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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

Knightdramon wrote:Despite all the complaints and naysayers, I believe that Takara gets the best paintjobs on any action figure "collectibles". Buster Prime was great but the briefly owned Movie Advanced Knight whatever Optimus [AOE LDR Retool for Japan] was simply stunning and flawless.
I'm holding out for this. The remoulding fixes any minor niggles (and the Evasion Prime I've kept is doing duty as PM Prime with some upgrade parts on the Wreckers shelf...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15mzIpaCz2Y

edit: Gone quite Prime-friendly this year. Picked up Faith Leader because it's more voyager/MP scale than MP-10 and I really don't like the later mould (shame the downsized 3P one is so fragile quality-wise though), unofficial WST G2 Prime, and a Hybrid Style Convoy (really quite funky... legs are a bit skinny but the scout leader backpack adds a lot of character).
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Got the newer MP version of Thundercracker.

Much nicer than the TRU version. And that's not a "Takara > Hasbro" elitism thing, it's not an animation colours vs toy colours thing, it's not even to do with having all three jets with matching wing stripe thickness.

No, it's entirely to do with him not having stupid drawings and in-jokes plastered all over him for no ****ing reason. Which is a surprise, given Smokescreengate.

Will probably eBay the TRU one after Christmas (no way am I selling anything through that medium with the post how it is this time of year).

And so concludes my "original group of Earth-based Decepticons". Well, until MMC do all the tapes in a sensible size. Sigh.
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Warcry
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Post by Warcry »

Right, so thanks to all the ebullient praise you lot have heaped on the Feralcons over the last year, I've been keeping an eye out for sales on Felisaber for a while now. It took a while for the Canadian retailers to catch up to the discounts that some US ones have been running on him, but once I had a chance to grab one below MSRP without paying import fees I figured, why not? So now I've got him, and he's pretty darn cool!

First thing that struck me was how big he is. From the pics I'd seen I was expecting something that measured up to the MP cars, but he's more than a head taller and probably weighs twice as much than the Exhaust I've got perched on my desk.

Accessories are a bit disappointing, TBH. The other Feralcons seem to come with a bucketload of guns and knives from what I've seen, so this guy's cat helmet and piddly gun are a tad anemic by comparison. Oh, and I was very confused initially with why he had Waverider's gun, until I looked him up on TFU and saw that they actually had basically the same gun. I guess Hasbro's designers wanted an early lunch the day they designed the Pretenders' weapons?

Articulation is quite good, on par with the best official toys at the same scale (though as with most action figures, I find the ab crunch a lot less useful in practice than in theory), and he's surprisingly well-balanced considering his weight. I was impressed with how well the posability carried over to beast mode, as well, and the ab joint actually has a bit of purpose there too!

Sculpting is probably what impressed me the most, though. I only have MMC's Hexatron, so I was expecting this guy to be similar. And I like Hexatron a lot, don't get me wrong, but he's obviously not a professional design. He's over-detailed and a smidge messy, and all of his sharp bits are just a bit too pointy for comfortable handling. This guy, on the other hand, feels a lot more polished. He's got just the right amount of detailing and I'm not afraid to lose a finger if I transform him too quickly.

As far as the resemblance to the character goes, he's more "Classics" than "Masterpiece" which is probably the way to go with a character like this. The designers struck a neat balance between "looking like Catilla" and "actual good toy". And I'm not sure how much remolding they did between this and Rampage, but for me the only giveaway that this toy is based on a Predacon is the squared-off ass end in beast mode.

Overall, I'm very impressed. He's not the best toy I've bought this year, but he's pretty high up on the list. It's a shame that MMC haven't repainted any of the other Feralcons into other characters like this. If the other molds are up to the same quality as this guy then they're definitely worth owning, but in Predacon colours they're just so ugly that it's a tough sell for me.
Brendocon 2.0 wrote:And so concludes my "original group of Earth-based Decepticons". Well, until MMC do all the tapes in a sensible size. Sigh.
I totally get that Rumble and co. are smaller than they should be in robot mode, but where's the fun in cassettes if they're too big to fit inside Soundwave's chest? They might as well be non-transforming figures at that point.
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Warcry wrote:I guess Hasbro's designers wanted an early lunch the day they designed the Pretenders' weapons?
Fixed that for you.
I totally get that Rumble and co. are smaller than they should be in robot mode, but where's the fun in cassettes if they're too big to fit inside Soundwave's chest? They might as well be non-transforming figures at that point.
Yeah, but... shut up.

Or something something Maketoys Reflector something separate accessory small camera something display piece. But primarily the first thing. :(
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Ryan F
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Post by Ryan F »

Combiner Wars Combaticons + Scattershot

These came in from Kapow today.

Onslaught: His robot mode is nice. While I can appreciate the retooling done to the alt mode, to me it looks like just a random mess of junk on wheels. The huge gap through the middle of his cab/bonnet is especially irritating. It's really hard to call this one considering that one of the 3 modes is awful (that lightbar! The way the feet don't really hide!) and the other two are really great. 6.66666/10.

Vortex: he's the guy the Alpha Bravo mould was born to play. Colours are really good; the red and yellow accents look a bit outré on an otherwise sedately coloured chopper but hey, I'll go with it. It's my third version of this mould (UW Defensor is still en route), and mould ennui hasn't set in - I still say this is the best CW Deluxe body type. The one really, really annoying issue is that the post on the gun - while perfect for the robot hands, is too big for the holes on the sides of the chopper. Try to push it in and, hey, stress marks. I know I can fix it with a hairdryer, but that is just lame. 8/10

Blast Off: He's a jet, but I don't really care, especially when I also own a Ravage that turns into a car, a Starscream that turns into a transparent meteorite and an Optimus that turns into a monkey. Colours great, no problem - brown and purple is odd but strangely alluring. The head is shocking, though, just a repaint of Slingshot's "Marvel Arcana'' smooth scalp and shades. I am certainly getting mould ennui with this guy. This is the fifth version of this figure now (after Hasbro and Takara Slingshot and Fireflight), and it weren't super in the first place. Pretty meh 4/10

Swindle: now this is better. Rook but not Rook. I have a soft spot for Swindle, and this isn't a bad job. Wish the backpack could collapse a little more for robot mode but hey-ho. My only other nitpick is the feet, which are cast in black (?) plastic and painted over in Swindle's standard mustardy hue, so the front section of the jeep mode doesn't quite match the shade of the rest of the vehicle. Decent overall, though. 8/10

Brawl: Tank mode is great, leg mode is great. Robot mode is... iffy. Stumpy forearms, weird gappy abdomen. Thankfully the chest/torso/crotch snaps together well (and even if they didn't, the joints in those sections are so tight they would barely move anyway), so it looks like I got a good one (check out optibotimus' YouTube review of the figure to see what the floppy ones are like). It's a new mould, and I'm chuffed I got lucky with the QC, so at the moment those two things (plus the other two modes) outweigh my gripe about how the stomach looks. 7/10

Bruticus: he's a bad-ass dudicus. All the individual figures have their good and bad points, but plug them all together and you get one damn sexy combiner. Oh, mama. 10/10

Scattershot: almost forgotten in the joy of Bruticus love is Scattershot. I have to say, I've never really been a massive fanboy of the Technobots, so they're not some sacred cow to me. He looks decent in bot and robot modes, but his torso guise is a bit dull, just a sea of red. If this looked like the original CG renders and had two majorly contrasting shades of red (like Burnley versus Liverpool) it'd be fine, but in person the 'dark red' is only a teensy bit darker than the 'normal red', making it a lot less interesting,visually. Still, I appreciate the new retooled bits and the new head, and it's a bit more interesting than just sticking an old figure in the wave (like they did with Motormaster). 7/10
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Tetsuro
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Post by Tetsuro »

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:Or something something Maketoys Reflector something separate accessory small camera something display piece. But primarily the first thing. :(
...or when they actually did include Reflector in camera mode as an accessory for the gold repaint of MP-5, but his articulation makes it impossible for Megatron to actually pose taking pictures with it?
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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

Axelerators

Rapido, Zap, Skram and er, Hotrider. Yaaaaay! Love these little Euro cars from the dayglo era of 1993. Cool little Special Team sized robots with hot pink light piping and engines for guns. Awesome. Love how Rapido can't see over his hood chest. Funny. Really pleased to have these guys again :)
Cliffjumper
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Always had a soft spot for them and their Decepticon counterparts (Skyscorchers was it?). None of them are really brilliant but it was nice to see some simple pocket-money toys that just transformed from one thing to another after the weird ending to G1, and the jets especially had some interesting transformations (I seem to remember the F-104 being rather good).
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Got the Unite Warriors Protectobots yesterday. Due to going to see some film or another (something about Four Awakenings? I don't know) I only got the chance to have a quick look at them, but I figured I'd get some brief thoughts down while I've got a spare ten minutes.

Really not keen on the colour scheme Takara have given Hot Spot. I understand that the black waist and legs is in keeping with the animation model, but it just sucks up all the light and could really do with something to break it up a bit. Also I'm not sure I'm doing the ladder right because at the moment it's lower than his feet.

It's nice to have a set with five completely different moulds in it. That's fun. I appreciate that a lot more than I would have done back in the day (consider that of the original Scramble style toys, every single character had a unique toy, then compare to the amount of mould reuse now).

Regarding the mould I'm already familiar with, Streetwise is cool. Like the off-white greyish colour scheme. And, as with Wildrider, I think the robot mode design works a hell of a lot better here than it does with Dead End.

Not keen on First Aid's ambulance mode at all, while the transformation is a bit underwhelming. Robot mode is ace though.

Blades confused me at first, then I remembered he's basically an Aerialbot so I was able to get the hang of his legs where I'd initially been befuddled. Made the mistake of overthinking it. I like him. I like the wrist launchers a lot better here than the horrific yellow ones on the pictures of Vortex.

Then there's Groove. My Protectobots are Groovier than yours. You see what I did there? That's called a pun. I miss Pun-3X. How come he disappeared but we can't get rid of [redacted]?

Nice transformation that's inventive without being complicated, simple without being inane. The instructions aren't particularly great, as it looks like you're meant to flip the connector peg down into the chest at the end when that was already step one. Or maybe I'm misremembering - I had been drinking when I attempted it. Overall he fits really nicely with the rest of the group.

So yeah, I like them. They're a nice set, really evocative and it's a group I only ever had First Aid from back in the day, so it's given me a nice little sense of achievement.

Haven't had a muck about with their weapons or combined mode yet, but so far it's about as positive a reaction from me as a Combiner Wars group can get.

Hot Shot's waist/upper legs though. Oof.
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Quick follow-up:
Combined mode is very gorilla kill/crush/destroy, doesn't feel very protectory. Arm-mode First Aid is tres blocky, and those missiles on Blades don't half hinder articulation there.

Not sure if it's the mould or the paint application (or a combination of the two), but Defensor's face looks ****ing terrible up close.

Oh, and the Groove confusion is my fault - initial flippy-up stuff was the kickstand, which wasn't down to start with, causing my Powered-by-Guinness brain to get muddled.

BUT ANYWAY I'M OFF TO UNPACK THE DEVASTATOR THAT JUST TURNED UP. *chucks Protectobots into a corner for eternity*
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Unicron
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Post by Unicron »

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:BUT ANYWAY I'M OFF TO UNPACK THE DEVASTATOR THAT JUST TURNED UP. *chucks Protectobots into a corner for eternity*
Sounds like what I'm going to be doing once I have time. Had two separate orders show up yesterday: one being Devastator and the other containing the Takara Protectobots and an MP Sideswipe. Probably won't have time to crack them open and fiddle around with 'em till X-mas
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Brendocon 2.0
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Post by Brendocon 2.0 »

Brendocon 2.0 wrote:BUT ANYWAY I'M OFF TO UNPACK THE DEVASTATOR THAT JUST TURNED UP. *chucks Protectobots into a corner for eternity*
*unchucks Protectobots from the corner, whacks Devastator over the head with a newspaper*

Yeah, sorry, I know newspapers don't exist anymore, but dramatic license people.

AHEM.

So, er, Devastator then? **** me.

Let's start with the good: he cost less than my car insurance.

It is very very nice to have something that fits size-wise with my MP/3P Decepticon set-up and can stand at the back pretending they were worth the time we spent building them in these caves.

The combined mode is really good. Sturdy, well designed, holds together nicely, though the feet don’t seem to support it brilliantly in anything other than a “legs straight and together” posture. The eyes/visor mechanism is nicely done. It's a good, strong, big Devastator and I'm sure one shot from a low-powered laser will make him fall to pieces, so basically they've accomplished the mission on that front.

And, er. That's the end of the good?

As far as the individual robots go, it’s a massive letdown. And my expectations weren't particularly high in the first place if I'm honest.

My initial thought on taking them out of the packaging was "wow, these are very plastic aren't they". And I know that's sort of stating the obvious, but it's very rare that a toy just yells it to that extent. Felt cheap and blocky.

Obviously this is only available as a set and it’s quite clear that the combined mode was the priority. Unfortunately the engineering necessary to pull it off has massively hamstrung the components on their own merits. Judged solely from a vehicle-to-robot standpoint, they’re really poor. I know it was never going to be Masterpiece level, but for a modern-day Generations (or subline thereof) product these are shocking. I don't understand modern sizepoints, I think these are "voyager" size toys or something? But they’ve basically trucked up with transformations that a Beast Wars basic would feel embarrassed by. The ones after they ditched the spring-loaded gimmick.

Long Haul is ridiculous – he’s basically Devastator’s torso/hips with a dump-truck front and bucket slapped on there. His robot legs are pathetic and I'm not even going to touch on his arms. Mass-wise he looks like he's eaten all the honorary Constructicons that Wikidiots would have you believe are a thing.

Mixmaster is just hilarious, to the degree that I’m not even angry. I mean seriously. I wouldn't even know where to start.

Scrapper and Hook give the impression they’ve been designed as deluxes and then just upscaled so they’re the same size as the others. Hook’s crane really feels like they wanted it to extend and then decided not to bother (on a smaller toy this wouldn't be an issue, but something this size feels like it should have some sort of feature), while Scrapper’s elbows really weren’t worth the effort.

Bonecrusher and Scavenger are the only ones with any degree of complexity in the design, but even then nothing more than you’d expect from an old BW deluxe.

In general they look and feel like oversized knock-offs. It's not a great set at all. The combined mode, which I'm sure most people will be after it for, is pretty much exactly what I wanted from it, but I'm not going to pretend this was worth the money.

Genuinely the worst Unite Warriors set of the four I’ve laid my hands on. Sure, the others have mould reuse, don't always look like the characters they represent and other myriad flaws, but at least they're engineered in proportion to their size and have an element of fun.

Basically, if you’re not already committed to getting this, don’t do it to yourself. Other opinions may be available, but unless you can find it heavily reduced that's my advice to you. Yeah, it’s nice to have some pretty much toon-accurate Constructicons in about the same size reference as the MP stuff, but holy **** man have some self respect.
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electro girl
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Post by electro girl »

I got this today!
Attachments
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A Chinese cartoon where the robots turn into blingwads!
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Terome
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Post by Terome »

Just got a big Christmas package. Stunticons, Spartan, Rattrap. No idea where to start. More later?
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Denyer
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Post by Denyer »

electro girl wrote:I got this today!
Sweet.
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Post by Cliffjumper »

Terome wrote:Just got a big Christmas package. Stunticons, Spartan, Rattrap. No idea where to start. More later?
If you haven't immediately turned Impactor into his sort-of tank a bit mode 3P Nazis (because there are totally other kinds of 3P enthusiasts) will break into your house and do shit on the living room carpet. True story.
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Unite Warriors Devastator arrived yesterday. (Side note - had a terrible time with the store I ordered from, and the customer service attitude was horrendous - right off the bat on the phone call it was clear I was a great inconvenience to them, not like I've been giving them hundreds of pounds of business or anything... Maybe it's partly the new website's fault, as my bank refused to let my card transaction go through on another order after they upgraded because security details didn't match up. Anyway, I digress. It's a relief he actually arrived at all!)
Brendocon 2.0 wrote:The combined mode is really good. Sturdy, well designed, holds together nicely, though the feet don’t seem to support it brilliantly in anything other than a “legs straight and together” posture. The eyes/visor mechanism is nicely done. It's a good, strong, big Devastator and I'm sure one shot from a low-powered laser will make him fall to pieces, so basically they've accomplished the mission on that front.
I've only had time to put together the combined mode. I mean, with Devastator, that's what you've got to do first, right? It's why anyone buys him.

I was struck by how simple yet fiddly this was (MMC Feral Rex is easier to put together despite being arguably more complex). But he does hold together well once you get everything tabbed in place (I did really struggle to get Scavenger to clip in properly and still align with Long Haul's arm-peg and the chest piece).

I've actually found I can pose him fine in more natural positions than Bredocon 2.0 suggests - granted he doesn't have the flexibility of MMC Feral Rex in this regard, but hey, you wouldn't expect him to at quarter the price! I was quite surprised by how sturdy his feet are - particularly Scrapper given his transformation.

Three other things which came as a surprise (in a positive way):
- He has really good articulation for his size, and as his components are quite light this lends itself to poseability.
- Devastator looks like a consistent robot - not like a series of small robots or vehicles pegged to a torso in any way.
- He's actually bigger than I expected.

So, based on the combined mode, I would say he's worth the money if a nice big Devastator is what you want. He looks great alongside other Classics-style figures, and just passable with MPs. After all, the 3P equivalents cost many times the price.

I've not played with the individual Constructicons yet. Too busy with work and family. But I don't expect a lot from them anyway.

electro girl wrote:I got this today!
That is absolutely awesome dude! :clap:

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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Skyquake87
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Post by Skyquake87 »

I'll be sticking to my G1 and Universe Constructicons then. Having read the above and watched Thew's review, it looks like a very disappointing lump for £130. And if I wanted just an impressive looking giant robot, I'd get one of those cheap-ass things that walks and does flashing lights from the market.

I second Brendocon's comments on the CW / Unite Warriors Protectobots. So much so, I've moved them on already. Shame as I like the Protectobots and the designs were decent. Thin ass plastics, wheels that fall off and a messy combined form just didn't do it for me.

It'd be nice if so much of Hasbro's Transformers didn't whiff of compromise these days. Sadly, as the action figure market continues to shrink, I think even cheaper construction and more and more basic figures are looking like the way forward.

@electrogirl, thats a cool tat :)
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Knightdramon
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Post by Knightdramon »

Numbat, out of curiosity, which store was that from? You can PM me the details if you're not up for sharing on a post.

It does read that unlike any other lines, the first figures in this line were arguably the best ones. Is Superion the most stable and poseable of the bunch?
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Knightdramon wrote:Numbat, out of curiosity, which store was that from? You can PM me the details if you're not up for sharing on a post.
Yeah, not up for sharing on the forum. It's always possible I caught them on a bad day (although even on my bad days I treat my clients well!). And the new website security issue would probably be the fault of their web designer, so it seems unfair to punish them for that. It's just unfortunate both the website payment security issue and the poor customer service came hot on the heels of one another.

I have also had one of my best customer service experiences from this store, earlier in the year, so I'm weighing that against the two negative experiences.

That said, I am very unlikely to use them again, when there are alternative sellers who have never given me anything less than exemplary service.

New sale thread added with a range of Transformers including Masterpiece, Botcon, CHUG, RID, Movies etc.

Looking for MP-11T Thundercracker and MP-9 Rodimus v2 (Takara version with as few QC issues as possible).


Check out my new sale thread now!

Also items on eBay.
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