City Commander Review

[jacksplatt11]

Nice photos Kurdt, looks really really cool.. Damn this bad Aussie dollar

[heroic_decepticon]

Trailer Mode
Also, when hitched onto the base toy, it's unable to rotate (good for straight roads but not much else!).

Yeah, I thought this was quite a pity though. Still the vehicle mode feels like one solid chunk of a toy, immovable and steadfast- what an armoured car carrier ought to be I suppose.

The colour is a very good match for the Classic UM (from what i saw at Nexus), and doesn't look too bad on Classic/Henkei Prime.

I really like the colour scheme with Classics UM. The blue-white combination of Ultra Magnus has always been very appealing to me since young. I posted some pictures of the trailer mode above (but they are far inferior compared to your pictures. heh )

Transformation
I was constantly surprised at the cleverness of how they clipped each piece into place. Nothing will ever fall off if you've put it on right. The leg pieces are probably too tight though. They have such a tight fit, that it can be a real struggle getting the base toy out of them.

I agree with that except that I find that for mine, the groin piece falls out very easily. Were you somehow able to clip yours in? I can only ever slide mine into place and it falls off easily.

I agree that the leg pieces are a little too tight and does require more than the usual amount of force to slot in or remove.

Robot Mode
The sides of the cab, previously a sore spot on the side of the arms, now blend in much better due to the added chunkiness.

Totally agree

Robot Mode
It felt like the shoulders were more at fault, so i eagerly await news of possible shoulder joint improvements!

<snip>

The sides of the shoulders also have slots for G1 Magnus missiles, an enhancement from the earlier prototype we saw. Unfortunately, i'm still waiting on someone to buy me a G1 Magnus, so i can't try it out!

I think the shoulders are more at fault too.

Didn't know the slots were meant for the G1 UM missiles. I was thinking FansProject might release a special missiles pack for UM in the future!

Quality Control
City Commander feels like a very high quality toy.

I'm definitely with you there.

Also, i touched briefly on the number plate feature of the Trailer. It can flip around to hide in robot mode - a nice touch.. however on mine, it is impossibly stiff! Apparantly the prototype didn't have this issue before painted.. the paint adding some thickness, making it hard to rotate. The thing to watch out for is this.. being a bit excited, i tried to pry mine open using a miniature screwdriver.. you can see in the photo, it was so stiff, i actually pushed the plastic in a touch, and it still didn't budge! That's when i decided i like the look of the number plate in both modes anyway

I tried flipping it and it didn't bulge. After you've said this, I don't think I'll try again!

Overall
But more than that, i'm just glad that I have the very epitome of Ultra Magnus up on my shelf. Not only have we not gotten an Ultra Magnus toy this good from Hasbro or TakaraTomy in the past, it's likely that after seeing this, they'll wonder how could they ever top it if they tried in the future.

Bring on the next FansProject release!!

Absolutely!

[kurdt_the_goat]

I in no way intend to steal your thunder but have attached a few pic of the City Commander armour 'worn' by Classics Ultra Magnus, including play possibilities with the Dinobots.

I actually hope my review threads turn into the 'impressions' thread, once everyone has got their own, so your photos are a great addition Regarding the waist piece, there seems to be one position where it'll sit but fall off with a nudge... and another position where it's fully clipped in. Give it a good push!

Thanks everyone for the kind words, glad you enjoy.

[iceburn]

Stunning photography as always Kurdt. Thanks!

@Heroic: Are those G1 Dinobots? I don't remember them being so small, although it's tough to get perspective when the benchmark is something I don't have.

they are probably the Justitoys WST Dinobots.....

[heroic_decepticon]

ice is on the money. But my, don't those 'lil buggers look like the real stuff.

[iceburn]

ice is on the money. But my, don't those 'lil buggers look like the real stuff.

i'm loving them....i might invest on the black lot if our money does go up higher

[heroic_decepticon]

i'm loving them....i might invest on the black lot if our money does go up higher

Pre-orders for the black lot are already up at the Falcon's Hangar ($150/set). You can order it if you have someone in SG to pick up for you.

It's apparently extremely limited with a production run as low as 500 sets worldwide.

[1orion2many]

I don't know if anyone else over here besides Kyle and Kurdt has got their CC kits yet so there is no love here in the West for him either. Keep up the reviews Kurdt as always a quality write up.

[Kyle]

I don't know if anyone else over here besides Kyle and Kurdt has got their CC kits yet so there is no love here in the West for him either.

*Hides in shame*

[optimus1]

*Hides in shame*

No need to run from me - Iv received mine and I must say I'm very impressed with everything from the design, colour match and overall quality.

It is now one of my favourites in my collection (and I'm an Optimus fan!)