I ordered Legacy Black Zarak from a UK Toy Shop, he is going for the price of a commander class, about £70, that is a bargin, I just got to figure out where to put him!
List of Transformers Products Bought During 2022
- Thread starter tec
- Start date
More updates!
Legacy Prime Universe Knock-Out: I really don't think it works as Knock-Out from Prime. But I'm considering him a G1 Knock-Out instead. I was surprised to find that he's a significant retool of Studio Series 86 Jazz. Same transformation and everything. The backpack is a bit harder to put together on him than Jazz because of the different door shapes. Nice spear weapon. Shame he can't hold it in two hands. 
That would have helped this toy a lot. I also wish he had open hands instead of closed fist style. And wrist articulation would've been nice... He's decent anyway. His waist connection pops out easily, though.
Legacy Predacon Tarantulas: This section is going to sound overly negative, but I actually like this figure. He looks great in both modes. Mine has a little plastic chip on one of his robot head fangs that I didn't notice till later... A little metallic green paint would hide that pretty well, but matching THAT shade? Hmm... Would have liked it better if his robot head had more range. His transformation is really cramped. Could have been more stable in robot mode, but I got him to stand pretty cool anyway. Spider mode can't stand up on his legs. Butt weapon has a little trouble staying on in spider mode. And he as nowhere to store his weapons in robot mode but his hands. So he is good and fun, but also disappointing. I was expecting him to be the best of the Beast Wars figures so far. But I suppose Blackarachnia is still the champ. I'll see if he grows on me more. I recommend him anyway. I understated how good he looks in both modes. He is still probably one of the better Beast updates. Now give me Transmetal Tarantulas. :3 EDIT: I played around with Tarantulas more and he definitely grew on me. And you get used to the transformation. It's only really the feet that are hard to put in going to spider mode. Also I noticed the details on Tarantulas's robot thighs aren't painted. That's too bad. I can try to find my yellow and fix it. But I'm not that good at painting, so I wish Hastak did it for me.
No Elita-1 yet (Amazon order). I'll also have Wild Rider, Wheelie, and Core Ratchet before long. Just waiting for my pre-order on the DK-35 upgrade kit to come into stock on BBTS before I tell them to ship my pile.
That would have helped this toy a lot. I also wish he had open hands instead of closed fist style. And wrist articulation would've been nice... He's decent anyway. His waist connection pops out easily, though.Legacy Predacon Tarantulas: This section is going to sound overly negative, but I actually like this figure. He looks great in both modes. Mine has a little plastic chip on one of his robot head fangs that I didn't notice till later... A little metallic green paint would hide that pretty well, but matching THAT shade? Hmm... Would have liked it better if his robot head had more range. His transformation is really cramped. Could have been more stable in robot mode, but I got him to stand pretty cool anyway. Spider mode can't stand up on his legs. Butt weapon has a little trouble staying on in spider mode. And he as nowhere to store his weapons in robot mode but his hands. So he is good and fun, but also disappointing. I was expecting him to be the best of the Beast Wars figures so far. But I suppose Blackarachnia is still the champ. I'll see if he grows on me more. I recommend him anyway. I understated how good he looks in both modes. He is still probably one of the better Beast updates. Now give me Transmetal Tarantulas. :3 EDIT: I played around with Tarantulas more and he definitely grew on me. And you get used to the transformation. It's only really the feet that are hard to put in going to spider mode. Also I noticed the details on Tarantulas's robot thighs aren't painted. That's too bad. I can try to find my yellow and fix it. But I'm not that good at painting, so I wish Hastak did it for me.
No Elita-1 yet (Amazon order). I'll also have Wild Rider, Wheelie, and Core Ratchet before long. Just waiting for my pre-order on the DK-35 upgrade kit to come into stock on BBTS before I tell them to ship my pile.
Last edited:
Damn do I wish the old posts on this had been archived. Guess I might as well start over, now that the year is mostly over and I don't anticipate anything else coming in before the end.
2022:
Behold Galvatron
RED Galvatron
SS86 Perceptor
Selects Cyclonus
Buzzworthy Bluestreak
Legacy Galvatron
Jhiaxus
T30 Cosmos
ReAction Toy Galvatron
Velocitron Scourge
Ultimetal Galvatron
Legacy Inferno
Preorders:
Minimates wave 3
Milestone Galvatron (not sure about this one....)
ReAction Cyclonus
Deathsaurus
2022:
Behold Galvatron
RED Galvatron
SS86 Perceptor
Selects Cyclonus
Buzzworthy Bluestreak
Legacy Galvatron
Jhiaxus
T30 Cosmos
ReAction Toy Galvatron
Velocitron Scourge
Ultimetal Galvatron
Legacy Inferno
Preorders:
Minimates wave 3
Milestone Galvatron (not sure about this one....)
ReAction Cyclonus
Deathsaurus
Last edited:
Megatron H.I.S.S. Tank: I talked about this in the Collaborative thread a little. If you're into the idea of a Transformers H.I.S.S. Tank, then get this. If you're a Megatron collector? Sure. Otherwise, I'm not sure. I like it, but it is underwhelming in ways it shouldn't be. The Baroness figure is primitive. The canopy doesn't fold away well in robot mode. The fusion cannon connects to his HAND instead of his arm. The shield feels like they gave up on hiding the robot chest and head otherwise. The treads are hard to connect in vehicle mode and needed more solid connections. The shoulder kibble in robot mode doesn't secure well. But you know, I still like him. I like how he looks in both modes. I like his feet and how stable he stands on them. I like that he has range in his neck joint. I mostly like how he transformers despite my quibbles. My expectations were mostly met because I knew what the limits would be. Except I wanted a more modern Baroness figure. This one can't turn her head, can't stand well, and can barely hold her gun. She has a rubber band waist and she looks weird. Too much retro. And you need to take off her backpack to seat her in the tank. Eh.
Today, I had a upgrade kit for my selects Black Zarak that gives him a new shield, a massive gun, a couple of extra gun turts to go on his shoulders, plus some panels, also had a upgrade for my SG Blaster that covers up the gap on his arms!
The other day, I had my copy of Birth of a hero, set (AKA Alpha Trion & Orion Pax with Vector Sigma), Alpha is nice, the only retooled parts outside of the hands, is the head, panels on the wings and a part on his back for vehicle mode that locks the robot mode head into place!
The other day, I had my copy of Birth of a hero, set (AKA Alpha Trion & Orion Pax with Vector Sigma), Alpha is nice, the only retooled parts outside of the hands, is the head, panels on the wings and a part on his back for vehicle mode that locks the robot mode head into place!
I haven't opened my HISS/Megatron yet, but I am still really looking forward to it. I'm kind of trying to keep the whole package in perspective: the fact that it's a retro HISS tank that also turns into Megatron, that has some degree of articulation, that comes with a Baroness figure, and that has some pretty cool packaging (despite the fact that my copy is covered with glue from labels, thanks to Amazon's decision to send it without a shipping box). I am not expecting perfection, I am expecting to enjoy it for what it is. Most importantly though, I expect to have fun with it.
Amazon sent me the Megatron H.I.S.S. Tank with a shipping box because it was a gift from some girl (who is also me). Yes, gift it to yourself from yourself. Or change your order to make it so. They'll always send it in a shipping box from my experience if you do that. My advice.
Of course, mine came with the packaging ripped on the side anyway. 
Of course, mine came with the packaging ripped on the side anyway.
Last edited:
The vast majority of Amazon employees care not for how a package gets out, just that it gets out. Those of us who did care, unfortunately, tended to get worn down, fired, or both.
Kinda sad, really. Better foresight, and a lot of companies would avoid customer service complaints.
Kinda sad, really. Better foresight, and a lot of companies would avoid customer service complaints.
First update in a month and it's a big one.
A birthday gift, early because it was on sale for a$100 at Best Buy...Selects Black Zarak! My very first Titan Class. And he's HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. Around the same height or so as my Brave Max, so obviously they're gonna fight each other. Also, my Black Roritchi finally has a buddy.
A birthday gift, early because it was on sale for a$100 at Best Buy...Selects Black Zarak! My very first Titan Class. And he's HUUUUUUUUUUUUGE. Around the same height or so as my Brave Max, so obviously they're gonna fight each other. Also, my Black Roritchi finally has a buddy.
If you are intersted, there is a upgrade kit still about for Black Zarak that gives him some extra guns and a larger shield, plus two panels to go on his legs:
Super Model Soul SMS02 SMS-02 Upgrade Kit for Generations Selects Dark Zarak ( Titan-Class ) Upgrade Kit
Features: A new set of LED Upgrade kit for Earthrise Scorponok brought by Shockwave Lab (3rd party transformer studio focusing on upgrade kits) . This kit will help inject the spirit into the figure. Whole set includes: 1 × Chest light 2 × Hands lights Follow the instruction in the photo to...
www.tfsafari.com
I just got the kit in the other day as I not long gotten Zarak, mine was %60 off the full price, which is why I bought him, it was a good deal, he certainly is impressive in robot mode.
Titans Return Kickback: Finally got one. Now I have all the basic class Insecticons. I like the way they tried some different things, like giving it an abdomen. (especially because I wasn't expecting it to be fully cartoon accurate the way I expected it from the deluxe) I couldn't figure out how to transform the robot arms into the abdomen without a Youtube video because the parts scrape together. Also because the package doesn't show it well and I didn't realize it had an abdomen at first. It actually blocks its own transformation and its own articulation sometimes. I'd have liked the robot eyes to be painted red. Also if it had a gun, but Bombshell also didn't have a gun. Definitely would have liked some good heels, because it's hard to keep standing in robot mode. It fits well with my other two little Insecticons, but I'm kind of spoiled on the recent deluxe Kickback. I like it but of course I overpaid because of modern pricing of old toys.
Masterpiece Skywarp Ver. 2.0: I shouldn't have bought this. But it was on sale. Also even when not on sale, Skywarp is the cheapest Seeker for some reason. Is it based on character popularity? Starscream costs so much more. Anyway, this is a relatively expensive toy even on sale. But he is really nice. The transformation is so good and he's so poseable. Some parts don't connect as well as I'd like in vehicle mode, but it's minor. Crazy how the vertical tail fins hide inside the wings. It's a very good toy. Worth the huge price even on sale? I don't know. But it is very good.
Legacy Alpha Trion: They changed a surprisingly high amount of parts from Scourge. And he looks great. Of course mine has a QC problem where the left shoulder connects. I tried to fix it, but only made it look worse on the inside. You only see that part while transforming, but it's annoying. I might have fixed it a little. But seriously, these QC issues... Nice to have a cartoon-accurate Alpha Trion at last. Vector Sigma is simple but just works with a nice key.
Legacy Orion Pax: And Orion. Not as much changed as Alpha Trion. But nice new parts and he definitely looks very Orion Pax. Of course mine had a defective left shin piece. At least it was easy to fix with some mild trimming and it isn't noticeable. But STILL these QC problems. Sheesh. I recommend this set if you're okay with very good retools and want cartoon accurate versions of these characters. But I hope you don't have QC problems like me.
I have more coming. Amazon and Hasbro want to bankrupt me by sending me all my pre-orders early, it seems.
Legacy Alpha Trion: They changed a surprisingly high amount of parts from Scourge. And he looks great. Of course mine has a QC problem where the left shoulder connects. I tried to fix it, but only made it look worse on the inside. You only see that part while transforming, but it's annoying. I might have fixed it a little. But seriously, these QC issues... Nice to have a cartoon-accurate Alpha Trion at last. Vector Sigma is simple but just works with a nice key.
Legacy Orion Pax: And Orion. Not as much changed as Alpha Trion. But nice new parts and he definitely looks very Orion Pax. Of course mine had a defective left shin piece. At least it was easy to fix with some mild trimming and it isn't noticeable. But STILL these QC problems. Sheesh. I recommend this set if you're okay with very good retools and want cartoon accurate versions of these characters. But I hope you don't have QC problems like me.
I have more coming. Amazon and Hasbro want to bankrupt me by sending me all my pre-orders early, it seems.
I bought Beast Wars seasons complete series on DVD for about £55, I came across it seraching for Beast Wars on DVD, I kind of figured it was time to get myself a copy of at least the first season, thou I did order a copy of the first season, despite the seller saying it was sent and having "Tracking" it never moved after the so called collection date, I got my money back, while I was waiting for a response from that seller, I came across the boxset that was released for the 15th aniversary of the show, I put it on my watch list and a day or so later, I got a offer for it at a lower price which knocked at least £10 off the asking price, so I bought it and it arrived the other day, its clear that its never been used as its still got its shink wrap around it, so I'll sit down with it, in the next couple of days and try and rewatch the series
I'll make these quick.
Legacy Elita-1: Some bits are looser or more finicky than I'd like. But overall this is a good mold in most ways. And she's cute, I choose to keep the shoulder-towers down so if I manage to get a Minerva it will differentiate them. Wish they'd have painted the fake Elita head on top of the vehicle mode, though. It looks a little silly unpainted.
Studio Series 86 Ironhide: It's kinda the best looking Ironhide ever in both modes. But it also is a bit of a mess to transform. It's a good transform that is well-designed in ways. But trying to wrap those panels around everything can be tough. And it's even tougher getting them apart again. And they're CLEAR plastic, which has me concerned. Mine has some loose legs, but not enough to hinder even very dramatic poses. Maybe because his balance and feet are very good.
Masterpiece G Trainbot Getsuei: Like Shouki, he's a mess of panel-folding and looks great in all modes (albeit with some gaps in robot mode). He has more balance issues than Shouki. The clear plastic... I hope it's durable enough. But I've seen some people have broken figures on the OPAQUE parts, so... His weapon storage is better than Shouki's. He has these diecast things that plug into the roof so he can hang from power cables. But they can't be used in robot mode or leg mode. So I guess I'll set them aside, much like Shouki's seats when you have the shield/Raiden chest plugged in. I wish some parts wouldn't dislodge so easily in robot mode, but I'm happy enough with him. Maybe I'm easy to please. I think the Trainbots should all look great together. But it seems the combined form won't be as big as I'd hoped... If the reports are true, It'll be disappointingly tiny at Masterpiece scale and still too small to fight with Devastator and Predaking at Generations scale. Now to wait for Yukikaze.
Legacy Elita-1: Some bits are looser or more finicky than I'd like. But overall this is a good mold in most ways. And she's cute, I choose to keep the shoulder-towers down so if I manage to get a Minerva it will differentiate them. Wish they'd have painted the fake Elita head on top of the vehicle mode, though. It looks a little silly unpainted.
Studio Series 86 Ironhide: It's kinda the best looking Ironhide ever in both modes. But it also is a bit of a mess to transform. It's a good transform that is well-designed in ways. But trying to wrap those panels around everything can be tough. And it's even tougher getting them apart again. And they're CLEAR plastic, which has me concerned. Mine has some loose legs, but not enough to hinder even very dramatic poses. Maybe because his balance and feet are very good.
Masterpiece G Trainbot Getsuei: Like Shouki, he's a mess of panel-folding and looks great in all modes (albeit with some gaps in robot mode). He has more balance issues than Shouki. The clear plastic... I hope it's durable enough. But I've seen some people have broken figures on the OPAQUE parts, so... His weapon storage is better than Shouki's. He has these diecast things that plug into the roof so he can hang from power cables. But they can't be used in robot mode or leg mode. So I guess I'll set them aside, much like Shouki's seats when you have the shield/Raiden chest plugged in. I wish some parts wouldn't dislodge so easily in robot mode, but I'm happy enough with him. Maybe I'm easy to please. I think the Trainbots should all look great together. But it seems the combined form won't be as big as I'd hoped... If the reports are true, It'll be disappointingly tiny at Masterpiece scale and still too small to fight with Devastator and Predaking at Generations scale. Now to wait for Yukikaze.
Last edited:
Bumblebee A.W.E. Striker: The backpack is worse than on Megatron because it gets in the way of his legs. And I mean the roll-bars REALLY get in the way of his legs. Really could have used some joints to get the roll-bars out of his way. The wheels are massive and with no way to move them. They can get in the way too. He also can't bend his arm much while holding his gun (put it over his shoulder instead). Mine has some loose joints, but he stands fine. And the antenna are slightly bent because of soft-plastic issues. He stands well, his vehicle mode looks great and holds together great, and his transformation is good. His robot mode is fine-looking other than the blockage issues. The Stalker figure is an ehh retro figure like the Baroness that came with Megatron.
Kingdom Autobot Road Rage: I shouldn't have gotten one, but she was both cheaper than usual Deluxes and a female character. So there. I need more discipline. She has all the positive and negative features of Tracks. Which means I like a lot but am wary about the clear plastic pegs. And of course she has the same flat pin problem as Tracks. So car hood and robot legs won't hold together well till you drive the two pins in further. She also shares the swapped tail fins problem with Tracks. Easy to swap the tail fins to fix that, of course. But I still hate those fins. They pop off any time you try to move them. She works fine as a modern Deluxe Road Rage, but I wish they had retooled more parts like they did with Masterpiece Road Rage. I liked their subtle attempts to feminize her form.
I have more coming, but not Minerva. Maybe eventually.
Kingdom Autobot Road Rage: I shouldn't have gotten one, but she was both cheaper than usual Deluxes and a female character. So there. I need more discipline. She has all the positive and negative features of Tracks. Which means I like a lot but am wary about the clear plastic pegs. And of course she has the same flat pin problem as Tracks. So car hood and robot legs won't hold together well till you drive the two pins in further. She also shares the swapped tail fins problem with Tracks. Easy to swap the tail fins to fix that, of course. But I still hate those fins. They pop off any time you try to move them. She works fine as a modern Deluxe Road Rage, but I wish they had retooled more parts like they did with Masterpiece Road Rage. I liked their subtle attempts to feminize her form.
I have more coming, but not Minerva.
Maybe eventually.
Last edited:
Studio Series The Fallen: Huge. Movie accurate. Actually has the nonsensical connection webs between his arms and ribs. Said connector things have a LOT of joints to minimize how much they restrict articulation. And you can still easily pop the ball joints if you'd prefer. Unfortunately, the ball joints pop too easily when you don't want them to. Stable otherwise. Face gimmick works great. Spear is rubbery, but still good. Transformation is a pain. If you don't get everything in the right place, it's popping apart. But it holds well if you manage to get everything together right. Vehicle mode is... a Bay-verse Cybertronian vehicle mode. But I like the lines. The connector webs are weird, but you can probably find some fan-made transforms if you want. Hard to imagine they'll do a better Fallen without doing Masterpiece Movie. And that might be less stable, who knows.
Legacy Skullgrin: It's the most baffling thing. He has a complex transformation. To become a rectangle with guns "tank". Hmm. The transformation is plenty good except for the rubbery white plastic. It warps bits and causes them to pop when they're moving. Mine had a warped horn out of package and I needed to massage it better to make it stay attached to his head. Nice weapons. Cool and nice-posing robot mode. Might have been nice to have the lower jaw of the robot head like in the art, but it looks good. If you don't hate the vehicle mode too much then this is cool. I wish they were doing other Pretenders as Deluxes...
Studio Series 86 Decepticon Rumble (Blue): He's purple. ANYWAH, he looks very cartoon accurate and I love that. Stable. I don't mind that he's small either (he SHOULD be small), but... this could have been better. I understand they didn't prioritize weapon storage is cassette mode because they kinda couldn't. But why no elbows? Could he have had elbows if they didn't include the pounders? Because the pounders are bad. I know they're iconic to cartoon Rumble (and Frenzy), but these pounders are each two pieces of non-articulated plastic stuck together. They attach not that well in robot mode for me. They attach better facing forward, which makes them better melee weapons but worse ground pounders. It's good at everything else, though. I'll buy this as Frenzy because of course I will. I like this toy. But I wish it had elbows and not pounders. Maybe the elbows are too much more expensive. I don't know.
Studio Series Laserbeak: Very obviously meant to be a Core class Bay-verse Bumblebee. But here Laserbeak serves as a nice alternative for those who have a billion Bay-verse Bumblebees already. Nice colors. A new transformation for the Camaro Bumblebee, too, and it all pegs together very solidly in vehicle mode. Robot mode, though... The torso doesn't peg together well. It only holds at all based on collision with back plate pieces that also move too easily. Hmm. The head pops off surprisingly easily too. Be careful. It doesn't stand very well either, but it has some forward tilt in the ankles that helps some. I think it's at least twice the size it should be to pass as Laserbeak's Bumblebee disguise in Dark of the Moon. But WHATAVER. It's good to get the mold as a different character than expected.
Legacy Armada Universe Starscream: THE PLASTIC IS SO CHEAP. EPIC FAIL. Just kidding. ;P I actually really like this. Great in both modes. Great posing in robot mode. There are a few knocks against it. The red paint isn't a good match for the red plastic. The head has a gap behind it in vehicle mode. The transformation is a LITTLE cramped, but it's not a big deal. There isn't a good place to store the weapons in vehicle mode except under the wings. And as cool as having a Star Saber here seemed to be, I wish it had two wing swords instead. For symmetry and because the Star Saber is undersized and underpainted. But my complaints are minor. I like this a lot and recommend it to anyone who doesn't outright hate the Armada Starscream design.
Studio Series Crosshairs: Immediately I pick up his spoiler from the floor. Then I assemble him. Looks cool. Well, unless you hate the Age of Extinction designs, anyway. Nicely pose-y. Except when it launched its spoiler again... The duster has joints to help it get out of the way. I like this. Then I transform him and I'm expecting hell. But no. The spoiler launched across the room and under the stove, though. Had to dig that out... Then I set it aside and attached it at the finish. SHEESH. ANYWAH, once you figure out the proper order of things, it transforms smoothly and pegs together really solidly. The car mode is really good and stable and sits flat. Very nice. And the guns hide away inside the doors solidly and out of the way. NICE. Very pleased with this one. Buy him unless you hate the AoE designs. Just GLUE THE DANG SPOILER ON.
Studio Series Autobot Hot Rod will be next. :3
Legacy Skullgrin: It's the most baffling thing. He has a complex transformation. To become a rectangle with guns "tank". Hmm. The transformation is plenty good except for the rubbery white plastic. It warps bits and causes them to pop when they're moving. Mine had a warped horn out of package and I needed to massage it better to make it stay attached to his head. Nice weapons. Cool and nice-posing robot mode. Might have been nice to have the lower jaw of the robot head like in the art, but it looks good. If you don't hate the vehicle mode too much then this is cool. I wish they were doing other Pretenders as Deluxes...
Studio Series 86 Decepticon Rumble (Blue): He's purple. ANYWAH, he looks very cartoon accurate and I love that. Stable. I don't mind that he's small either (he SHOULD be small), but... this could have been better. I understand they didn't prioritize weapon storage is cassette mode because they kinda couldn't. But why no elbows? Could he have had elbows if they didn't include the pounders? Because the pounders are bad. I know they're iconic to cartoon Rumble (and Frenzy), but these pounders are each two pieces of non-articulated plastic stuck together. They attach not that well in robot mode for me. They attach better facing forward, which makes them better melee weapons but worse ground pounders. It's good at everything else, though. I'll buy this as Frenzy because of course I will. I like this toy. But I wish it had elbows and not pounders. Maybe the elbows are too much more expensive. I don't know.
Studio Series Laserbeak: Very obviously meant to be a Core class Bay-verse Bumblebee. But here Laserbeak serves as a nice alternative for those who have a billion Bay-verse Bumblebees already. Nice colors. A new transformation for the Camaro Bumblebee, too, and it all pegs together very solidly in vehicle mode. Robot mode, though... The torso doesn't peg together well. It only holds at all based on collision with back plate pieces that also move too easily. Hmm. The head pops off surprisingly easily too. Be careful. It doesn't stand very well either, but it has some forward tilt in the ankles that helps some. I think it's at least twice the size it should be to pass as Laserbeak's Bumblebee disguise in Dark of the Moon. But WHATAVER. It's good to get the mold as a different character than expected.
Legacy Armada Universe Starscream: THE PLASTIC IS SO CHEAP. EPIC FAIL. Just kidding. ;P I actually really like this. Great in both modes. Great posing in robot mode. There are a few knocks against it. The red paint isn't a good match for the red plastic. The head has a gap behind it in vehicle mode. The transformation is a LITTLE cramped, but it's not a big deal. There isn't a good place to store the weapons in vehicle mode except under the wings. And as cool as having a Star Saber here seemed to be, I wish it had two wing swords instead. For symmetry and because the Star Saber is undersized and underpainted. But my complaints are minor. I like this a lot and recommend it to anyone who doesn't outright hate the Armada Starscream design.
Studio Series Crosshairs: Immediately I pick up his spoiler from the floor. Then I assemble him. Looks cool. Well, unless you hate the Age of Extinction designs, anyway. Nicely pose-y. Except when it launched its spoiler again... The duster has joints to help it get out of the way. I like this. Then I transform him and I'm expecting hell. But no. The spoiler launched across the room and under the stove, though. Had to dig that out... Then I set it aside and attached it at the finish. SHEESH. ANYWAH, once you figure out the proper order of things, it transforms smoothly and pegs together really solidly. The car mode is really good and stable and sits flat. Very nice. And the guns hide away inside the doors solidly and out of the way. NICE. Very pleased with this one. Buy him unless you hate the AoE designs. Just GLUE THE DANG SPOILER ON.
Studio Series Autobot Hot Rod will be next. :3
I want these to be quickies. The common theme this time is being a PAIN to transform. No way Crankcase's review will be quick, though. I need to vent.
Studio Series Autobot Hot Rod: He looks very good in robot mode. Some of his backpack doesn't lock together great, but it can't really get misaligned either. Car mode is nice and holds together well once you have it all pegged together. Mine has a minor defect where the back fender doesn't sit 100% flush one one side, but close. Now the real problem is the transformation. A mess of parts scraping past each other and fighting against you pegging them together. But once you get all 30 of your fingers in the right places at once, you can press all tabs in at the same time and it'll hold. Whew. Discovering transformations yourself is cool, but take my advice. Turn both the waist and the head around first. You don't want to wait and find out you have to undo everything else to move them later.
Legacy Autobot Pointblank & Autobot Peacemaker: Mine has some loose hips. Sigh. He stands okay, but I have to be careful he doesn't try to suddenly do the splits. Another bot that looks great in both his modes and I'm pleased with him except for the looseness. But his transformation... In theory it's good and simple. But in practice it's a huge pain. Parts scraping against each other. Parts you will struggle to peg into place because joints try to move instead. Aggravating. I hope I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, the transform doesn't ruin the toy, but it might make you crazy for a bit. This is probably the best of the three I review here. Nice to see such obscure characters getting new toys.
Legacy Crankcase: He shares almost all his parts with Skids. But the parts they changed are BIG changes. He looks good and bold in robot mode except for one obvious thing. I thought maybe having Crankcase in person would make me dislike the way they handled his shoulder cannons less. The opposite effect is true. They're such feeble little stubs. And they'll too loose, of course. And one of his jointed wheels is too loose. His shoulders are so floppy they can't support holding up his large gun. Or sometimes even his arm. But I suppose that could just be my copy, because I see others without the loose shoulders problem. Speaking of the big gun, it looks less good than I thought it would. It isn't painted enough to look like a gun instead of a truck grill. I think its the use of two unpainted little pegs as the barrel tips more than anything. And the backside of the gun has nothing on it but hollowness and looks worse. The smokey gray clear plastic redeco of Skids's pistol is nice-looking. Then there's his transform. I'll resist cursing here. How did this happen? I assumed it would be like Skids, whose transformation I like. But everything is worse. Parts scraping together, parts dislocating, parts fighting against you pegging them in, parts popping out of place. At least the grill gun holds on solidly and looks good. The worst part is the stubby cannons again. They get in the way constantly for me because they won't stay where they're supposed to. And even when they do, they try to pop out of their boundaries. That might stress the clear plastic, too... The other worst part is trying to get the roof pegged onto the robot legs. Everything has to be exactly in the right place. And some joints you want to move are much stiffer than others you don't want to. Mine's hips are really tight. But of course the waist joint is loose. I finally got everything together and... it mostly looks good. Even with the unpaintable plastic pieces which are obvious, but not bad. But then for some reason there's a small gap behind the robot head plate. Right above the hood's Decepticon symbol. Just a gap. As he's a retool of Skids, compromises had to be made, but the important one is here. They're no way to deploy his stub cannons in vehicle mode. I know they'd look pathetic anyway, but it is something the original Crankcase could do. I know some people had quality problems with their Skids. I didn't. This Crankcase threatened to drive me insane. I'm glad to see an obscure character like Crankcase getting some attention, but holy crap I hope I just lost the QC lottery big time here. Now I need a break. My frustration has made me... cranky. I'll try transforming him a couple more times later and see if I have a better time of it. And I'll try toenail fungus medicine on his joints to see if I can stiffen 'em up.
Studio Series Autobot Hot Rod: He looks very good in robot mode. Some of his backpack doesn't lock together great, but it can't really get misaligned either. Car mode is nice and holds together well once you have it all pegged together. Mine has a minor defect where the back fender doesn't sit 100% flush one one side, but close. Now the real problem is the transformation. A mess of parts scraping past each other and fighting against you pegging them together. But once you get all 30 of your fingers in the right places at once, you can press all tabs in at the same time and it'll hold. Whew. Discovering transformations yourself is cool, but take my advice. Turn both the waist and the head around first. You don't want to wait and find out you have to undo everything else to move them later.
Legacy Autobot Pointblank & Autobot Peacemaker: Mine has some loose hips. Sigh. He stands okay, but I have to be careful he doesn't try to suddenly do the splits. Another bot that looks great in both his modes and I'm pleased with him except for the looseness. But his transformation... In theory it's good and simple. But in practice it's a huge pain. Parts scraping against each other. Parts you will struggle to peg into place because joints try to move instead. Aggravating. I hope I'm doing it wrong. Anyway, the transform doesn't ruin the toy, but it might make you crazy for a bit. This is probably the best of the three I review here. Nice to see such obscure characters getting new toys.
Legacy Crankcase: He shares almost all his parts with Skids. But the parts they changed are BIG changes. He looks good and bold in robot mode except for one obvious thing. I thought maybe having Crankcase in person would make me dislike the way they handled his shoulder cannons less. The opposite effect is true. They're such feeble little stubs. And they'll too loose, of course. And one of his jointed wheels is too loose. His shoulders are so floppy they can't support holding up his large gun. Or sometimes even his arm. But I suppose that could just be my copy, because I see others without the loose shoulders problem. Speaking of the big gun, it looks less good than I thought it would. It isn't painted enough to look like a gun instead of a truck grill. I think its the use of two unpainted little pegs as the barrel tips more than anything. And the backside of the gun has nothing on it but hollowness and looks worse. The smokey gray clear plastic redeco of Skids's pistol is nice-looking. Then there's his transform. I'll resist cursing here. How did this happen? I assumed it would be like Skids, whose transformation I like. But everything is worse. Parts scraping together, parts dislocating, parts fighting against you pegging them in, parts popping out of place. At least the grill gun holds on solidly and looks good. The worst part is the stubby cannons again. They get in the way constantly for me because they won't stay where they're supposed to. And even when they do, they try to pop out of their boundaries. That might stress the clear plastic, too... The other worst part is trying to get the roof pegged onto the robot legs. Everything has to be exactly in the right place. And some joints you want to move are much stiffer than others you don't want to. Mine's hips are really tight. But of course the waist joint is loose. I finally got everything together and... it mostly looks good. Even with the unpaintable plastic pieces which are obvious, but not bad. But then for some reason there's a small gap behind the robot head plate. Right above the hood's Decepticon symbol. Just a gap. As he's a retool of Skids, compromises had to be made, but the important one is here. They're no way to deploy his stub cannons in vehicle mode. I know they'd look pathetic anyway, but it is something the original Crankcase could do. I know some people had quality problems with their Skids. I didn't. This Crankcase threatened to drive me insane. I'm glad to see an obscure character like Crankcase getting some attention, but holy crap I hope I just lost the QC lottery big time here. Now I need a break. My frustration has made me... cranky. I'll try transforming him a couple more times later and see if I have a better time of it. And I'll try toenail fungus medicine on his joints to see if I can stiffen 'em up.
Been neglecting this for a while, unfortunately. Updated through October, will try to update through November soon.