Tag Archives: Alchemist Prime

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Cyberverse Iaconus

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Titans are becoming a larger (no pun intended) part of Transformers lore.  However for the most part they have remained in the Generation One universe with its associated comics and toylines. 

Cyberverse became surprisingly popular as the cartoon progressed through the seasons, it was a very G1’esque universe, and indeed featured two brand new Titan characters – Croaton and Iaconus.  

Iaconus was actually a pretty cool character – a War Titan under the command of Alchemist Prime (MacAddams) he was responsible for smashing a lot of alien planets, before going dormant back on Cybertron.  The city of Iacon was built on top of him and the only part of him that remained above the surface got turned by Alchemist Prime into MacAddams Old Oil House.

 

Well this Titan has managed to get a figure in before the Cyberverse line comes to an end.  So lets have a look at Ultimate Class Iaconus.

 

 

Robot Mode

Pretty big and impressive.  Lots of plastic detail in the shins and shoulders to show his city origin and overall pretty faithful to the cartoon.  Colour scheme works quite well too.  However his articulation is severely limited, hampered by his various built in gimmicks so his poseability is limited to his arms and how you affix his sword and shield.

 

One of these aforementioned gimmicks is the flip-over armor.  This makes his head (in shape if not colour) resemble how he looked in the cartoon.

 

 

 

City Mode

‘Errr… I’m a sort of Turtle-Base that flies backwards through space?’

I hate to say it, I really hate to say it, but what a pile of shit!  OK, he had a pretty basic city mode in the cartoon, just a sorta nondescript squat green base, but this still looks worse.

There is stuff here that makes no sense!  Why are there thrusters on the front?  Does he fly backwards through space?  Why are the wings and turbines underneath instead of on the sides or top?  Frankly it looks a mess, like one of those stupid half-transformation toys that came out in earlier waves of the Cyberverse toyline.  This mode has almost no play value except for the spring gimmick that makes him transform automatically back into robot mode.

 

Worth Getting?

I got this figure on sale for only $30(AU) and to be honest despite his big size, big weapons and multiple gimmicks I have trouble justifying even that price.   He has almost zero articulation, his transformation is simplistic and crap and his alt-mode is one of the most awful I’ve ever seen.  Seriously, those thruster’s on the front of the city mode instead of the back really piss me off.  So unless you are a diehard Cyberverse or Titans fan, or this is for a younger fan, this figure is an easy pass.

 

Related Articles:

Toys Review : Cyberverse Deluxe – Wave 1 

Toy Review – Cyberverse Gnaw

 

 

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toys Review – Cyberverse Deluxe Class, Wave 1

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The Warrior Class toys from the Cyberverse line had gotten a reputation for being pretty poor, and for the most part that rep was deserved.  The simplistic paint jobs, transformations and lacklustre modes have made many of these figures an easy pass for most collectors.

However thankfully, like the cartoon which got pretty damn good in seasons 2 and 3, the powers that be decided to improve the Cyberverse toyline too.  And they have done so by introducing the Deluxe Class.  This class is used by the Generations line and usually involves a higher degree of sophistication in all facets when compared to the Warrior Class, and of late has included blast effects that can be attached to characters weapons.

So lets have a look at the first wave of the Cyberverse Deluxe Class figures – Bumblebee, Optimus, Megatron and Shockwave.

 

Bumblebee

 

Sigh, it wouldn’t be a Transformers toyline without about a 150 different versions of Bumblebee would it.  Thankfully this Bumblebee is quite good.  He looks very screen accurate, comes with a lot more detail than the preceding Warrior Class figure, and comes with his stinger as well as a gun.  Very nice!

The vehicle mode is ok.  Quite compact with a decent amount of detail.  However this is one case where I would say the Warrior Class looks that bit more impressive.

 

Optimus Prime

 

Once again, a vast improvement on the Warrior Class toy that came before.  Optimus has good articulation, good proportions and it’s always appreciated when you can open an Optimus toys chest to find a Matrix inside.  And you can use this one to (simulate) blast the big baddies, just like in the cartoon!

The vehicle mode is ok, not bad but nothing special to write home about.  Perhaps a bit better than the Warrior Class due to the better paintjob (always irritates me when Optimus has red smokestacks).

 

Megatron

 

My son doesn’t own the Warrior Class Megatron so we had to compare him to another from the Cyberverse line which equated to no comparison at all.  Megatron looks very good here – very cartoon faithful and well articulated.  I particularly like the head sculpt.  Would have been nice for him to have an Energon Morningstar but I guess you can’t have anything.

A pretty decent looking Cybertronian Tank, full of nice angles and Megatron’s arm cannon taking centre stage as the tank turret.  Small but feisty and very cartoon accurate.

Fusion Mega Shot

 

Shockwave

 

Shockwave has gotten nearly as many Cyberverse toys as Bumblebee, having a figure in nearly every size.  And unlike many the Shockwave toys haven’t been half bad.  This Shockwave is good but doesn’t particularly stand out from any of the others, though its nice to see him get his arm cord back.

The beauty of having multiple Shockwave’s is that you can convert your other ones into the crab-tank modes to represent the army of drones he has in the cartoon.  Once again, this toy doesn’t particularly stand out from any that have come before, though there are multiple ports on the tank mode to put his extra blaster in, giving you more options.

‘My babies. My ugly, ugly babies’

 

Maccadams/Alchemist Prime Parts

Part of the lure to get these figure is that each character comes with a body part that, when combined, form Maccadams.  It’s very tempting as there has never been a toy of the famous bartender before.  If you end up with multiple Shockwaves you can always use both legs, which looks a bit odd but saves you buying other figures down the line if you don’t want them.

 

Cyberverse Deluxe Class – worth getting?

Well they are for the most part the best Cyberverse toys we have gotten so if you are a big fan of the show then you may want to pick them up.  If not then you can always bypass them.  I found these figures for a staggeringly cheap $12(AU) each on sale so I was more than happy to pick them up at that price.  And of course, the temptation is now there to get the next four in order to make Maccadams.

 

Related Articles:

Cyberverse Warrior Class Prowl

Cyberverse Warrior Class Acid Storm

Cyberverse Warrior Class Soundwave

Cyberverse Warrior Class Gnaw

Transformatorium

Big Angry Trev visits Hasbro Australia!

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On Monday, myself and 14 other lucky fellows were treated to a behind the scenes look at the offices of Hasbro Australia, located in Sydney.  Organized by the operator of Ozformers, this was for a hands-on experience with the newest Transformers toyline: Power of the Primes.

My Graceland!

After a short wait, myself and my compatriots were ushered up to the fourth floor of the Hasbro offices where a space had been prepared.  Scattered around various parts of the room were examples of some of the great Transformer products that have come out of recent.

 

Of course there was one other major Hasbro product on show and that was My Little Pony.  Whilst this was largely ignored by the Transfans I couldn’t help but have a good look.  I loved the huge Pinkie Pie – if it had been Rarity I would have forgotten the TF’s altogether and tried to work out a way to smuggle her out of the building for me to ride whenever I saw fit (sounds kinda dirty I know but Rarity – I loves ya!).

 

 

Power of the Primes

Of course the main point of the day was to give fans a hands-on experience with the new toyline.  This consisted mainly of Wave 1 which has been released in the USA already and is due out in Australia within the next few months.  Whilst this is all the same toyline, it can be broken into different groups.

The Dinobots

Something that has all the fans excited is that for most of the Dinobot characters this is their first Generations treatment.  On display was the latest (of many) Grimlock‘s as well as Slug and Swoop.  Also on display was the newest addition to the classic Dinobot team – a female raptor named Slash.

POTP Slug meets G1 Slag

Of course, without Sludge and Snarl we couldn’t see the fully combined form of the Dinobot gestalt but I will say that what we could put together did look a lot better than what I had seen in photos to date.

 

The Original 13 & Pretenders

Now I’ll admit – I was not a fan of the Pretenders from G1, not particularly liking organic modes.  But many of these characters have been brought back and in a bizarre twist, has been combined with the characters from TF lore which constitute the first 13 Primes.  The classic Pretender shell characters are used to ensconse the mini-Primes within.  Rather odd, but I know when they hit the shelves I wont be able to resist.

Apparently Landmine & Alpha Trion were the same dude

 

The Primes

A rather interesting concept that has been done here is with Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime.  Not only do both transform from Truck/Cybertronic Winnebago to robot, but you can remove a smaller robot which transforms into their pre-evolved forms – Orion Pax and Hot Rod.  I  really dig this concept and both toys looked great!  Both also came with a Matrix of Leadership.

The evolution of a hot head

 

And the others…

There were several other figures on show from the new line.  These included Beachcomber, Windcharger and a Dreadwind which is based on an older Combiner Wars figure.  The Ozformer owner was also kind enough to bring a couple of figures that were US exclusives that not many Aussies would have touched – Arcee and Grotusque.

 

So overall it was a very interesting hands-on experience and behind-the-scenes look at Hasbro.  I’d like to thank Hasbro for the opportunity – I’m sure my fellow 14 fans had as much fun as I did!  And to top it off, in the raffle at the end I scored a The Last Knight Hot Rod to take home!

Free toy!

 

Got anything to say about this visit to Hasbro?  Would love to read it in the comments section below!