Toy Review - DotM Human Alliance Skids

[griffin]

(Please post comments, photos or even a fully comprehensive review - these are just brief details to start you off)

Toy Review - Human Alliance Skids w/ Elita-1 & Tech Sergeant Epps

Series - Dark of the Moon
Sub-line - Mechtech Human Alliance
Size - (Deluxe)
New/remould/redeco - redeco & different figurine
Wave - 1
Released here - June 2011 (only at BigW - not a store exclusive in US)
Approximate Retail Price - AU$29 (US$30)
Approximate Size - 15cm (Skids), 7cm (Elita-1)
Allegiance - Autobot
Alt-mode - Chevy Beat Concept Mode (Skids), motorcycle (Elita-1)
Main Features/Gimmicks - Human figurine, Launching Missile, Elita-1
Main Colours - Black/green/grey (Skids), purple/grey/black (Elita-1)
Main Accessories - Missile, Epps figurine, Elita-1

[griffin]

Previous version:

[Paulbot]

The first version was good but these two deserve to be a pair.

There's no indication yet that there's going to be a DOTM HA Mudflap and while it's likely they'll do a repaint it could end up being as hard to find as the original HA Mudflap.

A shame because I think the black with coloured stripe makes both characters look better, but I prefer my Human Alliance figures to be movie accurate. (It's kinda the whole point of the line IMHO).

[griffin]

I think it's kinda funny that the twins were originally intended to be in the movie, and got all the way to the filming stage, but were later dropped in post-production (probably to make Ironhide's death more dramatic)... but by then Hasbro had already had their toys in production in 3 different size classes (two of which were new moulds) expecting the movie to at least sell more of the cast character toys. Now they have the most disliked characters from TF2 padding out TF3 assortments, with nothing to sell them.
And the ironic thing is that Hasbro will probably have to shelve any plans of redecos of their new moulds (to make back the money off each mould that they originally expected to), which would impact the profitability of those new moulds... and yet Bay still gets his commission on each of the toys that do sell, despite his last minute 'sabotage' of Hasbro's product plans.
(It'd be like a new XMen movie with, say, Beast having a role, and the licensed toy company invests time and money into making several Beast toys... only to have the director cut him out of the final print of the film. In a list of fan favourites, he's not high on the list, so if he was released in the movie toyline without being in the movie, not many people would buy it - and the toy company takes a hit at the expense of a late decision by the director)

[Demonac]

Weren't they dropped from the movie due to the 'Jar Jar Binks' effect?

[griffin]

I doubt it would have gotten as far as post-production if that were the case. He didn't seem fussed about their ethnic stereotypes to want to include a new set of stereotypes with the Wreckers.
I think he would have done the scene with and without the twins and either himself or the other producers (or even a test audience) probably felt it would have cheapened the scene... after all, I would have been joining in the cheering of their death, at the expense of the significance of the scene and the loss of the other Autobot.