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zeoman4.5
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Finally Done

Post by zeoman4.5 »

this is either a testament to my patience or of procrastination.

Either way it is done, I don't have any pics, but I'll work on that.

Congrats to Numbat, and thanks for supporting me in this review.

It wasn't meant to take this long. Its no epic due to it either, but
I am happy with it. Happy new year.
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numbat
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Universe Swerve (Chevy Exclusive) [uploaded]

Post by numbat »

Thought I'd post some photos of the Universe Swerve, Chevy exclusive while I was uploading photos for other reviews.

He's a rather nifty figure - I'm very satisfied with him. Just the right balance of complexity and simplicity, if that makes sense.

I snapped a few alongside Movie '08 Bumblebee for comparisons.

Swerve is not quite as painfully red as he tends to turn out in the photos, but he is still pretty bright. He's about the same shade of red as my Vauxhaul Corsa. He does have an Autobot inisgnia printed on the bonnet in a slightly deeper red, but it's subtle. He's received excellent paint applications in Aveo mode, which blow '08 Bumblebee out of the water (unsurprising, given he's a Chevy exclusive...), but the robot mode has little in the way of paint apps - it relies on different plastics almost exclusively. He looks cool none-the-less.

I'll write a full review later this week.

:)
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UniverseSwerve&08BumblebeeRobots.jpg
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numbat
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Post by numbat »

Here's what can pass for some art, if necessary - scan of the sketch you get on the instructions.
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UniverseSwerveChevyArt.jpg

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.
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[old uploads]

Post by numbat »

Here's my review for LOC Movie Cliffjumper (Bumblejumper) Vs Recon Barricade (Bluicade).

Well... The start of it at least!

I'm officially in the process of moving to my first owned house as of this afternoon (when I get the keys), so the review may be delayed (along with Chevy Swerve) due to this.

Anyhoo...

What's done is below!

Photos will follow.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Cliffjumper Vs Recon Barricade

Sub-Group: Allspark Power Movie Legends Class

During all the long war over the power of the AllSpark, Cliffjumper has always been the one guy among the Autobots who can be counted on to provoke someone as calculating as Barricade into making a bad move. This is a robot who is so dedicated to beating the Decepticons that he never hesitates to get right up in an enemy’s grill. Barricade especially is frustrated by the behaviour of the smaller Autobot, because while he’s pretty sure he can take Cliffjumper in a fight, he can never think of a good comeback to any of the insults the Autobot hurls at him.


With the Movie line petering out now that we’re well into 2008, Hasbro have released their usual repaint-heavy series that hit latter in a line’s life. This has extended to the Legends of Cybertron Movie figures, although, unusually, there have been a number of new moulds thrown in there. To sell a little more, Hasbro decided to pack this final series in Vs sets – and there are some odd combinations of original live action film characters and repaints out there. Of these sets, to date, three have been exclusively repaints, while the remaining four include one new mould each.

A number of the repaints are based upon repaints of the larger class figures – and this is the case for both Cliffjumper and Recon Barricade – a set of repaints based upon repaints.

Given the direct repaint nature of Cliffjumper, he has nothing to really differentiate him from Bumblebee, bar colour. As such, he really comes across as a blend of the two – Bumblejumper. Of course, Bumblejumper is the fan name given to a G1 Minibot that came packaged in Cliffjumper boxes, was yellow, but was a unique mould (neither Cliffjumper, nor Bumblebee) (see here). Perhaps it would make more sense to reverse the name, given this new amalgamation is red, but ‘Cliffbee’ just doesn’t have the same ring to it.

Oddly, only Bumblebee repaints have ever been given a new character in the Movie line. Other mainstream characters that appeared in the film have just been released as themselves with a prefix to their name, and a backstory explaining the colour change if you’re lucky. It seems a shame that Hasbro haven’t taken the opportunity to create new characters with all, or at least most, of the repaints, but, never mind – we can sort that for them.

In a similar vein, Recon Barricade shall henceforth be known as Bluicade.

I’ve reviewed both of these moulds at least once, and so shan’t get bogged down in details. I’ll only be discussing the merits of the new paint applications. See my reviews of LOC Movie Bumblebee and LOC Movie Barricade for a full discussion of the moulds.


Name: Cliffjumper
Allegiance: Autobot

Tech Spec: - Strength: 6
- Intelligence: 6
- Speed: 7
- Endurance: 9
- Rank: 5
- Courage: 9
- Fireblast: 7
- Skill: 3

Alternate Mode:

Unlike his Deluxe counterpart, LOC Cliffjumper transforms into a ’74 Camaro – not the ’08 concept car. The care measures 3 ¼” (8.5cm), putting it in at around 1/60 scale.

The red does verge on the overpowering, although I find it evokes memories of G1 Cliffjumper. Bumblejumper (a name that we’ve established suits this toy far better) has received a superior paintjob to the original release of this mould. Unlike Bumblebee, Bumblejumper has painted rear windows! Definite bonus, as this was a terrible flaw in the LOC Movie Bumblebee release that smacked of cheap and tacky. The windows are all a pale metallic blue, while silver provides relief from the red in the from of stripes running down the bonnet, and front grill and two of the lights (not the headlights, unfortunately).

All-in-all, I’m rather pleased with this mode – if it weren’t for the red bordering on being too loud, I would prefer him to Bumblebee. As it stands, the two are equal in alternate mode.

Robot Mode:

The robot mode stands 3” (7.5cm) tall, and is still rather red. However, the metallic blue from the windows finds its way onto Bumblejumper’s knees, while the black of his upper legs breaks the figure up a bit. As with the original and clear (Japanese exclusive) versions of LOC Bumblebee, Bumblejumper has an Autobot insignia emblazoned on his chest in silver. Unfortunately, silver is the only colour used to pick out the details on the face in this outing – which results in ghostly eyes and a handlebar mustache. Quite entertaining – although I really would have preferred just about any other colour for those eyes, as the contrast is just too much.

The mould seems to be becoming progressively looser – which is good at this stage, as it allows for considerably more natural poses than the rigid initial release. However, it’s also concerning how many times this figure must have been pressed out in such a short period of time!

Although the LOC Movie figures are generally disappointing in relation to the original Legends of Cybertron series, I find the Bumblebee mould to be good fun, as it seems to recall the fun of a G1 Minibot – which is rather appropriate for both Bumblebee and Cliffjumper.

This version of the mould is rather red, and best compared to the red variant of G1 Bumblebee, although it deserves the name ‘Bumblejumper’. It’s a nifty release of an adequate mould, and I’m rather pleased with it.


Name: Recon Barricade
Allegiance: Decepticon

Tech Spec: - Strength: 8
- Intelligence: 5
- Speed: 8
- Endurance: 6
- Rank: 5
- Courage: 5
- Fireblast: 5
- Skill: 4

Alternate Mode:

Recon Barricade is a Deluxe and LOC repaint that doesn’t make much sense to me – the colour scheme is bizarre and terribly garish.

As before, Barricade’s alternate mode is a Saleen S281 police car. The car measures 3” (7.5cm), placing it at around 1/63 scale – not far off LOC Movie Bumblebee.

Unlike the cool black paint scheme afforded him in the film, he now finds himself navy blue, with a silver top – a child’s ideal police car, I’d guess! The one upshot of this scheme is that Barricade now has clearly differentiated windows. The black wheels and bull-bar do clash rather badly with the blue, and, for no good reason, Barricade’s feet have been moulded in black also, and stick out like an ostrich in a guinea-fowl flock amongst the otherwise silver roof! Red paint picks out one of the roof lights, and in my figure this has spilt over the windscreen. The navy blue plastic does make for some obvious cracks between panels – notably in the centre of the bonnet.

On either door there is a silver shield with a purple Decepticon insignia printed in the centre, and a white insignia has pride of place in the middle of the bonnet. I wish Barricade all the best with his undercover subtle recon missions, dressed up in a patchwork of bright colours with even more obvious Decepticon trappings than his previous incarnation!

He lacks any detailing on front or real lights and grills.

Although initially discouraged by this awful paintjob, I have to say the alternate mode has grown on me ever-so-slightly. It is a radical reinterpretation, without changing the function from police car to another emergency service vehicle, as is so often done. Still, it is a poor show compared to the original without considering the daft oversights, such as those black feet in the centre of the silver roof!


Robot Mode:

For some reason, the pegs holding my figure’s arms to his legs in Saleen mode are extremely stiff (they don’t actually fit in the sockets properly, preventing the vehicle mode from being as seamless as intended), and take undue effort to separate for such a small figure.

That aside, the robot mode stands around 4” (10cm) tall – massive for a Movie LOC figure! It’s just such a shame the designers didn’t add more realistic details or articulation at the elbows to break up those ridiculous beams which stand in for Barricade’s arms!

The blue and black take their battle to another level in robot mode – with the feet, upper legs, shoulders and head all being black (with carefully painted red eyes). I don’t know why, but this whole scheme makes me think of Barricade wearing pajamas. Frankly, he looks a lot less menacing than in any other version of the character! Comical.

The only detail in which this version of Barricade is superior to his original is in the silver ‘hands’ – at least they’re not purple anymore!

Roll all of this together with his cripplingly constipated stance, and the result is not great. Bluicade – which, he undoubtedly deserves to be called – is a rather hideous figure. Although not quite so horrendous as I had first thought, he has not provided any robust reason to reassess my original opinions of the figure from the original photographs.

Still, I am glad to have Bumblejumper standing alongside the other LOC Movie Bumblebees, and as an apt companion-piece to G1 red Bumblebee.


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 4 – Bumblejumper’s transformation is very simple, but satisfying. Bluicade is slightly more complex
Durability: 8 – Bumblejumper is solid, but Bluicade has more joints which could break, and seems to be made of slightly poorer plastic. However, compared with many of the LOC Movie versions (particularly of the larger characters), they are built to last.
Fun: 6 – These moulds are both good fun, but there are far better small Transformers out there. Barricade’s poor arms, worrying stance, and propensity towards toppling take the set down a notch – as does his colour scheme. However, they are among the best of the LOC Movie line, and the Bumblejumper improves on Bumblebee’s paint applications, even if he’s not the same colour.
Price: 8 – You can pick up two of the best LOC Movie moulds for less than $8 (£4) – I’d say that’d a good deal.
Overall: 7 – These are two of the better LOC Movie moulds, but, of course, they are repaints, and as fun as Bumblejumper may be, Bluicade is not quite as nice as his original. I’d expect this set will only sell to those who missed the original releases, or more dedicated collectors of wee Transformers.

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.
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zeoman4.5
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Post by zeoman4.5 »

I agree with your marks. This set is an oddity though. I am actually planning
on starting video reviews on YouTube, under my brother's name, but off
smaller and lesser known TFs, these guys are actually candidates for one of
my reviews. Anyhow, I can't wait to read the rest of it.
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Transformers Cybertron Wingsaber Review ---[proofed]

Post by Detective Barricade »

Name: Wingsaber
Allegiance: Autobot
“Wingsaber, transform!”

WING SABER formed a close bond with OPTIMUS PRIME during the POWERLINX BATTLES. Their friendship was forged in the treacherous interior of the unconscious UNICRON, when they first combined to form the powerful Sonic Wing mode. Though he is a canny warrior with a keen tactical mind and wisdom beyond his years, he is still eager to prove himself to OPTIMUS PRIME and the other AUTOBOTS. As one of the few AUTOBOTS with a warp system capable of interstellar flight without the use of a space bridge, he is often assigned duties as a lone flanker, attacking enemy positions from behind. With weapons systems and armor to rival the most legendary warriors of CYBERTRON, he is more than up to the task!

Strength: 9
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 10
Endurance: 8
Rank: 7
Courage: 10
Firepower: 10
Skill: 9

For my first review ever, I decided to do Transformers Cybertron Wingsaber, one of few Autobots in the Cybertron series able to travel through deep space without need of a space bridge. He tends to come off as overconfident and a bit stubborn. But mostly, he wants to prove himself to Optimus Prime. As for the figure, I picked him up in Zellers a few years ago because he did appear on the Transformers Cybertron cartoon, and I liked the look of Wingsaber in the commercials. I found it in Zellers one day and I bought him. Was he worth it? Read on and see for oneself...

Alternate Mode
In this mode, Wingsaber is an A-10 Thunderbolt. Basically, it’s the physical form of a really bad day for tanks. He does a great job looking the part, with a pair of machine guns mounted underneath the nose. Two four-packs of bombs, two missile batteries (holding four missiles each), and two mini-guns with six barrels each all mount under the wings. The mini-guns also have landing gear on them, along with the retractable one under the nose. The only real weakness to this mode is that the tail fins don't clip well on to the back. They tend to come off, leaving them "floating" in mid-air. That area could have been done better,but it's not a huge problem for this figure.

Wingsaber is mostly white and dark brown, with some gray on the mini guns and machine gun muzzles, a darker gray for the missiles, yellow for the tips of the bombs and for the obvious robot chest plate. The nose cone, wing tips, tail fins, and top of the turbines are glossy red. The canopy is silver. The symbol on his chest is chrome red. And finally, the autobot symbols on his wings, which look just like the ones on Classics Thunderwing, are a slightly metallic red.

If AAA batteries have been put in, pushing the button behind the canopy makes a sound, and an LED inside the nose cone will light up. When the Key is inserted, the nose panels swing out and forward, revealing the "Hyperdrive Ram-Scoop". The left nose panel on mine won’t lock, however. I just use one of the rubber bands from the package to keep it closed. It could be just mine that has this problem. There are two missile launchers that attach beside the bombs, and cover the back of the fake ammo. The missiles can be fired a decent distance. Lastly, Wingsaber is one of few Transformers Cybertron toys able to hold Minicons (please hold your excitement)! He has room for 4.

Robot Mode
After a somewhat involved transformation, you get a very nice looking robot. The only new colors in robot are gold for the face, and green eyes (not light piped). He has a very unique hand design, in that Wingsaber’s hands are the mini guns from vehicle mode. But, by sliding a lever on his arm back, one barrel withdraws halfway, forming a thumb, while a second barrel is completely withdrawn. All the gimmicks from vehicle work here, too, although the "Ram-Scoop" is now a huge cannon and needs to rest on a special stand behind Wingsaber's head that flips up. The missile launchers can peg onto the side of his arms, since the hands can't hold anything. Wingsaber also carries swords! These are made by removing the hilts from the underside of the fuselage (the part where the tails clip on to) removing the wing flaps and then putting them together.

Wingsaber has a great deal of articulation. The feet are hinged, the knees, hips, and shoulders are ratchet joints (the joints that "click" when moved), and the upper legs and upper arms are swivel joints. The shoulders are attached to hinged joints. The elbows are double-jointed (mostly for transformation). The head can turn 360 degrees, but can't turn up or down. His waist can turn 360 degrees, and can bend forward a little, but it's mostly due to the transformation. The back and chest plate get in the way. All the joints on mine are still very sturdy, showing no signs of weakness.

There are some people who say that Wingsaber's legs are useless. That's simply untrue! He's kind of back-heavy, but that's easily fixed by moving the jet nose to the "attack mode" position (over his head, resting on its stand). The underside of the wings can flip out to give him some more use of his arm joints. Tricky to stand? Yes. Impossible? No. Overall, Wingsaber will proudly do a cool pose for display, so long as it's fairly reasonable.

Sonic Wing Mode
For this mode, Wingsaber replaces Optimus’ backpack, with the missile launchers attaching to the heels for stability. The gimmicks from his previous modes are still there, but the missile launchers are less useful for firing here. One thing I really like about this mode is the chest plate. It looks great on Optimus! And this mode is where the swords shine. Just like his blaster, the swords peg into Optimus’ hands. And Wingsaber doesn’t hinder Optimus’ articulation any more than the regular backpack would! Out of both of the “add-on” modes for Optimus (Savage Claw and Sonic Wing), this one is the best. And Cybertron Megatron/Galvatron is not able to combine with him, giving Optimus an edge. However, there are two downsides to this mode when it comes to displaying it: a) Optimus’ backpack is left behind, and b) it’s a real shelf-hog, even rivaling Depth Charge for that title. Overall, it’s still a beautiful and solid mode for play or display.

The Cyber Planet Key included is a Cybertron key. It has a silver-gray border with a red Autobot symbol in the center. The code on the back is uya7. I'm sure everyone was curious about the key (okay, not everyone..), so now you know.

Transformation: 6 Wingsaber is easy compared to the Movie line’s figures, but the ingenuity of it raises this score a bit.
Durability: 8 Aside from the nose panel problem, the wing extensions do pop off, but easily go back on. Otherwise, nothing feels like it’ll break! (Note: do not drop from 10 story building)
Fun: 10 A jet that turns into a good robot, AND combines with Cybertron Optimus? How can this not be fun?
Price: 6 For about $30 US (retail for Movie repaint), Wingsaber is worth it, however he isn’t getting any cheaper...
Overall: 8 If you like jets, grab him. If you like Transformers, get him. You won’t regret it!
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Post by Clay »

Any chance you can take pictures of this? I don't have one anymore.
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Post by Detective Barricade »

I'm still working on this. Since some of the walls and shelves of my room are white (or close to it) I got some potentially good spots to take pictures. I just need to get a decent camera. It's the same figure as Galaxy Force Sonic Bomber, with maybe a few paint differences. And I also need to get Offroad Ironhide done before I lose my claim on him, though I have a feeling that people wouldn't get to this one too quickly, seeing as it's a repaint for the Allspark Power line...:D

I think I'm just about done the written part now. If someone wants to proof it, feel free! Please give feedback, so I can do my next one better, if I can!:D

EDIT: I've decided to not do Offroad Ironhide, seeing as I can't think of anything to say about this mold that hasn't really been said with the other two versions.
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Post by Soundwave »

I really enjoyed this review,well done. I did however note a blemish if you will and I don't mean to nitpick or be a jerk however Megatron does not turn into a walther ppk he transforms into a walther p38. Aside from this small clerical error the review was fantastic. Thank you very much Zeoman
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Post by numbat »

That's the review finished (at last)!

Came across the wee guys whilst building furniture and unpacking today, taking some well earned time back from work, and figured finishing the review would make for good R&R.

Photos will follow (may take a week or two, as I unpack in my new home!).

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.
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Clay
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Post by Clay »

Are these the same colors as the individual releases? I can take pictures if they are.
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Elita One (Movie Target Exclusive) [proofed]

Post by Blackjack »

Name: Elita One
Function: promoting fembots
Alt Mode: Motorcycle
Series: TF Movie

As the first of the female TRANSFORMERS robots, ELITA-ONE gets a lot of attention, and loves every minute of it. It isn't just her incredible handling, or her fast idle that gets the attention either. She's a cunning fighter, and one of the best marksmen among the AUTOBOTS, able to blast Scraplets off a DECEPTICON at more than four miles. At short range, she's just as effective, generating an attraction field that can cause unshielded robots to overheat almost instantly.

Okay... I had some money to burn, and I saw this cool-looking motorbike. The name is Elita-1, the girlfriend of Optimus Prime. I wasn't a fan of fembots, but I bought her anyway. From what I gather, Elita-1 is a repaint of Energon Arcee, and the mold has been used for the first Arcee toy (Target exclusive) in the Movie toyline. The deluxe Arcee was then released in three (!) different paintjobs. Back to Elita-1: She first appeared in a season two G1 episode, The Search For Alpha Trion, and has been featured in some other fiction since. Elita now returns as a motorbike, and let's see her...

Elita One has never been released as an official toy other than convention exclusives repaints. She has appeared various times in Generation One reboots, from the G1 animated series, TF Universe, Dreamwave and her two-panel cameo in IDW's Megatron Origin.

Alternate Mode
Elita-1 is packaged in the motorcycle mode, so I'll start with it. It looks sturdy, and can roll on the floor. However, the back wheel, which splits in two during transformation, often gets loose and may affect her movement. Elita is coloured reddish-brown with some silver, black and gold for the details.

Elita's four-part crossbow weapon (now molded in opaque black) splits and forms some sort of exhausts attached to her sides. The missile still can be fired though. Her Energon Star (also coloured black) is still there, but since it is black now it doesn't affect the appearance much.

Elita-1 displays great, and has a better alternate mode than some of the Scouts class figures (Booster x10 comes to mind). She is also a great display piece, and attracts attention. (I display her in this mode beside Ratchet and Armorhide) Oh, if you remove the black parts that make the crossbow, pull out her high heels to make her stand better. It's how I made her stand for the photograph.

Robot Mode
Transforming Elita is easy enough. She stands as tall as the scout figures, and looks powerful and feminine at the same time. Her (obviously too large) crossbow can only be mounted in one way on her poorly-moulded hand, but it looks cool (not as good as Deluxe Arcee but never mind).

Elita-1's back wheels form some sort of shoulder armour, and can be folded down if you don't like kibble. Elita has high heels, which actually doesn't affect her stability too much. Appearance-wise, though, Elita makes a better display piece in vehicle mode than an action figure. (although the front of her cycle mode hangs down her butt, doing nothing...) Her legs are articulated, but the same cannot be said for the hands.

The point I'll stress is her hands. Her fists fold out of her wrists, and are nothing but a piece of plastic on ball joint with the fingers molded in. Not even a circular holey-hand! Oh well, what do you expect from a Scouts class figure? Moving on...

Crossbow
...And the crossbow: it is impressive. Her two exhausts combine together to form a crossbow, and can fire a missile. The best thing about this crossbow? Read the instructions: "Energon Weapon can be held by other transformers." Even if you don't like fembots, the crossbow is still a nice addition. You can mount the crossbow, which is too large for her, on Bumblebee or Jazz, with which it is more to scale. I haven't tried it on all my figures though.

Transformation: 4/10 Easy enough, but not too easy.
Durability: 7/10 Surprisingly survived a couple of bad falls.
Price: 7/10 Not bad...
Fun: 8.5/10 Depends if you like fembots, but the crossbow is very fun.
Overall: 8/10 I recommend getting her, but only if you missed the original Energon or the Movie Arcee (like me). She has a non-pink paint job (Yes!), an interactive crossbow (More yes!) and a motorcycle (Yes!). Get her, even if only for the crossbow.
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Post by zeoman4.5 »

Actually no these are not the same as the original releases, Megs has got
blue arm pieces. Convoy is the same as the first wave release.

Thanks to anyone who actually reads this review, since it took me almost
a year(due to random circumstances not lack of ideas) to complete.
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Post by zeoman4.5 »

Great review. Well worth the wait, for me.

Try as I might I just can not find the Bee vs Scorp. packs in my home town, and without a car I can't go and search the surrounding area.

I did like the way you summed up CJ, he reminds me of the G1 too.
Barricade umm... he is nice, but not my favorite. LOC Brawl for the win!!
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Review of Movie Warpath [proofed]

Post by zeoman4.5 »

Name Warpath
Function Warrior?
Group Target Exclusive Movie Scout Class figures

Warpath isn't really into following orders. The way he sees it, if Optimus Prime was all that into freedom, he'd let the other Autobots do what they wanted instead of trying to command them all the time. For his part, Warpath is happy to fight the Decepticons, because those guys are serious need of a beat down. But he'll do it his own way, and on his own time.

Warpath was one of those G1 Autobots you just couldn't forget. Why? Well
because he like many other Generation One TFs had a very humorous
personality glitch. He would begin to randomly spout off expletive words such
as "Wam! Bam! Zow! and Ka-Blam!!!!" He was one of the most zealous
fighters of the Autobot ranks. Along with his enormous power and strength,
he definitely out lived his diminutive Mini-car stature. His toy blurb describes
him as a bit prideful and vain, but a great warrior. Anyhow, fast forward about twenty years and we finally get to have a new version of this memorable little bot. Unfortunately he is little more than a repaint of the
Cybertron Scout figure Overhaul. A new mould would have been far better,
but this guy isn't bad, and is a bargain compared to some other Movie line
figures. On to the review.

Vehicle mode
Warpath's vehicle form is a small 4x4 vehicle. He reminds me of a Blazer or a
Tahoe. To be quite honest I'm not sure what he is exactly, he is some type
of rugged, off-road SUV. He has got about a 50-50 paint scheme. Half black
and half brick red, he also has a few sky blue details painted on and silver
rims and head lights. Looks pretty good altogether. The red is off by
comparison to the G1 version, but goes well with this mould.

As far as play is concerned he has all the basics for a good vehicle mode.
Well rolling wheels, Check! Very durable, Check! and a cool paint job, Check!

Robot Mode
After a short but fun transformation, we have his robot mode. He looks, once
again, rugged. The paint scheme is again Brick red and black with a bit
more blue and a little silver. His body is short and stocky, built like a bulldog.
He has a well armored exterior, with his vehicle parts forming large pieces of
plating on his knees and the back of his shoulders. He has a cold stare on
his face and and a light pipe eyes that glow an eerie light-blue. Looks nice,
NOTHING like the original Warpath, but nice none the less.

Functioning parts on this guy are figurative term. He should have shoulder and elbow articulation, but due to the large shoulder plates on his back and
the wheels and claws on his lower arms they can barely do anything. Luckily
his legs are un-hindered by anything, and have waist, hip and knee joints for
some nice battle stances. Weapons include a pair of wrist mounted claws and
his Cyber key activated projectile launcher. It is located in his chest just as
the original Warpath's cannon was in on his chest. (or was his chest... )
It fires well and makes him a rather fun figure in all.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Price 6 This guy will run you about $7.99 at Target. Not so great for
the overall content but still cheaper and better than many other toys.
Durability 8 Rather durable, he doesn't brake easily.
Transformation 3 Pretty simple. Enjoyable none the less.
Fun 8 Yes he is quite fun to play with and looks good on display.
Overall 7 For a scout class figure he is pretty good, and he is one
of the coolest of the Target lot, but is nothing like the G1 figure of his
namesake. If you are looking for a modern version of the Original Warpath
keep lookin', but if you want a good over-all bot for an easy to handle price,
look no further.
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Blackjack
Posts: 9112
Joined: Sat May 03, 2008 1:04 pm

Post by Blackjack »

Oh by the way can anyone help me to get pictures for Payload, Sky Shadow and Elita One? I can write reviews, but cannot (and I don't know how) put pictures in the internet. Whoever helped me to get the pictures for my past reviews (booster x10, spyshot6, Cyroscourge), I thank them wholeheartedly.
Thanks!

EDIT: I figured out how to do it, but it'll take me some time. expect the pics to be uploaded in two weeks, after my classes...
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zeoman4.5
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:34 pm
Location: Where moth and rust corrupt

[clay quietly uploads]

Post by zeoman4.5 »

Name Storm Surge
Function Naval Combat?
Group Target Exclusive Movie Scout Class Decepticon

Storm Surge is so named because of his all-encompassing approach to
combat. Allies and opponents alike rarely leave a fight in which he is involved
without being soaked in corrosive salt acid, or bathed in jellied gasoline.
During fights at sea, the water around him erupts constantly into geysers as
his depth charges roll indiscriminately into the ocean. On land, he sprays the
area around him with emitters housed on his arms, figuring that the more
destructive power he puts out, the more likely it is he'll take out his Autobot
enemies.


Storm Surge is one of the toys I'd like to call a random buy. Being that I got
him at random. Really I bought him to use as an opponent for my Warpath
figure I got a month prior. He is a basic repaint of the Cybertron toy line's
Shortround figure. I had one too, but I traded him off for a G1 Twintwist
figure. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyhow I am quite fond of
oceanic TFs seeing as there are very few of them. My favorite, of course,
is Seaspray. I'm not really sure were the name Storm Surge originates,
however since this is such minor figure I didn't really look into the name's
origin. I can vaguely remember a G2 figure of the name and I know there
was an Armada Minicon by this name as well. The Minicon was pretty cool.
Well enough of this babble, time for my review.

Vehicle mode
Storm Surge's vehicle form is a boat. Total surprise right? Yeah I know, the
name makes it pretty hard not to guess the fact that he's a boat. The type
I'm not really sure. Considering the fact that he is a repaint of a Cybertron
line mould he could be a purely fictional boat. He looks quite nice though.
The colors are split into segments on his boat mode. The bottom flotation
part of the ship is black. The mid-section of the ship is white with a single
orange stripe with the Sector 7 logo on either side. The topmost part of the
ship has a dark blue paint color. He has all sorts of little detail bits too.
Three little sky blue windows on the front, a pair of hover fans on top, and
on the rear two huge engines for forward propulsion. He looks very nice,
in moulding at least he seems to be an homage to the G1 Seaspray design.
He has a set of wheels underneath which work to a degree, and a removable
central gun. His Cyber Planet Key activates a pair of flip out missile launchers
for added offensive power. I'd say adequate for a figure of his size and price.

Robot Mode
Storm Surge's robot mode definitely looks oceanic. He has a pair of black
tentacle like arms, formed from the bottom of his boat mode. He really doesn't
have any hands but can hold his gun via holes on either arm that the peg on
the bottom of the gun can fit into. His legs are a bit on the stubby side.
Blue and white clad he has a fan on either knee, and the front of the boat
forms his feet. His body is in two distinct sections. The lower half being grey
with a bit of sky blue thrown in to show he has "Allspark power!!!". The top
half of his body is wider, rather square, and painted white and blue. The
vents on either side of his chest are also Allspark Blue. His engines are on
his back now, forming a cool little diving propulsion pack. His head/face really
pulls the look of this guy together. A black helmet with a pair of long pointed
ears protects his face which is shaped like a scuba mask.

He has got alright articulation. His shoulders move 360 degrees and his
elbows can bent 90 degrees. His hips joints are ball jointed and his knees can
be bent as well. His head is also on a ball joint. He has his gun as well as his
Cyber Key powered missile launchers for armaments. He is very fun to play
around with and looks O.K. on display as well. He looks likes he can give
any Autobot one heck of a fight on the high seas or on land as well.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Price 6 He cost me about $7.99, which is not bad but could be better.
Durability 8 rather sturdy, very tough joints, and his paint doesn't
scratch easily either.
Transformation 5 Fun and a little tricky due to tight joints.
Fun 8 A fun little villain, a good sea based TF.
Overall 7 This is a good figure, but his limited selling time and location
make him kinda tough to get a hold of. He is worth your while if you don't
have a Shortround figure yet, or if you like oceanic TFs. Other wise he is
not really a must have, but I suggest trying him out any way.
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zeoman4.5
Posts: 49
Joined: Tue Oct 10, 2006 10:34 pm
Location: Where moth and rust corrupt

Review of G2 Seaspray [proofed]

Post by zeoman4.5 »

Name Seaspray
Function Naval Defense
Group G2 Minibot Autobots

" Be unyielding as the ocean waves and your enemies shall fall. "

Displays a zest for his job unmatched by fellow Autobots. Loves the
ocean and its creatures. Unhappy when he returns to land and
reverts to robot form. Loves the thrill of naval battle. Can go
120 knots, 4000 mile range. Has sonar radar and underwater
surface-to-air lasers, also used in robot mode. Wheels allow
limited land travel. Not too strong or mobile as robot.


Seaspray was one of the Minibots who appeared in season two of the original
Transformers show. He was uniquely known for his garbled voice, meant to
sound as though he was talking under water, at all times. Being the only
sea fairing Transfomer, until the arrival of Broadside a year later, Seaspray
was constantly fending off huge numbers of Decepticons by himself. His
tenacity and courage are the reasons why he is one of my favorite G1
characters. On to the 90's, when Hasbro needing to cash in on the
popularity of the original series recolor and repackage numerous G1 figures
and sell them as a new series Generation 2. So Seaspray along with three
others (Bumblebee, Hubcap, and Beachcomber) were brought out during the
second year of G2's selling run. Or at least thats what Hasbro wanted most
to believe. Actually the idea for the G2 versions of the Minicars was originally
used for a set of Christmas ornaments that were given as gifts to the people
working on the Transformers projects during 1986 selling year. Yes these
were supposed to be decorations for a Christmas tree, thats why they are
covered with the same vacuumized chrome as Christmas bulbs. In recent
years the only Transformer to be seen with the name Seaspray has been
one of the Ocean Minicons from Transformers Armada. I actually really enjoy
this guy and would be doing cartwheels if Hasbro decided to make a Classics
or Universe version of him. If your still reading this then you must
be either nearly as big a fan of Seaspray as myself or absolutely board. Either way here goes...

Vehicle Mode
Well if you didn't get it from the long explanation of his character above,
Seaspray is a boat. He is a search and rescue boat. He has a
pair of yellow propellers on his back and a white crew area. The remainder
of his boat form is a dark chrome blue. His front windows are merely holes.
He rides on top of a set of wheels allowing for him to function on smooth
surfaces. There are a lot of small details in his moulding as well. To be honest
he is very basic, most Transformers of his day were. There is fun in his
simplicity though. I really appreciate that. Its not super displayable, although
he does actually look nice as a Christmas ornament. I really like to just mess
around with him, there are many a day were I just sit for hours at a time
rolling him around and changing him. He's just simple fun.

Robot Mode
Let me just start by saying this has got to be the easiest Transformer to
change in my entire collection. I only need to grasp the back and pull out and
up to get him into robot mode. His rear propeller section now exposes his
small head, clad in a black visor and yellow face plate. His body is all white
with a pair of metallic stickers on either side. His arms are chrome blue and
rounded on the outside, with his small, flat, four fingered hands. His yellow legs lead down to what was his front boat section, now his connected feet. He has a black stripe on his right leg with the word Autobot and a small G2 badge on it. His only points of articulation are in his shoulders, like most G1 moulds. Honestly, he's nothing special. He's plain, small, and not very articulated. However he can still be fun to mess around with and even to play mock battles with. It encourages you to imagine, which in the long run is why I got into TFs in the first place. He is the basic value of all Transformers, a changing robot/vehicle.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation 2 So easy, quick, and fun.
Durability 8 Mine has seen a lot of play and still is holding together.
Fun 6 If you don't have an over active imagination he's very plain and
hard to do much with. If you do than he can be super fun.
Price 8 They are not all that much, between $5-$15 depending.
Overall 6 It's really hard for me to put a numerical value on how much
I like Seaspray. If mine were broken, I would truly be sad for he is a good
little TF, but on the grander scale of things he is not the most important or
the best TF ever. He suits me just fine though, so if you're looking for a faithful little Autobot to help you pass the time, get one.
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Detective Barricade
Posts: 973
Joined: Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:39 pm
Location: Middle of Nowhere, Canada

Post by Detective Barricade »

Does anyone have Cybertron Wingsaber's bio, box art, and/or stats? Or know where I can find them? I threw out the box a long time ago, so I don't have it to look off of...:wall: And TFU.info hasn't updated their site to include either version of him. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Clay
Posts: 7209
Joined: Mon May 24, 2004 2:19 am
Location: Murray, KY

Post by Clay »

Found the bio:

WING SABER formed a close bond with OPTIMUS PRIME during the POWERLINX BATTLES. Their friendship was forged in the treacherous interior of the unconscious UNICRON, when they first combined to form the powerful Sonic Wing mode. Though he is a canny warrior with a keen tactical mind and wisdom beyond his years, he is still eager to prove himself to OPTIMUS PRIME and the other AUTOBOTS. As one of the few AUTOBOTS with a warp system capable of interstellar flight without the use of a space bridge, he is often assigned duties as a lone flanker, attacking enemy positions from behind. With weapons systems and armor to rival the most legendary warriors of CYBERTRON, he is more than up to the task!

And the stats:

Strength: 9
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 10
Endurance: 8
Rank: 7
Courage: 10
Firepower: 10
Skill: 9
Locked