Tag Archives: Decepticon

Toy Review: LG60 Overlord

February 1, 2018 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Overlord – a gigantic Decepticon despot! From the Japanese G1 continuity, he was the staunch foe of Ginrai and was manned by both a male and female Powermaster. A cool character with an even cooler toy! This character has become very popular with Western TF fans of recent with his outings in the IDW comics where he has been portrayed as a truly unstoppable psychopath.

This rise in notoriety has facilitated Overlord getting his first toy in a long time in the Titans Return line, and like most toys from Hasbro he has also cropped up in the Takara Tomy line. So today we look at the Legends toy – LG 60 Overlord.

Mega & Giga

The two Headmaster partners here are Mega and Giga respectively and each turns Overlord into the Mega or Giga version of himself. Each is slightly different coloured and sports a different expression for Overlord when becoming the face. I’ve found the left arm on Giga keeps popping off so you may want to watch this so you don’t lose it.

Mega Jet

*Stealthy (bar the lavender highlights)*

I don’t know why but I really like the little landing struts that come out of the bottom. It’s a fairly sleek looking jet and the subdued colours makes it look like it could be streaking silently across the night sky to bomb some Bots. No visible weapons except for two very tiny lasers in the nosecone. The cockpit can open up for Mega to sit in, though mine sticks a bit so requires application of a fingernail to open.

Overlord Mega

*In this mode I’m a grinner and a leftie*

What a big bloody robot – awesome! This character deserved a big build and that is what they got! The 6 cannons on one side like the G1 toy are represented but sadly the corresponding panel on the right does not fold out into lasers. In ‘Mega’ mode the chest panels are closed, revealing the shoulders more. The nose of the jet becomes detached and attaches to the left shoulder like the G1 toy to serve as a quasi-shield. Overlord Mega has a great smirk going and is by far my favoured of the two faces.

Giga Tank

Despite the garish colour scheme, quite a good looking tank. Bulky yet compact, it feels a very solid toy to play with. Big cannon on the front, detailed tank tracks on the sides and a cockpit at the top that Giga can either fully sit inside or otherwise stand up in to survey the carnage being dished out. Very good!

Overlord Giga

In this mode Giga becomes the serious looking face and the chest panels open to reveal some detailed Powermaster components. However I personally would have preferred for one of these spots to be empty like both were on the Hasbro version, so that the current Headmaster not in use could reside in the hole. Some detailing on the back of their legs could have made them look like a Powermaster engine like the original G1 toy. As it is I put the spare Headmaster in the jets cockpit.

Combined Vehicle Mode

*‘I ripped off the idea from Flywheels cameo in the S4 opening credits’*

I’m not surprised that this mode doesn’t have a specific name as it doesn’t make any sense! The best you could say is it is designed for the jet component to whisk the tank component off to drop at the site of a new battle.

Fortress Base Mode

In this instance the original toy (which is on my ‘grail’ list) is far superior. This is a more compact version with no ramps and one central elongated structure. The cannon in the middle works well and I like how there are spots for both Headmasters to stand. Connector joins come out at the front so that you can affix ramps from the likes of Titans Return Soundwave or even Overlords sworn enemy, Legends Ginrai.

Overall

I’ve never even touched the G1 toy (though by gods I’d love one!) and did not pick up the Titans Return Skyshadow or Overlord. I even bypassed the 3^rd party Carnifex so this is my first time playing with both this character and this toy mould. I must say I am quite impressed all up! Sure the transformations are a tad simplistic but with a multitude of modes and two Headmasters this toy has a LOT of play value. If you have not picked up one of the aforementioned toys then I heartily recommend you give this figure a go – well worth both your money and your time.

Got anything to add to the review above? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Related Articles:

Toys Review: Legends Super Ginrai vs PM Prime

Toy Review: Combiner Wars Liokaiser

Ask Trev: Should I by R-17 Carnifex?

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – LG43 Trypticon vs Titans Return Trypticon

August 30, 2017 Big Angry Trev 11 Comments

When I wrote the comparison blog between Takra Tomys Unite Warriors Computron and Hasbro’s Combiner Wars Computron it took me about two days to take all the pictures, write up all the subtle differences and overall decide which set was better.

With Legends Trypticon and Titans Return Trypticon? I should be done by the end of the commercial break.

Here is a comparison of the boxes, the boxes are indeed different.

Here are the instructions for the Legends version that have a comic on the back. That’s kinda different.

***To read the English translation of this comic – check it out on Tets Toys HERE.***

Here are the sticker sheets. The stickers are exactly the same, though I suppose the size of the sheet they come on is different, I guess.

*Kinda like getting the exact same meal but on two different types of plate.*

The way the Legends version and the Titans Return version have been strapped in their boxes is different in layout I suppose.

Now to Trypticon himself, the differences are…. they are…. um….

*‘One of these Cons is not like the other one…. oh wait’*

The differences are non-existent!

That’s right kiddies – there is absolutely no difference between the two versions – none! All the things you may have previously been lead to believe, such as the teal was darker and the purple richer in the Legends version are not correct. That the paint apps are built in and you don’t have to apply stickers like the Hasbro version – false. The only way I could keep the two from getting mixed up when taking photographs was that I had already applied some of the stickers to the Titans Return version. The same goes for their smaller partners.

**Full-Tilt** vs **Full-Tilt**. No difference

**Necro** vs **Titan Maste**r: Difference in name only

In the end I didn’t even bother transforming the Legends version. I packed it straight back in its box and am going to carefully store it for a decade so hopefully I can in the future sell it (and make back the extra $80 I paid getting it shipped from Japan) as relatively MIB. In a day and age where toy producers are conscious that some collectors will shell out big money for multiple versions of an expensive toy for even the slightest difference, I was honestly surprised there was none here. Not even an extra gun like Metroplex or a new hat like Malibu Stacy!

Is one worth getting over the other? Nope. The only thing is that some of the Titans Return versions have the dodgy hips (for an excellent way to fix that see HERE) whereas none of the LG43 versions have had that problem reported as yet. So if the fact you don’t have to worry about this possible defect is worth the extra costs of shipping to you then grab that one. Otherwise, unless you are rolling in cash and want to have both types of box to display, go down to your local toy store and grab the Hasbro one.

Got something to add? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Related Articles:

Transformatorium: Titans Return Trypticon – the simple hip fix!

Video: Comparison of LG43 and Titans Return Trypticon

Transformatorium

Titans Return Trypticon – the simple hip fix!

July 28, 2017 Big Angry Trev 6 Comments

Trypticon – the big bad! The latest Titan Figure for the Titans Return line and the biggest Decepticon toy ever created!

However this titan has a titanic problem – his hips!

Though they are cropping up far less (still occasionally however) in later waves, the first batch of this toy came with some major issues that were in turn causing major damage to a pretty expensive toy. These problems were:

1: The springs in the hips were far too strong and causing damage to the workings inside.

2: The teeth on the ratchet system for the hips were too big and would more often than not lock together instead of sliding over one another.

There have been quite a few fixes to these problems crop up on various Transformer sites and youtube. These have ranged from cutting the springs in half to address the strength issue to filing down the teeth of the ratchet. Some people have even removed the spring and half the ratchet altogether and replaced them with cardboard disks in order to turn the hips into a swivel system.

Well I am here to give you what I believe is the easiest answer to the spring and ratchet problems and guess what? No cutting, filing or permanent removal of parts is necessary! Follow the below instructions and your Trypticon will be ready to start smashing bots instead of his own hips in no time!

Before I start I would like to thank Grant in Blacktown and Michael in Melbourne for this. Grant was the one who came across the method of fixing the spring and Michael created the solution to the ratchet teeth issue. Well done guys – you both rock!

Tools:

1 Screwdriver

1 Pair of Scissors

1 Marker Packet

1 Black Marker

Method:

Step 1: Remove Trypticon from his box. Note that his legs come unattached. Do not attach them yet. Even if you believe your Trypticon may be one of the ones sans the spring/ratchet issues I recommend being safe rather than sorry. Use scissors to cut the ties and take out the legs.

Step 2: Take your screwdriver and remove the two screws from the teal bracket. Loosen the 3^rd screw on top and remove the bracket completely.

Step 3: Remove the two screws from the black ratchet cover. Be ready because the ratchet is underneath and the pressure from the overpowered spring will launch it sky high if you let it. Have a finger ready to suppress its firing.

Step 4: Remove the two parts of the ratchet and the spring. Now do the same for the second leg. You should end up with a bunch of parts looking like this:

Step 5: Now to solving the problem. First the spring. No need to cut it, all you need to do is squeeze it. 10 minutes of compressing and relaxing the spring in your hand will take a bunch of the tension out of it. Do one spring for 10 minutes and then see if it feels weaker than the spring you haven’t touched yet. If so then you have done it right. Personally I find watching an episode of Rick & Morty to be a good timer. Half way through the episode change to the second spring. Yes your fingers will get a tad tired (if you are a hardcore Transfan you have probably spent a hefty period of your life doing repetitive hand movements anyway) but persevere. Once done replace the springs.

Step 6: Take your marker and draw an outline of the smaller ratchet piece on the plastic. Then cut it out with your scissors. Repeat. This should leave you with two thin, malleable plastic dics.

Step 7: Take one plastic disk and put it on the smaller ratchet piece. Then place the larger one on top. The teeth of the ratchet will mush it into place where it will provide that bit less friction for the ratchets future operation. Repeat with the second ratchet.

Step 8: Place the ratchet back on top of the spring and push down into place. Put the ratchet cover over the ratchet and tighten the screws. Reassemble the teal piece over the top making sure that the side with the 3^rd screw hole is facing towards the back of Trypticon’s legs – it does make a difference when attaching to the main body.

Step 9: Attach the legs to the side of the body. Rotate head and arms and stand up.

Step 10:

Go play with your awesome new toy without fear of it breaking itself!

And that’s it! As stated – no cutting, filing or permanent removal of parts necessary. Once again, many thanks to Grant and Michael. I got my Trypticon the day he came out in Australia which almost garunteed he was one of the faulty batch and thusly I had been afraid to open him. Now I can have some worry-free, titan-sized fun, as can you!

Got any other tips on how to fix a faulty Trypticon? Write them in the comments section below!

Related Articles:

Toy Review – LG43 Trypticon vs Titans Return Trypticon

Video: Comparison of LG43 Trypticon and Titans Return Trypticon

Random Reviews, Transformatorium

Movie Review – Transformers: The Last Knight

June 21, 2017 Big Angry Trev 1 Comment

Here we are – the fifth installment of the live-action Transformers movie franchise.

These movies have caused a lot of debate over the years. Many of the critics and your more traditional Transformer fans have hated them – citing such things as poor plots, juvenile jokes and lack of characterization. However the general public has loved them – all four previous movies still remaining in the top 100 highest grossing movies of all time.

So will Transformers: The Last Knight fare any better than the previous four with the die-hards? Let’s find out!

Oh, and SPOILER ALERT! This is a movie review – so if you haven’t seen the flick yet and don’t want to know what happens, read no further (but please do come back after watching I implore you).

This movie picks up not long after the events of Transformers 4, and unlike that movie brings back a lot of what happened in Transformers 3 as well. The Transformers are still all hated and hunted by the human governments, yet they keep arriving. Most of the Autobots are living in a junkyard which they periodically leave as they try to find more of their lost brethren with the help of Cade. Megatron (Galvatron being just a phase he was going through) is enacting plans with the help of his henchman Barricade and Optimus Prime is off in space trying to find the creators of his race so he can put the smack down. Oh, and the new plot has flashbacks of Merlin dealing with a bunch of Cybertronian knights that can combine into a 3-headed space dragon – now there is a twist that not a lot of movies can boast eh!

The first half of this movie advances these plot lines. Megatron does a hostage swap of some humans in order to get some of his captured crew back from the military. Cade and the Autobots hiding out unwillingly adopt a 14 year old orphan girl and Optimus lands on Cybertron to meet Quintessa, his creator. Soon conflict (and Bayesque explosions) come into play. Megatron (tracked by the military) finds the Autobots and has a scrap, most of his henchmen we had only just met being killed in the process. Quintessa brainwashes Optimus into becoming Nemesis Prime and sets the broken planet of Cybertron (which got royally f’ed up at the end of TF3 by a spacebridge explosion) on a course to Earth to siphon its energy to make the metallic husk pull itself back together. We also get introduced to two new plot lines: The first is that Anthony Hopkins rocks and has a bunch of old Autobots at his disposal (including a quite psychotic character named Cogman) and is trying to figure out the whole Merlin angle. The second is that, like the TFPrime cartoon, Earth actually is Unicron and he is extending his horns out through various parts of the planet!

Phew – that’s a lot going on eh?

To prevent this they…..

…you know what, bugger it – if I list the 8 millions plot twists this review is going to become a novel! Chances are if you are reading this you have seen the movie and know what happens! So how about I save us all a bit of time and go on a few pro’s and cons eh?

PRO’S

*Lots of explosions

*Tons of action

*Nice boobs for the boys, nice ab’s for the girls

*Anthony Hopkins was awesome

*Cogman was funny

*A good variety of different robots

*Great fight scenes

*Expanded the movie lore

*Genuinely funny moments

*At least some characterization of Decepticons

*The action was not too close up and frenzied so you could actually tell what was going on most of the time

*Cullen and Welker reprised their roles as Optimus and Megatron respectively

*A Transformer clock killed Hitler

*Autobots, Decepticons, Quintessons, Combiners, Cybertron and Unicron!

CON’S (no, not those Cons)

*Bumblebee coming apart and coming back together contradicted a lot of TF deaths from the previous movies

*So many Transformers didn’t actually transform! Grimlock, ~~Slag~~ Slug, the baby Dino’s, Cogman, Wheelie, Sqweeks, whoever the female submarine was etc. It was like reading an IDW comic!

*A lot of the Transformers that did transform never did it on screen, such as Optimus himself.

*Contradictions in plot

*Too much human focus

*Hot Rod is french?!

So overall, is this movie worth watching? Well I’d have to say yes. All the people that complain about the Transformer movies would do well to remember that these flicks are based on a cartoon from the 80’s about shape-changing alien robots fighting a civil war. It’s not supposed to move you and make you cry – it’s supposed to entertain you! In that regard Transformers: The Last Knight certainly delivers the goods! It (like all the others) is a long movie but I can’t say there was any point where I was bored and frankly I found the whole movie quite fun! It’s not a movie you are supposed to take too seriously and I think some of the critics and die-hard fans need to remember that sometimes. Overall I’d say that this was not as good as TF1, about on par or slightly better than 3 & 4 and much better than 2. I had a great time watching it with a half dozen mates and I can’t wait to see what happens with the Unicron angle in number 6!

This movie gets 4 out of 5 energon cubes.

Got something to say about the movie? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – MP-11ND Dirge

June 15, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Dirge, oh Dirge. Nobody loves you but me.

Dirge was my very first ever Transformer figure over 30 years ago and as such he holds a special place in my heart. For others not so much, arguably the least popular Conehead. He only ever used his special power of fear-inducement once (as far as I can remember) to freak out Silverbolt in a Marvel Comic and he even committed suicide when getting eaten by The Swarm in the G2 Comics. In IDW he has done a bit better for himself, even becoming a central character to a plot line that extended for some time. But whether you like Dirge or not, here he is – perhaps the last outing for the Masterpiece Seeker mold. He comes with a very hefty price tag – let’s see if he is worth it.

Robot Mode

Despite being pretty much the same figure, for some reason Dirge strikes me as less stocky than say MP Thrust (for a review see HERE). The colours are quite good though I would have preferred to see a pure black like the toy rather than dark grey like the cartoon. He has the guns that most of the Seekers shared in the cartoon but these can be covered by bigger guns to resemble the machine guns that the toy had. These have been retooled from MP Ramjets rockets so are slightly different but overall look too big and bulky (which they need to be cover the null rays) and resemble missiles rather than machine guns. Dirge is as poseable as any of the other MP seekers but there have been no real improvements. At least the missile racks built into his chest make sense as opposed to the likes of some other Seekers since he actually did deploy missiles from there in at least one episode of the cartoon (The Girl who loved Powerglide).

*‘I have a dozen metal nipples – punk girls friggin love me!’*

Vehicle Mode

A faithful representation of the character from both the G1 cartoon and the toy. Dirge has the Decepticon emblem on his nosecone that the toy had but the ones on his wings are smaller than both the original toy and its cartoon depiction. The guns can be repositioned under the wings but again they really needed to be smaller. You can put (yet another) holographic pilot in the cockpit but I really would have preferred to see Shawn Berger, since he appeared in two episodes and did go for a ride in Dirge at one point. Given the huge price point and the fact we are getting a range of different humans in the Autobot line, I think a little Berger figure was warranted (but then maybe not – really rich guys using their power and fame to gain high political office seems to be a bit of a sore point these days).

*F-15 Delta-Wing variant. Never actually existed and if it had, guessing it wouldn’t have been this colour*

Overall

*‘I’m also moody and depressive – so I get all the emo chicks as well’*

This is the most expensive MP Seeker figure to date that wasn’t a variant of one that has already been done. That combined with the fact that Dirge was not hugely popular means that this will be a miss for a lot of folk. But if you are a MP or Seeker completionist or otherwise, like me, are one of the few Dirge fans out there then this is a nice way to end the Masterpiece Seeker line and will complete your collection nicely.

Got something you want to say about this figure? Would love to read it in the comments section below!

Transformer Multiverse Toy Galleries

Multiverse Dirt Boss Toys Gallery

March 11, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

The second of my Multiverse galleries. Dirt Boss first showed up in the Cybertron cartoon and toyline and due to his cool Monster Truck mode showed up in two more!

Note: Not featured here is Dirt Boss the forklift from the ROTF Toyline/Animated Cartoon as he is considered a completely different character.

Individual Figure Pic’s

Name: Dirt Boss
Toyline: Cybertron
Mode: Robot

Name: Dirt Boss
Toyline: Bot Shots
Mode: Robot

Name: Dirt Boss
Toyline: Attacktix
Mode: Robot

Comparison Pic’s

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – LG40 Astrotrain

February 7, 2017 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Astrotrain – truly a mainstay of the Decepticons in fiction since he first turned up in the G1 cartoon waaay back in 1985. And why not – he is a Giant Robot that turns into a Space Shuttle and a Train! I’m sorry but things don’t get much cooler than that! Despite being immensely popular in the cartoon and there rarely having been a G1 comic in the last decade that hasn’t featured him extensively (always the troop transport aren’t ya, ya poor bugger! To think back in the cartoon you became god of a moon!) Astrotrain has received very few toys over the years. I suppose it’s not the easiest to design, a train and shuttle in one. But now we have one again and he is a Headmaster no less! So let’s get on with the review of the Legends series LG40 Astrotrain!

Please note: Legends Astrotrain is a tweaking of Titans Return Sentinel Prime so I will be making several references. For my review of TR Sentinel Prime please read HERE.

Space Shuttle Mode

Quite flat but certainly a nicely shaped shuttle. There are several options as to where you can place the guns, either on the sides or on the top (I go for the sides personally). Astrotrain’s Headmaster can sit in either the little cockpit at the back between the tailfins or can sit in one of the gun turrets on the side. Despite the great Tak/Tom colour scheme designed to make him look a lot like the G1 cartoon, he still looks a little bland in this mode. However they have at least coloured the windows of the cockpit, something that the Sentinel Prime figure was sorely lacking and from photos I’ve seen the TR version of Astrotrain suffers from this as well.

*Surely one of them will make it to Cybertron*

Train Mode

It’s a damn weird train! Looks like a Cybertronian train of some kind because I don’t think we have trains like this on earth, even in Japan. Like the shuttle version, the train’s windows have added colour here in order to highlight them and the gun ports on the top of the train have been coloured differently to the section (Astrotrains robot arms) that they protrude from. That and the overall colour scheme make this a far superior looking train to Sentinel Prime who looked like a bright red and orange stick. Given you can now make out the train wheels and the trains cabin, it really gives a sense of scale to the toy, that this is a big-arse Cybertronian transport!

*A **JNR Class D51 Steam Locomotive from 1936**. A **Tsubame 800 Bullet Train from 2004**. Does that mean we will see the new Astrotrain on the tracks in Japan around the year 2090?*

Robot Mode

What a butch looking Astrotrain! In fact I think probably the best looking official Astrotrain toy we have ever had! No chest boobs and static arms like the G1 toy, no giant back fins like the Timelines version and he certainly stands quite literally head and shoulders above the Classics version. Good articulation on all extremities, nicely poseable and a good paint job. I like how both his hand guns can join together to become one long rifle much like the G1 toy was sporting. He is of course a Headmaster and his Headmaster partner (whose name is actually Head Master – no points for originality there) can come off and be replaced with any other Headmaster. A great gimmick for little kids and my son loves it, but for myself as a grown up fan I just want Astrotrain himself.

*Sentinel is a reminder to Astrotrain to always wear sunscreen*

Overall

This is a great Astrotrain! Yes the shuttle mode is a tiny bit flat and bland and the train mode is a bit alien in appearance but taken as a whole all three modes work and work well. We needed a Voyager-sized Astrotrain for the Generations lineup and he makes a great buddy for Blitzwing. The Tak/Tom version with the cartoon-homaging paintjob puts this toy far beyond the Titans Return version in my opinion and I heartily recommend this figure to all fans of great characters who get stuck carrying their mates around all day. This guy will definitely make it to Cybertron!

*I gotta catch a train. I gotta catch’em all!*

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Combiner Wars Liokaiser

November 23, 2016 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

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*

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

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

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.*

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

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

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.

Liokaiser

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!

Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Masterpiece Thrust

November 13, 2016 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

Oh Tak/Tom, why do you not want me to pay off my house? Why do you keep releasing these overly-priced MP exclusives that I just have to have? Shame on you! If I was a stronger man I would resist, but since I’m not and have caved yet again, I may as well share with the public my thoughts on your latest attempt to empty my wallet – Masterpiece Thrust.

Robot Mode

I have thighs - I promise! — *I have thighs – I promise!*

Thrust looks quite nice here, the expression is a tad blank but the face is a nice white colour and the eyes are yellow just like in the cartoon. The body has cartoon accurate colours too, though one could ask is this a good thing? In the cartoon Thrust’s colours were more muted and pale then the toy, the toy being a more rich maroon verging on brown with black highlights and in the cartoon he was a reddy-brown with grey. The idea of the Masterpiece line is to make these toys show accurate rather than toy accurate, which means that sometimes we miss out on the great features of the toy (for instance Tracks flying car mode was cooler in the toy than the cartoon but the MP we got looks like the cartoon). Thrusts knee pads are a bit too big and obscure his thighs, making him look more stubby than he really is but he does have his tail wings coming out of his calves and the main wings angle all make the legs and torso work. Despite some quibbles that are all relatively minor this is a pretty damn fine looking Thrust!

Vehicle Mode

The theoretical F15-VTOL mode Thrust was based on has been faithfully represented here. Once again one must wonder if the colour scheme would have looked better if they had gone with the toy than the cartoon but it’s really hard not to love the MP Seeker mold – in my opinion the best looking jets of the entire Transformers line ever! A very nice little touch they have put in is that his wing turbines actually rotate, though one has to do it via finger rather than being able to blow on it like some other TF toys. Thrust here has all the features the other MP Seekers have such as the nosecone and cockpit that open. A couple of extras are the guns that sit under the wings and for once they seem to have gotten the pilot right – it being a translucent hologram character rather than a half-sucked Simpsons-jelly baby like came with Sunstorm.

Transformation

*The seedy underbelly of weapons placement*

Most people that have been collecting the MP Seekers know how to do this and it’s certainly not the most onerous MP transformation ever. I tend to use the instructions the first time round though just to give myself a refresher – given how much these latest Seekers have cost one does NOT want an accidental breakage! A change they have made here from some of the other Seeker toys such as Ramjet is the configuration for the guns when converting to jet mode. The guns instead of swinging out on two big struts under the wings now fold down and sideways on double jointed smaller struts to sit flush with the side of the jet whilst two removable guns are placed under the wings.

So is Thrust worth getting?

For the exorbitant price tag I’d say unless you are a mad TF collector then no. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great robot and a brilliant jet, but because of the toys exclusive status they have ramped up the price to a level that is verging on the rip-off side. But if you ARE a mad TF collector like me then he is a must have. Can’t wait to get Thundercracker and Dirge so my MP Seeker collection can be complete!

Transformatorium, Transformer Toy Reviews

Toy Review – Titans Return Soundwave

August 22, 2016 Big Angry Trev Leave a comment

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.

Robot Mode

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

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

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

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!

Big Angry Trev!

Tag Archives: Decepticon

Toy Review: LG60 Overlord

Toy Review – LG43 Trypticon vs Titans Return Trypticon

Titans Return Trypticon – the simple hip fix!

Movie Review – Transformers: The Last Knight

Toy Review – MP-11ND Dirge

Multiverse Dirt Boss Toys Gallery

Toy Review – LG40 Astrotrain

Toy Review – Combiner Wars Liokaiser

Toy Review – Masterpiece Thrust

Toy Review – Titans Return Soundwave

Join the Trevolution!