TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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Technical Specifications:
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Kamen's review: Fracture

Name: Fracture
Function: Decepticon Geomaster
Subgroup: Wal-Mart Exclusive Movie Deluxes

Dedicated to Megatron and the Decepticon cause, Decepticon Fracture is a dangerous enemy. She is totally fearless, and probably a little bit crazy, as she dives directly into any battle, regardless of the odds. Although she carries a powerful negative energy blaster, she prefers to us the seismic energy dischargers on her feet to smash the surrounding earth to pieces. Any battlefield on which she walks shudders with the force of her steps.

So...Fracture. She seems to be an entirely original character in the Transformers Universe; however, she is actually a homage to the Gobot Crasher, whose name Hasbro apparently could not get the rights to. Frankly, I think Fracture is a much cooler name. Anyway, much of Fracture’s bio characterizes Crasher’s personality and trademark earth shaking foot stamp. Spiffy. Fracture/Crasher also had a short cameo in the second issue of Megatron: Origin when Megatron defeats Cy-kill, also a homage to a Gobots character.

All of which begs the question: why the hell would anyone care? If you’re not a fan of/don’t remember Gobots (like me), then you probably won’t. However, Fracture is also a repaint of Classics Mirage, which was, frankly, one of the best molds produced recently, IMO. And if that weren’t enough (which it is), Fracture is also a rare female Transformer (though they seem to be becoming more common) and a Decepticon to boot!

Anyway, because Fracture is a straight repaint with no mold changes the review will serve as a comparison between the two decos. Check out either/both Zeoman’s or Neuronutter’s most excellent review for specifics on the base mold. You may also want to look at Blackjack's of Henkei Mirage, which has a different deco than the Hasbro version.

Alternate Mode:

The clothes may not make the man, but they sure to leave an impression. Fracture not only has very different colors than Mirage, but she also has a different deco pattern, which is certainly welcome in a repaint. The “core” of the figure is red, patterned in a vague diamond, then a white border, and finally black on the outer edges. Silver makes a cameo for the intakes on the sides of the cockpit (which are not painted on Mirage) and for the Decepticon insignia on the nose. The cockpit itself is a dusky translucent black. Overall it looks great, and is a homage to the Crasher figure, also referenced in the three number 1s painted on the nose and sides.

The figure rolls smoothly, though the front may drag a bit. And the one point of articulation on the spoiler actually feels tighter than Mirage’s.

A nice compact vehicle mode. The only complaint I have is that it looks rather blank without any sponsors like Mirage has. That’s only a minor quibble, and otherwise the vehicle mode is very well done.

Robot Mode:

Here the colors remain the same, but are joined by pink for the robot face. Somewhat as expected the deco pattern here is actually much the same as on Mirage. One improvement is that Mirage’s ineffective light-piping as been replaced by painted eyes, giving Fracture a more menacing visage.

Articulation is, of course, equivalent to Mirage’s, which is to say fantastic. Multiple joints in each limb plus good to excellent balance equals almost unlimited possibilities. My figure, however, suffers from extreme tightness in some joints and moderate looseness in others. Not sure if this is a production problem or if I just got the odd fembot out.

Some parts of Fracture, her weapon in particular, still look fairly blank without the writing Mirage has. More color would have been welcome there to offer some contrast.

As with her alt mode, Fracture has all the good mechanical points of Mirage’s mold, but lacks the decorative flair.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: If you have Mirage, you can do this. If you don’t, then you can figure it out. 2

Durability: No problems so far. 9

Fun: The poseability really makes this figure; the only think more fun would be two of this mold. 9

Price: $10 USD. Pretty cheap. And since the original seems to be going for around $20 and the Henkei version for around $25, this is a bargain 9

Overall: As a stand alone figure or as a homage, Fracture is great. Compared to Mirage, she comes off as a pale imitation, but if you missed out on this great mold, she is an excellent substitute. 8