Tag Archives: Big Angry Trev

Burger Review #3: The Cheeseworld Cheeseburger

One could reasonably expect that a place that names themselves ‘Cheeseworld’ would be capable of a decent Cheeseburger.  Otherwise they have no business naming themselves as such – rather they should name themselves ‘Mediocreworld’ or ‘Processeddairyworld’ or something.

Luckily for them, Cheeseworld won’t have to rename itself any time soon.

 

This was a pretty damn tasty cheeseburger!  In fact perhaps the best cheeseburger I have ever eaten!  It was quite simplistic but then I believe part of its flavor came from its simplicity, much the way a pizza you  eat in actual Italy with only a few toppings tastes so much better than one you have in Aus.  You know, with 50 different toppings with their competing flavors overwhelming the taste-buds.  The Cheeseworld Cheeseburger consisted of a juicy, thick brown beef patty complimented with a combination of thick, creamy mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato relish (though I opted out of that – good on them for actually letting customers modify their burger) and some soft fresh buns.  But what made this a brilliant cheeseburger was indeed the cheese.

Oh the cheesy-beefy goodness!

Above the patty was a slice of cheese whilst just below it was grated cheese.  Both different varieties of Coon (for our overseas readers that is the name of a cheese brand here in Australia – yes I know they should change it but overseas comedians have a great time with the concept every time they visit here.  Just watch the last half dozen appearances of Stephen K Amos on Spicks’n’Specks [another name that could use a more politically correct moniker]).  And it was these two cheeses, both very slightly melted from the beef patty, that made this burger great.   The whole thing was tasty, flavorful, had excellent texture and with a side of chips was reasonably priced.  Not the fanciest cheeseburger on the planet but certainly the tastiest I have sampled – well done!

 

Whilst on the subject of the Cheeseworld café menu, let’s look at the opposite end. They had home-made large pies on the menu but dissapointingly were sold out so I tried their ‘Home-made Beef & Pork steamed Dim Sims’.  These looked great; huge and plump and a bargain at $1.80 each.  I ordered 3 thinking the family could share them – my wife and son like beef well enough but my daughter, who is not yet two, has developed a taste for pork that rivals my own!

Smelled like encased animal droppings – tasted about the same.

How can I sum up these Dim Sims?  Worst.  Dimmies.  Ever!  Absolutely disgusting!  It was like they had accidentally knocked half a jar of raw cumin into the mix and hadn’t noticed.  My wife tried a bite and gave me almost the exact same response my brother-in-law did when I was trying the 1.5kg pork challenge at Hofbrauhaus a few months ago: ‘No, that’s disgusting!  Don’t eat that – you’ll be sick!’  A buck eighty a piece and I still felt ripped off, so awful that even when I subsequently covered them with soy sauce I couldn’t even finish one.

 

So, when travelling along the Great Ocean Road, if you happen to stop at Cheeseworld I heartily recommend the Cheeseworld Cheeseburger.  I don’t recommend the Dimmies unless you enjoy something that tastes like buckshot mixed with entrails.

The big push for the Decagon!

Note: For those Blog readers who are unaware, Ozformers is the Australian site for Transformer Fans and is actually the longest running such site in the world!  I’ve been peddling my entertaining brand of bullshit on there for many’s a year and it was in part the enjoyment I experienced writing on there that made me start my own blog.  Every year they have a vote for the Ozformer member of the year (which always ends up being the website owner Griffin) but some fellow site users have been campaigning on my behalf for the last twelve months.  The following is me trying to give them value for their humorous perseverance.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Offices of Big Transformer Trev, candidate for Ozformer Member of the Year

My fellow Ozformer members,

while I have been busy with other matters of state it seems the pro/con Trev debate has heated up in my absence.  So let me now as your candidate address the issue that concern you, the public, whom I am here to serve.

 

*The Current Incumbent:   Now Griffin is indeed the owner, administrator and general Grand Poobah of Ozformers.  There is not a member here that does not acknowledge this or is not grateful to him for providing this wonderful site for us all to enjoy.  But ask yourselves, on top of the myriad of time-consuming responsibilities he already has, is it fair to once again heap the duties associated with being Ozformer Member of the Year on his already overburdened shoulders?  I think not.  Let the poor fellow get on with what he does best and let someone handle all the public appearances, kissing babies, wining and dining foreign toy dignitaries etc that the winner of the Ozzies is expected to do.

*Why a new representative?  Well for a start, if you vote me in you will be getting a celebrity to be the face of Ozformers.  Remember, look in the background of any Australian-made, Melbourne-based tv cop show from the late 90’s (Blue Heelers, Halifax FP, Stingers, Good Guys Bad Guys etc) and you will see me milling around in the background as an extra.  Star power or what! Frankly if it wasn’t for my well-known hatred of Reality TV I’m sure I’d have been asked to appear on I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! by now.  And of course most recently I’m known in print, television and social media as the guy who photographed a dead snake. 

 

BTT’s POLICIES

Sensible policies for a happier future

*By the year 2020 no child will be living without Transformer toys

*There will be two Stunticons in every garage

*Full series Box Sets of Rescue Bots to be produced by Madman Entertainment

*Once a year on the solstice all Ozformers will come together on my farm to build a giant straw effigy of Michael Bay, which we will then set alight while we chant and dance naked around it under the moon

Policies from my failed attempt to become PM:

*I will make Hasbro and Takara release ALL Transformer related products in Australia.

*No GST on imported goods!  This is a SHAMEFUL policy that both sides of parliament are currently trying to enact!  They say it’s so that you will buy locally instead of buying your goods from overseas via the internet, but what if…

-A: You live in a rural area where you cannot purchase the items you require at your local store?  Most Aussie companies charge ruinous postal fees to send you an item, you often pay more in postage to get something from Melbourne than from the other side of the globe!  Last I checked, my little bush town doesn’t have any of the big chains I can go to and get anything I require.

-B: They don’t make and/or sell the item you want in Australia at all?  For those with their eye a Carnifex figure, I don’t think you’ll be buying one at your local K-Mart.  There are many products that are sold nowhere in this wide brown land of ours, its not a matter of not wanting to shop locally – we can’t! 

 

ENDORSEMENTS

So the choice is clear my Ozformer Brethren (and Sistren of course).  Vote #1 Big Transformer Trev this Ozformer awards.  Sure I might be not the most obvious candidate, or the most fragrant, or the most sane if it comes to that.  But just listen to these uncoerced endorsements from  fellow Ozformer members:

SINNERTWIN

Sensible, Mature, Responsible… These aren’t words that anyone can use to describe Trev, and nobody should. That would be lying, and lying is bad for the soul.

Don’t lie to yourselves. Vote 1. Vote Trev.

BTT 2016. 

 

STARSCREAM77

The following has been authorised and paid for by the BTT416 Campaign:

In Trev We Trust

Not just a throw away line but a creed we as the followers of the great man, BTT, choose to live our life by. If ever we have doubts in life we ask ourselves ‘what would Trev do?’ and the correct answer presents itself.

If we do not do the moral and ethical must that is vote BTT for 2016 then I question the entire fibre of life itself!

Yours faithfully

SS77

 

JETFIRE_IN_THE_SKY

 “Anyone who doesn’t vote for BTT is a cheese eating surrender monkey”

 

And of course MYTHIRAX whose myriad of fantastic pro-Trev fan art can be viewed HERE!

 

I look forward to your vote this January.

Toy Review – Masterpiece Inferno

Ah Inferno.  So cool yet so overlooked.  A gung-ho character that was either fighting fires or fighting Cons or dealing with his psychotic superior.  Inferno is not considered a fan favourite by many, but I always loved the guy!  The original toy was great with lots of features and was a good size for its era and he was a fun character on screen during Season 2 of the G1 cartoon (my personal favourite TF ep’s ever!) Now to appease the likes of me, Tak/Tom have brought us Masterpiece Inferno!

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Vehicle Mode

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As mentioned, the G1 Inferno toy was one of my very favourite toys from that era.  The fact that the Fire Engine mode had a telescoping ladder with its two little nozzles on the end, along with the foam cannon at its base meant it had moving parts as well as looking like Inferno could actually shoot stuff in vehicle mode.  This vehicle mode here is very faithful to the cartoon but of course it suffers in the modern era by looking too simplistic.  The Leader-Class Sentinel Prime from DOTM was a fantastic looking Fire Engine as well as pretty damn big.  To compare the two, Inferno looks smaller (though pretty chunky for the current MP line all the same) and a lot plainer.

Money Shot!
Money Shot!

This said, he looks pretty damn good, the grill work on the front of the truck is pretty nice and the hoses on the side are present (both sides now rather than just the one – I would have preferred just the one myself) as well as other little details.  The telescoping ladder now has three sections instead of two although it looks a lot more boxy to my mind.  Being able to flip out a little hose at the end of the ladder and attach the spraying water facsimile is a great touch and makes it really look like a fire engine in action!

 

 

Robot Mode

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Everything you have come to expect from the MP line, including tilting ankles, opening hands, manoeuvrable head, knees, elbows etc.  Inferno is very poseable and his dimensions are spot on.  He is able to retract his hands to have big laser cannons come out, though no missile launcher like the G1 toy.  You can have him shoot faux water in this mode as well and he has his rifle so you can set him up to look like he is either fighting fires or Cons – whatever floats ya boat.  His head wings and foam launcher are present up top and while it is not something I bother with much myself you can change his face with the four different plates provided.  An issue I have with the MP line in general with some of these larger characters are how plain the legs look.  Inferno’s are better than MP Ratchet (see review HERE) and MP Shockwave’s (see review HERE) legs due to the hoses etc on the side but they all look a bit plain to my mind.  But that’s what fans have to remember – Tak/Tom is giving you a toy that looks like the cartoon as much as possible, which means you often lose lots of the nice details you got in the toy that they never bothered to replicate on screen.  Of course the flipside of that is you get little details such as his wrist communicator that the toy lacked.

 

Red Alert Lifter

Did you ever know that your my hero?
Did you ever know that your my hero?

When I saw all the images online of Inferno carrying MP Red Alert, replicating that classic episode where Inferno saves a crazed Red from a burning building, I just assumed it was something fans were doing for fun.  However when looking at the different chest plates for Inferno (there are 3) I realised one is specifically to set up this pose!  This shows great interactivity between the MP toys which is sometimes missing (besides putting the cars in MP Optimus’ trailer) in the line and hammers home that these toys really are made for the G1 enthusiast and that if you are shelling out this much money for the toy, then you should know the scene between Red and Inferno by heart already.

 

Transformation

The headaches that earlier MP toys provided – particularly Megatron and Rodimus Prime – are truly behind us.  Inferno will take you a few minutes the first few times and using the instructions until you get a feel for the toy is recommended.  I’m very much a fan of how they made the ladder fold up so compactly and fit into his back.  This is a definite improvement over the original toy and makes him look very much improved from the back!

 

Worth Buying?

If you are not a G1 nut, then for the exorbitant price tag (especially after currency conversion and postal fees if purchasing from overseas) I’d have to say a no.  There are cheaper and better looking Transformer Fire Trucks out there for you to buy on the secondary market like the aforementioned DOTM Sentinel Prime.  Even currently you have the Combiner Wars Hot Spot, Pyra Magna and upcoming Megaempress (think Megatron with a sex change) who aren’t the most brilliant Fire Engines but have the combining feature and their own teammates.  But if, like yours truly, you are a G1 nut and MP fan, then this Inferno is definitely a worthy addition to your collection.

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So what do you think of Masterpiece Inferno?  I’d love to hear in the comments section below!

Toy Review – Combiner Wars Liokaiser

Just when you think the Combiner Wars toyline is dead, they keep chugging along with even more obscure subgroups.  This time they have given us a character that you may be unfamiliar with unless you watched the Japanese G1 cartoon series Victory back in the 1980’s.   A group originally named Breastforce (no I’m not making that up and yes, you are allowed to giggle) has been reborn as the Destrons (the JP name for Decepticons in general) who combine into an almighty gestalt!  So here we go, a big review for a name as long as some of the old Street Fighter games, Combiner Wars Liokaiser: Platinum Edition!

Please note: As all these toy molds have had numerous iterations already, I will be mainly talking about any changes made rather than going over old ground.  I will put in links to other reviews of these molds as appropriate.

 

Ironbison

Doesn't fear Autobots as much as PETA
Doesn’t fear Autobots as much as PETA

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Renamed from Killbison as it sounded like he was related to the Bufflekill’s from The Simpsons.  Here we see the usual CW Brawl (for a review of Brawl – see HERE) remold but with added horns on his head to represent the original toy/character.  I found the limbs on mine to be a bit loose, very hard to pose him without the shoulders sagging.  But the mustard and silver colour scheme work together and he looks nice and tough.

 

Drillhorn

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Probably the only limb figure here whose updated alt-mode doesn’t look as cool as the original one.  This has been remolded from CW Nosecone and they probably would have done better to use the UW Nosecone mode (for a comparison between those two toys – see HERE).  Also the drill bit does not fit in the gap properly with mine which is quite annoying, I have to use the double-barreled rifle on top to keep it in place.  A nice little touch is a horn that pops out of his forehead in robot mode which adds that extra unique touch.

 

Guyhawk

Pretty in pink!
Pretty in pink!

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Did this guy pick his ultra-masculine name to make up for his colour scheme?  The most pink in a Transformer I’ve seen this side of G1 Sparkstalker!  But the colour actually seems to work quite well, it’s very vibrant indeed!  Nice head sculpt, the only one of the limb characters that doesn’t require pop-out bits.  Remade from CW Air Raid.

 

Fellbat

I'm a bat out of... er.... fell? Yeah, I'm a bat that fell I guess.
I’m a bat out of… er…. fell? Yeah, I’m a bat that fell I guess.

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Renamed from Hellbat because, well…. pretty crappy reasons actually because Hellbat was a much cooler name.  Remade from CW Skydive, this guy has his signature little bat-wing fins that pop out of the sides of his head and is one of the few characters from Victory I can remember from my one watching of the series.  Already killed off in the IDW comics which is a shame, hope that doesn’t stop Liokaiser showing up there.  A nice touch in jet mode is they have given his missiles a striking red paint job.

 

Dezarus

I shall shuffle you to death!
I shall shuffle you to death!

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Ok, here is where it gets a bit trippy, follow me if you can.  The original Breastforce (again, insert requisite giggle) had two characters that made up the torso – Leozack and Jallguar.  Since all CW gestalts (excepting CW Devastator) are mainly four smaller bots as limbs and a larger single one as the torso, these two characters were dumped for Dezarus.  Dezarus is in turn based on Deathsaurus who was the leader of the Destron army in the Victory cartoon.  To add further confusion, since Deathsaurus’ had a bipedal bird-monster alt-mode, they chose to recolour CW Sky Lynx (for a review of Sky Lynx – see HERE) to make him.

Keeping up?  Well done!  Because I’m writing this bloody review and even I’m getting lost!

Anyway, Dezarus here has the same modes as Sky Lynx (rather than his original ones) and his colour scheme makes the shuttle mode look a bit odd.  One thing I was pretty happy with though was how easily the toy lent itself to being put in a bipedal position, even achieving a certain limited poseability!  Yes it’s a stretch, but it’s the closest you are going to get Dezarus to Deathsaurus that you can.

 

Ion Scythe

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By the Power of Destron!
By the Power of Destron!

Another weird but welcome inclusion, put in mainly I suspect to keep up the now set pattern of all these CW groups having six members.  Ion Scythe is based on an old Arms Micron toy and despite his name turns not into a scythe but a sword.  The original Breastforce group (ok, you’ve had your laughs, time to get over it now) had little animal partners so it could be Ion Scythe’s inclusion is a shout out to that.

hh h

 

Liokaiser

G1'ish accurate
G1’ish accurate

The head from Sky Reign (find the review of Sky Reign HERE) has been retooled to look more like the original Liokaiser and both share the animalistic helmet.  There are plenty more tricks you can do to make this toy look more G1 Victory accurate.  These include positioning Fellbats wings up and horizontal, placing Fellbat and Guyhawks grey guns either side of the right fist and turning Ironbison and Drillhorn outwards so that their treads face inwards.  All these little things help, the only problem is rotating the lower legs means he can’t use his knees, but that’s easy to turn back when you want to do some action poses.  It really is a nice looking combiner overall with plenty of poseability and mismatching-yet-working colours.  Ironically Ion Scythe is far more suited to be a CW hand weapon than the likes of CW Powerglide and CW Shockwave (for a review of Shockwave – see HERE) who both were too heavy and pulled down their gestalts arms – Ion Scythe seems to be just the right size and weight!

 

Worth Getting?

Overall I would have to say yes.  These are characters that haven’t had new toys since they first appeared in Victory nearly 30 years ago.  I would advise shopping around; I got mine for a good price whereas if I had ordered it through my usual international source I would have paid about $50 more.  And for those who have Masterpiece Star Saber – that big fragger now has someone to fight!

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Toy Review – Titans Return Soundwave

Operation: Soundwave Review

Perhaps even surpassing Megatron, Soundwave is along with Optimus Prime the most recognizable and remembered characters and toys from the 1980’s – even non-TF fans remember Soundwave with a fondess – there was something just so cool about him!  A tape deck that ejected micro-cassettes that turned into animals and robots and was a bad guy had massive appeal.  And here we see Soundwave recreated yet again, this time for the first time as a Headmaster with Titans Return Soundwave.

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 Robot Mode

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It’s lucky that both Blaster and Soundwave are boxy characters, so with a simple palette swap, a new head and a shoulder cannon this does looks like Soundwave rather than a recoloured Blaster (which he is after all).  The proportions are ok though I would have liked to see more articulation.  Nothing beats a Soundwave that can actually bend his arm upwards and press his eject button (aka MP SW).  His gun is from Blaster and for those in the know it looks nothing like Soundwaves regular firearm which is a bit disappointing, but I suppose even Transformers are allowed to change their armament every few million years.

 Tape Deck Mode

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The smartest thing they did here was to change the way the speakers look.  It now looks like a tape deck from the early nineties rather than a proper Ghetto Blaster (all you kids born this century, you might have to do some research here to know what I am talking about).  The mode looks better than I thought it would; it looks sleek and somber, just a shame there is the odd little gap here and there.

 Base Mode

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This mode suits Soundwave far more than Blaster (who I still maintain should have turned into a DJ booth with dance floor.  For a review of TR Blaster – see HERE).   The darker colour scheme works for the mode as well as the extra cannon.  Overall better than I expected.

 Soundblaster

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For those that didn’t follow the JP G1 cartoon, Soundwave and Blaster killed each other but got rebuilt by their respective leaders, Soundwave turning into Soundblaster (the only difference with the toy besides a darker colour scheme was it could hold 2 cassettes).  Soundblaster has been brought back here but this time as Soundwaves head.  The funny thing is that they redid the face on his back to look like Soundwave, as well as his little head, but the legs are still those of Twin Cast (Blasters Headmaster partner) with the speakers on the front.  Since it would not have affected the face, they should have made his front much darker to represent Soundblaster more.

 Transformation

No change from Blaster.  If you haven’t converted Blaster know that this figure isn’t difficult for a leader class figure.  There is no real challenge here, however transforming him for the first time you have to engage your brain to turn him in to what is a reasonably two dimensional alt-mode as the Tape Deck.  Conversion to base mode is very straight forward.

Overall

Soundwave is one of two figures which can be said to be a crossover between Combiner Wars and Titans Return, given that CW Buzzsaw can be put into TR Soundwave in both Robot and Tape Deck modes.  Interestingly in the instructions it only mentions him being compatible with the upcoming Laserbeak and Ravage, most likely as these toys are to be released soon (bet Hasbro is just thrilled with IDW for having killed Ravage 6 weeks ago in MTMTE #55).  The fact you can insert these smaller figures into him along with the Headmaster gimmick and he is a triple changer means there is a lot of playability with this figure.  While certainly not the ultimate Soundwave toy, on the whole this one is pretty good and it’s nice to see Soundwave once again as a musical device rather than a van or truck.

Got your own thoughts on Titans Return Soundwave?  Would love to hear them in the comments section below!

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Toys Review – The Mayhem Attack Squad

The Mayhem Attack Squad, a group of psychotic Decepticons grouped together to follow their leaders evil whims in the old G1 comic (and to give a reason to put new toys coming out into print).  Now decades later we see the group revitalized by the latest Transformers Collectors Club subscription service toys and with a new gimmick – they combine!  Lets have a look at this pack of alien-mechanoid rouges as well as their combined form – THUNDER MAYHEM!

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Grabuge
Nicely proportioned, nice colours and they didn’t even need to bother with a new headsculpt since Off-Road was originally going to be Ruckus. I think the axe is a good choice for Ruckus – sorry – Grabuge. You can sorta balance his cannon in his backpack as a reminder of his Triggercon heritage but it doesn’t really work.

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Windsweeper

The wings can fold back but I prefer to leave them out, the silver on the wing missiles really pop and also this configuration makes the figure look a bit more G1-Windsweeper-ish. The head is really good on him and the colours overall work quite well.

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Spinister
The head is a little squarish and the optics a tad big but otherwise pretty good. Nothing new otherwise physically with the mold. Certainly a lot less stocky than G1 Spinister and the colour scheme is dead on.  The two targetmaster partners work well both as guns or as sidekicks.

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Needlenose

A very nicely proportioned robot and while they got the face just right I would have liked to see more work on his helmet.  The colours are pretty good and his Targemaster partners sit snugly in his grip as well as looking good as little sidekicks.  I’d say this is probably the best Needlenose figure we have ever had so kudos to Funpub for coming through.

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Bludgeon

By far his strongest mode.  Bludgeon is a character that is strongly associated with his Pretender Shell and it’s not been often he has been depicted just as the robot beneath (the G2 and DW comics do spring to mind however).  I found this to be a most excellent representation of how Bludgeon would look without his shell if he just concentrated on beefing up his robot mode.  The proportions are really good, the colour scheme works a lot better and they did the headsculpt very well.  Add in a couple of giant swords and the robot mode is a real winner overall!  However it is really hard to beat ROTF Bludgeon for a look that encapsulates both the inner robot and outer shell look combined.

Master of Matallikato and Fan Dancing
Master of Matallikato and Fan Dancing

Grabuge – Off-Road Truck

A shame that Beachcomber did not crop up in Combiner Wars as it would have nice to see Ruckus – sorry – Grabuge – done as a Dune Buggy rather than a ute, however it’s still a good choice for the character. The colour scheme is nice, though they have what were relatively small stickers on the original Ruckus into a major part of the colour scheme of the back of the ute here. Still, the paintjobt is pretty good considering that many the G1 Decepticons from 87 onwards had pretty awful colour schemes and the original Ruckus is part of that era. Attaching the cannons in the tray of the ute somewhat gives a shout out to his Triggercon origins.

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Windsweeper –  Attack Jet
A shame there wasn’t a deluxe CW mold that was a bit more like his G1 incarnation, they would have had to go with Silverbolt to get something more indicativie. But it’s a pretty cool looking jet and the colour scheme not only is fairly character accurate but makes the colours work a bit better than the original toy did.

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Spinister – Attack Chopper
I’m not a great fan of how slim this mold is, it didn’t quite work for me as Blades and Vortex and I get the same feeling with Spinister. Still, they got that garish 1988 colour scheme just right! One thing – do NOT try to put the Targetmaster partners into the little black exhaust hubs on the sides of Spinisters vehicle mode. I tried and not only are they that mill too thick but trying to push them in will wear the black paint off very easily and show the pink underneath. You have to attach them via turning his arms around so the fist is up which puts his missiles in an awkward position.

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Needlenose – Fighter Jet

They really did a nice job of homaging the original figure here and I really like that unlike Spinister you can connect his Targetmaster partners under the wings.  They have done their best with the G1 colour scheme they had to use and made it look a lot more stylish than it used to.  As ever the letdown is those damn arms sitting out at the sides of the jet, I wish they had fixed that.

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Bludgeon – Anti-Aircraft Truck

Whilst not a tank which most Bludgeons over the years have turned into, this feels like a tank on steroids that mutated into a anti-aircraft truck.  Whilst the green is a bit strong and garish, the browns help even the colour out somewhat, though then you deal with the two purple cannons on top.  It’s pretty cool overall but there is one significant drawback – the dome of Thunder Mayhems head is very noticeable sticking out of the top.  Really looks like he is about to pop up at any moment like a freaky jack-in-the-box.

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Thunder Mayhem

Thunder Mayhem is made up of the 5 members of the Mayhem Attack Squad.  The reasoning behind the combined mode is that Thunderwing, not Bludgeon, was the leader of the Mayhem Attack Squad so their combined mode becomes an homage to him.  The Thunderwing head is very good, perhaps with more expression than any of the Gestalts from both the CW and UW lines – got a real psychotic sneer to him!

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The colour scheme however is a real hodge-podge.  It’s pretty unavoidable considering the different characters that make up this Combiner but when compared to the likes of Superion, Defensor and Devastator you see why having team-mates with similar colour schemes is a good move for Combiner groups to have.  Bright greens, dull reds, purples, yellows, greys, blues etc etc – it looks like Primus swallowed a kids paint palette then threw up on the poor guy.  But he is supposed to be a monstrosity powered by a corrupted matrix so monster-wise it works.

The dimensions are like all the other recent combiners, the legs are a bit stubby and the feet too small whilst the arms are almost orangutan like in their length.  But Thunder Mayhem in the end is no worse for wear than any of the others and considering he is made up of 2 jets, a helicopter, a ute and an anti-aircraft truck you can forgive these imperfections.

Weapons-wise Bludgeons twin-swords match his stature quite well and of course you can take the cannons off the back for him to use as pistols.  It’s a shame there is no clear place for the four Targemaster partners to go – plenty of places to connect them but none really seem to fit and they look ludicrously small in his hands.

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So overall a freaky-yet-fun Gestalt and a pretty cool combiner group.  For the most part I will be keeping the Mayhem Attack Squad separate so I can finally have the likes of Windsweeper and Ruckus sitting in my Generations Display.

 

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Toy Review – Titans Return Blurr, Hardhead, Scourge and Skullsmasher

The third in my reviews of the first wave of the new Titans Return toyline, today we are looking at the Deluxe figures.  This is the only size that is evenly distributed, two Autobots and two Decepticons.  And like the Voyager line they all have Cybertronian alt-modes.  So lets have a look at what is predominantly the cast list from Seasons 3 & 4 of a cartoon decades old – Blurr, Hardhead, Scourge and Skullsmasher.

 

Blurr – Robot Mode

The fastest bot in all Cyber-Mexico!DSCF5579

The fastest bot in all Cyber-Mexico!

Whilst not as tall and lanky as the original it does look really good.  You can position the noscone from the hovercar mode either on his arm to simulate the shield the original toy (and the Animated toy) had, or you can put it on his back to simulate the original toys backpack which is where it is supposed to go anyway for transformation.  Very easy to pose with lots of points of articulation.

Hardhead – Robot Mode

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Very indicative of the G1 version of the character. I think it’s a nice touch that you can maneuver the cannon on his back to sit up or over the shoulder. Quite good articulation, well proportioned, good colour scheme, poseable.   Only downside is his size – he could stand to be a bit bigger, especially when compared to his G1 and Universe incarnations.

Skullsmasher – Robot Mode

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The eyes on Grax are a bit too dark, and while this simulates the G1 toy I think the Takara head looks better.  The tail, like the G1 toy, becomes a hand weapon but it’s a bit too big and can’t really be positioned on any great angle.  Out of the four new Titans Return deluxes he is certainly the weakest of the four.  Also his alligator claws come off really easy in this mode.

Scourge – Robot Mode

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Fracas is a bit too boxy and the laser on the top doesn’t stick up enough to be properly noticeable.  Besides that this is a pretty good looking Scourge with a good colour scheme, articulation and the proportions and wings work well.  I think he will be serving as a Sweep next to the G1, Titanium and Generations versions in my collection.

Blurr – Cybertronian Hovercar Mode

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Now THIS looks like the speedster we all know and love, not a recoloured Drift.  Very compact and sleek, it’s a great representation of the character.  The laser under the front even works well.  The little hatch for his Titans Return partner is good and it even incorporates the little gap between the back and the cabin that the original toy had – top marks!  Only one big downside is for a Titan Master to have his own vehicle you unattach the nose of the car which leaves the front of Blurr looking gutted and horrible.

Hardhead – Cybertronian Tank Mode

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A bit flatter than the G1 version, very streamlined, very much how he looked waaaay back at the start of the IDW comics before they gave him his Universe-styled body. Once again the cannon is maneuverable and like the G1 toy you can place a gun in the top of the cannon. Furos can either sit in the cab or the back of the cannon opens up so he can be stood there. He looks a little weird standing right back on the pegs he is supposed to so I personally reposition it so that he looks like he is operating the gun.

Skullsmasher – Cybertronian Gator Mode

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A really good looking gator!  Very long and well proportioned.  They have done their best with the colour scheme so it doesn’t look as sickening as the G1 versions does and I really like the details in the mouth with all those individual teeth and the segmenting detail on the tounge.  The head can swivel somewhat which is good, but it can be hard to make the tail sit flush with the gators arse.  Grax’s compartment actually has a rubber hatch which is an odd choice and the placement has changed, instead of being afraid he would get swallowed like the G1 toy, in this case he already has been and is half way to the gut.

Scourge – Cybertronian Hovercraft

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Like Blurr he is really compact and really good looking.  One of the most triangular of body in shape ones I’ve seen done of the Sweep class, looks a lot like they did in some episodes the Season 3 cartoon.  You can put his big blaster on the front of the hovercraft which makes him look pretty badass, but obscures a lot of the nicer details of the mode.  I actually think Scourge having a small cockpit works, it is flush enough with the rest of the hovercraft that it doesn’t change the aesthetic much, however it’s still noticeable and the dark blue hue suits it well.

 

Overall

The Titans Return toyline, as well as acting as a revival for the Headmaster gimmick, is filling a lot of holes for peoples Generations collections.  We now have a Scourge that’s not a flying wing, a Blurr that’s not a terran car, a Hardhead that’s not a SWAT armoured vehicle and our first Skullsmasher(cruncher) of the line.  G1 fans will be very happy with the appearance of these four, others may be happy with the versions they already have.  But between the great alt-modes, the little Titans Return partners and the overall decent quality I heartily recommend these four figures.

 

Note: For a more detailed review of Hardhead, check out My Hardhead review thread on Ozformers

Burgers Review #2: – The TRADIE, The TRUCKIE & The MALLEE BOMB!

As a rule if a dish has a manly name like ‘Tradie’, ‘Truckie’ or ‘Bomb’ then it’s going to be something yours truly is going to want to shove in his gob! Why? Well besides desperately trying to hide ones insecurities from the world by appearing macho and gruff on the outside, hiding the wobbly, gelatin-like persona within, it usually means there is going to be lots of MEAT!

On a recent state-crossing trip I had occasion to drop in to three different cafe’s which had foodstuffs like those described above on their menu. So lets examine them and see if they were worth this weary traveller’s mastication.

 

The TRADIE Burger

Location: Gray St Café, Swan Hill, VIC

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Despite the blokey name this came across as a pretty standard, average burger. Cheese, lettuce, egg, bacon, tomato, sauce – the patty was sausage mince with carrot throughout which was kinda different. No onion which was a shame. It was nice that they will change the fillings based on your predilections (I went with two friends; one didn’t want bacon, another didn’t want egg, I didn’t want tomato) but it all came across as something that you could buy most anywhere. If these burgers were boobs they would be B-cups – certainly enough there to sate your appetite, but leaving you wishing there had been more to them. Not really recommended.

 

The TRUCKIE Burger

Location: Balfours Cafe, Birkenhead, SA

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Now we are talking more of a burger! The usual lettuce, tomato, sauce, onion, egg etc but then double meat, double cheese and double bacon! And by Primus the amount of bacon – they easily could have referred to it as quadruple bacon! The amount of oil dripping off this burger was a bit disturbing, the wrapper felt like I could use it to grease myself up and then toboggan on my gut down the nearest freeway. But you know what, after eating what felt like half a pigs worth of crispy goodness I was feeling sexy enough to try! Happily recommended.

 

The MALLEE BOMB!

Location: Cobb & Co Café, Murrayville, VIC/SA border

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I ordered this thinking it was a lamb burger, but when it arrived it turned out to be some sort of weird dissected souvlaki. Chips covered with Mallee Lamb, with cheese, fried onion and garlic sauce drizzled all over the thing! Chuck a few bits of pita bread on top and yeah, it looks like a souvlaki had a bomb implanted in it which subsequently burst on your plate, leaving it’s yummy innards splayed upon the ceramic battlefield. I will say that they were not mucking about when they said they were using Mallee Lamb – this was really top quality meat! Very tender and succulent indeed,  you will walk away from the table feeling fit to burst – the sign of a damn fine meal! Highly recommended!

 

Fan Art – Big PM Trev Campaign Poster!

Today I was totally blown away!  Scott, a talented fellow who has tirelessly campaigned on my behalf in the past, sent me this mock up he did of what one of my posters would look like if I did run for the Prime Ministership.

I'd vote for me, and I am me so if anyone should know I would...
I’d vote for me, and I am me so if anyone should know I would…

Considering I don’t even know how to resize a pic 90% of the time, I was very impressed with what Scott has done here, as well as admiring him for his excellent choice in subject matter.

Good on ya Scott, I am very flattered and chuffed!