Toy Review - HASLAB Victory Saber set
HOLY
Series - Generations
Sub-line - Legacy
Size/class - Micromaster
New/remould/redeco - Repaint of Siege Stakeout
Wave - N/A
Released here - December 2022
Approximate Retail Price - $369
Approximate Size - 6cm
Allegiance - Autobot
Sub-Group - Micromaster
Alt-mode - Police car
Main Features/Gimmicks - Targetmaster
Main Colours - white, black, blue
Main Accessories - None
A lovely repaint of Siege Stakeout, now with cartoon-accurate colours. The lack of police markings does make the robot mode look more cartoon-accurate, but the trade off is that the vehicle mode lacks any police markings. Some apparently mould degradation means that the legs pop off super easily.
Autobot FIRE
Size/class - Micromaster
New/remould/redeco - Repaint of Siege Red Heat
Approximate Size - 6.5cm
Sub-Group - Micromaster
Alt-mode - Fire engine
Main Features/Gimmicks - Targetmaster
Main Colours - red, white, pale blue
Main Accessories - None
A neat repaint of Red Heat with colours that more closely match his cartoon model. Unfortunately, some mould degradation means that the ladder piece doesn't plug in very securely and comes off very easily. The upper post (handle for weapon mode) fits in better if you turn the ladder around backwards (possibly due to said post being longer).
STAR SABRE
New/remould/redeco - New
Size/class - Commander
Approximate Size - Autobot Sabre = 12cm, Star Sabre = 25cm
Sub-Group - Brainmaster
Brainmaster Component - Brain of Courage
Alt-mode - Jet
Main Features/Gimmicks - Brainmaster, V Star combination
Main Colours - red, white, pale blue
Main Accessories - V Star, helmet, nosecone/sword hilt, sabre blade, Sabre Laser rifle, x6 blast effects pieces, flight/figure stand, V-Shield
Brain of Courage
Masterpiece and HasLab Brain of Courage have two different ways of emulating the Brainmaster/Motorvator gimmick. MP Sabre retains having a lift that rises up as the chest plate is closed. The main downside with HL Brain of Courage is the lack of a painted head/face.
Comparison:
* G1 Brain of Courage reveals Sabre's face from inside his body as he is elevated and set into position
* MP Sabre's face is separate from Brain of Courage. As Brain of Courage is elevated, he pushes up Sabre's face which is a separate hidden piece. This also emulates the way that we visually see Brain of Courage transforming into Sabre's face in the cartoon, but it does cheat by having the face be a separate piece.
* HasLab Brain of Courage is more authentic to the G1 figurine by having Sabre's face be part of his body. Sabre's face is part of Brain of Courage and not a separate hidden piece. This means that like the G1 toy, Brain of Courage actually transforms into Sabre's face.The trade off is that there's no lift mechanism like the G1 and MP toys.
Sabre
A well articulated figure that features waist swivel, something that's absent on the MP. The head is connected to an inner cradle that not only houses Brain of Courage, but does so without impeding on head swivel. This is achieved by having the cradle pivot with the helmet (thus Brain of Courage actually turns while housed inside Sabre's torso). The visor also has a pair of eyes sculpted inside.
V-Star
The jet mode is what you'd expect. Battle station mode is pretty forgettable, and the shield doesn't securely fit in.
Star Sabre
Sculpting has lots of tech detailing (a stark contrast to previous Star Sabres), and the hands have retractable 5mm ports like Siege Jetfire.
The helmet is a removable piece with no armature that connects to it like on Robotmasters and Masterpiece Star Sabre, but this also grants greater head articulation plus design liberty (as they don't have to work around an armature).
The helmet can be removed and attached to the back to put Star Sabre in his unhelmeted super robot mode, as sometimes seen in the cartoon.
I also like how Sabre has three connecting points; one at the base (same as MP Star Sabre), and two tabs that clip into the back of the chestplate (Sabre's legs). This not only grants more stability to the torso, but also covers up the gaps.
This mode includes a waist swivel, and the sword doesn't have to be held with the blade in a lateral position, but it can also be held correctly the the blade being held dorsally.
VICTORY LEO
New/remould/redeco - New
Size/class - Leader
Approximate Size - 18cm to top of head, 23cm to tip of V-Lock rifles
Alt-mode - Winged robotic lion, winged box
Main Features/Gimmicks - can combine with Star Sabre in either mode
Main Colours - black, yellow, white... like a Liquorice AllSorts
Main Accessories - x2 V-Lock rifles, x1 V-Lock cannon
V-Lock rifles are able to reconfigure themselves without having to be detached. The main drawback is the lack of waist articulation; which is unavoidable as the torso and legs become the feet of Victory Sabre.
VICTORY SABRE
Approximate Size - 30cm
As one would expect, Victory Sabre is basically Star Sabre with platform shoes and a winged backpack. The backpack does have several anchor points which makes it quite secure, as do the platform shoes. They're so secure that it requires a bit of effort to disconnect them!
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Overall
As the third most expensive Transformer released to date (after HasLab Unicron and Robosen Optimus Prime), HasLab Holy and his amazing friends aren't cheap.
What you have here are x1 Commander (Star Sabre), x1 Leader (Victory Leo) and x2 Micromasters (Fire and Holy); so if they were regular mass release toys, they'd be $270.
But of course, this isn't a mass release set, it's a limited exclusive crowdfunded set, so obviously it cannot be priced like mass retail figures.
Given its exclusivity, I think it's worth the asking price. If you're more price sensitive, I'd recommend sticking with your RM Victory Sabre (which is still a nice set for its relative size and RRP).
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Originally Posted by griffin
