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God Ginrai's review of Unicron

Generation: Armada
First cartoon appearance Chase (technically, as he's seen in planet mode chasing after the brats)
" All whom oppose me… shall be consumed and destroyed!"

"Thought to be merely a legend, he made his presence first known when Sideways invaded autobase earth's computer network. Even if it was merely a virtual representation, it was more than enough to send the kids running faster than they would have otherwise. Unicron; the chaos bringer… the destroyer… the omega in the generation 1 universe to primus' alpha… has returned. And while it's yet to be determined in the cartoon series exactly what he will be doing… those who have read issue 14 of the comic know precisely what is coming. Seeking domination over all, and to destroy all that is just and good… and consume the husks of what is left, Unicron is possibly the most malevolent, destructive being known to the transformers universe."

Vehicle Mode: Munch Munch Munch! That's the first phrase that should come to mind when staring down Unicron's planet mode. After folding the feet up, and bringing the legs up into their place, and shifting the arms into position, only three things remain. Flip the horns on Unicron's head forward, to resemble ram horns, and tuck the head backwards into the recess. Link the ring sections up, having the ring links set so that the portion with the semi circle on the end fits into the proper side of the planet mode. Lastly, attach the shell section to the posts that hold the wings. There will be a post on each wing that pivots. Attach one shell section to each piece. Swing the shell sections together over the planet mode's central form, and clip them together. Lift the pincers up from their semi-locked position, and squeeze them together to get the mouth moving action. Additionally, Dead End rests in the recess in the purple shell that forms the mouth and front of the planet.

Robot Mode: After clipping the wings onto the posts in the back of his shoulders, which for me, never stayed locked up in their place, the chaos bringer is more or less battle ready. Make sure to spread the two quarter circle sections apart, as having them together all the time doesn't do much for the "wing" effect. But to truly see how fierce he can be requires he be fully loaded with his arsenal of projectiles. Activating the powerlink on his back, just below where his neck would be opens the chest section, and causes the super cannon to emerge and, if loaded, fire the oversized missile projectile. While this is going on, Unicron's eyes flash red several times. The flashing effect can also be achieved by pressing down on a small button on the top of his head. Loading the missile can be a bit tedious, as it requires you to essentially slam the missile into place, which will also cause the cannon to retract, and the doors on Unicron's chest to close. Also, while discussing the upper torso, of note should be Unicron's hands. Not just his right hand which flashes red when pushed inward… rather the fact that both hands are equipped with individually poseable fingers and thumbs. Moving to the other part of the chaos bringer's arsenal we go to his legs. The sections of his planet mode set on each leg have three slots. In those slots fit a missile each, from the additional six missiles that remain from unicron's arsenal. To launch, simply attach a minicon to the powerlink post, and shift the post. One missile is fired each time the post is pushed, effectively allowing for a rapid-fire effect. The only problem with the robot mode is the feet. Two smaller, pointed claws act as the front of the foot, while the massive section that the claws were kept in form the back of the foot. This doesn't do much for poeability, but it keeps him standing, I suppose

Minicon: Dead End is very easy to lose a handle on. Being that he IS essentially a ball, he can roll away from you very quickly without you realizing it. With his cannon deployed, he slightly resembles a miniature death star. His robot mode leaves something to be desired, in my opinion, but what can you expect from a small ball minicon?
Transformation: 7 not really for beginners, but not quite as tough as making sure all the parts of jet convoy+overload are in proper positon either. A challenge, but with the instructions, you'll quickly get the hang of him after a few run-thrus.
Durability:8 Unicron's got a bit of a habit of having his wings come loose if they're not locked into place on the attachment posts. Also, the planet mode shell sections that form the mouth, etc can easily fall off of their posts, but it's optional to have them attached in robot mode anyway.
Fun: 8 You want firing weapons? Check. You want light up eyes and hand? Check. You want a transformer that can effectively scare the crap out of your annoying little cousin? Check. Unicron's one big monster 'bot. But my only problem with him is that after you fire the missiles and light up the eyes so much.. it…gets dull fast. Now, this didn't stop me from scooping one up off the shelves, mind you. With a collection to work with, that better enhances his play value. IE if you've got those extra minicons lying around… and you've got the main characters of the series on hand, it's really easy to get better play value outta this big lug. He's great on his own. But better still when the full cast is present to try and stop him from performing his duty as destroyer of worlds.
Price: $48.99 at Walmart, price may vary from store to store.
Summary: Of final note is the vast amount of powerlinks on Unicron. On the ring in planet mode, alone… he is able to hold all three weapon teams, the street action team, land and air military teams, the sea patrol and the adventure squad. That totals 27 power link posts ont eh RING ALONE. Add in dead end's transport post, and the posts used to launch the "leg missiles", and you're looking at a planet linked with 31 minicons. THAT's a LOT of minicons.
Final Verdict: If you plan to follow armada… Get him. If you are a fan of the old school and G1… Get him. If you are a fan of Beast Wars… and nothing else… STILL Get him. It's taken us over 20 years to get him on the shelves… It's time to take advantage of him.

9.9 on the total scale… and a 10 on the richter scale! Badoom Ching!

Ginrai Out

 
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