Toy Review - Fans Project Defender

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I recently received Warbot Defender and after a few transformations and some playing I am now ready to express my opinions on one of the most anticipated releases this year.

I won't go into heavy detail as it's been a few months since release and this figure has been already reviewed to death so I will concentrate on my own opinions and observations which reviewers may not have addressed.

The figure comes packaged in Robot mode so we'll start there.

Warbot Defender Robot Mode

Warbot Defender is a highly articulated figure with lots and lots of articulation which allow for an endless amount of poses including kneeling, walking and running poses. As mentioned by several reviews, he is indeed a little back heavy but it's much more minor than they let on. The figure is very well proportion weight wise and despite the lack of heel spurs, he is very stable even in neutral poses. He would only fall back in a neutral pose if you begin to shake the table or if the surface isn't flat.

Having mentioned that he is well proportion weight wise, I am afraid that the same cannot be said as far as sculpted and design proportions go. When you look at Defender from the side, you will notice that his head is positioned further back than his legs giving him a bit of an odd look from the side. This is somewhat similar to 6" Titanium Rodimus who is a reverse of this with his head way too forward and legs aligned further back but Defender is no where near as bad or noticeable. This is a very minor issue which is not really evidently obvious in the mold unless you look but is worth mentioning.

He comes with 3 weapons, a Sword and two twin hand guns. The guns are one molded solid piece but are detailed and look cool enough. As mentioned in Reviews, the figure is articulated enough to be able to pick up and unholster the guns from it's leg storage which is very impressive. The sword looks more like a Scimitar than the Springer Sword from the G1 toy which adds a lot of unique personality to it. Although many reviews have mentioned the sword to be very fragile which is perfectly understandable as that is the first impression due to how thin it's molded, it has been revealed that it is actually very durable. This was shown by Frenzy_Rumble who folded the sword almost in half with no damage. My only gripe with the sword is that the grey peg used for the helicopter mode looks somewhat odd.

A very nice and highly articulated robot mode offering massive play value and evoking the character of G1 Springer very well despite being a completely original toy.







Armored Car mode

Transforming the robot mode into car mode is elaborate enough to be satisfactory but not too difficult. It is the more straight forward but satisfying transformation sequence of the 2 vehicle modes as it's engineering is complex enough to require help from instructions at first but easy to remember once done.

The armored car mode is much heavier and more militaristic looking than G1 Springer's but it doesn't look slow or clumsy due to the six wheels all of which fully touches the ground and even rolls really well in smooth surfaces which I found impressive. It's weapons are the dual handguns attached at the front which can be a bit odd looking and he can only shoot forwards but the car looks maneuverable and speedy enough for this not to be a big problem.

This mode is the biggest departure from G1 Springer as the car mode is wider and as mentioned, more militaristic looking but it still would suit the G1 character nicely due to the color scheme and detailing which works really well.







Helicopter Mode

Despite the vehicle and Helicopter modes looking deceivingly similar, there is a lot of difference when it comes to the transformation sequence. It is very elaborate and somewhat difficult to transform Warbot Defender from any mode into Helicopter due to a very unorthodox form of engineering, specially with the arms. With Takara-Tomy engineering we are used to having limbs fold 'squarely' into the body in vehicle mode but this isn't the case here as the arms snap in place at an angle which requires very complex and precise folding. I have already transformed mine at least 3 times and needed help from instructions every time but I am sure that eventually I will get it right without assistance.

The Helicopter is very nicely detailed and looks very functional as a Cybertronian mode successfully tributing the G1 toy as well as the character while being fairly different and unique. The sword unfolds nicely into helicopter blades and the peg fits tightly enough but allows the blades to spin freely which is very cool.

It is certainly a very cool LHX style Cybertronian helicopter.







Material quality and Paint applications

This figure has really high end plastic, it looks really good and evoking a similar feel to the plastic you see in high end Macross toys. The plastic is thick and feels very durable. I was very impressed by how solid this toy feels.

The paint apps are also superb of a very high paint quality with no defects or smudges anywhere to be seen. The die cast and plastic parts blend in superbly due to this and despite several transformations into different modes, there isn't one scratch on the surface.

The only problem that I see with this really high end finish and materials is that the toy fails to do what it was initially set out to do. This toy was made in order to give us a proper alternative for a triple changing Classics Springer after Hasbro officially announced that they would not do one. Unfortunately due to the overall high end quality of this toy, he stands out when displayed with Classics, Universe and even Henkei toys as not belonging there unlike City Commander who despite his higher quality plastic, does blend in nicely with Classics and Henkei toys.

This is a big issue for me as the toy stands out too much in the display shelf and only displays well with the Masterpiece toys despite the lack of scale.

Overall

Superb figure very high end with quality which only compares to Takara-Tomy's more high end toys like Masterpiece but still excels it. Lots of articulation and play value with very satisfying and complex engineering. He works well as a display and play piece with extensive articulation and very solid and durable. The biggest flaw with the figure is that it fails to 'fit in' with Classic and Henkei toys which is the real reason for why this figure exists.

Having said that, this 'Not Springer' is by far the most Springeresque toy we have gotten since 1986. No other toy since have been able to tribute the character anywhere near as well as Warbot Defender.