Crossover Venom Review

[kurdt_the_goat]

Thought i would do a review of Venom as well this week, since it looks like i'm the only person on the forums interested in the Marvel Crossovers! Truth be told, i'll probably be stopping at Venom, only because the others don't appeal to me for various reasons.

As a disclaimer of sorts, i haven't had any experience with SWTF's other than seeing them in store and reading Dirge's reviews, so i won't be comparing to that line of (soon to be) Crossovers.



Head



I know there's some opposition to Crossovers in general - the very nature of the concept and particularly human(like) creatures being represented as robots. Whatever your opinion on the concept, i think it's undeniable that this figure has an awesome looking head sculpt. The mouth/teeth/tongue and eyes are what defines this Mech as Venom, but the robotic detailing is incredibly convincing. A combination of wires, cabling, indentations and panels are painted with enough detail to be surprising for a Transformer toy. The black paint is a nice glossy one that looks very solid and impressive. In terms of faults, the head is on quite a large neck, which coupled the bonnet forming his chest, limits articulation to side-to-side, less than even 90 degrees. While unfortunate, I think the detail on the neck/head makes up for the lack of articulation, and if it were smaller, it would look too small.

Muscle Car



A few people have noted the size of this line as surprising. I guess, considering the price point and relation to SWTF's, it shouldn't be, but i couldn't help but be surprised too (especially the Hulk!). Anyway, as the comparison shows, Venom is about the size of a typical Alternator/Binaltech, and makes for a nice change from typical deluxes. He's predominantly black with well painted (apart from a splotch of silver above his left front wheel) metallic purple flames that put to shame most recent flame jobs, excepting Movie Leader Prime i'd say. The Venom logo adorns the hood and there's a moulded air intake. The overall sculpt is very well done, looking very realistic to the point of being impressive even to someone who dislikes this style of car (me!). Compared to an Alternator, it's missing transparent windows, painted wing mirrors, internal details and working front wheels. Overall though, it remains convincingly realistic and impressive for the price point.

I think the painted windows are a nice effect, you'd imagine a car as evil as this would definitely be tinted! It has a well applied coat of paint over the head/tail lights and pointy/spiked silver bumpers at both ends. The front is especially menacing with additional painted teeth. The wheels are great too, looking like blades or ninja-stars, again painted in a nice silver. The tread on the wheels is serrated like a knife edge which also helps to convince that this car is a perfect match to Venom's personality. I forgot to take a photo of the underside, but it is especially impressive for having virtually no robot parts visible; only the bullets which store underneath could count as kibble. Thankfully, all his parts clip together very nicely and the car is solid to play with at all times.

Transformation
A fresh change from the Animated toys of late, Venom's transformation is not as simple and generally well done. His legs are the sour point, being a simple foldover and stow - i think a lot more could have been done to reduce the bulk appearance in the mech mode. His stomach is impressively complex - you align it by about 4 panels attached by pins, and thanks to some incredibly vague instructions, it can be tough finding the right position to lock his chest in place the first few times. When you get it though, everything fits and clips together solidly, which after playing with Animated Blitzwing, is very much appreciated!


Mech



I had every intention of taking photos that made Venom's mech mode NOT look stumpy, but it seems i failed miserably. Especially when compared to Movie Ironhide, he looks remarkably out of propertion. However, in person he just doesn't look anywhere near as stumpy as he does in the photos. Looking at them now, i should have taken some from above, because when you view him from a higher angle, he takes on a brooding, menacing appearance that suits Venom very well. As mentioned, his leg transformation is pretty simple, leading to back-loaded knee/calf area, that looks oversized. His posing ability isn't affected too much by their size, thanks to some decent, stable feet. The arms though are unfortunately hindered by the wheels on his shoulders, stopping him from being able to hold a 90 degree bent arm. Other than that, their movement is generally good, and the joints hold poses well. His bullets can load just above his hands and fire with a small button on his forearm. I read elsewhere this was a homage to Venom firing above his hands in comic, but this small touch is unfortunately lost on a Marvel noob like myself! His waist is able to rotate as part of the transformation, but if you want to clip his chest in place, you'll lose that ability.



Where the mech mode really shines, is in the details. Like the head, his hands, thighs, knees and feet are all intensely detailed with robotic moulding that looks awesome. The paint application on the knees in particular is very nice - they have a purple wash over the detailing, a bit like battle damage on other toys, but it looks great here.

Conclusion



Overall, certainly not a toy without faults, but one i find very enjoyable none the less. Perhaps the dearth of detailing on Animated toys has left me craving some finely moulded plastic, but i can't help but be impressed by Venom's robotic detailing. He displays great in both modes (the realism in vehicle mode also a nice change from Animated), looking suitably menacing the whole time. If you're interested enough to try the Marvel Crossovers line, i recommend Venom as a good starting point.