View Poll Results: Studio Series Devastator - worth buying?

Voters
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  • yes (buying them in parts)

    8 61.54%
  • yes (only if released as a set)

    0 0%
  • only if (something else)

    1 7.69%
  • not worth buying

    0 0%
  • not even interested in it

    4 30.77%
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Thread: Toy Review - Studio Series Devastator

  1. #11
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    I don't mind the top half of Devastator, but from waist down he is a mess. Way too blocky and plastic looking for Studio Series figure.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bemblebuu View Post
    I don't mind the top half of Devastator, but from waist down he is a mess. Way too blocky and plastic looking for Studio Series figure.
    You're right.


    It's the hips I think - those big square plates scream PLAYSKOOL TRANSFORMER.


    I'll still finish the combiner at some point, but I do wish that the design had either committed to the on all fours look from the movie or the more simian version from the concept art.
    I'm really just here for the free food and open bar.

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Krayt View Post
    Just go look at Scavenger and Mixmaster and figure out how they are supposed to connect. No-ones mentioned it in either individual review, but there isn't much there to talk about anyway!
    Quote Originally Posted by Gehirn View Post
    Have to echo Krayt's thoughts on Mixmaster's head connection being pretty dreadful. For me Mixmaster was probably my least favourite and this issue just gave me more reason to dislike it.
    The instructions don't show this, but you're meant to get the posts on Scavenger and hook them into Mixmaster's rear wheels before pushing the C-clips on Mixmaster down onto Scavenger. This will give Mixmaster a firm connection onto Scavenger.



    Quote Originally Posted by Krayt View Post
    Speaking of the individuals combiner modes... they got skipped over in the reviews too!!
    I was planning on doing this once I got all eight Constructicons, but here are the individual combined modes as standalone pieces:

















    On Devastator himself: he turned out a fair big bigger than I was expecting, since it seemed like the combined modes were 'compacted'. He's heavy, too - the individual Constructicons may only have limited mass, but put eight of them together and you end up with something quite hefty.

    I know some fans have taken exception to Devastator's bipedal stance, but I think that the idea of Devastator as a hulking brute that towers over others is better served as a biped than as a quadruped. Besides, concept art as well as the original promotional image that showcased Studio Series Devastator's components depicted him as a biped.

    Gripes? The connector peg on Hightower should have had a tighter joint so that it could support the combined weight of Hightower and Scrapmetal if someone wanted to raise the left arm at the elbow, and I had to tweak the ankles a bit to get Devastator to stand when ratcheting the hips forward in order to avoid a slouching, hips-forward stance. Otherwise, I'm quite happy with Devastator and think he was worth the wait.
    Last edited by Magnus; 16th September 2020 at 09:52 PM.

  4. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    The instructions don't show this, but you're meant to get the posts on Scavenger and hook them into Mixmaster's rear wheels before pushing the C-clips on Mixmaster down onto Scavenger. This will give Mixmaster a firm connection onto Scavenger.

    Yeah, among all the instructions Hasbro butchered, these are one of the worst...All that effort from TT to engineer this awesome combining gimmick, only for Hasbro to go 'eh, this will do'. Sometimes I really doubt if Hasbro know what they're doing.

    I didn't have time to go through all the discussion online about Devy's issues yet, but I can already a couple of spots that could potentially cause structural problems in the long run. But overall, considering all the limitations Shogo Hasui had to work with, this is exceptional engineering on the whole set.

  5. #15
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  6. #16
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    Yeah the peg-to-wheel connection was realised initially, but there is no solid structure to the wheels, so no major benefit in adding this to the connection

  7. #17
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    15 months to complete this set. I haven't waited this long to complete a gestalt set since 2005 (RE: Energon Bonecrusher and Wideload)!













    THOUGHTS:
    An impressive looking display piece but limited action figure due to a limited range of functional/meaningful articulation.
    Having said that, these Constructicons are mostly pretty good toys. Okay, Scavenger, Long Haul and especially Overload are somewhat compromised due to being load-bearing units (so is Rampage, but seeing that his lack of legs is screen-accurate, I guess nobody cares ). Scrapper and Scrapmetal are really nice, and Hightower's not too bad (most of his limitations is due to the derpy screen design). Mixmaster's alright; not fantastic, but he's okay.

    At the end of the day, these are toys which have to:
    a/ Look like screen models
    b/ Transform from robot to vehicle modes
    c/ Combine
    ...and all conform to Deluxe, Voyager and Leader price points - not MPs. The articulation is woefully inadequate, but I'm also mindful that this is one heavy sucker. I haven't weighed it myself, but when I took the comparison picture between SS and CW Devastator, the CW toy felt really light by comparison. I was also messing around with POTP Predaking and Earthrise Scorponok, and yeah, SS Devastator feels the heftiest. And not surprising considering that he's made up of eight boxed Transformer toys! Two Deluxes, four Voyagers and two Leaders.

    Many of us - myself included - complained about the 2009 ROTF Constructicons (Deluxes & Voyagers) not being able to combine, but in hindsight it's understandable that having photorealistic looking Constructicons that can transform and combine as toys was always going to be a difficult task. I think that the Legends Class set is still the best, especially in terms of dollar-value, but I would argue that these Studio Series toys are better value than the original 2009 ROTF Constructicons. Okay, SS Mixmaster's feet don't really conceal, Scavenger has more gaps, Rampage lacks legs and has no longer rubber treads/whips... fine, but I think that the SS Constructicons have more plusses than minuses. ROTF Mixmaster better conceals all robot parts and it has the intermediate battle platform mode, but the cement mixer truck mode isn't as well proportioned plus it cannot combine.

    Anyway, we have more options now, and a much better option than that woeful Combiner Class Devastator!
    In terms of whether or not I'd recommend these toys to others... I think it depends. If you want to have a Deluxe to Leader sized set of Constructicons who can all transform and combine into a big beefy Devastator - then sure, this set is for you. If you're not fussed about the sized then stick with the Legends Class set. If you want a big Devastator with a more screen-accurate knuckle-dragging posture and aren't fussed about the individual robot modes, then the Combiner Class toy is for you.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    At the end of the day, these are toys which have to:
    a/ Look like screen models
    b/ Transform from robot to vehicle modes
    c/ Combine
    ...and all conform to Deluxe, Voyager and Leader price points - not MPs. The articulation is woefully inadequate, but I'm also mindful that this is one heavy sucker. I haven't weighed it myself, but when I took the comparison picture between SS and CW Devastator, the CW toy felt really light by comparison. I was also messing around with POTP Predaking and Earthrise Scorponok, and yeah, SS Devastator feels the heftiest. And not surprising considering that he's made up of eight boxed Transformer toys! Two Deluxes, four Voyagers and two Leaders.
    I'm glad somebody else mentioned the weight. I 'weighed' Devastator by standing on a set of scales before and while holding Devastator, and came away with a mass of 1.7kg. Sure, it's probably not too accurate, but it's a ballpark figure. Kitchen scales would be better suited for weighing figures.

    It would be interesting to weigh titan class figures and see what kind of numbers we get. I understand that Combiner Wars Devastator is blocky with a lot of hollow parts, so despite being taller, it wouldn't surprise me if the two weighed the same. Even if the other titans weighed a bit more, they might feel lighter because they aren't as dense as Studio Series Devastator.

    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    Many of us - myself included - complained about the 2009 ROTF Constructicons (Deluxes & Voyagers) not being able to combine, but in hindsight it's understandable that having photorealistic looking Constructicons that can transform and combine as toys was always going to be a difficult task. I think that the Legends Class set is still the best, especially in terms of dollar-value, but I would argue that these Studio Series toys are better value than the original 2009 ROTF Constructicons. Okay, SS Mixmaster's feet don't really conceal, Scavenger has more gaps, Rampage lacks legs and has no longer rubber treads/whips... fine, but I think that the SS Constructicons have more plusses than minuses. ROTF Mixmaster better conceals all robot parts and it has the intermediate battle platform mode, but the cement mixer truck mode isn't as well proportioned plus it cannot combine.
    An observation I've made is that figures made for a movie's release tend to not look as good as figures of the same character released subsequently - this is because the engineers at TakaraTOMY are either working with concept art and the look of the character changes between when they get the art and when the characters are actually added in post-production, and/or they simply don't have enough time to make the characters 'work' as faithful toys in time for the factory to get tooled up and have the toys made and distributed in time for the movie's release. This challenge would have been even greater once Hasbro threw the need to combine into the mix and for figures like Long Haul and Rampage to bear the combined weight. I always figured that the legs would buckle and collapse under the weight of the other Constructicons, especially with the complex transformations that the RotF line was aiming for. The legends class figures can get away with combining because not only are not only far simpler, but they're far smaller and would weigh nowhere near as much as full-sized figures.

    Even when Studio Series Devastator was announced, I was sceptical that Long Haul and Rampage could take the weight.

  9. #19
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    Imagine you're Shogo Hasui around 2017. As part of the overseas product team you had been working on the new Studio Series a while and the whole team were having a blast especially with the movie CGI files available for reference. Then you went in a meeting one day and you were told Hasbro wanted the full Constructicons line up in the Studio Series, that can combine. And of course being the virtuoso veteran on the team, you were nominated to spearhead this project. Aside from all the wtf damn you Hasbro thoughts that also ran through Takashi Kunihiro san's head when he was handed the design task of the RotF Leader Prime/Jetfire combo, you sit down and take a look at some of the difficulties you have on hand:

    - By nature of the character design, the combiner is highly asymmetrical, with one arm made of two Deluxe figures and one arm of one Voyager, which may lead to imbalance/weight distribution issue. And the two legs, although of similar size and being in the same size class, are massively different in design, so the individual weight and even center of gravity might need to be carefully planned out.

    - Also by nature of character design, Devastator's hunched, with his knees permanently bent, and extremely top heavy (with his upper body made of 1.5 leaders, 2 voyagers, and 2 deluxes). This is not only a potential weight distribution issue, but more importantly a structural challenge. Let's have a quick look at Devy's legs (in red) in side view:



    Assume the upper body center of gravity is in line with the hip joints, there's gravity G which the upper body weight. This force can be broken down to G1 which is along the direction of Devy's thighs, and G2 which is perpendicular to G1. Although G2 is smaller than G1 when the angle of hip joint is less than 45 degrees, it still applies a great deal of torque (green arrow) on the knee joint (G2 x length of thigh); similarly, G1 applies torque on the ankle joint. Heavy ratchet joints will be required for these two joints, and the at least one set of them needs to be fully integrated within Long Haul and Rampage. An alternative would be: making one set of them rigid.

    - Every individual component is an individual stand alone release, with their own parts count incorporated in the budget, and this can be a double-edged sword. Previous Titans combiners like G1 Devs and Predaking's individual components suffered visible simplification when viewed as stand-alone figures because they were budgeted as one Titan class figure; however the combined mode arguably benefited from this because in general the less move parts in a given system, the more rigid this system is. Now each SS Devy component has to be their own stand-alone figure, with their own unique engineering. Hasbro's reps need to be able to market these as good enough individual figures to retailers, especially when the component releases span across several waves.

    - Design time lines. How do you plan out your engineering? The components will be released across multiple waves spanning over more than one and half years. You'd probably need to design the legs in details first and prototype a mock up combiner asap for loading bearing testing. You'd probably also need to figure out Scavenger's general transformation scheme as well, as the his combined mode needs to be rigid enough to support the head and the upper limbs, and Scavenger's design says everything but rigid.

    I would love to read an in-depth interview with Shogo Hasui about his SS Devastator experience!

    All that rambling above, is basically me trying to say what I said when HasTak first reveal this project, that imho SS Devastator is the single most ambitious project(combiner or otherwise) they've ever done.

    Finally the team is complete:




    I love this combined mode. Thanks to the nature of movie designs, he has details to look at for days. Not overly tall but is incredibly massive mass/volume wise. Makes for a gorgeous display piece. Put it in the middle of your house and people won't be able take their eyes off it.








    Considering it needs to be fully integrated into a Voyager-sized figure, I think the head is fantastic, and the paint job is superb.




    Not much to say articulation wise. I personally think Shogo Hasui gave us the best that this deign can offer.






    So lets quickly look at my rambling at the start of this post, and see how Shogo Hasui fared against all those challenges:

    - the left arm feels noticeably heavier to me than the right. The connecting post that everybody is worried about does carry a heavy load, a bit unbalanced no less, but it looks to be made of sturdy ABS so I'm not too concerned. Guess time will tell. The legs might be different in weight in the end,but the upper body weighs so much more it feels like that's negligible.
    - Hasui opted for omitting the knee joint altogether, which is a sensible decision imo. This also facilitates the much stronger sliding connection between Overload and the two legs. Judging by all the TakTom official photos Devy was probably designed standing only so I haven't really tried fan-moding him on all fours yet. Might add to this post later. As to the hunching physique, yeah nothing much you can do to fight gravity really; I'm happy Devy can be hunched as is.
    - The majority of individual components to me, are worth their own purchase, and this is already a hug win for HasTak. Personally I'd even say Long Haul, Scavenger and Scrapper are among some of the best SS figures. Individually they're just well-engineered, fun figures.
    - Although Mixmaster/Scavenger could've easily had tabs for Overload's legs, overall the combined mode feels well planned out imho. Maybe we'll find out if how Hasui planned out the design processes, but the end result is excellent all things considered.

    OVERALL:
    I maintain my claim that this is the most ambitious project HasTak have done. Please remember: MPs are a completely different ball game altogether than retail.

    If you're a Transformers engineering nerd like me, get this set. Despite the limitations in articulation, this is an incredible design achievement. I'm still in awe that Shogo Hasui pulled this off.

  10. #20
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    I just put my set together over the weekend. It was the first time I had transformed any of the individual figures so it was quite a process, but one that was a lot more satisfying than expected. The final form exceeded my expectations, it has quite a presence, he's more brutish than any other combiner I can recall. I had him in a nice wide stance initially but to fit into the Detolf case I had to move the arms more inward. I prefer the upright stance to the all fours one.

    Highly recommended and it doesn't look out of my place with my Movie Masterpiece figures.

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