Tag Archives: Toy review

Toys Review: POTP Terrorcons – First Lot

June 14, 2018 Big Angry Trev 2 Comments

During the Combiner Wars toyline, many G1 fans were screaming for the line to be widened to include the creature themed gestalt groups. Well with Predaking on the way and the latest offerings available now, Power of the Primes has come through on this score. And in Wave 2 of POTP we get to see a group that was last featured in the Predacons Rising line – the Terrorcons*

(Note: There were already zombie robots called Terrocons in that line so the actual Terrorcons were referred to as ‘Predacons’ – confusing eh!)

Today we will be looking at the two first Terrorcons to be released – Rippersnapper and the Terrorcon Leader – Hun-Gurrr.

Rippersnapper

Robot Mode

*“With this face and shoulder guns I’m sure to come first in the ‘Crankcase Lookalike Competition’!”*

The colours are quite strong here and I like the fact that he can either have his guns mounted on his back or hold them as hand weapons. Besides that there is nothing really inspiring about the figure, since he is yet another retool of the much used CW limb mould so looks very much like every other bot. You can place his shield on his chest, but frankly that looks stupid.

Land-Shark-Monster Mode

*“Overbite and I go to support groups together”*

A very nice update of what was a weird toy back in G1 and never made much sense. I really like the silver on his teeth that makes them stand out. His legs are moveable and do provide some poseability . As long as not looked at directly from the back, his shield actually adds some colour and bulk that works for him with the guns attached. I have no idea why his teeny bio on the back of the card refers to him as a ‘Ground Attack Specialist’ since he is supposed to be mainly a shark, albeit a bipedal one.

Hun-Gurrr

Robot Mode

*“If being a Terrorcon doesn’t work out, I’m going to become a ballerina”*

Like the G1 toy, the robot mode suffers from being a bit bland without a great deal to recommend it. Don’t get me wrong, the proportions are fine and the colour scheme is, well, G1 accurate, but he just isn’t very striking. The arms are a bit bulky but not overly so and can have Abominus’ feet attached to them to provide arm cannons. Legs, arms and head can all be moved about with ease to put him in a variety of poses on his rather comically dainty feet.

Two-Headed Dragon Mode

Wow – this is where he shines! It’s like he magically bulks up, looks like he could almost be Leader-Class rather than Voyager-Class. His necks are HUGE but can be moved about to a variety of poses and given the joints just behind the heads and at the base of the necks Hun-Gurrr can be made to take on most any pose you like! There are only two things that detract from this mode: the chest armour for Abominus is on his undercarriage and given its strong pink colour is very visible from the sides. The other is that while his back legs are big and chunky, his forelegs are tiny! They really don’t look like they belong on the same creature. The Feet/Cannons can be put on his thighs for extra firepower and look ok but not fantastic there. Despite these few quibbles, I am extremely pleased with his beast mode in general.

Abominus

*“‘Told ya we shouldn’t have given the other three the evening off!”*

Sadly the pattern continues of them spreading Combiner Group characters over a couple of waves in order to keep you coming back to the toy isle in your local store, so so far I have only been able to make his head and arm. I’d say he is shaping up to look quite good when finished. I am extremely disappointed that the Takara Tomy versions of the Terrorcons are going to be identical to the Hasbro versions (much like Trypticon was). Part of the appeal of the Unite Warriors line was it was in many ways subtly different to Combiner Wars so you didn’t feel ripped off buying a second lot in order to have both the Gestalt and the Individual Bots for your display. One can only hope a slightly altered gift set of all 5 characters comes out one day down the line.

Fake Rubsigns

I got such a delighted surprise when I looked upon the bonce of Rippersnapper to see a rubsign there! But very soon it became apparent it wasn’t real. I call this a tease rather than a nostalgic nod to the Cons of yesteryear.

Overall

While the robot modes are not particularly inspiring, I really dig their monster modes and if you are a G1 fanatic then it will be hard to bypass these two characters, certainly worth picking up!

Got anything to add? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toy Review – MB-20 Nemesis Prime

April 18, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Over the 5 live-action Transformer movies we’ve had our share of traditional bad guys (Megatron, Galvatron etc) as well as a Prime gone bad with Sentinel Prime in DOTM. In The Last Knight we get to see a Prime go bad again with Optimus siding with Quintessa as Nemesis Prime.

Like a lot of the characters from TLK, Nemesis Prime hasn’t gotten a general toy release, putting him alongside many of the other on-screen robots we have been screaming for a figure of. Luckily Takara Tomy has come to the rescue with MB-20 Nemesis Prime.

Nemesis Prime is a redeco of the TT exclusive Calibur Prime which itself was an extensive (and much needed) retool of Armor Knight Optimus Prime. He comes in a gorgeous box – I was so impressed when I received this in the mail I nearly decided to leave him MISB, but the desire to play was too much!

Truck Mode

Essentially unchanged from the past two incarnations. However in deference to the fact he is a darker character as Nemesis rather than Optimus, the paint job had been made more subdued with the red and blue being darker hues. I think this actually works to make the chrome to be found on various parts of the truck pop more. It’s a lovely looking truck, being a big solid size with excellent dimensions.

Robot Mode

Whereas AK Optimus had a big, ungainly backpack, Calibur Prime had this convert into a huge shield which was a massive improvement. This has been carried over for Nemesis Prime, where the main change from Calibur is again the colour scheme with the reds and blues more subdued and the axe and shield have been given a purple tinge instead of orange. Speaking of purple, the eyes are now purple like in the movie, and in certain lights they look absolutely fantastic! Once again, we are looking at good proportions on the toy and it’s an excellent representation of the onscreen character.

The Head

As well as the new purple eyes, ~~Optimus~~ Nemesis is sporting the big red streak on his face to show his allegiance to Quintessa. Both versions of the face (which can be rotated for either mask or non-mask) have this. I thought maybe it would have been good for one version to not have the streak so you could show him changing from Optimus to Nemesis and back, but it’s a minor quibble.

Transformation

It’s at the level I quite like, as in its far more complicated than a couple of quick movements, but you don’t have to take 20 minutes out of your day to get it done. The only thing I found was the head, the instructions assumed you had played with previous versions of the toy so did not say that you had to press the chest to make his bonce pop up – I had to look it up online. The back of the truck turning into the shield is very well done.

Overall

There have been very few official Quintesson-aligned toys over the years, far too few. So when the likes of Infernocus and Nemesis Prime came up for grabs I was all over it! It you have the previous versions of this toy mould you probably don’t need Nemesis, but if this is your first time encountering it or you want a representation of the on screen character, then I heartily recommend giving MB-20 Nemesis Prime a go.

Got something to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toys Review – LG61 Decepticon Clones: Pounce & Wingspan

April 10, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The short-lived Season 4 of the US Transformers cartoon introduced (or perhaps jammed in is a more accurate term) a slew of new characters in its 3 episodes. Notably very few of these characters had Earth modes and most of the new Decepticons were weird space animals, showing the direction the brand was heading in. Also new concepts were introduced in these episodes such as Clones.

Two of these characters were the Decepticon Clones Pounce and Wingspan, two of the few Western on-screen G1 toys I have yet to obtain. These characters got a far greater outing in the Japanese cartoon and it’s from Japan that I have obtained the new toy versions of them. So let’s have a look at the LG61 Clones – Pounce and Wingspan.

Pounce – Robot Mode

Now this is what a Clone should look like – not a hint of kibble anywhere to hint at what his alt-mode is (besides the big sticker which we will address later). Nicely proportioned, good colour scheme – quite nice really. Shame he has no guns.

Pounce – Puma Mode

Like many Transformers with a quadruped alt-mode, Pounce suffers from having oversized upper hind legs. Don’t know why this is – you can trace it all the way back to the G1 Predacons. Due to his arms adding a lot of bulk on the underside of his animal mode, he does not look particularly streamlined. I think his legs on the whole are an improvement on the sticks the G1 toy had though. His colour scheme is based on his Headmasters appearance rather than his G1S4 appearance, personally I think the Hasbro colour scheme is a bit better than this.

Wingspan – Robot Mode

The only kibble in evidence here is his alt-modes wings on the sides of his calves. However they are very thin and sit snug against the body so at least the kibble is very minimal. Like Pounce he looks pretty good as a robot overall.

Wingspan – Hawk Mode

There is a good wingspan on the hawk mode, which I guess one would expect considering his name, and the darker purple on them works well. The claws underneath have got decent detail and make it easy for him to balance, even if not very far off the ground.

The Clone Concept

One of the things that irritated me with the LG58 Autobot Clones was that with all the extra kibble that Fastlane was sporting they looked too dissimilar. The Decepticon Clones have done much better here, with only a tiny amount of kibble visible on Wingspan’s legs which you can ignore pretty easily if you try. However like the Autobot Clones, these two sport big stickers which show what their alt-modes are, kinda defeating the purpose of ‘the enemy doesn’t know which is which’ concept. The rubsigns on the original G1 toys was much better.

Overall

I am far more impressed with these two than I am their Autobot counterparts. They are good representations of the original characters and whilst I think Pounce’s Puma mode could have been better, it’s still an improvement on the original. These two will make fine additions to your Generations/Legends collection.

Got anything to add? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toy Review: LG60 Overlord

February 1, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Overlord – a gigantic Decepticon despot! From the Japanese G1 continuity, he was the staunch foe of Ginrai and was manned by both a male and female Powermaster. A cool character with an even cooler toy! This character has become very popular with Western TF fans of recent with his outings in the IDW comics where he has been portrayed as a truly unstoppable psychopath.

This rise in notoriety has facilitated Overlord getting his first toy in a long time in the Titans Return line, and like most toys from Hasbro he has also cropped up in the Takara Tomy line. So today we look at the Legends toy – LG 60 Overlord.

Mega & Giga

The two Headmaster partners here are Mega and Giga respectively and each turns Overlord into the Mega or Giga version of himself. Each is slightly different coloured and sports a different expression for Overlord when becoming the face. I’ve found the left arm on Giga keeps popping off so you may want to watch this so you don’t lose it.

Mega Jet

*Stealthy (bar the lavender highlights)*

I don’t know why but I really like the little landing struts that come out of the bottom. It’s a fairly sleek looking jet and the subdued colours makes it look like it could be streaking silently across the night sky to bomb some Bots. No visible weapons except for two very tiny lasers in the nosecone. The cockpit can open up for Mega to sit in, though mine sticks a bit so requires application of a fingernail to open.

Overlord Mega

*In this mode I’m a grinner and a leftie*

What a big bloody robot – awesome! This character deserved a big build and that is what they got! The 6 cannons on one side like the G1 toy are represented but sadly the corresponding panel on the right does not fold out into lasers. In ‘Mega’ mode the chest panels are closed, revealing the shoulders more. The nose of the jet becomes detached and attaches to the left shoulder like the G1 toy to serve as a quasi-shield. Overlord Mega has a great smirk going and is by far my favoured of the two faces.

Giga Tank

Despite the garish colour scheme, quite a good looking tank. Bulky yet compact, it feels a very solid toy to play with. Big cannon on the front, detailed tank tracks on the sides and a cockpit at the top that Giga can either fully sit inside or otherwise stand up in to survey the carnage being dished out. Very good!

Overlord Giga

In this mode Giga becomes the serious looking face and the chest panels open to reveal some detailed Powermaster components. However I personally would have preferred for one of these spots to be empty like both were on the Hasbro version, so that the current Headmaster not in use could reside in the hole. Some detailing on the back of their legs could have made them look like a Powermaster engine like the original G1 toy. As it is I put the spare Headmaster in the jets cockpit.

Combined Vehicle Mode

*‘I ripped off the idea from Flywheels cameo in the S4 opening credits’*

I’m not surprised that this mode doesn’t have a specific name as it doesn’t make any sense! The best you could say is it is designed for the jet component to whisk the tank component off to drop at the site of a new battle.

Fortress Base Mode

In this instance the original toy (which is on my ‘grail’ list) is far superior. This is a more compact version with no ramps and one central elongated structure. The cannon in the middle works well and I like how there are spots for both Headmasters to stand. Connector joins come out at the front so that you can affix ramps from the likes of Titans Return Soundwave or even Overlords sworn enemy, Legends Ginrai.

Overall

I’ve never even touched the G1 toy (though by gods I’d love one!) and did not pick up the Titans Return Skyshadow or Overlord. I even bypassed the 3^rd party Carnifex so this is my first time playing with both this character and this toy mould. I must say I am quite impressed all up! Sure the transformations are a tad simplistic but with a multitude of modes and two Headmasters this toy has a LOT of play value. If you have not picked up one of the aforementioned toys then I heartily recommend you give this figure a go – well worth both your money and your time.

Got anything to add to the review above? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toys Review: POTP Dinobots – Wave 1

January 29, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The Dinobots – a fan favorite! Is there anyone that grew up with the G1 cartoon that doesn’t have a soft spot for this gang of cantankerous Autobots? Turning up in the Transformers Animated cartoon and even the live action movies the Dinobots have appealed to new generations as well. It’s easy to see how; Dinosaurs are cool, Robots are cool – transforming alien robots that turn from giant robots into space dinosaurs? It’s a no-brainer – they are awesome!

The new Power of the Primes toyline has finally given lots of Generations collectors what they have been crying for for years, new versions of many of these classic characters. Some have come out in the first wave whilst others are slated for later in the year and they come with not only a new character but a new trick – they combine!

But for now, let’s take a look at the four Dinobots that have been released so far – Grimlock, Slug, Swoop and Slash.

Grimlock

Robot Mode

The Leader of the Dinobots, unlike his compatriots, has not suffered from a lack of toys based on him over the years and here is the latest incarnation. At first impression his robot mode looks good but pretty stock standard. It is very faithful to his G1 cartoon incarnation as have many toys over the years (FOC in particular looking great!). Don’t get me wrong, this is what most Generations fans are after, their childhood characters reimagined but staying true to their roots. He looks good – he just doesn’t take your breath away.

Instead of his usual weapon of choice – a big red energon-sword, Grimlock is sporting what could best be described as arm-mounted knuckle-dusters. These also become the feet of the Dinobots combined form. I kinda like this idea – Grimlock is definetly a character that would enjoy smacking a few Con’s in the face with these! Also you can place the little Prime characters in the slots to, I dunno, add a splash of colour.

Space T-Rex Mode

*“Me Grimlock cut out carbs – lose weight good!”*

Big alien-metal T-Rex – just so cool! However not the coolest Grimlock we have seen. His body is a bit too elongated which makes him look like he needs bulking up. Also there is a gap between where his chest armour stops and his underbelly armour begins, making him appear he is wearing a golden nappy (diaper for you US readers). There is good rotation on his little forearms and his jaw opens and closes, a shame you cannot swivel the head though.

Swoop

Robot Mode

I think this is the best official Swoop toy we have seen since G1. Energon Swoop had odd hands and odd colours and Animated Swoop was painfully thin. This Swoop does a great job of looking like he did in the G1 cartoon, right down to the blue body. Personally I would have liked red more like the G1 toy in order to fit in with the other Dinobots better, but then you would have had people complaining about that so it shows you can never please all the fandom. He is the only Dinobot so far I’ve seen to come with their signature swords.

Space Pteradon

The Pteradon mode is quite good but the legs add a lot of bulk to the back, taking away a lot of the streamlined look you would expect in a flyer. In this case he does resemble Energon Swoop. The feet hang off the back of the body at the bottom but can be folded underneath so Swoop can sit up, a position he looks surprisingly good in.

*“It’s why they call me Swoop – NOT because my old name got stolen!”*

The mouth on Swoop opens well and looks excellent open. You can position his sword under his chin but frankly it looks ridiculous. What I do like is not only can you fold the wings in closer to the body but you can also angle them up – giving Swoops alt-mode a multitude of flying-poses.

~~Slag~~Slug

Robot Mode

Slag has a reputation in the fiction as being second only to Big Grim in terms of strength and ferocity and even outstrips Grimlock in terms of temper! Therefore it would have been nice for Slug to look a bit more bulky in robot mode. Whilst not slim, he lacks that bit of thickness that would have suited him, his proportions are good though. The way his robot head is imbedded into the underside of the Dino-head is super G1-esque, the colour scheme is spot on and he looks grumpy enough. I would have liked to see him have his sword though.

Space Triceratops Mode

*The cooler version of a Star Wars AT-TE Tank*

Looking at this mode, you can imagine him having been a tank before he got outfitted with an Earth mode. Very strong and compact. His mouth opens the least of any of the new Dinobots which makes it hard to make him look as though he is breathing fire. But like Swoop, this is the best rendition we have had of the classic character since G1. A shame he is not Voyager-sized – now that would have been something to behold!

The legs all have knees so that can change his pose slightly. His gun can be put in multiple ports – personally I think it looks best on his back but it can be put in his hip like the rocket-launcher on the G1 toy.

Slash

In the Movieverse line, there has been a raptor character named Slash. Slash has had a sex-change (according to Jurassic Park they can do that) and is now the first official female Dinobot toy. Slash is significantly smaller than the other Dinobots and sports no weapons but is nicely proportioned and has a suitably feminine face. I don’t mind them introducing new characters to classic groups, teams grow over time and the X-men would have been pretty dull if they still only had the 5 students.

Space Raptor Mode

It’s not a bad looking raptor, but like MP Dinobot, suffers from looking odd around the ribcage. The arms and neck are manuverable and she looks quite good with her jaw open ready to bite. Something that is disappointing is that Slash, in no way I can find and certainly not in the instructions, does not combine with the other Dinobots. It would have good for her to turn into chest armour (like CW Groove) or a weapon (like CW Shockwave or Powerglide). However a little Prime figure can ride on her back, much like the Diaclone versions of the original Dinobots.

Combined Mode

I’m not really going to comment on this much since I am waiting to see how Volcanicus will look with Sludge and Snarl onboard – I tried making him with Jazz and Dreadwind and it just didn’t work for me. Stay tuned for that review down the line.

Overall

Swoop could have been more streamlined, Grimlock less streamlined and Slug bigger. Besides that I think this is a really good Generations outing for the Dinobots and if you are a fan of the subgroup then I heartily recommend you go and grab these bad bots up!

Got anything to add to this review? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toys Review – POTP Optimus & Rodimus Prime

January 28, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

So here we are in the third instalment of the Prime Wars Trilogy and the latest toyline is Power of the Primes! This toyline will be filled with combiner groups like the Combiner Wars and smaller characters that can attach to bigger characters like in Titans Return. However a new gimmick – Evolution – is being trotted out for arguably the two most well known leaders in Autobot history – Optimus and Rodimus Prime!

For those that don’t know, before he because Optimus Prime this inspirational leader was a much humbler character named Orion Pax. Likewise before he because Rodimus Prime, this headstrong leader was a less-than-humble Hot Rod. Once given a matrix both of them got bigger, stronger, wiser and a kick-ass trailer!

We’ve had a plenty of Hot Rod and a few Rodimus Prime toys over the years. Likewise we’ve had a few Orion Pax toys and you could fill a real life truck trailer with the amount of different Optimus toys there have been. But this is something new – we are getting these characters combined. That’s right, Orion and Hot Rod can become their matrix-infused selves with the help of transforming trailers – let’s have a look!

Robot Modes – The Primes!

Both these characters are really big and chunky. I don’t mind this, I think a bit of bulk suits both characters quite nicely. Both are well proportioned and able to perform a decent amount of poseablity. It’s a shame Rodimus Prime’s arm’s don’t come forward further as to hold his rifle in both hands he has to hold it almost perfectly horizontally. Also his (what would you call it – a ‘crest’?) yellow fins look too small on his big frame. Optimus resembles his Powermaster incarnation a bit more than his original incarnation but given his trailer makes up the bulk of his body, this is forgivable and perhaps even to be expected.

*‘Roduimus – what HAVE you been eating?!’*

Both characters carry a Matrix of Leadership within them in their Prime modes. Optimus’ one resides in his chest as to be expected, however Rodimus looks like he is trying to digest his.

Robot Modes – The little fellas

Hot Rod looks quite nice and looks pretty much most other incarnations of the character from recent years. Here the yellow fins are quite proportional. The Orion Pax toy looks more like he did in the original G1 cartoon than any other Orion toy I have seen to date – the screen dominating his chest piece and the sculpted head going a long way towards doing so. The larger rifles from the bigger bots split in half to become two guns apiece for their precarnations, which works well for Hot Rod in particular. Once again there is decent poseability here and the proportions are nice.

The only thing – why do they both look so serious and miserable? If I remember they were both pretty happy characters before being dumped into their leadership roles.

Prime Vehicle Modes

Optimus Prime

Always nice to get an Optimus’ sporting a trailer. The back of the truck cab has a lot of kibble and looks frankly bollocks from the side and back but the front view is fine. It lacks the big grey smokestacks that the robot has – it’s odd that the robot mode has truck kibble that is not used for the actual truck. The trailer looks quite good and you can imbed his rifle in the middle. The toy rolls and mauvers well.

Rodimus Prime

*‘Cybertronian Winnebago’ – for when Mini-Cons retire and hit the road*

There have only been a handful of Rodimus Prime toys so not that many with trailers. Besides the Masterpiece version I think that this is the best of the lot of them vehicle wise. The Cybertronian Winnebago is faithfully represented, though there is a fair old gap between the overhang of the trailer at the front and the vehicle underneath. When transforming into this mode one needs to make sure that you get every tab in nice and tight before moving on to the next step, otherwise the next set of table will not align properly. Getting the tab from the bottom of the trailer into the top of the car is very hard to get tight.

***For the first time in history, I prefer Rodimus to Optimus***

Precarnation Vehicle Modes

I won’t even bother with Orion Pax’s here since he doesn’t have one. It’s simply Optimus’ truck cab without the trailer attached. A bit disappointing, I know he didn’t show an alt-mode in the cartoon on which he is based but it has been widely accepted since then that he turns into a Kup-esque vehicle. So let’s look at Hot Rod.

*22 years later and it’s still a sexy alt-mode!*

To get Hot Rod into his vehicle mode all one needs to do is remove the trailer and reposition the arms/doors on the sides of the vehicle – that’s it. But nevertheless it works and it’s a good sized alt-mode, looking a fair bit bigger than most deluxe versions of the character in recent years.

Overall

Look, these aren’t perfect toys. The backpacks on the Prime modes that carry their precarnations are fairly bulky and Orion really could have used his own alt-mode. It also would have been nice if the trailers had battlebase-modes for the smaller bots to use. However these are fairly minor quibbles in the grand scheme of things. These toys trot out a very clever idea with the Evolution concept – makes one wonder if they could somehow make a Megatron that turns into Galvatron or a Bumblebee that turns into Goldbug. Both kids and older fans of the original series are really going to get a lot of enjoyment out of these figures! Well done Hasbro – a fantastic start to your new toyline indeed!

Got anything to add to this review? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toy Review – The Last Knight Infernocus

November 30, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The Quintessons have been a part of Transformers lore since the much-beloved 1986 animated movie. They went on to feature heavily in season 3 of the G1 cartoon as well as make appearances in the Marvel, Dreamwave and IDW comics. In non-print media the only outings we have seen for these multi-tentacled menaces have been the character Alpha Q in the Energon cartoon and a passing reference by Swindle in the Animated cartoon. Therefore I was very happy to see them crop up in the live-action movie series.

*I may be small but I tote a big gestalt!*

In the 2017 movie The Last Knight, we are introduced to one of the Transformers creators – Quintessa, who has herself a big beefy enforcer named Infernocus. Later in the movie we see that Infernocus is actually a combiner – made up of 6 identical Infernicons. Thankfully, unlike many characters, Infernocus has been blessed with an actual toy so today we will be looking at the The Last Knight Infernocus figure.

Unlike the movie, where there are six identical Infernicons that make up this gestalt, the toy is made up by five different figures. Four of these are recolours of toys from the Beast Hunters Terrorcon Predacon team that make up Abominus. Each of these figures has remained essentially the same, except for a uniform black & red paintjob and the removal of their individual weapons.

Rupture

Thrash

Gorge

Glug

These reworked figures serve reasonably well in their new roles as Infernicons, though with the exception of their colour schemes they do not particularly resemble their counterparts from the live action movie. However an added bonus to them is that unlike the movie they actually have alt-modes – monstrous beasts that adds a lot of extra play value to the set.

Skulk

The torso component character from the ~~Terrorcon~~ Predacon set – Hun-Gurrr – has been replaced by a brand new figure Skulk. Unlike the limb component characters, Skulk does not have an alt-mode. This is in my opinion is forgivable. Hun-Gurrr, the previous torso character of the set, was the same size as the limb characters which made Abominus look rather silly. Skulk is over twice the size of Hun-Gurrr and adds much needed bulk to the set, making their combined form of Infernocus approximate in size to Voyager-class figures. On his own Skulk looks pretty cool and works quite well as a representation of Infernocus on his own when put alongside smaller figures, especially his master – Quintessa.

Quintessa

Quintessa herself is a very small translucent figure and is the only toy representation of this major character from the live action movie. She has nice little details but when I ordered this set I didn’t realise quite how small she was. Make sure you put her somewhere safe as the potential to lose her is extreme!

Transformation

The individual figures are relatively simplistic. Combining the Infernicons into Infernocus is quite fiddly. Due to the colour schemes of all 5 figures being so uniform black it can be hard to ascertain which piece you are putting where. Also the set does not lend itself to the relatively simplistic combinations from sets like from Combiner Wars such as Computron and Sky Reign. Don’t get me wrong – you wont have an aneurism of frustration here but at the same time it can be fiddly.

Overall

This is actually quite a nice figure and I am very pleased with it. Unlike the ~~Terrorcon~~ Predacon combiner from Beast Hunters I will be keeping Infernocus in his combined mode. Given the sparsity of official Quintesson-affiliated figures from the toyline over the past 31 years I’m very glad to add him to my collection.

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Toys Review – the Combiner Force Stunticons

September 24, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The Combiner Wars brought back a love of gestalts to the Transformer franchise that other lines like the Power Core Combiners failed to do. Despite the main line having moved onto Titans Return, we expect to see more combiner teams as part of the 2018 Power of the Primes toyline.

The Decepticon combiners characters were – lets face it – always a lot more interesting and popular than the Autobot ones. The likes of Superion and Defensor were there so their Decepticon counterparts had someone to ultimately be beaten by. In recent years, as well as in Combiner Wars, we’ve seen a lot of those Decepticons crop up in other lines. We had Devastator in Revenge of the Fallen, Bruticus in Fall of Cybertron and even Abominus in Beast Hunters. Well now it’s Menasor’s turn with the Stunticons making their debut, both in the cartoon and toyline, as part of the Robots in Disguise Combiner Force franchise.

Now RID(15) has had some pretty damn underwhelming toys. Most figures seem to suffer from cheap construction and overly simplsitc mechanics and transformations. And sadly, the Stunticons continue this trend.

*‘We exist to make your G1 toys look good’*

Only Motormaster and Drag Strip are present from the original lineup. They are now joined by Slashmark, Heatseeker and Wildbreak. Having Wildbreak instead of Breakdown is kinda forgivable, considering this is the same universe as the Prime cartoon in which Breakdown died several years ago. However having Heatseeker and Slashmark feels lazy. Heatseeker is so close in looks to the Combiner Wars Offroad that Hasbro missed a great opportunity to cement him as a new character in the classic team. Likewise Slashmark is just Heatseeker with blue highlights instead of red. This spot could easily have been filled by Dead End, Wildrider or the other new Stunticon from CW – Blackjack.

All limb characters are sadly simplistic, requiring only 1 or 2 minor moves to go from Vehicle to Robot – both modes looking quite average. Articulation is non-existent. Motormaster however has been a bit better engineered and I quite like his alt-mode, very remincient of RID(01) Ultra Magnus.

But like his smaller partners, articulation is a quality sorely lacking in his robot mode.

And speaking of his robot mode, lets take a look at his bonce. Oh they got the square helmet just right but look at the face within…

That’s bloody Megatron! WTF?! That’s Megs from the Prime cartoon – my oath it is! Once you realize this, it makes a lot of the similarities in the head and shoulders of Menasor to Magatronus all the more apparent.

Menasor’s combined mode looks ok, though a big gangly. Here we have the only bit of articulation in any of the figures, that being that Menasor can raise his arms (which sorely lack elbows) which allows him to hold his sword up.

Now some of these characters have also been released separately to the main group. I’ve seen Heatseeker as a 1-step changer in the shops, though personally I always find them to be poor toys so I passed. But I did grab the Drag Strip/Wildbreak 2-pack.

Now these characters really are no better enginnered here than with the main pack. Also somewhere in the process they have confused the characters. Wildbreak was obviously supposed to be Drag Strip considering he has a Drag Strip’ish alt-mode. My suspicion of this was confirmed when I checked out the instructions.

This is really just an unforgivably lazy mistake by the manufacturer. But then these are lazy toys. These figures also have no articulation in robot mode and their vehicle modes, particularly Drag Strip, are very uninspired.

Whilst their combined form of DragBreak looks pretty cool, his static pose does not offer much play value.

*“**Drag** **Break** – my name sounds like what your Dad used to do at work around mid-morning. But then Wild Strip would make me sound like what your mum did to earn her way through college’*

Now I’ve been pretty hard on these toys and it’s hard not to be. However in fairness they are no worse than most of the RID line so one should know what they are getting into with their purchase. The prices are much better too if you are buying for kids – you can get a whole Menasor here for the same cost of two limb characters from CW. Their combined modes have a certain style and unlike many of the other CF figures they actually do combine. But unless like me you are a complete Stunticon nut these toys are an easy pass for your average collector.

Got something to say about these figures? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toy Review – RID Twinferno

September 8, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Well to be honest we don’t bloody know what it’s supposed to be! Let’s try to find out together dear readers as we examine Deluxe Sized, Robots In Disguise: Combiner Force Twinferno (a double mouthful eh!)

*Try and find which ‘Year of the…’ this figure represents*

Robot Mode

A basic enough looking robot. Like all other ~~Doublecross~~ Twinferno toys you have the dragon heads as the hands which always looks cool. The red is too garish and makes his head blend in with the rest of his body too much. You can swivel the head to pose him in different positions but his shoulders are that high that it looks weird unless he is really looking forward. The flame pieces can be placed in the dragon heads to make them look like they are breathing fire. They can also be put in the holes under the dragon’s chins but this doesn’t really look great.

Alt-Mode

*‘What am I? I’m having a double-identity crisis!’*

Ok, what the hell is this supposed to be? Did G1 Doublecross and G2 Dreadwing smoke some bad Energon one night and come up with this weird amalgamation of themselves, with Tony Stark coming in at the last minute and saying “throw a bit of Hot Rod red in there”? I mean seriously – this thing is weird! It’s not a stealth bomber (definitely not with that colour scheme!) and it’s not a twin-headed dragon. Instead it’s a weird Fuzor-esque hybrid of the two that looks like it’s out of some weird futuristic Chinese mythology. I guess if you imagined it in real life it would be kinda badass, a bomber flying over the city with two dragon heads hanging off the front writhing and spewing flames, and indeed the heads/necks are maneuverable in this mode. The flames are supposed to come out the back to show his speed, but once again you can put them coming out of the mouth.

*‘It’s a medical condition – don’t you judge me!’*

Transformation

Like all RID toys this figure is almost insultingly easy which makes it great for a young kid but certainly lessens the appeal for the older collectors.

Worth your money?

It seems that obscure characters get these little resurgences sometimes. A few years ago it was Guzzle who was showing up in the Movie and Kre-O lines as well as the IDW comics. Now its ~~Doublecross~~ Twinferno showing up in the Titans Return, Tiny Titans and RID lines. Odd actually that the Tiny Titans version, despite being a subline of RID, is based on the G1/TR version. Speaking of which, if you want a cool modern representation of this character then I would definitely go the Titans Return version which is twin heads and shoulders above this one.

Got something to say about this toy? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

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Toy Review – MP-11ND Dirge

June 15, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Dirge, oh Dirge. Nobody loves you but me.

Dirge was my very first ever Transformer figure over 30 years ago and as such he holds a special place in my heart. For others not so much, arguably the least popular Conehead. He only ever used his special power of fear-inducement once (as far as I can remember) to freak out Silverbolt in a Marvel Comic and he even committed suicide when getting eaten by The Swarm in the G2 Comics. In IDW he has done a bit better for himself, even becoming a central character to a plot line that extended for some time. But whether you like Dirge or not, here he is – perhaps the last outing for the Masterpiece Seeker mold. He comes with a very hefty price tag – let’s see if he is worth it.

Robot Mode

Despite being pretty much the same figure, for some reason Dirge strikes me as less stocky than say MP Thrust (for a review see HERE). The colours are quite good though I would have preferred to see a pure black like the toy rather than dark grey like the cartoon. He has the guns that most of the Seekers shared in the cartoon but these can be covered by bigger guns to resemble the machine guns that the toy had. These have been retooled from MP Ramjets rockets so are slightly different but overall look too big and bulky (which they need to be cover the null rays) and resemble missiles rather than machine guns. Dirge is as poseable as any of the other MP seekers but there have been no real improvements. At least the missile racks built into his chest make sense as opposed to the likes of some other Seekers since he actually did deploy missiles from there in at least one episode of the cartoon (The Girl who loved Powerglide).

*‘I have a dozen metal nipples – punk girls friggin love me!’*

Vehicle Mode

A faithful representation of the character from both the G1 cartoon and the toy. Dirge has the Decepticon emblem on his nosecone that the toy had but the ones on his wings are smaller than both the original toy and its cartoon depiction. The guns can be repositioned under the wings but again they really needed to be smaller. You can put (yet another) holographic pilot in the cockpit but I really would have preferred to see Shawn Berger, since he appeared in two episodes and did go for a ride in Dirge at one point. Given the huge price point and the fact we are getting a range of different humans in the Autobot line, I think a little Berger figure was warranted (but then maybe not – really rich guys using their power and fame to gain high political office seems to be a bit of a sore point these days).

*F-15 Delta-Wing variant. Never actually existed and if it had, guessing it wouldn’t have been this colour*

Overall

*‘I’m also moody and depressive – so I get all the emo chicks as well’*

This is the most expensive MP Seeker figure to date that wasn’t a variant of one that has already been done. That combined with the fact that Dirge was not hugely popular means that this will be a miss for a lot of folk. But if you are a MP or Seeker completionist or otherwise, like me, are one of the few Dirge fans out there then this is a nice way to end the Masterpiece Seeker line and will complete your collection nicely.

Got something you want to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Big Angry Trev!

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