View Poll Results: TFPrime Bee Vs Screamer - worth buying?

Voters
11. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes

    6 54.55%
  • Only if...

    3 27.27%
  • No

    2 18.18%
  • Not interested

    0 0%
Results 1 to 10 of 18

Thread: Toy Review - TFPrime 2-pack (Bbee Vs Sscream)

Hybrid View

Previous Post Previous Post   Next Post Next Post
  1. #1
    Join Date
    31st Dec 2007
    Location
    Western Sydney
    Posts
    7,229

    Default

    I voted no. But there are certainly positives to it.

    I'm not the biggest fan of the Prime series, especially since I feel it is far inferior to the series it replaced, but this two pack piqued my interest as the robot modes look pretty similar to the show models and the sale price of $33 is mere dollars more than the average deluxe price anyway so I thought I might as well give it a go.

    Both of the toys are very small, Bumblebee is 2/3 the size of Energon Hotshot. Starscream appears to have more height in alt mode than depth and looks exactly like a plane with giant robot legs pegged on underneath.

    It is a shame that the alt modes are both so weak considering that the robot modes are so nice. Bumblebee just twists and turns all over the place to end up being the bog standard head under bonnet, arms tucked in the central console, legs are the boot car with everything hanging underneath. He also looks like a jigsaw puzzle with his panels not quite lining up perfectly, and its great to see Hasbro didn't use all of their allspark blue on the movie line. It does look awful in alt mode.

    Overall summary for Bumblebee: a simple transformation from a decent robot to mediocre alt mode all jumbled up due to overcomplicating the simple things and terrible instructions.

    Starscream in his purple deco makes an already very feminine robot mode even more feminine. His high heels , thin legs and colours are very reminiscent of Cybertron Thunderblast. Unlike that shellformer, Starscream ends up showing all his robot mode in alt mode. Starscream suffers from the same problems during transformation as Bumblebee, what is essentially a very simple transformation is made over fiddly due to bad instructions and unnecessary steps. The alt mode is again is very jigsaw panelly and the whole mode has a tendency to do it's best to try and unpeg itself. In order to have a decently painted robot mode, the alt mode suffers, being mostly grey with some strange purple highlights where the wings meet the fuselage, the jet exhaust and a terrible shaded cockpit that looks atrocious.

    Overall summary for Starscream: A very well sculpted and designed robot mode with a terrible alt mode, shockingly bad transformation that is too fiddly and annoying to be fun.

    The two human figures are barely worth a mention. They are solid plastic with wide bases to help them stand with a few paint apps, nothing special, but not bad, and nothing to complain about as an added bonus.

    The packaging is plain and as Gok mentioned, empty and void of anything interesting. The instructions are badly made and designed (and overly large) and the pictures can be hard to see in grey scale when small parts need to be altered. Instead of a DVD, we get a flimsy paper booklet with stats for the main bot and con cast, with no bios or any interesting tidbits, just broken english single sentence scraps that were easy to translate into the dozen or so other languages.

    I feel that generally these figures have the same pitfalls and issues that the whole Prime line does. In order to have decent robot mode show likeness, the alt mode suffers, they are far too small for the price, smaller than DotM toys for the same price point, for no reason, there are no oversized weapons here that used the plastic allowance either. Only soft clip on weapons with no playability replace any interactive weapons.

    I can only recommend these two figures to those who really enjoy the Prime series, who want to get FE versions of two main characters in alternate colours and may have missed out/cant afford the proper versions. The robot modes display well and do look like the show (bar the colours). If you are interested, try to track down during a sale, for $33 I don't feel too ripped off, but had I paid $60 or whatever myer is charging, I'd be wanting to return these. As is, I am not sure how long I'll hold onto them, they have turned me off from collecting any further Prime figures (since these are the FE/ better designed versions) with their small size, poorly designed transformations and horrible alt modes.

    When I mention their over complicated transformations, I do not intend to infer that the transformations are hard, as they are not, but they are fiddly, like the movie toys, the panels need to be clipped in just right at the right time, and if you follow the instructions; certain joints need to be massaged in or moved, rotated, moved, rotated, rotated and flipped at the exact right times and angles rather than just twisted and pushed in at the end (which for Bee works better!) I cannot see younger kids truly enjoying these transformations, they are not fun or intuitive as a toy designed for play should be.

    Here's hoping I maintain this feeling, it'll make my wallet happier and let me track down better figures from better series.
    Looking For: Wreckers Saga TPB Collection (with Requiem)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    14th Nov 2008
    Location
    Perth
    Posts
    2,783

    Default

    Finally got to check these out at a Myer yesterday. They actually look worse than I had imagined! The colours cheapen and totally ruin these otherwise above average toys. It's infuriating that this is the first taste Australia gets of the FE toys, what a joke.

    It does get a few points for Silas' hilarious bug eyes though.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney NSW
    Posts
    37,780

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Doubledealer View Post
    Finally got to check these out at a Myer yesterday.
    I thought they were Target exclusives. I sit corrected.

    Quote Originally Posted by Doubledealer View Post
    They actually look worse than I had imagined! The colours cheapen and totally ruin these otherwise above average toys.
    Yeah, and it could have been so easily avoided. Starscream would look tonnes better if not for a the purple and pinks and Bumblebee would actually look better than FE Bumblebee if not for the baby blues.

    I don't consider these to be above average toys either. i_amtrunks' post explains a lot of the flaws about these moulds -- but in my review I didn't take them into account because they were already discussed in the review threads for the FE versions of these moulds... mine was more of a comparative review and obviously these toys will carry over any strengths/weaknesses of the originals. Having said that, they are above average for Transformers Prime... simply because the standard of the PRiD toys is so shockingly poor. The FE Bumblebee mould poops all over PRiD Bumblebee not because it's a fantastic design, but because PRiD Bumblebee is just such a piece of crap figure.

    Both your comments and i_amtrunks' comments have encouraged me to change my final verdict for these toys. I did mention that they can be drastically improved with some repainting, but really... people shouldn't have to! Hasbro should just give them good colours to begin with.

    Quote Originally Posted by Doubledealer View Post
    It does get a few points for Silas' hilarious bug eyes though.
    The MECH dudes are the only reason I got this set actually. I split the cost of this set with someone else who's gonna get to keep the TFs.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    8th Mar 2010
    Location
    Central Coast
    Posts
    1,898

    Default

    Got this set yesterday. Great for 33 bucks but no more than that. The Bee is a nice yellow for a change. Other than the blue stripes he would have been perfect. So I painted over the blue with black. And added some more paint to the hips and other places they missed. Now he is the perfect Prime Bee

    Starscream is cheap looking. But different so he will just play the part of another seeker.

    I never really have to "Finish" TFs from other lines before. But I find myself doing just that with Prime toys alot.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    4th Jul 2008
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    1,196

    Default

    I actually prefer this redeco of FE Bumblebee over the original Hasbro release. The colours are just so much better. Barring the allspark blue which is unfortunate but is growing on me. Might paint over it.

    Starscream is ok. I like mold a LOT so as many as I can get my hands on, the better.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    30th Aug 2009
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    158

    Default

    myers southland has this set for 39.95 today



    Recent Purchases => TR Prime Optimus Maximus, Knight Morpher Cyclops, Bot Shots Battle for the Matrix, Steatlth Force Gears

    Wants => TF Prime Deluxe Airachnid, FOC Wave 1

  7. #7
    Decepticon Guest

    Default

    Spotted these ar TRU today. $49.99. Looks like they will be shelf warming at every shop!

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •