![[The Transformers Archive - an international fan site]](/common/skin/cardbackwide/tfarchive.png)
Toy Review Archives
Moderators: Skyquake87, ganon578
-
Detective Barricade
- Posts: 973
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:39 pm
- Location: Middle of Nowhere, Canada
-
Detective Barricade
- Posts: 973
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:39 pm
- Location: Middle of Nowhere, Canada
And Now For the Pictures!
Title says it all! Also, the review could use some proofing.
1) Megatron in vehicle
2) Robot
3) Slice n' dice time
4) Total ownage, n00b! (what Sumdac should have done)
5) Box pic
1) Megatron in vehicle
2) Robot
3) Slice n' dice time
4) Total ownage, n00b! (what Sumdac should have done)
5) Box pic
- Attachments
-
-
-
-
-
Got a complaint?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The Complaints department: making complaints disappear since 2009!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The Complaints department: making complaints disappear since 2009!
-
Treadshot A1
- Posts: 2411
- Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2007 8:49 am
- Contact:
[processing]
Well, I'm back from hospital after having had a large-ish operation, so will have a bit of time to kill. However, I can't use the comp for long periods (get really tired), but I hope to piece together a review for Henkei Astrotrain over the next couple of weeks.
I've scanned the art from the comic cover (below).
I have the Classics and Henkei Astrotrains standing together on my desk just now, and it's really very hard to choose which I prefer.
Henkei Astrotrain has less paint apps than his Hasbro equivalent, but they are perhaps a little better executed and of higher quality. And, obviously, he looks very much like his G1 anime self in robot mode and shuttle mode, which I actually like. His train mode seems more consistent as well. However, as the train has received a better paint job, with headlights and front windows, it does look a lot more like the shuttle has the front of a train halved and slapped on either side. But the chrome is pretty on the boosters and chestpiece...
And his joints are a lot tighter than my Classics Astrotrain, which is very helpful for posing with that massive gun!
Anyhoo... I'll mull it all over while writing a full review later!
I've scanned the art from the comic cover (below).
I have the Classics and Henkei Astrotrains standing together on my desk just now, and it's really very hard to choose which I prefer.
Henkei Astrotrain has less paint apps than his Hasbro equivalent, but they are perhaps a little better executed and of higher quality. And, obviously, he looks very much like his G1 anime self in robot mode and shuttle mode, which I actually like. His train mode seems more consistent as well. However, as the train has received a better paint job, with headlights and front windows, it does look a lot more like the shuttle has the front of a train halved and slapped on either side. But the chrome is pretty on the boosters and chestpiece...
And his joints are a lot tighter than my Classics Astrotrain, which is very helpful for posing with that massive gun!
Anyhoo... I'll mull it all over while writing a full review later!
- Attachments
-
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.
-
Transformer Kamen
- Posts: 571
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:55 am
TFAnimated Jazz [proofed with photos]
Name: Jazz
Allegiance: Autobot
Fuction: Elite Ninja
Subgroup: TFAnimated Deluxe Vehicles
Quote: “Cybertron is cool, but Earth rules.”
Galactic Powers and Abilities:
- Master of Circuit-Su, even more powerful than Prowl
- Prefers hand-to-hand combat to fighting at a distance
- Member of Cybertron Elite Guard
Autobot Jazz has studied Earth culture since he first became aware of it. He loves everything about it – the music, the movies, the vehicles, and – of course – the style. He’s usually a pretty chill guy, being a cyber-ninja and all, but he can barely contain his excitement at finally getting to check out Earth and give his new vehicle mode a spin. His excitement won’t make him forget his duty, however. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, with the fastest fists on Cybertron.
Jazz has always been the hippest and coolest of Autobots; he’s also one of my personal favorites. Although, he’s been ignored in Transformers animated media since G1, Jazz returned as second in command of the Autobots in the 2007 live action Transformers movie. Soon after, he appeared in Transformers Animated as the only other competent member of the Elite Guard besides Blurr. In the comics, Jazz has been a constant figure, appearing throughout the Marvel, Dreamwave, and IDW runs, though often as a sideline character. In each incarnation he retains the same laid back personality and love of Earth popular culture.
Alternate Mode:
As usual, Jazz transforms into a trendy sports car. In this case, though, his alt mode isn’t based on any real-life car that I recognize. Designed almost entirely with rounded sweeping angles, the figure looks swift and stylish. However, more so than some other Animated figures, Jazz’s alt mode clearly demonstrates the “loony tune” aesthetic. In fact, he appears to have driven right out of the cartoon, so closely modeled is his figure (or vice versa as the case may be). Fans of the Animated figures will, of course, have no problem with this, but those who are still unsure of the current stylized trend in Animated should look at another figure.
His colors nod toward his G1 origins. Blue and red racing stripes on the hood break up the overall white. Black and grey fill in small details, and a beautiful translucent cerulean serves for his head and fog lights. A red insignia on his hood marks him as a member of the Elite Guard.
Jazz has no gimmicks other than the standard rolling wheels, but it is a nice little car with no flaws at all. I only caution that if you don’t like the Animated look, you’ll probably not like the look of this figure. Otherwise, the alt mode is solid.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Jazz is slightly less show accurate (he still has molded headphones, fortunately) simply due to liberties taking by the animation crew. These differences are minor and in no way detract from the figure. Like his ninja brothers Oil Slick and Prowl, Jazz is lithe of limb. Less thin, of course, in his calves and chest area, which are made of car parts. He may look slightly awkward at first, especially in the chest, but as you toy with his range of possible poses the look actually starts to work for him, and he begins to look like he’s competent, if not sleeker.
Jazz’s articulation is fabulous. Ball joints in neck, shoulders, hips, and wrists. Hinges in his elbows, knees, and feet, and swivels in his elbows, waist, and knees. Add to that decent balance, and Jazz can hit some funky fresh moves. My only complaint here is the location of his waist joint. Rather than being at his actual waist, the joint is directly beneath his chest. With the size and overhang of his chest, he can end up looking awkward if twisted more than a few centimeters. Although not a point of articulation, it is also worth mentioning that his chest does not lock into place on his torso, and since the shoulder joints are very tight, he’ll tend to start transforming if opposite pressure isn’t applied. One other point of minor annoyance that his neck is molded in such a way that his head is forced into a side-cocked position when turned.
Like any ninja worth his tabi, Jazz has weapons carefully concealed on his body. In this case his exhaust pipes detach to become “energy-chucks”. Where the energy part comes from...you’re guess is as good as mine. Anyway, while I’m pleased to see Transformers expand their martial repertoire (Animated Seaspray better have an eku!), I personally really, REALLY hate loose weapons like nunchaku, simply because I don’t think they pose well. While Jazz’s weapons aren’t as bad as some (*cough*Oil Slick*cough*), he does tend to look goofy unless posed in a position where he’s smacking something. Still, kudos for the effort.
I’m pleased to say that other than the minor points already mentioned, Jazz has no other flaws.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – An interesting twist on the shell-former. Not difficult, but some pieces need to be worked to get in and out of place.
Durability: 9 – No obvious break points that I can find.
Fun: 9 – I pity the fool who disses the ninja! Jazz has great articulation, though he may appear slightly awkward. He’s definitely enjoyable to play with.
Price: 7 – $10 USD. A good price for what you get.
Overall: 8 – If you don’t like the toon-look, you probably won’t like this figure. If you do, then be aware that Jazz has some other aesthetic quirks. Past those, Jazz is a fantastic figure.
Allegiance: Autobot
Fuction: Elite Ninja
Subgroup: TFAnimated Deluxe Vehicles
Quote: “Cybertron is cool, but Earth rules.”
Galactic Powers and Abilities:
- Master of Circuit-Su, even more powerful than Prowl
- Prefers hand-to-hand combat to fighting at a distance
- Member of Cybertron Elite Guard
Autobot Jazz has studied Earth culture since he first became aware of it. He loves everything about it – the music, the movies, the vehicles, and – of course – the style. He’s usually a pretty chill guy, being a cyber-ninja and all, but he can barely contain his excitement at finally getting to check out Earth and give his new vehicle mode a spin. His excitement won’t make him forget his duty, however. He is a master of hand-to-hand combat, with the fastest fists on Cybertron.
Jazz has always been the hippest and coolest of Autobots; he’s also one of my personal favorites. Although, he’s been ignored in Transformers animated media since G1, Jazz returned as second in command of the Autobots in the 2007 live action Transformers movie. Soon after, he appeared in Transformers Animated as the only other competent member of the Elite Guard besides Blurr. In the comics, Jazz has been a constant figure, appearing throughout the Marvel, Dreamwave, and IDW runs, though often as a sideline character. In each incarnation he retains the same laid back personality and love of Earth popular culture.
Alternate Mode:
As usual, Jazz transforms into a trendy sports car. In this case, though, his alt mode isn’t based on any real-life car that I recognize. Designed almost entirely with rounded sweeping angles, the figure looks swift and stylish. However, more so than some other Animated figures, Jazz’s alt mode clearly demonstrates the “loony tune” aesthetic. In fact, he appears to have driven right out of the cartoon, so closely modeled is his figure (or vice versa as the case may be). Fans of the Animated figures will, of course, have no problem with this, but those who are still unsure of the current stylized trend in Animated should look at another figure.
His colors nod toward his G1 origins. Blue and red racing stripes on the hood break up the overall white. Black and grey fill in small details, and a beautiful translucent cerulean serves for his head and fog lights. A red insignia on his hood marks him as a member of the Elite Guard.
Jazz has no gimmicks other than the standard rolling wheels, but it is a nice little car with no flaws at all. I only caution that if you don’t like the Animated look, you’ll probably not like the look of this figure. Otherwise, the alt mode is solid.
Robot Mode:
In robot mode, Jazz is slightly less show accurate (he still has molded headphones, fortunately) simply due to liberties taking by the animation crew. These differences are minor and in no way detract from the figure. Like his ninja brothers Oil Slick and Prowl, Jazz is lithe of limb. Less thin, of course, in his calves and chest area, which are made of car parts. He may look slightly awkward at first, especially in the chest, but as you toy with his range of possible poses the look actually starts to work for him, and he begins to look like he’s competent, if not sleeker.
Jazz’s articulation is fabulous. Ball joints in neck, shoulders, hips, and wrists. Hinges in his elbows, knees, and feet, and swivels in his elbows, waist, and knees. Add to that decent balance, and Jazz can hit some funky fresh moves. My only complaint here is the location of his waist joint. Rather than being at his actual waist, the joint is directly beneath his chest. With the size and overhang of his chest, he can end up looking awkward if twisted more than a few centimeters. Although not a point of articulation, it is also worth mentioning that his chest does not lock into place on his torso, and since the shoulder joints are very tight, he’ll tend to start transforming if opposite pressure isn’t applied. One other point of minor annoyance that his neck is molded in such a way that his head is forced into a side-cocked position when turned.
Like any ninja worth his tabi, Jazz has weapons carefully concealed on his body. In this case his exhaust pipes detach to become “energy-chucks”. Where the energy part comes from...you’re guess is as good as mine. Anyway, while I’m pleased to see Transformers expand their martial repertoire (Animated Seaspray better have an eku!), I personally really, REALLY hate loose weapons like nunchaku, simply because I don’t think they pose well. While Jazz’s weapons aren’t as bad as some (*cough*Oil Slick*cough*), he does tend to look goofy unless posed in a position where he’s smacking something. Still, kudos for the effort.
I’m pleased to say that other than the minor points already mentioned, Jazz has no other flaws.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – An interesting twist on the shell-former. Not difficult, but some pieces need to be worked to get in and out of place.
Durability: 9 – No obvious break points that I can find.
Fun: 9 – I pity the fool who disses the ninja! Jazz has great articulation, though he may appear slightly awkward. He’s definitely enjoyable to play with.
Price: 7 – $10 USD. A good price for what you get.
Overall: 8 – If you don’t like the toon-look, you probably won’t like this figure. If you do, then be aware that Jazz has some other aesthetic quirks. Past those, Jazz is a fantastic figure.
-
Transformer Kamen
- Posts: 571
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:55 am
Universe/Classics Heavy Load Review [Proofed]
Name: Heavy Load (with Drill Bit)
Function: Chemist/Engineer
Allegiance: Decepticon
Group: Universe Voyager Classic Series
Back on Cybertron, before the war, Decepticon Heavy Load was a brilliant chemist and engineer, specializing in optimizing fuel mixtures to increase the energy efficiency of all mechanized life. Repeated exposure to toxic chemicals over hundreds of years slowly degraded his cognitive systems, turning him into someone none of his friends recognized. As his brain module rotted, he grew more withdrawn, and began to focus more on his failed experiments – the ones that had poisoned his test subjects. Now, he develops poisons and corrosive bombs for whichever Decepticon gangs can pay his fees, and continues his experiments on helpless Autobot captives.
Normally I don’t go for random Transformer buying, so Heavy Load is my first random buy. When I first saw photos of him online, I didn’t think that I would get him, especially not knowing anything about him. Then I found him at retail, and became highly interested in his bio since he’s a chemist, or at least used to be, and so am I. Now I’m glad I picked him up. I honestly don’t know how he fits into the Classics series (it does say ‘Classic Series’ on the box); I guess he’s close to Mixmaster from the Generation 1 Constructicons, and since the Classics Devastator left Mixmaster out, I guess this is where Heavy Load comes in. I also never owned Cybertron Quick Mix (which Heavy Load is a repaint of), so his marks may end up higher than you’d expect for a repaint; keep that in mind.
Alternate Mode:
In general, Heavy Load has a decently realistic alternate mode; a cement mixer. Granted, since he is a repaint of a TF from the Cybertron line, there are some odd parts to the entire look, such as the large protruding wedge in the front of the truck, which is actually Heavy Load’s folded up feet. But overall the cement mixer look is just fine. There are some really good detailed parts in this mode like the hopper near the top of the mixing pot, large canisters on the sides of the vehicle that resemble gas tanks, and the quad smokestacks on the cab of the truck. There’s also a good mix of detail in the other areas of the mixer which give the vehicle depth where largely flat (and boring) areas could otherwise occur. I’m also a fan of the clear orange windshield and side windows of the cab, since Hasbro could have been lazy left this solid and painted it. The color palette for Heavy Load is a bit weird (but straight out of the 80’s, so in that regard it fits in the Classics); he’s outfitted with yellow, pale green, black, and some brown and light grey. There are also some small hints of orange in there too. These colors seem like they wouldn’t work well together, but it all comes off well since he’s a cement mixer, and maybe the green/yellow pays homage to the G1 Constructicon on which he may be based.
Functionally, the mixer pot doesn’t rotate, which is a shame, but it does have nice detail; it sports a large black Decepticon symbol on the side, and it also has some paint detail (brown airbrushing) towards the back, giving the mixer a little more realism. If you noticed in the name bar at the top of the review, you’ll also see Drill Bit, which is the Mini-Con that Heavy Load comes with (more on him later). What Drill Bit does though, is connect to Heavy Load in a couple of different fashions. He can connect on the top of the cab for a front gun, or if you move the hopper on top of the mixing pot, you can attach him backwards in his alternate form. Also you can modify the hopper, attach Drill Bit in his robot form, insert the ‘Cyber’ key into the mixing pot, and Drill Bit becomes a cannon gunner. This part is actually pretty cool, and it makes the mixer mode a lot more fun, since now you can shoot the giant ‘torpedo launcher’ (it actually says ‘torpedo’ on the box, but aren’t torpedoes for underwater warfare?). Either way, Heavy Load does have a spring loaded launcher, which by explanation must be one of his ‘corrosive bombs’. Heavy Load is really sturdy in this mode, the wheels turn well, nothing seems loose, and he can be a lot more fun than you’d think as a cement mixer.
Robot Mode:
The transformation to get to robot mode is not nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be; it’s surprisingly simple, nothing new or note worthy, but there’s absolutely nothing to be mad about with the transformation. In robot mode, Heavy Load is pretty cool (even though there are some really goofy spots). The color combination really sticks out in this mode; his lower legs are yellow, and also feature HUGE kneecaps thanks to the mixer cab. His feet are pale green and very flat, and end up looking a little silly for such a large robot. His thighs/lower torso are black and silver, and his thighs exhibit the gas tanks from the mixer mode, which in this mode look like some poisons or bombs that he has developed. Heavy Load’s chest is a mixture of pale green and yellow, and also has two spots for attaching mini-cons. Unfortunately, these spots look more like hard nipples than anything. His head is not really what I expected, the box doesn’t show his brown headset in any of the pictures, but the real figure has one. It was a nice surprise, but I almost prefer the pictures of him without it. Heavy Load has a green helmet, which actually has some light grey on the forehead and also a light grey face mask. I really like his visor though; it is clear orange and catches light in certain spots.
Heavy Load’s arms are his most interesting parts, and I think that’s where a lot of his fun comes from. Along with Drill Bit, there is a lot that can be done with the arms. There’s a double-barreled gun that can either attach to his forearm, it can be held in his hand, or if you want to get it out of the way, it can attach to his chest. If you insert the ‘Cyber’ key into the mixer arm, it again transforms into a large cannon. The hopper is still there too, which means that Drill Bit can be attached here in a couple of different ways (see Alternate Mode). Drill Bit can also be used as a hand drill (with his handle end), or he can be attached on top of the double-barreled gun for extra power. Drill Bit has a small scope-looking orange part on top, which makes using him as a weapon a little sweeter.
On a quality and sturdiness note, the plastic in Heavy Load is great. I can’t foresee anything breaking on him. The joints are all tight, and his leg and arm joints are mostly the clicking type, which is good to keep things in place. Also, I thought that Heavy Load would be really unbalanced since he has a huge cannon as one arm. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that with the tight, clicky joints and huge flat feet, Heavy Load is actually very well balanced. I haven’t had any major difficulty getting him into positions.
Drill Bit Mini-Con:
There’s not much to Drill Bit (he is a mini-con after all), but I’ll give you a brief synopsis: His alternate mode is some type of drilling machine on treads, and his robot mode gives him freakishly long arms with no hands (one is the drill, the other is a… gun?). What I don’t like about Drill Bit are his colors; bright green is the majority, black for the treads, and some brown. For good measure, Hasbro decided to give him a purple chest, which makes you wonder who gets paid for these color choices. On the other hand, they took the time to paint his head black and give him a little red visor. Nice touch. All in all he’s a cool little guy with horrible coloring.
Closing Comments:
Heavy Load doesn’t seem to fit into the Classics line very much. His back story is interesting, yet it doesn’t match any character. If you want to call him Mixmaster, go right ahead, that’s what he’s closest to. Looks-wise, Heavy Load fits in to the Classics line just about as much as my Cybertron Soundwave, which, now that Blaster (Cybertron Soundwave repaint) is out in the Classics series, I guess he fits in well. I guess I just have a hard time recommending him to hardcore Classics collectors, or people who already have Cybertron Quick Mix. However, if you’re like me and don’t have the aforementioned TF, or you really like his bio (which I do), he’s one you should definitely consider.
Marks out of 10:
Transformation: 7. It’s not tricky like I thought it would be, but no hard spots. The switches are simple and effective, and good for quick transformations.
Durability: 10. Well built and strong.
Fun: 9. A large, shooting cannon, a smaller gun, and a mini-con make him a really fun Transformer in both modes.
Price: 7. I know he’s a Voyager and a lot of fun to boot, but he doesn’t have any ‘Classic’ history, and he’s technically a repaint. It’s hard to fork over $20 retail for that, especially if you’re a hardcore collector.
Overall: 8. He’s great if you don’t have Quick Mix, and don’t care that he doesn’t have a true Classics background even though he’s in that line.
Function: Chemist/Engineer
Allegiance: Decepticon
Group: Universe Voyager Classic Series
Back on Cybertron, before the war, Decepticon Heavy Load was a brilliant chemist and engineer, specializing in optimizing fuel mixtures to increase the energy efficiency of all mechanized life. Repeated exposure to toxic chemicals over hundreds of years slowly degraded his cognitive systems, turning him into someone none of his friends recognized. As his brain module rotted, he grew more withdrawn, and began to focus more on his failed experiments – the ones that had poisoned his test subjects. Now, he develops poisons and corrosive bombs for whichever Decepticon gangs can pay his fees, and continues his experiments on helpless Autobot captives.
Normally I don’t go for random Transformer buying, so Heavy Load is my first random buy. When I first saw photos of him online, I didn’t think that I would get him, especially not knowing anything about him. Then I found him at retail, and became highly interested in his bio since he’s a chemist, or at least used to be, and so am I. Now I’m glad I picked him up. I honestly don’t know how he fits into the Classics series (it does say ‘Classic Series’ on the box); I guess he’s close to Mixmaster from the Generation 1 Constructicons, and since the Classics Devastator left Mixmaster out, I guess this is where Heavy Load comes in. I also never owned Cybertron Quick Mix (which Heavy Load is a repaint of), so his marks may end up higher than you’d expect for a repaint; keep that in mind.
Alternate Mode:
In general, Heavy Load has a decently realistic alternate mode; a cement mixer. Granted, since he is a repaint of a TF from the Cybertron line, there are some odd parts to the entire look, such as the large protruding wedge in the front of the truck, which is actually Heavy Load’s folded up feet. But overall the cement mixer look is just fine. There are some really good detailed parts in this mode like the hopper near the top of the mixing pot, large canisters on the sides of the vehicle that resemble gas tanks, and the quad smokestacks on the cab of the truck. There’s also a good mix of detail in the other areas of the mixer which give the vehicle depth where largely flat (and boring) areas could otherwise occur. I’m also a fan of the clear orange windshield and side windows of the cab, since Hasbro could have been lazy left this solid and painted it. The color palette for Heavy Load is a bit weird (but straight out of the 80’s, so in that regard it fits in the Classics); he’s outfitted with yellow, pale green, black, and some brown and light grey. There are also some small hints of orange in there too. These colors seem like they wouldn’t work well together, but it all comes off well since he’s a cement mixer, and maybe the green/yellow pays homage to the G1 Constructicon on which he may be based.
Functionally, the mixer pot doesn’t rotate, which is a shame, but it does have nice detail; it sports a large black Decepticon symbol on the side, and it also has some paint detail (brown airbrushing) towards the back, giving the mixer a little more realism. If you noticed in the name bar at the top of the review, you’ll also see Drill Bit, which is the Mini-Con that Heavy Load comes with (more on him later). What Drill Bit does though, is connect to Heavy Load in a couple of different fashions. He can connect on the top of the cab for a front gun, or if you move the hopper on top of the mixing pot, you can attach him backwards in his alternate form. Also you can modify the hopper, attach Drill Bit in his robot form, insert the ‘Cyber’ key into the mixing pot, and Drill Bit becomes a cannon gunner. This part is actually pretty cool, and it makes the mixer mode a lot more fun, since now you can shoot the giant ‘torpedo launcher’ (it actually says ‘torpedo’ on the box, but aren’t torpedoes for underwater warfare?). Either way, Heavy Load does have a spring loaded launcher, which by explanation must be one of his ‘corrosive bombs’. Heavy Load is really sturdy in this mode, the wheels turn well, nothing seems loose, and he can be a lot more fun than you’d think as a cement mixer.
Robot Mode:
The transformation to get to robot mode is not nearly as difficult as I imagined it would be; it’s surprisingly simple, nothing new or note worthy, but there’s absolutely nothing to be mad about with the transformation. In robot mode, Heavy Load is pretty cool (even though there are some really goofy spots). The color combination really sticks out in this mode; his lower legs are yellow, and also feature HUGE kneecaps thanks to the mixer cab. His feet are pale green and very flat, and end up looking a little silly for such a large robot. His thighs/lower torso are black and silver, and his thighs exhibit the gas tanks from the mixer mode, which in this mode look like some poisons or bombs that he has developed. Heavy Load’s chest is a mixture of pale green and yellow, and also has two spots for attaching mini-cons. Unfortunately, these spots look more like hard nipples than anything. His head is not really what I expected, the box doesn’t show his brown headset in any of the pictures, but the real figure has one. It was a nice surprise, but I almost prefer the pictures of him without it. Heavy Load has a green helmet, which actually has some light grey on the forehead and also a light grey face mask. I really like his visor though; it is clear orange and catches light in certain spots.
Heavy Load’s arms are his most interesting parts, and I think that’s where a lot of his fun comes from. Along with Drill Bit, there is a lot that can be done with the arms. There’s a double-barreled gun that can either attach to his forearm, it can be held in his hand, or if you want to get it out of the way, it can attach to his chest. If you insert the ‘Cyber’ key into the mixer arm, it again transforms into a large cannon. The hopper is still there too, which means that Drill Bit can be attached here in a couple of different ways (see Alternate Mode). Drill Bit can also be used as a hand drill (with his handle end), or he can be attached on top of the double-barreled gun for extra power. Drill Bit has a small scope-looking orange part on top, which makes using him as a weapon a little sweeter.
On a quality and sturdiness note, the plastic in Heavy Load is great. I can’t foresee anything breaking on him. The joints are all tight, and his leg and arm joints are mostly the clicking type, which is good to keep things in place. Also, I thought that Heavy Load would be really unbalanced since he has a huge cannon as one arm. However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that with the tight, clicky joints and huge flat feet, Heavy Load is actually very well balanced. I haven’t had any major difficulty getting him into positions.
Drill Bit Mini-Con:
There’s not much to Drill Bit (he is a mini-con after all), but I’ll give you a brief synopsis: His alternate mode is some type of drilling machine on treads, and his robot mode gives him freakishly long arms with no hands (one is the drill, the other is a… gun?). What I don’t like about Drill Bit are his colors; bright green is the majority, black for the treads, and some brown. For good measure, Hasbro decided to give him a purple chest, which makes you wonder who gets paid for these color choices. On the other hand, they took the time to paint his head black and give him a little red visor. Nice touch. All in all he’s a cool little guy with horrible coloring.
Closing Comments:
Heavy Load doesn’t seem to fit into the Classics line very much. His back story is interesting, yet it doesn’t match any character. If you want to call him Mixmaster, go right ahead, that’s what he’s closest to. Looks-wise, Heavy Load fits in to the Classics line just about as much as my Cybertron Soundwave, which, now that Blaster (Cybertron Soundwave repaint) is out in the Classics series, I guess he fits in well. I guess I just have a hard time recommending him to hardcore Classics collectors, or people who already have Cybertron Quick Mix. However, if you’re like me and don’t have the aforementioned TF, or you really like his bio (which I do), he’s one you should definitely consider.
Marks out of 10:
Transformation: 7. It’s not tricky like I thought it would be, but no hard spots. The switches are simple and effective, and good for quick transformations.
Durability: 10. Well built and strong.
Fun: 9. A large, shooting cannon, a smaller gun, and a mini-con make him a really fun Transformer in both modes.
Price: 7. I know he’s a Voyager and a lot of fun to boot, but he doesn’t have any ‘Classic’ history, and he’s technically a repaint. It’s hard to fork over $20 retail for that, especially if you’re a hardcore collector.
Overall: 8. He’s great if you don’t have Quick Mix, and don’t care that he doesn’t have a true Classics background even though he’s in that line.
Tech Specs
Strength: 4
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 4
Endurance: 9
Rank: 6
Courage: 5
Firepower: 6
Skill: 9
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 4
Endurance: 9
Rank: 6
Courage: 5
Firepower: 6
Skill: 9
-
Detective Barricade
- Posts: 973
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:39 pm
- Location: Middle of Nowhere, Canada
-
Detective Barricade
- Posts: 973
- Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:39 pm
- Location: Middle of Nowhere, Canada
My guess is that he's supposed to be Mixmaster, but the name was already contracted out for the Animated Mixmaster, and since Hasbro didn't want people to get confused with the two cement mixers, they named this guy Heavy Load. That's my guess anyway.
Got a complaint?
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The Complaints department: making complaints disappear since 2009!
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The Complaints department: making complaints disappear since 2009!
Drill Bit Photos
Drill Bit!!! I attached a couple extras to be used in the review if needed or whatever.
- Attachments
-
-
-
-
-
Transformer Kamen
- Posts: 571
- Joined: Wed Aug 01, 2007 11:55 am
Animated Lug Nut Review [proofed with photos]
Name: Lugnut
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Thug
Alt mode: Futuristic Bomber Jet
"All hail mighty Megatron!" -- Lugnut and Shane McCarthy go well together.
I love the Animated series. It brings back old characters in G1-esque bodies with a kick ass story to boot. And the toys look like their show counterparts. Just compare this with G1 Galvatron. Or G1 Scourge. Or the Throttlebots. Or Beast Wars Blackarachnia. Or the entire Beast Machines line.
Anyway, back to the point. The Decepticons here are warriors – very powerful and feared – unlike in previous series, such as G1 where they are just a bunch of luckless thugs. The core villains are, of course, Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, Blackarachnia and... Lugnut – the subject of our review.
Lugnut is, along with Bulkhead and Lockdown, one of the few Animated Transformers which are not directly based on previous Transformers. (Lockdown is based on Boba Fett, while Bulkhead is based on... on... uh... Brawn. Yeah, Brawn.) Lugnut's name also made its debut in Animated. Though there is a Lugnutz in Cybertron. Therefore, there is no 'older character love' that compels die hard fans like us to buy him, unlike, say Swindle, Waspinator or Blurr. Therefore Hasbro releasing the big guy in Voyager class is chancy at least.
Anyway, I wanted a Voyager, and I am a fan of Decepticons. Without Animated Starscream and Megatron, my local Walmart is stocked with Blitzwings, Grimlocks, Evacs and Lugnuts. Already having a Blitzwing, and Classics Grimlock looking much better than his Animated counterpart, I bought Lugnut. That's the story of how I got him. Now let's see Lugnut's story.
Lugnut is based on many previous Transformers. First, his character is a Megatron maniac. Kinda like Beast Wars Scorponok or Inferno. His loyalty extends to fanaticism, like the 'waves' of the past. Shockwave. Soundwave. Tidal Wave. All of them fanatically loyal to Megatron. His speech is reminiscent of the G1 gestalts, such as Devastator or Menasor, filling the role of the 'powerful-but-dumb thug' role. Shall I call Lugnut ‘Luggy’ or ‘Nutty’? Hmmm... Learn from Blitzwing. I will call him by both names. On to the review, then.
Alternate Mode:
Nutty, being the heavy muscle of the team, transforms into... A Jet! Yeah, I am serious. When bios and pictures of Luggy first appeared on the net, I thought his alternate mode was going to be a land based heavy duty vehicle, like a tank *Looks at Movie Brawl, Bonecrusher and Wreckage*. Anyway, as I have gathered over Teletraan-1, Lugnut is a bomber jet. Albeit a very futuristic one. Looks slightly similar to Galaxy Force Dreadlock / Cybertron Jetfire (Decepticon disguise repaint being Sky Shadow) or G1 Triggerhappy, only bulkier.
Bulk is the name of the game with Luggy. His jet mode is quite cool, with big green bombs under big middle-wing engine turbines. The bomb fronts can open to unveil non firing artillery ports. The cockpit is very futuristic, as is the tail. There are three rotating turrets – one on top of the fuselage and two on each side of the cockpit – making this guy look like a large menacing gunship. A nice variation of the sleek fighter jets current Decepticons are so fond of. Yeah, YOU, Starscream.
Two wheels slide out of the bottom, but these aren't mentioned anywhere in the box or instructions. A nice nod to the comics, the bio says Nutty is known as 'The Kaon Krusher', in reference to his rise through gladiatorial combat in the Great Arena of the Decepticon capital on Cybertron.
The jet mode is unique, solid, and surprisingly good, but could use some firing missiles. But I'm not picky.
Robot Mode:
The box boldly claims 'Automatic mecha conversion' or something like that. Considering the simple robot mode, I was half-expecting something like the Jumpstarters or the Activators. In reality, I should have expected that Hasbro is just calling the bloody Automorph feature by another name. And Automorphs never did anyone any good.
The simpler transformation aside, Luggy suffers from a slight 'Bulkout syndrome' as I call it. It is a disease among Voyager class Transformers. From the outside, the alternate mode looks quite large – as large as any other Voyager. When transformed, however, they stand not much taller than a Deluxe in robot mode. Why 'Bulkout'? Because the recent severe sufferers include Movie Blackout and Animated Bulkhead. Blackout isn't so bad, and he had the excuse of having half his alternate mode being used as the weapon. Bulkhead on the other hand... Luggy is not so bad compared to Bulkhead, with longer legs and more proportioned arms and legs. Eat your heart out Bulkhead.
Actually, size aside, the toy is excellent. Exactly how Nutty looked on the TV, only much better. The head, with a single optic in the middle and two smaller ones on the side, is painted brilliantly. However, the mouth plate's divider is not painted, on mine at
least. I’m not sure whether or not it’s painted on others.
Lugnut's poseability in robot mode is rather good. Like Cybertron Jetfire / Sky Shadow, who has a somewhat similar transformation, his shoulders are offset somewhat. His Movie Megatron-esque legs and hands are very poseable. His head can't rotate, though.
In the Animated series Lugnut is a powerful guy. His most powerful weapon is 'The Punch'.('Le Punch' in French.) Luggy transforms his arm into a flat... Thingy... And punches! Wham! It is very powerful. Granted, it sometimes knocks himself and other ‘Cons out, but at least it looks cool. Blitzwing, however, has warned Nutty a million times not to use the Punch without warning. Does Nutty listen? No, of course. And speaking of weapons...
Weapons:
Luggy is shorter as he has the excuse of having a third of his alt mode as his Power Mace. When you connect it to Lugnut's pincher hands, and you slam it to the ground, the top part transforms. Cool. Important notice: the jet kibble can only transform into the mace if it is connected to Nutty. And yes, it uses Mini-Con ports. However, the one on the mace is the one normally found in larger robots in Armada, while Luggy's are those normally found on the Mini-Cons. Conclusion: Lugnut is a (seriously over sized) Mini-Con. The mace can attach to a Mini-Con, giving a teeny vehicle a ginormous weapon on top.
I suppose, now, only one question remains: Why do they call a guy without any nuts in him Lugnut? Apparently, according to Wikipedia, an early concept of Lugnut consists of a Frankenstein-like guy with nuts in the head. The design changed, but the name stuck!
Overall, a satisfying toy, with solid robot and vehicle modes. The only problems are the short height and poseability. Probably not for display, but it is fun to play with.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – Very simple, but fun nevertheless.
Durability: 9 – Obviously durable. He is Lugnut after all.
Fun: 9 – Lugnut SMASH.
Price: 6 – A bit steep for a Voyager. At least he ain't Ultra.
Overall: 8 – When you get over the fact that Luggy is shorter than you’d expect, you will accept that he is an excellent toy. As a toy. Could use more joints though. A much better expenditure than, say, the Marvel Crossovers.
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Thug
Alt mode: Futuristic Bomber Jet
"All hail mighty Megatron!" -- Lugnut and Shane McCarthy go well together.
I love the Animated series. It brings back old characters in G1-esque bodies with a kick ass story to boot. And the toys look like their show counterparts. Just compare this with G1 Galvatron. Or G1 Scourge. Or the Throttlebots. Or Beast Wars Blackarachnia. Or the entire Beast Machines line.
Anyway, back to the point. The Decepticons here are warriors – very powerful and feared – unlike in previous series, such as G1 where they are just a bunch of luckless thugs. The core villains are, of course, Megatron, Starscream, Blitzwing, Blackarachnia and... Lugnut – the subject of our review.
Lugnut is, along with Bulkhead and Lockdown, one of the few Animated Transformers which are not directly based on previous Transformers. (Lockdown is based on Boba Fett, while Bulkhead is based on... on... uh... Brawn. Yeah, Brawn.) Lugnut's name also made its debut in Animated. Though there is a Lugnutz in Cybertron. Therefore, there is no 'older character love' that compels die hard fans like us to buy him, unlike, say Swindle, Waspinator or Blurr. Therefore Hasbro releasing the big guy in Voyager class is chancy at least.
Anyway, I wanted a Voyager, and I am a fan of Decepticons. Without Animated Starscream and Megatron, my local Walmart is stocked with Blitzwings, Grimlocks, Evacs and Lugnuts. Already having a Blitzwing, and Classics Grimlock looking much better than his Animated counterpart, I bought Lugnut. That's the story of how I got him. Now let's see Lugnut's story.
Lugnut is based on many previous Transformers. First, his character is a Megatron maniac. Kinda like Beast Wars Scorponok or Inferno. His loyalty extends to fanaticism, like the 'waves' of the past. Shockwave. Soundwave. Tidal Wave. All of them fanatically loyal to Megatron. His speech is reminiscent of the G1 gestalts, such as Devastator or Menasor, filling the role of the 'powerful-but-dumb thug' role. Shall I call Lugnut ‘Luggy’ or ‘Nutty’? Hmmm... Learn from Blitzwing. I will call him by both names. On to the review, then.
Alternate Mode:
Nutty, being the heavy muscle of the team, transforms into... A Jet! Yeah, I am serious. When bios and pictures of Luggy first appeared on the net, I thought his alternate mode was going to be a land based heavy duty vehicle, like a tank *Looks at Movie Brawl, Bonecrusher and Wreckage*. Anyway, as I have gathered over Teletraan-1, Lugnut is a bomber jet. Albeit a very futuristic one. Looks slightly similar to Galaxy Force Dreadlock / Cybertron Jetfire (Decepticon disguise repaint being Sky Shadow) or G1 Triggerhappy, only bulkier.
Bulk is the name of the game with Luggy. His jet mode is quite cool, with big green bombs under big middle-wing engine turbines. The bomb fronts can open to unveil non firing artillery ports. The cockpit is very futuristic, as is the tail. There are three rotating turrets – one on top of the fuselage and two on each side of the cockpit – making this guy look like a large menacing gunship. A nice variation of the sleek fighter jets current Decepticons are so fond of. Yeah, YOU, Starscream.
Two wheels slide out of the bottom, but these aren't mentioned anywhere in the box or instructions. A nice nod to the comics, the bio says Nutty is known as 'The Kaon Krusher', in reference to his rise through gladiatorial combat in the Great Arena of the Decepticon capital on Cybertron.
The jet mode is unique, solid, and surprisingly good, but could use some firing missiles. But I'm not picky.
Robot Mode:
The box boldly claims 'Automatic mecha conversion' or something like that. Considering the simple robot mode, I was half-expecting something like the Jumpstarters or the Activators. In reality, I should have expected that Hasbro is just calling the bloody Automorph feature by another name. And Automorphs never did anyone any good.
The simpler transformation aside, Luggy suffers from a slight 'Bulkout syndrome' as I call it. It is a disease among Voyager class Transformers. From the outside, the alternate mode looks quite large – as large as any other Voyager. When transformed, however, they stand not much taller than a Deluxe in robot mode. Why 'Bulkout'? Because the recent severe sufferers include Movie Blackout and Animated Bulkhead. Blackout isn't so bad, and he had the excuse of having half his alternate mode being used as the weapon. Bulkhead on the other hand... Luggy is not so bad compared to Bulkhead, with longer legs and more proportioned arms and legs. Eat your heart out Bulkhead.
Actually, size aside, the toy is excellent. Exactly how Nutty looked on the TV, only much better. The head, with a single optic in the middle and two smaller ones on the side, is painted brilliantly. However, the mouth plate's divider is not painted, on mine at
least. I’m not sure whether or not it’s painted on others.
Lugnut's poseability in robot mode is rather good. Like Cybertron Jetfire / Sky Shadow, who has a somewhat similar transformation, his shoulders are offset somewhat. His Movie Megatron-esque legs and hands are very poseable. His head can't rotate, though.
In the Animated series Lugnut is a powerful guy. His most powerful weapon is 'The Punch'.('Le Punch' in French.) Luggy transforms his arm into a flat... Thingy... And punches! Wham! It is very powerful. Granted, it sometimes knocks himself and other ‘Cons out, but at least it looks cool. Blitzwing, however, has warned Nutty a million times not to use the Punch without warning. Does Nutty listen? No, of course. And speaking of weapons...
Weapons:
Luggy is shorter as he has the excuse of having a third of his alt mode as his Power Mace. When you connect it to Lugnut's pincher hands, and you slam it to the ground, the top part transforms. Cool. Important notice: the jet kibble can only transform into the mace if it is connected to Nutty. And yes, it uses Mini-Con ports. However, the one on the mace is the one normally found in larger robots in Armada, while Luggy's are those normally found on the Mini-Cons. Conclusion: Lugnut is a (seriously over sized) Mini-Con. The mace can attach to a Mini-Con, giving a teeny vehicle a ginormous weapon on top.
I suppose, now, only one question remains: Why do they call a guy without any nuts in him Lugnut? Apparently, according to Wikipedia, an early concept of Lugnut consists of a Frankenstein-like guy with nuts in the head. The design changed, but the name stuck!
Overall, a satisfying toy, with solid robot and vehicle modes. The only problems are the short height and poseability. Probably not for display, but it is fun to play with.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – Very simple, but fun nevertheless.
Durability: 9 – Obviously durable. He is Lugnut after all.
Fun: 9 – Lugnut SMASH.
Price: 6 – A bit steep for a Voyager. At least he ain't Ultra.
Overall: 8 – When you get over the fact that Luggy is shorter than you’d expect, you will accept that he is an excellent toy. As a toy. Could use more joints though. A much better expenditure than, say, the Marvel Crossovers.
LOC Movie Megatron review [proofed with photos]
Name: Megatron
Function: Leader
Allegiance: Decepticon
Series: Movie Legends (Legends of Cybertron [LOC] Series 8)
"I... Am... MEGATRON!!!"-- Megatron does an introdump, Transformers the Movie
The big slag maker is back in pint-size! Ever since Beast Wars... No, Generation 2, Megs and OP have been released in several different sized versions, to let kids with less dough get the characters they like.
The same is true of Movie Megatron. Released as a Legends of Cybertron (LOC), Voyager, Leader and the absolutely horrible Fast Action Battlers size classes, it is a fun thing comparing the different versions. First and foremost, I am a Megatron fan. I own five Megatrons, and two of them are of the Legends class variant. Megatron is an interesting character, alright.
Let's do a history! *deep breath* Megatron was a redeco of a toy previously released by Takara. The G1 version transforms into a Walther UNCLE handgun. He was reformatted into Galvatron in the Movie, while in the comics Megs and Galvy are two separate characters – in the US at least. In the UK, there are two Galvatrons and two Megatrons. Beat that. Next, G1 Megs got an Action Master toy. Next up again, in G2, Megs was released thrice, two versions transforming into a tank, one a ‘Gobot’ (small car moulds that would later be reused as RID’s Spychangers). Then, in Beast Wars, a second Megatron, descendant of the first, appeared. This guy, affectionately dubbed 'Megatron II' by fans, had at least four versions of his character released. Next up, Megs II appears in Beast Machines as the lead bad guy again. A Machine Wars Megatron, the first to adopt a jet alt mode, was also released. Following this is a new ten-changing Megatron, later Galvatron in RID. Next, in Armada, the Megatron there is once again a tank, and later got reformatted into Galvatron. In Energon, that Galvatron renamed himself Megatron, before again becoming Galvatron – both a gunship. Next, he repeats the cycle in Cybertron, calling himself Megatron again before becoming Galvatron yet again. Some things never change. Megatron of Cybertron is a triple changer with Batmobile and jet alternate modes. Around this time, Classics versions of Megatron – the not so affectionately dubbed Voyager class 'Nerfatron' and an updated Deluxe version of G2 Megs – and War Within and Masterpiece Megs all appeared. Then the Movie Megatron, a Cybertronian jet, arrived (the smallest version of which is reviewed here). The latest version is Animated Megatron – a V22 Osprey.
Long history.
Robot Mode:
Megs is packaged in this mode, so I'll start off here. The robot mode of Movie Megatron is infinitely complex, as is the transformation where the wings extend from inside the chest. Therefore, it is almost impossible to create a toy of him with a good robot and alternate mode, faithful to the film. Leader class did a good job of that, but based on pictures, I’d say that only the Leader class and LOC class deliver a convincing Movie Megatron (the Voyager class and Fast Action Battlers fall short in both modes).
LOC Megs sacrifices the robot mode, and therefore it’s the uglier of the two. His hands are deliberately two of the trident-things in jet mode. His legs become the wings, and so are very straight.
The head, chest and arms are painted in gray with black for details. The legs have painted details only on the inside.
LOC Megatron is very very fragile. The hands and head fall off easily. But they have ball joints and are made of soft plastic, and therefore can get loose. But that, film accuracy, and poseability are the only problems with the toy.
Transform it…
Alternate Mode:
…and we get the cute and deadly little jet mode. Awwww. Sarcasm aside, though, this jet mode is more film-accurate than his larger counterparts. Granted, smaller, but the wings are thin, without kibble, and the trident thing in front is present and correct... Simplicity is perfection. At least in one mode.
The little edges that help Megatron stand in jet mode falls off easily. Therefore, watch out. The jet mode is a great departure from the classic gun and tanks we are so fond of. Can't say I prefer it over, like, G2 or Masterpiece Megs, but it will do.
The head stares back at you, but due to the paint application Megatron's head doesn't stand out as much as his Leader class counterpart.
Megatron was rereleased in 'special value' packs, including a six-pack with LOC Jazz, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Barricade and Starscream. I own two Legends Megatrons. How? When my fanboy little brother had his birthday, my dad bought the six-pack LOC set while I bought LOC Megatron and Deluxe Swindle. As such, I have two. As well as the Movie Leader version and Henkei Classics.
The jet mode is like nothing on earth. It might be based on many of the previous 'Cybertronian jet' modes of previous toys, such as Cybertron Galvatron, G1 Slugslinger, the Cybertronian versions of the Seeker jets and more.
Overall, a nice (if not durable) little toy. Cheap too. Recommended if you have money to burn, or you just like little widdle Twansfowmewrs.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – Very easy. What do you expect?
Durability: 4 – Damn ball joints. Makes the limbs soooo loose.
Fun: 8 – A teeny tiny Megatron! How can it not be fun? If you have bigger versions he can always be renamed Tailwind or some such.
Price: 1 – Very cheap.
Overall: 6 – He may not be a great display figure, and the robot mode ain't that good. But he is dirt cheap for a Transformer, the sole reason I bought him. And he's Megatron.
Function: Leader
Allegiance: Decepticon
Series: Movie Legends (Legends of Cybertron [LOC] Series 8)
"I... Am... MEGATRON!!!"-- Megatron does an introdump, Transformers the Movie
The big slag maker is back in pint-size! Ever since Beast Wars... No, Generation 2, Megs and OP have been released in several different sized versions, to let kids with less dough get the characters they like.
The same is true of Movie Megatron. Released as a Legends of Cybertron (LOC), Voyager, Leader and the absolutely horrible Fast Action Battlers size classes, it is a fun thing comparing the different versions. First and foremost, I am a Megatron fan. I own five Megatrons, and two of them are of the Legends class variant. Megatron is an interesting character, alright.
Let's do a history! *deep breath* Megatron was a redeco of a toy previously released by Takara. The G1 version transforms into a Walther UNCLE handgun. He was reformatted into Galvatron in the Movie, while in the comics Megs and Galvy are two separate characters – in the US at least. In the UK, there are two Galvatrons and two Megatrons. Beat that. Next, G1 Megs got an Action Master toy. Next up again, in G2, Megs was released thrice, two versions transforming into a tank, one a ‘Gobot’ (small car moulds that would later be reused as RID’s Spychangers). Then, in Beast Wars, a second Megatron, descendant of the first, appeared. This guy, affectionately dubbed 'Megatron II' by fans, had at least four versions of his character released. Next up, Megs II appears in Beast Machines as the lead bad guy again. A Machine Wars Megatron, the first to adopt a jet alt mode, was also released. Following this is a new ten-changing Megatron, later Galvatron in RID. Next, in Armada, the Megatron there is once again a tank, and later got reformatted into Galvatron. In Energon, that Galvatron renamed himself Megatron, before again becoming Galvatron – both a gunship. Next, he repeats the cycle in Cybertron, calling himself Megatron again before becoming Galvatron yet again. Some things never change. Megatron of Cybertron is a triple changer with Batmobile and jet alternate modes. Around this time, Classics versions of Megatron – the not so affectionately dubbed Voyager class 'Nerfatron' and an updated Deluxe version of G2 Megs – and War Within and Masterpiece Megs all appeared. Then the Movie Megatron, a Cybertronian jet, arrived (the smallest version of which is reviewed here). The latest version is Animated Megatron – a V22 Osprey.
Long history.
Robot Mode:
Megs is packaged in this mode, so I'll start off here. The robot mode of Movie Megatron is infinitely complex, as is the transformation where the wings extend from inside the chest. Therefore, it is almost impossible to create a toy of him with a good robot and alternate mode, faithful to the film. Leader class did a good job of that, but based on pictures, I’d say that only the Leader class and LOC class deliver a convincing Movie Megatron (the Voyager class and Fast Action Battlers fall short in both modes).
LOC Megs sacrifices the robot mode, and therefore it’s the uglier of the two. His hands are deliberately two of the trident-things in jet mode. His legs become the wings, and so are very straight.
The head, chest and arms are painted in gray with black for details. The legs have painted details only on the inside.
LOC Megatron is very very fragile. The hands and head fall off easily. But they have ball joints and are made of soft plastic, and therefore can get loose. But that, film accuracy, and poseability are the only problems with the toy.
Transform it…
Alternate Mode:
…and we get the cute and deadly little jet mode. Awwww. Sarcasm aside, though, this jet mode is more film-accurate than his larger counterparts. Granted, smaller, but the wings are thin, without kibble, and the trident thing in front is present and correct... Simplicity is perfection. At least in one mode.
The little edges that help Megatron stand in jet mode falls off easily. Therefore, watch out. The jet mode is a great departure from the classic gun and tanks we are so fond of. Can't say I prefer it over, like, G2 or Masterpiece Megs, but it will do.
The head stares back at you, but due to the paint application Megatron's head doesn't stand out as much as his Leader class counterpart.
Megatron was rereleased in 'special value' packs, including a six-pack with LOC Jazz, Bumblebee, Optimus Prime, Barricade and Starscream. I own two Legends Megatrons. How? When my fanboy little brother had his birthday, my dad bought the six-pack LOC set while I bought LOC Megatron and Deluxe Swindle. As such, I have two. As well as the Movie Leader version and Henkei Classics.
The jet mode is like nothing on earth. It might be based on many of the previous 'Cybertronian jet' modes of previous toys, such as Cybertron Galvatron, G1 Slugslinger, the Cybertronian versions of the Seeker jets and more.
Overall, a nice (if not durable) little toy. Cheap too. Recommended if you have money to burn, or you just like little widdle Twansfowmewrs.
Marks out of ten for the following:
Transformation: 3 – Very easy. What do you expect?
Durability: 4 – Damn ball joints. Makes the limbs soooo loose.
Fun: 8 – A teeny tiny Megatron! How can it not be fun? If you have bigger versions he can always be renamed Tailwind or some such.
Price: 1 – Very cheap.
Overall: 6 – He may not be a great display figure, and the robot mode ain't that good. But he is dirt cheap for a Transformer, the sole reason I bought him. And he's Megatron.
-
Knightdramon
- Protoform
- Posts: 3621
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:15 pm
- Location: York, UK
Knightdramon's review of Henkei Grimlock---[PROOFED]
Name: Grimlock
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Commander\Warrior
Grimlock was one of the moulds I never got the chance to own from the first batch of Classics. Grimlock was initially short packed with Mirage in a 1:2 ratio and being the more popular of the two, quickly became scarce. He was the Concept Bumblebee of the Classics Line, fetching twice his retail for quite some time.
My chance to own this mould came almost two years later, when I finally decided to acquire the Henkei version. Almost all Henkei versions of Classics have more accurate paint applications in relevance to the cartoon and [most of the times] oddly placed chrome, which undeniably leads to eye-catchers on the collection shelves.
Beast Mode
Grimlock measures a good 20 centimetres from snout to tail and on average 13 centimetres tall when the bayonet is attached on his back. His size rivals that of Voyager Optimus [Classics\Henkei version] when in truck mode.
Grimlock has an amalgam of colours blended on his sculpt. He's got dark gray, light gray, splashes of red here and there, some gold and silver\golden chrome. Following the tradition of the Henkei Line [possibly to evoke a vintage 80's toy look], parts of Grimlock are chromed. Many fans agree that the placement is rather random, with silver chrome on the lower neck\upper body and toes, coupled with golden chrome on the claws and upper neck.
The sculpting on the figure is not bad, with ridges, bolts and panel lines all over the main body and legs. One has to note, however, that this version of Grimlock is more "raptor" like than T-rex. The head and snout are a bit squashed down and the figure is clearly designed with a running pose in mind rather than the traditional "sitting straight up" the G1 figure had.
Due to the nature of his alt mode, Grimlock has more playability than the rest of the Classics bunch. He's got a whooping 20 points of articulation, six on each leg alone. Most of the joints are cut joints or basic swivel joints, meaning they'll loosen quicker with time, though.
Grimlock's bayonet can fire by pressing the clear red trigger. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think the bayonet is obstructive or looks "out of place" on the dino mode.
Overall, Grimlock's isn't without a nice beast mode and is one of the few classics with play value in their alt modes.
Robot Mode
Transformation from Dino Mode to robot mode is [unnecessarily] complex and not really satisfying. The end result is a stocky, well-proportioned bot that stands around 15 centimetres tall.
No new colours are introduced for his robot mode. Almost a complete opposite from his G1 toy, the dino head becomes the feet of the robot, with the tail base serving as the "backpack". Coloured much better than his Classics counterpart, Grimlock features gold and gunmetal gray on his chest armour, with the torso and waist being coloured red with black and gray. Gold paint is added on the forearms with gunmetal gray patters on his shoulders. His fists are now coloured gunmetal gray and the legs are of course chromed. Red is also added to his elbows [when viewed from the side] and the upper shoulder part is again, gunmetal gray instead of black on the Classics version.
Grimlock has strong, bulky, stocky limbs and a relatively thin body. He's got lots of articulation, with around five points on each leg, including knee and ankle articulation due to his transformation method. A waist joint is also featured but is higher than it should be [just below the chest]. His arms have four points of articulation each [forward and sideways movement at the shoulder, elbow articulation and a swivel just above that] and the head rotates freely 360 degrees. Overall Grimlock is moderately articulated.
Grimlock can use his beast mode tail as a very thick whip [the tail has lots of turning points but is still too thick to be considered a sleek weapon] and the bayonet can be held as a launcher. Unfortunately, there's no swivel joint for the handle and this can't be held as a sword. His fists are a tad smaller than the universal Energon\Cybertron standard, so he can't hold the really cool swords from the Energon Cruelock figures.
And to make mention of some...negative points. Some key joints on the figure are loose. Both ball joints [where the legs connect to the waist] are universally loose [not just on mine] and needed nail polish to stiffen. The waist joint is also loose. The right shoulder on mine rotated very loosely and I had to fix that as well. Lastly, due to faulty engineering, the black tabs next to his head do NOT really clamp on to the shoulders. Moreover, since the head joint is too stiff, turning the head resolves in the entire black collar turning as well because it's not locked down to the shoulders as it should be.
Overall, Grimlock is not without fault. I got him out of curiosity to check the mould out and got less than I bargained for. Had the designers followed a less complex transformation scheme [especially on the upper body] it would have resulted in a more stable, playable figure. As it is, it makes a pretty decent stand-in on your classics shelves.
Transformation: 8. Complex enough for a deluxe figure, and sadly without a need for it.
Durability: 7. Nothing prone to breaking, but many joints were loose and the chrome might chip away if not careful.
Fun: 7. He's the Grimlock of the classics universe and the dino mode is actually fun, more so than the bot mode.
Price: 10. Classics Grimlock retailed for 10 USD and now costs 15 minimum, the average being around 20-25. For 22, you get a much better detailed and painted version of the same mould.
Overall: 6. Can't really recommend a figure that has parts too loose to pose and is generally sub-par when compared to its contemporaries. Do get the Henkei version if you're in need of this mould, but don't get your hopes up.
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Commander\Warrior
Grimlock was one of the moulds I never got the chance to own from the first batch of Classics. Grimlock was initially short packed with Mirage in a 1:2 ratio and being the more popular of the two, quickly became scarce. He was the Concept Bumblebee of the Classics Line, fetching twice his retail for quite some time.
My chance to own this mould came almost two years later, when I finally decided to acquire the Henkei version. Almost all Henkei versions of Classics have more accurate paint applications in relevance to the cartoon and [most of the times] oddly placed chrome, which undeniably leads to eye-catchers on the collection shelves.
Beast Mode
Grimlock measures a good 20 centimetres from snout to tail and on average 13 centimetres tall when the bayonet is attached on his back. His size rivals that of Voyager Optimus [Classics\Henkei version] when in truck mode.
Grimlock has an amalgam of colours blended on his sculpt. He's got dark gray, light gray, splashes of red here and there, some gold and silver\golden chrome. Following the tradition of the Henkei Line [possibly to evoke a vintage 80's toy look], parts of Grimlock are chromed. Many fans agree that the placement is rather random, with silver chrome on the lower neck\upper body and toes, coupled with golden chrome on the claws and upper neck.
The sculpting on the figure is not bad, with ridges, bolts and panel lines all over the main body and legs. One has to note, however, that this version of Grimlock is more "raptor" like than T-rex. The head and snout are a bit squashed down and the figure is clearly designed with a running pose in mind rather than the traditional "sitting straight up" the G1 figure had.
Due to the nature of his alt mode, Grimlock has more playability than the rest of the Classics bunch. He's got a whooping 20 points of articulation, six on each leg alone. Most of the joints are cut joints or basic swivel joints, meaning they'll loosen quicker with time, though.
Grimlock's bayonet can fire by pressing the clear red trigger. Contrary to popular belief, I don't think the bayonet is obstructive or looks "out of place" on the dino mode.
Overall, Grimlock's isn't without a nice beast mode and is one of the few classics with play value in their alt modes.
Robot Mode
Transformation from Dino Mode to robot mode is [unnecessarily] complex and not really satisfying. The end result is a stocky, well-proportioned bot that stands around 15 centimetres tall.
No new colours are introduced for his robot mode. Almost a complete opposite from his G1 toy, the dino head becomes the feet of the robot, with the tail base serving as the "backpack". Coloured much better than his Classics counterpart, Grimlock features gold and gunmetal gray on his chest armour, with the torso and waist being coloured red with black and gray. Gold paint is added on the forearms with gunmetal gray patters on his shoulders. His fists are now coloured gunmetal gray and the legs are of course chromed. Red is also added to his elbows [when viewed from the side] and the upper shoulder part is again, gunmetal gray instead of black on the Classics version.
Grimlock has strong, bulky, stocky limbs and a relatively thin body. He's got lots of articulation, with around five points on each leg, including knee and ankle articulation due to his transformation method. A waist joint is also featured but is higher than it should be [just below the chest]. His arms have four points of articulation each [forward and sideways movement at the shoulder, elbow articulation and a swivel just above that] and the head rotates freely 360 degrees. Overall Grimlock is moderately articulated.
Grimlock can use his beast mode tail as a very thick whip [the tail has lots of turning points but is still too thick to be considered a sleek weapon] and the bayonet can be held as a launcher. Unfortunately, there's no swivel joint for the handle and this can't be held as a sword. His fists are a tad smaller than the universal Energon\Cybertron standard, so he can't hold the really cool swords from the Energon Cruelock figures.
And to make mention of some...negative points. Some key joints on the figure are loose. Both ball joints [where the legs connect to the waist] are universally loose [not just on mine] and needed nail polish to stiffen. The waist joint is also loose. The right shoulder on mine rotated very loosely and I had to fix that as well. Lastly, due to faulty engineering, the black tabs next to his head do NOT really clamp on to the shoulders. Moreover, since the head joint is too stiff, turning the head resolves in the entire black collar turning as well because it's not locked down to the shoulders as it should be.
Overall, Grimlock is not without fault. I got him out of curiosity to check the mould out and got less than I bargained for. Had the designers followed a less complex transformation scheme [especially on the upper body] it would have resulted in a more stable, playable figure. As it is, it makes a pretty decent stand-in on your classics shelves.
Transformation: 8. Complex enough for a deluxe figure, and sadly without a need for it.
Durability: 7. Nothing prone to breaking, but many joints were loose and the chrome might chip away if not careful.
Fun: 7. He's the Grimlock of the classics universe and the dino mode is actually fun, more so than the bot mode.
Price: 10. Classics Grimlock retailed for 10 USD and now costs 15 minimum, the average being around 20-25. For 22, you get a much better detailed and painted version of the same mould.
Overall: 6. Can't really recommend a figure that has parts too loose to pose and is generally sub-par when compared to its contemporaries. Do get the Henkei version if you're in need of this mould, but don't get your hopes up.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.
-
Knightdramon
- Protoform
- Posts: 3621
- Joined: Thu Apr 15, 2004 7:15 pm
- Location: York, UK
Knightdramon's review of Henkei Rodimus--[PROOFED]
Name: Rodimus\Hot Rodimus
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Knight
Much like Henkei Grimlock, this is my first contact with this mould even though it's almost two years old. I almost pulled the trigger on one last year when the first movie figures were released, but gave it up at the last moment. In retrospect, I'm glad I did.
Hot Rod has been an iconic transformer ever since his appearance in the 86 animated movie. His popularity [or the exact opposite, in cases] exceeds that of classic transformers before him such as the likes of Ironhide, Prowl, Sideswipe etc. Whilst there's been homages to his character or design in newer toy lines, the 2006 classics line was the first that pulled off another Hot Rod release [followed shortly by the Kiss Players version]. Almost two years later, Takara got their hands on the figure and repainted it to their liking...and made a superior product.
Vehicle Mode
Hot Rod comes packed in vehicle mode, a very sleek and stylish sports car. The car measures 16 centimetres long to the tip of the spoiler but sits very squat, barely reaching 4 centimetres in height. As far as I know, it's based on various designs of cars but not to an actual model.
Whilst the vintage Hot Rod figure was blocky but nicely rounded, this one is a sleek rendition and highly updated. The vehicle is sleek and squat at the front and gradually gains height towards the back, where it's "rounded" by an almost rectangular trunk. A very, VERY stylish spoiler tops it all off, preceded by an almost spacecraft like cockpit. The entire car is cast on a burgundy, very dark red. Navy blue clear plastic is used for the cockpit, and the red paint for the roof seamlessly matches the tone of the car body. The hood is painted orange with a flaming logo on, accompanied by a flawlessly painted silver and black engine block. The rear lights are painted red [the part they're on is cast in black] and the exhaust pipes on the sides are painted silver, along with the hubcaps. The spoiler is gold chromed [looks AWESOME] as well as the headlights, which are orange chromed. Flame applications use a nice gold paint and are tampographed.
Detailing is a bit plain on this mode. Since the eye-catchers are the chrome parts and the tampographed flames, the rest of the car has minimal panel lines. The true beauty lies in the overall shape and mould rather than the moulded details. That being said, he has actual cockpit interior with seats, a steering wheel and a detailed dashboard.
Playability is not non-existent, but rather passable. The car rolls freely on all four wheels [a rarity nowadays, most deluxe cars have at least one wheel suspended] and through a pseudo transformation, the spoiler folds over and the exhaust pipe\weapon car fire a clear blue missile. Not my cup of tea, really.
All in all, this is a superior update to even the Alternators car mode, but I'm so partial to this because of the flawless and eye-catching paint applications.
Robot Mode
After a smart and fun transformation [preceded by the horror of Grimlock], Hot Rod reveals his true form. The figure is a tad short, reaching around 14 centimetres head height.
Some very subtle yellow is introduced as a new colour in this mode, all the other colours are carried over from the vehicle mode. Burgandy is used for the limbs and main body, with orange here and there to break the monotony. The face is painted silver, with the traditional Hot Rod horns painted orange. No colour looks out of place, and the overall differences between the Henkei version and classics make this the definite G1 Rodimus for your collection.
As before, sculpted detail is sort of minimal. There's the usual panels and ridges on the limbs and the head is sculpted very nicely. The use of new paint applications is the eye-catcher, with the new orange chest plate sticking out and the silver detailing on the shoulders and lower legs. The detail on the muzzle of his gun is astonishing.
Articulation is plentiful. The figure has 21 points of articulation which allow it to get to a myriad of impressive poses. One mistake many owners make is that they do not push the waist forward, thus clearing a lot of space for hip articulation. The arms are a tad hampered due to their design, the lower part does not bend beyond 45 degrees at the elbow whilst the upper arm is connected to the torso a little lower than it should. The head can turn 360 degrees freely but can not look up or down.
Rodimus' weapon is nothing spectacular. By pushing in the blue missile it looks big and awkward [not to mention heavy for the figure], by leaving the missile out it looks stocky. Either way, with the weapon equipped, elbow articulation suffers ever so slightly. A chainsaw weapon is also embedded on the left wrist and can swing out, but does not reach much further than the fist. Fittingly, the weapons from the vintage Hot Rod do fit right in, making it an ideal set of firearms if available.
To sum things up, I was pleasantly surprised by this figure. Unlike Grimlock, no joints were loose, nothing gets in the way and the use of chrome and superior paint apps really brings out the best this mould has to offer. Highly recommended to all fans or completists of the Classics line who got late into the game.
Transformation: 9. Very nice, I especially loved the part where the rear wheels must swing out and the whole spoiler rotation.
Durability: 9. I'm a bit wary of the whole rotating cockpit\windshield, but other than that, there's nothing to break. Careful with the chrome of the spoiler.
Fun: 9. A poseable, accurate and modern rendition of one of my favourite characters? Could be just a tad taller, though.
Price: 9. Classics Hot Rod goes for around 25 USD. This one, with updated paint apps and chrome, goes for 22. I chose this one and did not regret it.
Overall: 10. One of my favourites of the line, and quite possibly the best [or second best] Autobot improvement in the Henkei line. Highly recommended.
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Autobot Knight
Much like Henkei Grimlock, this is my first contact with this mould even though it's almost two years old. I almost pulled the trigger on one last year when the first movie figures were released, but gave it up at the last moment. In retrospect, I'm glad I did.
Hot Rod has been an iconic transformer ever since his appearance in the 86 animated movie. His popularity [or the exact opposite, in cases] exceeds that of classic transformers before him such as the likes of Ironhide, Prowl, Sideswipe etc. Whilst there's been homages to his character or design in newer toy lines, the 2006 classics line was the first that pulled off another Hot Rod release [followed shortly by the Kiss Players version]. Almost two years later, Takara got their hands on the figure and repainted it to their liking...and made a superior product.
Vehicle Mode
Hot Rod comes packed in vehicle mode, a very sleek and stylish sports car. The car measures 16 centimetres long to the tip of the spoiler but sits very squat, barely reaching 4 centimetres in height. As far as I know, it's based on various designs of cars but not to an actual model.
Whilst the vintage Hot Rod figure was blocky but nicely rounded, this one is a sleek rendition and highly updated. The vehicle is sleek and squat at the front and gradually gains height towards the back, where it's "rounded" by an almost rectangular trunk. A very, VERY stylish spoiler tops it all off, preceded by an almost spacecraft like cockpit. The entire car is cast on a burgundy, very dark red. Navy blue clear plastic is used for the cockpit, and the red paint for the roof seamlessly matches the tone of the car body. The hood is painted orange with a flaming logo on, accompanied by a flawlessly painted silver and black engine block. The rear lights are painted red [the part they're on is cast in black] and the exhaust pipes on the sides are painted silver, along with the hubcaps. The spoiler is gold chromed [looks AWESOME] as well as the headlights, which are orange chromed. Flame applications use a nice gold paint and are tampographed.
Detailing is a bit plain on this mode. Since the eye-catchers are the chrome parts and the tampographed flames, the rest of the car has minimal panel lines. The true beauty lies in the overall shape and mould rather than the moulded details. That being said, he has actual cockpit interior with seats, a steering wheel and a detailed dashboard.
Playability is not non-existent, but rather passable. The car rolls freely on all four wheels [a rarity nowadays, most deluxe cars have at least one wheel suspended] and through a pseudo transformation, the spoiler folds over and the exhaust pipe\weapon car fire a clear blue missile. Not my cup of tea, really.
All in all, this is a superior update to even the Alternators car mode, but I'm so partial to this because of the flawless and eye-catching paint applications.
Robot Mode
After a smart and fun transformation [preceded by the horror of Grimlock], Hot Rod reveals his true form. The figure is a tad short, reaching around 14 centimetres head height.
Some very subtle yellow is introduced as a new colour in this mode, all the other colours are carried over from the vehicle mode. Burgandy is used for the limbs and main body, with orange here and there to break the monotony. The face is painted silver, with the traditional Hot Rod horns painted orange. No colour looks out of place, and the overall differences between the Henkei version and classics make this the definite G1 Rodimus for your collection.
As before, sculpted detail is sort of minimal. There's the usual panels and ridges on the limbs and the head is sculpted very nicely. The use of new paint applications is the eye-catcher, with the new orange chest plate sticking out and the silver detailing on the shoulders and lower legs. The detail on the muzzle of his gun is astonishing.
Articulation is plentiful. The figure has 21 points of articulation which allow it to get to a myriad of impressive poses. One mistake many owners make is that they do not push the waist forward, thus clearing a lot of space for hip articulation. The arms are a tad hampered due to their design, the lower part does not bend beyond 45 degrees at the elbow whilst the upper arm is connected to the torso a little lower than it should. The head can turn 360 degrees freely but can not look up or down.
Rodimus' weapon is nothing spectacular. By pushing in the blue missile it looks big and awkward [not to mention heavy for the figure], by leaving the missile out it looks stocky. Either way, with the weapon equipped, elbow articulation suffers ever so slightly. A chainsaw weapon is also embedded on the left wrist and can swing out, but does not reach much further than the fist. Fittingly, the weapons from the vintage Hot Rod do fit right in, making it an ideal set of firearms if available.
To sum things up, I was pleasantly surprised by this figure. Unlike Grimlock, no joints were loose, nothing gets in the way and the use of chrome and superior paint apps really brings out the best this mould has to offer. Highly recommended to all fans or completists of the Classics line who got late into the game.
Transformation: 9. Very nice, I especially loved the part where the rear wheels must swing out and the whole spoiler rotation.
Durability: 9. I'm a bit wary of the whole rotating cockpit\windshield, but other than that, there's nothing to break. Careful with the chrome of the spoiler.
Fun: 9. A poseable, accurate and modern rendition of one of my favourite characters? Could be just a tad taller, though.
Price: 9. Classics Hot Rod goes for around 25 USD. This one, with updated paint apps and chrome, goes for 22. I chose this one and did not regret it.
Overall: 10. One of my favourites of the line, and quite possibly the best [or second best] Autobot improvement in the Henkei line. Highly recommended.
Few stuff in the UK to trade/sell. Measly sales thread.