Tag Archives: transformers

Jun 14 2011

Transformers Dark of the Moon: Cyberverse Optimus Prime by Hasbro

There sure are a lot of new Transformers in the toy aisles right now, and yet I seem to be addicted to buying nothing but these Cyberverse figures. It’s pretty strange since I all but ignored the Legends Class in the past. I guess I just really dig being able to take home a couple new Transformers from my weekly grocery run to Walmart without breaking the bank. This time around I picked up the Autobots’ Big Bot himself, Optimus Prime. Let’s check him out…

Optimus Prime is a Commander figure, so he’s from the slightly larger and more complex assortment in the line. We’ve already seen this packaging before when we looked at Ironhide. I still like it a lot, although the bio blurb on the back is kind of disappointing. The figure comes mounted in his robot mode and thanks to the half cylinder style of bubble, you can easily get the figure out and back in if you want. It’s a pretty cool way to deliver a collector friendly package on a cheap cardback. I should point out here that this figure is also available in a Limited Edition and packaged with a set of 3D Glasses.

As usual, I’m going to start out in vehicle mode. This version of Prime is just the cab, although you can get what is basically the same figure with the trailer in the larger assortment set. The cab is a pretty good miniaturized version of the Prime’s truck mode as seen in the live action movies. The proportions suffer a little bit, with the hood of the cab a bit longer than it should be, but the rest looks fine. The cab holds its form nicely, but the robot kibble hanging off the undercarriage scrapes on the ground preventing the toy from rolling as well as it should. There’s a weapon pod that fits on to the back of the cab, which is made up from the parts that will form Prime’s jetpack and guns in his robot mode. It looks surprisingly good.

And then there’s the robot mode. If you’re looking for a mini version of the Prime from the Michael Bay movies, than I don’t think this is going to satisfy you. On the other hand, it’s still a really cool take on Prime. It actually looks more like the old Power Master Prime to me, although there’s a little Energon Prime in there as well, particularly in the way he wears some of his wheels as a backpack. The sculpt is really well done and the coloring is great. He has a removable jetpack, which looks great on him, but definitely makes him back heavy. Prime could have been greatly improved by a pair of heel spurs to keep him up. Still, his occasional tendency to topple over doesn’t ruin the toy. His two guns socket right into his hands. Articulation is very good for such a tiny figure. Prime has ball joints in his shoulders and hips and hinged elbows and knees.

As a Commander figure, Prime retails at just under eight bucks. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the price point on these guys. Yeah, it seems a little steep, but like Ironhide, this really is a well designed and nicely crafted little toy. It feels like too much to pay when it’s hanging on the peg, but once I’ve got them open I tend to feel as if the price is justified, even though the Deluxes are just a few dollars more. I honestly thought that Ironhide might have been a fluke, but now that I own two of these Cyberverse Commander figures, I’m still just as impressed. Shall we try for three? Next time, we’ll look at Cyberverse Powerglide and see if Hasbro can keep it going.

Jun 8 2011

Transformers Dark of the Moon: Cyberverse Ratchet and Crowbar

The last time I looked at the Cyberverse figures, I was a little befuddled about the differences in size and complexity. Now that the local retailers have put out more product I can see that there are two assortments of figures: The Commanders and Legions. With the Legions figures finally available around these parts, I picked up two of them to look at today. One familiar and one brand new.

The packaging on these guys is like a scaled down version of the Commander figures’ packages. You still get that half tube that displays the figure very nicely in his robot mode and mounted on a DotM cardback. It’s simple but attractive and let me say yet again how much more I like this package deco than the ones used on the previous two films. The large insignia on the lower right side clearly shows off whether the figure is a Decepticon or Autobot. They’re packaged as robots, but let’s start off with their vehicle modes.

Ratchet is a nice tiny approximation of his larger versions. In fact, the only thing that really bugs me about his ambulance mode are the large hinges on the front of the doors. Ok, I hate the radioactive green color too, but that’s more a style issue than anything else. And I’ll venture to say I like it better than the puke green used on previous versions. He still has the roof rack with the spare tire and there’s a remarkable amount of sculpted detail in the front bumper for such a little guy.

Transforming Ratchet is really easy and the resulting bot is once again quite faithful to his larger versions, albeit with the wheels and bumper that make up his chest not turned upside down. The head sculpt is excellent for its size and with ball jointed hips and rotating shoulders and balljoints in his elbows, he has a decent amount of articulation, albeit not as good as the Commander figures. I’m not blown away by Ratchet, but he’s a solid toy for his size and fun to fiddle about with.

Crowbar gets instant props for being a Decepticon car. The package actually calls him a police car but there’s no evidence of that on the toy itself. He doesn’t have any police markings or lightbars. I guess he could be an undercover cruiser. Whatever the case, the car is all black with just a few gray bits. I would have preferred the Decepticon logo on the hood, rather than reversed and offset on the roof, but that’s ok. Crowbar’s car mode does have a fair amount of seaming on it, but all in all it looks ok and holds together very well.

Transforming Crowbar is a little tough to get started because everything locks together so well. Most of the time, I just wind up pulling the ball joints out and reassembling him, but if you’re more careful and precise that isn’t necessary. His convesion is a lot more clever and impressive than Ratchet’s and the result is a very cool looking figure. His feet and legs are particularly well done, despite being mistransformed in the package. The sculpted detail on his head and torso are paritcularly well done and there’s a lot more interesting coloring going on in robot mode too.

The Legion figures retail at just under five bucks, which isn’t what I would call cheap for such small toys, but I’m not going to complain too much either. These guys are very well designed and beautifully sculpted. They also have a lot more play value than one might expect to find in such small figures. Crowbar is definitely my favorite of the pair, but Ratchet is no slouch either.

Jun 2 2011

Transformers Power Core Combiners: Icepick and Chainclaw by Hasbro

In case you haven’t noticed, Hasbro has killed off the Power Core Combiner line. I don’t think this will come as a great shock to many TF fans out there, as the product seemed to be rotting on the shelves, particularly the five-packs. I’ve reviewed a fair number of these figures here, both the two-packs and the larger sets and they have admittedly been quite the mixed bag. None of them have ever lived up to the first Combaticon set, but I’ve had very few complaints about the Commander and Minicon two-packs. Yesterday, I grabbed one of the newer Commander sets on clearance, so let’s check out Icepick and Chainclaw.

The packaging is ok. I like the big Decepticon insignia under the Transformers logo. Both figures are carded in robot form and they fill out the bubble nicely. The back panel shows off the toys in both of their modes. I’m kind of surprised they gave Icepick here an Intermediate Level of Transformation. He’s basically a Scout sized toy and fairly easy to transform into all his different forms.

As his name may suggest, Icepick’s alt form is an arctic halftrack. That right there makes him stand out because after decades of Transformers releases, there have only been a few arctic themed Transformers. His vehicle mode is pretty cool and includes a big plow on the front and molded simulated treads in the back. This mode holds together really well and rolls along thanks to hidden wheels under the fake treads. There’s a Minicon port on the top to attach his buddy Chainclaw in his weapon mode. One of my ungoing complaints in this line has been Hasbro’s unwillingness to hide the power combiner pegs on the vehicle and robot modes, but here they just don’t look too bad.

Like I said earlier, transforming Icepick is really quite easy and the resulting robot is really cool looking. He’s got pretty massive claws for hands and excellent articulation for a Scout sized toy. Once again, Hasbro doesn’t do a lot to hide the combiner pegs in this mode either. There they are just hanging off his shoulders, but like the alt mode, they don’t bother me a lot here. In fact, I really dig everything about Icepick’s robot mode.

Chainclaw is my favorite kind of Minicon, as he’s basically a Targetmaster. He transforms into a double rack rocket launcher pod and he looks pretty good on Icepick or really any other Transformer with a Minicon port. His robot mode is nice and clean and even sports good articulation for a Minicon. He’s almost worth buying the set on his own if you can find it for a good enough clearance price.

Unfortunately, Icepick’s combiner form isn’t all that great. I used the Combaticon drones to illustrate his combined form, as that’s the ones listed on the instructions. It doesn’t look too bad, but I think Icepick holds together the worst out of all the Commander figures I own. There’s really nothing to lock him together and his torso mode is very flat. What’s worse is that his leg joints aren’t strong enough to hold him up. As a result, you really just need to blow on him and he’ll double over and fall apart. On the plus side, I do like his combiner head. It’s very distinctive and looks like it has ice crystals coming out of his head. Why would he have ice crystals in his head? No logical reason, but it still looks cool.

You should have no trouble finding the Power Core Combiners on clearance now, and I would recommend this set strictly on the merits of the figures alone. You can forget all about their combiner abilities and still add a couple of nice and certainly unique Transformers to your collection. From my experience, you can’t really go wrong with the Commander two-packs, and I know I’ll be hunting down the ones I’m still missing whenever I can.

May 25 2011

Transformers Dark of the Moon: Cyberverse Starscream Orbital Assault Carrier

Last time we looked at one of the single carded figures from Hasbro’s new Cyberverse line of Transformers, but this time we’re going to delve into what this line is all about… The larger sets. Cyberverse is all about making Transformers small enough to interact with transforming playsets (for lack of a better word… I guess they’re actually more like vehicles) much like some of the old G1 Micromasters did. It’s a great idea that revisits a really cool element of the Transformers, while still maintaining the core gimmick… things transforming into other things. These larger sets come with a Cyberverse figure and their larger interactive piece. So let’s check out Starscream and his Orbital Assault Carrier.

The set comes in a window box that strikes me as being somewhat similar in size and configuration as the Human Alliance toys. The artwork features the cool new Dark of the Moon deco and boasts that the contents are a “3-in-1 action set!” Starscream comes mounted in his robot mode with his Orbital Assault thingy taking up most of the interior’s real estate. The toys are set against an illustrated insert of a cityscape burning in typical Michael Bay fashion. The insert can also be taken out and folded into a cool diorama background in the same way Habsro has been doing it for some of their other lines. I don’t think the background suits these toys all that well, but it’s cool enough that I’ll probably save it for some other figures. Also included in the package is a missile and a folded instruciton sheet.

Let’s start with Starscream. Remember how I gushed about Ironhide and how awesome he was for such a little figure? Well, I won’t be doing that with Starscream. He’s not terrible. He’s certainly better than the Legends Starscreams, but he’s nowhere near Ironhide in terms of ingenuity of design. I don’t know if Hasbro is including dumbed-down figures with the larger sets as cost, but I guess I’ll find out as I pick up more of the Cyberverse toys. It could also be the difference between the so-called Commander figures and the Legion figures. It’s all pretty confusing. Either way, if I bought this Starscream on a single card for eight bucks, I would have been severely pissed off.

Starscream’s Raptor mode is about what I expected, very kibbletastic. The top of the jet looks ok, but look at it from any other angle and you can see all the robo-baggage he’s carrying underneith. He also does not hold together very well at all. On the up side, Hasbro did a decent job reproducing all his tatts. In robot mode, things are only slightly better. He looks ok, but the panel that folds up to become his back doesn’t want to stay folded up, as it doesn’t lock into anywhere. He lacks the intricate details of Ironhide and just looks kind of bland. If Ironhide looked like a Deluxe toy shrunk down, Starscream here looks more like a Legends toy enlarged a bit. He’s serviceable, but not impressive, although he really doesn’t look like he belongs in the same line of figures as Ironhide.

So, I’m guessing Hasbro through most of their efforts into the Orbital Assault Carrier, as it’s actually pretty neat. As the box proclaims, it does indeed have three modes and all of them are solid enough, which isn’t always the case with triple changers. Starscream can also interact with each mode in a different way.

The in-package mode is the Assault Drone, which is just a big flying weapons platform. There’s a harness underneith that opens up and you can put Starscream in his Raptor mode in there, but he doesn’t really fit into place all that well and just winds up getting knocked around. It seems like they could have had some pegs or clips or some better way to secure him inside the harness.

Next up is the Carrier mode. This is the one I was most interested in, as it’s basically a little airborne aircraft carrier that Starscream can land on. It looks ok, although once again, despite a number of sockets on the flattop, Starscream doesn’t really lock onto it in any way. If you get him just right you can get his landing gear into the slots, but he’ll still slide off without much coaxing.

Last up is the Battle Station mode, which is the one for Starscream’s robot mode. It’s a weapons platform with a place for Starscream to stand when he’s in robot mode. It actually looks like some kind of crazy throne with armaments. I’m not sure how it works in battle, but it looks good and it makes Starscream look a lot more formidable than when he’s standing on his own.

This set was about fifteen bucks at Walmart. Not a bad deal considering the single carded Cyberverse figures sell for about half that. Does it sound like I was disappointed in this set? Well, I think it would be more accurate to say I was disappointed with the Starscream figure, and that’s probably mostly because I opened it right after opening Ironhide. Starscream is actually pretty close to what I expected out of these figures, but then Ironhide raised the bar a lot higher. The Orbital Assault Carrier is actually pretty cool, but I do wish that Starscream interacted with it a bit better. Nonetheless, I think the overall concept works ok, and I’m not deterred from picking up more of these sets.

May 24 2011

Transformers Dark of the Moon: Cyberverse Ironhide by Hasbro

Hasbro surprised us all back during Toyfair when they revealed a new subline for the Dark of the Moon toys. It’s called Cyberverse and it’s a brand new class, falling somewhere between the Legends and Scout classes in terms of size and complexity. The purpose of the new size seems to be interactivity with transforming playsets, but today we’re going to start by looking at one of the stand alone figures in this new assortment. Let’s check out Cyberverse Ironhide.

Ironhide comes carded in his robot mode under a big cylindrical bubble. I still really like the deco on the Dark of the Moon packages. It’s such an improvement over the Revenge of the Fallen artwork. The back panel has a little bio of Ironhide along with photos of the toy and his tech specs. If you’re a MOC collector, these should hold up really well, although probably not as easy to store as the more traditional carded figures. Either way, I love the look here.

Even though Ironhide is packaged in his robot mode, I’m going to start with a look at his alt mode. He’s still a GMC Pick Up and for such a little guy, this is one great looking and amazingly detailed truck. He has about the same amount of robot kibble in his undercarriage as the Voyager Ironhide toy from the previous movies. He locks together fairly well and there’s not an excessive amount of seams, although there is a slight gap in the hood to allow for the way those panels slant together during transformation. I’m particularly impressed by the detail work in the grill that is not only meticulously sculpted but even has a painted GMC logo and the Road Armor logos on the bumper. That’s crazy detail, right there! Because of the nature of his vehicle form Ironhide has very few paint apps to speak of. His stacks are painted silver and you have some more silver paintwork on the grill and that’s about it. I’d say this alt mode would be perfectly acceptable as a slightly larger Scout class toy, so it’s all the more impressive here.

The Cyberverse figures also manage to mimic some of the MechTech weapon gimmickry of their larger cousins, and Ironhide here is a great example of that. He comes with two cannons, which can combine into a larger weapon. There are three sockets on the truck where these can be placed, with one on each door and the third on the roof. There’s also a clip in the truck bed. This kind of versatility with the weapon gives this little truck plenty of play and display options.

Transforming Ironhide is pretty simple, but what you get is simply amazing. Hasbro has managed to take all the character and personality of the Voyager toy and shrink it down to this little guy. He looks amazing, and I don’t mean for a Transformer this size. No, I really am blown away by how faithful the design remains to the larger toys. Once again, the MechTech style weapon gives some options for play and display. You can mount the two weapons to his arms, or you can have Ironhide hold the larger combined weapon, or peg that into either of his arms.

Ironhide’s robot mode has solid articulation with ball joints in the shoulders and upper legs, hinged elbows and knees, swivels in the elbows, and hinges in the ankles. The shoulders, however, are at a strange angle, which keeps his arms from doing what I’d like them to, but you can still get some nice poses from him. The only thing that bugs me is his head doesn’t turn. Of course, his ball joints are prone to popping off, particularly the arms, but it’s not as chronic a condition as I’ve seen with some of the larger Revenge of the Fallen toys.

Ironhide cost just under eight bucks, which may make some collectors wince, since he’s smaller than a Scout and yet he’s priced about the same. It doesn’t even seem like all that long ago when we could pick up Deluxes for just a buck or two more. Whether a toy this small is worth the price tag is up to you. Personally, I think for the amount of sculpt and engineering that went into this little guy, the price is not unwarranted. Besides, it places him right around the same range as a standard 3 3/4″ action figure. I was damned curious to check out these new Cyberverse toys, and I’ve got to say if Hasbro can keep up this level of engineering, I’m going to be buying a lot of them. And that’s coming from someone who rarely bought any of the Legends class figures.

Next time, we’ll check out one of the larger Cyberverse sets.

May 20 2011

Transformers Dark of the Moon: Megatron by Hasbro

The Dark of the Moon figures have hit retailers full force this week and Hasbro is bringing the big guns. There’s a bewildering amount of toys for the line, although, if you’ve been in Target recently it looks like Disney’s Cars 2 won the marketing battle for the most real estate. I resisted the urge to fill a cart with Transformers today and instead just picked up the one figure I was looking forward to most in the initial assortment… Megatron. Why Megatron? He’s gotten the short end of the transforming stick in the first two movies, so I was really excited to finally see him getting a legitimate alt mode, instead of just something that looks like an HR Giger inspired horseshoe crab with a gun on it. Ok, let’s check him out.

Here’s my first look at the new DotM packaging. OMG, why does the box seem so tiny? Well, we’ll get to that in a bit. The artwork is a big difference from the last two movies, and I like it a lot. It just makes more sense to have a dark space motif on my Transformers packages instead of a bunch of hieroglyphics. As a Voyager Class, Megatron comes in a window box and packaged in his robot mode. His bio is now on the side of the package and the back panel shows photos of the toy in both modes as well as the character’s specs. There’s a Try Me hole cut out in the window that lets you see how the Mech Tech weapon converts. But don’t let the Try Me thing fool you, the toy does not feature any electronics.

Despite being packaged in his robot mode, I’m actually going to start by looking at Megsy’s vehicle mode. He’s a grimey looking tanker truck, which is an alt mode I never would have thought would suit Megatron very well, but in this case I kind of like it. For some reason, I just like the idea of both Prime and Megatron being trucks. But before getting into the truck itself, let’s talk size and scale. Megatron is tiny. Check out a picture of him besides another Voyager toy, the original Movie Ironhide, and a Revenge of the Fallen Deluxe, Bumblebee.

Not only is he way too small to be in scale with Voyager Ironhide, but he’s even way too small against a Deluxe car from the last movie. Now, I tend to be pretty leniant with scale in Transformers, since Takara and Hasbro have played fast and loose with scale ever since the G1 days, but DotM Megatron just seems way too small. He should have been a Leader Class, and that would have at least made him displayable besides some of the Autobots from the last two movies. Ok, so we are discussing three separate lines, and just because the first movies’ toys synched so well with Revenge of the Fallen doesn’t mean DotM toys should do the same. Just be prepared for the surprise that Megatron is, relatively speaking, a damn small toy.

That all having been said, I do like his truck mode a lot. He’s a nasty grey and green color with some paint app rust spots here and there. There’s some excellent detail work on the grill, including the Mack Truck logo and he holds together well and rolls along nicely. I’m not entirely sure why one of the windshields pops out further than the other, but it is depicted that way in the product images, so it’s obviously intentional. Megsy’s alt mode also has a soft plastic molded tarp that can be placed over the rear end of his tanker, which looks pretty cool. The Mech Tech weapon forms the front half of his tank. It can be removed and plugged into the socket on the roof of his cab to give him some extra firepower.

Transforming Megatron is a little tricky, thanks to a few shifts mostly involving his upper legs. Once you get the hang of those moves, the rest is very simple. In fact, he’s laughably easy to transform for a movieverse Voyager. Nonetheless, what you get when you’re done is the cleanest, most symetrical and most humanoid looking Megatron Bayformer we’ve seen. In fact, he looks great and what little truck kibble is here is all neatly tucked away. The Mech Tech weapons plugs into his arm as a fusion cannon, which doesn’t look that much like a fusion cannon unless you activate its Mech Tech feature. The problem is that the weapon only stays transformed when you keep the button pressed in. The tarp that covers part of Megatron’s tank forms a cloak in his robot mode with an extra bit that hooks on to form a hood. It looks pretty cool on him, and the hood serves to hide some of the right half of his face, which is battle damaged. I’m overall pretty happy with the way this guy looks and his articulation. Too bad the scale issue is still very much there when he’s in robot mode.

In defense of Megsy’s size, I don’t have any other DotM figures to compare him with. I don’t know that Voyager Prime looked about the same size, so that’s something. He’ll probably be fine alongside the Deluxe figures in robot mode, but the vehicle modes are still going to be way out of wack.

Along with Megatron’s diminished size, comes a diminished price tag. I’m used to paying about $20-23 for Voyager class Transformers, but the DotM Voyagers were only $18 each at Walmart. Not bad considering they’re brand new and not even on special or anything. I expect the price to go up a few bucks in the coming weeks. Either way, Megatron’s size and complexity make him something of a disappointment. He just feels too much like a stand alone figure that doesn’t fit into any of the previously released classes. I do like his truck mode, and I do like his robot mode, though, so he isn’t a total loss, and he’s a decent enough toy for the money.

Apr 27 2011

Transformers Generations: Thundercracker by Hasbro

Closing out this week’s Generations trifecta is Thundercracker, a pretty highly controversial figure in the TF community and one that I am so happy to finally have in my collection. Thundercracker was one of the very first Transformers I got as a kid back in ’84 and I don’t mind telling y’all I was plenty pissed when it looked like I wasn’t going to get an updated version based on the Classics mold. For those of you who aren’t more entrenched in the TF community, Hasbro went and released Thundercracker in the US as part of a set of Botcon Exclusives. This made a lot of us mad, because we thought we’d never get to complete our updated Seekers. Of course, now there are a whole slew of fans who bought the Botcon “exclusive” Thundercracker that are pissed because they got roped into spending so much for theirs. Then you’ve got the Henkei Thundercracker owners who… ah, screw it. So what can we make of all this? Here’s an idea: Hasbro… don’t take a main character, one who is integral to completing a set, and even suggest that he’s going to be an expensive exclusive. It’s a stupid idea. And when you inevitably realize that and go ahead and release the figure to the mass market anyway, you’re going to piss people off no matter what you do.

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Ok, enough with the politics and nonsense. Let’s look at the figure. Funny thing is, despite how absolutely delighted I am to finally own this guy, I don’t have a lot to say about him because I’ve looked at this mold on FigureFan quite a few times already, albeit wearing a different paint job and sometimes different wings. He comes in the standard Generations packaging. Not much more to say here. Maybe Hasbro should have put a sticker on the bubble that says “No Longer An Expensive Convention Exclusive!!!” Thundercracker is carded in his jet form with his missiles and launchers mounted beside him. He looks great and has a nice little bio blurb on the back of the card.

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Yep, we’ve seen this mold before, and before that, and before that. If you count the remolds of the coneheads, I now own this mold no less than seven times over [Don’t forget Acid Storm!!! -FF] and that’s just because I haven’t gotten around to picking up the more G1 accurate repaint of Starscream. What else is there I can possibly say about it again? The jet mode still looks outstanding and Thundercracker’s paint job is sharp and beautiful. Well, there is one thing worth mentioning. Thundercracker isn’t saddled with a horrible looking rubsign. I realize that some collectors find nostalgia in those, but I just think they’re eyesores. Instead, Cracker’s got a couple of beautifully printed Decepticon insignia on his wings.

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The transformation remains unchanged, making this a really well designed figure. It’s cool how much of the transformation routine is close to the original toy and yet the robot mode looks delightfully close to his animated counterpart and with solid articulation to match. I think the nosecone hanging off the back of the head has started to bug me a little bit more with each Seeker released, but at least it helps you turn his head. The paintwork is fantastic and I love the tiny little Decepticon logo that’s placed right below his neck. The paintwork on the face is top notch as well. Thundercracker is an awesome looking figure and he looks great standing next to his Seeker brothers. Except… damn, I really need to get that other Starscream.

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Keep in mind that this Thundercracker figure is not the same as the one released in that exclusive Botcon set, nor is it the same as the Henkei version. It’s the same mold, but there are key differences in the paintjob. So all of you who are lucky enough to own that figure can still crow about it. Also keep in mind that with the release of Thundercracker, Skywarp has now become the Seeker that’s expensive and tough to get, since he is now the only one of the bunch that has not been released on a single card, but rather as a Target Exclusive, bundled with a pretty pointless […at least he was at the time, before Fan Project released the Apex Armor and made him worth owning. -FF] repaint of Optimus Prime as Ultra Magnus. Might as well give him to us on a card too, Hasbro.

Apr 26 2011

Transformers Generations: Warpath by Hasbro

I think one of Hasbro’s biggest missteps in the Classics inspired lines was taking the old G1 Minibots and turning them into much larger toys. The modern revamps of Powerglide and Silverbolt were decent figures, but as Ultra Class toys made them too awkwardly sized to interact with the rest of the line. Silverbolt looks OK standing next to Masterpiece Prime, but Classics Prime? Not so much. Both of these figures would have been so much better as Deluxes and that’s why I’m particularly pleased that Hasbro didn’t oversize Warpath. Warpath is a gorgeous and wonderfully designed figure, and as a Deluxe I’m happy to say he fits right in with the other Deluxes on my shelf. Let’s take a look…

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Generations packaging. We just saw it yesterday. Hasn’t changed much. Warpath comes carded in his tank mode with his missile mounted beside him. The character art on the card is ok, but it doesn’t make me feel all warm, fuzzy and nostalgic. Don’t let the Intermediate skill level fool you, Warpath is really easy to transform. The back of the card has the obligatory bio blurb, which sadly doesn’t have anything about his combustable speech impediment.

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Warpath’s tank mode is obviously different than his G1 version. It’s less earthy realism and more futuristic sci-fi…ism, but the homage still works really well thanks to the amazing sculpt and the very faithful color scheme. The hull is covered with tiny little details like panel lines, rivets and vents. The faux treads are molded and the toy rolls along on concealed wheels. The turret rotates 360 degrees and the turret will elevate a bit. He has a molded rocket launcher cluster on his turret as well as an actual firing missile launcher. The missile in the launcher has an unfortunately really long tail for safety reasons. I’m still considering giving it a little snip-snip. Of course, the best thing about the tank mode is the lettering on the sides, “K4-9OW” for “KA-POW” and “ZOW-333” for “ZOWEE.” Naturally, these are meant to pay homage to Warpath’s rather eccentric way of talking in the G1 cartoon. Warpath’s other favorite forms of involuntary exposition? Blammo, Bam, Boom, and my all time favorite, Kaplowie. I get the impression that Warpath spits a lot when he talks too.

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Transforming Warpath is really quite easy and yet terribly clever at the same time. The way his arms and legs fold out is particularly cool, although some may not dig the hollow nature of his forearms. Personally, it doesn’t bother me at all. By far, my favorite thing about this figure, though, is the way the barrel depresses into his chest to give him a robot appearance more akin to his G1 animated namesake, rather than the simple Minibot toy where the barrel stayed the same length. I’m particularly fond of the way his rocket and missile launchers land on his shoulders after transformation. And the headsculpt is a perfect G1 homerun. The rest of the robot form is equally amazing. He’s solid, has great articulation, and beautiful proportions and symmatry. This is without a doubt the Warpath toy I would have loved to own as a kid.

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In case you haven’t guessed, I adore this figure. It’s easily my favorite design to come down from Hasbro in a long while, and that’s saying quite a lot since there have been a steady stream of pretty awesome Transformer in this line for a while now. Nonetheless, Warpath has everything I’m looking for in a Generations figure. He’s a great homage, not too fussy to transform, and looks great in both alt and robot forms. Get this guy in your collection. He’s a must-have if I’ve ever seen one.

 

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.

Apr 8 2011

Transformers Armada: Megatron with Leader-1 by Hasbro

Here we are at the final feature and I’m sure someone was wondering if I was going to get to Optimus Prime or Megatron in this week of Armada indulgences. Well, I purposely excluded Prime because one day I plan on doing a whole week dedicated to the Big Guy. I don’t have any such festivities planned for Megatron. It’s not that I have anything against the guy, I just don’t think he has the same cohesive line running through his various toys that would make for an interesting themed week. Nonetheless, Armada saw Megatron return as his most logical possible form: A tank. And unlike his G2 mode, this time, it’s a Cybertronian tank. And unlike his more recent Bayformer tank mode, this one actually looks like something other than a pile of razorblades.

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Yes, Armada Megatron is a tank, and while he’s without a doubt a sci-fi inspired Cyberton war machine, he still conforms to all the characteristics I come to expect from a tank. In other words, he’s a tracked vehicle with a big ass cannon. Works for me. So what if he has beetle pincers on the front as well? Why not? The turret spins around and fires off a missile and he has an additional dual missile launcher on top of that as well. Megatron features electronic lights and sounds and a terribly annoying and decidedly un-Megatrony voice chip that proclaims, “Decepticons, Attack!” Mmm’kay. Other gimmicks include a fold out launching ramp, which works well for little jet Minicons, and a hatch or prison to capture other Minicons. The green and neon orange color scheme doesn’t really scream Megsy to me, but it works really well for this toy.

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Transforming Megatron is laughably easy. You basically just straighten out his legs, fold out his arms, reveal the head and do a couple other tweaks. There’s no great secret as to how his conversion process works, and yet this is one of those figures where the lack of complexity in the transformation doesn’t bother me, because I like both forms so very much. In robot form, Megatron is really well proportioned and beautifully sculpted. Some may take issue with the way the pincer claw become what are essentially robo-antlers, but I think he looks majestically bad ass and I really dig his face sculpt. My only real gripe here is that I would have rather the cannon detach and re-attach to his arm, rather than peek out between his arm and torso like it does. Do what you will to Megatron, Hasbro, but you should always keep the arm cannon. Megsy also has this odd little gimmick where attaching a Minicon to his left arm and sliding it forward pushes a hidden dagger into his hand.

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Megatron also has a horribly shitty “Attack Mode” which consists of bringing the tank turret to his front. It serves no purpose other than to look ridiculous and give you an excuse to misfire the sound effects a couple hundred times. He will also combine with parts of Tidal Wave, but this gimmick looks even worse and I really don’t want to take the time to humiliate my Tidal Wave figure for no good reason.

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Megatron’s Minicon with the Go-Bot name is Leader-1 and he ranks up there with my favorites because he’s very simple and yet works wonderfully in both his attack vehicle and robot modes. Hell, in robot mode, this little guy has better articulation than most Armada toys. But the best thing about him his the way he can easily convert to a gun. Afterall, the idea of the Minicons is the bigger Transformers get more powerful by attaching Minicons to themselves. But I’m not all that convinced that sticking a bunch of cars and jets on their bodies is all that useful, unless their just using them as batteries. Leader-1, however, actually adds firepower by becoming a set of guns, and you can play around with all sorts of different permutations.

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As expected, Megatron was repainted and re-released, only not as Powerlinx Megatron, but as… yep, you guessed it… Galvatron. While I really like both toys, I do like Galvatron’s color scheme better and tend to refer to him as Megatron, mainly because I usually can’t remember which is which anyway.

[And that’s a wrap for Armada Week Extended. This weekend I’m going to hit a couple of Lego sets I built over the past couple of weeks. Not sure yet what to do with next week. I’ve got a few more themed weeks I’d like to try, but I suspect next week I’ll just be playing it by ear. So, until tomorrow… I’ve got a Tron Legacy Blu-Ray that needs watching. -FF]