Review 10-001 - TF2 Dirge

[griffin]

http://www.otca.com.au/tr10001a.jpg

Review 10-001 - Dirge
Series - TF2 Movie (non-cast character)
Sub-line - NEST (Movie 2nd season)
Size - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2009-w7
Released here - December 2009
Approximate Retail Price - $25
Approximate Size - 15cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Fighter Jet, a bit like a VTOL/Harrier jet, but different enough to avoid paying royalties.
Main Features/Gimmicks - Mech-Alive, internal gears that move when rotating the arms at the shoulders.
Main Colours - Dark Blue (darker than the photo suggests), black, bronze.
Main Accessories - 2 missile-launchers and missiles.
My Difficulty rating (out of 5) - 2.5 (fairly easy to work out)
Stability - a bit shaky on its feet as there are 5 joints in each leg(!) that needs to be aligned to make it stand.
Poseability/articulation - High level of articulation, with the only drawback being the large shoulder-pads getting in the way, and the wings on the legs.
Playability - Fighter Jet is a win, as are the missile-launchers. Transformation is simple enough to maintain momentum (fun) of play/battle, something many of the Movie toys suffer from, taking too long to convert the toys to be able to play with them in battle with yourself or with a friend. The robot mode doesn't suffer from too much excessive kibble getting in the way, as the wings stick out the back and aren't too much in the way.
My Thoughts - The packaging and instructions have the wings sticking out from the legs, but I prefer to have them folded against the legs. The packaging also has the missile launchers attached to the wings in robot mode, which make the fat legs look even worse. Dirge is one of the rarer figures that doesn't have total symmetry - specifically, the arms. Detailing is nice, and the robot mode has a humanoid shape. The head seems too big for its proportions, and too rounded. It looks like a melon, not a cone. A nice homage toy though, and the first Dirge toy that isn't a redeco or remould.
Overall Recommendation Rating (out of 10) - 8.5 (Buy it)

http://www.otca.com.au/tr10001b.jpg

[Vector Prime]

Poseability/articulation - High level of articulation, with the only drawback being the large shoulder-pads getting in the way

Yeah and having the jet cockpit stuck to his right arm doesn't help shoulder/arm articulation either.


Overall Recommendation Rating (out of 10) - 8.5 (Buy it)

I myself would give it probably a 7/10 - the alt mode looks great and he looks very cool in his robot mode, however I was kinda shocked at how small he is for a deluxe figure (once he's in robot mode) :eek:

Not being a collector of ROTF toys (besides the Legends class) and being the only deluxe size I own in the ROTF range, I felt kinda gypped even paying $20 for him at the KMart sale recently.

I do like the clever engineering and transformation process, so besides his lack of size and the articulation issues mentioned above, overall it's not a bad buy, but only if you can pick it up for sub-$20 IMHO (since that's all he's worth in my books)

[Starscream212]

8/10 for me another great jet from the ROTF line (Starscream, Thrust, Jetfire!)
Only complaint is the size a little to small for me, but color scheme and transformation make up for that
Definite buy even at full price.

[Gutsman Heavy]

I think he is a fantastic little fig.

He has an :eek: face in his chest, its quite amusing!

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9s_U-isUHdA/SsEoGmNMyvI/AAAAAAAABWQ/hCx3NGLVCAo/s400/Offical+Dirge+Image.jpg
ONCE YOU HAVE SEEN IT, YOU CAN'T UNSEE IT!

[Paulbot]

Hey, an old school Griffin TF review :)

I've still got to open my Dirge up. Big backlog of TFs to open at the moment :o

[griffin]

It's the backlog of my own figures that has prompted me to do reviews of them just to force myself to do something with them before they just go straight to the trophy room...

[sifun]

i'm going to keep away from this.

I. Hate. Gummy Plastic.

example armada bendy prime grey gummy plastic vs armada nemesis prime beige solid plastic. Details are always lost using this

[jaydisc]

This is the 2nd ROTF deluxe I've picked up because I was intrigued by the look of it. I like it. Cool transformation. Many things click into place. I have no way of displaying it, so it'll go in my "Pulse"-drawer, but a good experience nonetheless.

[Paulbot]

he looks very cool in his robot mode, however I was kinda shocked at how small he is for a deluxe figure (once he's in robot mode) :eek:

I agree, I got this out and played with it tonight. It's a very nice figure but surprisingly short.

[Lord_Zed]

I really like this figure, he doesn't turn into yet another F15, F16 or a F22 Raptor like most Jet TF's, and his Jet mode doesn't suffer from huge undercarrige kibble. Bot mode is very movie like, while having strong G1 influences. A perfect example of the Mergiverse.

[Grievous]

Does anyone else see a white repaint
of this mold coming out in the future?
;)

As far as Dirge goes...he's awesome...
I love the alt. mode and robot mode and
the colours used on him are gorgeous.

Pick him up.
:cool:

[kurdt_the_goat]

You can get a tiny bit more height out of Dirge by extending his knee joints (Griffin's pic shows them un-extended). The instructions don't show this step, excepting the final illustration that depicts them extended. He's still short, but a bit better!

[GoktimusPrime]

Does anyone else see a white repaint
of this mold coming out in the future?
Hmm... not sure considering that there's already a movie-verse Ramjet (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ramjet_%28Movie%29). :/

[Grievous]

^You do make a valid point...
And we have a skywarp, Thundercracker and Thrust...

May-be a Acid Storm or Sunstorm repaint then?
:confused:

[dirge]

Hmm... not sure considering that there's already a movie-verse Ramjet (http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ramjet_%28Movie%29). :/

Perhaps. But we've two different Movieverse Bludgeons... so you never know with Hasbro.

[Grievous]

^You also make a valid point...

I personally would have liked to have seen
Dirge, Ramjet and Thrust all released in this mold.

[GoktimusPrime]

There's also more than one Transformer named Jolt, Dead End and Devastator in the movie continuity. So confusing. :confused: