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...I always thought there was a certain Heath Ledger about Long Haul. There was just something about the way he walked...It's always how I imagined Heath would walk if he weighted 1000 tonnes, was covered in green armour and could turn into a big dump truck. My instincts were right on! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by jaydisc
I don't think Long Hauls look that much like any earth weapon, and as you say with a skill of 2 he'd be better of with a simple peasant weapon than something wielded by a master.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
Replied here :)
I played with EZ Devastator last night. Generally I like it despite a few minor issues.
The combined mode looks great and is about the size of a bulky scout. It really captures the look and feel of Movie Devastator. It is not very poseable though. You can kind of move the legs around a bit and the head but that's about it.
The individual legends are all quite nice and work well as figures on their own without the combining gimmick. They have nice vehicle modes and although the robot modes are a little plain they look generally right.
The minor quibbles are minor. For instance. Mixmaster's barrel is a bit of a pain to twist into the right position for truck mode. Rampage's arms seem to want to pop out. Overload's tray looks a little uneven.
I also tried transforming Voyager Long Haul into the same leg mode as Legends Long Haul to see if the existing larger Constructicons could be made to combine but it doesn't really work.
EZ Constructicons are fun little toys. Haven't combined them yet - just into their vehicle modes so far. As well as it might work for this small size, I couldn't see these being upscaled, as they would make a very clumsy set of toys if done larger.
Scout Scalpel - was a bit lost with it when taken out of packaging, but then realised that the toy and packaging photo on the card is significantly wrongly transformed. And going by the photo on the instructions as well as the first drawn image on the instructions, you have a totally different 'robot' mode as to what is packaged and photographed on the cardback. It also makes it a lot more stable when properly transformed (having the 'neck' under the body instead of sticking out the front and over-balancing the figure). Really weird the way they did that... it's almost like 2 different teams working on the figure, resulting in two completely different 'robot modes' on the packaging and instructions.
Crazy!Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
BTW - which version did you get? Apparently there's a variant with longer antenna.
Have you noticed any "cracks" or splitting on any of the ball joint sockets on his legs? There was a complaint on the Hong Kong forum and this fan had multiple ball joint sockets splitting. After I read about it I noticed there was a crack on one socket on mine too.Quote:
Originally Posted by griffin
Mine has long antenna. Not that I'm too fussed about something so insignificant... :)
Mine seems fine, so far...Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle
the front leg on my scalpel falls off due to a huge crack in the socket.
I may have undersold EZ Devastator's size at lunchtime. Here's Devastator alongside Cannon Bumblebee to give you an idea of the scale.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2625/...5b40a305_o.jpg
Bought the ice-cream truck as well as Jolt yesterday.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00313.jpg
I ended up liking the ice-cream twins toys very much. They only need some extra paint to bring out their moulded details.
As expected I was disappointed with Jolt's likeness to his onscreen appearance (http://www.hk-tf.com/discuz/upload/v....php?tid=13599). His transformation instructions sheet involves a lot less steps than other toys, but is otherwise smooth and decent. Car mode is nice and decent, and I'm not too picky with the central split. Below is my best attempt to reposition his back kibbles to make him look a little closer to his onscreen appearance.
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00328.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00330.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00331.jpg
Interesting how the back of Jolt's car mode says "VOLT" which was G2 Jolt's Autobot nemesis. I've not been happy with Paramount/Hasbro transforming Jolt into an Autobot for RotF -- yeah yeah, I know it's a different continuity, but still -- every other Autobot and Decepticon who've appeared in the films have retained their allegiance from their original form to film version... except for Mudflap, but he wasn't G1/G2 so I don't care as much. Oh, and Hightower and Overload too. Gah, shut up inside voice that keeps nitpicking at me!! :p
Makes me wonder if the original name for this character might've been "Volt" but for whatever reason it changed to "Jolt" by time RotF came out.
"Volt" is the actual name of the real GM concept car, as it is an electric car.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime
What about Mini-con Jolt? :P
Is the roof of Jolt's car mode a darker shade of blue than the rest? Or is it black? ... either way, is that accurate to the real car?
D'OH! XDQuote:
Originally Posted by Tiby
You and my inner voice get out! :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Tiby
ItQuote:
Originally Posted by kurdt_the_goat
seems to beis a very dark blue,but could be black because I can't really tell without natural light.No idea if it's accurate to the real car or not. :p
Jolt looks a lot better than I expected. Probably due to all the malformed official pictures making these figures look crap. I was hesitant on the deluxe version but your pics convinced me otherwise Kyle.
The user pictures of Blazemaster looks a lot better than the official ones too. The official ones had the legs straight and stiff when it actually has quite a few articulated joints.
Could be the angle. :p But he does look alright in some angles. I think he needs a better head and maybe slightly longer legs.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stompy
That's what I was thinking - It's a relief to see Jolt actually looks pretty awesome!Quote:
Originally Posted by Stompy
I've been playing with the Legends Class ROTF Constructicons tonight and am loving them! As Stompy told me Scavenger (poor late Demolishor's twin brother) is an amazing likeness to his voyager class equivalent, and the others are just as impressive.
Another thing I like about these toys is they feel rather solid and overall they don't feel as fragile as a lot of the other ROTF toys. The alt modes for me are the real highlight as they feature fantastic detailing and they just look so great together as a unit.
Favourite bot: Scavenger
Favourite alt: Mixmaster
Man, these Legends Constructicons are full of win! :)
Devastator:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...ator_robot.jpg
And for those who prefer screen-likeness, you can pose his arms to make him quadrapedal like an ape:
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...tor_munkky.jpg
Munkky not trukks!
Woo! :)
Devastator is great. I'm a little disappointed with Rampage's robot mode, but on balance that's a blip. Seven great vehicle mode, six great robot modes and an excellent combined mode with NO addons.
I agree except I think High Tower's robot mode is teh poo poo as opposed to Rampage's.
Bad Kitty! :mad:
http://itfdb.com/temporary/tf/badkitty.jpg
Jolt's packaging photo makes him look shocking, but your pictures make him much more appealing.Quote:
Originally Posted by Kyle
Thanks Paul. I re-positioned his back kibbles further and took a few new pics.Quote:
Originally Posted by Paulbot
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00348.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00347.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00342.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00344.jpg
http://i234.photobucket.com/albums/e...w/DSC00346.jpg
I like how the first pic turned out. Toy's not perfect, but is slowly growing on me. :) That and he completes my Movie/ROTF Autobots lineup! :D
The individual Constructicons
http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...tructicons.jpg
I agree with paulbot, I was never planning on getting jolt until I saw kyle's re-transformation. It makes it look much more appealing and not the sort of...I dunno tubby look i've seen so far.
Managed to nab Jolt & Blazemaster.
JOLT
The alt mode looks fine enough with only the seams right in the middle of the vehicle being the only real let down. The actual car model itself isn't interesting and the colour hides many of its finer details. Paint apps are fine and always nice to see the rims painted. Volt word also painted on the rear.
Jolt had a pretty simple but fun conversion that is easy to remember and put into place once you know where the tabs hold the figure together.
The robot mode is still a little disappointing even with a few adjustments for the back kibble. There's nothing too inherently wrong with the engineering but the kibble on the arms and knee hide many of the bot modes curvier lines. As it is the, kibble on those parts bulk him up quite a bit. A solution would have been to have the arm kibble swing behind the arms to expose his hands better and the knee kibble to break in half and swing inwards to form a much more slender leg than the bulky pudgy look it currently has. The torso is nice and solid looking but the head is almost static bar a couple of millimeters to the left or right. His feet is a bit of a let down with many gaps but has a fair bit of articulation and heel spurring.The back kibble is easy to move around to various positions thanks to the amount of articulation it has.
Overall, I'm a little disappointed with Jolt but hopefully grows on me more. Right now he feels like a filler toy line cast figure than a main cast figure in regards to workmanship.
BLAZEMASTER
Blazemasters alt mode was a lot smaller than I imagined but it's length pretty much reaches the maximum length they can do for a deluxe bubble with each end of the heli touching the edges of the bubble. The brown/tan/gold, dark blue and white works extremely well in an 80's kind of way and the red paint apps gives it a nice highlight. It has 3 small wheels, one up front that cannot be folded in and 2 on the middle to the side that can fold up. As with most TF heli's there's a small lever that when pushed spins the blades. Speaking of which, the blades can be taken off from it's square peg. One QC complain I have is that one of the "7 NEWS" paint app ont he tail fin was a little warped due to it's application and some white paint run off I had to scrape off too. Some may have a problem with the many seams as well. Otherwise, being a TF helicopter fan this alt mode is stunning especially at the deluxe scale.
Conversion was a real surprise. It is perhaps a little ambitious for a deluxe but it JUST manages to work. The engineering for the conversion uses up pretty much all the space it can inside the tiny copter ad copious amounts of joints and hinges to get it to its robot mode. Certainly a winner for me in this department.
Robot mode is not for everyone, but I truly adore it. The head sculpt is nice and while small, has light piping. The chest may be kibbly for some, I actually like it's look. Similar to Breakaways head/chest but a million times better executed. The rather flawed forearms could have used a double hinge for the inward folding half to allow the thumb to show for a more believable "hand", but as it is, it looks like someone wearing a jumper that is too long for their arms as it hides his thumb. The rear fins position nicely over his shoulders decoratively and the blades can be separated in half to allow for dual sword like weapons attached on his forearms. His legs are chicken walker style with a 3 pronged claw feet. Articulation is decent but his elbow articulation is far up the arm and almost on shoulder height. The "knee" articulation only bends backwards, but since it is a chicken walker it has an extra set of joints so it kinda makes up for it, but with that 2nd joint being so low on the leg you might not get some crazier poses with them. The feet is on a ball joint though and as small as they are, the figure can stand quite well and doesn't really cause balancing issues.
Overall, Blazemaster was a surprise. It's alt mode is stunning and the conversion brilliant (if you like complex conversions). The bot mode will be the moot point for most, especially those arms and with those chicken walker legs feels like a distant cousin of movie 1's Dropkick but besides that this is a figure I can highly recommend to open minded fans.
No pictures of neither but Kyle has some excellent pics of Jolt already not too far up and try the link below for some pictures of Blazemaster:
http://tformers.com/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=1083
My thoughts exactly re: Jolt, he does indeed feel like more of a filler toy.
Strange that they seem to have shortpacked the Ice Cream twins but there are loads of Jolt's. Maybe being Winter they don't think anyone will want ice cream?
I like the name 'Blazemaster' - I take it his role on the battlefield is to help his comrades by taking away their pain? The fact that he's also a helicopter further sugegsts he likes to 'get high'. Oh dear.
Actually Blazemasters bio makes him a bit of a sadist formt he description. From what I remember (at work atm) he likes to pour acid over enemies and watch them as they slowly melt and burn.
I still want my ice cream twins. Determined to find them today!
Don't you just love the heroic good guys in the Movie-verse :rolleyes: :(Quote:
Originally Posted by Stompy
And he's an Autobot? Curious. Here's his bio (taken from tformers.com):Quote:
Originally Posted by Stompy
"There are a lot of Autobots who think Blaze Master is just a little haywire. He likes to hover over Decepticon squads, letting them notice him, and relying on his defensive system to protect him from their fire. It isn't until his targets notice him that he drops his payload of corrosive gel right on their heads. Watching a bunch of Decepticons break into a panicked sprint while their armor smokes and melts is what he lives for."
What a little psycho! :D
Not much different from G1 Blades really. ;)
From my first sighting of this assortment (Myer Sydney CBD, although someone posted it before I got a chance), there were roughly equal numbers of them. But yeah, I can see the ice cream truck selling out quickly.Quote:
Originally Posted by Doubledealer
He's a toy based on a filler character... :pQuote:
Originally Posted by Doubledealer
Picked up Stratosphere and I was a little dissapointed.
Alt mode is rather simple. and no-frills. there is a ramp on the rear that houses the mini-optimus that comes with him. The ramp folds down via spring when you tilt the rear fins backwards. There are retractable front wheels ont he base of the nose and two smaller wheels in the bulky hull underside. Paint apps are nice for the cockpit and autobot insignias. Also the letters "C.G.R.D. 6-77" tampo'd on the side. There's orange highlights for the turbines. Seams are visible and tend to "crack" a open a little in this mode. The tail fins on mine is a little loose.
Conversion is a little dissapointing. Not really a voyager sized conversion, more Scout like conversion. There's a gentle auto-morph when the arms are converted out and that's it.
Bot mode is kibble-tastic. The feet is just huge connected to chicken walker legs.His arms show a lot more orange to highlight the figure and the headsculptis not too bad with lightpiping for the eyes and forehead. Nice bit on orange paint apps under his eyes and neck to frame his head better and attract the eye. There is the plane wings and tail fins as back kibble but they are arranged neatly to form a pseudo-jet pack if you want to give the kibble some excuse of being there. Unfortunately the lack of detail or curves ont he leg, coupled with the awful flat feet gives the figure a slightly rushed feel and imbalanced look. The top half looks great with plenty of curves while the legs are boxy and uninspired.
Articulation is great at least, with all the necesarry articulation for chicken walker legs. The arms have all the right articulations too with the bonus of a few extra hinges for the hands. Luckily the feet is large enough to avoid the obvious balance issues that the backpack kibble will have.
The mini-Optimus Prime is very tiny. The robot mode is 5cm tall with the only articulation being the arms on an elbow joint. The legs are stuck together. Conversion iis simple and consists of of 7 folds. The alt mode though is absolutely tiny at 4cm long 1.7cm wide and 1.8 cm tall. This is smaller than WST Prime and fits perfectly inside Stratosphere's rear hull.
Prime completists would want the mini one in this but Stratosphere himself is nothing worth writing home about. But also not a bad figure by any means. Just average really and only for the completists.
Out of my new toys I got from BBTS I've played with...
the Ice Cream twins (who are just pure love)
Jolt (I really love him. Probably because he is the only ROTF deluxe figure that I haven't had trouble transforming:o)
Ejector (A little dissapointing but I love him because he's a toaster:D)
Scalpel (A total dissapointment:()
sold Blazemaster to The_Damned as I have no interest in this toy. Still to open deluxe Dead End and scouts Reverb and Dune Runner.
Sounds (and looks) like Stratosphere was a late addition to the toyline, based on the more simplistic engineering of it. If it really is inspired by an early scene in the movie, then it would have been started a lot later than the other movie toys.
Although considering Prime tends to just fall out of aeroplanes in RotF, maybe they should have made the gimmick spring loaded.
...might just wait for a Legends Stratosphere perhaps. I'm skipping most of the non-movie cast toys in RotF ('cept the Scouts) mainly because I'm just running out of shelf space and for me the cast characters take priority. Unless I can get hold of some more shelving soonish, I might even consider selling off some of my non-movie toys from the first movie. Hrmmm...