Over the past few years we have been getting Transformer toys based on increasingly obscure Generation One characters. While it’s pretty hard to beat Scrounge (a character from the Marvel comics who turned into a wheel and died) who came with the Combiner Wars Technobots, we may have a contender. This time it is a femmebot who was a background character with no lines in a single episode from a G1 cartoon back in 1985. So let’s say Go to the Amazon Prime exclusiveSiege Greenlight!
Robot Mode
‘It’s not easy being Greenlight’
Greenlight uses the same mold that was used by POTP Moonracer and Novastar before that. So there are probably few dedicated collectors who are unfamiliar with this mold by now. Besides the colour scheme, which is rather more striking than I thought it would be, the only change is a new headsculpt based on her G1 cartoon appearance – very 80’s alien from the future in its design. And she does look pretty cool sporting a shield and flaming sword.
‘Springer – I am your warrior princess!’
Vehicle Mode
Esentially identical to all her sisterbots, but once again the green really pops! And at least coming with a Targetmaster … er, I mean Battle Master partner, attaching her shield at the back makes it look like she has a vehicular battle mode.
Dazzlestrike
Dazzlestrike is a redeco of Lionizer. The figure is unchanged except for some white eyebrows, some green on the blade and blue eyes instead of red. These extra colours certainly make the figure stand out more than her brother.
Worth Getting?
Well it depends. If you are looking for a toy you haven’t seen before you won’t find it here. She also has a decent price tag, being an exclusive from Amazon Prime. However these are characters you wont find anywhere else and considering you get a Deluxe and a Battle Master figure the cost isn’t outrageous. Also if you wish to form the gestalt Orthia(review coming when 4th Femmebot released), the first female Combiner we’ve had since Megatronia, then Greenlight is a must have to join with Elita-1 and the rest. So why not fill out that extra gap in your G1-cast entourage and go get your Greenlight online today!
Got something to say about this toy? Pop it in the comments section below!
Introduced back in Transformers Animated as a female clone of Starscream, Slipstream became very popular very quickly. Not only having the distinction of the only official female Seeker ever, but also one of a small number of female Decepticons all up.
Fans loved seeing another female baddie and combined with her cool attitude and colour scheme it meant that Slipstream soon started turning up in other Transformers Universes. In the Aligned Universe via novels, video games and a Timelines figure (recolour of TFP Starscream) and was retroactively introduced into G1 via a Legends toy (retool of Legends Windblade).
Well now Slipstream has shown up in the new Cyberverse cartoon. Not only was she the main antagonist for the first season of the cartoon, but it has finally after all these years given her well overdue original toy that’s not simply a redo of someone else. So let’s check out Ultra Class Cyberverse Slipstream.
Robot Mode
Aesthetics
I reckon without a doubt this is the best looking Slipstream we have ever had! Not a recoloured Starscream, not Windblade with an Animated-style head stuck on. No, this is Slipstream all the way! The proportions, the colour scheme, the arm cannons, the face with the plum coloured lipstick, she looks exactly like she does on the cartoon. If it wasn’t for the fact you can see a big purple panel hanging down behind her thighs I’d say she was perfect.
Jet black hair and plum lipstick – I AM the emo girl you lusted after in High School
Articulation
Knee’s are for the weak!
Of course, while her looks are great, her articulation is not. No knee articulation, no neck and head movement and the few places where she does have articulation (hips, shoulders & elbows) the movement is quite limited. So unless you want her very purposely striding somewhere or doing the splits, you will feel let down here.
So glad I’m not a Malebot right now!
Jet Mode
Aesthetics
Once again, you can tell this figure was meant to be Slipstream from the start, the jet mode looks just like it does on the cartoon. Whilst a tad plain for my tastes, it certainly does the job of recreating the onscreen look. She has landing gear that pops down but the cockpit is simply painted on. The only real letdown to this mode is the very visible hands from the robot mode, it would have taken so little effort for the designers to make them fold into the hollow forearms.
Sonic Swirl
WTF?! Well I suppose….. no seriously – WTF?!?
Sigh… look, I understand why these gimmicks get put in. While I as an adult would prefer they get left out so as to put more effort into the rest of the toy, they are very appealing to little kids. My 6 and 4 year old had great fun squeezing the jets guns together to activate the ‘Sonic Swirl’. My question is – what the hell is the sonic swirl supposed to be?! It makes some panels pop up off her wings and flip behind her to briefly twirl. But why? It can’t be propulsion, she is already a jet. As it’s sonic, maybe it causes some kind of noisy vortex behind her to deter pursuers or something? For me it just seems to be a bit of useless gimmickry that the toy could have done without. But yeah, I guess I’m not the key target demographic.
Ultra Class Slipstream, worth getting?
Hey – I look better than Starscream at least!
Depends. Aesthetically she is by far the biggest and best looking Slipstream figure we have ever had from any continuity. Articulation wise she isn’t much better than the KRE-O version. The vehicle mode looks great but has a couple of glaring issues. That combined with the very simplistic transformation (9 steps) means that your more serious Transformer fan will happily bypass her. But for young kids, Cyberverse fans or Slipstream & Seeker fanatics (which I am) she is worth shelling out some bucks for.
Got anything to add to the review? Pop it in the comments section below!
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the original release of the Transformers Movie “Revenge of the Fallen”.
Despite this movie being almost universally agreed upon as the worst out of all the Transformers movies, it did very well at the box office (as opposed to the Bumblebee movie which was the opposite in both regards). But even fans that didn’t like the movie they liked the figures, a lot of toys were fantastic and considered a lot better than most of those that accompanied future movies.
So, to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of the movie and its toyline, Hasbro is releasing via its Studio Series line, new versions of the Constructicons. These new figures will all eventually form a gigantic new Devastator combiner – and who doesn’t love that!
There were lots of unnamed Construticons in the ROTF, and one had a very short showing. Known as ‘ze little one’, there was a small yellow Constructicon who got ripped apart by his peers to be new parts for Megatron. And a full decade later that little guy is getting a toy of his own – so let’s have a look at Scrapmetal.
Excavator Mode
A really nicely detailed little digger. Certainly a lot smaller than the rest of the Constructicons, even counting those toys that were released way back when ROTF was in the cinemas. I suppose that suits him based on his ‘ze little one’ moniker. There is a decent amount of detail to this excavator, especially on the digger arm. I also appreciate that his cab windows are translucent rather than solid, as one would expect from a Studio Series toy. A bit of a disappointment is the plastic treads, I would personally have preferred rubber.
Robot Mode
I’m not Scrapper – he lived… for a while
Both in colour scheme and general appearance he looks a lot like ROTF Scrapper. But given that was how he pretty much appeared in his very brief appearance in the movie this is to be expected. Again, a nice bit of detail to this toy to recommend it. There is a fair bit of kibble but in a good way. A nice touch is that they’ve made his hands look like grabbing claws as if they are formed from the excavator bucket, even though they aren’t. A big disappointment for me though is my versions hands seem to be jammed, I just can’t get them to open.
Considering how many ugly movie toys we have had over the years, this bloke looks quite good. He comes with a shield, which is OK but I think mainly an excuse to use up some kibble.
Ole’!
The articulation on Scrapmetal is great! Head, shoulders, knees and toes (knees and toes). And I’m not sure I’ve ever had a figure that does such wonderful cartwheels!
Transformation
Fairly intuitive. A pretty good level where it’s not going to take up half your afternoon but at the same time isn’t overly simplified like say some of the Cyberverse toys. Parts lock solidly in place in both modes.
Scrapmetal – worth getting?
It depends on how much you liked the movies and/or associated toys I guess. If you are a Movieverse completionist then Scrapmetal is a must have, but even if you are not a fan of the flicks this is still a pretty cool toy. If however you are a Constructicon nut like I am, or intend to form ROTF Devastator (Scrapmetal will make up one hand) then this guy is certainly worth putting down your money for.
Cyberverse has been trotting out a lot of characters that originated in G1. Some of these toys could be considered an improvement on their originators, others have been woefully compromised by putting in half-arsed gimmicks (such as Acid Storm’s Toxic Slice) and being overly simplified for Warrior-Class toys.
Today we look at a character that has only cropped up in a couple of flashbacks so far in the Cyberverse cartoon, but has still warranted a toy. We look at the Autobot cop bots love to hate, we look at Prowl.
Robot Mode
A nicely proportioned figure. Much more reminiscent of G1 Prowl than either the Animated or RID(01) figures before, which are the last two times Prowl got a cartoon outing. He has ok elbow and knee movement, but all but no side movement when it comes to the shoulders or hips. He lacks neck articulation too so Prowl had better hope he is facing whoever he is fighting!
The head sculpt on Prowl looks really good here, both in the face and also his helmet horns. I quite like the stars on the shoulders too. However I find his legs quite bland and they could have used a lot more detail.
The biggest disappointment is the huge panel on the back of his head, makes him look like he is carrying the back of a chair on his shoulders. This can be mitigated somewhat by his gimmick move, which we will shortly see.
Robot Battle Mode
By pushing down on the front of Prowl’s chest, you make his shuolder cannons come down to do his ‘Jetblast’ move. Why this is called a jetblast I have no idea, I think they must have just picked a term at random. Anyways, the cannons pop down, making the back of Prowl not look nearly as bad, in fact I’m not sure why anyone would display Prowl otherwise. Also for once we are seeing a gimmick that does not compromise the toy to any great extent.
Vehicle Mode
A nicely proportioned police car. Note sure if you can tell from the photos but it is worthy of note that Prowl is not sporting his usual black but rather a very dark blue, much like Barricade in The Last Knight. It kinda suits him and modernizes him to look like police cars you would actually find on patrol in the US, rather than an old fashioned Sherrifs patrol car. Like the robot mode, this vehicle would look a lot better with some more detail put in, the very front of the car looks good but the rest is severely plain, somewhat like RID(15) Strongarm.
Battle Vehicle Mode
Not on the box and not in the instructions, but you can transform Prowl so that his guns stick out of the windscreen and rest of the bonnet, much like the G1 Triggercon Crankcase. My son discovered this so full credit to the young fella! You do this by simply not folding Prowl’s shoulder cannons back up when transforming him, this in no way affects the rest of the transformation or the formation of the vehicle mode. While it doesn’t look brilliant, it will add a lot of play value for younger fans who want to send their vehicles into battle.
Transformation
Like all the Cyberverse figures, the transformation is very simplistic. Great for younger fans but will not hold much interest for your older Transfan.
So worth a buy?
If you are after a more complex, visually pleasing and articulated Prowl then I recommend waiting until the new one in the SEIGE toyline is released (though that one lacks shoulder cannons). However if you are a collector of Prowl’s like I am, or a fan of the cartoon, or even simply looking for a toy for a younger kid, then this Prowl is worth a go.
Got something to say about this toy? Pop it in the comments section below!
Back in the late 80’s the Transformers brand was starting to suffer. Something new had to be tried. So in direct reaction to the popularity of Micro Machines, the Transformers made Micromasters. These were actually pretty cool little toys! You could get them in packs of 4 or 6, some had bases, some could combine, and they were pretty cheap to get. I know for myself I collected most of the Decepticonones to try and even out the amount of each faction I had as a kid, having to track down the Autobot ones as an adult. Micromasters got a brief revival in the Universe line in 2003, but didn’t grab the toy consumers imagination.
Here we are in 2019 and Micromasters are back! And the first wave of the War For Cybertron: Seige line is made up of 3 pairs, each pair making up half the members of their original patrol team. So lets have a look at some classic G1 characters, most we haven’t seen in 30 years!
BATTLE PATROL
Flak & Topshot
Robot Modes
Flak is so unchanged from his G1 incarnation that I had to look twice to make sure it was a new figure. Topshot (formerly Big Shot) also represents his G1 heritage well. Both have far more detail in their faces and their bodies overall. Both have knees but no elbows or head swivel.
Vehicle Modes
Once again Flak looks very much like he did in G1, though with some cooler details on his missile ports. Topshot has lost a bit of length from his turret (maybe that’s why he had to change his name) but this is made up for by being able to swivel the gun up and from side to side with a great degree of control than the G1 toy allowed. Both get top marks!
Weapon Mode
Topshot becomes the back half with his turret becoming the gun peg, with Flak making up the front to become an oversized missile gun. Looks a bit odd being held by a Deluxe Sized figure, but would suit a Voyager sized bot well.
AIR STRIKE PATROL
Visper & Storm Cloud
Robot Modes
Visper (formerly Whisper) has a nice amount of detail and looks quite good. Storm Cloud is odd as in he is the only figure out of this entire wave of Micromasters that has elbows, yet at the same time he lacks hands. An odd trade off. Besides this Storm Cloud does however look good otherwise.
Vehicle Modes
Both Visper and Storm Cloud are both very faithful to their G1 origins, while adding a bit of extra detail to their jet forms that one would expect after a 30 year hiatus.
Weapon Mode
Quite a decent looking sword, nicely balanced and well proportioned. Yes Visper is still obviously completely in jet mode but Armada’s the Star Sabre set the precedent for that. Very cool!
RACE CAR PATROL
Roadhandler & Swindler
Robot Modes
Swindler had shoulders that put Ultra Magnus to shame, and its hard with the lack of elbows to position his arms anywhere but down that doesn’t cause him to fall over. Roadhandler looks quite decent. Both suffer from having massive holes in their chests which are required for the weapon mode.
Vehicle Mode
Swindler still resembles a Delorian, which is great for us of the generation that grew up on Back to the Future movies. Once again, Roadhandler looks decent as well.
Weapon Mode
Pretty weak. You simply fold over the back of the car and insert the other car on top to make a weapon that sorta resembles the Double Targetmaster ones from G1. The only slightly redeeming feature is that they are the only pair that can swap spots, so either character can become the top or bottom half.
Worth Getting?
Yup! A cheap price point, an outing for G1 characters we haven’t seen in 30 years, very faithful to their origins and now with combined weapon modes. There are a few drawbacks sure: little articulation, the legs come off really easily on all figures and whilst you can combine the different teams bots to make new weapons, only a few of them look decent and are better off with their original partner. However these are small quibbles. I heartily recommend picking these guys up and really hope that the other halves of their teams get released in the future.
Got something to say about these little figures? Pop it in the comments section below!
The relatively short first season of the Cyberverse cartoon has come to an end, but new toys are still turning up on the shelves. I must admit I am eschewing most of them but when I saw Acid Storm in a local store I couldn’t help but pick him (or is it her?) up. So let’s have a look at the characters first foray outside of the Generation One universe with Cyberverse Warrior Class Acid Storm.
Robot Mode
‘It’s not easy being green’
The wing shape over the shoulders is reminiscent of the characters Thrilling 30 toy. And the colour scheme? Well the colour scheme is very G1 reminiscent, ya gotta give it that. We are talking green here. I mean, really green. Besides some grey on the torso & thighs and a yellow cockpit there is very little to break up the overpowering green to be found here. This may be case of where being a G1 homage might be taken a little too far.
G1 Acid Storm
Toxic Slice
The flip out toxic wings
The gimmick here in robot mode is to swivel the entire upper body around a couple of times and let it go, making it spin and the coloured end sections of the wings spread out. It doesn’t work, which is to say it works too well. Acid Storm spins so fast it’s just a blur and you can hardly make out the wing segments at all.
Jet Mode
Pretty stock standard with little to recommend it above the litany of other TF jets out there. The backs of the legs are visible from above and the annoying thing is you can’t take out Acid Storm’s landing gear without having to reverse the transformation somewhat. A bit of a let down overall.
Is He a She or She a He?
A ‘He’ on Cybertron……then a ‘She’ on Earth
There is a bit of confusion over the gender of Acid Storm. In the cartoon Acid Storm’s first appearance on Cybertron portrays the character as male. Yet on Earth the character is definitely portrayed as female and appears in multiple episodes as such. Yet when one looks at the toy, the toys box art and the official Cyberverse website Acid Storm is once again male. Therefore we are forced to conclude that the character was intended to be male, but the writers at some point after the initial Cyberverse episodes arbitrarily changed the gender.
The official website description
Worth Buying?
Battle of the average toys
To be honest, not really. The transformation is uninspired as is the jet mode and colour scheme and the whole toy feels cheaply made. The Toxic Slice gimmick is also a joke. However it isn’t a completely horrible figure and it’s nice to see Acid Storm finally get an outing in a non-G1 toy line. So if like me you are a Seeker enthusiast, you may wish to pick this guy (or perhaps gal) up.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
Finally we seem to be getting some of the Wave 3 figures from the Power of the Primes toyline on Australian shelves, a long wait for many of us who no longer do our shopping overseas online due to the GST. There is only one Voyager class figure in this wave and it’s a character that had their last Generations toy come out a full 10 years ago – everyone’s favorite firetruck – Inferno.
Robot Mode
Inferno has received a new head along the lines of his G1 incarnation. This is predominantly the reason I ended up picking him up as otherwise he would have looked like either Hot Spot or Pyra Magna/Megaempress. He comes with Hot Spots two guns which he can either hold in his hands, or be attached to the gestalt feet and then his back to form shoulder cannons. The box artwork shows him having a windshield on his chest like his other incarnations, however the toy itself looks like every other character that shares the mould and has chest armour instead. He is fairly tall and lanky which is at least kinda more reminiscent of his G1 heritage than the very stocky Universe version.
Vehicle Mode
Like all others of the mould he transforms into a Rosenbauer Panther 6×6 Fire Truck. He has his big long white ladder back like the G1 version which I believe is an improvement over the water cannon the Universe and Energon versions sported. However he is so long in this mode you can’t help but think ‘This is Hot Spot cosplaying as Inferno’. His guns from robot mode can be affixed to the base of the ladder, giving Inferno some alt-mode combat options.
Combiner Mode
Don’t I look cheerful
I haven’t bothered to combine him here since he doesn’t even have a name for his gestalt mode. At first I thought has been slight retooling from the Defensor version with a visor instead of individual eyes but then I realise the yellow paint app had just gone over the nose. So really there is no difference except for the colour scheme. The combiner mode will add a lot of play value for younger fans, however for the GeeWun crew it’s hard to think of Inferno has a Gestalt torso (even if the Energon version was a combiner too) and he wont get much play in this capacity.
Worth Getting?
It’s a hard call. In some ways this version of Inferno is superior to the Universe version that came out a decade ago. However in some ways he is inferior too. If you have the Universe version of Inferno as well as any other version of this particular toy mould then this Inferno figure is an easy pass. But on the whole it is still a good toy, a decent representation of the character and the combiner gimmick will be fun for many. For the most part though I think I’ll be playing with my Masterpiece version more.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
The original G1Punch/Counterpunch was a very cool toy with a very cool concept! Whereas all Triple-Changers in the past had two vehicle modes this toy had two robot modes. He was an Autobot that could not only turn into a Pontiac Fiero , but also transform into a Decepticon in order to act as a spy! Despite his abysmal appearance in Season 4 of the cartoon, the toy was so cool that it proved extremely popular, and lead to Doubledealer expanding upon the concept the following year.
We have only had one new version of this character since then, the Timelines version that was released several years ago (I don’t count the subsequent Counterpunch based on a CW mold since he only had one robot mode). While that toy was good, it was let down primarily by a small and weird looking head and of course a very limited release. Fans have been awaiting a new toy that could do this unique character justice.
Well wait no more, for now we have the Amazon exclusivePower of the Primes Punch/Counterpunch. Let’s take a look and see if it was worth the wait.
Not available in stores
Vehicle Mode
Sexy… as long as my doors don’t pop off
One of the appeals of Punch is he was one of the very few Transformers released in 1987 that had an Earth alt-mode (the others being the Throttlebots and new Decepticon Cassettes) when the line was moving heavily into Cybertronian and/or Creature modes. The vehicle mode has been faithfully redone here, down to the red hubcaps.
The arms/shoulder come misassembled which means that the arms don’t tab properly when you are folding the doors over to make his car mode. This is apparently easily repaired though I haven’t gotten around to it yet, I’ve found with sufficient (yet carefully applied) force that you can tab the doors properly, though they come back loose with the slightest knock. When I get around to making the repair I will post the method here, much like I did with the problem regarding Trypticons hip.
Punch Mode
I’m a heroic Autobot – check out my orange chest!
Excellent colours, well proportioned, good articulation, an orange gun – what more could one ask for! Well, perhaps some feet. But he balances quite well all the same and really puts the Timelines version to shame. You can fold down a tab on his back to hide the Decepticon symbol located there.
Counterpunch
I’m an evil Decepticon – check out my purple kneepads!
Like the original toy, you turn this figure around, adjust the set of the shoulders, flip the helmet and viola – instant Decepticon! Like his Autobot version you can flip a tab on his back to hide the other factions symbol and he also lacks feet. Additionally what he lacks is a blaster of his own. In my opinion it helped differentiate the two robot modes with the original toy by each having its own gun. Since Counterpunch looks weird holding Punch’s gun, I give him the otherwise useless combiner appendage (since this toy does NOT combine) as a sort of black shield. Still on the whole he looks excellent, you can even flip the hands around so they are different colours!
Prima Prime
I am the leader of the Original 13 Primes! Check out the power contained in my tiny, tiny body!
You can turn him into a box and stick him in the shield – that’s all I can say about this figure, except perhaps he has some cool pipelighting from the back the other POTP Primes lack. But I don’t like the concept as a whole and find them mostly useless little figures just waiting to get lost – give us some proper figures of the Original 13 more than just the likes of Alpha Trion and Megatronus.
So is this figure worth getting?
As long as you can afford the bigger (but not gigantic) price tag I’d say definitely yes, especially if you are a G1 fan! 3 great modes, a few accessories and a cool collectors box – he is good quality and a lot of fun! Now we can simply hope this toy prompts the character appearance in the upcoming IDW reboot of the Transformers universe.
Got anything to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
With RID disappearing into the sunset, leaving most fans with a ‘yeah, it was alright I guess’ taste in their mouths, many have been anticipating the new Cyberverse cartoon and toyline. However if what one reads online is to be believed, fans are already being put off with what they perceive to be overly simplistic figures.
On Father’s Day I received two from the new line, and both characters I obsessively collect. So without further ado let’s take a look at Cyberverse: Warrior-Class Shockwave and Ultra-Class Grimlock.
Shockwave
Robot Mode
Though small in stature, Shockwave comes in a really vibrant purple with pink highlights via circuitry lines on the arms and the hexagon on his chest. He has shoulder, elbow and knee articulation though his head is immovable. His proportions are quite good and he has his signature blaster on his left arm.
Logical my ass – I’m pissed off!
I really like the head on this Shockwave. I think because you only see the bottom half of his eye so it makes him look far more angry than usual.
His ‘Wave Cannon’ weapon sits behind his right shoulder. Moving it up onto the shoulder makes the pink laser fire automatically pop out. Personally I prefer to leave it behind his shoulder but it adds a lot of play value for the kids.
Cybertronian Spider-Tank Mode
Really, this is the first alt-mode of this kind we have seen in a Transformers toy. There was Thunderhead from DOTM which had treads so perhaps this is the first walking spider-tank in the Transformers line *. That novelty value alone made me want to grab Shockwave. It looks odd but fairly good overall. Really they needed to find a way to shorten Shockwaves thighs so that the two back legs were the same length as the front, and have a bit more detail and variety in colour so it’s not one big block of purple. It’s nice to see that they have kept with the theme of Shockwave not having an Earth mode, and this makes a nice variation on the Cybertronian Tank form he has been rocking for the last few years (such as in Energon, Animated, Prime and DOTM). Since all 4 legs are able to be positioned in different ways, both on the horizontal and vertical axis, it means this toy is great to set up on battlescapes with uneven terrain.
*I have subsequently been reminded by Laine from Melbourne that in fact ‘Scrapmetal’ from the Cybertron series can be considered the first ‘walking spider-tank’. Thanks Laine! I actually own this toy so I feel particularly silly for forgetting this figure 😉
The laser turret on top of the tank can once again activate his ‘Wave Cannon’ for pink laser fire but only one pops out. There is an Ultra-Class version of this character coming out in subsequent waves where the laser turret resembles his Prime incarnation more.
Grimlock
Robot Mode
My wrist-bling is massive!
It is a big bulky and solid looking Grimlock. Despite being depicted in the shots of the cartoon as having a mouth (like in RID) they have given Grimlock back his faceplate and overall a much more G1 head than the ‘teddy-bear’ look he was rocking in Robots in Disguise, which I was not a fan of. He is well proportioned and has a very G1/Evergreen colour scheme. This figure has minimal articulation, his shoulders and elbows both have a small amount of movement but he has no knee or head articulation whatsoever. The front half of his Dino-mode folds down the back of him and goes all the way down to his knees; the figure could have benefitted from this folding in half so that it formed a backpack, but I guess that was not possible due to the figure having to accommodate the ‘Rocket Roar’ feature that the robot mode doesn’t use. I quite like Grimlock having missile pods on each shoulder, it’s something new for the character and makes up to a small extent him not having any other weapon such as his signature Energon-Sword.
Cybertronian T-Rex Mode
Look at my raised eyes, scientists must have put frog DNA in me
It’s an interesting look, very distinctive with the raised eye sockets and the way it leans forward is quite indicative of the Animated version. The spikes on his back, forehead and tail are quite interesting too. A black tail instead of the usual gold but it still sorta works.
By pressing down on one of his back nodules (the foot from his robot mode) you activate the ‘Rocket Roar’ feature which not only shoots ‘fire’ out his mouth but also causes it to flare up from his back. It looks pretty cool and it will be interesting to see if this happens in the upcoming cartoon as I think it would look quite boss for his back to be spouting fire as he breathes it at Cons. My only gripe is you have to lean Grimlock even further forward in order to get the nub that activates the switch to be in the right position, meaning Grimlock has to be virtually horizontal for this to work.
Transformations
Both this figures are very easy to Transform, in particular Shockwave whom my 5-year old can do with his eyes closed. Didn’t take too long for him to figure out Grimlock either. Not much challenge for the adult collector but then that’s not who these toys are aimed at.
Overall
Fire fire fire fire!
Look, I have to put my hand up to say that I’ve been feeling fairly negative about this new line from all the images I’ve been seeing online. But now having two in my hands I gotta say they are a lot of fun! I received these two for Father’s Day and I think my son played with them more than me and he had an absolute blast! I think given the relative simplicity of these figures that their price tags are a tad steep and feel that set at about 2/3rds their current cost would be more appropriate. However that said, if you are a fan of these two characters or you have kids that are really into Transformers they are both worth picking up.
Got anything to say about these toys? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
I’ll put my hand up to not being a massive Transformers Crossover toy fan. Oh I’ve got a few token ones – a couple from Star Wars, a couple from Marvel, heck – even one from My Little Kitty. So I was kind of bemused when I saw they were making to celebrate it’s 30 year anniversary Street Fighter II Transformer figures.
But then I saw some pics and knew I had to have some!
Nerd Nirvana!
The Bison/Ryu set didn’t hold much appeal. I thought the reuse of an Optimus mold as Ryu to be particularly poor (I mean really, Ryu has a faceplate now?) but the Chun-Li/Ken set looked great! The only way it could have appealed to me more was for it to have Vega instead of Ken so I could recreate that awesome fight seen between him and Chunners from the great animated movie from the 90’s.
The whole gang
So today I received the figures. Now, unlike other reviews I write, I’ll be going from a purely aesthetic viewpoint as I intend to keep these figures relatively MIB. That means no transforming and minimal removal from packaging. I’ll be including a marketing pic at the very end from Google Search but otherwise all the pics are mine. And I invite anyone who has opened and transformed their figures to pop in a review in the comments section – if good enough I might even add it to the review and credit you!
I… I just cant bring myself to play with toys these, though by Primus I want to!
To be honest, I think this is a set you would want to keep MISB, especially given the price tag for what is a couple of Deluxe figures. Chances are you already have these molds as other characters anyway. Ken is redone from Rodimus and Chun-Li is redone from Arcee. I’ve got a couple of each mold (including the fantastic Legends Nightbird) so am able to restrain myself, though I am sorely tempted to see how Chun-Li looks in vehicle mode.
Just so friggin well done!
The paintjobs are fantastic, though Ken’s eyebrows look even more ridiculous than in the video game which is no mean feat. Chun-Li is most definitely the stand-out of the two, all the little details and changes in colour work surprisingly well on many levels – just superb!
The box-art is very good, showing the SFII origins of these two. It also shows how each character can be put into one of their special moves, and indeed they are packaged with Ken throwing a Dragon Punch and Chun-Li performing a Spinning Bird Kick, a testament to how artciulated the Arcee mold is.
Do you need these toys? No. But will you want these toys? If you are of my age, you may remember just what a huge deal SFII was, it was a revolutionary game and many of us bought a SNES just so we could play it! I’ve been a rabid SF fan for most of my life, though kinda lost track after Street Fighter Alpha. This set will sit with pride within my display case for years to come.
Got something to add, or actually bit the bullet and played with these toys yourself? Would love to read about it in the comments section below!
Visper & Storm Cloud
