Toy Review - Kre-O Series 2

[griffin]

(Please post photos, comments or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just some brief details to get you started)

Series - Kre-O
Sub-line - none
Wave - 2 (7 sets)
Released here - not yet (globally July/August 2012)

- Destruction Site Devastator (Devastator OR 4 Constructicons - Scrapper (yellow Earthmover), Drillbit (orange drill), Hightower (red wrecking-ball), Scavenger (green bulldozer)) 560 pieces & 6 Kreons (Devastator, Construction Foreman, 3 Construction Workers, Ironhide)
- Battle For Energon (Optimus Vs Megatron) 379 pieces & 4 Kreons (Optimus, Megatron, Security Officer, Tank Driver)
- Street Showdown (Knock Out Vs Wheeljack) 273 pieces & 4 Kreons (Wheeljack, Knock Out, 2x Drivers)
- Stealth Bumblebee (Bumblebee) 257 pieces & 4 Kreons (Bumblebee, 2x Security Guards, Biker + Bulldog)
- Rotor Rage (Vortex) 217 pieces & 3 Kreons (Vortex, Commando, ATV driver)
- Decepticon Ambush (4 Kreons - Cliffjumper, 3x Vehicons - plus motorcycle) 80 pieces
- Cycle Chase (4 Kreons - Barricade, 3x Autobot Troopers - plus motorcycle) 77 pieces


Destruction Site Devastator
Size/class - n/a (560 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$80)
Approximate Size - 15-20cm (4 Constructicons), 50cm? (Devastator), 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - yellow earthmover (Scrapper), orange drill (Drillbit), wrecking-ball (Hightower), green bulldozer (Scavenger)
Main Features/Gimmicks - "9 in 1". Each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - Red, green, yellow, orange, grey, black, blue.
Main Accessories - 6 Kreons (Devastator, Construction Foreman, 3 Construction Workers, Ironhide), Worksite (office, building framework, 3 signs, cement mixer).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo13.jpg


Battle For Energon (Optimus Vs Megatron)
Size/class - n/a (379 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$40)
Approximate Size - 30cm? (Optimus, Megatron), 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Autobot (Optimus), Decepticon (Megatron)
Alt-mode - Truck (Optimus), Tank (Megatron)
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - Red, grey, black, blue
Main Accessories - 4 Kreons (Optimus, Megatron, Security Officer, Tank Driver), bank.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo14.jpg


Street Showdown (Knock Out Vs Wheeljack)
Size/class - n/a (273 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$30)
Approximate Size - 25cm? (Knock Out, Wheeljack), 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Decepticon (Knock Out), Autobot (Wheeljack)
Alt-mode - Sports Cars (with missiles)
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - red, white, grey, yellow, black
Main Accessories - 4 Kreons (Wheeljack, Knock Out, 2x Drivers), 2 traffic cones, guardrail.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo15.jpg


Stealth Bumblebee
Size/class - n/a (257 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New (new build, but same Bumblebee head)
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$30)
Approximate Size - 20cm? (Bumblebee), 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Sports Car
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - Black, yellow, grey
Main Accessories - 4 Kreons (Bumblebee, 2x Security Guards, Biker + Bulldog), guard house, motorcycle, mini Soundwave.
(note - motorcycle has Decepticon symbol on it)

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo16.jpg


Rotor Rage (Vortex)
Size/class - n/a (217 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$25)
Approximate Size - 30cm? (Vortex), 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Helicopter
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - Purple, blue, black, red, cream
Main Accessories - 3 Kreons (Vortex, Commando, ATV driver), ATV.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo17.jpg


Decepticon Ambush (Cliffjumper Vs Vehicons)
Size/class - n/a (80 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$12)
Approximate Size - 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Autobot (Cliffjumper), Decepticon (Vehicons)
Alt-mode - none
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - Purple, white, black, red.
Main Accessories - 4 Kreons (Cliffjumper, 3x Vehicons), ATV, road spikes.
(note - retail price is 50% more than Series 1 Bumblebee & Optimus, which had similar number of parts - which were US$8 each)

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo18.jpg


Cycle Chase (Barricade Vs Autobot Troopers)
Size/class - n/a (77 pieces)
New/remould/redeco - New
Approximate Retail Price - ? (US$12)
Approximate Size - 4cm (Kreons)
Allegiance - Decepticon (Barricade), Autobot (Autobot Trooper)
Alt-mode - none
Main Features/Gimmicks - each of the 7 sets have purple parts that build a giant weapon. One of the Kreons has an alternate purple abdomen piece.
Main Colours - White, red, grey.
Main Accessories - 4 Kreons (Barricade, 3x Autobot Troopers), motorcycle, road barrier.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/tftoys/kreo19.jpg

[Decepticon]

They look nasty! Why have they chosen more ops, megs, bees? Over some different characters. Might wait for devastator to become clearance.:)

[griffin]

Two of the seven sets so far, to give you a better look at them. The other five sets are on their way, and will post up more pics as they arrive.
I wont do the robot modes until I get all 7 sets.

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/531.jpg

[Sutton]

It'll be interesting to see how well these get stocked locally, seeing as they're still trying to move the first lot. The prices at Toyworld at the moment are insane.

[jazzcomp]

Only got the cliff jumper/vehicon set.

[griffin]

Took me all day today... three more sets (Vortex, Optimus Vs Megatron, Wheeljack Vs Knock Out).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/532.jpg

Just waiting on the last two small sets to arrive.


Since two of the sets above were two-packs, the individual vehicles were fairly small and simplistic. The back of Optimus could have used a few more pieces to fill out the "skeleton" look of the back end.
The rope for Vortex is too thick to tie into a proper knot (the rescue rope is kinda pointless though - looks better without it). The rope for Hightower was also annoying, in that it is too short.
The missile launchers on Vortex are quite inventive, to actually fire the missiles without having a spring in them.
The ATV (quad-bike) with Vortex doesn't move too well, because the wheels rub against other parts.

They still can't get the stickers right, as most are the wrong size (compared to the sizes shown in the instructions). There were even some stickers left over, which aren't even used in the Robot mode, or can go anywhere.

If you get the Bumblebee set, sand down the wrist of the Kreon, because it is just a little too big to fit in the translucent "gun barrel", cracking it when you force it in.
If it wasn't translucent plastic, it may have been more stretchable, but that plastic is just too brittle.

Once again, it seems that the robot modes were what they first created, and then built alt-modes from those parts, as there are lots of pieces left over with each set (20-30 at least).

Disappointed that the Wheeljack/Knock Out set only had a small railing and 2 traffic cones as the extra "diorama" build. Compared to the other sets (guard house, construction site, bank, ATV), this felt "cheap".
(note - the pieces used in "diorama" items are not used in either modes of the Transformers characters, so they should have given us something substantial for that set)

The non-convertible Kreons look so much better than the blind-pack ones... when you compare Vortex Kreon with the Spinister Kreon.

[griffin]

Still missing the two small sets, but I had a look at the Dark Energon parts they come with and figured I could do a bit of a "key to time" gap-filler* with two of the (grey) leftover parts in the Bumblebee set... just to have an idea of what the Weapon would look like, and how big it would be.

The kre-o website has a page up for the instructions to build this (none of the sets have instructions, just a photo of the completed weapon), but Hasbro haven't put up the instructions yet, despite already selling all 7 sets... leaving people to try to guess what to do with the 27 parts. A video on youtube had a guess, which is what I went by:

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/548.jpg

It actually seems pretty ordinary/lame... and even though it has a rotating barrel, there is no mechanism to make it spin, which would have been a great gimmick to promote the "need" to buy all 7 sets to build it.

*bonus points for those who know what that is referencing. :p

[Sky Shadow]

*bonus points for those who know what that is referencing. :p

Sometimes I'm surprised when you deliver non-Transformer-related references - it seems out-of-place, like if Optimus Primal started wearing a scarf. :p

(In The Armageddon Factor, Tom Baker's Doctor had five of the six pieces of the Key To Time - which was a lot like transparent Lego that fit together into a purple block - so he worked out what the missing piece would be by filling in the gaps. An apposite reference!)

[griffin]

Somehow I pretty much expected you'd be the one to respond to knowing what that was... :p


Surprised at non-transformers-related references from me? My Transformers collection and I have an open relationship... my collection is okay if I see other fandoms, and I let it see other collectors. :p

[griffin]

All of the series 2 Sets, including the TRU exclusive Ironhide, and all the kreons (not the micro-changers though).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/757.jpg

Now to build the robot modes...

[griffin]

Devastator...
Very disappointed with the size. It doesn't feel "impressive", as it is hyped up to be, with about 50 pieces left over, it is only the same size as the large ones from the first series.
It also just looks like a mess of parts, instead of something that looks obvious at being vehicles combined together. You get the colours and some construction vehicle parts sticking out, but it doesn't look like the usual combiner of "vehicles for limbs". You kinda have the legs doing that, but they are very simplistic, and everything above that is just a mess.
It certainly will be one to get cheap, as it won't be worth the AUS price we are likely to get here (it is US$80 in America, which will be about AU$150 here, if it is released here at all).

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/768.jpg

[Trent]

Surprised at non-transformers-related references from me? My Transformers collection and I have an open relationship... my collection is okay if I see other fandoms, and I let it see other collectors. :p


Just as long it doesn't go home with them..:p

[Seraphim Prime]

Hey Griff,

I notice that you have both the Green and Yellow Devastator Kreon. Did both come with the Toys R Us set, or just the Yellow one?

[griffin]

Just the yellow one in the TRU set (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=14251).

TRU exclusive set has extra:
- Ironhide build set
- orange outhouse
- human Kreon driver
- hook for Hightower (gives you the choice of wrecking ball or hook)

Has different:
- Devastator Kreon is yellow instead of green
- box is bigger, but doesn't need to be as there is enough room in the original one for the extra parts.
- name of set is "Autobot Assault Devastator", as the regular set is called "Destruction Site Devastator".

And is the same as the regular set:
- Devastator/Constructicons
- 5 human Kreon construction workers
- building site, office, signs
- Ironhide Kreon

This photo shows the character art on the spines like the first series had, but since this second series has the "dark energon" gimmick (one purple Kreon abdomen included in every set), the character art on each is ruined by using it.
The TRU Devastator though is left fully coloured, probably to make it look more obvious that it is different to the regular set.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/770.jpg

This one is from the top, which has extra character art (the first series didn't, but since most of these sets have more than one character in the box... it makes it a bit fairer to have both somewhere, and at least some art doesn't have the stupid purple chests).
This photo also shows the size difference between the two Devastator sets.
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/771.jpg

[griffin]

All the Series 2 bots finished now...

http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/777.jpg

I was more disappointed with these ones than the first series, because it got very repetitious... each of the figures, no matter how big or small they were, had a basic
frame, with bits added to it to make it look like a certain character. As such, since the arms and legs are all the same length on each figure, the proportions of some are
either really skinny or really brutish. The only variable seemed to be how many pieces were in the abdomen between the arms section and the legs section.
Before I started on the Optimus figure, I put together all the limb pieces to show what I mean about it being the same frame with different bits added...
http://www.toycollectors.com.au/blog/778.jpg

The larger ones of the first series had the same format, so a lot of their arms and legs look too skinny... but in the group shot above, the Second
series figures all look the same size, despite being very different in the number of pieces in the box.
Devastator is the obvious exception, but it still has the same sized limbs as the others, so doesn't end up looking as impressive or
intimidating as it was being hyped up to be.
So many parts were left over with the robot builds this time, and unlike the first series, the limb pieces mentioned above, were not used anywhere in the vehicle
builds. (one used a couple pieces, but with every other set, the entire frame shown in that photo above, was not not incorporated into the alt-mode build - which kinda
makes it look like less effort was put into this series if they just added extra pieces for each mode instead of utilising as many as possible into both modes)

If the first series was a failure at retailers, I can't see this series doing better.
I think the Microchangers (which IMO ruined the Kreon/minifigure gimmick) will be the
last Kreo Transformers we'll see.
Hasbro shoulda just sucked it up and got Lego to do it properly... instead of stubbornly trying to compete with them just because Lego were eating into their
monopoly of the board-games market.