Toy Review - DotM Deluxe Laserbeak

[griffin]

Toy Review - DotM Deluxe Laserbeak

(Please post photos, comments or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details)

Toy Review - Laserbeak
Series - Dark of the Moon
Sub-line - Mechtech
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 3
Released here - May 2011
Approximate Retail Price - $24-30
Approximate Size - 14cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-modes - Hover Jet/bird
Main Features/Gimmicks - Convertible Mechtech weapon
Main Colours - Grey, red
Main Accessories - Mechtech weapon (in 2 parts)


http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/mt20.jpg

[Decepticon]

Got it yesterday. Better than what I thought but really dislike that head. It already has a knickname......LaserTurkey!

[Stompy]

As with Decepticon above, this was better than what I thought and thoroughly dilike the head as well.

Alt mode I guess can pass for a hoverjet, as much as Ravage could pass for an "entry mode" comet. In other words, forced. The two hover-propellers are a nice homage to the cassette holes but that's as far as it goes. It fails to hide any of its robot kibble too. The tail is just there, the "feathers" are visible on the inside of the "legs", bleh. Although this isn't as big of a disaster as Ravage or MV1 Megatron or Shockwave's alt modes, but still forced.

The bird mode have really nice wings when fanned out and have a lot of articulation for you to play around with for various poses. The legs are ok, if a little long, and the knee joint can get loose quite easily with prolonged play. The body is a little fat due to the "cockpit" of the alt mode and presents you with a gaping hole right there, like someone just shotgunned this poor birds chest clean open. Although that's not as horrendous as the ugly head this thing has. Think ET with eyes bulging out of its sockets and turkey like sagging cheeks. The look from the movie model just did not transfer as well as the sculpting did. Very ugly. It's a real pity too as the neck is pretty well articulated. Although for a more classic look, you can leave the "cockpit" as the head in bird mode for a more classic look, but you just don't get the elongated neck, but it works quite well and is better than only-a-motherSoundwave could love.

Conversion was a little more involving than I expected but it's all quite predictable.

If anything, the Mechtech guns is probably the most appealing aspect of this figure. The dual machine guns looks badass and is begging to be used by a humanoid robot. You can then combine it together for a massive Assault Rifle which should look ace on a Voyager figure.

Overall, I'm a bti torn on this. It's certainly better than Ravage and upon further inspection, the alt-mode resembles the classic Laserbeak then the bot mode. In fact if you just fan out the wings in alt mode, you get a more classic looking Laserbeak than the Bayverse bird mode. Buy if you are a completist, or want the mech-tech weapon. Otherwise wait for a sale if you are curious.

[Soundwarp]

That looks like a ZORD toy............

[Autocon]

spoilers


so you mean it doesnt turn into a photocopier!!!:eek::mad: O_o








open eyes continue reading thread:)

[Fonecrusher]

Dunno about him, on the one hand he's freakin' Lazerbeak, has some cool mech tech weapons and I dig the red wings... On the other his bot mode looks ridiculous the supposed alt mode is kinda weird looking and frankly from the instructions the potential Buzzsaw head remold looks cooler....

I planned on getting one at Myer but I was indecisive a couple days and he was gone by the time I decided to take another look.

[Autocon]

does he actually have a bot mode?:eek: pls post

[Gutsman Heavy]

nah, bird thing and VTOL thing.

[Tetsuwan Convoy]

I like it, but the vehicle mode seems a bit pointless TBH. I mean a bird and a VTOL plane thing?

Looks nice and was better than I expected. Ugly head. using his heel spurs, you can plug him into Sentinel Prime's shoulders which is kind of cool.

I see it more as a vulture really. A new head would work wonders. I hope the other head is Buzzsaw and he has golden wings.

buy if cheap. Its nice, but not THAT nice

[Gutsman Heavy]

cant unsee!
http://daggy.name/cop/images/00000307.gif

[VERT]

I got him the other day and well..... I just dont like it much. I wished I had gotten Thundercracker or Nitro Bee.

Oh well I live and learn.

[GoktimusPrime]

I don't mind this toy. Of course, I got it on sale which probably helps. ;) It's definitely a better toy than Scorponok or Ravage. I like how he has those spines sticking out along the neck, back and tail like Ravage - gives them a kind of visual commonality as Soundwave's minions. I don't dislike the head, but I can see why some people wouldn't be a big fan of it. To be fair, we can't really blame Hasbro for a head based on something designed by Paramount/Dreamworks.

Some people are already speculating that the alternate head shown in the instructions might be used by Hasbro in the future as movieverse Buzzsaw. I hope this is true. Sure would beat otherwise pointless repaints like Recon and Sea Attack Ravage. (-_-) The transformation and the tail and neck articulation is reminiscent of G1 Sky Lynx to me.


Overall, I'm a bti torn on this. It's certainly better than Ravage and upon further inspection, the alt-mode resembles the classic Laserbeak then the bot mode. In fact if you just fan out the wings in alt mode, you get a more classic looking Laserbeak than the Bayverse bird mode.
Perhaps this was intentional as a tribute to G1 Laserbeak. I like how the Mech Tech guns mount on the wings which is also reminiscent of G1 Laserbeak.

It shows that there was a lot more thought put into the alt mode compared to Scorponok's "make it stand!" robot mode or Ravage's "curl it up" re-entry mode (despite the fact that Ravage never exits or re-enters the Earth's atmosphere... so how the hell is it a re-entry mode??)

[LordCyrusOmega]

Got him yesterday and well, as much as i'm a fan of laserbeak I voted only if cheap. Looks like a robot chicken.
I agree with Gok in that the tail and head is very much like G1 Sky Lynx. By folding the legs back in alt mode hides them well enough. I think it works, but I am really hating the head.

[SMHFConvoy]

got mine last week. He's okay but I think he would be more in line with HA basic and had a "weapon mode" rather than the VTOL

[kaiden]

Kaiden's One Photo Review!

http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc410/LamDX/Transformers/IMGP2589.jpg

[GoktimusPrime]

Interesting fan mode there, kaiden. It's very... KISS Play. ;)


He's okay but I think he would be more in line with HA basic and had a "weapon mode" rather than the VTOL
Well the basic HAs have both an alt mode and a weapon mode - having a weapon mode alone wouldn't make it very marketable to kiddies. Of course, the Basic HAs aren't based on Paramount/Dreamworks' designs (well, at least the robot modes aren't afaik) which gives them a lot more liberty in engineering.

I suspect that Laserbeak might be another non-transforming 'bot in DotM like Scorponok and Ravage were in the previous films (people who already know, please don't confirm or deny this for me (or if you do, please spoiler tag it) -- I'll find out for myself in 16 days ;)) - but of course, to sell the toy as a Transformer Hasbro needs to make it transform into something. So as far as half-bummed alt modes like these goes, I think the VTOL mode is alright. I prefer it over Scorponok's poor excuse for a robot mode or Ravage's petty excuse for a re-entry mode. :o I hope I'm wrong about my suspicion though... I really do wish the live action films would stop introducing Transformers-that-don't-transform!! :mad: Having said that, we had plenty of those in G1 too - but they were all non-toy characters (e.g. Hauler*, Alpha Trion, Beta, Sentinel Prime, Crosscut, Rotorbolt, Fusion**, Flattop (Autobot), Man of Iron, The Navigator, Rack 'n Ruin, Emirate Xaaron***, the Decepticon Triumverate**** etc etc.

-------------------------------------------------
*we never saw Hauler's robot mode, unless you're gonna follow that TFTM argument :p Anyway, it's now been retconned as looking like Grapple which is what everyone assumed anyway
**likewise we never saw Fusion's robot mode - but it's probably very similar if not identical to Cybertronian Optimus Prime! err.. which is probably the same as Earth Optimus Prime (G1 never made the robot modes look different on pre-Earth Cybertron :p)
***Yeah, although his alt mode is known, he never transformed into it during G1 (and there was a canonical reasonexcuse provided for this)
****Octus' alt mode was meant to be a Dalek - but of course, he never transformed into it! Animated Octus (http://tfwiki.net/w2/images2/f/fe/Octus_by_BillForster.jpg) has a lot of obviously Dalek alt mode kibble hanging off his robot mode! ;)

[griffin]

Now that I know there is another version of Laserbeak coming out with HA Soundwave, I voted no on this.... otherwise, I would have voted 'only if cheap'.

This one sucks because it doesn't embrace the 'robot in disguise' concept at all. We have a robotic-bird mode turning into something that still looks like a robotic-bird thanks it having wings in both modes, and the VTOL cockpit painted with eyes and white detailing to look like a bird head. If they didn't paint the cockpit at all, or gave it paint detailing like metal plating, it'd differentiate it enough for me to see it as a human vehicle.
It's almost like Hasbro gave up trying to turn Laserbeak into something of a disguise, and then ruined their half-assed attempt by painting bird details on the vehicle mode to make it look like Laserbeak in both modes.

Folding in wings, tail and head is not "transforming" a toy. This figure would have been more worth it as a Laserbeak toy if it didn't convert. It could then have been even more movie-accurate and desirable.

Get the HA Soundwave set for Laserbeak... it might only turn into a weapon, but at least it doesn't waste more of our money on an alt-mode that wasn't in the movie, or even different to the 'robot/bird' mode. Plus it's body shape is more movie-accurate.

[snaketales]

I got it from Target for cheep (see what I did there? :D) mainly for the guns and as potential custom fodder. VTOL mode is too small for my liking and the head is just silly.

Nice bird wings, though.