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Thread: Toy review - The Last Knight voyager Nitro

  1. #1
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    Default Toy review - The Last Knight voyager Nitro

    Series – The Last Knight
    Sub-line - Premier Edition
    Size/class - Voyager
    New/remould/redeco - New
    Wave - 3
    Released here – September 2017
    Approximate retail price: $59 (Target)
    Approximate Size - 18cm
    Allegiance - Decepticon
    Alt-mode – Fighter plane
    Main Features/Gimmicks – Titan Master compatibility; multiple weapons
    Main Colours – Grey, black
    Main Accessories – Missile pylons


    Vehicle mode









    Nitro Zeus transforms into a fighter jet. Elements of the design appear to be inspired by the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-5 Tiger II, while the actual on-screen plane was a Saab JAS 39 Gripen.

    Much of the toy's surface is unpainted, slightly glossy grey plastic, with some matte black paint on the nose and the trailing edges of the wings and tail.



    As with many plane Transformers, the undercarriage is full of visible robot parts. Two white pylons with missiles attach to slots in the undersides of the wings.

    The cockpit canopy opens, and the cockpit is capable of fitting a Titan Master.

    Transformation

    As one might expect, the robot folds out from under the plane body, although there's a twist due to the asymmetry of the arms.

    When transforming to robot mode, detaching the legs from the main fuselage can be a bit tricky because one of the retaining tabs is very tight; the leg needs to be twisted down and out ever so slightly for it to come loose.

    Robot mode







    The robot mode reveals black plastic and glossy black paint, as well as touches of brown and silver paint.

    The design first appeared in Age of Extinction as a KSI-built drone, dubbed the 'boss' in Josh Nizzi's concept art.



    The box art depicts a four-eyed head in line with the original KSI drone, while on-screen, Nitro Zeus had a head that greatly resembled Shockwave's. The toy seems to be a half-way point between the two, with the general shape of the KSI drone and a single eye and antennae on either side of the head. The light piping doesn't work well unless a light shines directly into the back of the head, but it reveals four other eyes.

    Curiously, the head is detachable, and the neck serves as a Titan Master port. It is generally believed (but not, to my knowledge, confirmed by Hasbro or anyone involved with the film's production) that there was intended to be a scene in The Last Knight where Nitro Zeus is decapitated and Cogman transforms into a new head to control Nitro Zeus's body, therefore explaining Sir Edmund Burton's statement that Cogman was a Headmaster. This feature on Nitro Zeus is therefore interpreted as a reference to that scene; the upcoming deluxe-class Cogman is a Headmaster, with Cogman himself being the Headmaster that serves as the full-size deluxe transtector's head.

    On my example, the Titan Master port is looser than I'd like. The head tends to wobble if the figure is moved.

    The backpack almost looks like it could pass for a jetpack, with the two large boxes topped by what look like intakes evoking engines and the tailfins at the bottom.

    Nitro Zeus has what must surely be among the largest knee pads on a Transformer, and his legs have a slightly stumpy appearance as a result. The tops are hinged to allow them to lie flush against his thighs when the knee is bent.

    Nitro Zeus isn't short on armament, with a crossbow-esque weapon permanently mounted on his right arm, a large cannon on his left arm, two Gatling-style guns on his shoulders, and the missile pylons from vehicle mode now attached to the packs on his back. Should you wish to give him more weapons, the hands have 5mm holes.

    Verdict



    Well-armed despite a lack of hand held weapons, and the Titan Master compatibility adds play options if you have Titan Masters. Recommended.
    Last edited by Magnus; 19th September 2017 at 09:08 PM.

  2. #2
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    The colours on this toy actually don't bother me. It's a slightly metallic grey with metallic black and bronze accents.





    Cross Head On!


    This toy's transformation is a pain in the sparse. Two particularly frustrating points were...

    1) Folding the head down. The illustration on the instructions for this is about as useful as a fart against a cyclone. What you want to do is to leave the main black piece in the folded up position but only fold the centre piece down and do so by pushing on the back of the head. Don't be surprised if the head detaches once or a hundred times.

    But that's not even the most frustrating part. That dubious honour goes to...

    2) Locking the legs into position.
    <insert.many.swear.words> This will make you want to rage-quit.
    The trick is the lock these tabs in first. After you've done that then everything else locks into place.

    They're such unconventional looking tabs that they're really easy to overlook. And without these tabs in place it becomes this unwinnable game of Whack-A-Mole... each time you lock one thing into place, something else pops out of place. It's enough to drive you mental! Excuse me now while I crawl into a corner and sob quietly.

    Jet mode


    A nice enough looking jet. Yes, it has a lot of bulk underneath, but that's something that all jetformers have, even the MP Seekers. Given the screen model that this character is based on I think that they've done a good job with the look of this jet. Not sure why they left out the canards. <shrugs>


    Cockpit can hold a Titan Master as a pilot.



    Thoughts: Not the most intuitive of Transformers and there are several parts which are prone to popping off. The leg transformation to jet mode is downright evil unless you know to lock those tabs first. Damn it. The cross-compatibility with Titan Masters is nice but obviously it's not worth getting this toy solely for that gimmick. Just a few lines of text in the instructions here and there would make the much more useful.

    Overall: Not worth the $59 RRP. I got mine for $45 and even then I'm feeling frustrated to say the least.

    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Released here – N/A
    Approximate retail price: USD32.90 (Robot Kingdom)
    This needs to be updated to:
    Released here - September 2017
    Approximate retail price: $59 (Target)
    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Alt-mode – Fighter plane
    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Nitro Zeus transforms into a fighter jet. Elements of the design appear to be inspired by the F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-5 Tiger II.
    The jet mode is a Saab JAS 39 Gripen, only without the canards.

  3. #3
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    I wonder why it has a giant "1" on it right knee... as it isn't on a part of the plane mode that needs it as an identifier (like on the the wing or tail).

    Curiously, the head is detachable, and the neck serves as a Titan Master port. It is generally believed (but not, to my knowledge, confirmed by Hasbro or anyone involved with the film's production) that there was intended to be a scene in The Last Knight where Nitro Zeus is decapitated and Cogman transforms into a new head to control Nitro Zeus's body,
    Michael Bay was the one who told us this, at the UK premiere screening... noting that it was something he wanted to do, but ran out of time (or money, or something).

    But this I didn't know...

    The box art depicts a four-eyed head in line with the original KSI drone, while on-screen, Nitro Zeus had a head that greatly resembled Shockwave's. The toy seems to be a half-way point between the two, with the general shape of the KSI drone and a single eye and antennae on either side of the head.
    Not surprising I guess, as there has been the occasional bit of recycling of CG bots and designs in the Transformers movies, from the second movie with a Blackout clone and a Bonecrusher clone running around to make up numbers, to the pink "Bumblebee" as Laserbeak in DOTM (with no explanation there for that choice), to Onslaught in TLK being a reuse of the LongHaul render, to even having Evac on the Transformers ride be a recoloured copy of Roadbuster (the toys were completely different, but the character art was recycled).

    I suppose it means you can finally have a decent amount of Decepticons on your AOE toyshelf, if you buy a few Nitros as KSI minions for your Galvatron toy.

  4. #4
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    This might interest you - Nitro transforms into an Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and "gripen" is Swedish for "the griffin."
    Quote Originally Posted by griffin View Post
    I wonder why it has a giant "1" on it right knee... as it isn't on a part of the plane mode that needs it as an identifier (like on the the wing or tail).
    Heh, I thought it was the Japanese Katakana character レ (re).

  5. #5
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    Thanks for the info, Gok. I've updated the main review and opening details accordingly.

    It's a little odd that Hasbro/Takara didn't try to make the toy a plane that approximated the Gripen. I could see that the toy's body looked like a stylised F-16, but I had to do some searches to try and figure out what the front of the plane was inspired by.

    I haven't done it on mine, but apparently the problem tabs you pointed out can be loosened with a screwdriver so the leg goes in and out more easily.

    Quote Originally Posted by griffin View Post
    Michael Bay was the one who told us this, at the UK premiere screening... noting that it was something he wanted to do, but ran out of time (or money, or something).
    Is there a source for this? I was trying to find one so I could cite it for the review. It just seemed to be a thing that everyone was saying.

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Is there a source for this? I was trying to find one so I could cite it for the review. It just seemed to be a thing that everyone was saying.
    That live Q&A they did the day after the UK premiere... in case the direct links in the second post of this topic no longer work.

  7. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    The jet mode is a Saab JAS 39 Gripen, only without the canards.
    Quote Originally Posted by Magnus View Post
    Thanks for the info, Gok. I've updated the main review and opening details accordingly.

    It's a little odd that Hasbro/Takara didn't try to make the toy a plane that approximated the Gripen. I could see that the toy's body looked like a stylised F-16, but I had to do some searches to try and figure out what the front of the plane was inspired by.
    John Warden has said that it wasn't directly inspired by any particular jet plane, but was a unique design similar to what he used to do within the GI Joe brand. Any similarity to real jets are purely coincidental.

    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    This might interest you - Nitro transforms into an Saab JAS 39 Gripen, and "gripen" is Swedish for "the griffin."
    This is still a cool fact though!

  8. #8
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    I'm annoyed that this isn't getting a local release.

    The figure looks great, and I do love a complex transformation.
    I'm really just here for the free food and open bar.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by SharkyMcShark View Post
    I'm annoyed that this isn't getting a local release.
    It's started appearing in Target stores

  10. #10
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    I got Nitro yesterday. Had that same issue with the legs not locking in properly. It wasn't until I lifted the wings and saw the issue that you mentioned.

    Looks awesome in both modes.

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