TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Additional Image:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Blackjack's review: Alternity Convoy

Name- Convoy/Masterlord (according to the instructions)
Serial Number- A-01
Series- Alternity
Version- Vibrant Red

"Arm-mounted chairs are the right of all sentient beings."

Galactic Powers and Abilities:
-Ten-Dimensional Processor Block (Head)
-Timaeus Powertrack Generator (Chest)
-Universal Emulation Engine (Stomach)
-Phasic Isolation Shield Emitter (Knee)
-Planet Force Storage Reactors (Lower leg)
-Alternium Hyper Frame (Shoulder)
-Timestorm Detector Array (Wings)
-Anti-Hytherion Spacetime-Piercing Tachyton Blasters (Chairs)


Okay. So a lot of crap on his 'tech specs' page that I felt just too obnoxious to be left out, so there you are.

Let's get to the point, shall we? For those newbies, Convoy is Optimus Prime's Japanese name. Pay attention, class. There might be a pop quiz tomorrow, might not. Anyway, being Prime and all, Convoy has received multitudes of releases. (I'll get into that in just a moment. What?) So when this newfangled Alternity line (based on Alternators/Binaltech) is released, guess who came up front? Yup, it's good ol Convoy.

For some reason, his tech specs refer to his name as Masterlord/Convoy. Whatever.

Okay..... -flexes fingers- here goes nothing. True to Blackjack's little tradition of listing everyone with the name, I'll go and list everyone with the name Convoy. -gulp-.

The first Convoy (I'll be referring only to Convoy as in Optimus Prime, or characters meant to be O.P., not Rodimus Convoy or Lio Convoy or the few other gazillion convoys out there, kay?) is in Generation One, obviously. There he was the iconic red-and-blue tractor trailer truck. In G1 alone he saw several later releases as a Powermaster and an Action Master. In Japanese exclusive G1 sequel Battlestars, Convoy received a new incarnation as Star Convoy. The regrettably short-lived G2 also grants Optimus Prime three toys--a repaint of the original G1 Prime, a new Combat Hero toy, and a GoBot toy. Machine Wars repainted G1 Thunderclash into yet another reincarnation of G1 Convoy. Beast Wars/Machines' Optimus Primal was also named 'Convoy' in Japan, though it's clear that Primal and Prime ain't the same. The Robots in Disguise reboot brought us two toys of Convoy. Armada reboot brings us yet another two versions of Convoy, the large one having an auto-transforming trailer that can combine into 'super mode' with him, a la Powermaster Prime. Energon, the sequel to Armada, gives us yet another Convoy. Cybertron, gives us a leader class Convoy and a legends class one. 2007's Movie gives us a slew of Optimus Prime products--two Voyager class toys, two Leader class toys, two Legends class toys, Fast Action Battlers, Robot Replica, Voice Changer Mask, Robot Heroes and of course, Optimash Prime. Animated brings us a youthful Convoy/Prime, and gives us another slew of toys--Deluxe, Voyager, Supreme, Activators, Cyber Slammers and repaints of each other. And guys, that's just the main lines. 2005's Classics gifted us with one of the best Convoys ever, and it was repainted for Henkei. Another version of Convoy was made in Deluxe form. The first Universe line had its own slew of Convoys from a multitude of universes. Alternators, Kiss Players and Binaltech had Prime as a Dodge Ram. And that's not counting the non-transforming merchandise. Or reissues. Or gold/black/red repaints. Or future lines.

I think I have a migraine...

VEHICLE MODE

Convoy transforms into a Nissan GT-R. The GT-R is a sweet vehicle in my opinion. Now Convoy comes in two colour versions--Silver/White and Red. The silver version is more lifelike, resembling the proper Nissan GT-R, but red gives the car the 'oomph' it needs... hey, it's Prime, not Magnus. Sorry, big guy.

That said, this is my first Alternators toy, so my standards might be a little lower than you guys. Anyway, the car is cast in metal, which by itself is enough for me to give it a decent grade. Convoy's vehicle mode is excellently detailed and you can just see little charming details. There's the little GTR symbol on the front grille... the dashboard and molded steering wheel... the doors and front hood opens... the chairs... the 'blink and ya'll miss it' GTR symbol at the rear... The detailing is so impressive and superb. It's terrific.

I showed this to a cousin of mine who's also a collector of sorts. He collects die-cast metal cars. He was baffled by my Convoy- "What the hell- what is this? How come I've never seen this thing before?" it took one minute and a transformation to show him it's a transformer.

Overall, the vehicle mode gets perfect mark in my book. How goes the robot mode?

ROBOT MODE

I suppose this is time for a talk about transformation first. The transformation is your regular semi-complex Japanese transformation. (Trust me. Seen MP Megs, seen it all.) However, there's a little automorph feature, a la Movie toys, thrown into the mix. It's not too obtrusive, but then, we could do without it.

Convoy's nicely detailed in this mode. He follows a Jazz/Prowl/Skids/Movie Bumblebee style transformation, so the front of the car becomes his chest, the doors become wings, the roof hangs in the back, the back of the car become legs.

Convoy's face is sleeker than Convoys of past, and he looks angry. Articulation is excellent. His head rotates, his shoulders, wrists and elbows are decently poseable, his hips and knees, even the ankle joints are perfect.

Silver detailing gives a cute little 'six-pack' that is probably meant to represent G1 Convoy's truck grill.

He's regrettably near-weaponless though. His weaponry is limited to Optimus Primal-style wrist cannons that fold out of the chairs. But then, this is Alternators... from what I heard, they seldom come with weapons anyway.

So, in overall, an excellent robot mode. Nothing special to distinguish him from the rest of the Alternators/Binaltech toys save for the fact that he's Convoy.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 8/10 Quite hard, but it's nothing that will kill you.
Durability: 6/10 Where the otherwise excellent toy suffers. Some parts just feel so fragile that we need to have an aura of patience playing with him. Also, I'm worried about the GT-R detail symbols. Those seem to be able to scratch out.
Price: X/10 I got it for free~ so it's 10 for me. Otherwise, looking at the ridiculous price tag, it'll get a 6 at most, 2 at least.
Fun: 8/10 The lack of one of Prime's big honkin' laser guns spoils it, but it's nice to fiddle around with.
Overall: 8/10 Hard to say. I've never seen other Alternators figures, so as much as I wanted to, I couldn't give him a perfect mark. Convoy's a decent toy, excellent, perhaps, but there's nothing that'll make me want to rush to the stores and grab him.