Tag Archives: cybertronian tank

Toys Review – Cyberverse Deluxe Class, Wave 1

The Warrior Class toys from the Cyberverse line had gotten a reputation for being pretty poor, and for the most part that rep was deserved.  The simplistic paint jobs, transformations and lacklustre modes have made many of these figures an easy pass for most collectors.

However thankfully, like the cartoon which got pretty damn good in seasons 2 and 3, the powers that be decided to improve the Cyberverse toyline too.  And they have done so by introducing the Deluxe Class.  This class is used by the Generations line and usually involves a higher degree of sophistication in all facets when compared to the Warrior Class, and of late has included blast effects that can be attached to characters weapons.

So lets have a look at the first wave of the Cyberverse Deluxe Class figures – Bumblebee, Optimus, Megatron and Shockwave.

 

Bumblebee

 

Sigh, it wouldn’t be a Transformers toyline without about a 150 different versions of Bumblebee would it.  Thankfully this Bumblebee is quite good.  He looks very screen accurate, comes with a lot more detail than the preceding Warrior Class figure, and comes with his stinger as well as a gun.  Very nice!

The vehicle mode is ok.  Quite compact with a decent amount of detail.  However this is one case where I would say the Warrior Class looks that bit more impressive.

 

Optimus Prime

 

Once again, a vast improvement on the Warrior Class toy that came before.  Optimus has good articulation, good proportions and it’s always appreciated when you can open an Optimus toys chest to find a Matrix inside.  And you can use this one to (simulate) blast the big baddies, just like in the cartoon!

The vehicle mode is ok, not bad but nothing special to write home about.  Perhaps a bit better than the Warrior Class due to the better paintjob (always irritates me when Optimus has red smokestacks).

 

Megatron

 

My son doesn’t own the Warrior Class Megatron so we had to compare him to another from the Cyberverse line which equated to no comparison at all.  Megatron looks very good here – very cartoon faithful and well articulated.  I particularly like the head sculpt.  Would have been nice for him to have an Energon Morningstar but I guess you can’t have anything.

A pretty decent looking Cybertronian Tank, full of nice angles and Megatron’s arm cannon taking centre stage as the tank turret.  Small but feisty and very cartoon accurate.

Fusion Mega Shot

 

Shockwave

 

Shockwave has gotten nearly as many Cyberverse toys as Bumblebee, having a figure in nearly every size.  And unlike many the Shockwave toys haven’t been half bad.  This Shockwave is good but doesn’t particularly stand out from any of the others, though its nice to see him get his arm cord back.

The beauty of having multiple Shockwave’s is that you can convert your other ones into the crab-tank modes to represent the army of drones he has in the cartoon.  Once again, this toy doesn’t particularly stand out from any that have come before, though there are multiple ports on the tank mode to put his extra blaster in, giving you more options.

‘My babies. My ugly, ugly babies’

 

Maccadams/Alchemist Prime Parts

Part of the lure to get these figure is that each character comes with a body part that, when combined, form Maccadams.  It’s very tempting as there has never been a toy of the famous bartender before.  If you end up with multiple Shockwaves you can always use both legs, which looks a bit odd but saves you buying other figures down the line if you don’t want them.

 

Cyberverse Deluxe Class – worth getting?

Well they are for the most part the best Cyberverse toys we have gotten so if you are a big fan of the show then you may want to pick them up.  If not then you can always bypass them.  I found these figures for a staggeringly cheap $12(AU) each on sale so I was more than happy to pick them up at that price.  And of course, the temptation is now there to get the next four in order to make Maccadams.

 

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Toy Review – Siege Impactor

The Wreckers – the biggest bot badasses this side of the Dinobots.  The team the Autobots go to when they don’t give a shit about collateral damage, they just want some Cons dead!

‘The Wreckers: Class of 1986’ (Absent: Rack’n’Ruin)

The Wreckers have been around since the old Marvel comics and since have become ingrained within Transformers lore.  And before the mighty Springer became leader of the team, their leader was the hardened, the ruthless, the one and only – Impactor.

Impactor did not get an official toy for many years.  In fact it wasn’t until the Generations FOC toyline in 2013 he got his first one, a kinda weird redo of FOC Onslaught.  Then a few years later in 2016 Impactor got a Timelines toy that was infinitely cooler, yet as a redo of CW Rook still didn’t tick all the boxes that fans of the G1 Comics Impactor required.

Well here we are in 2019 and Impactor has finally gotten a figure designed specifically for him.  And damn it’s a beauty!  So let’s have a look at Siege Deluxe Class Impactor.

 

Robot Mode

‘Face the front perp, prepare for your mugshot’

Beautiful colours here, really does justice to him.  The timelines version was pretty good with an awesome head, but that huge grey peg in his chest was a definite drawback.  This Impactor looks buff, tough and has the right stuff!  His shoulder cannon looks particularly faithful and impressive.

‘Where is that green prick who stole my job?’

Articulation on this figure is very good, with multiple points all over his upper and lower body, allowing you to put him in a myriad of battle poses.  The right (or left if you prefer) hand folds in to attach his signature harpoon.  The tank barrel from his tank mode serves as a rifle.  Really, its hard to find fault here, everything from the head sculpt to the colour scheme are spot on.

‘Orange was never my colour’

 

Cybertronian Tank Mode

Finally, I have treads instead of wheels!

To be honest, he looks even cooler than he did in any comic.  Weaponry wise he sports a giant tank cannon at the front, his shoulder cannon becomes a roof mounted  laser cannon, there are twin scatter blasters on either side and his harpoon becomes a rotating laser gun on top.  Add to that four huge spikes at the front and he don’t need no stinkin Battle Masters to kick butt, he’s a one-tank arsenal!  There are however multiple ports to add Battle Master and Weaponizer guns should you wish.

Overkill? Na…

Once again the colour scheme is top notch, and as the leader of The Wreckers the battle damage suits him more than most .  This really is the Impactor you’ve been waiting for.

 

Transformation

Quite straight forward.  Not stupidly simple but no real challenge to be had.

 

Worth Getting?

Oh hells yes!  I’ve been pretty damn happy with my Timelines Impactor for the past three years, and while I was looking forward to an update I wasn’t yearning for it.  But now I have this guy my other two Impactors won’t be getting a look in any time soon.  Everything about this figure is really spot on and just screams Wreck’n’Rule!  Whether you want this guy or the upcoming one which is Decepticon aligned, either way go and grab one and continue to pray there is a Rack’n’Ruin toy in the works soon.

 

Got something to say about this figure?  Pop it in the comments section below!

 

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Toys Review – Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce

The exclusives continue thick and fast in the Transformers: War for Cybertron: Siege toyline.  In fact nearly 40% of this toyline is made up of figures you can only purchase in particular US stores or otherwise online.

Last time we looked at Greenlight, who was only available through the US Amazon Prime site.  Today we are looking at some more Amazon exclusives, though thankfully you can get them through the AU store.  Today we look at the Autobot Alphastrike Counterforce.

This pack is made up of three bots but four characters – Covert Clone Sideswipe, a new Battle Master character named Trenchfoot, and vehicle only characters Raindance and Grand Slam who combine into Slamdance.

 

Covert Clone Sideswipe

Robot Mode

‘Look, I’ve got the G1 symbol so that makes me G1, totally not G2, I swear!’

Yep – despite the name we all know from the colour scheme this is really G2 Sideswipe.  Except the inversion of the red and black colours, this figure is exactly the same as the regular Sideswipe that came out in the main Siege toyline.  At least with all the blaster adaptability you can beef up his weaponry – which consist of a Photo-Pulser Proton Launcher and a Gryo Blaster that can combine into a RR Gryofuse Axleswitch Hyper-Blaster –  so he resembles more his more hardcore G2 incarnation.

Cybertronian Sports Car Mode

No sir, I don’t really like it.  It’s not bad, but with all the red under the translucent dome the colour scheme really screams the Decepticons Wildrider or Runabout.  Once again, adding lots of weapons is your friend here to give him that G2 Sideswipe feel.

 

Trenchfoot

Trenchfoot is a recolour of Decepticon Battle Master Caliburst and his colour scheme makes it clear he is more intended to be paired up with Sideswipe than Slamdance.  I think he works really well in both modes, his gun apparently being a Foxhole Counterblast Cannon.  Interestingly he is one of the very few completely original characters in the Siege toyline so far.

Fire!

 

Raindance & Grand Slam

A little history lesson.  In 1988 G1 Blaster finally got a 3rd set of cassettes – Raindance and Grand Slam.  What made these characters unique was that they had no robot or robotic animal modes whatsoever (until they combined) – they both turned from cassettes into vehicles.

Raindance

Here Raindance once again has no robot mode of his own, and not even a cassette mode!  He is however a very cool looking blue earth jet, replacing his Cybertronian Jet-Drone mode.

Grand Slam

G1 Grand Slam turned from a cassette into a red Cybertronian Tank.  Like Raindance he has also lost his cassette mode but turns into a pretty sweet red tank fairly reminicent of the original, sporting a big A2A Proton Missile Launcher on the front.  Both Grand Slam and Raindance can sport each others weapons as well (Raindance’s being a Smokecloak Blaster)

Slamdance

Took over 3 decades but I’m back baby! I hope those 80’s dances are still popular!

As mentioned, the original G1 Raindance and Grand Slam toys could combine to finally give them a robot mode – Slamdance – and here he is once again.  A slight retool of Siege Skytread but with a new head, he stands that slight bit taller than your average Deluxe figure.  This is a great shout out to a pretty obscure character!

Beware the left ankle!

There have been many reports of people snapping the left ankle off their Slamdance! And indeed having this knowledge in advance I was very careful with mine and found that yes, his left ankle is very tight and stiff.  However I found that giving the area a quick squirt with some spray lubricant like WD-40 and then leaving him for half an hour resulted in a much less stiff and more fluid movement in the part, so now I transform him without worry.  I highly recommend doing the same when you first remove yours from the box.

 

Is this set worth getting?

Well there are no brand new moulds here.  All 3 (or 4) moulds have already been released in the main Siege line so if you are looking for something new look elsewhere.  That said, this has been the cheapest version of G2 Sideswipe we’ve had since the original, its the first time in over 30 years we’ve had a Slamdance figure and Trenchfoot is that rare thing becoming more elusive – a whole new character.  The price is around $80(AU) online which really isn’t too bad for 2 Deluxe’s and a Battle Master so you can feel like you are getting decent value for money.  This is really a take or leave exclusive which I primarily picked up for Slamdance, and I am quite happy I did.

Got anything to say about this set of figures?  Pop it in the comments section below!

 

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