FP Crossfire Side Story - Causality

[fatbot]

and...???

How is he? Does he make a good Shrapnel update? The anticipation is killing me

He's great, looks good, fun to play with. highly recommended

[gdmetro]

He looks badass!!

I am waiting for all 3 to be in stock before I commit to purchasing. One at a time is just too painful.

[kaiden]

and...???

How is he? Does he make a good Shrapnel update? The anticipation is killing me

I wanted to play with him a bit more before committing to a proper review...

the first thing i noticed was that his head seem a tad bit too small for his body. the neck is a normal balljoint and because of the shrunken head makes it look longer (hopefully igear will make a 3rd party head to fix this like they did with kup... j/k :P) i don't have the original/reissue insecticons so would not know if they're compatible enough to swap heads.

its hard to say if the head is bad or not without the other 2 insecticons to compare to - as thundershred looks to be the big badass close-combat ninja which would explain the small head big chest+shoulders design.

the shoulders are an interesting new design. connected to a balljoint to allow 360 rotation but the shoulder is actually split in half and hinged together to allow almost 90 of movement. it does looks a little odd at first.

there's hip swivel and all-round excellent articulation in the legs.

the weapons are nice. a pair of claws for both arms which can be taken apart and made into a giant shuriken. the only problem is its really tedious to change it back and forth between the weapon modes.

alt mode is where the toy fails. the insect head looks really stupid and the arms are a pain to fold into the legs and the right leg wont tab correctly into the pelvis during transformation as well. i dislike the alt mode.

its a good toy marred by design and maybe a little QC but i give it a 7/10.

[1AZRAEL1]

the first thing i noticed was that his head seem a tad bit too small for his body. the neck is a normal balljoint and because of the shrunken head makes it look longer (hopefully igear will make a 3rd party head to fix this like they did with kup... j/k :P) i don't have the original/reissue insecticons so would not know if they're compatible enough to swap heads.

Funny you should mention that...

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radico...-shrapnel.html

[kaiden]

Funny you should mention that...

http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/radico...-shrapnel.html

bleh i need to register to that forum to see the pics. i also forgot to mention that the shuriken can be stored on his back and if you take 2 of the blades off and turn 1 of the remaining blades around you can make it sorta look like a g1 shrapnel.

[1AZRAEL1]

Sorry, I forgot that as well, here's a pic of what he will look like.

[Lint]

Oooh glossy plastic and rich colours, i LIKE

[kup]

Got Thundershred!



As we all know, this is FansProject's take on the Insecticons. The first release of this trio is Thundershred which is loosely based on G1 Shrapnel. I must confess that from the pictures that we have been shown from FP in the last few months, Thundershred was my least favorite of the team but after opening him he is certainly a very nifty figure and well worth his cost although he is not without flaws.

The plastic quality is good and certainly above that of Hasbro's when it comes to the body, although that of the claws are somewhat thin at the connecting socket tip so one has to be careful (I had a mishap on mine and there are very minuscule stress marks on one claw socket).

Although the plastic quality on the figure is certainly high, it is different from what we have seen in previous FP releases. It is no longer the same 'mat' type plastic but with a more 'mainstream' glossy look with a smooth surface which allows Thundershred to fit in more with the regular Hasbro/Japanese Classics without standing out too much. This can be a positive or negative depending on preference as for myself, I believe Defender stands out too much from the official figures because he frankly looks much better than them

As expected, the painted detailing is superbly applied and of very good quality but there is something that I feel obligated to nitpick about: At the front of the arms, just above the wrist a part of the sculpt is highlighted by black paint - Unfortunately this same part is not painted on the back of the arms It is a tiny, tiny oversight though.

The engineering of the figure is nicely refined as we have come to expect from FansProject. The transformation sequence is not too difficult but satisfyingly complex enough to justify the cost of the figure and it is effective.

Robot Mode

The robot mode offers a wide range of articulation, he can even scratch the top of his head! This wide range of arm movement is mostly due to a somewhat odd but innovative shoulder joint. The shoulder joint can be hard to get used to as it has a 'split' motion that breaks up the sculpt a bit when it moves. At first I was disliking this shoulder design but it has begun to grow on me as the range of movement gained by the shoulder is significant. My biggest complain about the shoulder design is that the pin used on the joint has the potential to become loose over time.

Some people have complained that the head is a bit small but I don't mind it, I think that it fits the overall sculpt design just fine. Thundershred appears to be the 'Heavy' of the Insecticon team so his appearance appears suitable to me.

The legs also have a large amount of articulation but out of the box, the joints are like mega stiff! I am sure that they will loosen up a bit more in time but it is a bit jarring when you first try to move them. However the benefit of this is that he can hold a lot of dynamic poses as the legs offer a lot of range and his ankles are also articulated allowing for many stable stances. Unfortunately the legs don't allow for a too wide leg stance so he is unable to do a 'legs split' but this is very minor, at least for me.





I am personally not a big fan of the giant shuriken weapon mode as I prefer the longer claws, but it has begun to grow on me:



You can also place the arm claws in a more traditional 'G1' arrangement but I don't like this much so I won't be displaying the figure this way. For me, the top back Insect legs sustain the 'G1 Shrapnel' kibble effect well enough to tribute the character:



Also note that the claw attachments are on C joints just like those that Hasbro/Takara-Tomy has been using on several Generations/United figures such as Straxus, Warpath and Jazz. This suggests that the FP Insecticons will have interchangeable weapons which in turn are also compatible with several official figures.

Insect Mode:

Although by design (From the Pre-TF Diaclone era) the G1 Insecticons transformed into 'Insect themed' vehicles more than actual Insect modes (that's why they had a pilot cockpit and wheels instead of proper legs), Thundershred has a more defined Insect mode.

Like G1 Shrapnel, Thundershred transforms into a Stag beetle only that this time, he is less vehicle and more insect with 6 individually articulated legs with no wheels. The awesome part about this is that unlike several other Transformer Insect modes, this one can actually support itself on his legs without dropping to it's belly. The legs are also very stable to the point that the body can sustain itself even if some legs are not touching the ground.

Another big change on this beetle mode is that the head is much more defined with what looks like a painted red 'cockpit'. This looks rather cool and much better than the undefined G1 Insect head.

All accessories can be applied or stored into this insect mode. The claws are obviously the jaws of the beetle mode but the center of the shuriken is stored between the seams of the abdomen. I personally feel that the shuriken center could have been better stored as it can look a little odd on the Insect mode.

The chest of the robot becomes the Thorax of the beetle which represents the old clear yellow cockpit on the G1 figure only that this time it doesn't open to place a driver.

This is an excellent insect mode with a lot of stability and some articulation on the head. The legs are not as articulated as Beast Wars Insect modes but this could be for the better as it allows the figure to properly support itself without falling flat. There is also some light articulation on the insect head and the ball joints on the jaws allow for a fair bit of movement like 'open' and 'closed' poses.

The only real flaw that I can see is that the robot mode hands are visible from the back of the Insect mode. This is a legitimate complaint as I don't see why this was left as such as it could have been easily rectified with a minor wrist joint to allow the hand to fold in. However the hands are not that noticeable and chances are that someone would not notice them unless it's pointed out. Due to their color, the hands blend well enough into the sculpt so it's not that noticeable or jarring like in some Hasbro figures (eg ROTF Starscream).









Comparisons with the G1 figure:

Out of all the FP 'Unofficial' tribute figures so far, this 'Not-Shrapnel' is actually more different in overall design than any other FP 'G1 tribute' figures.
The biggest differences are the totally redesigned head with a face plate instead of a face and insect mode legs instead of wheels.









These considerable differences have annoyed some but it doesn't bother me as I feel that the G1 chracter tribute still works superbly but in a more modernized 'Classics' style. Also anyone who was buying this figure should have been aware of the differences as the preview pictures are very clear about the differences between this figure and G1.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a fine figure and well worth the price with satisfying engineering, a nice color scheme that nails the Insecticon character tribute despite several original sculpt elements. Although I am enjoying Thundershred, I must admit that he is not as impressive as previous FP releases and as mentioned my least favorite of the FP Insecticon trio. Despite that, I am very happy with Thundershred and it has certainly motivated me to buy the other two in the coming few months.

Certainly these figures are turning out to be fantastic additions to your 'Classics' collection. However due to the more 'sci-fi' robotic insect mode, this figure may not be for everyone so it's mostly for those who are fans of the G1 Insecticon characters...well assuming that you accept the creative liberties taken for this 'Shrapnel' tribute.

[kup]

More Pics!

[Hursticon]

Aww Kup! - You're not making my inability to obtain one of these figures any easier dude, what with that great review and sweet pics man!

Man I want these figures... Stupid finances.