TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:

Alternate Mode:

Additional Image:

Box Art:

Clay's review of: RM Lio Convoy

Name: Lio Convoy
Group: Cybertron
Function: Cybertron commander number five

Well, after about four months of waiting, this little fellow has finally come out. And... he's... awesome. Takara addressed all the defects of the larger version, and added a few tricks to boot.

Kitty mode:
The kitty mode is retained, and is pretty faithful to the original. The only quirk is the lack of a covering plate on his left hind quarters, but that's for a reason (more on that later). Lio Convoy comes with five guns, and they're all mountable in this mode. One has to be set on the middle gun (they're combinable), because there are only four slots, though. All in all, this mode does about as much as the original's (the mouth can be opened and closed), but what's nice is that it's roughly in scale with the Robot Master's Beast Convoy and BWNeo Big Convoy/Universe Nemesis Prime. Hooray for realistically scaled animals!

Robot mode:
This is the spot of marked improvements. First of all, if you've read my or anyone's review of the original toy, you know that the most glaring fault with it is the poorly secured shoulder joints. Not so with this little gem! The chest and shoulders are all one piece, which is subsequently why the gap exists in the lion's hide; the shoulder must rotate through that part when transforming.

If that was all they had done, I would be ecstatic. But, there's gravy on top of that! The spinning mane gimmick is actually reproduced with this mold, though it lacks the button mechanism to do it automatically. On top of that, the blades hidden in the lion forelegs are present, and loaded with tiny springs! In terms of sheer aesthetics, the matrix chamber opens and closes, and the head sculpt is actually superior to the orginal; much less 'flat'.

Finally, the armament: the original comes with four missles launchers, two of which are detachable. With the RM version, Takara has given us five combinable guns instead. These consist of a pistol, two small blaster-things, and two large blaster-things. These can be combined, used separately in the hands, mounted on the forearms in the same position of the original's missle launchers, or stored in the mane. Absolutely nifty figure.

Transformation: 7. Well thought out, kept it small, and fixed the flaws from the original. Fantastic! Points off for robot parts sticking out, though.
Durability: 9.5. Lots of guns to lose... the figure's a little rock, though.
Fun: 10. Meow, baby!
Price: 8. One of the more satisfying Robot Masters. Around $15-$20
Overall: 9.5. Yeah, this guy's pretty much the perfect execution of Robot Master-izing. Even with the few nit-picky faults, this thing is still leagues beyond the original, and travel-sized to boot. I highly recommend this getting this one, and to pick up the RM Beast Convoy along with it. They make a lovely pair...

And if you're trying to decide between getting the big one and getting the little one, get the little one. Having bought both of them for the same price, the little one is a lot more satisfying to own and play with. Food for thought.