Toy Review - SDCC Combiner Hunters Three Pack
Series - Exclusive
Size/class - Deluxe
New/remould/redeco - Exclusive repaint/remould of original characters
Released here - not at retail yet
Approximate Retail Price - $119.95 (Premium Collectables)
Approximate size - 13cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Cybertronian Cruiser/"Tron" style bike/VTOL Jet
Main features/gimmicks - Ridiculously over-sized weapons
Main colours - Black/Pink, Metallic Blue/White/Translucent Red, Red/Gunmetal/Gold
"Who are these new bots, and why do they look like us?"
Yes, they actually CAN hold these weapons unassisted!
Now as this is a review of what's essentially three redecos (with one minor remould) of existing figures, I'm not going to go too in-depth in discussing the moulds, only the differences with the originals. If you're not familiar with the original releases, check here, here and here.
Arcee
First off, Arcee looks bad-ass. Black with neon pink highlights, great contrast, especially compared to the more muted retail release of Arcee (and probably even more so with the Takara version.
Arcee is the only of the three to have any re-moulding done, and it's her hands that have been replaced, giving them the more standard 5mm grip most other Generations figures have, so she can hold her giant cleaver (also know as the Combiner Slayer.) This also means that her original handguns weren't included, as she can't hold them properly with her new hands. A flow on from that decision means that there's nowhere to secure her arms in alt-mode, so they just sit loose there (just like the Hasbro instructions for the retail release) but it's not too much of a problem as they don't get in the way at all. She still has the moulded points to accept these guns in alt-mode if you want to swap them over, but limited use out side of this function.
I really like this deco, as it's more than just a straight palette swap, there've been little details added in on her chest and alt-mode bonnet that really break up all the black, and it works really well. If it weren't for the big G1 Autobot symbols, I'd probably re-purpose this as G2 Arcee (and still might.)
Chromia
Of the three, Chromia is probably the easiest one to be able to re-purpose as a new/different character, as her headsculpt's not as recognisable as Arcee & Windblade, and the colour layout is just different enough to make it believable.
Structurally, things seem to peg into place more securely than the retail release - her hips and alt-mode exhaust take a little more effort to unpeg, and the "click" is quite loud in comparison to the retail release.
The use of deep metallic blue on her chest and alt-mode canopy really contrasts with the white used on her lower legs and hands, and the silver/light grey helps further differentiate the new paint job. Her forearms have the same colour blue as her chest and canopy, but lack the metallic paint, so close up it looks a little odd, but for the most part isn't too noticeable.
The large sections of unbroken white on her lower legs, while not too much of an issue in bot mode, make the alt-mode look a little boring as the grey/silver is all but hidden - some extension of the blue paint, similar to the red highlights in the retail release, would have helped here, and the blue is only broken up by tribal-like patterns painted in white.
The best part (in my opinion) of this deco however, is the use of red for all the translucent parts - really strong contrast with the retail release, and possibly my favourite part of the trio. I just like red. Side by side, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this is a different character (it's not like Has/Tak haven't released different characters from the same mould with similar base colours in the past - and there's enough difference here to warrant that assumption.)
As with Arcee, she can hold her "Primeon Blade" in some poses with out assistance, and still keeps her pistol.
Windblade
Unlike the other two, I'm comparing with the Takara release of Windblade, as I find this version more comic-accurate.
This version of Windblade, with all the deep red and gold, strikes me as a "Royal Guard" Windblade, or "Primal Guard" to fit with the fiction. The red in use is a shade or two deeper than the Takara Windblade, and I like how the gunmetal grey has been used, rather than black, as it seems to give a little more definition to the character (and grey is used to depict black in the comics, so details aren't lost.)
The plastic feels a little different this time around, especially around her legs - I can't really qualify what it is, but it seems to be maybe a little thinner, and slightly more brittle, but nowhere near easily breakable. I've come across this with redecos of other moulds before, it might just be the (lack of) paint in some areas that I'm noticing.
The paintjob used for her face is striking also, not as contrasting as the black/white used by Takara, but with gold, silver, blue, red all mixed in, creates a really "regal" look for her. The deco used on her chest complements this, with the blue lines leading towards the Autobot sigil as if it were a medal, and gold cresting up as a collar.
The sword and sheath follow along this trend, red and gold for the sheath, and this time translucent blue for the sword, which works better with Windblade's colour scheme than the purple/pink of the Hasbro/Takara releases.
Probably the best deco of the three I think, but the one I'm least likely to find a spot in my collection for - Arcee can go on my Neo-G2/post-G1 shelf, Chromia can be repurposed as a new character, but Windblade is still Windblade, just in fancy clothes
Windblade's extra "weapon" is referred to as a "Spectrospear" - apparently supposed to make her invisible for a time.
Final thoughts
Was this set worth it? Tough one - I really like all three moulds in use, and the decos are great - but it did work out to being about $40 per figure, although that's about what I paid for Takara's Windblade.
The extra weapons are of limited value to me, but still humourus, and very G2 in execution - comes down to whether you don't mind double-dipping on a mould or you missed out the first time around. Certainly not the most expensive "exclusive" set around, but with the Aussie dollar being what it is, unless you can find it locally it might be a bit over the top.
Overall I'd say I'm satisfied with my purchase.
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Originally Posted by M-bot
