It’s been nice to see Takara revert to form in the last few years regarding minor changes and upgraded paint jobs. And this is most certainly evident in the latest Optimus Prime toy from Earthspark when compared to its Hasbro counterpart. So without further ado lets take a look at DX Battle Station Optimus Prime.
Robot Mode
Optimus is redeco of the Warrior-class version of the toy from last year, sporting a bright colour scheme and that signature Earthspark large mouthplate. The articulation is good and the flip-out battle axe is a nice touch. Just a shame he’s got the nose of the truck hanging off him like an oversized bum-bag.
Truck Mode
Nice looking, and the bright colour scheme will really appeal to younger fans. The arms are the letdown here. Not only does it leave a gap between the shoulders on the back of the truck cab, but they are a total pain in the arse during transformation as they need to clip into the cab, the nose and the tail of the truck, and often when doing one tab you cause another to come loose or accidentally jostle the opposing arm free. This makes what is otherwise a simplistic transformation quite fiddly and irritating.
Base Mode
The paintjob on this really sets it apart from its Hasbro counterpart as well as the Cyberverse versions this was lifted from. It’s a pretty cool looking base with lots of 5mm ports you can attach extra guns to and will accomodate a deluxe sized vehicle. It’s a shame that the big spring-loaded cannons come out the back of the base but this is necessary for the Battle Trailer Mode.
Trailer/Battle Trailer
It’s a good looking and well proportioned trailer. The ramp at the back folds down to allow deluxe-sized vehicles to enter the trailer cavity.
A spring-loaded mechanism allows to big guns to flip out at the front of the trailer, and the roof folds over to not only allow for a turret gun but also another transformer to stand in the trailer to operate it, giving it a lot of play value!
Overall
This figure is realitively cheap for its size and its abundance in Japan makes it easy to find and import. The only let downs are the transformation from robot to truck and overall it feels like the plastic is realitvely weak and cheaply made. However this is a really fun figure and is highly recommended!
Unboxing Video!
Check out the unboxing video below from our YouTube channel, and why not give a like & subscribe while you are there!
While my son and I are no strangers to YouTube and toy reviews, my daughter – not being Transformers-inclined – had yet to make the jump.
Well all that changed this weekend when Acacia presented a fun and facinating chat about the character Stitch from Lilo & Stitch. She informed viewers all about the character and the franchise as well as presenting some of her favorite figures!
With 2024 and the 40th anniversary of the Transformers franchise fast approaching, we find ourselves moving out of the Legacy: Evolution toyline and into Legacy: United.
Legacy has been generally well received by TF toy collectors for not only bringing us characters from mutliple Transformers universes/timelines, but new characters as well. And Legacy United is no different, not only giving us a new character but one from a (sorta) brand new universe! So lets take a look at Legacy United Infernac Universe Armorizer Magneous …
…. wait wait wait wait, that name is way too much to be left unpacked before we continue. So for the unitiated:
*Legacy: Evolution is the 3rd istallment of the Legacy toyline, itself part of the Generations toyline, of the Transformers franchise.
*Infernac Universe is the reality this particular character is from. It’s a new reality, with it’s name rooted in the cartoon Inhumanoids, but the universe being a pastiche of Inhumanoids, Rock Lords and even the JP G1 continuity(confused yet?). Hence they look like robots made out of stone.
*Armorizers are Transformers that can break their bodies to bits to become armour for other Transformers.
*And Magneous is this particular toys name.
Phew! Anyway, on with the review!
Robot Mode
Very nicely proportioned and with a decent amount of poseability. The rocky details on the head and chest are particularly well done and I like how the wheels go behind the rocky pectorals. He has good articulation everywhere but the head. The weapons are very appropriate – being a pick axe and shield – as somehow laser blasters would seem out of place on this prehistoric bot.
Vehicle Mode
Reminicent of some of the other Armorizers we’ve had over the past year, with the grilled windows and armoured wheel covers. The stone motif is once again in full effect – you get the impression this is what would happen if The Flintstones ever met Mad Max.
Part of the back of the vehicle can be removed, giving Magneous a pick-up truck mode. What I found a shame is that his pick-axe could not be attached to become a tow hook. A missed opportunity one feels.
Amorizer Mode
Unlike most Armorizers, this figure is not fully dissectable. There are plenty of removeable parts, but the main body stays intact. Whilst this may make Magneous inferior to other Amorizer figures, I found that it allowed for a much less fiddly transformation as he wasn’t a complete partsformer. Personally I use the main vehicle body as a kind of battle sled.
Autobot or Decepticon?
He kinda looks like he would fit in with the Decepticons, but his weapons come in an Autobot wrapper. Whether this means he is an Autobot, or is coinicidental or something unbiqutous to the entire United line, one can only specualte – it may be that the Cybertron factions don’t even exist in the Infernac universe.
Worth getting?
I’d say yes. This is an interesting concept that we haven’t seen before in the main Transformers line, as well as being a new character which seems to occur less and less often. Magneous looks great in both modes, has an intuitive transformation and has extra play value by coming apart and being attached to other toys. Overall highly recommended.
Got any thoughts about this interesting new figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
Every year we get a new Commander Class Transformers figure and these are usually highly anticipated by the fans. Likewise, as the rate of live-action movie releases has slowed and the 40th anniversary of the franchise grows ever closer, we have been getting more SS86 toys, giving us screen accurate tfigures of characters from the 1986 The Transformers: The Movie.
Well the Commander Class and the Studio Series have finally met, and how appropriate with everyones favorite City Commander! Thus we have Commander Class Studio Series 86 Ultra Magnus – lets take a look!
Robot Mode
Hiya! Remember me? I got to be the leader for all of 80 minutes!
What struck me first about this figure is the size. Depending on what you need him for he is either too big or too small. For instance for a Commander-Class figure he is much smaller than the likes of Jetfire, making you feel somewhat ripped off, given the significant price tagged attached.
Magnus doesnt want to apper racist, but deep down he’s nervous about the much larger black guy standing next to him
Likewise for a SS86 figure he is too big, the likes of SS Blurr and Kup should come up to his chest, not his waist.
Kup doesn’t want to apper racist, but deep down he’s worried about the much larger guy dressed like Uncle Sam next to him
Size aside this is a pretty impressive figure. The articulation is excellent, having ankle-tilts, head tilt, knee and waist movement – perhaps the only letdown is the arm movement is somewhat hampered by his massive chest. Overall he is a very bulky figure, with his upper body so broad it does not reflect full screen accuracy, but I still quite like the look of him.
‘And you’ll die trying, just like Megatron’
A neat feature is that you can make the chest spring open in order to recreate the scene where he inserts the Matrix of Leadership.
Don’t get too comfy Matrix, you wont be staying long
Vehicle Mode
A very faithful representation of the characters altmode, extremely reminiscent of both the original toy and the cartoon. He is large enough you can fit four of the smaller Deluxe vehicles on his trailer and the ramps at the back lower down to permit loading.
Insert obligatory ‘enter me from the rear’ jokeI can take four at once
Once again, you may feel a little cheated by the size. Commander class Motormaster is not much shorter than him in vehicle mode, yet is an incredibly solid figure whereas Ultra Magnus is mostly space.
However Magnus on the whole scales quite well, not only with Deluxes but with Kingdom Rodimus, so you are able to recreate those few scenes from S3 of the G1 cartoon where they drive side by side.
Unless you rip my ears off, this is the only detachment you will get.
Unlike many Ultra Magnus figures in recent years, this figure is not a partsformer. This has its pros and cons. Some of the Cons are that you cannot easily recreate the scene where he gets blown to bits on Junkion, and there is no inner white robot to replicate the original toy. Yes, the cab can detach, but does not create an albino Optimus.
The major pro for me is though this has lead to a far more detailed toy with a very good level of transformation – not too easy yet not that hard you get frustrated. Plus the bonus of there being minimal parts to loose.
Worth Getting?
One of these Magnus’ is not like the other one…. oh wait
The majority of Commander Class figures I have picked up in sales so have been discounted. Given how much smaller Magnus is than most of them I wish I had done the same here so I could feel like I was getting my full moneys worth. As well as the size I was disappointed with the lack of a ‘blow-up’ feature, and though it did not worry me personally, other fans may be put off by there being no inner robot. However these detractors aside this is an extremely well made and fun figure who looks great in both modes and has an enjoyable transformation sequence. Recommended if you can find him a bit cheaper than the current price.
Did you pick up SS86 Ultra Magnus? What did you think of him? Pop it in the comments section below!
The new Transformers: Rise of the Beasts movie is less than two months away, and figures are already turning up on shelves in anticipation of the latest instalment of the franchise.
When I attended the Beasts Base Camp experience at Taronga Zoo I was lucky enough to be given a gift bag by Hasbrothat contained, amongst other things, a Studio Series Airazor. Then when attending the MTMTE Exhibitionat Kings Comics my son was lucky enough to receive the same! So being the first foray for both of us into the new movies toyline, thought it only fitting that we give you our thoughts on the figure.
Robot Mode
Given that Airazor has not, as of the writing of this post, had her robot mode shown in any footage, it is hard to give a proper account of how screen accurate the figure is. It is certainly a nice looking figure, with an avian-like head, consistent colour-scheme, good proportions and decent articulation. The wings give a cape-like appearance and the missiles on the arms lend that combative look of an alien robot about to enter the fray. The face is not particularly feminine, but then very few Airazor figures in the past have had one either so one could say its true to form. The feet should be turned so that the smaller talons face the front, but I personally think she looks that bit cooler and more bestial with the larger facing forward.
Falcon Mode
The figure really shines here. A beautiful wingspan that can be adapted to a number of different configurations and poses. A sufficiently detailed head and claws really give that metallic-bird appearance, with this Airazor not having an organic outer form like previous iterations of the character. Looking from below she doesn’t look great, but then to be honest most real life birds don’t from that angle either (I raise ducksand chickens – trust me on this) so I personally find it forgivable. The only main detractor is that the outer wings unclip very easily. They can be clipped back on with similar ease so it’s a mild irritation at best.
Worth Getting?
Studio Series rarely lets us down in terms of screen-accurate & highly detailed figures, and has not disappointed once again. The figure boasts a lot of detail, though more detail in the Transformation would have been nice, you definitely don’t need the instructions for this gal. The figure shares much of its engineering with Kingdom Airazor so anyone who has that figure will know largely what to expect.
If you are into Beast Wars characters, or are looking to pick up toy representations of characters from the upcoming movie, then Studio Series Airazor fits the bill nicely and I welcome her as the first Maximal to enter my Studio Series collection.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
Oh Skids you poor dear you – always overlooked. Skids remains to this day perhaps the least well known and recognisable of the Autobots from the 84/85 G1 cartoon. With very brief and unmemorable appearances in only 2 episodes, even the likes ofGrapple and Huffer have proven more popular and its only hardcore G1 & Comic enthusiasts who really know who Skids is. Skids appeared in the Movieverse as well but, besides a similar alt-mode, had nothing in common with his G1 counterpart and is a distorted version of the character everyone would like to forget.
However Skids has managed to do something that Hoist, Trailbreaker and even Jazz have not – he’s got himself a Masterpiece toy! So let’s have a squiz at the new MP Skids.
Skids turns into a fairly realistic rendition of a 1980’s Honda City Turbo hatchback. Whilst not a sexy sportscar, it’s a pretty nice looking vehicle form. What I particularly like is the sloping roof and front grill.
Different parts of Skids open up as well, much like an Alternators figure. The side doors open, the bonnet opens to reveal an engine inside and the hatchback opens to reveal storage space. This storage space will contain a little scooter in the retools of Skids such as Crosscut, and it is a shame Skids did not come with one himself.
Because Skids appeared so little and so infrequently in the cartoon, the designers were not forced to incorporate all the different gimmicks shown on screen, like with so many other Masterpiece figures. So Skids is very basic in that he comes with no interchangeable faces, no special gimmicks and only his two guns like the original toy had.
That said it’s a very nice looking figure with articulation in the neck, shoulders, elbows, knees and ankles, making him very easy to pose.
Much more basic than a lot of other Masterpiece figures, but not irritatingly simple either. In fact I find it a nice change of pace for a MP to have a straightforward transformation with a few clever moves (such as his ankles and shoulders) rather than something overcomplicated which is going to require you give up a portion of your day to complete.
Skids is perhaps the most basic Masterpiece we’ve had in a long time, harkening back to the days of MP Sideswipe. He is pretty no-frills with no interchangeable faceplates, special gimmicks, intricate engineering or vast assortment of accessories. However what he is also lacking is the exorbitant price tag that most MP’s go for as well.
I*’m the cheap one
At around $100au he’s eminently more affordable than most of his counterparts. Add to that a fun and straightforward transformation and Skids becomes a breath of fresh air in a line that is replete with expensive and often overly complicated figures. Skids is well worth his reasonable price tag and a welcome addition to the MP Autobot Cars line-up.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
Just when everyone thought that Cyberverse was over, it’s managed to get in one last gasp of life. Dinobots Unite has just aired on Youtube – a special where Grimlock finally gets all of his Dino-buddies together – both on screen and in their combined mode – Volcanicus.
As such it means new toys to go with the associated media, and who doesn’t love getting more Dinobots eh? So I was very keen to pick up Swoop (with Bumblebee), Warrior-Class Snarl and Ultra-Class Sludge.
Snarl
Robot Mode
Me Snarl miss Tyrannitron
Without the large majestic split tail adorning his shoulders, which made the G1 Snarl my favourite Dinobot to have in robot mode, he very much resembles his G1 Action Master counterpart. Whilst this takes away from some of the majesty of his appearance, he still looks pretty good for a Warrior-class figure with decent proportions and a G1-inspired colour scheme. His head looks great and I’m a real fan of the spikes on his chest and legs. He has decent articulation with movement in the knees, hips, elbows and shoulders.
Like all Warrior-Class figures, Snarl comes with an attack gimmick – in this case a Power Slash. This is achieved by taking the detached… er…. Stegosaurus arse and putting it on a peg on Snarls back. By manipulation of this peg it can make Snarl’s sword arm swing.
Cybertronian Stegosaurus Mode
Looks really good with the yellow backplates and head, making him look more like the G1 cartoon than the G1 toy. Personally I would have liked to see less yellow on his flank but it is forgivable. He has limited movement in his legs and sadly none in his neck, tail and jaw.
A downside to Snarl is that the designers have taken a big shortcut by making the tail and arse of his dinosaur mode detachable where it serves little purpose other than peg manipulation for the robot’s gimmick, so there is no real sense of accomplishment when you convert him to dinosaur mode. However as an interesting side note, the dinosaurs head comes together in a way which is reminiscent of the Age of Extinction Snarl toy.
Sludge
Robot Mode
Very faithful to his G1 counterparts design as Cyberverse is want to do. His large shoulder fins are now at waist height but swing out of the way to prevent major irritation. Like Snarl I am a fan of the new spikes they have attached to the upper body and it is overall a well proportioned figure. He has decent but limited articulation.
For Sludge’s battle mode his detached tail can become a spear for him to wield and he can deploy Energon Armour which takes the form of translucent blue armour that flips out of his back to cover his head and torso. An interesting choice to make the helmet armour an analogue of his Brontosaurus head which my son thought was very cool.
Cybertronian Brontosaurus Mode
I think making Sludge Ultra-class was a very good call in this case, as in comics Sludge is often portrayed much bigger than the other Dinobots when transformed, and by giving him a bigger class size this works well with the likes of Cyberverse Grimlock and Snarl for scale. Like Snarl he has limited movement in his legs but at least comes with a jaw that can open and close. Whereas Snarl has a bit more colour in dinosaur mode than I’d care for, I think Sludge could have stood to have a bit more colour to break up the panels of grey. Overall however a very sweet looking dinosaur, made that bit more bad-ass by having big spikes coming out of the tops of his legs.
Swoop
Robot Mode
Very nicely coloured and proportioned, Swoop resembles his(her) G1 cartoon incarnation rather than the toy. The tail of the Pteradon mode becomes a weapon. Swoops arms wont bend forward which is a major disappointment and a detraction from the figure, making decent posing all but impossible.
Pteradon Mode
The Pteradon mode comes with a big black spot on its head for some reason which you take to be a cockpit until you see the eyes on the side of the head. It’s not a bad looking figure with a decent wingspan but has no articulation to speak of.
Bumblebee & Bumbleswoop
Swoop and Bumblebee can combine together to become Bumbleswoop, in much the same way some figures did in the RID(15) toyline. It looks OK and actually has better articulation that its separated characters (Bumblee is actually even worse than Swoop is!), though for me personally its not my kind of combiner at all.
Transformations
Snarl & Sludge: Given these toys are A: from Cyberverse and B: Warrior and Ultra classes, their transformations are exceedingly simple so easy for young kids to get the hang of and my son did both without any instructions. Like said previously, the detachable backside of Snarl is somewhat of a disappointment. Also both toys are stand alone, so neither are designed to combine into Volcanicus.
Swoop: Arrgh! Swoop transforms via a spring to his Bumbleswoop mode and then you need to reverse it to lock it in place for him to be in his normal modes. Guess what – after only two transformations the the arm clips came out on mine so he was permanently in Bumbeswoop mode! I was not impressed.
Wing and arm clips
Thankfully fellow Transformer Fan Michael Vella was able to figure out what you have to do. There are two clips on each arm, one at the shoulder and one at the bicep. All you have to do is reattach the clips at the bicep and he is good to go again. However it’s pretty crap this is happening on so many of this figure. This earns Swoop Big Angry Trev’s trophy for shittest toy of the year! Haven’t seen one this bad since Rescuebots Quickshadow.
Worth Getting?
Whilst neither Sludge not Snarl’s figures fall into the ‘cheap’ category, they aren’t overly expensive either and I felt I got my money’s worth for both my purchases. Like most Cyberverse characters and toys they are very heavily influenced by Generation 1 and both manage to adhere to this style extremely well. Recommended for younger fans, Cyberverse fans and, like me, Dinobot fans everywhere. Bumbleswoop – overpriced and the arms unclip too easily, I say avoid this pile of crap at all costs!
Got something to say about these two figures? Pop it in the comments section below!
Don’t ya love it when you come across an incredibly cool action figure that you didn’t even know existed?
It’s such a good feeling for the avid collector, but an increasingly rare one. No longer do we only find out what Transformers are being released by perusing our local toy stores to see what’s on the shelf. No sir, we do most of our shopping online and are well aware what toys are in the works, usually a good year before they actually get released.
Well, a really cool figure got past me years ago that I didn’t even know existed until a few weeks ago when I was on a Japanese site, looking for a Wipe-Out to go with my TR Trypticon, and came across this gem by accident.
So let’s take a look – from the Movie Advanced line – at the dark, the dangerous, the friggin awesome – Nemesis Grimlock!
First off – why haven’t you heard of Nemesis Grimlock?
I asked around a lot of my TF buddies and, like me, they had never heard of this toy. And it’s easy to see why. This redeco of the AOE Voyager Class Grimlock toy was an exclusive figure you could only obtain by attending a Transformers Expo that ran for 8 days in Yokohama, Japan back in 2014. Thus if you don’t hail from Japan, this spot of news was easy to miss.
Robot Mode
Like all the other Nemesis characters (Prime, Hot Rod, Primal etc) Nemesis Grimlock has his colour scheme made up of blacks, purples and light blues. And damn does it work! So much cooler than the awful baby-poo brown and death-grey colour scheme of the original toy. For the first time I find myself really liking a Movieverse Grimlock in his robot mode.
Fricken bitchin!
He has decent articulation and is able to be posed fairly well. He scales quite well with other Nemesis characters and his weapon looks like it could deal a lot of damage. Overall fantastic!
Robo-Dinosaur Mode
To be honest I don’t think they’ve made a good looking Movieverse Grimlock toy outside of the Studio Series one. Every other one has got weird colour schemes and weirder features. Proportions wise Nemesis Grimlock has the same flaws as his regular AOE counterpart. But given that this is meant to be an evil version of Grimlock, the weird huge face and teeth with the psychotic eyes work for once – you could imagine that this is the criminally insane version of Grimlock that arose from the bowels of Unicron himself.
The hellishly insane version of Big Grim!
The club can be attached to the tail to make… err…. an extremely long tail, but is best left detached. Nemesis Grimlock comes with a jaw chomping gimmick, some articulation and scales OK with Nemesis Primal, if not the other Nemesis robots.
Transformation
Not particularly hard or fiddly – you’ll pick it up fairly quick.
Worth Getting?
A Nemesis Grimlock figure? Hells yes it is! I don’t care that it hails from the Movieverse continuity rather than the Generations line, it’s still a cool concept. Surprisingly this figure isn’t that hard to find online, probably because no one is actively searching for it, and isn’t ruinously expensive so if you fancy him you shouldn’t have too many headaches tracking one down.
Got something to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
I’ve always thought Tracks was a very underrated character. Despite getting a couple of spotlight episodes in season 2 of the Generation One cartoon, he’s never really done a lot otherwise. Has never been a stand-out in any of the comics and, with the exception of a cameo in Animated, has never cropped up in any other Transformer universes. Very odd considering how interesting he is; a vain, posh speaking narcissist yet still a warrior who took has taken on the likes of Megatron and Starscream. Add to that he had a very sexy alt-mode that could also become a flying car! His toy was my absolute favorite out of the 84/85 cars and I still love it to this day.
Tracks being underrated has been reflected in the amount of figures he has gotten over the years – maybe because it’s hard to get more uses out of a figure that has a flying-automobile mode. We haven’t had a Generations version since Reveal the Shield many, many years ago so he was well overdue.
Well Tracks has finally gotten another figure, in the Kingdom toyline, so let’s look at Deluxe Tracks.
Robot Mode
‘Indeed I am still most slim and pristine’
Probably the most show accurate Tracks figure we have had outside of the Masterpiece version. He looks good with his signature red face & white helmet, backpack guns and slim form. He certainly looks an improvement over the RTS version, though comparing the two you can see how much Hasbro has shrunken the Deluxe Class over the last decade. He has decent articulation and overall is a good representation of the character.
Vehicle Mode
Very nice looking, though getting everything to stay tabbed together can be very irritating. I would have liked to see some yellow in his hood flame rather than simply red like the cartoon. He lacks that certain sexiness that the G1 and Masterpiece toys have and the flashiness of the RTS toy. His weapons can be mounted on the back or the sides of the vehicle.
Flying Car Mode
Here is where the toy stands out – looks really good! The little tailfins that pop up are a nice addition, though it would have been good to have them and the guns slightly different shades of white so they don’t blend together so much. Cerainly better than the awful RTS version and even the MP version to my mind, coming in 2nd only to the original G1 toy itself.
Transformation
What a friggin pain in the arse this is! There have been QC issues reported with his legs and it is very evident here. Whilst you can transform him without making the necessary fixes, its very annoying to do and takes all the fun out of the conversion process.
Worth Getting?
This is a good rendition of Tracks, but it is not a stand out. As yet, for me at any rate, they have not made a Tracks toy that is able to pull off all 3 modes as well as the original. Whilst some of his modes are better than others, the whole toy is pulled down by the fiddly and annoying transformation sequence. Recommended only if you are not happy with your current Tracks figures.
Well kiddies, I know I usually do written reviews of Transformers, replete with fascinating details and lots of pics, but today is something different. Today I, along with my good buddy Brendan, have created a video review. And it’s of none other than that Unicron lackey, the big bad himself – Galvatron!
So sit back and enjoy this special video review of Transformers Kingdom Leader Class Galvatron – you wont be disappointed 😉
Got anything to say about this figure? Pop it in the comments section below!
