TRANSFORMERS TOYS AND MERCHANDISE SECTION

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numbat's review of Demolisher

Name: Demolishor
Allegiance: Decepticon
Sub-Group: Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen Voyager Class

Ok. I love practical machines – and that includes construction vehicles. When I heard that the Constructicons were to be included in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (ROTF), the 2009 sequel to Michael Bay’s 2007 live action Transformers film, I was very excited, and sincerely hoped that it was not just part of Bay’s much flouted (yet ineffectual) campaign of misinformation. Amazingly, this rumour has proven accurate – more than in fact, as we are even to get a live action dose of Devastator! However, one giant step at a time…

Demolishor was the first ‘Constructicon’ to be seen in his final form, in the Superbowl teaser trailer. The short snap of the massive and unusually monstrous robot design left me with chills of excitement that equaled that of the first time I watched Blackout transform in the first film. The later trailers have since revealed Devastator’s transformation as well – at least in part – and he is awesome.

Although I bought this figure before the film was released, I have to say, Demolishor’s performance in the opening is wicked cool!

There was no doubt that I would pick up this figure, and I was not disappointed – in fact, it turned out to be far better than I had expected.

[NOTE: Demolishor is NOT a component of Devastator. Although a Terex RH400 does merge with other construction vehicles to form Devastator, this vehicle is distinct from Demolishor, painted differently. Furthermore, there is no indication that the Terex RH400 component of Devastator even has an individual robot mode – let alone one similar to Demolishor – based upon what is shown in the cinematic release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.]


Alternate Mode:

Demolishor does not just transform in to your standard run-of-the-mill excavator. Oh no. Devastator transforms in to the mother of all excavators – the largest hydraulic steam shovel on the planet (at present). This machine can hold a regular building site excavator in its bucket. This machine is as large as an office block. This is the Terex RH400.

In reality this machine’s treads measures 36’ (11m) long, and it is 29’10” (8.8m) from the ground to the deck (not including the height added by the cab). This is a monster in its own right.

Measuring 4” (10cm) across the treads, Demolishor comes in at around 1/110 scale. Now, let’s put this in perspective. 2007 or ROTF Movie Legends Optimus Prime, or Legends Bonecrusher were 1/102. Voyager Demolishor is smaller scale than these figures!

I guess the point I’m trying to make is: this is one massive machine!

(I suppose we are being led in gently to the size concept of Devastator…)

The proportions of this mode are slightly warped – as one would expect at such a scale, and when accommodating such an innovative transformation (and absolutely required to achieve the unique robot mode). The back end is pinched, and hollow from behind, with what look to be two hydraulic cupolas that you might expect to find on a tractor or JCB hanging down. While these do not look out of place, they do not exist on the real machine.

However, these points aside, this alternate mode looks the business from the front or side. The moulded detail is great. There are plenty of panels, mechanical details, railings, steps, rivets and bolts (with grey wash picking out details on the excavator arm). And the rubber treads have specifically moulded pads. The bulk of the machine is a dark, dull menacing blood-red, with the cab and hydraulic arm picked out in light grey, dark grey tread motor mechanisms and railings (unfortunately, the railings show stress marks due to the twist-ties, and seem a little fragile), the odd black detail, clear purple windows, gold panels and black hazard bars. And, there’s the steel coloured rotating gears within the excavator arm, and a black Decepticon insignia on the left side of the machine.

It should be noted that, despite looking cool, the paint job is not wholly film accurate – Demolishor is far more dull grey-white in the film. The paint applications of the figure actually more resemble the Terex RH400 that forms part of Devastator (referred to as ‘Scavenger’ in the Supreme Devastator toy set).

The arm and bucket are fully articulated (ratchet where it joins the body of the machine, hinges at the elbow and bucket). When you bend the arm at the elbow, gears rotate within the arm (the Mech-Alive gimmick – not at all related to transformation, or hidden in this mode, making it more a mechanical feature than anything relating to the hidden robot mode – nice still).

Alas, the treads do not move, and are fixed in place, due to the transformation mechanism. However, this has the bonus of having allowed for realistic sculpting of pad positions. There are now wheels on the underside either (again, due to limitations imposed by the transformation process), so he cannot roll.

All in all, though, despite a few failings, this is one great alternate mode. It looks cool, is impressive, and has excellent play value in its own right.

It’s one of my favourite alternate modes of any Transformer to date.


Robot Mode:

When I first saw the images of Demolishor, I expected a straightforward split in half transformation, although wasn’t quite sure how they’d achieve the wheels. When I got him out of the box, I found that his transformation was not nearly so intuitive! There is more fiddling to those arms than is apparent, and the wheels are so much fun. At the end of the day, Demolishor has, while not a particularly complex, an utterly unique transformation. And, if you have any hope of achieving it in a decent length of time at the first attempt it is essential that you do not look at the instructions. As you may well guess from the stock photos – Hasbro do not know how to transform this guy!

The result is monstrous.

Demolishor stands around 7 ½” (19cm) tall, with the top wheel folded down, as when he is seen rolling down the motorway in the ROTF trailer, and very bulky. He is the ultimate Bay-former – he has two giant wheels, and no legs. The wheels are ratcheted, meaning they do not easily roll. This allows for more ‘stable’ poseability. The wheels allow for either a unicycle configuration (with the other wheel off the ground), or a motorbike-from-hell configuration – both of which are used in the film.

Demolishor is gyroscopic, and the figure allows for this. However, the head is attached to the same ratcheting system as the arms, which does not make moving the arms independently of the head impossible – bit awkward. At the same time, it allows for great play value, as you can adjust Demolishor’s body in relation to his wheels all in one easy movement.

While the head is superbly detailed, with excellent amber light piping (although the rear wheel can get in the way!) and paint applications, it is difficult to determine whether the rest of the mould is so robot accurate. This is largely due to the strange design and very small scale (even at Voyager Class), and the overall result looks fantastic. Unfortunately, Demolishor would have benefited from some additional articulation in the arms, to allow those hands to take on a more ‘natural’ position. Similarly, the blades / fingers on the excavator buckets are attached with a pin, but can’t move.

And, unsurprisingly, Demolishor is not particularly poseable (left alone on a shelf) – he suffers from balance issues. But, he is a massive unicycle! It is possible to balance him using one arm in support, and you can hang a Legends Class figure from him in an action pose though!

And, as with the vehicle mode, Demolishor’s colourscheme is not particularly film accurate – although the dominance of the pale arms and shoulder panels helps give the impression of more white, Demolishor should be predominantly white in robot mode (including white panels on his face). Still, he looks bloody menacing in red!

At the end of the day these are minor complaints in what is otherwise a unique and extremely impressive transformer.

I would personally recommend Voyager Demolishor. He is a totally unique Transformer, offering great fun for those fans that enjoy an original transformation, like the Movieverse robot designs or love massive construction vehicles.

Similarly, though, his very uniqueness may discourage other collectors.


Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation: 9 – Very well designed, utterly unique, and great fun!
Durability: 7 – The figure is generally solid, although those railings seem fragile…
Fun: 9 – Amazingly fun transformation and dynamic robot mode! He’ll never be the best figure for stand-alone display, though!
Price: 7 – Voyager Class figures have upped to £23, but you can pick them up for £17.99 from Play.com. So, despite the increase in RRP, I picked Demolishor up for less than Movie 2007 Voyager Ironhide, from the same retailer. Demolishor is a good sized Voyager Class toy, and great fun – so, if any are worth retail price, he is.
Overall: 8 – Demolishor is totally unique, and utterly monstrous. An excellent figure that will stand out in any collection!

Blackjack's review

Name: Demolishor
Other names: Demolisher; Wheelbot (early production name)
Allegiance: Decepticon
Subgroup: Constructicon
Function: Demolishing; Guardian; Looking generally badass

"This world is not yours to rule. The Fallen shall rise again."

At the very moment Demolishor appeared on the first teaser of the movie (showing quick scenes of him tearing apart a bridge and tossing Prime aside; and tearing down a helicopter) some fans mistook him for the Constructicon combiner Devastator. That's how big he is. Later teasers and trailers showed that Demolishor is in fact a single Decepticon, and has no legs but wheels. I love odd-bodied Transformers. I am a Vehicon fan, and the new movie had loads of inhuman-proportions. I am also a very big Constructicon fan. Hook. Mixmaster. Scrapper. Scavenger. Bonecrusher. Long Haul. The original six, who combined into Devastator in the origina G1 series. I was very happy when I heard that the Constructicons were in the ROTF movie. Demolishor was the first 'Constructicon' to appear. Essentially, Demolishor is just two giant wheels and two large clawlike hands with a head at the centre. Trust me when I say stock photos don't do him justice. When I caught photographs of his toy on the 'net, I laughed and said 'this is going to be a pass for me'. I passed Demolishor numerous times, but ignored him. Then, I watched the movie, and I was blown away by the action scenes. The plot might not make much sense, but the action was wonderful. The Shanghai scene in which Demolishor and Sideways appeared and were taken down by the Autobots is one of the best scenes in the movie.

His awesomeness (I have a weakness for transformers that look inhuman. I also love Constructicons. So I'm biased. Sue me.), coupled with numbat's fantastic review, managed to entice me to buy his toy.

Demolishor is one of the Constructicons. But since there's a whole lot of them (there's like, thirteen of them at least; and only seven vehicles were needed to form big D), he wasn't needed to combine into Devastator. In fact, he was the first Decepticon that appeared in ROTF, and was killed early on in the movie. Apparently he's a gentle soul, waiting for a Decepticon leader to take command. In the meantime, he created a community (Awww, how sweet!) of smaller Decepticons that he guards. He was with the smaller Sideways when the Autobots and NEST arrived and mercilessly attacked. You would think that the Autobots, being the good guys, would spare them and take them into trial or lock them up, but noooo. Demolishor made a scene, that gentle giant, giving Sideways time to run for his life. Demolishor proceeded to escape. However, his efforts were for naught. The Arcee trio and the Twins pursued poor little Sideways before Sideswipe jumped into the game and showed off how good he was, by slicing Sideways into two. Demolishor, meanwhile, rolled away through the highway, running for his life. Optimus Prime was dropped from the sky and with the help of Ironhide finally brought Demolishor down. Demolishor was defeated, and he laid there, helpless, in front of Prime. Demolishor said a few cryptic words. Instead of taking him for questioning and sparing his life, Optimus Prime shot the helpless Decepticon pointblank in the face. Freedom, apparently, is the right of only non-Decepticon sentient beings.

Before I forget, the name Demolishor first appeared in the Armada series, as one of the 'main' Decepticons that appeared in the show. He transformed into a Cybertronian tank with lots of guns and stuff. In Armada's sequel, Energon, Demolishor was reformatted by Megatron into a dump truck. In Cybertron/Galaxy Force Demolishor disappeared from the TV show, but he got a toy, a repaint of his Armada toy. Thus, this is the second separate character with the name Demolishor.

Demolishor is unnamed in the movie, referred to as Demolisher in the novelisation and credited with the early name of Wheelbot in the movie credits. Oh, and to make things worse, wherever he goes (toy, game, etc) he always gets his doppelganger Scavenger's colours. Poor guy.

ALTERNATE MODE

Demolishor transforms into a Terex RH400 Excavator. The Terex is the great-granddaddy of all excavators. To establish his scale, Demolishor is smaller in scale compared to the Legends class Optimus Prime. That's how big he is. In fact, since there's a 'window' on Demolishor, you can see how small us humans are compared to the Terex. In fact, at the present the Terex is the largest steam excavator at the moment, and is as large as an office block. It could hold a run-of-the-mill excavator in his scoop shovel. This monster’s treads measures 36’ (11m) long, and it is 29’10” (8.8m) from the ground to the deck, not including the cab.

Demolishor is approximately 4” (10cm) across the treads, and is 1/110 scale, according to numbat's review. The itsy-bitsy Legends class Optimus Prime is 1/102. Voyager Demolishor is smaller scale than these figures, so meaning to achieve a proper scale, Voyager Demolishor needs to be much bigger. Holy crap.

That's... huge.

And a Terex RH400 (this one doesn't transform at all. While named Scavenger in the products, it is possible that the Terex is merely a portion of Devastator like the G1 Duocons) is only one-seventh of Devastator.

So you could imagine how big Devastator is.

Demolishor's main colours are a menacing yet not flashy blood red for the main body, light gray for the giant scoop and cab, and black for the shovel, treads and odd detailing, with smatterings of dark gray, silver, yellow, and translucent purple for the cab windows. A blink-and-you'll-miss-it Decepticon insignia adorns Demolishor's side. Technically, this is the paint job for Terex Constructicon number II, a.k.a. Scavenger. Demolishor was more white/gray in the movie. But since we already have enough gray/silver bots (I didn't get Sideways and Sideswipe mainly to their bland silver-gray colour schemes. Instead, I'm waiting for the black Dead End and red Swerve repaints for the molds), I think it's appropriate to give the red colour scheme to Demolishor.

Of course, detailings are impressive, with rivets, bolts, nuts and tiny mechanical details molded in. The caterpillar treads are rubber, but it doesn't spin to allow for transformation. No loss here, though. Of course with such a small scale and a unique robot mode, sacrifices need to be made. No sacrifice, no victory, wot? The lower back of Demolishor's alternate mode is hollow, and there are two things hanging off the sides. They look like pistons or somesuch, but they're absent in the real vehicle. Still, they don't look too out of place. Other than the piston-like things and the face (underside the vehicle), there's no robot kibble... not that there's any to hide, mind you.

Demolishor's mech alive feature is when you move the 'elbow' part of the nicely articulated shovel, the silver-coloured gears rotate. Unlike Wheelie, this doesn't interfere with transformation, and unlike Skids, this looks cool and charming.

While he cannot roll at all (due to the treads having no wheels) this is a very fun alternate mode, and one of the more realistic and fun alternate modes.

'ROBOT' MODE

I was a little confused at seeing Demolishor on the big screen. How the hell did they get those two giant wheels when Demolishor had treads? And how did one of them got up above his head? The transformation is wonderfully innovative, and makes full use of the treads unlike most of the previous toys with treads.

It's not as simple as it looks, and it's best to look at the instructions first (and judging by stock photography, Hasbro absolutely do not know a thing about transforming Demolishor). There's more fiddling with the wheels and... well, whatever you call those things that hold the wheels together. The end result is wonderful.

Demolishor's unique robot mode allows him to have a few distinct robot modes. One is his unicycle design (with one wheel behind him and one touching the ground), which is very similar to BM Thrust or ROTF Chromia. Amazingly, since his monster wheels are on ratchet joints, he is very stable. Rubber also increases friction, and as long as the upper wheel is adjusted, you'll get a gyroscopic robot mode. Damn, I love this guy.

Also, you could drop both wheels onto the ground to form the 'motorbike' mode featured in the movie as he plowed through traffic. The arms and head section can rotate 360 degrees, so either wheel can touch the ground, and he could alternate wheels. Very cool, and it is really fun to play with in person. Really, this guy can be adjusted into a variety of poses quickly.

Demolishor's face is superbly detailed, and the reddish-brown piping is excellent (though the upper wheel does get in the way at times). The paint job, of course, is inaccurate, but I still like it. Dark blood red transformers are much more attractive than plain white or gray.

His arms, however, are slightly odd. His arms are on the side, and while posable, it's a bit hard to assume a more 'normal' position. You could bend the entire shoulder forwards so that Demolishor's hand/scoop is pointing forwards, but it's awkward at best. Still, what could you expect from the limitations of a Voyager class? Ah, had this been an Ultra...

Demolishor's a unique toy and by far my favourite design for any Transformer. Highly recommended.

Marks out of ten for the following:

Transformation 6/10 Easy enough to transform, with or without instructions.
Durability 9/10 Surprisingly, Demolishor's very durable. His joints, being ratchet joints, are very durable. Demolishor has no ball joints.
Fun 11/10. That's how fun Demolishor is. A gyroscopic body design, a fun robot mode...
Price 7/10 He is a bit expensive, but you get what you're paying for.
Overall 10/10. Numbat gave Demolishor an 8, but I'm gracious enough to give him a 10. He's that great. In fact, go get him right now. He's much better than, say, Ironhide.