Toy Review - Studio Series LDR Blackout

[Magnus]

You're correct, I read the same thing in an interview at some point, it also applied to Generations figures as well - some of those were fiddly to the point of frustration. I love transformations with 'cool moves' in them, but I love a confident transformation more. That is, I want to be clear that the part I've moved is where it needs to be, lined up flush and preferably with a satisfying click or firm tab. Blackout doesn't quite have that everywhere, but there's enough of those 'cool moves' to make me happy.

Slightly off-topic, but I think Hasbro did a really shrewd maneuver when they did the 'Combiner Wars' line, those figures by necessity needed to be more simplistic as they needed to be stable enough to be legs - therefore no torso transformations and limited leg transformations. That meant reduced part counts and costs but it had a good structural reason so fans (mostly) accepted it. After a couple of years of those figures and the fanbase/kids getting used to them, they were able to go ahead with Titans Returns, with those figures also having a similar level of simplification despite less structural justification for it - I can't think of many Titans Returns deluxes off the top of my head that have particularly tricky transformations.

Meanwhile the movie line has also simplified, with the 'Last Knight' figures in particular hitting most of the right notes - Voyager Prime, Megatron and Bulkhead come to mind as being really good at the 'Cool Move/Confident Click' thing.

Which is why these figures are so surprising - after spending the last 5 or 6 years trying to reduce the complexity and part counts in their designs, they go and make this line of figures that seems to fly in the face of their own brand direction, even going as far as to dramatically increase part/plastic content between figures at the same price point, in the same series, in the name of scale and screen accuracy. All very left-field but I'm definitely not complaining.

I finally found a quote about simplifying toys. It's from a January 2014 New York Times article about Hasbro that cites among others CEO Brian Goldner and Joshua Lamb, senior design director for Transformers.

But as the brand evolved over the years, the toys became more complex, some involving dozens of steps to complete a single transformation. In the eyes of Brian D. Goldner, Hasbro’s chief executive, they had lost their magic.

“We’ve made incredibly sophisticated robots,” he said, “but it can be like a 1,000-piece puzzle.”

Enthralled by the special effects in three big-budget “Transformers” movies that enabled the robots to convert in a matter of seconds, Mr. Goldner decided the toys needed to return to their roots. So he challenged his design team to reconceive them. Now, on the 30th anniversary of the brand, Hasbro is revealing a new look for the toys, including simple maneuvers that will complete a transformation with the push of a button or flick of the wrist.

Mr. Lamb conceded that the brand had gotten a little off track over the years. “As new designers and engineers continued to work on this brand, it got more complicated,” he said. Hasbro will continue to make complex Transformers for adult fans who have collected the toys since their inception 30 years ago. But the new design is intended to re-engage parents and children, who found the transformations too challenging.

[Silverbolt]

I really only have three negatives about this, The instructions are so hard to see, there are quite a few panels to line up and I would have liked him to be bigger.

That said, I think this is the best Blackout figure so far. Both modes look fantastic and the robot mode is especially hulking and intimidating.

Despite the hard to read instructions (I didn't read past the 5th step) and all the panels, he was good fun to work out how to transform.
Definitely worth getting.

[Dan]

Have this on pre-order (saving on impatience tax!). Think it looks fantastic in both modes, and as screen accurate a TF toy as we're ever likely to get. Blackout was always my favorite from the Bay movies.

But not thrilled by the 10min transformation time. Oh man, how I dislike puzzle-formers. I'm a Generations Brainstorm kinda collector. WFC Prime is probably my limit. More BW Razorbeast, less BW Magmatron.

I like the concept and look of live-action Blackout, partly because his is the first transformation one sees in Transformers (2007) and I consider it a minor moment in cinematic history. However, as good as the new toy looks, I've decided against it due to price, size, complexity and my own focus being on Generations.

Interesting you mention WFC Prime, as I've got him and his transformation is just beyond my frustration limit, and I've barely touched him as a result. Anybody want to swap him for a Delux Orion Pax from 2013?

But, back to Blackout, I'd happily watch stop-motion footage of that toy once some fan puts in all the hard work for my amusement.