Welcome to the very first of my Multiverse Transformer Toy Galleries. Here I will be looking at famous Transformer namesakes and how they have been represented across multiple toylines (note: all pics are from my personal collection)
The first of our galleries is a character whom I just got the Masterpiece version of – Grapple.
Here we are – up to Wave 4 of the Titans Return toys already! Today we will be looking the Autobot Deluxe figures from that wave; three figures which featured heavily in the IDW comic ‘Last Stand of the Wreckers’ – namely Perceptor, Kup and Topspin. The two former will be known to fans of the original 86’ move and associated cartoon but for those not in the know, this is a Topspin based on the 1985G1 toy rather than the DOTM movie version. As you will see, he is awesome!
Wreck and Rule!
Kup – Robot Mode
“Did I ever tell ya about the time someone turned my head into a little robot?”
No backpack, hollow arms and his colour scheme is too light. He is a lot more G1 accurate than the previous Generations Kup toy but looks inferior in every way. His Titan Master (Flintlock – originally a name given to one of G1 Landfill’s Targetmasters) partner is sculpted well to look like a grizzly old coot and the cockpit on the chest and proportions aren’t bad. It’s just had to get past those awful arms and the substandard colours. He is just… just too plain. That said, if the arms were grey he would be an almost perfect representation of how Kup looked in the old Marvel comics!
Kup – Vehicle Mode
I’m haulin’ Cyber-Hay to the market!
Very faithful in shape and style to the G1 concept. It’s a shout out to your nostalgic membrane to see Kup done like this, much in the same way that TR Blurr gave us that same tingly feeling (for a review of Blurr see HERE). His guns can be placed in the tray of his Cybertronian-ute mode (that’s what I’m calling it anyway) much like the 87’ Targetmaster version of the toy did. His Titan Master partner fits snugly inside the cab. I would have liked the cab to be a whiteish-opaque rather than clear but what can ya do – at least the cab seems to be on the requisite angle.
Perceptor – Robot Mode
I may speak softly, but I carry a BIG sniper rifle!
Nicely proportioned and well articulated. The microscope cannon on his shoulder is a tad big but t’was the same with the original toy and for the required alt-mode there is nothing much you can do about it. The colour scheme is spot on as is the transparent plastic on his chest. He has the hollow forearms which is a shame but what I really like is that he comes with his sniper gun that he toted for a while in the IDW All Hail Megatron comics – very cool! One minor flaw I found with mine was the socet to attach his Titan Master was very stiff – quite hard to connect and disconnect.
Perceptor – Microscope Mode
You don’t need a funny caption – you just need to appreciate that this is cool!
Yeah maybe the Generations version had a bit more playability with a firing missile and a vehicle mode, but for those purists it’s great to get another Perceptor that turns into a microscope! The proportions are great but a real letdown is that the the microscope lenses barely work in comparison to the original toy and it’s a shame that its 32 years later and the new toy actually has less functionality than the original, though at least the knob is useable. Still, a nice looking Perceptor for the purists.
Perceptor – Cybertronian Tank Mode
I’m not in the instructions – that’s because I shot the editor!
Was never shown in the cartoon and rarely in any comic but the original Perceptor could turn into a weird tank (hence the tank tracks on the back of his calves) and this one is no different. Though it’s not listed in the instructions, if one examines the toy you will find some black tank tracks that serve no purpose in his microscope or robot modes. It looks kinda cool and you can attach his sniper rifles on the side as well as giving Convex somewhere to sit, rather than him just being a specimen for study in the microscope mode.
Topspin – Robot Mode
I finally got a cool toy!
Bloody excellent! What a great looking robot! Colour scheme and proportions are a big shout out to the original toy whilst making him look as cool as he did in the comics. The Titan Master head is great – everything about this toy is great, including his two guns (though they could have stood to not be hollow).
Topspin – Cybertronian Hovercraft Mode
Who knows what vehicle this is – and to be honest if you like bitchin’ alt-modes you just wont care!
There are not many Generations characters where you think ‘this is all the original toy should have been’ but Topspin encapsulates this sentiment. They have taken the essence of the original toy and expanded it to be a brilliant looking alien vehicle repleat with guns, cockpit and a bunch of huge thrusters on the back. This is to my mind the definitive Topspin – certainly makes me glad I skipped that awful FOC version of him released a few years ago.
Flintlock, Freezeout and Convex
“Three Headmasters are better than one. Wait… we are TITAN Masters? OK, disregard”
All do their job well as Headmasters (sorry – Titan Masters). Each looks sufficiently like the heads of their counterpart robots to complete their assigned task. Convex looks like Perceptors cartoon model rather than his toy model, Flintlock looks old and grizzled for Kup and Freezeout has a great sneer going on for Topspin. Like the three main toys, I find Freezeout to be my favorite the same as Topspin is. I would put up photos of their robot modes but its not worth it – very little detail and the faces are the same colour as the rest of the body so you can’t even see any definition.
Overall
Not a bad wave at all. I haven’t touched on the Titan Master component of these figures much as it’s all par for the course now – you can swap their heads. I will say that Kup is worth getting if you want a new version of his G1 alt-mode. Perceptor is worth getting for pretty much the same reason but Topspin is an absolute must have!
Got an opinion about these three Autobots? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Earth, fire, wind, water, heart – go planet!By your powers combined I am cap…. er… Megatronia!
Yes, the Planeteer’s are all either in prison or selling their bodies on the street and Captain Planet himself is dead from taking a swim in the Yarra River, but a new team wielding all their powers has come along, and when they combine they don’t become a blue guy with green hair and red undies – they become a gigantic female robot bent on her enemies destruction!
Monstructor in drag
With the Combiner Wars over to make way for Titans Return, the Unite Warriors line is also coming to a close with only two figures left. Today we will be looking at the second last one, a reimagining of the fan-created female Autobot team – the Torchbearers. While this new team has yet to be given a name, they have a pretty nifty back story and are made up of some great looking figures! So let’s take a look at Unite Warriors Megatronia!
Note: Due to each of these toy molds having been used and reviewed a copious amount of times already, I will be focusing more on the new colour schemes and the characters themselves.
Trickdiamond
Weapon:Quake Shield
Robot Mode
Earth…
A little blocky for a Femmebot but considering the mold used not too bad. I like that she has little scars on her face, very befitting a character who has spent time in jail and now even has dealings with the Chaos Bringer. The shape of her head is interesting too, almost like an American football.
Vehicle Mode
Knightrider for the ladies
Too much black. But then according to the comic on the back of the instructions Trickdiamond is worried about her weight and since black is slimming maybe that’s why she chose it. Despite this terribly stereotypical paranoia, I think some yellow highlights on the bonnet would have spruced up the look of her sports car mode that bit more. Otherwise good.
Lunaclub
Weapon: Flame Sword
Robot Mode
Fire…
Quite a nice robot mode and the red goggles work surprisingly well on her. The pink peg does not stand out as much as the blue one on her sister and her weapon suits her more than any of the other limb figures.
Vehicle Mode
Combat Barbie’s Dream Chopper
Once again quite nice. I’m trying to figure out if we’ve ever had a Transformer this shade of pink before. It’s not the generic ‘girlie’ pink of Arcee or the eye-searing pink you find on say the G1 Seacons. Whatever shade it is it works and makes her my favorite vehicle from the team after Flowspade. Speaking of which…
Flowspade
Weapon: Tornado Cutter
Robot Mode
Wind…
Probably my least favorite robot out of the five, simply as she looks too much like Nightbird from the Legends line. Certainly could have used a new head. Like Trickdiamond I feel the mold is a little too blocky for a Femmebot, especially after we have had toys like Windblade and Black Arachnia in recent years. According to her character bio she was swayed by Megaempress’ charisma. This must be true considering the artwork on the instruction manual shows her soaping up her leader in the shower!
Vehicle Mode
Dontcha wish your sports car was hot like me
Conversely, whilst Flowspade is my least favorite robot out of the five she is also my very favorite vehicle. They really got the colours spot on, it’s a very sexy sports car and I think the best use of this overused mold to date! Really looks like an evil Con Femmebot in alt-mode should look. The purple is also possibly a shout out to the fact she used to be an agent of Shockwave.
Moonheart
Weapon: Blizzard Blade
Robot Mode
Water…. (er, I mean ice. Bah, same thing!)
Not bad, is very lithe which suits the character. The colour scheme is a bit too Chromia for my liking, though she has more black then Chromia does. I think bottom half of the connector peg could have been coloured black so it did not stand out so much, as it is being in blue cast against the black on either side it is very obvious. Her weapon also does not suit her, neither matching her colour scheme or the fact that it is supposed to create blizzards.
Vehicle Mode
Sisters are doing it for themselves
A nice chopper and the silver, blue and black all work well together. The colour scheme could be indicative of that she used to work for Soundwave as a trainee medic.
Megaempress
Weapons – Rail Fusion Cannon and Judge Pickel (funniest TF weapon name ever!)
Robot Mode
Heart…
I’m conflicted about this character. On the one hand I think it’s a bit lazy for them to just do her as a female version of Megatron, colour scheme and all. On the other it makes for an interesting back story; she was created out of Megatron’s spare parts and now rules the Female Decepticons. She also has the power to seduce any Transformer, the naughty minx! The silver on her is stunning and I particularly like her face, imperious yet feminine. Definitely could steal your heart and then cut it out.
All shall love me and despair
Vehicle Mode
Made out of Megatron’s spare parts. When the hell was Megatron toting an extension ladder?!
The paintwork on her is great and the silver is flawless. Considering her ladder is supposed to be a rail cannon I would have liked to see some modification to it to seem more weapon like. Otherwise very good.
Megatronia
By your powers combined…
Again, I’m conflicted. Megaempress makes up the torso and is the female version of Megatron so the name makes sense, but it feels lazy to me. However this is a really great looking combiner, all the colours work together despite the fact they should clash, thanks to each characters paintjob containing a healthy dose of black. The chest works too, the striking purple providing a counterpoint to the more subtle colours. There is no sixth character here like with the Protectobots and Torchbearers so no motorcycle on the chest which helps differentiate her a little from the competition. I would have liked to see a new head too, I was never a fan of Victorion’s even if I did have to concede it was novel. I do like Megatronia’s blue goggles but to me overall her head still looks like parody of a Native American Feathered War Bonnet.
Destopia Sword
Suck on this every other edged weapon ever!
What a friggin kick arse sword! Looks awesome! The fact it can split into five separate weapons for each of the 5 characters makes it even more impressive. I think it is the coolest looking weapon I’ve ever seen a Transformer toy wield, certainly in my collection anyway.
Comparison between Victorion and Megatronia
There is always an evil twin, just one of those laws of the universe
There are pros and cons here. Victorion has one of the most consistent colour schemes of any Transformer combiner toy ever, but they are pretty ugly colours. She also is made up of six characters instead of five. Megatronia’s colour scheme clashes but looks pretty cool despite she is one character down. Victorion also was way cheaper and came with a poster and trading card. Combine that with having six bots and she certainly seems better value for money.
Yew stole ma man! I kill you you bitch!
But I believe Megatronia is undeniably cooler. I like the individual bots a lot better – both as toys and as characters and her sword kicks Victorions swords arse! I also found that all figures had nicely tight joints and it’s always telling just how much better the Tak/Tom paintjobs are than Hasbro’s. It’s just a shame about the price tag – this is a damn expensive Unite Warriors toy compared with most of the rest of the line due to it being an exclusive. If it wasn’t the last Unite Warriors/Combiner Wars gestalt I am buying I may have skipped it. As it is I’ll be keeping Victorion in her combined mode and using Megatronia for her individual bots. Either way, it’s been great to finally get some female combiners in the overall Transformers toyline and if you are a big TF nut you will probably want both these hefty gals in your collection.
Oh those wacky Japanese artists, bless’em all!
Got something you would like to add to this review? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Super Ginrai. Not just the Japanese version of Powermaster Optimus Prime but a character unto his own right. Finding himself to be not just an ordinary human but to be an actual Autobot Godmaster (how’s that for a bitchin subgroup name!) who could bond with a Transector in order to don the visage of legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime and fight the evil Destrons…
… or so the story goes. It may be a different character technically but in reality it’s pretty much the same damn toy. The G1 Super Ginrai and Powermaster Optimus had very few differences, even if one was a little Japanese dude obsessed with his big hair in a mech suit and the other was Optimus Prime on steroids.
Here we are 30 years later and we have a similar thing happening. The (US) Titans Return toy is ‘Powermaster Optimus Prime’ whilst the retooled (JP) Legends version is ‘LG35 Super Ginrai’. Both toys have their pro’s and cons. Six months ago I reviewed the Optimus toy (which can be read HERE); today I’m going to give a quick overview of the Legends Super Ginrai version and then most importantly engage in a comparison. This way you, my loyal readers, will know which to shell out your hard-earned money on.
First off – Super Ginrai!
I’m not Optimus Prime, I swear!
Truck Mode
No, I’m not Optimus I said!
Very nice and solid. Unbeknown to most there is a small screw between the cab wheels you can loosen so that the cab does not have to sit flush with the trailer. The trailer is very reminiscent of the original toy and the trailer has all the armament that the G1 version did. The end result is a Mad Max’esque tractor trailer in a world gone mad – nice!
Robot Mode
Look, I’m not f*cking Optimus Prime OK!?!
Instead of Ginrai turning into the engine of his Optimus (but not Optimus) mech he now turns into the head. While still a cool concept I liked the engine gimmick better simply as it was that bit rarer. Very nice proportions, decently articulated and a nice paintjob. Good overall.
Base Mode
And no, I’m not ‘Optimus who got stuck in a particularly challenging yoga pose’ either you f*cking smartass!
Really does not stand up to the original G1 toys base mode. There are some gun turrets that Ginrai can sit in and all the guns from the other two modes are useable here. But it looks sparse and everything looks a bit flimsy – like he got stuck in mid-transformation.
Comparison between Legends LG-35 Super Ginrai and Titans Return Powermaster Optimus Prime
Vehicle Mode
Ginrai looks a lot more similar to the original toy whereas Optimus looks like an updated version, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The black guns on the top of trailer work a lot better on Ginrai and his robot feet sit a lot more flush at the back. I have to give points to Optimus for a new style and Ginrai for a more balanced look.
Base Mode
6 of 1, a half dozen of the other. Both don’t look flash to me. There are a few differences with the different chest pieces that come up to be the central seat for the Headmaster. The towers on Ginrai work being put higher due to you being able to place the black guns half way up, something you cant do with Optimus due to his robots hands not rotating.
Robot Mode
‘One of these bots is not like the other…’
One of the most significant differences are the ankles. Ginrai’s have been extensively retooled in order that they pivot better and provide more height. This makes Ginrai slightly taller than Optimus overall. Optimus’ hand guns look that bit more impressive but Ginrai is able to hold his better due to maneuverable wrists. The chest armor is slightly different as well. Overall I think Ginrai does look that bit better than Optimus here.
Apex vs Ginrai
Two heads are…. no, wait, too obvious a joke. I’ll come back.
Apex is the name of Optimus’ Titan Master partner whereas Ginrai is, well, Ginrai but as stated turns into a head instead of an engine. When comparing the two, Apex transforms into a head which looks a lot like Orion Pax, with the Optimus helmet going over the top. Ginrai turns into an Optimus head with… er… an Optimus helmet going over the top (the definition of redundant). So Apex wins the alt-mode race but the robot/human mode race is no race at all. Ginrai has lots of detail and (even though you probably cant tell with my bad camera) even has a little human face. Apex by comparison has bland colours and a featureless head.
Ones a robot, ones a human in a mech suit. Both have absolutely screwed torsos
So who to choose?
Look, I got both because of the displays I wanted to create. One display is of Optimus Prime figures which turn into trucks and have a trailer so Powermaster Optimus Prime goes there. The other is robot modes of all the different Generations (and Generations subsets) characters and while I have plenty of Generations Optimus figures I didn’t have a Ginrai one so he goes there. That said, I still feel like I wasted my money a bit by getting both. They are just too similar to warrant the expenditure on two Leader-class figures.
If I was to pick one I’d pick Ginrai. The robot mode is better and the Headmaster partner is a lot better. Ginrai wins. But then I guess, if you get both, you can at least join them up in to one super base like I have below!
Got something you would like to add to this ‘comparison of toys’ review? Would love to read it in the comments section below!
Brainstorm, a character that has gone from relative obscurity to a fan favorite in recent years, thanks mainly to the More than Meets the Eye comic series. Now gone from being a bit player in the short lived season 4 of the US he is everyone’s favorite amoral weapons designer. However the version we are looking at today is an homage to his much larger television outing in the Japanese Headmasters series. So without further ado, from the Legends series let’s have a look at LG39 Brainstorm.
Japanese TF boxes, so plain but with such great artwork!
Vehicle Mode
It wasn’t until I took the gun out of the box and realized that it was a match for Titans Return Blurr’s (for a review of TR Blurr see HERE) that I had a better look at Brainstorms Cybertronian jetfighter mode and realized the whole figure is a retooled Blurr. And once you can imagine the wings being gone it becomes quite obvious. That said, it’s a very nice looking version of Brainstorms alt-mode with the twin guns at the front, sleek nose and slim wings. The orange cockpit makes a nice counterpoint to the rest of the colour scheme and Brainstorms Headmaster partner Cana fits nicely inside.
Robot Mode
A bit small for my liking but it means that he scales well with the rest of the Legends/Titans Return figures. You can remove the nosecone and add it to the arm for extra firepower or leave it attached to his back where it is only noticeable when looking through the legs. The figure has good articulation and once again that lovely Tak/Tom paintjob.
Somebody messed with the wrong Wang today!
Cana and Synapse.
Pimp Daddy Cana’s a bit spoiled for choice!
Synapse is actually the name of the drone vehicle that comes with Brainstorm. This can either be in a jeep mode for Cana to drive or turn into a double-barelled blaster for Brainstorm to weild. Given the colour scheme one could almost mistake it for a mini-Kup.
Cana has been based on Brainstorms JP Headmaster appearance with the removal of the faceplate. He is nicely detailed in both his modes. When compared with Arcana from the Thrilling 30 version of Brainstorm you can see the difference in size between the two figures, its just a shame you cant swap them over from one body to the other (trust me, I tried). Given the differences in size and facial structure, it makes Legends Brainstorm look like Generations Brainstorm’s younger brother.
Overall
To be honest, I actually still kinda like Generations Brainstorm better. He is bigger, bulkier and his removable vehicle weapons to use as pistols is very G1-toy accurate. However Legends Brainstorm scales well with the current series of toys, has a great colour scheme and comes with not only a Headmaster partner but a drone as well. Depends if you are a fan of the HM cartoon or MTMTE as to which one you may decide to get – or if you are an obsessive fan like me you can just get both!
Astrotrain – truly a mainstay of the Decepticons in fiction since he first turned up in the G1 cartoon waaay back in 1985. And why not – he is a Giant Robot that turns into a Space Shuttle and a Train! I’m sorry but things don’t get much cooler than that! Despite being immensely popular in the cartoon and there rarely having been a G1 comic in the last decade that hasn’t featured him extensively (always the troop transport aren’t ya, ya poor bugger! To think back in the cartoon you became god of a moon!) Astrotrain has received very few toys over the years. I suppose it’s not the easiest to design, a train and shuttle in one. But now we have one again and he is a Headmaster no less! So let’s get on with the review of the Legends series LG40 Astrotrain!
Quite flat but certainly a nicely shaped shuttle. There are several options as to where you can place the guns, either on the sides or on the top (I go for the sides personally). Astrotrain’s Headmaster can sit in either the little cockpit at the back between the tailfins or can sit in one of the gun turrets on the side. Despite the great Tak/Tom colour scheme designed to make him look a lot like the G1 cartoon, he still looks a little bland in this mode. However they have at least coloured the windows of the cockpit, something that the Sentinel Prime figure was sorely lacking and from photos I’ve seen the TR version of Astrotrain suffers from this as well.
Surely one of them will make it to Cybertron
Train Mode
Realism – 2%, Utter Coolness – 98%
It’s a damn weird train! Looks like a Cybertronian train of some kind because I don’t think we have trains like this on earth, even in Japan. Like the shuttle version, the train’s windows have added colour here in order to highlight them and the gun ports on the top of the train have been coloured differently to the section (Astrotrains robot arms) that they protrude from. That and the overall colour scheme make this a far superior looking train to Sentinel Prime who looked like a bright red and orange stick. Given you can now make out the train wheels and the trains cabin, it really gives a sense of scale to the toy, that this is a big-arse Cybertronian transport!
A JNR Class D51 Steam Locomotive from 1936. A Tsubame 800 Bullet Train from 2004. Does that mean we will see the new Astrotrain on the tracks in Japan around the year 2090?
Robot Mode
Space Beefcake!
What a butch looking Astrotrain! In fact I think probably the best looking official Astrotrain toy we have ever had! No chest boobs and static arms like the G1 toy, no giant back fins like the Timelines version and he certainly stands quite literally head and shoulders above the Classics version. Good articulation on all extremities, nicely poseable and a good paint job. I like how both his hand guns can join together to become one long rifle much like the G1 toy was sporting. He is of course a Headmaster and his Headmaster partner (whose name is actually Head Master – no points for originality there) can come off and be replaced with any other Headmaster. A great gimmick for little kids and my son loves it, but for myself as a grown up fan I just want Astrotrain himself.
Sentinel is a reminder to Astrotrain to always wear sunscreen
Overall
This is a great Astrotrain! Yes the shuttle mode is a tiny bit flat and bland and the train mode is a bit alien in appearance but taken as a whole all three modes work and work well. We needed a Voyager-sized Astrotrain for the Generations lineup and he makes a great buddy for Blitzwing. The Tak/Tom version with the cartoon-homaging paintjob puts this toy far beyond the Titans Return version in my opinion and I heartily recommend this figure to all fans of great characters who get stuck carrying their mates around all day. This guy will definitely make it to Cybertron!
(For those not familiar with the Ozformers website, some of the guys on there and I had been running a joke campaign, parodying the US election, for me to become Member of the Year. Well I actually won! So to continue the parody here is my acceptance speech, very reminiscent of one spoken by a certain new world leader)
Looks like General Patton, sounds like Donald Trump
Thank you. Thank you very much, everyone.
I’ve just received a call from Site-Administrator Griffin.
He congratulated us — it’s about us — on our victory, and I congratulated him on a very, very hard-fought campaign. I mean, Griffin has worked very long and very hard over a long period of time, and we owe him a major debt of gratitude for his service to our website. I mean that very sincerely.
Now it’s time for Ozformers to bind the wounds of division; have to get together. To all Trevolutionaries and Griffincrats and Paulbotents across this fanbase, I say it is time for us to come together as one united people. It’s time. I pledge to every user of our land that I will be Member-of-the-year for all Ozformerians, and this is so important to me.
For those who have chosen not to support me in the past, of which there were a few people (Trent) I’m reaching out to you for your guidance and your help so that we can work together and unify our great website.
As I’ve said from the beginning, ours was not a campaign, but rather an incredible and great movement made up of several hard-working men (Sinnertwin, Starscream77, Jetfire_in_the_Sky and Mythirax) who love their website and want a better, brighter future for themselves and for their families.
It’s a movement comprised of Ozformerians from all gestalt-groups, generations and allegiances who want and expect our website to serve the people, and serve the people it will.
We are going to fix our inner sections and rebuild our threads, reviews, discussions and news stories. We’re going to rebuild our infrastructure, which will become, by the way, second to none. And we will put several of our people to work as we rebuild it.
We have a great fansite plan. We will double our growth and have the strongest user-base anywhere in the world. At the same time, we will get along with all other fanbases willing to get along with us. We expect to have great, great relationships. No dream is too big, no challenge is too great.
Nothing we want for our future is beyond our reach. Ozformers will no longer settle for anything less than the best.
We must reclaim our fansites destiny and dream big and bold and daring. We have to do that. We’re going to dream of things for our website and beautiful things and successful things once again.
I want to tell the world community that while we will always put Ozformers interests first, we will deal fairly with everyone, with everyone — all people and all other fansites. We will seek common ground, not hostility; partnership, not conflict.
And I can only say that while the campaign is over, our work on this movement is now really just beginning.
We’re going to get to work immediately for the Ozformer users. It’s been an amazing year-long period. And I love this fanbase.
Femmebots, the slang term for female Transformers, are becoming more commonplace but are still for the most part a rarity – you can count how many get released each year without taking off your socks. Rescue Bots has been the longest running single Transformers cartoon show in history and they have finally introduced a female Autobot into their admittedly rather small ensemble. Quickshadow is a very cool character, coming across as a highly competent, British-sounding spy. Being a sportscar that turns into a female robot makes Quickshadow sound like a James Bond wet dream come to life and for those of us that like to collect female Transformers sounded like a new toy to look forward to collecting.
Unfortunately what we got is perhaps one of the worst quality Transformertoys we’ve had in years.
Don’t open me up – I’ll just break your heart
However let’s start with a few positives.
Vehicle mode
A very sexy little sportscar. There is some nice detailing in the grill with the little Autobot symbol and the blue highlights on the hood, doors and hubcaps certainly pep up what would otherwise be a bland colour scheme of white and grey. Smaller than the other Rescuebots, even Blurr looks bigger.
Robot Mode
Not bad, but quite blocky. Of course this is to be expected since it is a Rescue Bots toy. However on the TV show all the other characters look quite blocky but Quickshadow is very lithe and agile looking so it is a shame they did not go to at least some effort to represent that here. Also a little more detail in the face would have been nice as well, perhaps a more defined mouth or something to show she has optics behind the big eye mask. Scale-wise she is comparable to Blurr however is smaller than all the older Rescuebots such as EnergizeHeatwave.
“Why is it on the show I look like you Arcee, but in real life I look like Margaret Thatcher’s even more butch cousin?”
Transformation.
Here is where it being a Rescue Bot is supposed to be the big seller for young TF fans but in Quickshadows case it’s the main reason not to buy this toy. There is only one thing you need to do to transform her, that being pull the front wheels out sideways – then everything is supposed to pop into place. But she jams. In fact she jams nearly every single time! And you can’t just push the wheels back in and try again. At first I thought my son was using her wrong. Then I thought we just must have gotten a dud. But a subsequent look at various ratings of the toy on Amazon and eBay has shown that this seems to be an endemic fault with the figure. There is a little spring at the top of the car’s hood which is supposed to facilitate this transformation but the spring constantly jams and to un-jam it you have to pull the hood down so hard you are certain it is going to snap. In fact I’m afraid to transform her again in case it does! This is a shameful flaw – only one moving part and they f*ck it up!? Poor form Playskool & Hasbro – poor form indeed.
Your Quickshadow toy is going to spend more time looking like this than a robot or car
Worth Getting?
No. She costs the same as the older Rescue Bot figures despite being nearly half the size and the jamming spring means that the toy is almost unusable from the get-go. I’m glad to have another Femmebot in my collection but I would say this is a contender for the worst quality Transformer I have ever come across.
Have you got this figure? Will you still get this figure after reading this review? Would love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below.
Note: For those Blog readers who are unaware, Ozformers is the Australian site for Transformer Fans and is actually the longest running such site in the world! I’ve been peddling my entertaining brand of bullshit on there for many’s a year and it was in part the enjoyment I experienced writing on there that made me start my own blog. Every year they have a vote for the Ozformer member of the year (which always ends up being the website owner Griffin) but some fellow site users have been campaigning on my behalf for the last twelve months. The following is me trying to give them value for their humorous perseverance.
OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE
Offices of Big Transformer Trev, candidate for Ozformer Member of the Year
My fellow Ozformer members,
while I have been busy with other matters of state it seems the pro/con Trev debate has heated up in my absence. So let me now as your candidate address the issue that concern you, the public, whom I am here to serve.
*The Current Incumbent: Now Griffin is indeed the owner, administrator and general Grand Poobah of Ozformers. There is not a member here that does not acknowledge this or is not grateful to him for providing this wonderful site for us all to enjoy. But ask yourselves, on top of the myriad of time-consuming responsibilities he already has, is it fair to once again heap the duties associated with being Ozformer Member of the Year on his already overburdened shoulders? I think not. Let the poor fellow get on with what he does best and let someone handle all the public appearances, kissing babies, wining and dining foreign toy dignitaries etc that the winner of the Ozzies is expected to do.
*Why a new representative? Well for a start, if you vote me in you will be getting a celebrity to be the face of Ozformers. Remember, look in the background of any Australian-made, Melbourne-based tv cop show from the late 90’s (Blue Heelers, Halifax FP, Stingers, Good Guys Bad Guys etc) and you will see me milling around in the background as an extra. Star power or what! Frankly if it wasn’t for my well-known hatred of Reality TV I’m sure I’d have been asked to appear on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! by now. And of course most recently I’m known in print, television and social media as the guy who photographed a dead snake.
BTT’s POLICIES
Sensible policies for a happier future
*By the year 2020 no child will be living without Transformer toys
*There will be two Stunticons in every garage
*Full series Box Sets of Rescue Bots to be produced by Madman Entertainment
*Once a year on the solstice all Ozformers will come together on my farm to build a giant straw effigy of Michael Bay, which we will then set alight while we chant and dance naked around it under the moon
*I will make Hasbro and Takara release ALL Transformer related products in Australia.
*No GST on imported goods! This is a SHAMEFUL policy that both sides of parliament are currently trying to enact! They say it’s so that you will buy locally instead of buying your goods from overseas via the internet, but what if…
-A: You live in a rural area where youcannotpurchase the items you require at your local store? Most Aussie companies charge ruinous postal fees to send you an item, you often pay more in postage to get something from Melbourne than from the other side of the globe! Last I checked, my little bush town doesn’t have any of the big chains I can go to and get anything I require.
-B:They don’t make and/or sell the item you want in Australia at all? For those with their eye a Carnifex figure, I don’t think you’ll be buying one at your local K-Mart. There are many products that are sold nowhere in this wide brown land of ours, its not a matter of not wanting to shop locally – we can’t!
ENDORSEMENTS
So the choice is clear my Ozformer Brethren (and Sistren of course). Vote #1 Big Transformer Trev this Ozformer awards. Sure I might be not the most obvious candidate, or the most fragrant, or the most sane if it comes to that. But just listen to these uncoerced endorsements from fellow Ozformer members:
SINNERTWIN
Sensible, Mature, Responsible… These aren’t words that anyone can use to describe Trev, and nobody should. That would be lying, and lying is bad for the soul.
Don’t lie to yourselves. Vote 1. Vote Trev.
BTT 2016.
STARSCREAM77
The following has been authorised and paid for by the BTT416 Campaign:
In Trev We Trust
Not just a throw away line but a creed we as the followers of the great man, BTT, choose to live our life by. If ever we have doubts in life we ask ourselves ‘what would Trev do?’ and the correct answer presents itself.
If we do not do the moral and ethical must that is vote BTT for 2016 then I question the entire fibre of life itself!
Yours faithfully
SS77
JETFIRE_IN_THE_SKY
“Anyone who doesn’t vote for BTT is a cheese eating surrender monkey”
