Generations Roadbuster

Name - Roadbuster
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Thrilling 30
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - 2
Released here – Not yet
Approximate Retail Price - $29.00US
Approximate Size – 22cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode – Armoured ATV
Main Features/Gimmicks – Combining weapons
Main Colours – Orange & Green
Main Accessories – Missile Launcher, Rocket Launcher, Machine Gun, Laser Cannon, Laser Pistol, Cannon

http://i1294.photobucket.com/albums/...psaba61fdf.jpg


Vehicle Mode
Personally I’m not a big fan of the rounded roof, I would have preferred something more squared off with rounded edges at most. He turns into an armoured ATV now rather than an army jeep but still retains his desert combat colouring. Has 6 different peg holes where you can attach his six different weapons which makes it very customizable, especially since lots of the weapons can combine with each other. Overall fairly good, a little reminiscent of Generations Springer due to the rounded roof. I prefer the G1 jeep version myself but that is simply my own proclivity.

Robot Mode
Yeah boy! The shiz and the nit! Roadbuster looks like Roadbuster is supposed to look – like he can kick some fricken skidplate! Well proportioned, imposing, impassive battle helmet and bristling with weapons! Like the vehicle mode, there are 6 different places you can put the 6 different weapons (shoulders, biceps and hands in this case) and some of the weapons combine (this laser cannon becomes the scope for that machine gun etc). I would have liked a bit more articulation at the elbows so he could hold his guns out to the side etc for increased posability but at least he has elbow, shoulder & knee joints. Like Whirl he comes with a sticker sheet with dozens of very tiny stickers to apply which can be a real pain in the butt. However, after seeing how plain his robot mode is when you first take him out of the package compared to what he looks like afterwards it shows applying those stickers is totally worth it. To my mind, this is the best looking Generations bot we’ve seen since Skids (or maybe I’m just a weapons nut and that’s their appeal to me :p). The only thing he is missing is his little antenna from the G1 toy.

Transformation
Easy. Like – WAY easy! Like AoE easy! About on par with the G1 version. No challenge here except getting all those little tabs to click into place in vehicle mode.

Overall
Despite a few little drawbacks this is a great looking figure and an awesome representation of Roadbuster the hard-arsed Wrecker. The vehicle mode is good but his robot mode looks freakin fantastic! Photo's do not do this toy justice. Very proud to have him as my 1500th TF figure! :D If you like G1 you need this figure, go and buy this figure now. I’m not dicking about here – go get on your computer or iphone or laptop or whatever you have and order yourself a Generations Roadbuster so that you too can enjoy his weaponized goodness! To quote Spike just before he gets dropped in the acid pit and using the same tone and inflection – “HURRY!”

This toy has exceeded my expectations. Easily the most satisfying Voyager that I've purchased since Generations Springer. The transformation is straightforward, but works well and doesn't feel condescending. My only criticisms are:
* Needs greater heel support. Feet can be adjusted to allow the toy to stand firmly.
* Buttload of teeny tiny stickers! :eek:
Other than that, I would highly recommend this toy. :) The Wreckers insignia chest logo is a nice touch too, although I've personally opted to use the traditional Autobot insignia. ;)

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y22...s/jaam_yum.gif

He's not bad. I like the Alt mode, it looks pretty cool. The paint work is so-so all over. And the orange paint is kind of glossy and feels like it will chip easily. The plastic feels a little fragile and different too.

The weapons are a mixed bag, with some looking great, and some looking quite hollow and a little cheap. More good than bad, but I wish the main rifle wasn't hollow.

Robot mode is more good than bad, with nice heroic proportions and angles, and a pretty solid feel. The hip articulation is a bit blocked by the stomach section. I feel like if they had just refined that part and added waist articulation, made it so the hips moved better, then it would be a vast improvement.

That windscreen looks so so tiny but he has a gun to my head. Preordered.

I like this figure a lot, my two main gripes are the paint. it's very thick, and application is a bit rough in spots. I've managed to chip it off a few places where it's dripped.

the forearm wheels should have had somewhere to go, as mentioned the transformation is pretty simple, I would have liked to have seen the wheels relocated so his arms could be more streamlined.

Otherwise I do really like him

I've had this guy for a few weeks now and i must say, apart from his total size compared to other Voyager generations, hes one of my favorites! Yes his transformation is simple, but its also effective, i would have loved some wrist articulation though.

the weapons would have been much better filled rather than hollow, but the combinations between them are a great gimmick! i love having them all combined into one giant rifle. The stickers are totally necessary and it makes me really want to paint him :D (those who have it will get it).

My only gripe is that when i see him next to Whirl, Sandstorm and Springer he stands a bit short, i want him at least a head above the rest but he stands at equal height, but thats certainly no reason not to get him!

Roadbuster Rules!

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Originally Posted by PhaseWave

The stickers are totally necessary and it makes me really want to paint him :D (those who have it will get it).

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Anyone with an original Roadbuster will get it too.

A bit of a disappointment for me. The transformation is super simple - not even as difficult as a deluxe for the most part. It's almost an up-sized commander class toy. No articulation in the hands and wrists at all. And despite his big clown feet, I've had some issues with balance.

To top it off, there are ports on the instructions that aren't on the toy, and even though I'm a fan of the stickers on him (and Whirl), the first few I put on don't actually fit on the toy where the instructions say they should go.

All decked out, he's an imposing figure for display, with some nice colours to boot, but it feels like a lazy cop-out of a toy by Hasbro. Could've been awesome, but just isn't.:(

Accidentally posted this in the August Aquisitions thread for some reason.

Reposting here:
Just got my hands on a Generations Roadbuster and the build quality unfortunately feels a bit cheap. His shoulders in particular are held on by a single pin that serves as a rotation joint in transformation and both of them are surrounded in stress marks.

All the other joints within the arms are either ratchet joints or tight swivels so there's a lot of pressure on that pin whenever you move his arms.

Another thing that doesn't come across in the stock photos, those wheels on the back of his thighs poke inwards a good distance, so he has to either keep his legs spread or not have his wheels folded away fully. Otherwise they overlap between his legs.

Otherwise he looks pretty good. Nice sculpting around the torso & shoulders. It's very 'less is more', but it works to make him look like a muscle-bot. Face is good. Weapon selection is great. Just be super careful with those shoulders.

I'm not a fan of stickers on contemporary toys. It's such a crude and cheap way of adding more detail to a toy as opposed to just paint apps or tampos that became standard practice since Beast Wars. Just yesterday I brought my original BW Rattrap to school, and some of the kids marvelled at the detailed sculpting and lovingly airbrushed paint apps on that toy. Having said that, considering that Hasbro have been increasingly holding back on paints and tampos, I'd rather be given stickers than just having a bear bones bland figure. It's as if Hasbro's pre-emptively giving us reprolabels, which is preferable to nothing at all. But paints and tampos over stickers any day (one reason why I prefer say Hasbro's TFPRiD Vehicon over TakaraTOMY's AM Vehicon).

I'm not fully across what is coming out or what is planned, but I've had my eye on Roadbuster since I saw the first images. Are there any plans that anyone knows of for a local release?

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

I'm not a fan of stickers on contemporary toys. It's such a crude and cheap way of adding more detail to a toy as opposed to just paint apps or tampos that became standard practice since Beast Wars. Just yesterday I brought my original BW Rattrap to school, and some of the kids marvelled at the detailed sculpting and lovingly airbrushed paint apps on that toy. Having said that, considering that Hasbro have been increasingly holding back on paints and tampos, I'd rather be given stickers than just having a bear bones bland figure. It's as if Hasbro's pre-emptively giving us reprolabels, which is preferable to nothing at all. But paints and tampos over stickers any day (one reason why I prefer say Hasbro's TFPRiD Vehicon over TakaraTOMY's AM Vehicon).

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I think that labels can be good way of adding the detail while (presumably) keeping the cost lower. Of course, beautifully applied paint apps would be great, but having them "lovingly applied" would cost time and money that would be passed on to consumers. I'm not sure how they managed to do them so much better in 'the good ol' days';), but it seems like those days are past us. If stickers means more affordable toys, then great. But they have to be done better than Roadbuster's stickers. Considering the detail, quality and amazing fit Reprolabels.com's stickers are, and that they are a very small, 'backyard' operation, then Hasbro's efforts are exceedingly poor.

That's a very good point about the stickers, while I don't think the detail we saw in the stickers could have been replicated with tampos at the same number of applications for the same price, the design of the stickers and instructions for their placement was poor.

I trimmed a lot of my stickers to make them fit better and there were a couple I didn't think should have even gone on, this applies to Whirl as well.

Oh yeah, I'd rather have stickers than just nothing at all. As I said, one thing that I disliked w/ a lot of Age of Extinction figures is how bland they look. Not enough apps and no stickers. Painted apps would be best, but stickers are still better than just nothing at all! ;)

Btw, what have people been doing with the Wreckers logo? I chose to stick the regular Autobot logo on my Roadbuster, so now I'm thinking about what to do w/ the Wreckers logo. Impactor already has his own tampographed on his chest (the sticker would be much too large for him anyway). I think that the sticker would be too big for Cyberverse Wheeljack's Skyhammer vehicle too. Hrmmm... suggestions?

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Originally Posted by 5FDP

I'm not fully across what is coming out or what is planned, but I've had my eye on Roadbuster since I saw the first images. Are there any plans that anyone knows of for a local release?

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Nothing specific, but it was said we likely could get Generations stuff released here, but Hasbro has a bunch of 2013 stuff they're sitting on.

The last thing we heard related to that was the release of the Wrecker wave at Kmart, which was supposed to be a test for how well they'd sell. We've seen nothing yet.

If they indeed are releasing at least some 2013 stuff here, I'd like them to get them to retailers soon. I still need to pick up a Hoist and don't want to pay over $30 for one.

Cheers Bidoofdude!

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Originally Posted by 5FDP

I'm not fully across what is coming out or what is planned, but I've had my eye on Roadbuster since I saw the first images. Are there any plans that anyone knows of for a local release?

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Originally Posted by Bidoofdude

Nothing specific, but it was said we likely could get Generations stuff released here, but Hasbro has a bunch of 2013 stuff they're sitting on.

The last thing we heard related to that was the release of the Wrecker wave at Kmart, which was supposed to be a test for how well they'd sell. We've seen nothing yet.

If they indeed are releasing at least some 2013 stuff here, I'd like them to get them to retailers soon. I still need to pick up a Hoist and don't want to pay over $30 for one.

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I've seen Generations: Jetfire at toyworld in the past few weeks. Besides that I haven't seen Generations toys here (besides AoE) since the FOC toys.

I missed the Wreckers toys - the only one I wanted was Impactor and now he goes for a fricken fortune on ebay :(

Are they already all gone from Kmart? I still need to get Topspin and Twin Twist. :(

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Originally Posted by Bidoofdude

Are they already all gone from Kmart? I still need to get Topspin and Twin Twist. :(

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I haven't seen any since they went on sale for $15 back in June. You can't expect them to still be around in plentiful numbers at those prices

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Originally Posted by BigTransformerTrev

I've seen Generations: Jetfire at toyworld in the past few weeks. Besides that I haven't seen Generations toys here (besides AoE) since the FOC toys.

I missed the Wreckers toys - the only one I wanted was Impactor and now he goes for a fricken fortune on ebay :(

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Thanks Trev. So basically, what you're saying is, don't hold your breath.

Nice toy... horrible stickers.
It looks like the sticker sheet was blown up a little because someone thought they would be too small for a kid to deal with... or too small for an adults thick fingers. All of the stickers are too big, so only half end up fitting.
I ended up putting some of the stickers in other spots just to add a bit more detail to the toy, but some were still wasted.
Nice idea, just ruined during execution.

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Originally Posted by M-bot

A bit of a disappointment for me. The transformation is super simple - not even as difficult as a deluxe for the most part. It's almost an up-sized commander class toy. No articulation in the hands and wrists at all. And despite his big clown feet, I've had some issues with balance.

To top it off, there are ports on the instructions that aren't on the toy, and even though I'm a fan of the stickers on him (and Whirl), the first few I put on don't actually fit on the toy where the instructions say they should go.

All decked out, he's an imposing figure for display, with some nice colours to boot, but it feels like a lazy cop-out of a toy by Hasbro. Could've been awesome, but just isn't.:(

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The clown feet can be adjusted but overall, that's how I feel about this toy. Feels very delicate and easy to break in places too.

Seeing this thread resurrected made me remember: I need to try to get a Cloud Roadbuster. Looks like he's still in stock most places, so now I just need to scrape together the money...

Resurrection of thread appreciated.

I got the TT one and despite really wanting a nice Roadbuster, I am really not feeling it with this guy for some reason. Vehicle mode is really nice, but the robot mode.... Just feels too flawed.

I did a vid review of him, where a piece broke off mid review. Also, the guns just seem a tad crap. Individually they look a bit like arse, and combined, they slightly less like arse.

I bought the reprolables set for roadbuster, which are way better than the official stickers that come with him.

So anyway, I never got a Cloud Roadbuster. But I did get vanilla Roadbuster! I'm quite happy with him, although I'll echo the reservations of others about the stickers. Particularly the chest symbol was difficult to apply properly - I really wanted to use the Wreckers symbol but ended up having to peel it off and reapply it so many times because it's just too big that it's now rather obviously a sticker. I'm sticking (hah!) with it though because it's always nice to have a variant faction symbol rather than just another Autobot.

He's a good looking toy, transformation is cool, lots of articulation and play value from the weaponry. I haven't had any QC or plastic issues with mine, and he survived a trip back from the UK where the zip failed on the suitcase, so make of that what you will!

Overall I think I'd recommend him, but he's not one of the truly outstanding pieces in my collection. I'm glad I bought him, but he's not Legends Brainstorm or CW Ultra Magnus level of awesome. Maybe I should have got the Cloud version after all...

The stickers are my only gripe with this Transformer, they're too numerous and don't always fit but at least they're not the those extra large ones where you have to pop air bubbles once they're applied. When it comes to the figure it has high poseability due to having double joints in the elbows, knees and behind the shins in close proximity to the ankles. Love the vehicle mode, it offers such generous clearance between the ground and the chassis and runs smoothly. And finally, this guy is so heavily armed to the teeth that I've never seen anything like this among other Transformers let alone the combinations of weaponry (I'm surprised there isn't a sticker of that damn dirty ape called Charlton Heston).

Overall I have to put this guy right up there with Generations Springer even though he's not a triple changer.:D

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Originally Posted by shockNwave

And finally, this guy is so heavily armed to the teeth that I've never seen anything like this among other Transformers let alone the combinations of weaponry

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What about G1 Roadbuster? That toy comes with triple the number of accessories that Generations Roadbuster comes with, although a good number of that is armour and other accessories that aren't weapons. Although weapon-wise the G1 toy still outnumbers the Generations figure. But having fewer accessories isn't a bad thing, the large number of accessories on G1 Roadbuster was - IMHO - just downright annoying. Strip the toy down, transform it, put crap back on... and of course, most of those accessories end up getting lost. :rolleyes: Another toy with more weaponry is Age of Extinction Voyager Class Autobot Hound.

Post-G2 toys are generally much better with incorporating accessories rather than having them just lie around as detachable and losable accessories. Generations Roadbuster has lots of places to attach his weapons in both modes, whereas a good number of G1 Roadbuster's robot mode accessories aren't used in vehicle mode.

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Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime

What about G1 Roadbuster? That toy comes with triple the number of accessories that Generations Roadbuster comes with, although a good number of that is armour and other accessories that aren't weapons. Although weapon-wise the G1 toy still outnumbers the Generations figure. But having fewer accessories isn't a bad thing, the large number of accessories on G1 Roadbuster was - IMHO - just downright annoying. Strip the toy down, transform it, put crap back on... and of course, most of those accessories end up getting lost. :rolleyes: Another toy with more weaponry is Age of Extinction Voyager Class Autobot Hound.

Post-G2 toys are generally much better with incorporating accessories rather than having them just lie around as detachable and losable accessories. Generations Roadbuster has lots of places to attach his weapons in both modes, whereas a good number of G1 Roadbuster's robot mode accessories aren't used in vehicle mode.

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Then the question is: "Does G1 or AoE Hound have as many weapons/accessories combiner combinations as Generations Roadbuster?:p

G1 Roadbuster: No.

AoE Hound: Yes, even more so than Roadbuster. Hound comes with 8 weapons, all of which can either combine with each other or all combine together to form one mega-gun. His main gatling gun has 3 configurations - hand-held mode without stock, hand-held mode with stock & vehicle-mounted mode.