Toy Review Archives

[Blackjack]

Name: Crosshairs
Function: Cheap troop builder
Allegiance: Autobot
Alternate Mode: Military Jeep
Repaint of: (Energon) Strongarm

I just can't resist buying Scout class toys that reference generation one characters. This little guy is peg-warming at my local store, and after buying it for a birthday-having cousin, I was compelled to buy this for myself. As you all know, I love Transformers that transform into military vehicles.

Crosshairs, a repaint of Energon Strongarm, which has been repainted as Movie Strongarm, gets his name from the G1 Autobot Targetmaster. However, the paint job is nothing like G1 Crosshairs, actually resembling G1 Swindle. And I love Swindle.

Since there is no fiction whatsoever for Movie Crosshairs, well, then I'll talk about the original one. Generation 1 Crosshairs is the kind of guy who won't shoot unless he is absolutely positively very very sure he will hit. Not like Triggerhappy. Crosshairs appears in the final season, the Rebirth. (THAT review will have to wait for a while) Crosshairs also appears in the Marvel comics, this time being leader of the Targetmasters. His Nebulan companion is always Pinpointer. G1 Crosshairs has also appeared in the modern IDW comics, albeit in non-speaking cameos among the Central Command hub crew. Optimus Prime did tell him to set a course to earth in Stormbringer.

Let's get to the review now. But first, for old times' sake, history time... The name Crosshairs has been used for the leader of the Generation 1 Targetmasters. He turned into a Cybertronian car thingy. And, uh... *opens Wikipedia to make sure* nothing else. That means that this version is the second character to bear the mantle of Crosshairs.

ALTERNATE MODE

Crosshairs transforms into a gray, tan and brown military jeep with six wheels. Two at front and four at the back. For the playskool reputation Armada is notorious for, Crosshairs, being an Energon mold, is actually quite detailed in jeep mode. He actually blends in with the Movie toys in jeep mode, unlike, say, Elita One or Armorhide. The highlights are the molded chairs and a moving dashboard.

The four Energon weapon pieces can attach in vehicle mode. The first is the energon star. Useless and ugly. The second and third combine into a spare tire that attaches to the back. Well, the head actually. The final is the gun/hook assembly; however, being a military vehicle and all, I'm sure this is a gun, like Swindle.

Coloring is not as garish as Armada or Energon. Yellow-purple-white? Puh-leeze. Take a look at this guy's paint job. Hard-core military. Might be based on Bonecrusher.

The overall look just screams Swindle. I never thought a toy from Scout class could get so much praise from me of all people (you have read my Real Gear reviews, right?), so 10 marks for effort. Actually, this mold would make an excellent Hound in both modes. However, Hound deserves better. That's why he got a original mold... Nay, TWO original molds for Classics 2.0. Definitely going to get the deluxe Hound with Ravage, but zeoman's review of the LOC class is making it... irresistible...

ROBOT MODE

And we get the robot mode. With a rather cute transformation, especially on the hands (love it). The transformation is similar to G1 Swindle too.

Poseability not too good, him being a brick and all. His hands and legs are a bit stiff, but his head rotates. The colour scheme picked for Crosshairs is suiting for him, not garishly clashing like the G1 version, and it sports a much better paint job than the Strongarm movie re-release.

Not a cool toy, but definitely not lame. This is me hoping he gets into Reign of Starscream. And dies. *nonchalant look*

ENERGON WEAPONS

And the energon weapons. Energon Strongarm being an Omnicon (not Omnibot, for some reason), Crosshairs comes with the three-piece energon weapon, this time molded in translucent gray. It is comprised of three parts: two shoulder pieces that combine into a wheel and one crane/gun assembly.

The weapons can be attached in different manners. In the arm, on the shoulder, even on top of the head. Yeah, the wheel and cannon fits on the head. The rotating shoulder joint is more suitable for the cannon, while the two wheel halves stick on the sides of the shoulders as armor. The crane/gun can also be used as a long hand-held gun. Let's call him Pinpointer.

They can also combine into a larger weapon, like Elita-1's crossbow. Only this one is an odd-looking axe, and a larger Transformer (best fits on Movie and Classics toys) can hold it easily. Classics Cliffjumper looks bad ass with this energon weapon.

Not the best figure out there, but the vehicle mode is neat, and it is cheap. But with Universe and Animated burning our pockets, Crosshairs might be forgotten by many. That's the fate of being a repaint. Oh, and if you're looking for a modernized version of the G1 character, keep looking. Like Warpath, this is NOTHING like G1. Please, Hasbro, release an updated version of Crosshairs. And Spinister. And Blackjack. And Battletrap. And Reflector. And Trailbreaker. And Skids. And the Insecticons. And...

Marks out of ten for the following

DURABILITY 6/10 Quite durable, though the top half of the tire can and will fall off.
PRICE 8/10 It's a scout class figure that turns into a car, I tell ya!
FUN 6/10 Nice for display, and quite fun too. Well, compared too [insert name of any Bumper Bonkers, Fast Action freaks etc here].
TRANSFORMATION 5/10 very nice and hides the robot mode well.
OVERALL 6/10 Well, not a figure that I expected to like. I never expected to like Energon Scout class figures, and if you have money to burn, this guy makes an impressive addition to your Autobot army.

[Blackjack]

Name: Barricade
Alligeance: Decepticon
Function: Interrogator (he is a better one compared to Laserbeak)
Alternate mode: Saleen S281 Mustang police car

"To punish and enslave..."-- Barricade has a sick sense of humor.

"Same here. No witnesses. Well, none living anyway."--Barricade is a bad cop. Movie prequel #4.

Argh. The robot replica versions of the toys try to renew the concept of Action Masters. Predictably, they didn't do very well. However, they have 12 action points, making them the ones that are most poseable.

Barricade is among the first batch of Action Masters, (it sounds cooler, and G1 esque. Case closed) along with Megatron and Bumblebee. Later releases include Prime, Frenzy and Jazz. The Action Masters come with an additional accessory that can be used to replace a limb. Unfortunately, there is nothing on the package that tells us that it's supposed to be like that. Therefore, it took me several days to realize that the hands can actually detach. Heh.

Action Master Barricade looks exactly how Barricade looked on the silver screen, unlike the deluxe class toy, who had a chest too large and ugly hands. However, it is a Transformer that doesn't transform. Guess how I'll react towards that? At least the bloody Real Gears actually transform.

As with all my reviews, history time. Barricade appears in Generation 1 among the final batch of toys, as the formula 1 racecar Micromaster. Barricade is the leader of the Race Track patrol. (Blackjack is the leader of the Sports Car Patrol. Don't get us mixed up.) Barricade appears again in Energon, as the central body part of the combiner Bruticus Maximus. The third is the movie one. So, next to Blackout, Barricade is the only Movie Transformer not significant in his earlier career.

Since this is a Transformer that can't transform, I won't bother with robot mode and alternate mode sections.

Barricade is molded exactly like his Movie counterpart. Detailing is extensively done, with impressive colouring. Black is the primary colour, backed up with silver. Hints of red can also be seen. Unfortunately the joints are made of purple plastic and detracts from the overall view.

You can replace his hand with the included attachment, a spinning chainsaw-style weapon. One of the more creative weaponry of the Transformer universe, I
must say.

Barricade is well proportioned, with realistic poseability. His role in the film is being one of the main Decepticons (although that's not saying much) getting merchandized more than Starscream. In the movie, Barricade picked up Frenzy from Air Force One. After a brief conversation with his partner in crime, the bad cop went to interrogate LadiesMan217. He snuck up on Sam and interrogated him (in standard Decepticon manner) at a parking lot. He chased Sam, who ran into Mikaela, and the humans escape via Bumblebee. After some cool road stunts, Barricade rumbles with Bumblebee while Frenzy... rips off Sam's pants. Predictably, the good guys won the battle. Later, Starscream calls the Decepticons to arms. Barricade was the first to answer Starscream's call. He later participated in the road chase along Bonecrusher and 'Bravastator'. While Bonecrusher rumbled with Prime and Devastator found his way to Mission City, Barricade's final fate was unconfirmed. Actually, he was supposed to be killed by Prime after he kills Bonecrusher, and this is true in the comic and novel adaptation. But Bay cut the scene out due to liking Barricade, leaving the cop to reappear in TF2. In 'Reign of Starscream' Barricade was knocked out by Ironhide, making him miss the battle. What an explanation.

Contrary to popular belief, Barricade doesn't eat donuts.

Anyway, back to the review. Robot Replicas Barricade is not too great, but if you want poseable transformers or battle replicas, I have one thing to say to you: Buy the deluxe version, dammit.

Marks out of ten for the following:

DURABILITY 8/10 Nowhere that it could break.
FUN 4/10 It can't transform. Go figure.
PRICE 2/10 Too expensive.
TRANSFORMATION 0/10 There ain't none.
OVERALL 1/10 This is the lowest mark I've given a Transformer. But the four reasons above should be enough.

[numbat]

It was a long time coming! But I've proofed the review now.

I'd love to see photos of these guys - it sounds as if Convoy is a hodgepodge between the standard G1 toy colour release and the Anime colour release? Does he have yellow bits on his bumper, or white upper legs at all? Are his legs dark blue, or as light as those on anime version below?



The thing about WST Convoy is that he really is pretty poor compared to other WST figures, and isn't really much without his trailer (which makes him great fun, with itsy bitsy Roller!).

As to Megs, I'd be interested to see him with the blue pannels. I wonder why they decided to do that? Still, sounds as if they worked, from what you say!

I've not had bother with Meg's arms popping off, but the inner pannels by the hands do come off of mine not infrequently, as does the top part of the chest. Still, he is an absolutel wonder of engineering (the G1 release was already, so packing the same transformation into this tiny wee guy is amazing!). I really do like the guy, and find I can get a few good power poses out of him. And, past novelty, he can be fun - Armada Unicron can hold him happily, and MP Prime can as well, at a slight stretch (see attached photo below).

Grand review!

[numbat]

I'm really not up on Animated at all - Snarl?

What?!?!

Snarl is a Stegosaurus, when he's a Dinobot (and a G1-esque one, at that!)! Pah!

I say bring back a Stegosaurus Dinobot, blast it - they're so underdone!

[Blackjack]

Cool. And sooooo cute.

[Treadshot A1]

excluding the summary of points/etc. YOU MADE ME WAIT TILL THE SECOND LAST SENTENCE BEFORE CHUCKING IN A SARCASTIC COMMENT?!

That's the only reason i read the thing and at least there's two.

As you all know, I love Transformers that transform into military vehicles."

Hmm, never knew that...

Jokes aside... grate review. ( it's nearly time for dinner... starving...only think of food, want that french frie former numbat has...)

[Blackjack]

Heh. That's my style, live with it.

[Blackjack]

I'm not into Animated too, other than the toys.

As such, I was surprised about the Triceratops Snarl. A quick visit to Wikipedia turns out that although Hasbro has the trademark for 'Slag', they decided not to use it, as they were afraid the name Slag would be deemed offensive and reduce sales.

No joke.

What I want from the Dinobots is Swoop. Although technicaly Pteranodons ain't dinosaurs.

[numbat]

What I want from the Dinobots is Swoop. Although technicaly Pteranodons ain't dinosaurs.

Ah, learned you are.

Alas, the jury is currently out on that one, after a long long time of pterosaurs being deemed to have diverged from an archosaurian common ancestor before dinosaurs.

Recent genetic analysis, some fossils and revisited morphological analysis has raised a high possibility that pterosaurs diverged either around the same time as dinosaurs, or from early dinosaurs even. In which case, dinosaurs would have evolved powered flight twice - which is impressive for vertebrates!

Ah, the intrigues of evolutionary science...

[electro girl]

I thought they were just flying reptiles?

[Treadshot A1]

WTS?! It's slag, people! Why is your review Snag?! Coz' you got him?!

I don't want excuses, people!

[Treadshot A1]

not for long. Numbat doesn't have to. He's in the first paragraph...SLAG!

[Detective Barricade]

I don't recall saying that... Don't make me make Depth Charge spit "pizza discs" at you...

[numbat]

At long last I finally got the Reprolabels stickers, and have applied them!

(I had a really bad experience where Reprolabels sent out defective sheets first time round - Sludge's sheet missing one of the eye stickers completely, and Swoop's sheet with white scratch marks through the pteranodon head stickers... They were apologetic and sent out replacements. I guess they were very busy when they sent them out or something, because they're normally very good.)

Review is in progress, and I'll take photos later (including ones of the lot of 'em, and with missile launchers once I get round to Swoop, seeing as how he came with 'em.)

Anyway - enjoy! These guys have been a long time coming!

--------------------------------------------------------------------
Tech Spec: - Strength: 9
- Intelligence: 3
- Speed: 2
- Endurance: 10
- Rank: 4
- Courage: 9
- Fireblast: 1
- Skill: 5


Name: Sludge [Jungle Warrior] (World’s Smallest Transformers – Justitoys 2008)
Allegiance: Autobot
Function: Jungle Warrior, Demolitions
Sub-Group: Dinobot

Quote: “Stomp your enemy, crush him under your feet.”

Likes to make presence known – a footstep can be heard and felt in a 3-mile radius. Gentle and shy, but terrifying and unstoppable in battle. Like other Dinobots, dislikes Optimus. Can exert 40,000 psi via feet – enough to shatter a bridge. Immense strength and endurance. Adept at fighting in water, swamp, and jungle. Slow, not too clever – often victim of the calamities he causes.

[Bio lifted from US G1 release. Tech specs on box identical, although presented in an unusual order.]

The World’s Smallest Transformers (WST) line by Takara offered one of the greatest lines of small Transformers that had ever been produced. Miniature reproductions of the original G1 toys, replicating the original details, colours and even transformations (a real achievement in the case of such complex figures as Megatron, not so outstanding for, say, Bumblebee!). Unfortunately, this line was discontinued in 2005, apparently ending this fantastic series of tiny G1 Transformers.

Roll on 2006 and Justitoys – a new company – picked up the WST idea, making WST Dinobots! Technically knock-offs, these WST figures are made to a higher standard than Takara’s line. They are as near as possible exact reproductions of the G1 Dinobots, and include the very same die-cast parts as their larger and older counterparts.

The first release, Snarl, showed great promise, while having a few quality issues (notably the stickers – which have improved with subsequent releases, but are still rather poor – and loose parts, such as the tail halves and waist), and the quality only improved with the subsequent dual release of Slag and Grimlock (although my Grimmer’s leg has since broken in a minor way at the hip…).

The final Dinobots – Sludge and Swoop (the ‘mystery’ figure for which tokens could be redeemed to reduce the cost through select retailers such as TFSource, and included the missile launchers for all five WST Dinobots) – were set to be released in September 2007, and there was much anticipation. Alas, as time rolled by, delays were announced, and the figures did not actually see distribution until late March 2008!

However, it has been worth the wait so as to complete the set of tiny Dinobots! (A group I am very fond of, in a size class I love!)


Alternate Mode:

Sludge transforms in to a diplodocus or apatosaurus (sometimes incorrectly called Brontosaurus – the two great palaeontologists of the Great Bone Wars named this genus around the same time, but Edward Drinker Cope beat Othniel Marsh to the punch, and so by scientific procedure, the first name was taken) type dinosaur (some form of generic sauropod anyway). He is quite bulky, although not quite as bulky as Slag, and measures 4 7/8” (12.5cm) from snout to tail – in anime scale with Takara’s WST figures (more or less). Indeed, the anime accurate approach has been central to Justitoys WST Dinobots (taken to it’s height with WST Swoop), although to go the full hog you’ll need to buy sticker sets from Reprolabels… Compared with the other Dinobots, he does look a little diminutive given he should be really rather huge, but this is true of the G1 figure as well!

Moulded detail is excellent, and matches the G1 original. However, this is also, to some degree, the figure’s downfall, as Sludge lacks any eyes whatsoever – moulded or painted. Still, we have largely grey plastic, with chromed silver front body and tail, chromed gold protrusion on his back (robot mode feet), chromed gold jaw, and transparent plastic head and neck – which reveals all the beautiful intricate moulded mechanical workings beneath.

Articulation isn’t great, but it is given this is a replica of a G1 figure (at miniature scale to boot). He shares the level of articulation of the G1 figure – with hind legs swiveling at the hip and knee, front legs at the shoulder only (which also brings the hands folded beneath the chest forward, just like the original…), and a moving jaw – which is not on a hinge per se, but rather lodged in to the skull, with a degree of freedom of movement.

Now, it is a real shame this guy lacks eyes – as an eyeless dinosaur is just freaky! (I realised this as a child with the G1 figure even…) That said, the stickers provided by Justitoys are fairly poor quality to begin with, and badly cut. However, Reprolabels offers an answer to both quality and eyes for only $4.50 [£2.25] including postage to anywhere. Although the eyes are rather small (and include a patch of gold which makes Sludge look like he’s some glam-rocker in the wrong light), tweezers and a steady hand can restore the sight of this long ignored visually impaired Autobot (although I find it strange Reprolabels provided an extra set of eyes per sheet for Slag, when Sludge’s are far more fiddly!). The other benefit of stickers is that you can decorate the figure as much or as little as you like – have him plain, like the cartoon (which I favour), or the full cluttered hog of the G1 figure! The choice is yours!


Robot Mode:

Sludge’s transformation is fairly simple – the only tricky part is getting the robot mode wings over the arms, but this can be achieved by leaving the arms in the dinosaur mode position and pulling the wings ever so slightly out from the body while you rotate. I did find the tail halves to be almost impossible to separate the first time, but they have become easier since. On a huge positive, the fists unfold in the same manner as the G1 original – meaning Sludge does not require tiny fists to be added after transformation as with WST Snarl and Slag.

Sludge stands a bulky 3” (7.5cm) tall in robot mode, and is still the spitting miniature image of his G1 figure. Unfortunately, this means he still has huge screws in the front of his arms, but they had to be either there or in the front in dinosaur mode, and I’m happy for this decision.

The diplodocid alternate mode did not allow for many interesting robot mode opportunities, when compared to Slag’s Triceratops or Snarl’s Stegosaurus, but the designers achieved a relatively interesting bruiser of a mode, with cool hallmark chromed wings.

The colours are the same as the dinosaur, with additional black for the hands and upper legs / waist, and red die-cast metal for the body.

The head is wonderfully detailed, and has a superb paint job of silver (detail) and blue (eyes), without a single splash or misapplication (on mine at least).

Articulation is as with the original – legs swivel at the hips and knees (which are very close to one another), arms swivel at the shoulders and the head rotates. This allows for plenty of rigid power-pose display possibilities, but not any chance of a dynamic stance – but, hey, these are Dinobots man!

Sludge comes complete with his gun and sword, but, unfortunately, the sword handle is too chunky to fit in either fist. But, if you were to drill a fist out, it would become too large for the gun, so you will have to choose one hand for each, or no sword at all.

All in all, I would say Sludge has been worth the wait. Unfortunately, Justitoys production quality seems to have slipped slightly since Slag and Grimlock – it would be nice if the sword did fit in Sludge’s hand! Still, a great wee Transformer, of higher quality than Takara’s official WST figures, who displays excellently.


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 8 – Fairly straightforward, but the fists unfold as with the original G1 figure! At such a small scale, and given other WST Dinobots have separate fists, this is a huge bonus!
Durability: 7 – He feels solid. However, so did WST Grimlock, and mine recently suffered an injury to his hip during gentle and normal transformation, so I think I’ll play on the safe side here… These are display pieces, and not toys, and so durability may be reduced.
Fun: 8 – While Sludge is great fun at a miniature scale, the fact that he can’t hold his sword is a disappointment.
Price: 8 - At $15.95 (~£8) from TFSource, WST Sludge is a bargain for what you get. Of course, postage puts the price up a bit, so I’d recommend ordering with other figures. There are good bundle deals for the WST Dinobots just now, so if you need a few (or all five) now’s the time to order!
Overall: 6 – The Justitoys WST Dinobots series is a real gem for wee Transformers collectors. However, Sludge is not the most interesting of the Dinobots (although I’m sure he has his fans out there!), and this offering is not quite as well produced as WST Grimlock and WST Slag, while being an improvement on WST Snarl.

[Transformer Kamen]

I say bring back a Stegosaurus Dinobot, blast it - they're so underdone!

Agreed, though what I really want is a new Sludge mold.

[numbat]

Card art for Sludge.

I really love the artwork with this series - the character stuff blows official lines' artwork away, and the Dinobots Vs Constructicons stuff is cool - like an upgrade of the old battle pics you used to get on the G1 boxes and leaflets!

[Halfshell]

I thought they were just flying reptiles?

And dolphins are swimming mammals, doesn't make them the same thing as cats.

WTS?! It's slag, people! Why is your review Snag?!

Composite of Snarl and Slag.

[numbat]

Well, I have written the WST Dinobot reviews in order of release so far, and I'm not gonna stop now.

However, I was a lot more excited by Swoop than the others, and that's saying something. But I think that's really because I never owned the G1 figure, being in Scotland and all, while I did have the other four.

Oh, and he comes with the launchers and has a G1 anime accurate paintjob, more or less with a blue body.

Alas, the figure suffers from some major quality issues.

Anyhoo - I'll get to him after Sludge.

In the meantime, here's the card art (which is rather nifty!).

[numbat]

WTS?! It's slag, people! Why is your review Snag?! Coz' you got him?!

I don't want excuses, people!

You know, like Bumblejumper?

Agreed, though what I really want is a new Sludge mold.

Yeah, he has been underdone as well. But I more dynamic mould would be welcome - sauropods seem to get saddled with bulky designs which look fairly useless... But that would probably be tricky to do, and I think it would take a lot of clever designing not to result in a robot mode with a lot of kibble with the neck and tail... Which aren't features which enhance the robot mode's look. (Erm, Sludge was my least favourite Dinobot, I think...)

Stegosaurus's offer more great possibilities with spikes and plates that could be placed around the body (I mean, frankly, G1 Snarl has the coolest looking robot mode... he's just the most inconsequential Dinobot for some reason...).

[numbat]

Review complete. Photos will follow.

NOTE: I've pre-empted the URL for the upcoming WST Swoop review, based upon the other WST Dinobot URLs.