady’s coloring, but I can understand why it didn’t cost out for the figure. If you flip him over you’ll see a lot of purple as well as a good portion of his robot mode peeking out at you. Megatron has a single landing gear near the nose that folds down. It’s a nice touch, especially since it’s not really needed for the aircraft to balance on a surface. Apart from looking good, Megatron’s alt mode has no play features or gimmicks or anything like that. He does have a pair of ports on his back, which can be used to mount weapons from just about any recent Deluxe Transformer. I suspect the weapons from Fall of Cybertron Skywarp would look rather bitchin on him.

I found transforming Megatron into jet mode was rather fidgety at first, but I was eventually able to do it without instructions. Getting him into robot mode, on the other hand, is pretty simple and intuitive. The only unusual thing is that you have to pull off his wings to form his fusion cannon, but more on that in a bit. When you’re done you get a robot that is a pretty damn fine approximation of the artwork in the comic. It’s not perfect, but it’s an extremely respectable attempt on Hasbro’s part. He’s very well proportioned and I really dig the triangular torso with the engine intakes on his shoulders. The head sculpt is spot-on, and while I tend to prefer the more angular and robotic faces of old, the organic Nick Roche style really shines through quite nicely on this figure.

In robot mode, Megatron’s deco gets a little more interesting. Sure, there’s still plenty of black from the bomber mode, but now you’ve got two shades of purple, as well as the bits of grey and red. It’s a very Skywarpy look, and that compounds my main issue with this figure: It just doesn’t feel like Megatron to me.

As mentioned, the wing tips pull off and get pegged together and then placed on either of his arms to form his fusion cannon. It’s not very traditional, but it does have a certain alien energy weapon look to it, and it does fit the artwork. You can pull out the front of it to reveal some translucent purple, which looks fantastic.

By every account, this is an excellent figure. Hasbro took the comic book art, worked out the engineering and did so brilliantly. He’s not really my Megatron, but if you’re a fan of this comic run, chances are you’ll really dig this guy. But even if this guy isn’t going to replace FoC Megatron on my display shelf, I can still appreciate him as a great Transformer and a cool stand-alone figure in my collection.

Aug 22 2013

Transformers Generations: Titan Class Metroplex by Hasbro, Part 3

It’s Transformers Thursday, and I promise to get back to some older Transformers next week. This week, I’m allowing my look at Metroplex to take over, because the feature has gotten out of hand and I can’t stop playing with him. Today, we’re wrapping things up with a look at his Carrier Mode, which should go very quickly and allow me to scamper off to The Pub for boozes and merriment. Ha! I said scamper!!

So, the Carrier Mode is really simple and is essentially an aircraft carrier that rolls along on the ground. Yes, it’s basically Metroplex with his legs out in front of him to form dual runways and his arms swept back. And yet, as simple as this mode is, I still absolutely love it. The runways show off a lot of stickers, which makes it look outstanding, so long as you applied them carefully, and there’s a cargo crane that can be folded out from the deck. I have yet to find a practical use for it, but it’s still a cool little extra.

The command center in the rear still features the ramp that comes down from his chest bay and a fold out gunnery station on the left shoulder. Also on the left shoulder is a helipad, which is smaller and separate from the one used in his City Mode. You can also still have access to his fold out right arm cannon if Metro needs to shoot behind him. Let’s load him up with some Minicons and get him ready for action!

Yup, I’ve got plenty of Minicon jets, which look great all lined up on the runways and ready to launch. If I had the space, I would definitely display Metro in this mode a lot of the time, just so I could showcase my Minicon air force. And if I owned this toy as a kid, I’d probably spend a ridiculous amount of time playing with Metro in this mode. It’s just so much fun! And that’s all I’ve got on the Carrier Mode. I told you this would be quick!

Thanks for your patience as I stretched this feature into three parts. It’s the first time I spent three days looking at a single figure, but I was really excited to finally have this guy and I honestly think he warranted the extra attention. In Part 1, I compared the box a lot to 80’s toys and as I come away from this look at Metroplex, I find myself with the same kind of delight and awe that I had for some of the bigger 80’s releases. Plexy joins other recent releases like the Millennium Falcon and the GI JOE Pit as love letters to those days of yore where you could walk into a toy store and find stuff like this all over the place.

Metroplex retails right around $100, which I think is a pretty solid value for what you’re getting. I haven’t actually seen him at any retail stores yet, but he is coming in and out of stock at a lot of online retailers as we speak. This release comes to us against all odds, as Transformers fans have been lamenting for ages that we’d never get another Fort Max sized Transformer in the US. It just goes to show you that anything is possible. Sure, I would have liked to see some of the chrome work on the SDCC version applied to the general retail release. At the very least, the face should have been painted silver, but really I’m nitpicking little things about what is a really amazing toy and one that I’m absolutely thrilled to have in my collection. Where’s he going to live? I have absolutely no idea! But he’ll find a place to hang out, even if I have to sit him on my sofa.

Couldn’t resist one more size comparison shot… Omega don’t seem so Supreme anymore.

Aug 21 2013

Transformers Generations: Titan Class Metroplex by Hasbro, Part 2

And I’m back for the second part of my look at Hasbro’s amazing Metroplex figure. Much like the original G1 toy, Hasbro’s update comes with Scamper, a little Autobot car who can roll around Metro’s streets. Before we get back to GIANT robot craziness, let’s catch our collective breath and check out this little fella. We’ll start with his alt mode…

In keeping with tradition, Scamper is a little black car with a red gun on top. With the extended side pieces and six wheels, he looks to me like a sportscar that’s been retrofitted for battle. His deco consists of black and grey plastic with some sparkly blue paint for the windshield and a little silver for his back. There isn’t a lot more to say about his alt mode apart from the fact that he rolls along great and the top gun is removable. All in all, he’s about the size of a Legion Commander Class, which is to say smaller than a Scout. For some reason I expected him to be a little bigger, but it’s good that Hasbro included a figure that is sized relative to Metroplex.

Transforming Scamper is as easy as you might expect. You just fold out his legs from the back of the vehicle, fold down the hood to become his chest, and pull the arms out from the sides. In robot mode he’s a pretty cool little guy. His proportions are a tad wonky, as he has a Popeye-slash-monkey arm thing going on, but overall I like him. You can store his gun on his back and he can also hold it in either hand. Ball joints and hinges give him a great degree of poseability for such a little guy. By all accounts, Scamper is a cool little pack in figure, but let’s be honest, he’s not the reason we’re here… so give me a moment to set up the big background and we’ll check out Metro’s City Mode.

Aw… Yeah! Continuing the theme that this Plexy shares most of the design and engineering of the original G1 toy, the City Modes are extremely similar in concept. The biggest difference, is also the one that I thought would bug me the most, and that’s the fact that the ramp from the bay in his chest does not reach down to the ground like it did on the G1 toy. Instead, 2013 Metro’s ramp only extends down to one of the leg pylons. This means that instead of a nice symmetrical city with the two leg pylons out at angles, one has to go straight out and the other off to the side. I don’t know why this bothers me so much, but it probably has to do with my borderline OCD and demand for symmetry in design. I also used to like rolling cars out of the bay and have them shoot down the ramp and across the floor. Yes, it still irks me when I look at the City Mode, but I’m trying to warm up to it. In fairness it’s a petty annoyance, so let’s leave it be, and move on to some of the other features of Metroplex as a City. Dang… if only I had bags and bags of tiny little Transformers to play with on Metroplex… wait a minute… TO THE MINICONS!!!!

Hell yeah, I’ve got tons of Minicons, and they are hands down one of the best ways to populate Metroplex, because they’re closer to proper scale. Spychangers will also do in a pinch, but if you’ve got a large collection of old Micromasters, well now you’re really talking.

The top of the city features a gun pylon made out of his right arm. There’s a compartment to hold Scamper or a couple of Minicons. The shoulder gun makes up a tower rising up from the back, although you can also just angle it forward and make it an extra cannon for city defense. The left shoulder converts into a helipad along with a couple of other platforms where you can station some more small Transformers.

The two leg pylons are pretty much the same, with the exception of the bay ramp coming down to the right pylon. These open up to reveal little command and control stations with stickers to show off the control panels. The rest of the legs feature streets leading out of the city. Again, these are perfectly sized for Minicon cars.

I was not expecting a whole lot from Metroplex’s City Mode, but in the end I’m pleasantly surprised. Once I got him set up and loaded with figures, it’s easy to forget that he’s mainly just a robot sitting down with some parts folded out. I hate to pad this feature out further, but I still need to take some shots of Plexy in his Battlestation mode, so give one more day to play with him in City Mode and I’ll be back tomorrow to wrap this beast up!

FigureFan Zero

Action Figure Reviews, Toys & Collectibles…

Tag Archives: transformers

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