TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

Robot Mode:
Alternate Mode:
Box Art:
Technical Specifications:
STR
INT
SPD
END
RNK
CRG
FPR
SKL

Sir Auros' review of: Steamhammer

Name: Steamhammer
Allegiance: Decepticon
Function: Constructicon Maximus Team Leader
Sub-Group: Constructicon

I've been pumped about the new Energon gestalts for a while and I was both pissed and worried when it was announced that they would be released individually. I wasn't upset because of the price, but because at the time this was announced, the only new Transformers I could find in my state had shipped in February and several more waves were out elsewhere in the US. So, one can imagine being in that situation and then finding out that you'd have to hunt down each of the five pieces of each of the three kickass-looking new gestalts. Steamhammer is the central portion to Constructicon Maximus (or Devastator if you must call him that), and since I do have one of each of the Energon constructicon molds now, Steamhammer, like the rest of the constructicons, is only really worth having for the alternate mode and (hopefully) the gestalt mode.

Vehicle Mode:
Steamhammer is neither steam nor a hammer. Dicuss.

Seriously though, the alternate mode could be called a steam shovel, but I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a steam-operated hammer. I actually really like the vehicle mode though, and I think it's because it reminds me of Mike Mulligan's steam shovel from a children's book I had with this guy and his animate steam shovel. They dig a basement for a school, but forget to leave a ramp, so they dismantle the steam shovel and turn him into a furnace and Mike Mulligan logically becomes the janitor. I figured that was worth mentioning since there's not too much else to say about Steamhammer's alternate mode except that it doesn't do a brilliant job of being a robot in disguise and the color is likely to offend some, but neither of those little faults bother me, at least not in the face of the staggeringly, mindbendingly horrendouse mess of a robot mode.

Robot Mode:
Just like the other two constructicon molds, Steamhammer's individual robot mode is a huge letdown. He has little articulation and his left arm is the damn steam shovel and his only defense. His head is immobile as far as I can tell, but maybe if I had wee little child fingers, I could move it somehow, but I have great big man fingers that are for scratching things and picking up heavy things, not for moving tiny little things. The legs really don't have much range that they can be posed in, but they do have a decent amount of articulation. It's just not practical articulation. The figure's right arm is slightly more mobile, but it also has a very limited range before it looks awkward, and I'd go so far as to say it looks goofy in any position. I'm not a fan of the way the back works and if you view the figure from the side or back, it makes the torso look hollow and ridiculous. The figure's head sculpt is good, but the paintjob they put on it isn't, which is kind of a shame too since the paintjob on the rest of the figure is really pretty good.

Transformation: 7 - Not very good at hiding the robot mode, but it is pretty complex and you do have to bear in mind that it has a third mode for the gestalt.
Durability: 8 - For some reason, the bar between the treads on mine looks like it's been chewed.
Fun: 7 - Adequate construction machine, but craptaculicious robot mode where you can't move anything and expect it to stand up.
Price: 9 - Really not a bad price now that Deluxes have been knocked down to under $8 most places. Of course, I could only find mine in Target, where Deluxe figures are still $9.99.
Summary: 6 - I really do not recommend this unless you want it as part of the gestalt mode, because as an individual Deluxe figure, it's just awful.