Quantcast
Channel: Brr-icy's Transformers Reviews
Viewing all 112 articles
Browse latest View live
↧

Ultra Pretender Roadblock

December 24, 2014, 12:27 pm
$
0
0
So, on Christmas Eve, a package from Puma arrived unexpectedly (Thanks again for the surprise man). There was a lot more goodies in there, but I promised that I would do this review as soon as he was complete, five months ago...haha. The plow was one of the items in the box, and the last item I needed to complete him.



Like Skyhammer, he is made up of three parts, unlike Skyhammer, his outer shell actually looks like something and looks good. He's some kind of riot vehicle with a plow. These two are infamous for their GPS. If you want to put the inner bot on the top of the vehicle, the turret raises up and there are foot pegs, not unlike the ones for Micromasters.


The smaller shell is a black and purple alien, he uses the black guns from the outer shell for his hand guns.


This shell turns into a Batwing type thing. It's pretty sweet, the inner bot can fit inside in both modes, in this one, he drives it.


His inner bot is the biggest issue for GPS, mine has a mild case on the one hand, but I don't mind too much.


He turns into a half track tank thing. I am not sure how the gun is supposed to attach, but it's shown in the instructions mounted here. That's all for now, Merry Christmas everyone.


↧
Search

"Upgrades" Part 9 - Decepticon Triple Changers

January 1, 2015, 8:02 pm
$
0
0

This is one set that gives a reason for upgrades to be in quotations in the title, 
I am not a fan of the new mold for Astrotrain. The original was so close to  perfection if they had went with the extendable arms for bot mode. The new one gains kibble galore in every mode. In bot mode, the train front hangs off his arms, and the shuttle front off the sides of the legs.


In shuttle mode, the train halves end up on the wings, rendering it incapable of flight, and the wings are very stubby. It does end up with a more white shuttle look, and if you take the arms off, I like the shuttle mode...


In train mode, he is a bullet train instead of a steam engine. which unfortunately makes him more kibbly, where the shuttle's nose can fold away to reveal the front of the train on the original, this one, just kind of hangs out on the other two modes. The very prevalent wings on the back of the train don't help much either.


This update got a lot of flak on release, but it's my favorite of the set. Blitzwing gained a size class, and the transformation is great. I love how the legs are done.


In jet mode, he has a bit of kibble, but most of it is integrated in some way or another.


In tank mode, the new version isn't as convincing, but the original's tank is a pretty impressive feat for a triple changer.


Lastly, Octane or Tankor as they decided to call him in Universe. He is the one I am lukewarm on the upgrade. I think they pulled off the modes well enough, The bot modes don't really match each other, but it's close enough that you can see who it's supposed to be, kinda.


The original has the arms just hanging there in truck mode, so it loses points for that. But the back end of the Universe one is non existent, I find it a wash on these two for this mode. They both have their flaws, but they both look decent enough.


The plane mode is where the vintage really shines though, the jumbo jet is pulled off almost perfectly. Whereas the Universe one has tiny tiny wings, but at least they aren't tiny and holding half a train on each.


Overall, I'm glad that they did all three, but I would prefer a new Astrotrain sometime.
↧
↧

Getting back into the swing of things with a couple Micromasters: Countdown and Skystalker

January 28, 2015, 8:06 pm
$
0
0
Been a little bit, had a house guest for a couple months and got hooked on Destiny...  Going to try to get back to the twice a week habit.


Countdown is the biggest US Micromaster set. The alt mode is a giant rocket launch platform. The front elevator can lift a micro to the top and there is a walkway around to the entrance of the rocket. Two places to seat a micro in the front cockpit and rear turret area. Plus a place to stand one on the small forward turret. As I mentioned in his review, Galaxy Shuttle also attaches very securely to this mode, you have to remove a couple parts, but it works. 




His rocket base was also used in Victory as the Cybertron's base. It was later released in Zone along with the Rescue Patrol. I would love to get my hands on the Japanese box, maybe one day. 


In base mode, He stretches to around 17 inches wide and just under 20 inches long. Making for a massive playset. There's pegs all over it for standing Micromasters, two on the upper walkway, four in the computer area, one behind the turret at the front, and a ton of other "interactive" things for the micros. 


His Micromaster partner was Countdown, he was unique in the line in terms of alt mode and mold. He turns into a moon buggy


I love the unsymmetrical bot mode on him. I ended up getting him from a friend of mine, this is my second of the same figure, the other had yellowing so i swapped it out. 

 
His rival in the Decepticons is Skystalker and his Interstellar Shuttle. Like Countdown, his ship was used in Victory as the Destron's base, called the Thunder Arrow there, He was available as a mailaway during that time there. The shuttle mode has two small cockpits to carry micros and a bunch of weaponry. I built him up from a bunch of parts, a word of advice, if you buy him incomplete, make sure you get the double barreled gun's connector with it.


In base mode, he has a pretty in depth transformation for a micro base, There's three places to put a micro on pegs in it as well, One manning the upper turret, one on the platform under the nose, and one on the small turret on the back side in this pic. It's not as big as Countdown's by any means, but still pretty neat, with the option of putting the small jet on the side gray panel like a landing dock instead of transformed into a turret station. 


His micro I don't have a separate pic of, but here's him with his mold mates, I am pretty sure he is the most repainted Micromaster there is. From left to Right, Rabbicrater, Metrobomb, and Skystalker. 


Metrobomb I wish they had repainted a different colour, like red or something, make him stand out a bit more, especially in car mode. But the straight Halloween colourscheme stands out well enough in bot mode. 


Thanks for reading, and for your patience in coming back after my hiatus. 
↧

The US Combiner Cassettes, Slamdance and Squawkbox

February 4, 2015, 11:02 am
$
0
0
These two sets are some of the best ideas for cassettes I think. I prefer them to their Japanese counterparts, mainly due to the combined modes being a little more coherent.



We'll start with the Autobot pair. I got these guys loose incomplete in a lot with Thunderclash and Rotorstorm, spent some time completing them, but it was worth it. Would like to get a set with better screws and rivets, but that will come someday.


Grandslam and his partner are unique in that they don't turn into a robot or animal, they turn into vehicles. Grandslam also has the most accessories that any cassette has. His tank mode is pretty decent with three elevating turrets.


Raindance is a neat little jet. I really like the general shape of it. The little rockets are nice as well.


When they combine into Slamdance, Their bot mode is hands down the best proportioned of all of the combiner cassettes. The extra weapon gives him a stellar shoulder cannon. These were the only combiner cassettes I had as a kid. I remember my friend's mom telling me he was giving away all his toys and to go to the basement and get whatever I wanted.


On the Decepticon side, we have these two. They came from the same lot as Slamdance.


Beastbox is the upper half of this combining duo. He turns into a robotic ape, with guns! He has shoulder and ankle articulation, so he's kind of poseable.


His partner is Squawktalk, His bird mode is pretty decent bird, you can even tilt the wings due to the transformation.


Combined into Squawkbox, there may have been an incident with a steam roller. Either that, or the legs are supposed to be up to the top of the bird head. But other than that, he's a fairly decent bot. These are by far the most expensive G1 US cassettes.


Cue crude Photoshop job for legs extending, looks a little better I think. Oh well, still a neat set. Like most of the combiner cassettes, much nicer in individual modes than combined, but cool that they added it in.




↧

Deluxe Autobots: Whirl and Roadbuster

March 21, 2015, 7:33 pm
$
0
0
It's been a long time since I posted anything, sorry about that. Some stuff came up IRL for a bit. So coming back with these two.



Whirl is one of the larger G1 figures. His chopper mode has both props spinning and the cockpit can open. They are two of the figures that were never released in Japan.

His bot mode is very unique in that he has skis and claws, the head is very reminiscent of Shockwave. The labels are different than the regular G1 fare, with the small details written everywhere. Not much in the way of articulation, shoulders, ankles and hips.



Roadbuster is an armored car, he comes with a ton of accessories, making him pretty expensive to find complete. The colour-scheme is pretty interesting with the orange and green.


His transformation makes the shoulder joint crack from the pressure. The joint is dependent on the pliability of the plastic, which after thirty years isn't really there anymore. His bot mode is very well proportioned, and there is parts to cover all the wheels plus a bunch of parts that form the backpack. The head sculpt is very iconic.


I got both of them from Megatoyfan. Roadbuster is even MIB. He came unstickered, but a little Reprolabel love made him look like new.


↧
↧

"Upgrades" Part 10 MP Star Saber and Magnus

March 31, 2015, 6:44 pm
$
0
0
A pair of large sized Masterpieces came in in the last couple months. Figured it was time for another upgrades post.


Magnus was the first to arrive, mine came with Reprolabels applied already. The main reason I wanted to get the Reprolabels set for it was the chrome bumper, it bugged me, the other Labels really compliment the figure and make him closer to his toy appearance, they're not for everyone, but they look nice to me.


In bot mode, the MP is (obviously) more articulated and bigger, The original had the cab that could separate into a smaller white prime clone, whereas the MP's cab folds inside out and becomes the torso of the bot mode. I really like how they made the arms collapse into themselves instead of just slide. Also has another face, and a small articulated Spike and Daniel that can fit in the cab.


So far though, the figure of the year for me is Masterpiece Star Saber. The Brain of Courage is it's Brainmaster,  The original held the face of the robot inside it's chest, and because of this, it was interchangable with the faces from Road Caesar. The new one has a pretty complex mechanism instead and a nice detailed little cockpit.


The middle figure is Saber, I really like how much detail they added to him for the MP. The added arm transformations and giving him actual feet was a nice touch. The head even turns unlike the G1 where the Brain of Courage made it impossible. I really like that most of the colour is separate pieces instead of paint, makes it a lot harder to have paint issues that way. They added a smaller sword in just for Saber to hold.


Here's where you put in the Brainmasters, when you close the chest, the elevator raises him into place and the face comes up.


Saber turns into a small red jet, and the Brainmaster can ride inside of it. The MP has a set of landing gear inside the feet, other than that, not much is different.


Finally Star Saber. There's of course a lot more poseability on the MP, but there isn't much difference in the transformation, frankly I couldn't see much room for improvement on that part. They even made the vents on the back of saber's jet flip around to make it more anime accurate in bot mode.

Due to the way the legs transform, they added fillers on the inner legs to improve the look, where they aren't really seen that they weren't filled on the G1. In the show, he pulled the sword out of his shoulder pegs, on the original, it was just an empty slot, where they put caps on them to match the animation.


The combined jet modes share a ton of similarities, the original has just wheels on the back side of the feet, whereas the MP had the mid section of the feet unfold and quad tiny wheels flip out of it.


The MP even comes with a flight stand, which is nice and supports it solidly. All in all, my favorite purchase of the year so far, and the figure I was the most excited for as well.


↧

The "Toybox" molds - Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx

April 6, 2015, 5:15 pm
$
0
0
A couple bigger, and more unusual, molds. Omega Supreme and Sky Lynx. 

Sky Lynx was first introduced in 86, he's pretty big and one of my favorite toys as a kid. This one is the Encore reissue, which was also the first figure I ever bought in the first toy show I ever went to, which is the main reason I won't have to replace him. 


The base for him turns into the Lynx portion. He's battery operated and can walk or roll depending which mode you put him in (and whether you flip the switch) The Encore added blue eyes to him, He has dual tails as well.


The shuttle portion becomes a dragon or some kind of dino bird. I loved this mode as a kid, with all the added articulation to the neck, it was fun to pose, he gets lines in between his "eyes" on the cockpit for the encore. I am really fond of the gun inside the mouth as well. 


The two also recombine into what is his more iconic mode, He is one of the few G1 Transformers not to have a robot mode, instead, he gets this pretty interesting mode. 

Secondly, Omega Supreme. He's a large figure as well, with an unconventional transformation. 


In base mode, he's over two feet wide with a motorized tank that goes around the track with the turret raising, lowering, spinning, and lighting up. There's also a rocket launch platform with a rocket. 


To transform him between modes, only the tank itself transforms, the rest of the parts are taken apart and rearranged. This one is also the Encore release, which featured a face under the mask, and a tampoed Autobot logo. He can walk using the same motor as the tank rolls with, the feet move under the leg sides and pull him forwards.
↧

Japanese G1 #16 Megatron

April 24, 2015, 6:08 pm
$
0
0
Picked this guy up in a trade this week, He was loose, stickers misplaced, took the time to replace them where they should go before the pics. Pretty pleased overall, and a nice first deal with www.artfire2000.com




I've wanted this guy for a while, in gun mode, the first thing you'll notice is the lack of chrome, the entire gun is uniform silver. I really like the look of it. There are a couple mold differences as well, I'll point them out next to a regular Megs.



As you can see, there is no attachment for the scope on the Japanese version, the screw hole is there, but that's it. It's also missing the attachment point for the stock on the back of the handle. This version came with bullets that could be fired by pulling the trigger.


He came with the standard gun, and also a sword, which was included in the TFC reissue as well if you were wondering where that sword originated. The innards are blue instead of red, with a different set of labels than the regular Megatron, just a couple on each inner leg and some Decepticon symbols.


One of the unique variants hidden in mainline Japanese G1, I am very pleased to own him. Hope you enjoyed the read. I have also noticed that I haven't posted about Prime...might have to rectify that in the next update.
↧
Search

Something Completely Out of Left Field: Play With This Too Desolataur Prototype

April 30, 2015, 5:17 pm
$
0
0
This arrived in the mail today on a stop over for photos. Hoping that these still get produced. I'll give a quick rundown and a couple pics of it.




He's a pretty decent looking figure, the amount of detail they have put into it is amazing. I am impressed by the joints on it, they're pretty well hidden.


The soft armor pieces are pretty neat, and the amount of ports on it also shows how much more was planned and where the chains and straps would attach.


The proto came with an ax and a sword, the drone wasn't sent here, but i really would like to see what it could do. I'm wondering what the plan is moving forward, we'll have to wait and see, 



I'll end it with an obligatory comparison pic with the G1 figure. Can't wait to see what happens with them, I will be collecting at least one of each mold. 



↧
↧

Headmasters Exclusives Stepper and Artfire

May 19, 2015, 3:38 pm
$
0
0
These two are some of the most difficult G1 figures to find, for now I got a reissue Stepper and a custom Artfire to stave off the want for the officials while I work on "bigger" things

Stepper is a remold of Jazz, the spoiler has been remolded to facilitate the Targetmaster. The black and gold deco really pops and has been used on classics and alternators figures. 


Stepper's vintage figure was severely reduced in the amount of accessories compared to Jazz, there is a piece that goes into where the shoulder launcher also went and you can mount the Targetmaster. 


This custom Artfire I snagged off of ebay came with another Stepper Targetmaster instead of a Fracas like Scourge. But I'll get that fixed sometime. He's a redeco of Inferno. He came with a small part that mounted the Targetmaster to the ladder, this one is a cut up Stepper one as well. 


For my purposes, this works great, Looks the part and will stand decently in for a real one. In bot mode he's supposed to have remolded fists to carry the Targetmasters. He doesn't come with the missiles usually. 


Another thing I liked about this custom was the custom box. 


They are pretty nice. The colours just pop and they stand out on the shelf.


↧

Masterforce Grand Maximus

May 29, 2015, 6:55 pm
$
0
0
Got this big bastard in the mail today from Artfire2000.com, pretty excited to get him. I never thought I would own him, especially not in this condition. Other than some misplaced labels, he's in great shape.

He is a redeco of Fortress Maximus, Like him, he is a double Headmaster. The small one is Gran 


Grand is the head of Grand Maximus. 


The bonus part of him is that Grand has a Pretender shell. It's a neat extra. 


He gets a redeco of Cog, 


But the parts are called Koka


and Onomus


The main body turns into a ship, much too big to fit in the lightbox all together, but you get the idea. 


He also turns into a city, There's a ton of play value with this mold, especially in city mode. Grand turns into a computer station for this mode.


Now if I can get Blood/Bomb Burst here soon, I can take a group photo of every Masterforce release. Here's a shot from the seller of the box, once I figure out how to get a good black shot of it, I'll take one, until then, this'll do

↧

Collection Update, Goodbye Classics, Hello Max

June 9, 2015, 7:08 pm
$
0
0


So I updated my collection photos on TFW, and thought I would share them here as well. I recently sold almost all of my classics collection, mainly for room, and also to fund a few bigger purchases for my G1 collection.


Overviews:
This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x683.



This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x763.






This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x768.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x901.


This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x683.


G1 Autobots

Billy:

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x818.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x846.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x672.



Detolf 1

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x989.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x892.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x955.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 963x1024.



Detolf 2

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 882x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x1022.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1017x2048.




This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1066x1600.
Detolf 3

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x906.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x965.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1066x1600.



Detolf 4

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 960x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1000x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x824.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 873x1024.


Micromaster Display:

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 774x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 793x1024.



Decepticons:

Billy:

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x807.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x899.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x791.


Detolf 1

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x1022.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 983x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 982x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 962x1024.


Detolf 2

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 953x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1005x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 973x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 977x1024.


Detolf 3

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 903x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 849x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 966x1024.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 928x1024.


MIB and MPs

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x571.

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 1024x614.


Let me know what you think, I've put some work into it, but wouldn't mind some input on it
↧

Powermaster Optimus Prime

June 29, 2015, 4:22 pm
$
0
0
Got this guy the other week, I had a Ginrai, but not Prime, so I decided to get one, and one popped up in the exact condition I wanted, with the foam (I already had the box)




Later on I'll post some side by sides with Super Ginrai, there are a lot of differences.

His Powermaster is Hi-Q, he unlocks the waist of Prime's singular bot to enable it to transform. He doesn't hinder the full combined bot's transformation though unfortunately.


The truck mode is ok. I have to say I liked it a lot more before I got Ginrai. I love the heavily weaponized look to it.


Side by side with Super Ginrai, you can really see the differences.
-Super Ginrai has a metallic silver instead of pale gray for the trailer and guns.
-The fists are retractable. The bumper piece and the smokestacks are chromed, ironically the Takara version is the one with the short stacks, the one Hasbro one is snapped off, but I'm getting a replacement.
-The thighs are painted silver instead of left blue.
-The place that the Powermaster inserts is painted to match the truck.
-Lastly, but not least, the front section of the cab is now die-cast with clear blue windows.


The cab turns into a decently cartoon accurate rendition of G1 Prime. He has swinging elbows and knees and waist that  you can make him "sit" with.


Other than the chrome stacks and painted thighs, you can't really tell the difference from the front of the cab (blue eyes came from the reissue, not indicative of the vintage piece.)


The trailer turns into a base, with the gray guns being used as seats for the Powermaster to ride.


When combined with the trailer, he's the same size as Metroplex. Not a lot of poseability, mainly the shoulder rotation.


Beside Super Ginrai, the difference is striking, The things you couldn't see in the truck mode that are different are:
-Chromed engine piece on Ginrai, gray on Hi-Q
-Chromed leg pieces.


It all depends on your collecting preferences, I wanted both, but I can see only wanting one or the other. Thanks for reading, I'll try not to make it so long in between posts next time, I have a huge lot incoming, so that will keep me busy on here for a while.
↧
↧

Megatron and Optimus Prime

July 6, 2015, 3:57 pm
$
0
0
I'm not exactly sure how I missed these two, but I'll try to outline all their little details.


We'll start with Optimus Prime. He's a cab-over semi. Mine is the metal plate bloated version, the one that uses the Diaclone mold. You can tell the difference in truck mode on the side of the trailer, there are small holes for the tabs that hold the plates in place. The cab has square connectors on the smokestacks instead of being smooth  on the sides all the way down. They're pretty easy to see in the above picture.


His transformation is straightforward, flip down legs, flip out arms and head. The accessories for this version are "bloated" where they are all thicker than normal.


The trailer splits open to reveal a base, There's a repair drone in it that can also be put up or forward through the square holes in the trailer. He also has a small six wheeled drone called Roller. The nice part about the bloated version is that Roller is in the cartoon accurate silver. The plates on the trailer were originally for the magnetic feet of the Inchmen to stick to. They could also ride in roller, the repair drone, or sit in the little ships. Roller can be fired with a small tab on the front of the trailer and the missiles can be fired from the drone,


The trailer can also be stood on end to make a repair bay. They making the drone able to work on Prime. I picked this figure up in a lot between the times I collected G1, and kept it, found the last couple parts to complete it later


Megatron was a Walther P38 pistol with attachments to make him look like the gun in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. an old show from the 60s. There is a hole in the top of the gun that was rendered useless in the non Japanese releases of the figure.


He has a pretty complex Transformation for a G1 figure. ending up with this bot. The kid that had this one had an infatuation with cartoon accuracy, It took a couple hours to get it back to this, still a bit more work to get it perfect, but I'm pleased for now.


In Japan, the part of the stock shown here used to fire bullets, which would fire out of the barrel of the gun when configured like this.


the bits could also be arranged in a giant shoulder cannon like this, You don't see it used in any fiction though.


There is one final configuration of the kibble to make it into a manned turret. The middle of the support can be removed and make a back of the turret into a seat for a Microman figure.


The box for the figure displays really nice. I am really glad to have one MIB, next I'll have to get the box for Prime. I got him from a friend on Facebook,


↧

European Obliterators: Pyro and Clench

July 7, 2015, 8:20 pm
$
0
0

I have been waiting a long time to do this review, I have a soft spot for the Euro G1 stuff with their matching line wide windows and interesting designs.



Pyro (or Spark in G2) is the Autobot member of this duo. He turns into a firetruck not unlike DOTM Sentinel Prime. I picked him up sans gun in the Facebook group for a decent price from a member, (Specimen-17 on ebay) took a couple months to find the gun. In truck mode you can pull the launcher out of the trailer for an attack mode. I dare not fire it with all the gold plastic. He's a well known carrier of the GPS disease.


The front half of the truck forms the robot mode. He does have decent for a G1 articulation with shoulders, elbows, and knees.


The rear of the truck forms a gatling gun type base, which has a nice pink viewfinder. He holds it by two handles, quite securely, when I'm moving him about in the display I rarely take him off the handles


Clench (or Colossus in G2) , I had known I was getting this particular figure for the past three or four years, and it was worth the wait. There might have been a whole crapload of figures with him too... He turns into a container truck. The blue is a really neat colour, I don't think I've ever seen it on another figure.


Like Pyro, the front half separates to become the robot mode. His transformation is pretty neat, I don't think I've ever seen another figure follow the same pattern. I love the secondary neon colours, makes him really pop.


His trailer forms a rapid firing gravity fed double missile launcher turret, that's a lot of words, lol. the top of the gun flips open so you can put the missiles in, pretty neat, I really like the looks of this weapon.


If you want to see some of the neatest G1s that Europe had to offer, these two definitely fit the bill, not the cheapest of bots, but I don't have any regrets on getting them,


↧
Search

Small Turbomasters: Boss, Scorch, Hurricane, and Flash.

July 9, 2015, 7:54 pm
$
0
0
Finally secured the final one of the four. These were released single packed in Europe and Canada and packed with a Predator in Operation Combination Road Corps vs Jet Corps


From left to right:  Boss, Scorch, Hurricane, and Flash. We'll go in that order.

Boss is a blue car, pretty reminiscent of the 1989 Batmobile with the big intake in the center of the hood. There


He had a pretty unique transformation, up until Drift stole it. He's probably my favorite of the smaller Turbomasters.


Scorch is a yellow truck with a flame job, Botcon actually addressed that he existed a few years back with the repaint of Universe Hound.


Again with the pink windows, nice and unified. His transformation is very Trailbreaker-esque, with a strange headsculpt.


Hurricane is a pretty neat looking car, kind of like those "futuristic" cars from the 90s.


The bot mode ends up nicely proportioned with a nice headsculpt, the pink really works to offset the white I think.


Lastly we have Flash, the Ferrarri look alike. It's kind of funny how you can see his and Hurricane's faces through the front window.


He's also got a unique transformation for the arms that makes him stand out in a crowd (and take up a lot of space in a shelf)


As a whole, this a a pretty neat little subgroup, and when you add in Thunderclash and Rotorstorm, you're golden. Nice late G1 molds that deserve a little love.


Speaking of Drift, I made this last year from Boss, G1 Drift.


With the head from Botcon 2006 Cheetor/Tigatron.


↧

Small Predator Jets: Skydive, Falcon, Snare, and Talon

July 12, 2015, 6:47 pm
$
0
0
The other half of the VS sets from Operation Combination, the Jet Corps, or Predators in Europe, Canada, and Australia.


Skydive is the purple one, he has a strange alt mode, some pretty stubby wings. But he does have a nice colour scheme.


They all have a fairly similar transformation with the cockpit becoming the chest and the feet in the back. They all come with three green missiles and a gold launcher, unfortunately, it's "that" type of gold, and you can't use them anymore.


The main gimmick of the Predators is that they have a flip down clear "weakness" readout that can be inserted into the missile for Stalker, or the golden rear end of Skyquake, which is kinda not worth the effort with the GPS.



Falcon is a stealth bomber, the alt mode is a marked improvement over Skydive's.


He's a little more stout looking in bot mode, The green windows look pretty good on him.


Snare was the first one I picked up, It was a gift from a friend. He's a cool looking jet.


 I love his head sculpt.


Talon came from the lot of Euro toys I got last week, but it came in an earlier shipment. He turns into an F-15. The cockpit is pretty weird looking.


His head sits pretty low, makes him look like a hunch back. I think I can see what they were going for with it, making him look pretty close to Starscream, but they missed the mark a bit lol.


They are definitely a fun set, I've enjoyed messing with them again today, I'm hoping to get Skyquake at TFcon this coming weekend to complete my set, wish me luck.


Speaking of the Japanese releases, this is how they came packed:


↧
↧

Decepticon Regular Pretenders: Submarauder, Skullgrin, and Bomb Burst

July 13, 2015, 6:17 pm
$
0
0
Finally got the final one to complete the trio. The Masterforce Destron Pretenders, or the first wave of regular Decepticon Pretenders in the US. 


Submarauder (Gilmer) is the first of the trio. His shell is some sort of bipedal shark monster. His inner robot is very pink, If you watch carefully the shell for him appears in Animated as Meltdown's pet.


he turns into a submarine type thing, like most of the first wave pretenders, it's just a robot in a yoga pose with a gun stuck to it. Third party collectors will be happy to know that his transformation is pretty much directly copied by Steelcore. arms over face, legs wrapped around ears.


Skullgrin (Dauros) is a skeleton monster thing. The bot mode is much less pink than Submarauder.


He turns into a tank. Actually has a decent Cybertronian tank mode.


Lastly, Bomb Burst (Blood) His shell is a bat monster thing. Which also appears in Animated. His bot mode is pretty decent looking I think. The guns aren't hand held on him, unlike the others.


He turns into a "jet." The transformation is terrible, flip the legs, and pull out the fin, that's about it.

I think they were gang molded, since all three carry the same pink, blue, and gray colours.


There's not much to be said about them, if you want the characters from Masterforce, or you're a completionest, then go for it. They are cooler than the Autobot versions, I will give them that.


And on a final note, Blood was the last piece to arrive to be able to take this pic. 100% done with Masterforce. Just one away from having what I want from Victory.


↧

European Rescue Force: What's in a name anyways?

July 15, 2015, 4:12 pm
$
0
0
These guys were released in Europe, they're repainted Liokaiser molds. For some strange reason, they never got their own names, maybe they were supposed to be drones?


They all feature new weapons instead of their Breastmasters, and Hellbat and Gaihawk were never made. Leozack got a spiffy red and white paint job. They all have yellow and red striped stickers to match up the team. He gets a single gun that goes between the back wings.


Jaruga gets a nice blue paint job and some guns that fit in the spaces his missiles did.


They look a little plain without the stickers, but the colours make them stand out.


Drillhorn gets the Batman treatment with the yellow and black. His guns go in the fist holes.


Being one of my favorite Liokaiser members, the lack of the Breastmaster really hurts the bot mode with the caved in chest, mainly because of he thick arms.


Lastly Killbison gets a blue and gray repaint, which is handy with the original Japanese release having GPS. The Chinese version fared much better with the pale gold though. Instead of the tank turrets, he has claws (that can actually grip stuff interestingly enough)


I love the head sculpt on this mold. There are two variants of the rescue force with silver or red weapons.


I couldn't have them non combining, so I have a set of  Metamorphs Hellbat and Gaihawk to fill in and a helm (now I have a white one instead of the teal)


↧

Masterforce Black Zarak

August 2, 2015, 10:04 pm
$
0
0
So, I finally got around to shooting this guy. I had put it off because of the GPS, which reared it's ugly head when I was putting him back on the shelf after shooting the pics. Oh well, he still works.


As you can see, he's a remold of Scorponok. In scorpion mode, the only difference is the head, which is a lot more convincing than Scorp's I think. The black and gold really works on the mold.

In bot mode, he has a large trident spear weapon, it comes in two pieces. the crest on his forehead also is used to cover the face on him while in scorpion and base modes. I have been slowly buying the original accessories for him, he has a set of custom ones to save them from GPS, unfortunately the tail joint ends are made of gold, and are under a lot of pressure from the spring ratchets, that's where mine broke, not uncommon, but it does put a damper on wanting to complete it.


He comes with all the accessories that Scorp does, just with the added head crest and spear. I love the regal look the black and gold give to the figure. The sticker set is identical to Scorponok's as well. The base mode is the same, I haven't figured out if the spear can be mounted in this mode.


He also comes with a smaller figure named Black Rorichi, He's a redeco of Fasttrack.


The purple is not as dark as the real one, but it'll do for now.


The headmaster (in this case, it's the KO from the set with the Headmaster Warriors a few years back) is gold and black.


Hope you enjoyed my short and bittersweet review of him. Till next time. Still debating on completing him, one break on him isn't too bad I guess. haha. 
↧
Viewing all 112 articles
Browse latest View live
Search