Phil's Transformer Reviews

Tuesday, 15 February 2011

Reveal The Shield Perceptor

For such a prominent character Perceptor has had very few new versions of him made. He doesn't have an Action Master, unlike his close relative Blaster and in fact his only real re-imagining is Legends of Cybertron Perceptor, although you can argue that the similarly coloured Ultra scale version of the same toy, Universe Countdown, should be called Perceptor too! The new RTS version looks like a red Trailbreaker with tracks replacing the rear wheels. Windscreen, headlights and side windows are clear orange plastic as are the 3 lenses on the light array mounted on the cab roof. The middle of the array folds forward to become a gun with an extending chromed barrel. The middle of the barrel is a 3mm bar but attaching weapons to may harm the toy in the long run by scratching the chrome.

Transformation: Turn the vehicle over, pull the hands off the posts they rest on, note how the shoulders mesh together then fold the arms out under the front of the vehicle and fold them out to the sides, folding the wheels in. Pull the front of the vehicle forward and fold the windscreen down onto the bonnet. Pull the front of the vehicle forward, pulling the cab roof forward and extending the robot's legs. Fold the back of the vehicle up and back to form the front of the lower robot legs. Fold the feet out of the rear of the vehicle and rotate so they face upwards. Separate the legs, unpeg the tracks then fold them in 180 degrees then slide them backwards. Push each of the doors in and fold back into the rear of the vehicle pegging the treads into them, completing the robot's legs. Fold the waist back under the chest formed from the centre of the vehicle. Fold the searchlight array off to the side, fold the middle section forward, extend the gun barrel, then fold the outer sections back and together to form the rear of the cannon. Raise the range finder screen, then find the grey panel in the robot's back which you push up to raise the head. Fold the front of the vehicle onto the robot's back so that the rear of the the front wheel arch is roughly horizontal. Fold the outer shoulder panels forward so their bottom sits against the pegs. Position the arms so the silver discs face out to each side.

Robot mode: Perceptor. They got this right for the most part. We get a lot more black revealed on the hands and head with blue lower arms and upper legs, a clear chest that folds down surrounded by a chrome edging and chromed discs on the arms. The discs have two 3mm bars built into them for c-clip weapons, however repeated use of them for this purpose may well scratch the chrome. Hands are open but with a 5mm peg hole gap in the middle should you be able to find a weapon donor. The face is a little long for Perceptor, but the head sculpt is decent enough. He's got a yellow light pipe but unfortunately the eyes are painted over with yellow paint on mine ruining it. Articulation: turning wrists, bending elbow, bicep swivel, ball jointed shoulder (attached to a panel that stays in place better than many shoulders not directly attached to the body), turning head, no waist, ball jointed hips, thigh swivel, bending knees and ball jointed ankles. Yes the backpack - and thus the panels holding the shoulders in place - can come unpegged BUT it holds together in robot mode better than most toys of a similar design.

Overall: Happy with that, nice toy, works for me. Would like a gun though!

Perceptor was released in January 2011 in Reveal The Shield deluxe wave 2 with Optimus Prime, Wreck-Gar and Bumblebee.

Transformers United Perceptor

The Takara Tomy version of Perceptor is due to be released at the end of Febuary 2011 in the third wave of toys with Kup, Blurr & wreck-Gar. He will be numbered UN-15 and feature a metallic red colour scheme and clear, instead of clear yellow, windows.

Repaints

I think we'll be seeing a lot more of this toy. A different head repaint has been shown, rumoured to be Reflector. Now I'm assuming this will be the cartoon version, where all the parts of Reflector look similar rather than the vastly different Spectro,
Spyglass & Viewfinder (who combine to form the Reflector camera) offered by Hasbro in the US. Original Perceptor has an E-Hobby repaint, Magnificus that is a possibility.

Classics Perceptor is a repaint of the Legends of Cybertron Red Alert and this new Perceptor isn't a million miles away from the vehicle mode Red Alert had in Armada and the start of Cybertron so I can see a white repaint.... and the Armada version has been repainted more than once.

Formwise RTS Perceptor's robot mode is reminiscent of Soundwave, especially with the shoulder cannon, and indeed there's already at least one splendid custom out there. And where you have Soundwave you can get Soundblaster and form there to Blaster & Twincast.

But I think the biggest possibility lies in doing a new
Trailbreaker from this toy. New head, replace the tracks with a panel attached to a wheel and you're laughing.

LOTS of potential here. I think we aught to get used to this toy!

Sunday, 6 February 2011

Power Core Heavytread & Groundspike

Power Core Minicon Groundspike

Groundspike is the Minicon supplied with Heavytread. His robot mode, mainly clear blue plastic with olive brown upper legs, doesn't look anything special. It's quite poor in fact with a blank curved head, arms formed from the front of what look like wings connected by ball joints to the body. Both front and back of the body have Minicon sockets, the hips are ball jointed (poorly as it turns out), the knees bend the wrong way (a waist would have fixed this) and the ankles bend.

To transform into vehicle add on mode, fold the arms down to the sides, swing them back 180 degrees so they point upwards and then fold out to the sides to form one long wing blade over the front of the chest. Fold each leg out to the sides, probably popping off it's ball joint in the process, then bend the knee & ankle to form a claw. Peg onto the front of Heavytread's tank mode to form a device similar to the mine clearer found on the front of this Assault Breacher Vehicle. It's one of the more integrated Minicon/Vehicle combinations in Power Core.

From here fold the wing halves up and the legs down to form his armour mode. It's one of the better ones covering a large area of the robot's chest.

From there bring the legs together, still bent, and fold the wing tips back to form a claw weapon capable of being held by Heavytread or plugged into the underside of his right arm.

No two ways of saying this, it's a poor Minicon even before the legs fall off if you even look at it wrong.

Power Core Heavytread

The new Heavytread, not the first or even the second Transformer to bear the name, is a Power Core Tank. TFWiki.net think he's a Merkava Battle Tank. From the photo at the top of the Wikipedia page I was thinking no, but if you scroll down to the Mark III pictures you can start to see a resemblance.

Right it's time for The Transformer Tank Test !

Does the turret turn? YES

Does the gun barrel elevate? NO

50% score for Heavytread. We've seen better and much worse.

As usual we've got moulded plastic treads with inset wheels and an olive green body with a darker green camouflage pattern. His gun barrel is just about narrow enough to use as a bar for the clip & bar weapons. If you look at the front of the vehicle there's a 5mm peg hole on the left. The placement of this is a little odd giving the tank an unbalanced look as soon as you mount a weapon on it and restricting the turret's ability to turn. I'd have put the hole on the Turret's roof, but would have seriously considered swapping it for a Minicon peg. He does have a a fold up Minicon peg on the front of the vehicle, which allows his Minicon Groundspike to be attached to him to form a device similar to the mine clearer found on the front of this Assault Breacher Vehicle. It's one of the more integrated Minicon/Vehicle combinations in Power Core.

An alternative turret configuration is available: Fold the back of the tank up and out to the side to form a cannon. Swing the main gun round to the side to face the same way as the cannon. Rotate the turret so both cannon and gun barrel face forward. Yes the result is uneven and lopsided but it's a nice little variation.

Transformation: Fold the Power Core connector blocks at the rear of the tank down so they point backwards. Slide the rear sides of the tank out to the sides and back, covering the blocks and exposing the robot's upper legs. Pull the remaining front half of the sides out to the side and up slightly. Fold the legs down at the hip's hinge and then swing forward to lock into the underside of the middle of the front of the tank. Pull the legs slightly out to each side, unpegging from the panel between them which folds up to form the front of the waist. Fold the turret down onto the robot's back. Fold the panels attached to the other set of Power Core Block Connectors forwards. Pull the sides of the tank forward to form the arms, and then turn each forearm so the open hand faces up. Raise the small black backed head through the hole in the chest.

The robot mode feels a little odd. Essentially he's Combaticon Brawl, but with a bit more articulation. The forearms don't look right, too wide and the arm articulation is odd: swivel bellow the elbow, bending elbow, another bending joint bellow the shoulder, ball jointed outer shoulder that allows some movement to the sides and hinged inner shoulder which lets the arms shrug up. The head is on a ball joint and the neck can move to each side a little. While we're on the head, the visored eye and back of the head are both solid black, looking like an aborted lightpipe gimmick (it's the 96 Beast Wars basics all over again!). If they were clear plastic it would be so much better. The waist turns, the hips rotate and bend to the sides, there's a thigh swivel and the knees bend. The configuration in the instructions has the tank barrel pointing straight up in the middle of his back but rotating the turret to the side, folding up the gun barrel and swinging over the cannon allows you to beef up his weaponry in this mode. His fists might not look like it but the can hold the standard 5mm weapons pegs. However .... < Phil realises he needs a certain Minicon and spends half an hour in THE LOFT OF JOY trying to find them. > No, his fist hole isn't deep enough to hold Smoulder. Boo. His Minicon Groundspike can be attached to his chest, using the fold up Minicon peg that was on the front of the tank, or pegged into the underside of his right arm as a Wolverine-esque claw.

Transformation to torso mode: From robot mode fold the front of the chest forward and fold up the large robot head with the small robot head folding into the back of it just like Armada Overload. Fold the flap down when finished. Straighten the arms and raise them at the shoulder so they point forward. Rotate the forearms so the fists face in then fold them back against the shoulders. Push the arms in against the sides of the chest, locking the head hatch, and reforming the front of the tank, but with the Power Core Connector Blocks folded out to the sides. Straighten the legs, fold the tracks in front of the knee back and fold the covering of the lower legs up over the upper legs exposing the Power Core Connector Blocks there. Rotate the waist 180 degrees. Swing the gun barrel to the side, rotate the turret so the gun barrel face up and fold the back of the turret over his shoulder as a cannon.

Heavytread provides Power Core with probably it's best torso so far. There's no loose bits flapping around like on some other PCC toys, it's a solid lump with the body formed from the front of the tank and the waist & legs from the back. You can turn the arms without the shoulders feeling like they're going to come off. The articulation is worth mentioning here. The shoulders turn and bend up, the waist turns, we still have universal hips, bending knees and now a swivel bellow the knee. The tank's barrel points up over one shoulder and a rectangular cannon that can be elevated upwards leans over the other. There's a fold up Minicon socket on his chest and a 5mm peg hole on one side of the chest (I've had Airlift sitting in there). I've got him standing on my shelf wearing the Combaticon limbs which very much suit him. Top class stuff.

Overall: Decent tank. so so robot but superb torso mode. Well worth a look.

Repaints

My first reaction would be Warpath but he's got a Generations toy coming soon so it won't be him. A desert version like Movie Brawl might be good or as a Generation 2 Megatron/Archforce.

Thursday, 3 February 2011

Power Core Skyhammer & Minicon Airlift

Power Core Skyhammer

Skyhammer is a fighter jet and your guess is as good as mine as to what sort of jet he is. Actually if Kaptain Karl, my military aircraft expert is reading, could he tell me? Ta! His nose isn't pointed like many jets but looks like there's a chunk cut out of it. He has a pair of main wings, followed by a set of horizontal and a set of vertical tail fins. Both sets are hinged for the transformation so you can have fun altering Skyhammer's design geometry. The main wings can raise up too putting me in the mind of planes I saw being carried off to the Falklands years ago on carrier ships. He has a fold down landing gear under his nose and moulded down landing gear under the body, which is quite a solid affair but does feature moulded guns on the centre pointing forward. The bulk of the jet is grey/blue but there's some orange as well which can be found on several pieces including the Minicon peg that folds out of the jet's back. Blue and orange on a Decepticon jet immediately makes me think Dirge.

Transformation: Fold the wings and side tail fins up. Look at the underside of the aircraft with the nose pointing up, and fold away the landing gear. Slide the sides of the body out to the side taking them off their tabs then fold them back, with the rear of the undercarriage, to become the legs and waist of the robot. Fold the feet down at the front of the leg and the blue Power Core Block at the back to act as a heal spur. The centre of the undercarriage is the arms: Unpeg the hands off the posts near the back of the jet and fold each arm out to the sides at the shoulder. Fold the nose under the cockpit. Fold from the wings forward down 90 degrees, opening the hatch in the middle of the jet and revealing the single robot head which folds up, Fold the cockpit down 90 degrees and slot the tab at the bottom into the waist. Fold the arms down and pose. Fold the wings down 45 degrees between horizontal and vertical.

Skyhammer's robot mode isn't setting my world on fire. There's very spindly limbs attached to a scrunched up jet. As ever we welcome the lightpipe, in clear orange, and I'm pleased to see fold out Minicon pegs on his back (the same one located in his jet's back) and front (which was hidden in the cockpit, but not revealable in jet mode). The head & shoulders are ball jointed but the shoulders are on a hinged panel that isn't secured so they move about as soon as you touch the arms. The elbows bend at the top and have a ball joint at the bottom. There's no wrist articulation so his 5mm peg hole hands have to stay in line with the forearms. The waist is fixed.... well I say fixed, it's on a hinge connected to the back as part of the transformation and has the cockpit pegged into it. Touch the toy and the cockpit will unpeg and the waist fold down. This is the second toy I've seen behave like this recently, but I can't for the life of me remember what the other one was. Skyburst possibly.... Hips turn and fold out to the sides while the thigh swivels and the knees bend twice.

To transform into Torso mode, bend the lower knee joint back and then fold the upper knee joint forwards till the peg on the top of the kneecap slots into the hip. Fold the foot up and the blue Power Core Block heelspur down. Fold the wings up vertically. Fold the arms back at the elbow joints, so fist is in front of shoulder, than fold back pegging the inside of the forearm into the underside of the wings. Fold the Power Core blocks under each wing down round the fists. Open the helmet up behind the robot head, fold up against the back of the head and close.

Skyhammer's combined mode is dominated by the head, formed from the robot head and covered by an extra helmet, complete with flying goggles, which is a lovely touch! Nice to see the undercarriage guns finding a place to sit in this mode pointing forward, It's reasonably stable standing even when deployed with the notoriously difficult air drones who, despite their allegiance, would seem to be his natural companions. I've got the Fighter Jet and AWAC drones on him together with their respective repaints to make an all plane combiner (The helicopters from the same sets are all on Searchlight - that worked less well !) Unfortunately the combined mode again relies on the waist holding together which it completely fails to do especially if you try to do something silly like pick the toy up or raise one of it's arms. However it's easy enough to reattach when this happens but it occurs so often that it gets really annoying. He can still connect Minicons to either his front or his back Minicon pegs.

Very good jet mode, so so robot mode and a combined mode spoilt by the waist joint. Hasbro: when making joints like this that peg in and need to stay peg in please make the connectors large enough for them to hold together. This really needs a 5mm peg to make it work.

Power Core Minicon Airlift

Robot Mode: Airlift is the Minicon supplied with Power Core Skyhammer. His body and lower legs are cast in clear orange plastic while his upper legs, arms and head are solid black plastic, with most of the head covered in a layer of metallic paint. The arms are each a gun, moulded to resemble a chain gun. The knees, hips and shoulders are ball jointed plus the waist turns and in a neat twist (ho, ho) the head turns with it (Thank you to Mr Marshall for pointing this out to me on Saturday. In centre of his chest is a Minicon socket, while on his back is a Minicon peg.

Armour Mode: Bend the legs at the knee and the hip. Raise the arms up about 45 degrees and fold them out to the side by the same amount. Yeessssssss. Attached to a Power Core Commander it makes it look like the Minicon is doing something very naughty with the larger toy.

Vehicle Weapon Mode: Fold the legs back at the knees and the hip pegging the tiny pegs on the heel spurs into the back of the upper body. Raise the arms straight up and attach onto a Minicon post using the hole on the robot's chest. For an alternative weapons mode fold the barrels back 180 degrees so the majority of them runs alongside the bulk of the Minicon. Yes it is a box with gun barrels but the adaptability is nice.

Robot Weapon Mode: From robot mode turn the waist 180 degrees. Fold the legs up at the hips & waist pegging the tiny pegs on the heel spurs into the front of the upper body. Either point the arms straight up or fold the arms down to the sides. Yes, it's essentially the vehicle mode weapon again but I like the little twist to the transformation that results in the Minicon post not the socket sticking down.

I'm liking this toy. OK the armour mode isn't greet but the head turning with the waist and the way the weapons are similar but don't transform identically appeals to me.

United Targetmaster Micron Recoil

To launch the Transformers United range in Japan a promotion was run releasing recoloured Power Core Minicons as the Targetmasters for United and Henkei characters. Airlift was used as a new version of Recoil, Kup's Targetmaster. The black arts were kept but the clear orange was swapped for a more traditional solid grey, while the portions of the head that were coloured on Airlift now look like they're chromed. While a little different in form from the original Recoil the United Micron retains the dual barrelled design.

Recoil was a Toys R Us Japan exclusive sold on January 1 2011 with the purchase of Y3000 of United product: A United deluxe has an RRP of Y2300 and a Voyager of Y3600.

Sunday, 30 January 2011

Generations Kup

Generations Sergeant Kup

Like his case mate Scourge, Kup is another toy whose original version could be said to be "not very good". The vehicle mode is poor as I've said previously. So rather than rehash the original "Futuristic Cybertron" design which didn't work they've given Generations Kup an actual Earth mode. Kup's name has long been thought to derive from picKUP truck, and his original vehicle mode is supposedly a futuristic pickup truck so a pickup truck is what he becomes. Now while there have been Transformers Pickup's before both Trailbreaker & Hoist are modified Hiluxes with something mounted on their flatbeds, Gears & Swerve are carrying loads and Motormouth et al are small toys. This is the first proper unladen deluxe pickup and straight off the bat it doesn't disappoint because you can open & fold back the tailgate on the back of it. RESULT! The front of the vehicle is a rounded design giving it a fifties feel which suits an old timer like Kup. All the bodywork is moulded in sea green plastic.

He comes with a long grey gun that slots and pegs into the undercarriage of the vehicle to form one of two exhaust pipes but the gun has got a c-clip that allows it to be attached to the vehicle mode. If you're thinking "I can't see any bars protruding from Kup to clip it on to" then you're right. This wave of toys features an innovation in the clip & bar gimmick. Instead of having prominent protruding bars, the bars are recessed into the bodywork giving more streamlined vehicle modes. Kup has two bars on his cab roof for you to clip the gun onto. It's just made for much smaller Transformers, and I think you need to go bellow Legends to the Micromaster level here, to use it as a gunner station. I have no Micromasters to hand but this very morning Lego Admiral Ackbar arrived in the post courtesy of Andy Turnbull so here's Ackbar using Kup's gun to concentrate all fire on the Super Star Destroyer that he deluder believes Generations Scourge to be. It's worth looking closely at the end of the gun. You can use is as a Minicon post so mounting toys like Throttler or Skyblast on the end can make an interesting attachment to the weapon.

Transformation: remove the weapon from either storage or mounting. Pull the front wheels out to the sides and back, then pull the doors and the arms they're attached to out to the sides. Note that the "open" side of the fist faces down. Fold the cab roof and bonnet up and forward. Rotate the front grill down 180 degrees, then fold the bonnet under the cab roof and then the cab roof onto the back of the robot. Pull the head up and rotate forward. Fold the rear of the truck down and then rotate back a further 90 degrees bringing the floor of the flatbed with it. Bend the knees slightly and fold the sides of the back of the cab behind the back of the cab before folding the back of the cab down to form the front of the legs which you divide in two and straighten. The gun goes into the hand or clips on the panel behind his head.

The new Kup robot mode contains design elements from the original robot in the middle of the chest, complete with a clear plastic rim round the neck, but with the car wings on the outside of the chest forming shoulder pads. Sadly the arms aren't fixed in place with in these and have a tenancy to move about when you pose them. The arms have a rotating wrist, inward bending lower elbow joint, upward bending top elbow joint, a bicep joint, a shoulder that bends to the sides and turns and then isn't anchored in the shoulder but rather to a strut connecting it to the waist. The head is ball jointed and is terminally loose & floppy on mine after just one day. It's green, with a silver face plate and blue light piped eyes. No waist, but universal hips, turning thighs and bending knees & ankles. Huge feet give the toy great stability. Again, like Scourge, I've had problems getting Kup to hold his gun due to the step up inside the hand along the fingers to grip the gun properly. Trying to get him to hold Airlift (see bellow for why) was a nightmare and I gave up. The roof of the cab hangs down his back and clip weapons can be attach to the front to arm him. The strut between the roof and the robot body makes a nice set for Lego Ackbar to ride Kup's robot mode into battle!

Yeah the shoulders are annoying and the hands are a pain but other than that this is a great update to the original Kup!

Released January 2011 in the USA, Kup was packed in an original Transformers The Movie themed wave with fellow new toy Scourge. Alas due to the demise of Generations in the UK it looks very unlikely that he'll be sold here.

United Kup

Kup is due to be released in the Transformers United line in Japan during February 2011 as toy numbered UN-17.

A United Targetmaster promotion was run at the turn of the year. Powercore Minicon Airlift was recoloured to act as United Targetmaster Micron Recoil, a new version of 1987 Kup's Targetmaster Recoil.

E-Hobby Kup

E-Hobby Kup is sold in a repack with a clear blue Classics Rodimus and a repainted Wreck-Gar with a new head. Kup swaps green for blue and acquires some painted battle damage. Looks nice!

Repaints

Original Transformers pickups Gears & Swerve plus Generation 2 Gobot (later Spychanger) Motormouth would all come nicely out of this toy.

Saturday, 29 January 2011

Generations Scourge

Let's face it the original Scourge is a bit rubbish especially in vehicle mode where he looks like a bar of soap instead of a jet. This is a toy that needs an update. His new version is loosely based on the Boeing X-48. He's triangular shaped with down turning wings, and three engines, two built into the wing structure and one in the body plus a smaller one mounted above the centre of the body. This is recognisable as the Disintegrator ray/Rocket Booster from the original Scourge. The middle of the engine narrows to a 3mm bar suitable for clipping weapons on - the dual gun supplied with Scourge works fine here if you fold the handle up bringing down a clip in it's place. Of course this is mounted on the top of Scourge's head in robot mode and pulling up on it extends the head in vehicle mode as he did several times in the cartoon. Flip the plane over and we have 3 sets of fold down landing gear: 1 moulded wheel at the back plus two sets of three moulded wheels that fold out from the middle of the jet. Also present on the underside of the jet is one of the major innovations in this wave of toys: there's two recessed 3mm bars. Hasbro have worked out you car set the bars into the bodywork of the toys, rather than have them protruding like they have done till now.

There's two weapons supplied with the toy and while the smaller double barrelled gun can be attached in vehicle mode, the larger one can't. However both can be stored in the wings. Bend each wing down and away from the engines set in the body. Fold the top of each wing forward revealing a compartment. With the nose of the jet towards you the large gun folds up and goes in the left wing while the smaller double barrelled gun goes in the right wing with the 5mm peg folded down. You need to fold the wings down to the sides because the top part of the wing is attached to the block that holds the wings in place. I'd have moulded this block to the lower half enabling the wings to open while they're in position.

So top marks for the vehicle mode from me.

Transformation: Turn the plane over and look at the underside. Fold up the landing gear. Push on the nose to separate it from the body and then pull it forwards extending the robot's legs. Fold the middle of the top of the rear of the jet back 90 degree so the rocket engine is behind the jet. Fold the middle of the underside and the attached wings back 180 degrees locking round the folded back central engine and pegging into a pair of holes on the body of the jet. Separate the nose of the jet and rotate each half in 90 degrees so that the leading edge faces the same way as the jet's underside to form the legs. Fold the nose halves down to form the robot's feet. Slide the rear of the underside up to become the robot's chest locking a tab at the top into the neck. Pull the robot's head up. Bend the front of each each engine out to the side to become the forearms and then rotate in 90 degrees and slide each hand out using a tab under each forearm. The instructions and photos recomend folding the top of each arm out onto the side of the shoulders but I think they look better left in place. Rotate the toy 180 degrees at the waist. Fold the base of the wings back and slot the tabs into the backpack. Fold the majority of the wings outwards and fold down. Open the wings and remove the weapons.

Now at this point you'll fold out the barrel of the larger weapon and try to slide it into the fist hole and encounter some frustration because is doesn't want to go in. The gun handle is slightly too big for the hole. He can hold the smaller gun fine and Kup's gun, just not his own larger gun. It will eventually go in if you angle it just right but you may need to push it in through the larger opening bottom of the hand a few times to squeeze the plastic a bit. From there you can taker the smaller double barrelled gun and either fold the peg out and hold it in his other hand or clip it to either the top of his head or the larger gun. Mounted on top of the large gun, the combined unit forms an approximation of the weapons mode of 1987 Scourge's Targetmaster Fracas. I wish they'd gone the whole hog and made an actual Targetmaster to go with him like they did with Universe 2 Cyclonus.

Scourge's robot mode looks like a better proportioned version of the original with much chunkier arms. Basically the body and arms are blue with the legs in white. The head looks like his cartoon appearance and has a clear blue lightpipe to the eyes. Articulation isn't bad: wrists turn, elbows bend, there's a low bicep swivel just above the elbow, shoulders turn and raise up at the body, head & waist turn but some moulded detail on the sides of the waist tends to catch on the hinge connecting the wing panel, ball jointed hips with high thigh swivel just beneath them, double bending knee though in reality only the top joint is worth bothering about in this mode, and a bending ankle. He's a bit back heavy so an odd pose in the legs is necessary to get him to stand with the upper legs being angled diagonally forward somewhat. The hip joints are a little soft on mine, I've easily pulled both legs off already.

The reverse transformation deserves a mention: be very careful with the wings! Folding them back can easily pop them out of the hinge they're mounted on. Unfortunately that hinge is itself hinged and you'll spend a frustrating period of time trying to reattach them. Advice: turn the rest of the toy into plane mode and go from there.

Barring the frustrations with the gun and what happened when the wings came off this is a great toy, superb update thrashing the original out of sight.

Scourge was released in the United States January 2011 in a Movie themed Generations wave alongside Kup. At time of writing there is no known plans to release the toy in the UK.

United Scourge

United Scourge is due to be released in March number UN-21. I expect it'll be colour tweaked somewhere along the line.

A United Targetmaster promotion was run at the turn of the year. Powercore Minicon Chainclaw was recoloured to act as United Targetmaster Micron Fracas, a new version of 1987 Scourge's Targetmaster Fracas.

E-Hobby Scourge

Scourge is also due to be released in a E-Hobby 3-pack containing Henkei Galvatron and Cyclonus. All three are now cast in clear plastic with Scourge being entirely in clear blue.

I want one!

Repaints

How about a purple version? Or a black stealth jet version, which might actually work well as the name Scourge is also used for several black repaints of Optimus Prime. In fact why not use that as a springboard and repaint this in red & blue with a new head *as* Optimus Prime, who we know has had a flying mode at some point.

Friday, 28 January 2011

Reveal The Shield Windcharger

Reveal the Shield Windcharger

The original Windcharger was a Mini Autobot in 1984 so it makes sense for his new Reveal the Shield version to be a scout class toy rather than the deluxe size used for most of the Classics/Universe/Generations/Reveal The Shield toys. However when pre-orders for Windcharger went up on the Internet they were asking up to $18.99, over twice the RRP for a scout class toy. Why? Well unfortunately the case he's in is retail poison:

2 x HFTD Backfire (repaint of ROTF Knock Out, previously found in HFTD Waves 1 & 2)
1 x HFTD Firetrap (repaint of ROTF Scattorshot, previously found in HFTD Wave 3)
2 x HFTD Sunspot (repaint of ROTF Skystalker, previously found in HFTD Wave 3)
1 x HFTD Insecticon (original toy mould, previously found in HFTD Waves 2 & 3)
2 x HFTD Breacher (original toy mould, previously found in HFTD Waves 2 & 3)
2 x RTS Chopsaw (repaint of HFTD Brimstone and not that different)
2 x RTS Windcharger (original toy mould)

(Key: ROTF = Revenge of the Fallen, HFTD = Hunt For The Decepticons & RTS = Reveal The Shield)

So to get two Windchargers toy shops have to buy ten toys that are either repaints or have been in several previous cases or, in several cases, both !

At the time this case was put up for order it was expected that this case would be the only RTS Scout case due to the third Transformers movie and it's glut of related toys looming on the horizon. However we now know there's at least one (containing Rumble, Downshift (a repaint of Hubcap) and Bodyblock (a repaint of HFTD Breacher)) and probably two (because there has to be an RTS Frenzy repaint) more cases to come.

Windcharger comes packed in robot mode and I'm going to break with tradition to talk about that first because I have some points I wish to make about turning it into car mode ! The robot mode use the red of the car shell along with a light shade of grey for most of the body along with some darker grey for the feet forearms and head. Lots of the toy is very similar to the original, but the one major change involves the chest. The font of the car is now folded down over the head similar to Jazz and Prowl. Articulation is good with ball jointed elbows, shoulders & hips, bending knees, ball jointed upper ankle and bending lower ankle. On the outside of each forearm is a 3mm bar allowing any weapon with a clip to be attached. The hands can be folded into the wrists and a gun folded out to point forward. I think these are meant to represent the electromagnets lauded to in his tech specs. Early information on this figure made it seem as these would be working magnets but they aren't, so I'm assuming this is people getting their wires crossed between what they represent and what they are.

Transform: on the face of it it's obvious. The devil is, however, in the detail. Fold the chest back to become the front of the car, noting how it secures the shoulders in place with a tab on each side of the chest fitting into a slot through the turning joint on the shoulder. Fold each hand out to the side and them turn the lower arm so that the car bodywork panels on the upper and lower arm form a continuous unit. Slide the lower half of the leg out to the side: I'd turn the toy over so the rear of the leg is facing you then insert a blade or screwdriver between the dark grey of the leg structure and the red of the car panelling and use that to push the car panelling out to the side - mine makes a little click when it locks solid. It took me ages to work out how to do that bit! Fold the foot back t the first ankle joint and then forwards at the ball ankle joint so the heel spur is alongside the inside of the lower leg. Raise the back of the body/roof of the car, fold the waist down then bend the knees, tucking the feet under the roof and bringing the legs together so they peg together and the slatted rear windscreen meshes. Fold up the rear of the car and fold down the roof, screaming in frustration when you realize that the red trapezoid panels on the top of the feet haven't gone into the matching holes in the roof. Push the arms in to form the side of the car and lock together.

What you get out of the end isn't a bad go at Windcharger's car mode. The vehicle mode is stretched, but then the original was a super deformed version. We loose the roof windows, gain an air intake on the bonnet and have the wheels reduced to more normal proportions. The roof just looks wrong without the feet lined up perfectly and I can't line them up perfectly. In my opinion the roof should have been left as a solid piece with the feet underneath. His Reveal The Shield rubsign is on the front of the car and it has a square border, in common with the Legends but unlike the dlx toys which have die cut rubsigns.

Decent update but boy is the transformation of the legs and feet annoying me!

Repaints

Minibot Windcharger was repainted as Tailgate, Black Windcharger, Rook and numerous Mexican variants, while Alternators Windcharger was repainted as Decepticharge all of which would make good repaints for this toy.

Monday, 24 January 2011

Reveal The Shield Legends

Reveal The Shield Legends Optimus Prime

While not the first Legends Optimus Prime - Cybertron, Movie and Animated versions have been done so far in this size - The new Legends Optimus Prime is the first modelled after the 1984 Version. Proportionately this Legends version is wider with ball jointed hips, elbows and shoulders which also bend back at the body. However bending the arm eposes that under each one is a wheel which looks odd. It'd be nice if we had knees like on some other Legends but... He stands with his legs aprat meaning that the feet are slightly sloped from one side to the other.

Transformation: Fold the head down and rotate the upper chest 10 degrees. Peg the legs together and fold the waist forward 90 degrees. Bend each arm 90 degrees, fold the shoulders back and swing the arms in to form the sides of the cab. Push the shoulders together and make sure the arms have locked into place.

Well I've seen worse Prime cabs on larger toys - Robot Masters Convoy and Classics Deluxe Optimus Prime spring to mind. Not a bad go but you feel some knees could have been easily done.

Repaints: Ultra Magnus and Scourge spring to mind.

Reveal The Shield Legends Megatron

There's already been a decent Legends Megatron - the Universe 2 interpretation of the Generation 2 Tank - as well as Cybertron and Movie versions, but this is the first attempt at one modeled on the original 1984 Megatron.

Robot mode is Megatron and done pretty well. The mixture between the silver paint of the arms and the upper body, the moulded silver grey of the upper legs and the grey paint of the fusion cannon and legs fronts is a little jarring, as is the bright orange cap on the front of the fusion cannon. The articulation is great with ball jointed knees, hips and shoulders.

Transformation: fold his left arm up so it sticks straight out of his shoulder. Pull the waist first down and then to the side under his left arm before pushing it up into the arm. Fold his right arm under the upper body and then fold the fusion cannon up to become the gun barrel. Fold both lower legs up at the knees so that the shell of the lower legs covers the upper legs.

Megatron's gun mode looks like his g1/Microchange version, albeit minus the silencer, scope & stock and with the addition of an orange cap on the barrel. If I could paint that's be gone. The handle, formed from the legs is a bit big but there's some holes and tabs set in it which allow Masterpiece Starscream. to hold him.

Not a bad attempt givem the limits of the size.

Reveal The Shield Legends Gold Bumblebee

The only real repaint amongst the RTS Legends, Gold Bumblebee uses the Universe Legends Bumblebee mould repainting the yellow with a bronzey gold and painting a dark blue over most of the black and the yellow of the head. Inspired by Throttlebot Goldug this repaint doesn't quite work: the gold paint used on United Bumblebee is much better than the nearly brown plastic used here.

Reveal The Shield Legends Starscream

Starscream's had legends toys of his Cybertron, Movie and Animated versions. There's even been a previous Legends 1984 Starscream using the Legends of Cybertron Thundercracker mould. This version adapts his 1984 Generation 1 form to the Legends size.

The resemblance between the legend and the original one is pretty good and the new on beats the original's articulation with a head that turns slightly, hips that swing to the sides and ball jointed knees & shoulders. Unfortunately one of the knee joints on mine is a little faulty so I can't bend the knee into the precise position needed for the toy to stand properly. I will keep my eyes peeled for a replacement that does.

Transformation: inventive. Fold the nosecone up from behind the head, then fold the head back and down so it's between the robot's legs. Fold each arm up so it points straight up and turn so the inner side of the arm faces forward. Fold the guns on the arms forward to become the back of the jet. Fold the wings on the back of the legs down. Fold the legs up alongside the body so the wings on the legs become the tailfins. Plug the tab on each leg into the slot on each wing.

Starscream's vehicle mode is a surprisingly accurate representation of the F-16 jet, albeit one with a thick undercarriage. Landing gear is provided by the knees & feet raising the bulk of the plane up.

Apart from the knees on mine this is a great little Legend. Nice reworking of the Transformation sequence. I expect we'll be seeing it again as Thundercracker, Skywarp, Sun Storm & Acid Storm, remoulded as Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet & G2 Ramjet. Plus there's two Japanese Starscream colour schemes that could be done: Black & Clear.

Reveal The Shield Legends Prowl

Prowl's only previous Legend was of his Animated Version. Looking at the Reveal The Shield legend, it's obvious that it's meant to be the 1984 Generation 1 Prowl. What's less obvious is if it's a retool of Universe Legends Jazz. At first glance they look *VERY* similar, with the straight back door wings and the Transformation even down to the shape of the chest and the positioning of the screws. But looking closely almost every part is different. The only pieces that MIGHT be unaltered are the wheels and the inner shoulder joints linking the body and the arms which end in the shoulder's ball joint. In the end I have to conclude that, like Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, while having many differences Universe 2 Jazz & RTS Prowl are essentially the same toy. The rear wheels move location on this design ending up on the arms and we get more articulated heels but that's it as regards functional changes.

Repaints: Bluestreak and Smokescreen are the obvious choices.

Reveal The Shield Legends Trailcutter

Poor Trailbreaker. He's not had much love over the years. His one reappearance thus far was as a Universe Spychanger recolour with the legs and head of the robot in totally the wrong colour and the wrong name attached. However he's back now with a modified copyright conflict avoiding name as a Reveal The Shield legend.

Trailcuttter is very like the 1984 version but with proportionately larger legs and modified arms made from the roof of the vehicle. He has ball jointed hips and shoulders.

Transformation: fold the head down and the upper body up. Fold the arms up and fold them back behind the body. Peg the feet together and fold them back then fold the legs back into the arms.

What we get is a slightly elongated version of the original Trailbreaker vehicle, unfortunately missing the trademarked stripes.

Yeah, not bad at all. It strikes me that a Legends toy with a similar design would make a good Ratchet/Ironhide. Better than the Universe versions in fact! I'm not sure if you could rework the design for Trailbreaker's remould Hoist that well - you'd need new arms for a start....