Toy Review - Studio Series Mixmaster

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20th February 2020, 12:30 AM
GoktimusPrime

Toy Review - Studio Series Mixmaster

CONSTRUCTICON MIXMASTER
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Studio Series
Size/class - Voyager
New/remould/redeco - New
Wave - Eight
Released here - ???
Approximate Retail Price - $50
Approximate Size - 17cm
Allegiance - Decepticon
Alt-mode - Mack Granite mixer truck
Main Features/Gimmicks - combines with fellow Constructicons to form Devastator(TM)
Main Colours - grey, black
Main Accessories - None

https://i.ibb.co/hMWpVC2/studioserie...ixmaster01.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/y0BPrJQ/studioserie...ixmaster02.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/jTpqhnB/studioserie...ixmaster03.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/fXMkbfr/studioserie...xmaster03a.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/D8t8sVb/studioserie...ixmaster05.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/gFpqNJp/studioserie...ixmaster06.jpg

https://i.ibb.co/xqzQmn3/studioserie...cavenger06.jpg

Note: Mixmaster doesn't have any logos on him except for the hood ornament. The Decepticon logo on the mixing barrel is a sticker that I've put on.
20th February 2020, 01:03 AM
Autocon

They put an insignia on the old toy, really needs one on the new toy. The sticker really makes it.
16th March 2020, 01:26 AM
Jellico

The blandness seems to be a common complaint. I've got to say the colour scheme lends itself to modification. Eg I have painted the clips on the front wheels silver and and the fake hip tires black. Little things but they break up the grey.
16th March 2020, 06:58 AM
Autocon

Pretty sure in the movie he had one on the barrel
16th March 2020, 07:31 AM
Tha_Phantom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Autocon

Pretty sure in the movie he had one on the barrel

He did. And Michael Bay couldn't decide which way it should be facing. :p
https://i.ibb.co/37VbrVn/IMG-20200316-072725.jpg
19th March 2020, 12:08 AM
Magnus

Mixmaster is an interesting-looking one. He's not particularly tall - just short of 13.5cm at the top of his head, 17cm if you flip the twin barrels behind the head all the way up, and he has a short torso and legs, but the width of the shoulders, the large arms, and the arrayed mixing drum pieces make him seem larger.

In terms of the vehicle mode, it's interesting that Mixmaster is the first and so far only Constructicon to have a licensed vehicle mode - possibly because Hasbro already had a licensing deal with Mack Trucks for DotM Megatron and decided to use the licence for another Decepticon based on a Mack. It's largely accurate to what we saw on screen, save for the lack of the booster axle at the back of the truck and the lack of Decepticon insignia on the mixing drum.

I'm surprised that Mixmaster contains the entirety of Devastator's head, as I remember thinking that it would be too big and the jaw would probably flip up from below on Scavenger. Sure, Mixmaster ends up with the truck cab as a backpack as a result, with the bonnet coming off, but a more intricate solution likely wasn't realistic at this size and price point.

https://i.imgur.com/YoVmEKr.jpg

Out of curiosity, I decided to compare Mixmaster and DotM Megatron, seeing as they both transform into Mack Granite trucks, and the scale the two were made to is surprisingly similar. It's worth noting, of course, that the Granite used for Megatron was substantially modified, whereas the one used for Mixmaster appears to be largely stock save for the bullbar.

https://i.imgur.com/CMWD7h9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/UXKr9bL.jpg

The display backdrop is the same Egyptian quarry the other Constructicons have come with.

https://i.imgur.com/rQF9oPJ.jpg

The Constructicons to date.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tha_Phantom

He did. And Michael Bay couldn't decide which way it should be facing. :p
https://i.ibb.co/37VbrVn/IMG-20200316-072725.jpg

If you really want to get down to it, shouldn't you blame whoever painted the mixing drum? :p

It looks like the drum was painted with Decepticon emblems on the left and right sides of the truck, and that both were right-side up at once. So, when the drum is in motion, there would be a point where the emblems would appear upside-down.
19th March 2020, 08:55 AM
Jellico

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnus

If you really want to get down to it, shouldn't you blame whoever painted the mixing drum? :p

It looks like the drum was painted with Decepticon emblems on the left and right sides of the truck, and that both were right-side up at once. So, when the drum is in motion, there would be a point where the emblems would appear upside-down.

I have been rewatching the quarry scene to figure out the Decepticon emblem and I swear that there is only one. Maybe it is movie magic.
19th March 2020, 09:30 AM
Paulbot

Quote:

Originally Posted by Magnus

https://i.imgur.com/rQF9oPJ.jpg

The Constructicons to date.

I was pretty sure on my decision not to by the Constructicons, but I keep seeing things like this that make me want to change my mind.
19th March 2020, 10:14 AM
Tha_Phantom

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulbot

I was pretty sure on my decision not to by the Constructicons, but I keep seeing things like this that make me want to change my mind.

Grab the box set for $9630608610370930110480194.99 when it comes out. :p
19th March 2020, 01:40 PM
SharkyMcShark

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paulbot

I was pretty sure on my decision not to by the Constructicons, but I keep seeing things like this that make me want to change my mind.

They make a great set visually.

What I love about them, compared to any of the CW combiners, is that they all have very different body shapes and proportions while fitting into the same aesthetic.

They look very alien, and I love that about them.
19th March 2020, 01:41 PM
Jellico

With the exception of Scavenger you should still be able to find them all on shelves.
I wasn't going to get a SS Devastator but then in the deathly quiet first half of last year I bought a Rampage and was impressed with how he pulled off his alien nature. I got a Scrapmetal and he was okaaay but Hightower was gleefully weird. At that point I needed tubby old Long Haul and I was committed. I have Scavenger waiting to be opened and looking cool while I have been messing with Mixmaster all week. It is a commitment but the set will be a really unusual Transformer figure and stand out as vehicles, separate, and combined.
20th September 2020, 10:36 PM
doublespy

I actually like Mixmaster as a stand-alone figure more than I thought I would.

Aside from the hands and feet hanging out at the back, the cement mixer mode is actually pretty great. Love the little bulldog ornament.

'Bot mode is surprisingly good as well. The head sculpt is again fantastic as per TakTom's high standards. I wish a wrist swivel and a deeper elbow bend could've been worked in there to help his hands emote, but considering Devastator's head took up a fair share of parts count (which is absolutely gorgeous imo) it's completely understandable.

https://i.imgur.com/hyzFR6Gh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/LZyIFFmh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/FWDpGukh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/yPCQ7clh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/ZvcdCSPh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Tt4IcXbh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/2UpJ4fph.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/5X2IbDqh.jpg
9th August 2024, 10:15 PM
Magnus

Four years after this figure was released, while combining my Constructicons I've found a feature that not many people seem to have noticed.

If you look at the 'undriven' wheels in vehicle mode, you'll see that they were made with a small tab sticking out of them.

https://i.imgur.com/aYsLJAg.jpg

Upon inspecting the hips, I found that they were made with a corresponding slot.

https://i.imgur.com/FRU777E.jpg

Sure enough, the tab and slot are meant to go together.

https://i.imgur.com/GX0Z2C5.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/rkp0OxT.jpg

This feature isn't in the instructions published by either Hasbro or TakaraTOMY, and using the tab makes the legs more rigid when in their folded Devastator configuration, which would help support Mixmaster's weight since those folded legs rest on the little 'platform' formed by Overload's cab.

To make sure this wasn't something that a lot of people already knew about, I looked at several videos made when Mixmaster was released. Only one specifically mentioned the tab, while a second video with no narration showed a different order of transforming the legs, which is probably the 'correct' sequence.

At the same time, I found that when securing the feet into the slots between the two driven rear axles, it was easier to swing the foot in from outside than it was to push the foot up from below as most people do, especially since I don't seem to get the foot to 'click' in the way some videos show. Of course, I could be applying insufficient force when pushing the foot up, but swinging the foot in negates this problem.