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It all depends on how you like your robot asthetics really. No one is wrong with what they like and dislike about the figures. I personally love both but tend to err towards Arcee more for having much better articulation than the brickformer static bot mode of Chromia. Arcee's winding waist has 4 points of articulation but posing can be limited as the points of articulation tend to "pose" the figure to the right and causes balance issues.
Favourites aside, I think in terms of design Arcee is far more successful when compared to Chromia. After seeing the bikes in the movie I think Hasbro did a brilliant job with the Arcee toy. The snake-like torso makes sense as in the movie the bikes jump all over the place in bot mode and this design would provide the necessary suspension as they hit the ground. There is no awkard wheel behind her head or unsightly gaps as is the case with Chromia. The look of the bike-bots is an aquired taste to begin with but to me they hit the nail on the head with Arcee, and not quite so much with Chromia.
I finally opened Jolt I bought on sale a few weeks back today. After hearing mediocre opinons of him, I was not excpecting to much but I actualy found he was quite cool. His transformation is fun and interesting, and not to simple, nor frustrating.
His monochrome colourscheme is good to, don't even mind his weapons as I imagine they are some sort of extendable energy whip, like one of those crazy Wing Gundams.
strato- best left in alt mode
lil op is awsome now thats a micro machine fomer
ps cant get the side panels to click back together >.<
Got my hands on Ejector and he's pretty nifty.
A few assembly faults I noticed... the first one I picked up had no bottom jaw. Looked at the bottom of the pack and shook it too if it just got dislodged off its peg. Nope, completely missing. The second one available is fine. Upon opening, both arms were off the ball joint. Luckily it wasn't loose or anything and popped back in easily and securely.
Bot mode is nice. With good articulation for the checken walker leg and the arms too. I wished the 2 other arms on the outside had their own separate biceps though for better posing and a mroe believable 4 armed look. Otherwise the huge gaping mouth and crazy eyes convey a very cartoon psycopath demeanor a robot would have if it's alt was a toaster. Paint apps are few but it does the job well. Really digging the botmode.
Conversion was a lot different to what I imagined. Probably a little simpler and straight-forward than other scouts.
The alt mode was a little dissapointing. For one, there's many seams. Recall Universe Ironhide alt mold. Biggest dissapointment was the other end of the toaster where the cable & powerplug side is hollow. There's no cover or design. I expect this from the bottom of the alt mode but not the side. It looks good as long as the back end isn't shown. The little heat dial and on/off switch is a nice touch.
Nice one to add to the scouts collection and hopefully more kitchenbots from the movie make it as scouts!
I think Ejector is awesome - mostly due to the novelty of a toaster Transformer. :) The transformation is pretty complex for a Scout; reminds me of FAB Decepticon Frenzy but obvioiusly at a smaller and simpler scale.
An interesting thing to note about the plug is that it appears to be the same / \ plug configuration that we have in Australia. I thought the US used the | | plug configuration (like Japan).
The colours on the robot mode are pretty dull but the colours for the toaster mode were surprisingly better than I expected.
Almost Transformers! :) I definitely would love more appliance and furniture bots. Maybe a Sofaman! (oooh!)Quote:
Originally Posted by Stompy
Alrighty, brief review for the Big-Ass Devastator...not expecting to change any board member's minds with this but here goes...
First up, he's a lot of fun. I have to say that before anything else, because I think it's really important to sometimes be able to enjoy your collection on the merits of what it was designed for. This is a kid's Transformer, make no mistake. But in terms of size, gimmicks and playability, he's awesome. Having him loom over (and eat) a bunch of Legends-sized Autobots is great fun. The kids'll go nuts for that sort of crap. He's also one of those Transformers that are just fun to 'fiddle' with. The transformation sequence is just involved enough to be interesting, without the insane intricacy of most of the movie line - no Mixmaster/Leader Prime-like frustration here. I've had more fun tooling around with him tonight than I have had with MP Megatron the whole time I've owned him. I bring him up because he's the only other transformer I've spent this much money on before, and he's at such an opposite end of the spectrum. Brilliantly designed, great attention to detail, lovely display piece, respectful to the character - but no fun at all. Transforming Megs is an ordeal, and it's not a toy I can share with the kids.
I also want to state categorically that Devastator can stand all fours, and lift his head up. A lot of folks seem to think he can't, but he can. There's a flap under his chin that can slot into the Scavenger component to hold his head up - it's not mentioned in the instructions, but it's a snug enough fit that it seems pretty intentional. It does take a bit of work to get him stable on all fours, but it can be done, no mods required.
The face is pretty well done, especially the way it moves when you pull on the lever (although that has a habit of making the cement mixer detach). It has to be said that from behind, he looks ridiculous, but so do 95% of Transformers. As a representation of the movie model, it's not too bad - it's just that there's a lot of details on him that are lost due to the shoddy paintwork. For example, the cockpit of the excavator is visible on the front of his shoulders like on the movie model, but it's all in the one red colour so it's lost. Likewise, the gold/yellow colouring on his shoulders is supposed to suggest the 'tangled' nature of the gestalt, but again, poor colour matching means this detail is lost too.
And really that's what lets this guy down overall - the paintwork. There really is a lot of work put in the detail on the components, in both modes, that is completely lost because they've just been rendered in straight plastic chunks. Hightower is the worst offender, although Scavenger isn't far off. There's also a missed opportunity in the underside of Scavenger's treads - these aren't visible in vehicle mode, so there's no reason why these couldn't have featured additional robot detailing and colouring. It wouldn't even touch the ground in vehicle mode thanks to the generous-sized rolling wheels.
Mixmaster needs to shut up too, he is WAY too sensitive in both modes. The sounds are pretty good, and it's not just a case of pushing the button for different cycled effects, it changes depending on whether you push it, hold it or hold it longer - the latter producing the cycling light effect in his mouth and the grinding sound effect. The effects would be worth keeping in if they would just shut the hell up, but as is, I think the batteries will be coming out after the kids have a bit of time with him.
Overall, I'm happy with Devastator. He's not the best TF I own by a long shot, but as a big chunk of ugly plastic, he's pure win. I can't wait to show him to the kids. More importantly, I can't wait to get started on adding more paint details to him - nothing to the degree of the more professional modders out there but enough to bring out all those great details. Lots of silver highlights, and a properly-coloured face would be a good start IMO.
Alrighty, poor blurry pictures time...
RUN, MUDFLAP, RUN!!!
Too slow, Flappy...
Not so easy with Prime...
That's gonna rust...
Perfectly acceptable alternate ending to ROTF...
Yeah, er, not sure what's going on here either...
Hightower's posability increases when you remove the crane appendages...
Group shot - everybody run!
Great review Sutton! Thanks!
The review actually makes the toy tempting... :o
Can't stress enough that this guy was a good purchase for me, but he might not suit other collectors so well. I've got two kids to help justify a big dumb item like this, and I enjoy adding paint details to my TF's when Hasbro stuffs them up - it's kind of reminiscent of applying stickers back in the 80s.
But straight out of the box, I think a lot of adult collectors would be very disappointed with him. It took Frenzy_Rumble's custom job to make me see the finer points of this guy. If not for that, he'd still be on the shelf.
http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radico...evastator.html
woah never really thought about it but the legends are actually in scale with Devastator :o, need to buy pyramid lampshade from the $2 shop and its gonna look awesomeQuote:
Originally Posted by Sutton
Thanks for the review Sutton, but that's made me want the toy even less now (if that's possible). And as for whether it's a kid's toy, I think that's debatable. I've been collecting Transformers since I was a kid and I still play with my toys now; and being able to fully transform is a big appeal for me. Yeah sure, I bought Action Master Devastator in 1990 and it was a whole lot of suck since he can't transform or anything (nor any of the other Action Masters), but he was a _cheap_ carded figure. I never bought any of the boxed Action Masters as a kid (I received Overrun as a gift). So I guess it might depend on the kind of kid, but I reckon that if they ever released a gestalt during G1 that couldn't transform into individual robots, I would be hesitant against buying them. The toy may suit some children, but I don't think it would've suited me as a child.
But I'm glad you and your kids are enjoying it. :)
I can't wait to have all 3 current Human Alliance toys:
http://www.hk-tf.com/discuz/upload/v....php?tid=14776
Mudflap and Barricade should be awesome.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
I really think Hasbro dropped the ball as far as not having this guy be a true gestalt, but for what it is, it's pretty well done - certainly a lot more sturdy and playable than most of the other ROTF toys. I'll still be picking up the EZ Legends version if/when it gets a local release.
He's not for everyone, I do a fair bit of Warhammer 40K painting so it's something I enjoy doing, but if that sort of thing doesn't float your boat, definitely leave him on the shelf. Mind you, one can say that for the entire ROTF range. Even standout figures like Leader Prime have phenomally bad paint apps.
Hasbro need to learn that if the kid's parents aren't interested in a toy to some level, then they're not going to make the sale.
Most intruiging. I wouldn't dare take a brush to a genuine Hasbro/Takara Transformer unless I had a double. I just couldn't do it...We're not all born perfect and it's the same for Transformers. I love them for who/what they are. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Sutton
Regarding big Devy I think I'd have to be extremely drunk to pay the asking price, especially when the same money could buy me a complete original G1 combiner or similar that's 20+ years old and will only increase in value. $100? Maybe, but only if I'm desperate to buy something locally and there's nothing else available. EZ Devastator is worth every brass razoo!
I just really hope that Hasbro gives us toys for Hightower, Rampage and Overload as Deluxes and/or Voyagers. I have EZ Collection Devastator which represents Devastator in my collection, but I've also collected Deluxe Rampage and Voyager Mixmaster, Long Haul and Demolishor to represent the individual Constructicons. Right now it looks weird having EZ Collection Devastator standing next to only four Constructicons. Has anyone know if Hasbro has any plans on releasing them?
Hasbro keep beating the "no plans" drum re: new Constructicons
While forging ahead with characters who weren't in the movie...Quote:
Originally Posted by Gutsman Heavy
Overload and Hightower I can understand, but Scrapper definitely deserves a toy - he had more screentime than Jolt and the Icecream Twins, FFS! :mad:
soz all rachet hasnt hit an a echidna, its paint apps meant to be like that :o
also there was a grindor with no plastic insert
it was wrap with one tie and lil scorpy was taped to the box lol
Scrapper is my favourite of the EZ Collection Constructicon toys - just imagine how awesome Scrapper would be as a Deluxe!
Don't cheap out, he deserves a Voyager! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Depends... if it's a Voyager like Mixmaster or Long Haul, then yes. If it's a Voyager like Demolishor, then I'd rather it be a Deluxe. But done properly Scrapper could be a kick-arse Voyager. :)
wheelie - i saw one at myer but the headlights werent painted. should they be?
the bumper lights are not coloured, but the others are.
I got Dune Runner yesterday.
He's deceptive. He looks like an average car Transformer, but in some ways, he's not.
The sculpt is very detailed, especially in robot mode. He could almost be an Animated toy, since he looks like a hippy, particularly with the car front forming baggy pants. While DR has a traditional Autobot symbol, he also as a NEST-style one, with a sword through it.
What's especially interesting is that he has a primitive automorph. Moving the sides of the dune buggy out to form his arms swings in one of the back wheels onto his back.
If it weren't for the sheer novelty of Ransack, Dune Runner would be my favourite Scout.
After seeing ROTF Supreme Devastator in box at Kmart and Doubledealer's awesome photos of them in various modes and compared to their other versions...
---------------------------------------
Wow... the more I see of Supreme Devastator the less I want him. The Voyager and Deluxe vehicles look better and except for Demolishor, are scaled better too. Supreme Long Haul looks too small and Supreme Mixmaster looks too big (and "stout").
On the plus side I think the airbrushing on Supreme Rampage's shovel looks well done and the scale on Scavenger is better than that on Demolishor; as we know, Demolishor and Scavenger were just eff-off huge in ROTF and next to the other Constructicons we don't get that sense of scale with the Voyager or Legends. It personally doesn't bother me, but for those who do care about stuff like that I guess it's good for them.
Unfortunately this appears to be offset by Scavenger's awful Fisher Price colours. They're equally tacky on Legends Scavenger, but at a $7 price point I can easily forgive it on the Legends.
...really can't justify spending money on this set.
I got thrust today, Im super happy with it. My only gripe is that his face is kinda hard to really make out, the new headmold is too simple in colour and shape and it feels to small. But other then that I'm happy, especialy with his apearance in jet Mod, I really like the way the colours look and fit in that mode.
I never got brakeaway because I didn't like his couler scheme but I herd alot love for the mold.
I finally had a chance to take Buster Prime out of his packaging today. I was already a fan of the ROTF Leader Prime mould (which is unusual as I usualy dislike leader toys) but this guy aces him in almost every way.
Sure he only has 3 new components, but the paintjob outclasses the old toy in every way. I know we've all seen the photos, but saturation from the flash means they don't quite do him justice. He is a nice metalic colour almost all the places where ROTF Prime was hasbro grey except internal parts. He has a chromed grille in truck mode, his flame markings are all outlined in white and perfectly neat. His blades are partialy transparent orange plastic with the sheath part painted a base metal colour. his Autobot symbols are both painted movie accurate. other details have been painted such as the blue on his lower torso. And to top it all off they didn't even use the same coloured red or blue plastic. Buster Prime has a deeper red and darker blue than his predecesor. the Red and Blue are much nicer IMO and look more G1, I had no problem with ROTF Prime's colours but he starts to look a little pink when you stand them next to each other.
the gun is awesome to, one of the best disgiused weapons designed for a TF in a long time, sure beats those Binaltech engine guns.
And just to top it of the instructions are actualy more detailed than Hasbro's, and include photos for some of the more tricky parts
Still I can't quite give him a 10 out of 10, he still had some QC issues, namely that the silver paint on one of his blades has run a little bit, and he still has the annoying chest clip in issues. I know sevral people had problems with the tabs on ROTF Prime's chest. I can't say I ever did, the ones on my Prime work perfectly and flip in and out like clock work. Buster Prime's tabs however seem to have some mould degredation issues and are more bulbous than the older Prime's. So much so that unsloting them from the chest became quite scary. In the end, to prevent damaging them I decided to mod him and drill a small gap at the top of the slots in his chest, so that the chest tabs come out without a fight, and you can't actualy see where I've modified him in either mode anyway.
Still, even with these issues with my toy, he is still awesome. the Paintjob is top notch, and thanks to a bit of luck he only ended up costing me as much as a local leader. And to my mind this is one leader Class toy who is worth every cent of his RRP. if only all leader class toys could be done like this.
is BattleChargers Optimus worth buying? i saw a few of him at my local kmart but he didnt flip back into his truck because it wouldnt fit. is this figure just broken or has everyone seen the same thing?
Scout Breakdown has a pretty nifty conversion. I'm very happy with it. I can see a tonne of repaints with this mold and if only they changed the head and a few of the leg and arm detail in bot mode. This can easily pass for a Universe/Classics repaint.
Legends Wheelie is pure awesome. The conversion is pretty wicked for its size. The bot mode looks great and the alt mode is spot on bar the robot kibble visible on the rear. But for its size I wouldn't complain. Going to get a second one of him
Legends Soundwave has a very solid if chunky bot mode with a rather complex conversion with the arms going on. The sattelite mode is ok and probably a little more accurate than the deluxe version to the movie model.
BC Optimus seems to have a design flaw that prevents almost all figures I have come across, from being able to work properly. Either the pop-up section doesn't stay down, or it doesn't release when the bumper is hit.Quote:
Originally Posted by Prime_217
The one I ended up buying is in the first category, in that it doesn't stay down too well, unless I slam it in really hard for the tabs to catch and hold.
Just keep looking for one that works best I guess.
Opened ROTF Dirge today, and I'm quite a fan. Another solid Jet Transformer with a decent looking alt mode free from huge undercarrige syndrome.
He's much more of a hommage to G1 than previous ROTF toys I've picked up. futhering my belief that future TF's will be part of the mergiverse than merges G1 and movie aspects together. I believe this can be seen not just in the movie line, but lines like the Alternities too.
At any rate now that IMO ROTF has 3 solid Jet transformers and one passable one I think I far prefer it to movie ones toy line. I'm a scuker for a decent jet TF.
I may even buy the inevitable Ramjet repaint.