Animated Voyagers 1st Wave

[jaydisc]

My first taste of Transformers Animated was a short video trailer that was being spread around the web. My first impression was that it looked like the same regurgitated style of Animation that has been passing under my radar for years. I wasn't impressed.

And then I saw my first glimpse of the toys. I did not expect the toys to so embody the character's animated equivalents. Now, I'm what I call an engineering-based fan. My appreciation has always been in the engineering of the toys, so this wholeheartedly impressed me. It was as fresh as the movie. And fresh is good.



Bulkhead

Bulkhead's alt mode is pretty cartoon accurate, armored truck. The paint applications are few and subtle, but effective since this is an Animated figure. It feels very solid and rolls along the ground perfectly with all wheels in sync. He's virtually the same width and height as Movie Ratchet and about two centimeters shorter in length.

I absolutely love the transformation. I think it contains the best implementation of auto-morphing technology yet. There is also some very smooth joint ratcheting and many transformation steps are completed with a satisfying click, enforcing the solidity of this figure. I'm very impressed with the design and also the build quality. I can only hope that Hasbro's manufacturing and quality assurance has improved to the point that most others will have a similar impression.

The robot mode of this figure is also extremely cartoon accurate. While the Voyager class of this figure has scale issues with other figures in this line, the Voyager class figure is in much better personal proportions than the impending Leader class release. The articulation is very good considering the bulky build of this robot. Each forearm has a different gimmick. Accurate to the show, in the left arm is the projectile wrecking ball and chain. Not so much a chain as piece of string, but you get the idea. The right arm has a somewhat bizarre punching action that is not documented on the packaging or in the instructions.

This guy is my clear favorite so far. I give him a 9 out of 10.





Starscream

Starscream's alt mode is not nearly as cartoon accurate as Bulkhead, although it is a bit bulky. The side and bottom views of the cybertronian jet how a bit of chaos and the parts of the robots buried down here don't have as satisfying a home as all of the parts on Bulkhead do. The missile launchers are poorly placed not on the winds as expected, but rather converged in the center of the underside of the fuselage. He's a nice dark blue and has red highlights that would seemingly be a G1 homage.

The transformation here also takes clever advantage of auto-morph technology, but require a bit more dexterity in the requirement of having to coordinate the swinging back of the fuselage, and the swinging out of the legs and arms. With the same motion, the cone retracts into the fuselage enabling the front of the jet to firmly click into place as the robot's lower torso. The rear fuselage also has a satisfying click into place. After that, there is only some mild tidying up to do. There is what seems to be a tuxedo tail at the back of the fuselage which can be slit and arched back. I'm not sure the point of this as leaving it along doesn't detract from the robot mode at all and the engineering of these two pieces is very ill conceived. It uses the same type of connector as the connection between Movie Deluxe Bonecrusher's claw and body, or more accurately, the same methodology as the claws attached to Leader Brawl's left forearms. The point being, they constantly fall off, and with each departure, ensure that the next departure takes even less effort.

The robot mode seems to be considerably more accurate than the alt mode. He's been humorously referred to as having a Jay Leno chin. The first thing I noticed about his face was the fact that his mouth has light piping and it's a great effect! As a side note, Bulkhead has no light piping which is disappointing. Back to Screamer, his arms are very well muscular and he even has separate articulated thumbs although I'm missing one of them (it wasn't in the box!) His upper legs are bizarre to say the least. He has a lower torso that competes with that of Classics Mirage. His waste is almost non-existent and his upper thighs are ridiculously thin. While there is plenty of articulation and the joints are firm, it is quite awkward to get him into poses that would be easily achievable on other figures. It's not that it's not possible, it's just a bit awkward. You'll see. His feet are attached to his leg via ball joints which assists with stability

Rating: 6.5 out of 10

The first two images show how the missile launchers can be stowed behind (better without missiles) or pointing forward (to fire missiles). I think it's a weird place to have missiles and shows the chaos of the underside of the fuselage. The second two pics show a very neat auto-morph gimmick: Slide the missile launcher forward a nice firm centimeter, and these wrist panels flick out.





Megatron

To paraphrase and quote a fellow board member in context to the Movie releases of Megatron,

"It's a dark time for the Dark Lord"

Unfortunately, if this figure is any indication, the dark times continue. I really feel like the last few Megatrons have been designed at 3 PM on a Friday at the point when everyone just wants to go home. Megatron's alt mode is that of a Cybertronian jet which seems to be Hasbro's current excuse for when it can't come up with a decent alt mode. It has these weird "wings" and even weirder "tail fins". There are also intakes on the wings that make it appear to be capable of VTOL (vertical take off and landing) like a British Harrier. I guess this helps draw the synergies with Megatron's future Earth Mode which looks a lot like a VTOL capable Osprey similar to Movie Incinerator. There are bits of crap sticking out in various places like his soon-to-be feat, seemingly unable to find homes to hide away in. The only thing I think it has going for it is its colors. He's a two tone black and great with red highlights, clearly a G1 homage.

I describe the transformation of Movie Voyager Megatron not so much as a transformation but super man mode. You stick the hands out. You fold the legs back. Done. Animated Megatron is slightly more involved, but there is nothing clever going on here. The auto-morphing is used in two places. The first to raise Megatron's head as you put his arms into place and the second creates a red blade on the underside of his pulse cannon.
The pulse cannon is currently driving me a bit batty. The pictures in the instructions and similarly in the video reviews I've seen, seems to be able to bend above Megatron's forearm. This is clearly not possible with my mold. I will be writing some of the other reviewers to see if I have actually misunderstood the instructions are there has been a change in mold design between their pre-release molds and mine.

Megatron's robot mode is well proportioned. He's well built and quite articulate. The connectors that hold his forearms to his upper arms are quite thin, but don't detract too much. However, the pulse cannon is very heavy and bulky and makes posing him quite difficult without him losing his balance. His legs are quite bulky, which is either illustrative of his might or just a wicked pair of bell bottoms. I am a big fan of Animated Megatron's face design. I think it is a well balanced combination of Movie and G1 Megatron.

Overall, I don't really have a lot of good things to say about this figure. Its robot mode is decent and its alt mode is poor. I have higher hopes for the Earth mode of this figure. Rating: 4 out of 10




There are definitely some scale issues between the three bots. Bulkhead is virtually half the height of Starscream who is slightly taller than Megatron. Nonetheless, these guys look great to display. Because of their intense style and for lack of a better word, curves, they simply don't look like they transform. Rather, they just appear to be highly articulated figures. It is the departure from what is the current norm that makes me adore the style.

EDIT: Added Starscream picture captions