Name: Rhinohorn (Ramhorn)

Line: 3rd Party Transformers

Series: Cassettes

Size Class: Masterpiece/G1 Cassettes

Producer: KFC

Year of release: 2013

Usually the sole purpose of a review is to, well, review the subject. And I usually follow this traditional trend. However, this particular review will serve two goals and the critical presentation of the figure is going to be the secondary one. The thing is, I wanted to test a new setup of lights and background, so I decided to go with a, let’s call it, less significant figure than most of the 3rd Party Transformers depicted in my blog. This is the review of Rhinohorn released by the company KFC.

Ok, let me start with a short explanation. Why do I perceive the figure as a less significant one than others? Well, due to two reasons, actually. First, I bought it as a kind of curiosity, which cost me less than it normally would. You see, the online store where I usually purchase my 3rd Party Transformers, has this shipping policy of charging a rather high flat fee for shipment to my country, unless the total amount for a particular order exceeds a certain threshold. And in such a case the shipping is free. Which naturally leads to me always attempting to get enough figures to make it to the threshold. Don’t get me wrong, it is really easy to stuff my virtual shopping cart with enough toys to reach practically any quota, but there is this tingling sensation involved, a voice of reason if you will. And if this voice sounds very similar to the angry tone of one collector’s Wife, then it’s best to shop with care. So there I was one time, with all the pre-planned items already in my cart and the threshold almost reached. I didn’t want to add another expensive figure (voice of reason was awfully clear on that matter), so I decided to throw in something small and not too pricy, something that wasn’t exactly at the top of my must-have list, but nonetheless did catch my eye. And thus I got me a free shipping on my order and my very first product by KFC.

Ah yes, the company itself is the second reason why this figure can be viewed as something inferior. And no, the producer has nothing to do with the famous poultry-themed fast food franchise. The abbreviation is actually for Keith’s Fantasy Club, but the connotation is definitely not a coincidence, which becomes obvious once you look at the toy-maker’s logo. I guess there’s a joke there somewhere, but I personally don’t find it too funny, especially considering the looming shadow of a lawsuit if the company were to become really big and successful one day. Anyway, it’s a very small firm, that decided to dive into the 3rd Party ocean in 2013 with the idea of occupying the niche of G1-styled transforming cassettes. They quickly acquired the reputation of an underdog, yet I really liked the designs of some of their figures, so I decided to give one a go. So let’s finally get to KFC’s Rhinohorn.

What convinced me to buy this guy in spite of the negative vibe surrounding the producer, and what hits me whenever I look at him in person or in photos, is how accurate he looks. If you know anything about the G1 era of Transformers, be it the cartoon or any of the comics continuities, you immediately recognize him as one of Blaster’s cassettes: Ramhorn. Yeah, it’s again the case of little to no effort given to actually modify the name of the character that the figure is the homage to. Lemmie also add that the box presents a short story of how Rhinohorn befriended a transforming robot called Blast. Mister Keith either has a kick-ass lawyer at his Fantasy Club or a whole bucket of self-confidence. See, I can make Kentucky Fried Chicken-related jokes too!

Based on the history of their cassette-themed releases, I expected Rhinohorn to be poorly designed or of questionable quality. Or both. I expected it to become a display-only piece, handled carefully and never fiddled with, good only for its looks. And the figure surely wins in that department, conveying the look of the character perfectly.

All the familiar details are in place, from the horned head with the angry-ish stare to the golden missile packs in the back.

I gotta admit the figure looks really solid both from the top and from the sides. The front is also fine, providing you lower the head. The massive number of details molded all over the body and the smart placements of parts nicely add up to enhance the illusion of the toy not being hollow inside. Remember that this fellow has to transform into a cassette – an extremely flat object deprived of the mass needed to actually form a bulky mechanical rhino. Of course you can immediately see the emptiness of his inside when you view him from behind or underneath, but, given the nature of the character and the size of the figure, I can’t really see a way to tackle this better than KFC did. I am actually impressed with how well their mold looks and feels. If you are not convinced, think back to the pancake-flat G1 version.

Apart from the delicious detailing and the cartoon/comic-accurate color scheme (what’s with the silver missile pods on the G1 toy anyway??), Rhinohorn features a wide range of articulation points. His legs enable him to achieve any pose a rhino needs: from resting, through running, to standing straight. Thanks to the transformation you can also move his sides further apart at the bottom, which (if done without exaggeration and viewed from a certain angle) adds to the look of an animal resting firmly on its feet.

The leg articulation is satisfyingly functional, but it’s the head that shines. Not only does the mouth open and the neck moves up and down, but the head itself is on a separate ball joint. All this makes Rhinohorn very emotive – which is quite an achievement for a non-humanoid Transformer.

To show you how beneficial this level of articulation is, let me compare KFC’s Ramhorn to a Masterpiece cassette-beast: Ravage.

Both figures share a similar level of leg poseability, but the pose you see here is all that Ravage can achieve in terms of neck, head or mouth articulation. Kinda lame, huh? I remember I was a bit disappointed with this when I opened my Masterpiece Soundwave set, but the overall epicness of the other figures in the set cloaked the Decepticon panther’s flaws from me. I even wrote in my review that Ravage is not too impressive but you can’t really expect much more. And I actually felt that way – until I got to play with Rhinohorn. Let me tell you something: if I were to call one of these guys a masterpiece, it wouldn’t be the one licensed to bear that name. As a final proof of articulation-wise awesomeness of the Autobot rhino, I present a comparison with the Universe version of Ravage. I believe no further commentary is required on that matter.

As for the quality… I have a hard time identifying the reasons for such a negative opinion among Transformers collectors concerning KFC’s products. Sure, the company had some misses in the cassette department, but I would call this guy a definite hit. His plastic feels perfectly fine, I haven’t noticed any stress marks and I never felt like I was handling a cheap knock-off, which is the case for some low quality 3rd Party stuff. The mold has a few imperfections here and there, but those are tiny and just look at all those sculpted details!

I even went ahead and put Rhinohorn next to Perfect Effect’s not-Frenzy, and you know how high I value this little guy.

Most of the joints are safely stiff and I goofed around with the figure for quite some time now. The ankles are a tad more loose than the hips, but they are nowhere near uncomfortable floppiness. The only issue that I experienced is the horn. As you can see, it’s mounted on a simple swivel due to the transformation and the irregular shape of the revolving piece makes the joint loose whenever it’s not in one of two ‘preferred’ positions: the one in the picture above or fully folded. This leads to the horn swiveling around if moved from the designated spot. It for example ends up pointing straight outwards, which can be seen in a few photos throughout the review. But it’s really a minor thing and did nothing to ruin the fun I had while posing Rhinohorn.

On to the alt mode.

It’s a cassette, alright. The details match the theme of G1 (and Masterpiece) cassettes having traditional features of these mystical items unknown to those born in the 21st century. I appreciate how instead of the copyright-forbidden Autobot logo, the tape bears the writing ‘Fantasy Club’, which could easily be a name of some band or an album. ‘CST-01’ is the designation number of the figure in KFC’s batch and it’s also non-descriptive enough to fit here. I’m glad they didn’t put their ridiculous logo or some other poor fast food-related pun anywhere. Both sides of the cassette feature the same markings, apart from the A and B side designation.

As for the overall look, I’d say the tape mode does a decent job. The rhino compacted nicely into the desired shape, with a few visible lines and gaps (and the ever-staring eye!), which hint to its true nature. But hey, which transforming cassette is any different?

Rhinohorn is of the same size as G1/Masterpiece tapes, but it doesn’t have the twin openings running the whole way through. This means it won’t fit into the Masterpiece cassette cases (which I strongly suspect are regular mini-cassette cases, popular in the 90s when voice recorders and answering machines used tapes of that size). It doesn’t bother me in the slightest, because…

Soundwave’s chest compartment has no such protruding bolts inside, which means…

Rhinohorn fits comfortably inside. If you are troubled by the idea of the Autobot cassette being used by the Decepticon tape-deck, then you may always consider getting the evil recolor of the figure. I guess it beats waiting for a Masterpiece Blaster, if Takara/Hasbro ever decide to release one. Well, there’s always hope for a 3rd Party version…

This leads me to the conclusion section. In my opinion, Rhinohorn is a really good product, for what it’s supposed to be. The purpose here is not a perfect, scaled-down representation of a mechanical rhino. It has to sacrifice its bulkiness in beast form to be able to transform into a cassette of the right size and shape. Maybe it could have been achieved in a more sophisticated way, without the rhino being empty inside, but keep in mind it’s not intended as a very expensive toy. And yet it still features a very satisfying level of mold detailing, enough to make it fit among official Masterpiece cassettes. And in terms of articulation it even significantly surpasses some of them. You know how the idea of the Masterpiece line is to feature Transformers that look like they stepped out of the G1 cartoon or comics and are fun to be posed and/or played with? Well, for me this here is the embodiment of that idea.

The overall quality and design of this figure seem so good that I presumed it was one of later KFC’s releases, following some failures and lessons learned. But nope, that’s not the case, as Rhinohorn is… their very first product! It’s confusing and makes me wonder what happened. What lead Keith’s Fantasy Club to lower their efforts after such a nice start and in result earned them this negative opinion, which they now work hard to revert from by releasing larger figures, like their not-Perceptor and not-Ultra Magnus? I guess maybe they started on a high note to make a good first impression and then got more sloppy? Or they didn’t have enough creativity to pull off the same level of quality with their other cassettes? I dunno and it doesn’t really matter. What matters is: this figure is definitely worth checking, regardless of what you think about KFC in light of their less successful releases. I had a lot of fun handling Rhinohorn for the review and when posing him for my Masterpiece shelf display, where he fits just fine. To be honest, I am even tempted to check KFC’s homage to Steeljaw, who seems to be sharing some construction solutions with the red rhino. I might consider this option when again in need of something to fill my order’s quota…

Summary

Strong points:

+ highly detailed mold

+ very good poseability, especially in the head area

+ instantly recognizable representation of the G1 character

+ simple yet smart transformation balancing between low cost and good look

+ tape mode compatible with G1/Masterpiece Soundwave

+ pretty good plastic and joint quality

Weak points:

– hollowness of the beast form visible from certain angles

– some joints are more loose than the others (horn swivel suffering the most)

– minor mold imperfections

– visible eye in the cassette form

Who will like it:

those wanting a Masterpiece Ramhorn, simple as that

Who won’t like it:

those expecting a more perfect beast form

Name: Brainwave (Brainstorm)

Line: 3rd Party Transformers

Series: 3rd Party Headmasters

Size Class: Ultra (-ish)

Producer: Toyworld

Year of release: 2013

Let me start with sharing an experience from my life. It took place waay back, when I attended the primary school, by the very end of the 80s, when the original Transformers toys started very shyly and randomly appearing around here and other companies smelled blood and flooded the market with all kinds of knock-offs of various quality. I was already happily and hungrily munching on half of the fishing rod, with the hook, line and sinker long digested after seeing and totally loving few episodes of the G1 cartoon. My figure collection was only beginning to exist and, apart from the original G1 Skullgrin that I luckily managed to find at retail, comprised mainly of cheap knock-offs. My desire for more was regularly fueled by repeated viewing of a large leaflet that came with Skullgrin, which contained a number of photographs depicting other Hasbro’s Transformers. And then I stumbled upon this guy, a kid that actually attended the same classes as I did, but one that I didn’t know too well. Or, to be more exact, I caught a glimpse of a toy that he brought to school one day. It was a tiny robot that upon closer inspection turned out to be able to transform into a head. A head missing a body, as the kid didn’t seem to own the whole Transformer. I questioned him about the rest, of course, but his story concerning the origins of the figure and the way it came into his possession was so unclear that I soon realized that the little Headmaster was going to remain the only opportunity at hand. But what a prize it was! It so happened that the whole -masters line, especially the Headmasters, was the one I admired with the most awe in the leaflet. The sheer concept of a Transformer accompanied by a little partner (I had yet to learn the whole story of Nebulans by that time) that could be either a driver or a part of the giant robot, appealed to me to the point of overheating my filled with childhood fantasies mind. I just had to have the little guy, regardless of him being only a piece of the whole set. And I did manage to acquire him as a result of a friendly trade, giving away some knock-off transforming figures to get this one. The seemingly useless alt mode didn’t bother me one bit. I was happy to get the very first piece of a Headmaster toy in my hands. Little did I know how long I was going to wait for the next one…

For some reasons for years Hasbro denied the collectors another line of Headmasters. And, just as with many other business decisions by the big H, it is beyond me to try to comprehend why. What matters is I never managed to find more than the one lonely Headmaster head in the 20th century. Hell, even the first decade of the 21st century, which finally brought us a Targetmaster in the great Classics line, turned out empty in terms of robots with transformable heads. The fantastic Cyclonus with Nightsick set was only a cruel tease, apparently.

No wonder that the moment I gained access to 3rd Party Transformers and learned there are Headmasters among them, I was on board, with the leaflet-obsessed kid cheering inside me. And the figure that I got as my very first complete Headmaster is Brainwave, an unlicensed Brainstorm released by the company Toyworld.

The alt mode is a cybertronian jet, as it should be – regardless of the continuity, Brainstorm never adapted any Earth form. The jet looks similar to the G1 version of the character, however it is not a perfect recreation of the look – the front is less slender in shape and a large part of it is white instead of sea-green all over.

This is a good place to address the 3rd Party elephant in the room. Yes, there is another unofficial version of Brainstorm available as well, the one produced by FansProject. And he indeed resembles the G1 toy closer. I did consider getting him instead, but I chose Brainwave in the end. I will eventually explain my reasons throughout the review, but let me make this clear now: I did have a hard time choosing, as both figures seem to be of good quality and design. I don’t regret my choice, but I also do believe FansProject’s product to be worth looking into. That said, let’s focus on the thing at hand.

First, a comparison to give you a feel of the size of this mode. I chose Generations Scourge aiming at some aircraft that looks alien, despite it actually being designed after an actual unmanned plane. This is what happens when you do your research after the photo shoot. I should’ve gone with Cyclonus instead. Oh well. Scourge still works as a means of showing how big Brainwave is. And he is big. Check the data at the beginning, I classified him as an Ultra class for a reason.

A bit smarter was comparing him to an actual cybertronian jet: FoC Starscream. A no-brainer, really, with the line called Fall of Cybertron, but the effort’s gotta count for something. Again you can see that Toyworld’s Transformer is significantly larger than Hasbro’s Deluxe-sized one. And, if you know Brainstorm as a character, you already see the problem concerning him fitting in with these figures. We’ll get to that later. Now let’s look closer at some details.

The rear has a set of nicely sculpted boosters and contains a little feature that is minor and caused more by the transformation process than the actual function, but I still dig it.

Air brakes!

Ok, probably not, especially considering the cybertronian nature of this alt mode – I am no aircraft engineer, but I suspect air brakes need air to, well, brake, and there is a general lack of atmosphere on Cybertron. Yet, those still remind me of the similar feature of the Masterpiece seeker mold and I do like how they look so I am willing to stretch my imagination a bit further with this one.

Even though the body of the jet seems heavy and a bit awkward, it actually doesn’t touch the ground with its belly and instead rests on four deployable gear elements. And let me tell you something, when I look at this wing segment with twin engines next to double wings and the gear shaped like that underneath, I have a strong déjà vu feeling and one involving a completely different franchise than Transformers. If you don’t see it, then maybe take another look from the rear, this time with the wings outspread like that:

Do you see it yet? Or do I have to add ‘Lock S-foils in attack position!’?

Ok, I’ve seen the Star Wars movies for far too many times to miss it: the rear of this jet is definitely inspired by the X-wing starfighter!

Once you put something StarWarsy next to it, like this X-wing pilot figure, it becomes clear. I just don’t believe that this might be a coincidence. I am certain the designer of Brainwave meant this form to be an homage to Star Wars, either due to being a fan himself or aiming at making his own creation more appealing to the numerous followers of the popular franchise out there.

And you know what? It works. Well, it surely did work on me, at least. One of the reasons I chose Toyworld’s version of Brainstorm was how it calls back to the other fantastic universe that I love. It’s not an ideal X-wing, as the shape of the whole front part is too wide and the twin guns don’t match the Star Wars design, but the rear is almost spot-on. It could only use four laser cannons on the wings, but I guess Braiwave is already armed sufficiently as he is. Besides, no reason to give Lucasfilm lawyers (or would it be a case for Disney lawyers now?) any more reasons to act.

Since the X-wing’s pilot is too large to fit into the cockpit and he sure as hell does not transform into a robot’s head, we need another guy.

And there he is, Brainstorm’s Headmaster partner, Arcana.

The cockpit is nothing special, just an empty space without any details apart from the crudely sculpted shape of a seat. It fits Arcana nicely though, serving its purpose. Nothing more to it, but what else could there be, really? Let’s rather inspect the pilot himself.

In case you were wondering (and I was for years, until I finally found a reliable online source of information about Transformers), the Headmaster that I got as kid was Stylor, the partner of G1 Chromedome. As you can see, I still have the lil’ guy. Toyworld’s Headmaster is a bit smaller than the G1 one. They both have a comparable level of detailing, but the new guy features a better paint job, which improves his look.

As for articulation, it’s definitely better than it used to be, but I believe they could’ve also added elbow joints. However, a look at the picture above clearly shows almost three decades of improvement in the sector of toy technology. On the negative side, the G1 guy, being larger, manages to hide his face-bearing backpack better.

A view from the rear and we see another problem of the 3rd Party’s creation: the big robot’s face is visible the whole time. Ironically, this is an issue that the G1 Headmasters tackled quite skillfully so many years ago and I have no idea why Toyworld didn’t follow Hasbro’s suit on this. The solution was introducing a simple joint that allowed to swivel the forehead piece up, so it covered the rest of the face. Sadly, my ancient Stylor had this joint so loose that I had to glue this segment in place. But originally the G1 Headnmaster looked really good, wearing a backpack that didn’t resemble a face. No such opportunity for Arcana here, he is stuck with his partner’s image on his back.

A comparison of the heads reveals them to be of the same scale, despite Toyworld’s Headmaster being smaller in robot form. Unfortunately the connection joint used is completely different, so there’s no option of putting the G1 head onto Brainwave. I must admit I was a bit disappointed when I learned about it, I really hoped to finally give my grandpa Headmaster a body to hop on.

The new head is really fine. It’s not a work of art, but it contains enough details to give a Transformer with a faceplate enough personality. In my opinion it works very well as Brainstorm. By the way, one of the things that made me decide against FansProject’s version was the lack of a faceplate. I know it’s a minor nitpick, but this is something that I always saw as one of the defining features for that character. You know, it’s like with the Orion Pax figure – I realize it’s supposed to be an old form of a much younger Optimus Prime, but his face still bugs me. And coming back to Brainwave: it’s hard to clearly show in a photo, but his eyes are made of semi-clear plastic, which makes them look like honey-colored crystals. Very nice touch and a fitting look for a smart and good-hearted Autobot scientist. Also, the tiny arrow pointing to the direction where you are supposed to stick the head in just cracks me up.

The only flaw of the head is how it does not click together. The small robot’s legs are just folded into place without being locked there in any way. This sadly means that whenever you touch the back of the head, for example to turn it around while it’s installed on the shoulders, you have to be careful not to start transforming it. This could have been easily avoided by introducing some tabs or pegs or at least shaping the parts so they rest in one designated spot.

I’d say that Toyworld’s Arcana is generally alright. Not perfect, but he serves the purpose of providing a good looking pilot/head for a Transformer.

But no more waiting, let’s move on to the robot mode.

A look at both bodies together reveal that (unlike the G1 toy) Arcana is designed to look like a tiny version of the big robot. It’s probably a reference to the Japanese cartoon about Headmasters, where each mini robot was the actual character and the large body was only an elaborate piece of equipment. I prefer the original take on the subject, with the bio-link created between a Cybertronian and a Nebulan, but this is still a nice touch on Toyworld’s part.

‘Head on!’, as the Japanese Headmasters used to put it.

Brainwave looks a bit bulkier than Brainstorm’s usual image, but I do remember a few drawings of the character presenting him not as slender as the G1 (or FansProject’s) version. And, being the fan of IDW continuity as I now am, I dig the idea of the crazy weapon specialist having the might to carry and shoot all those ultra-destructive guns that he invents. Besides, if you take a good look at it, this figure is not as stocky as it seems at first glance (or when compared to other toys depicting Brainstorm out there) – it’s mainly the stocky forearms that add to this feeling.

I absolutely love the mechanical-like detailing behind the transparent piece on the chest. The overall sculpting is really nicely done, with paint apps bringing out the details here and there, but this chest segments always catches my eye. It’s as if we could see a piece of Brainstorm’s inner machinery, how fitting for a semi-sane scientist.

This is one of those little features that I considered when comparing Toyworld’s Brainwave to FansProject’s Smart Robin. And again: it’s not a deal-breaker itself, but yet another tick on this figure’s side.

Brainwave’s wings do not lock in place, which is perceived as a flaw by some, but I actually like them this way. It enables for positioning them however you like, either completely hiding them out of sight or displaying them on the sides.

My ‘perfect image’ of Brainstorm always shows him with visible wings and the tiny ones that FansProject’s Smart Robin has, looked not protruding enough for my taste.

Let me stress one thing here, because it might seem as if I’m trying to criticize the other 3rd Party Brainstorm currently available. However, the reason why I keep on bringing the other figure is purely informative. I faced the problem of choosing between these two myself and I’d like to aid those of you who might be in the same situation. And by presenting my reasons for choosing Toyworld’s version, I am only trying to highlight the differences that mattered to me. You might actually see it the other way around and decide that all those things don’t matter to you and you prefer to go with FansProject’s product. And hey, why not! It seems to be a really good figure too. I just felt that as a reviewer I need to consider the wider perspective here, since there is more than one option available on the market. It’s the general theme that kinda has to be present whenever a 3rd Party Transformer is reviewed – Hasbro was the first one to occupy this territory, so comparisons with their toys seems obligatory. The real fun begins when more than one 3rd Party alternative exists and this becomes an increasingly common case lately. And, to be honest, I couldn’t be happier about it, as competition always ups the ante, right?

Here’s another Brainwave’s neat lil’ feature: the panels on the back of his legs lift to reveal downward-facing boosters, ideal for short leaps in robot form. Again something fitting the image of an experiment-obsessed Autobot scientist.

Time for the accessories department. If you expect the gun and explosives specialist to be packing some ranged weapons, you are… partially right.

Noticed those blue segments on the sides of Brainwave’s legs? Their purpose isn’t purely decorative.

Those are hidden knives! No idea what kind of earthy blade they resemble, if any at all, but they work just fine as some exotic cybertronian melee weapons. Let’s use this opportunity to show off Brainwave’s poseability.

Not bad for a lab rat! Oh yeah, and as for this whole gun specialist thing…

Brain comes packin’ too!

He can either normally dual-wield or attach the guns to his forearms. I gotta admit I really like the latter look, it reminds me of a feisty Autobot called Dogfight, who wore his weapons like that. Old Brain looks tough an’ cool here and why not! No reason why the guy who creates all sorts of killer guns couldn’t be an expert in using them as well, nowamirite?

Time for comparisons.

And already the first one brings us back to the aforementioned issue of scale. Regardless of whether he should be more slender or bulky, Brainstorm is not supposed to be so big compared to Scourge.

Brainstorm and Wheeljack are a pair of creative Autobot scientists, often competing, always troublesome and witty, sometimes saving the day in the nick of time with a daring idea. That’s how it looks in the new IDW continuity, at least. And, while Brain is taller than his colleague, he is not that much taller.

Aand this, of course, is simply unacceptable. The image of Brainstorm towering over Optimus Prime clearly and finally shows that Toyworld’s figure does not fit the Classics line scale. Where does it fit then?

For me this doesn’t look bad. Ratchet’s height and bulkiness differ depending on the continuity, but he usually tends to be significantly taller than the so called ‘Autobot cars’ like Prowl, Bluestreak, Sunstreaker etc. So seeing him a bit shorter than the usually rather tall Brainstorm seems fitting. By the way, this is another 3rd Party figure, produced by the company iGear and I can’t recommend him enough, as he finally filled the spot for a good representation of one of my favorite Transformers characters, a spot so far left empty by Hasbro (I deny to even consider their attempts at depicting Ratchet released until this day).

Anyway, following the thread of a larger scale…

Yup, I decided to move up to the Masterpiece category. Toyworld’s Brainstorm is just that big. And I think it works. Sure, the Masterpiece Autobot cars are frowned upon for being a bit too small considering the overall Masterpiece scale, but I guess that’s the only route to take with Brainwave, being as large as he is. And to reinforce that belief…

This is convincing enough for me and thus Brainwave found his place on my Masterpiece shelf. This also brings me to the end of the review, so some final thoughts should follow.

It seems that, due to the existence of two different unofficial versions of Brainstorm, both comparable in quality and design, the review of this figure became strongly influenced by the other one. So, which one do I recommend to get? The answer is not as simple as it would seem. This time it’s not a case of ‘I bought this one so I obviously find it superior’ or ‘I bought this one and it turned out to suck, so you be smarter and get the other one’. I own Toyworld’s Brainstorm and I do like him and am glad to have him, but I still recognize the merits of FansProject’s one. And hell, if I stumbled upon some great bargain, then I might get the other one too!

You see, Brainwave here is the bulkier and significantly larger bot. He offers a number of cool little features and details. Also, his prominent wings and faceplate bring about the nostalgic feel of the character for me, as I never had the G1 toy and knew him only from the comics. All this translates to him being a decent Masterpiece-ish version of Brainstorm. So, if you’d like your MP shelf to contain the Autobot weapon specialist, then this is a good choice for you, as it will probably take a long time before Takara or Hasbro releases an official figure like that. If it ever happens.

On the other hand, Smart Robin is slick and slender, just as the G1 toy used to be. He seems to be of the right size to fit among the Classics figures. So if that is the key to your collection, then you could go with FansProject’s Brainstorm. Of course as long as you don’t mind the missing faceplate and if you just don’t care for owing a Transformer that has a friggin’ X-wing as his alt mode. Well, almost. Kinda.

To make the choice harder, Hasbro lately announced that they are about to actually finally release a proper Headmaster Brainstorm of their own! He’s going to be very slender and very greenish and very G1-ish. And he might be worth looking into as well.

So there you go, you got the data, now the choice is up to you. I guess you’re in for a real brainstorm, ha!

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ good design and quality of the figure

+ a recognizable representation of the character

+ nice articulation

+ the Headmaster mini figure serves its purpose

+ diversified color scheme adds dynamic to both modes

+ rear of the jet strongly resembles the X-wing starfighter from the Star Wars franchise

+ twin guns and blades for both ranged and melee combat

+ all weapons can be placed or concealed in both modes

+ a number of cool little details and features, like hidden boosters or the machinery-revealing chest piece

+ the only Masterpiece-sized Brainstorm out there, probably for a long time

– the color scheme and bulkiness do not fully match the G1 image of the character

– palms are fist-shaped without the option to open them, which could’ve been done much better for a figure of that size

– the Headmaster mini figure could use more articulation points

– the Headmaster mini figure has a huge backpack with the blatantly showing face on the back

– this Brainstorm cannot fit in with the Classics line of Transformers

Who will like it:

those liking the aesthetics of the figure after seeing it in pictures; those wanting a quasi-Masterpiece Brainstorm

Who won’t like it:

those preferring a more faithful representation of the G1 version of the character; those wanting a Brainstorm of the Classics scale

Name: RC (Arcee)

Line: 3rd Party Transformers

Series: Motobots

Size Class: Deluxe (-ish)

Producer: Perfect Effect

Year of release: 2012

This time I’m going to look at what used to be a kind of unfulfilled promise – a hint of an interesting backstory that was never told, a potentially intriguing character that was given a dull cardboard personality, the only female amongst G1 Transformers that was reduced to the role of a pink sweetheart – Arcee. I wrote ‘used to be’, because, when times and trends changed and strong female protagonists became popular, scriptwriters decided to bring her back. And thus she was reinvented in several different continuities, often with interesting personality traits and always with deadly combat skills. No wonder that figure representations followed, from awful through acceptable to quite interesting ones. But, as we collectors came to expect of late, it’s the 3rd Parties that hit this nail on the pink head, offering a number of great concepts. This one has the most blatantly camouflaged name possible. This is RC from Perfect Effect.

The elephant in the room is riding a motorcycle, so let’s start there. Yes, this is that version of her alt mode. She’s been given various ones throughout the years, including a bike, so no inconsistency here. One minor gripe for some (not for me though) might be the fact that this figure is obviously inspired by an Arcee who transformed into something different… but we’ll get to that later. Now let’s focus on this beauty. As a guy who likes motorcycles and Transformers I can’t help but smile whenever I look at her.

You can attach small weapons to her sides for a discrete attack mode, which makes her look less an Earth’s and more a Cybertronian vehicle.

I prefer her unarmed though, because like that she can totally pull off a regular motorcycle look. The only element that can hint at her real nature is her palms visible from the rear, but even that could be a part of some unique customization. I mean, yeah, you can point at that and nitpick, but since this is really a tiny chip in an otherwise beautiful and flawless facade, I’d give this Transformer a break.

With that super-fast, fine-tuned look and this choice of color, RC seems just perfect for another dangerous girl.

The motorcycle form of our distress-causing damsel nicely fits modern G.I. Joe figures.

Of course a plastic figure won’t ever sit as comfortably on a bike as a soft-bodied human would (I elaborated on that subject in my Bruder’s Landrover review), but the thin middle section allows a rider with flexible hip articulation for all the dynamic and cool-looking poses that a scaled model would. This makes RC also a great diorama prop for 1:18-scaled photos, if you are willing to use an expensive 3rd Party Transformer as a mere vehicle. But hey, there’s no harm in that and she does bring this most unique yet realistic motorcycle look to the table.

Oh, and since this is not the first Perfect Effect figure that I have…

Think we should allow the lil’ guy for a short ride? You know, him being a Decepticon and her being an Autobot… Oh to hell with that!

Wee! He is, of course, too small for the bike, but his hands fit the handles surprisingly well, so this combination can provide colorful material for humorous purposes. Warrior Type F will return further on in this review to repay the favor.

Usually at this point of a review I show few other Transformers in vehicle forms for size comparisons, but it wouldn’t look too well in this case. Motorcycle alt modes are always heavily overscaled compared to other Cybertronian vehicles, even of larger class. Just think about it: if RC is a 1:18-scaled bike then we would need a car of the same scale to go with her, which would require, I dunno, a Leader class perhaps? I don’t have any Transformer that big and you have already seen a G.I. Joe figure next to our lady hero, so you got a pretty good idea of her size. We can, however, introduce the one guy that does fit here.

A short explanation. I just hated the Animated line due to unbearably goofy looks of the characters, especially those ridiculously stretched faces. That said, I can’t pretend I didn’t appreciate the fantastic leap forward of the toy technology Hasbro managed to perform with those figures. Transformers finally started looking exactly like in the show and alt modes ceased carrying the burden of parts left from transformation hanging off their back or shoulders. This was a real breakthrough and it pains me to even think how it is being put to waste nowadays with official figures undergoing reversed evolution to the times of terribly uninventive designs. Guess it’s 3rd Parties’ time to be creative now. Anyway, regardless of my aversion, I just had to get me a token of the Animated toys phenomenon and so I chose something rather small but truly groundbreaking – the first Transformer managing to flawlessly combine a motorcycle alt mode and a slick robot mode – Prowl.

Even though here it seems that the only thing connecting those two is the type of vehicle they change into, they share much more similarities. More on that later on. And since we now have two bikes of 1:18-ish scale, then why not bring a second rider. Prowl is a guy, however to honor the fact that this review, unlike 99% of those involving Transformers, is not a complete sausage fest, I decided to ask another hot and dangerous girl for help.

The sexy-awesomeness factor, measured by the amount of leather-clad female bodies’ curves pressed against super-fast machines reaches dangerously high levels so let’s get down…

…and focus on something more technical – the transformation. No, it’s not the time for robot mode yet. I literally mean the transformation, as a process. I know many people are nagging about RC requiring parts-forming. This means the need to take some components off a Transformer in one form and then attaching them in a different fashion (or putting aside) in the other. This is frowned upon by collectors, as they expect the figure to be technologically able to transform – meaning to change form and not get disassembled and re-assembled as something else. I can see where they are coming from and I agree with this attitude. And yes, RC does require some elements disconnected. The thing is, this time it doesn’t necessarily mean a flaw. Take a look at RC with her first part removed.

What do you see here? A partially disassembled Transformer in alt mode with robot parts showing or… a motorcycle with its side panel removed?

As a guy who happened to take a look (and even mess around with cables and connections) inside a bike I can tell you that to me this looks just fine. Yes, I know that this is a Transformer so I tend to look for signs of that here and am able to find them, but they are really far from obvious. Sport bikes with a construction like that require whole large components of the outer shell taken off even for minor repairs. There is no hood to be popped open, the only way to gain access inside is this. Even taking off the saddle is no big task for a motorcycle owner, not to mention a mechanic.

Even now, with more parts removed, when RC requires additional support to stand, it works. As long as the twin rear side elements (boosters? storage containers?) are present everything adds up.

This is the alt mode with all parts taken off. Call me crazy but apart from the obvious robot palms I still see this as a bike with inner parts exposed. Maybe all those naysayers just never saw a motorcycle in such state? What I’m gaining at here is that while RC is a Transformer requiring parts-forming, this can be easily justified by viewing this as an additional feature. And in turn we have a beautiful bike transforming into…

…this. Ok, if you don’t like this design then I don’t know what you are doing on this blog. It’s a figure of a female robot, feminine enough to add her character and not too feminine to make her look, well, exploitive. Even if you don’t like Transformers at all you should get a positive vibe from RC here, because she could actually represent a totally different franchise: some manga-styled cyborg story or any other SF/cyberpunk-oriented continuity. And if you are a Transformers fan, then regardless of your take on Arcee herself, you just have to appreciate the image of a fembot that a minute ago was a perfectly looking motorcycle and now is a slick Cybertronian of humanoid shape. I understand that pink might not be your preferred color theme and in such a case you could look into a repaint that Perfect Effect thoughtfully prepared: RC Battle. And if you are, like me, a fan of both the original G1 and IDW’s re-imagination of Arcee’s design, then this figure is a double must for you. One: the mold purely rocks and two: apart from the alt mode she is so like the real thing. And since I don’t care much for hover cars and I do care for bikes, she is the Arcee I always wanted, both as a kid and reading the new IDW’s plot lately.

The only element of RC’s robot mode that I am not too fond of is the face. Depending on the angle of view it may seem angry but it’s actually just… bland. And I mean both the expression and the features. I guess it results from the mixture of the color applied and the sculpt being a bit too nondescript. The mouth is almost non-existent, maybe carved too delicately? It makes RC look almost like a drone or at least shallow and non-caring, which stands in obvious opposition to how filled with rage and passion she was in IDW’s stories. I wish they gave her a much paler face with an angry grin or a cruel smirk. Other than that – this is the Arcee we know from those comics.

She doesn’t have any lightpiping in her eyes but notice orange semi-translucent elements on her wing-thingies. If you cheat a little and put a strong light source behind her…

…you get this effect of the wing components being filled with energy. I like it but it requires a lot of fiddling with the lights to avoid such an obviously lazy reveal of the lamp like in my photo. Moving on to poseability…

It’s… nearly perfect. I mean it, she feels almost like an S.H.Figuarts or a Gundam Mobile-Suit-In-Action figure. You think of a pose and you make her achieve it, just like that. Her elbows and knees are almost double-jointed but with a slim body like that she really doesn’t need more. She is like an action figure that also transforms. Before we explore the accessories an additional cool feature.

A roller-skating robot! It’s not an official mode, at least it isn’t mentioned anywhere in the instructions, but one that seems too cool to not have been designed intentionally as part of the transformation process. The wheels maintain their full functionally so it’s hard to make her stand on her own like that, luckily we got Warrior Type F offering a helping hand. Speaking of hands, it’s time RC reached for the weapons that you probably already noticed.

If you are familiar with the IDW version of Arcee then those are no surprise to you…

Twin energy swords with cool sabre-like hilts. Being a sucker for bladed side-arms I obviously perceive this as utterly cool, but I can hardly imagine anyone disliking these. They are just of the right aesthetics for this character, or simply for this figure, if you choose to ignore her backstory. She looks like she can use them and you wanna see her use them.

Both RC’s wrist have this forward/downward hinged joint as modern Joes do, which comes very handy when wielding a sword. I also love the option to store them on the back, both for how the hilts visible over the head complement the look and for the sheer comfort of this solution.

The swords are mounted on a kind of backpack. And yeah, those things in the lower area of the pack that look like guns are guns. I’ll get to them in a moment, after I show you her without the backpack, which is in fact one of the elements that need to be relocated during the transformation. So again: parts-forming – theoretically yes but the fact that this part comes off makes perfect sense.

The wings are articulated so you can kinda spread them or keep them together, and without the backpack you can move them even closer to each other. Alright, on to the guns.

The thing is I don’t have that much to say here. Yup, twin guns, always works, especially if given to an ass-kicking chick. What more can I add?

Apart from that. This review was sponsored by the eXXtreme chromosome pair. Use you imagination to insert a casual slo-mo eXXplosion in the background and a we_are_so_awesome tune.

If you counted all the detachable parts then you know not everything was used. Yes, there’s more in terms of accessories.

Sweet Primus, that’s one long rifle!! It reminds me of POC Jungle Viper‘s weapon and it should, as this is also a huge sniper rife with a bipod. It’s a fantastic way to make use of ‘left-over’ parts and a good example to follow by any parts-forming Transformers (cough City Commander cough). The rifle has one hollow spot visible from the side but even that is creatively used to represent the bolt mechanism. Nice!

RC, being a robot, doesn’t look as ridiculous with a weapon that long as Jungle Viper did and I really like the above image of her standing with it by her side. Naturally, there is no way she could…

…Alfa Trion’s beard, she can wield it!

And looks natural doing it without any support! So instead of a desperate attempt to piece together the last components left from alt mode (cough) we receive an actual accessory, usable and neat. Way to go, Perfect Effect! Oh and want to see the bipod used? We need some kind of base for the rifle, maybe…

…Generations Kup? Why him? Because I friggin’ love both the character and this toy version of him. Because I’ve been wanting to use him in a review for some time now. And because he and Arcee seem to be the two most creatively and controversially re-imagined Autobots of IDW’s storyline. Both are deranged and deadly, yet both manage to overcome their inner demons and help their robots-in-arms, if watched a bit more carefully than other soldiers in the heat of the battle.

Sadly I haven’t been able to keep up-to-date with IDW comics lately so I don’t know if Arcee and Kup met and what followed if they did, but either way such a duo would make a kick-ass team, worthy of a whole Wreckers squad.

There’s one more accessory left to cover – a pair of goggles. And I’m not sure what to make of these. They are… there. Sure, they are an additional thing and offer a different look – a rather bland variant of a bland face, but it can always translate to more potential material for a dio-story themed photo. They are also held pretty tight in place. So why don’t I seem too enthusiastic about those? Well, I just hate to have ‘spare’ parts left behind that are prone to getting lost. I already have boxes full of palms and faces for manga figures, I don’t need that from Transformers. And the goggles have no place to go other than RC’s face: no slot on the backpack, no dedicated spot on the motorcycle form. And they are so damn tiny, so all it would take is a properly shaped small crevice anywhere and it’s taken care of. But no, you either use ’em or lose ’em – a case already reported by few online reviewers.

For the end I will again bring Animated Prowl.

But not in that form! I want you to compare both robot modes.

That’s more like it. I think you can now see the similarities even without fiddling with the figures yourselves. Prowl and RC share an almost identical process of transformation, with her having additional trinkets and gimmicks here and there, but the source of inspiration is obvious.

Perfect Effect must have used Animated Prowl figure as a basis for designing RC. Now, is it a bad thing? Hell no!! I have no idea why Hasbro is now stubbornly ignoring their own old accomplishments in toy technology, but that’s what we collectors expect 3rd Parties to do: be creative where the monopolistic license-holder fails to be. If that means using what Hasbro had done good in the past – by all means, go for it! Nobody blames FansProject or Make Toys for designing their armors for official Transformers. Nobody blames unlicensed sticker-producers for creating label sheets customizing officially released figures. And nobody blames 3rd Party companies for taking already existing tooling and molds and perfecting them. Hasbro is the creator of this awesome line of toys and it’s not like we want to abandon them, they just persistently push us away, straight into the welcoming arms of independent figure makers.

I mentioned before that I purchased Animated Prowl due to my admiration for his incredible transformation process allowing for slick and elegant design of both modes. Ironically, this is the very same design, only perfected, developed, fine-tuned and upgraded, that made me buy RC. Only this time it’s Perfect Effect who got my money. Paraphrasing the well-known meme: Hasbro, wake up and take our money! Or, to be more precise, wake up and at least try to make us want to give you our money.

I must admit I am really pleased with what Perfect Effect offered me so far. I know that at this moment FansProject is perceived as the leading 3rd Party company and Mastermind Creations competently chase them with their awesome non-Predacons following the earlier Hearts-Of-Steel-inspired steampunk designs. And I don’t argue here, those guys continue to give us fantastic larger robots. However, when smaller transforming figures are concerned, I can’t help but cheer for Perfect Effect. As you can probably tell, I absolutely love RC, just like before I was enchanted by the lil’ guy with huge personality: Warrior Type F. I hope to continue gushing over true small-scale creativity and let me just add that more is coming to this blog soon enough. Please, PE, don’t follow all Hasbro’s footsteps and keep up the good work!

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ awesome robot design, usable both as IDW’s Arcee and just a female cyborg

+ superb poseability

+ wide range or accessories: swords, pistols, rifle, goggles

+ mounted backpack with storage space for smaller side-arms

+ wieldable sniper-rifle making use of all parts left from alt mode

+ goggles attach firmly in place

+ slick vehicle mode, almost flawlessly posing as a 1:18-scaled sportsbike

+ removable motorcycle’s side panels and saddle imitate gaining access for repairs

+ ‘roller-skater’ mode for the robot

+ existing recolor for those hating pink

– bland face, with both featureless sculpt and poor choice of color

– parts-forming as an element of the transformation

– visible palms in the rear of the motorcycle

– no place to store the goggles when not used

– first-time transformation can be a little scary as some steps require using force and being confident of what’s supposed to take place

Who will like it:

almost everybody: Transformers fans, SF designs fans, cyborg fans, cyberpunk manga style fans, obviously Arcee (both G1 and IDW’s) fans, posable figures fans, sportsbikes fans…

Who won’t like it:

ultra-nitpicky types who will be bothered by her parts-forming transformation or other super-minor flaws

Name: Warrior Type F (Frenzy)

Line: 3rd Party Transformers

Series: Warriors

Size Class: Targetmaster

Producer: Perfect Effect

Year of release: 2010

This will be a… supplementary kind of review. The first reason for that is the fact that this here wraps up the series of items that I got during the LCC. And also, this figure kind of serves as an accessory for two of the recently reviewed Transformers: Masterpiece Soundwave and City Commanderized Ultra Magnus. But not really. Well, it sort of does. Or at least can. Oh, you’ll see what I mean soon!

On with the show, as my favorite artist used to sing. Since this item is a bit unusual, we’ll start with the robot form. Here is Warrior Type F released by company Perfect Effect.

Heyy!, you probably said, this is friggin’ Frenzy! Well, yes. And no. Kind of. Sigh. All right, the thing is he surely is heavily inspired by Frenzy. Check the evidence in form of comparison with the G1 and Masterpiece counterparts.

Yup, the silhouette, the colors, the details, the weapons and how they can be attached to his back – everything obviously hints at this being a 3rd Party homage to Frenzy. Sure, he is kinda short, but it shouldn’t disqualify him as yet another representation of the classic character, right? Of course not, as 3rd Party Transformers do come in various sizes. The ‘issue’ here is the alt mode.

And what the slag is that?? Well, this is Warrior Type F transformed. And in case you have any doubts…

Yes, this is a holding peg and the whole thing serves as a gun. This means that out little guy is actually a Targetmaster companion. The question is whose Targetmaster is he supposed to be. I bet most of you thought of the same Transformer that I did the first time I saw this version of Frenzy.

Seems logical enough, doesn’t it? Frenzy should be a cassette but even with a different alt mode, let’s say due to some upgrade or reconstruction, I can see no reason for him to stop being Soundwave‘s partner. To be honest I really like the idea and can even see it work as part of the basic plotline. Many Transformers did have their bodies rebuilt and remodeled in the G1 continuity, for example Bumblebee becoming Goldbug or Grimlock being turned into a Pretender come to mind, so turning an already small and loyal associate into a transforming weapon should be fine too. And yes, I know that all -masters were either humans or Nebulans as this technology involved their biological energy being put to use, but please give this lil’ guy a chance. He seems cool and I want him to work. Just take a look at this image.

Two Masterpiece Targetmasters! Cool, eh? But you know what? Soundwave is not his intended user. And this is where it becomes a bit weird… This mold was first released in darker color scheme and called Shadow Warrior. And he was supposed to be an accessory for Shadow Commander. Yes, the Shadow Commander, who is a dark-colored version of…

…City Commander – Ultra Magnus in the armor. Can you see the weirdness here? First, City/Shadow Commander is a product of FansProject and the Targetmaster is made by Perfect Effect, so you basically get… a 3rd Party accessory for a 3rd Party upgrade set for a Hasbro figure. And second, regardless of the colors, the lil’ guy is no doubt shaped after the Decepticon cassette robots, so why would they go with Ultra Magnus (or Scourge, as he seems to be the character referenced by Shadow Commander)??

I can’t wrap my head around it but the very instruction sheet that came with Warrior Type F depicts him being attached like that: to City/Shadow Commander’s shoulder (the picture is black and white so I can’t tell which one is shown). Don’t get me wrong, this does look awesome and the colors seem to go together well too. It just rubs me the wrong way in terms of lore. But if you look past that you get yet another cool enhancement for the already great armored Magnus.

The new weapon can also be attached to the City Commander trailer. And it sure looks nice as well. And speaking of looks…

I just can’t help but admire how neat this guy is in robot form. Fully articulated arms and legs allow for dynamic poses and the head on a swivel encourages to make him give a challenging stare to the world. The paint is applied with utmost care to quality bringing out the fantastic details and thus a figure as small as this just oozes personality. Of course he takes most of his design from Frenzy, but he does it so interestingly well, with slight polishing touches here and there, that it gives him this feeling of exclusiveness, as if he were a special version of the character and not, well, an elaborate accessory.

And in terms of accessories, apart from the signature winged guns, Warrior comes with a little extra…

A small pistol which forms the grip for his weapon mode. Not really a game changer in this form but it’s there so I mention it. On the other hand…

Those bring in a lot!

They form the barrels in the weapon mode or the pile drivers, so Warrior Type F can perform all the activities in robot mode as his Masterpiece counterparts. Well, actually, he can do even more. Remember, those pillars are shaped to resemble gun barrels, so…

Oh yeah! You can use them as attached gatling guns and make Perfect Effect’s Frenzy rrrumble! Oh and while at it, I immediately thought of one of my recent purchases that also happens to carry around two handy gatlings…

Now, is it bad-ass or is it bad-ass? I say it’s bad-ass, but if you’re not convinced…

Yup, BAD-ASS! And, to further prove that our Targetmaster is on par with the Masterpiece cassette show-offs… Remember how their guns can be stored inside their pile drivers?

This guy can do that as well! And it serves an additional purpose by adding tiny wings to the weapon mode. Really nice attention to details, I like it.

And this is the general feeling that accompanied me while handling Warrior Type F: he seems so… likable. He is tiny but articulated to a fully satisfying degree. The mixture of vibrant paintjob and high-quality detailing results in a fantastic looking small Transformer. And remember that he is only a Targetmaster after all!

Compared to other Targetmasters he looks more Masterpiece-y than Deluxe-y, so to say. While I fully agree with Nightstick being praised for his design and quality (for a Targetmaster), I’d say Warrior seems much more on Offshoot’s level here. And yes, I added Roller purely for comedic purpose. Call it digging up a skeleton of a dead horse, reviving it using dark magic and then beating to death again. We all need to indulge ourselves sometimes.

He continues to look amazing in gun mode. He is larger than a regular Targetmaster weapon but can easily be used as a rifle if not a pistol, even by Deluxe class Transformers.

It’s funny how I got him at the LCC planning to use him as an improved version of Frenzy to stand next to my G1 Soundwave on the shelf. And two days later I suddenly managed to find Masterpiece Soundwave in Wales, which both meant saying farewell to the old Soundwave and acquiring two great modern cassette robots. At this point I even slightly regretted buying Warrior Type F. Sure, he transforms into a gun and not a cassette, but I intended to display him in robot mode anyway, so I deemed him as obsolete. And boy, was I wrong! Sure, he is yet another Frenzy, but a really cool one. I have hard time deciding which mold for this character I prefer: Masterpiece or Perfect Effect’s. The first is more accurate in terms of alt mode and size but the latter has this… attitude. He looks fantastic, is highly posable for such a tiny guy, he’s packing two gatling guns and is a friggin’ Targetmaster that can be wielded by many and even used as combat attachment by some. If any of these uses fits your needs then I say: get him! Or one of the other color versions, depending of your expectations and preferences.

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ great looking robot mode directly referencing the classic character

+ very good range of articulation

+ beautiful paint job

+ impressive and imposing gun mode

+ usable as regular Targetmaster by many Transformers and as shoulder weapon by FansProject’s Commander armors

+ optional pile drivers also usable as gatling guns

– really small size, a bit too small compared to other cassettes

– in the end he is just an accessory, a really good one but only a Targetmaster

Who will like it:

those who fancy a slightly different take on the character, willing to accept smaller size and a completely different alt mode; those liking the idea of using him as a ‘little brother’ for MP or G1 cassette robots (for example for comedic purpose); those wanting a fantastic Targetmaster

Who won’t like it:

those expecting a 1:1 replacement for the cassette robots; those wanting a totally stand-alone Transformer that isn’t an accessory by design

Name: City Commander (Ultra Magnus) Trailer Set

Line: 3rd Party Transformers

Series: Parallax

Size Class: (add-on to) Voyager

Producer: FansProject

Year of release: 2008 (re-released in 2009 with slight upgrades)

Finally! Years after admiring it in an online gallery I managed to get a hold of the set that started the 3rd Party Transformers craze. No, this is not the first product aimed at upgrading official Hasbro’s (or Takara’s) releases, but this is the one that gathered enough world-wide recognition to introduce the idea that such accessories (and eventually whole toys) can become a regular area of interest and source of income for a number of companies. And this lead us to today’s interesting situation of the Transformers market, where we can actually browse through various versions of 3rd Party representations of classic characters. Yay, competition, always a great thing for fans and customers! One can’t help but wonder when Hasbro finally does something about it. Hopefully they won’t file a Death Star-sized lawsuit against all 3rd Parties, but rather tend more to the quality and creativity of their own lines.

However, until all are one… erm until things change for the better for the official producer, we have the homages to rely on when certain characters are involved. Or certain versions of certain characters. Why Hasbro hates trailers so much?? They keep on making figures depicting robots (ok, mainly Optimus, but not only) transforming into trucks – and fail to give them trailers. Even though they often seem to have considered it… I’ll address that later. Anyway, even in the G1 era it was possible to design and produce a show-accurate Ultra Magnus with trailer becoming his armor. And later on we were given various versions of the character either referencing the white ‘inside’ or the blue ‘outside’, but no combination of those two. Darn, even a friggin’ Masterpiece Ultra Magnus, the creame de la creame of Transformers, rides without a load. It almost seems as if a trailer became a taboo for Hasbro (and Takara)! I can imagine two toy designers nervously whispering in their cubicle:

‘Hey man, whatever happened to Steve?? He didn’t even manage to say goodbye, they sacked him so suddenly!’

‘Shush, dude! He… he tried the very worst. He pitched a design for… an Optimus trailer!’

‘Oh my! The poor bastard! He’s finished here. What will he do? Design lightsaber hilts for the Star Wars line??’

‘If he’s lucky…’

‘HEY! You two slackers! Did I hear the forbidden T word whispered here?!’

‘What?? No, boss, no way, sir! We were just discussing even more ways to come up with Optimus’es recolors, sir!’

‘Good, gooood. Get on with it then!’

So yeah, you see how bad it is.

[EDIT: Few days after publishing this review I read news of an incoming release. So it seems like Takara is finally ready to walk this bumpy road. We’ll see how it goes.]

And that’s why Primus invented 3rd Parties! Here is FansProject with their breakthrough design.

Hmm, it doesn’t look that impressive. Promising, but…

…seems like there’s something missing here…

Much more like it! As the title says this thing is a trailer set, so it does require a truck to fully show its potential. I was lucky enough to grab a Classics Ultra Magnus as well, so the very figure that’s supposed to go with the FansProject set. How awesome am… cough… is that!

The trailer fits the truck so perfectly that it’s hard to believe the two pieces were produced by two completely different companies. The huge load’s color scheme neatly continues the theme of blue and white with silver trimmings, going a bit wild (but nothing too over-the-top) at the rear area by adding some extra red.

The rear doesn’t necessarily look like something that you regularly see in front of you blocking the highway, but I can imagine some kind of fancy promo truck like that. Or maybe even a mobile HQ for some extreme-sports-related team? What I mean is: it looks unusual all right, but not totally out of this world. A truck with an attitude!

The rear… door (stretch your imagination a bit, people!) opens up, but as you can see the actual inside area is really small, so no Deluxe buddies in car mode taking a ride there. Yes, this is no Optimus and it’s even marked on the license plate.

Yup, it’s City Commander from Bot City! And in case he gets too much heat from Decepticon patrols, he can smoothly swap license plates (if you have a spare, which I don’t, but I consider preparing something custom-made, maybe referencing Magnus’es official name for change).

The plate is a sticker from the set that was included with my City Commander. I write ‘my’ because this is the 2009 version and I’m not sure what exactly came with the original set, I know that some minor changes are involved. The labels here were mostly small but designed and arranged with care to add a nice final touch to the overall look. You can see some of them here simulating vent grates on the side of the trailer.

That brings us also to the visible round holes. Those are elements that were not there for the 2008 version. What do they do? I bet all those who ever handled a Transformers toy already guessed it…

Weapon ports! The white missile launchers with short red projectiles are an obvious reference to Magnus’es G1 cartoon look, with the additional implementation of the golden armament rule: double the barrels, double the fun! The silhouette of the vehicle with the missile ‘ears’ also immediately gained a more familiar feel.

The set comes with one more weapon: a laser rifle, which also can be inserted into one of the ports.

This will naturally come in handy in the robot mode as well, so let’s take a peek at ‘bare’ Classics Ultra Magnus wielding the rifle.

But wait, is it the same rifle? Let’s take a closer look.

Yes it is but it transforms a bit when held by Magnus: it becomes longer with a supporting stock. Nice gimmick, especially considering it only works for the armor-less robot form.

Time for comparisons. Since Classics Ultra Magnus is a well known mold both in shape and size then you probably already have a good idea as to how large is the trailer. So I will only throw in his red and blue counterpart for few takes.

City-Commandering Magnus and Opie. As you can see, I misplaced my red wind vane piece a while ago. I must admit I always keep my Classics Optimus in his robot form on the shelf and I just hate how this thing looks in gun mode, so I don’t really miss it that much. Apart from when I want to photograph him in the truck form, which apparently happens a lot lately. Go professionalism!

And another view, referencing a certain drawing from the G1 Marvel comics, I wonder if anybody besides me recognizes the scene…

You might have noticed (in the photos here or on your Classics figure) the square shaped piece on the rear of Optimus in truck mode. This supports the theory that Hasbro originally meant to release a trailer for him, but dropped the idea for some reason. This of course also means that Optimus, being the same mold, can haul the trailer too, no surprises there. Let me add at this point that he can use the armor just the same way Magnus does, only looking worse in terms of colors, so I won’t show him wearing it. To get the idea come back to the picture above: it works but the blues don’t match and Opie brings in more vibrant red. That means that you can consider getting the City Commander set without owning Ultra Magnus and having only Optimus as the wearer, but the effect won’t be so aesthetically satisfying.

All right, even Magnus can’t wait any longer…

Transformation, phase two!

Armor Mode….

Activated! Now that face is very familiar, both from the G1 era and as the relentless cybertronian criminal-hunting officer from IDW comic books. Let’s see him in his whole glory and check posability at the same time.

I know it seems hard to believe at first glance, but the original robot body is inside. And the only thing that’s half-transformed for that purpose is the head retracted into the chest, everything else is used exactly as one would expect: the figure inside is literally wearing the armor. In terms of articulation City-Commanderized Ultra Magnus follows the lead of his Classics component from the waist down, even adding an additional ankle joint, so it’s all great down there. However… The most annoying part of the armor in my eyes is the crotch piece which keeps on sliding off whenever you look at it the wrong way. This happens due to it having no actual means of attaching to the body underneath – it just kinda slides onto it and is supposed to stay by sheer power of belonging there, I suppose. So, if you notice the piece crooked or slightly slid off in pictures here, don’t blame me, blame the designers. Which is odd, considering the awesome rest. Well, awesome apart from one small detail concerning the transformation process: putting on the leg pieces is a pain. And I don’t mean a nuisance, I mean it makes you shiver every time you do it, with each loud click threatening to signal something just broke. It’s ironic how the crotch piece is just placed there and the leg pieces require you to force them in praying for another lucky outcome NOT involving your expensive toy being damaged. I really wish they had balanced those elements… As for the upper part of the body, it suffers some limitation resulting from the bulk of the armor: hands cannot bend all the way in elbows and raising them higher makes the shoulder-straps detach and eventually move up, but it’s really no big deal. It surely doesn’t mean that Magnus can’t pull off dynamic poses.

I believe Starscream is in for a ride in the holding cell of Magnus’es shuttle. Oh and since another figure already appeared, now would be a good time for some actual size comparisons.

Whoah, Magnus surely grew his share. Remember the very same mold is inside there. Now, that’s some up-armoring! Let’s see how big Magnus is now.

He easily towers over another Voyager, Classics Jetfire, and looks down even on Alternators Dead End. Maybe he should aspire even higher…

Ok, he ain’t a Masterpiece yet, but… there is this feeling of uniqueness and special care being put into representing the character’s look.

Let’s get down to weaponry. Large Magnus has a similar grip to his smaller version, so he can wield the regular Classics’ guns.

But that’s boring, so these can be put aside on his back. Each of the shoulder armor pieces has dedicated slots for one weapon. I personally like how the black gun looks attached there but the white one looks silly, as usual, so I prefer to leave that space unoccupied.

The weapons that you’ve already seen here are the missile launchers and the extendable rifle (which armored Magnus can hold only like that, folded). But if you think that’s it for City Commander weapon stash… you are mistaken by far. You see there’s a piece of the trailer remaining after the transformation that has no other purpose than to be used now. A big piece.

A really big piece. Ok, if you’re thinking that this is ridiculous then I’m with you on that. The designers obviously didn’t know where to go with this and just took care of the remains using as little effort and cost as possible. The effect is highly disappointing. I realize it’s hard to creatively use all the pieces from something as blocky as a trailer but come on! Anything would be better – a more realistically shaped firearm, a kind of drone, a shield, maybe a melee weapon like a sword or an axe. Hell, I even prefer those blatant ‘wings’ that one of latest FansProject’s creations, not-MotorMaster, carries on his back. And this sucks. It barely even tries to resemble a weapon! When you look closely you can see carved ‘missile ports’ but that’s it. I call this launcher form bullshit, dear FansProject. Luckily there is some redeeming quality to this piece…

When you fold it in a different way it becomes this… BFG-type weapon. It still looks absurd, but this time it’s this over-the-top manga-weaponry kind of absurd, so I can see it being used for display or photos – at least for parody’s sake if nothing else.

Of course Magnus can’t raise something that big himself (insert a That’s what she said joke here), so to make him aim it some kind of support is needed. Also, the visible blue piece along with stickers functioning as muzzles add a lot to this form of the gun, making it passable. Although I still think this element of the trailer could have been used much more efficiently.

As a conclusion, I would call Ultra Magnus with the City Commander set impressive. He makes a fantastic impression when standing on the shelf or being photographed next to other Transformers figures, in both modes. The truck is futuristic but believable and the robot looks purely awesome. I must confess I was considering getting the Shadow Commander set instead, which is meant to go with Nemesis Prime recolor of Classics Optimus, so everything is set in blacks and grays, but I’m glad I went with this version in the end. The colors are so vibrant and complement each other really well and the look just screams the G1 character’s name. At the same time the modernized shapes make Magnus look imposing and strong. When you add his somewhat limited yet still satisfactory articulation, you get a Transformer that easily pulls off the look of this uncompromising law enforcement officer from IDW’s plotline.

On the other hand he has noticeable flaws. The crotch piece made me swear loudly when during posing him I was numerously forced to go back to a seemingly ready scene in order to straighten up this ridiculously loose element. The leg pieces make me shudder at the thought of transforming him again, which is sad, because I am really fond of the vehicle mode as well. And the shoulder pieces tend to pop out when you move the arms too much. I’d say he reminds me of a certain Masterpiece figure that I have: Skywarp. I mentioned in MP Soundwave’s review that Skywarp delivers big in terms of looks and design, but isn’t too welcoming when you want to play with him. And the same goes for City Commander Ultra Magnus: he is an incredibly awesome display piece, perfect for a properly exposed shelf space or diorama set. He also won’t disappoint when used sporadically, for example for occasional photo shoots. But using him regularly for activities requiring a lot of handling, like a running photo-comic or a periodically rearranged exposition – now that could become a source of frustration.

I’ve been planning to get my hands on this set for quite some time now (virtually from the year it was released) and I am extremely happy it finally joined my collection, taking a proud place in my showcase. And I will surely get Ultra Magnus out now and then, mainly to appear in other reviews. But that’s it, no playing with him on regular basis, no posing just for fun, no transforming! So if you consider getting him you must decide if this kind of purpose suits you too. Or brace yourself for a share of hard time. Who knows, maybe through extensive training you can get accustomed to handling him and learn to do it easily. I can’t seem to, but I just don’t feel the need to either.

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ creative design of the armor put on top of the Classics robot mold

+ image of the G1 character successfully modernized and represented in toy form

+ below-waist articulation retaining original posability with added ankle joints

+ interesting futuristic design of the trailer

+ live and expressive color theme

+ colors of the armor/trailer components perfectly match the Classics figure in both modes

+ twin missile launchers enhance the look (and reference the G1 character) in both modes

+ both Classics figure’s guns and the new extendable rifle can be used by both armored and ‘bare’ robot form

+ the giant gun looks passable in the longer form and can be used for comedic or purposely over-the-top themes

– the crotch piece is held in place purely by the belief it belongs there

– the leg pieces threaten to break each time they are being applied

– above-waist articulation is limited by armor pieces

– the giant gun is ridiculous and simply awful in missile launcher form

Who will like it:

those wanting a fantastic-looking Ultra Magnus that isn’t just a molded figure but an actual amalgam of the Classics robot and a transforming trailer/armor; those liking the look of the figure and looking for an interesting display piece and/or photo material

Who won’t like it:

those wanting an easily handled and very playable figure; those not willing to accept irritating issues like the loose crotch piece and the challenging leg pieces

[EDIT: I had rehael inspect and adjust the armor’s crotch piece and now it sits in its place just fine, so the thing here might not be an issue with design but rather quality control. Either way, if a figure requires some file work and skills to make it fully usable, then it’s still a flaw influencing the final grade.]

Name: Soundwave

Line: Transformers

Series: Masterpiece

Size Class: Masterpiece

Producer: Hasbro

Year of release: 2013

And so I finally get to review my greatest find from the trip to the UK (both in terms of size and coolness) – Masterpiece Soundwave. What’s funny is the fact I didn’t manage to grab it during the LCC or even anywhere in London (and we did visit some toy stores while there). No, this neat set is a souvenir from our bonus side trip to Wales. You see, me and rehael went to the country of almost-never-ending rain, beaches swept with hurricane-like winds and giant lunch snack sets listed as ‘tea’ in the menus to visit a pair of our dear friends. And there, apart from many awesome views of the fantastic Welsh coast (no irony here, I totally recommend you all to go there!), we were exposed to a local Toys”R”Us store that turned out to be at least four times larger than the ones back home (sigh!). The product assortment obviously also proved to offer a lot and thus I faced the challenge to add a giant box to the already extra-filled suitcase. I failed miserably and was forced to ditch the box. Of course the vicious Fate never sleeps! Remember how I mentioned that I don’t care much for packaging? Well this one was really special – to the point of me wanting to show it in the review – and this is the one that I had to leave behind! I salvaged what I could by taking few lousy photos at my hotel room (please forgive me the quality of those) and asking rehael to photograph some details as well. So, unusually for this site, let’s start with pictures of the box!

As you can see, the box is covered with beautiful details and given extra size not justified by the sheer bulk of its contents. The reason for that seems to be the aim of putting across the message of something special – and that in my opinion is fully understandable. This brings us to the title of the review. Yes, this is Hasbro’s version of MP Soundwave which means that the big Transformer comes with five small buddies (as opposed to only one in Takara’s version), namely his transforming cassette partners. In theory I could treat each of them as a separate figure, but that would make me produce a series of small and highly inter-dependent reviews, so I decided to make it mainly about Soundwave with his little minions treated as… elaborate accessories. This also fits the concept of Masterpiece series, which aims not only at making the Transformers figure very true to their cartoon/comics images, but also at very high quality – ranging from the design to the accompanying accessories.

But enough about the packaging, let’s get to the good stuff at last. As usual, the alt mode first. Since this is G1 version of Soundwave, he comes in the form of something that might be unfamiliar for younger readers: a portable cassette player.

It’s funny how the creators of Transformers drove themselves into a corner with this character. Who knew his alt mode would age so badly in such a short time. And while there’s nothing strange in an older model of a car in the streets, a Decepticon trying to disguise as a Walkman would nowadays draw more attention than he intended. I like how IDW ducked this blow in their re-imagined plot for Transformers origins by making Soundwave stuck in a stasis state for few dozen years, so he could both retain his classic alt mode and appear in modern times. But apart from that it’s even hard to think of a way to modernize Decepticon communications officer without depriving him of that signature audio device form. Hell, even a Discman is already terribly outdated so where to go from there? An mp3 player? An iPod? A data cube reader? Yes, there was an attempt at the first one and the FoC version kinda deals with the last concept and there is even a 3rd Party not-Soundwave that transforms into a micro cassette recorder, but let’s be honest, none of these works too well, especially concerning the little guys. Soundwave’s partners are and should be cassettes and I am definitely willing to look past the issue of the alt mode being outdated if I am given the familiar and beloved look in return.

Soundwave looks like an older larger version of a Walkman. I had one of these myself and I remember eventually replacing him with a newer model that was much thinner and lighter. But yeah, this thing is huge and sturdy, with large clickable buttons next to a red LED on the front and whole sets of various ports and sockets on the sides.

Even the inside of the cassette-holding area features nice details.

I must admit the alt mode embodies the intended look perfectly, to the point of actually making one believe that this is an artifact from the 80s. That is, until you look at the back.

It looks… strange. I mean it’s not very bad, just… odd. It looks like some kind of machinery all right, just not something as ordinary as a cassette player. There are too many gaps and uneven shapes here. The middle section resembles the battery-holding area that the original G1 Soundwave had, but as can be seen this guy’s weapons are not hidden inside but instead placed on the outside, adding more flaws with their cylindrical shape to the concept of a Walkman’s smooth back. Can’t have it all I guess, but I must admit I’m amused with the fact that the old figure managed it better. Speaking of the G1 version…

Here is a comparison of the old and the new. A quick explanation: I managed to buy the G1 figure years ago from a friend who got it from some guy that was out classmate in primary school who got it from Primus knows who. The toy surely went through a lot before it got to me and, since I’ve never been even remotely skilled in the customizing department, I didn’t even attempt to repair it, so it remains in a heavily used state. It’s not very bad considering the age and a number of owners, it just suffers from loose joints and the issue painfully visible here: the head being permanently glued in place, which makes it impossible to hide in alt mode. And thus we get a Walkman with a head. What can you do, I’ll roll with that for the sake of this review. After that the old guy is going for sale anyway (I kept him on my shelf waiting for a worthy replacement driven by sentiment for the character).

The MP version is visibly larger than the G1 one, but apart from that they are almost identical, with some tweaks on MP’s side. And the senior even wins in stickers department (but I think there is already a dedicated set of labels released by some 3rd Party company). Seeing this I once again realize what a great toy the original Soundwave was. There was hardly a Transformer figure in the 80s that could compete with his design.

Of course both Soundwaves feature the ability to hold a cassette inside. And even though the MP is of the size of an actual Walkman and probably a real-sized cassette could fit inside him, the designers decided to honor the past and went with the same scale as the old guy’s partners.

A comparison of the red cassette that I got along with the G1 Soundwave and Laserbeak that accompanied the MP one. I wrote ‘red cassette’ because I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be Laserbeak or Buzzsaw – it has one side red and the other yellow so I guess it’s Buzzsaw after all but never mind. What matters is we got two cassettes of the same size so I bet you know where I’m going with this…

Yes, Soundwaves can swap and everything fits nice and snugly in both cases. And this applies to all Decepticon cassettes…

…of which I have a share. On the left are five ‘accessories’ from the Masterpiece set and on the right there is the G1 Buzzsaw (I think) that I got with the old big guy, G1 Frenzy and Ratbat that I miraculously managed to find here in retail in the early 90s and the alien-looking thingie that barely pulls off the cassette-like shape is Ravage that came along with Universe Hound.

Ok, now a quick look at all the accessories that filled MP Soundwave’s gigantic box.

Unicron’s horns, that’s quite a stack! I’ll address most of them later on, for now let me just direct your attention to the fact that each cassette has its own tiny holding case. Sure, those probably are regular mini cassette cases that cost close to nothing, but it still remains a very nice touch. And yes, the gun in the front is Megatron’s alt mode. Anyway, on to the robot form!

…and comparison with the ancestor at the same time. Again: apart from the size the new guy is immediately recognizable as the same character. He also perfects the old figure design by smoothing the overall shapes and proportions to represent the classic look even better.

Quick peek at the back reveals more of the same trend: taking the classic look and improving it by adding nice details and design tweaks. And to further show the level of improvement a posability test:

MP Soundwave is no ninja but he can pull off a number of satisfying poses. Including gesticulation.

Masterpiece series figures are known for their palm articulation and Soundwave is no different: his thumb is stuck in a universal gripping position (which sadly doesn’t allow for a thumbs-up gesture, do join me in a loud ‘Aww!’), but all other fingers can move, with the index one being separate. I wonder if the recurring motif of other digits being connected (sometimes in two pairs) results from the designers disliking the idea of seeing their creation showing a certain single finger in online pictures… Well, I surely don’t miss it and as for using the index finger…

It allows for this classic ‘Tape! Attack!’ pose.

The palm is also handy for holding Soundwave’s signature weapon – both thanks to firm grip of the fingers and a designated cavity on the inside of the palm. The gun itself has an interesting design, featuring a bit of transformation itself.

Remember seeing it attached to the back of the alt mode looking like a simple cylinder? Well, this is how it becomes a weapon – no parts re-attachment needed. The next accessory is…

…a mini holo-projector that in the show Soundwave produced out of his hand in place of the palm in order to display espionage data collected by his cassettes. Here you just hide the palm (either one, they are both retracted in the regular transformation process anyway) and attach the projector.

Remember how in the cartoon Soundwave used to produce empty energon cubes out of his chest that Decepticons then filled with energy somehow illegally harvested or stolen from humans? That’s another scene that you can recreate with your MP figure. First the mesh facet is visible and then…

…the whole cube appears. And yes, I know what you’re thinking – this doesn’t look too good. For some reason they decided to go with a plain clear plastic for this cube instead of something actually resembling the energon design from the show. I just use this thing as a storage container for small accessories and if you want a more adequate replacement you can buy improved ones already made by Takara.

And now on to the most eye-catching accessory – Megatron.

To be exact this is just a representation of Megatron’s alt mode. I remember when I first told my Wife about the whole concept of a Transformer changing into a gun (I was considering buying MP Megatron by that time but decided against it in the end). She was extremely amused and mocked my childhood’s third most favorite villain (the first two being Darth Vader and Cobra Commander) by describing her vision of the Decepticon leader lying on the ground in his alt mode in the middle of a battle and shouting ‘Hey guys, over here, somebody pick me up and aim at them blasted Autobots!’. Ironically, she wasn’t that far from the truth. Sure, Megs always chose the right moment and immediately after transformation somehow jumped into another Decepticon’s hand himself, but he did require assistance in being used as a weapon in his gun mode.

And in most cases the shooter firing Megatron (that sounds weird) was either Starscream or Soundwave, which explains this particular accessory being added here. And though I don’t have the Masterpiece version of Starscream, I do have his mold…

…namely MP Skywarp, so here he is wielding Megatron himself, with loyal Soundwave making sure his great leader isn’t abused in any way.

All right, time to introduce the main tray of treats from the accessories department – those that in any other case would be considered the subject of the review themselves – the cassettes. And there sure are many of those.

Not that many!! Those are all that I have (and a little extra that I will cover in another review).

Aah, that’s more like it. Those guys came in this set. Let’s go over the molds, starting with the birds.

Laserbeak and Buzzsaw come in red and yellow and this time there’s no doubt which is which as their color theme is consistent on both sides.

Sadly my G1 Buzzsaw (?) doesn’t have his engines/cannons anymore as one of the former owners lost them. Now this wouldn’t happen to the new birdies as all their parts are permanently attached and neatly fold inside during transformation. The wings have one extra joint added but overall the new guys don’t stand out that much from the aerial reconnaissance veteran.

The neck is articulated, just like the G1 version’s was (which I can’t show properly as my old bird’s head barely stays in place due to extremely loose joints), but the Decepticon logo is no longer on top of it due to a special little feature.

A tiny camera rises up from the inside which the birds (well, mostly Laserbeak) used to secretly record Autobots’ activity in the show. Another nice nod to the fans, mostly appreciated. And speaking of familiar images from the cartoon…

Ok, those who pose their MP Soundwave and Laserbeak like that and don’t produce a fake mechanical voice shouting ‘Laserbeak, repoooort!’ are no real fans of G1 Transformers era, I tell you that! It’s worth mentioning that Soundwave has dedicated edgings on his forearms that match the soles of cassette-birds’ feet. You can see the edging on his right arm as well. And yes, this means…

…that he can hold them both at once. Sweet!

Ravage is… just what one expects from a Masterpiece accessory-robot: a mechanical panther with articulated paws but only one swivel joint at the base of the neck (so he can raise and lower his head but not turn it or do anything with the jaws). I never had the G1 version so I can only compare him to his Universe counterpart.

He resembles the slightly older Ravage, adding details whenever necessary (the rockets!!) to look more show-accurate and mending the issue of the tail growing out of the great cat’s back.

Also, there is this thing with his rumored alternative form…

Ok, the instructions hint this mid-form during transformation but don’t have the balls to clearly name it and… I can’t really blame them. I think it’s supposed to be a kind of… flight mode? I dunno really, some people on the net say it’s intended, others deny it. I’ll just leave it there – you saw the image, let’s move on.

Frenzy and Rumble are definitely the most interesting among the Decepticon cassettes that came with MP Soundwave. I can safely say they don’t feel like accessories at all and I would be fully satisfied if I got them as stand-alone product.

The crazy lil’ brothers are perfectly designed to represent their cartoon/comics form, feature great vibrant paint-job and have fantastic range of articulation for such small figures. And they come with accessories.

Their laser guns are the only cassette-mounted weapons that actually detach from the robots’ bodies – in order for them to be able to wield those. This also means that they are not retracted inside during transformation so you are left with ‘spare parts’ when these guys are in alt mode, just like in the case of G1 version. It’s a bummer but there is a kind of solution.

They both come with extra accessories that can hold their laser cannons inside, making it a bit less easy to lose. But of course there’s more!

Those tubes can be attached to a special holder that mounted on the robot’s back creates a powerful backpack, ideal for insane little troublemakers like this duo. And do I really need to say there’s still more…

Yes, they both can take the form that Rumble was famous for in the show: turning arms into pile drivers and raining mayhem by destroying the very ground they stand on. Did I mention their insanity?

While I always appreciated the creativity of the G1 form of these guys I must admit I see great improvement here. Just look at 30 years of toy-making technology – from an old skillful design to a modern one.

And that’s it for the accessories. Quite a choice, isn’t it?

I consider myself lucky for finding this great set in Welsh TRU, especially considering the facts that: a. I was convinced my shopping was over after I left the LCC and b. I was actually planning on getting the Takara version of MP Soundwave (with Laserbeak alone) from a local collector who was selling his, but decided to wait in hope of finding one in London. Wales truly delivered big on this one! Yay for the Welsh! If only they used more vowels in their language…

And as for the Hasbro set’s line-up, if I were to come up with a downside I guess the only thing would be: I want a Ratbat! I know that including double cassette-bird mold and double cassette-robot mold makes perfect sense in terms of G1 continuity, but I’d gladly ditch Buzzsaw to get me a modern version of the space bat. But, since he only comes in a set with a repainted Soundwave, I have to settle with the G1 figure… for now. Luckily he is both nicely designed and in pretty good shape for his age, so I am not going to let him go anytime soon.

But hey, I dived so deep into the appetizers that I almost forgot what’s the main course of this feast. I think Soundwave deserves a bit more attention, perhaps a comparison or two?

Here are the three Masterpiece Transformers that I have. Soundwave continues the tradition of the larger MP size so he fits perfectly among Skywarp and Rodimus. I mention this because nowadays one can be no longer sure of the scale even when the MP series is considered. I’m not saying I hate the new smaller Autobots (and I plan to grab one of them if I have the chance), but seeing them in pictures next to Classics Deluxes (and almost fitting in) makes me frown. However there’s no need for that when Soundwave comes in play. Look how he towers over Classics Optimus of Voyager Class and FoC Starscream (a Deluxe).

And since handling this set is so much fun and it’s nearly Christmas time when I’m writing this text…

I know, I know. Sorry for that. It’s just that funny feeling I had while posing all those old and new Soundwave-related figures – as if it were a family clan of sorts, with the G1 grandpa, young and powerful MP warrior and a bunch of cousins and kids, including a grumpy old bat and crazy hotheaded twins.

And that about sums up how I feel about Masterpiece Soundwave – familiar. He is one of my three most favorite Decepticons (along with Starscream and Scorponok) and the only one of those that I managed to get a hold of in toy form in the G1 era – which means during my childhood, when I actually played with toys. So of course there’s this strong feeling of nostalgia and sentiment for me here, but I also try my best to look at this figure from a collector’s point of view.

The Masterpiece series usually delivers big time for those who seek creatively designed representations of the classic characters in large scale (well, larger than Deluxes and Voyagers that are the most commonly collected Transformers figures). However, the MPs are not equal in terms of… performance, so to say. I mean, they always look great in both of their forms on the shelf, but not every figure is easy to pose or even move around. For example, for me MP Skywarp is incredible in terms of design, I just can’t feast my eyes enough when I admire him on display and I am more than happy to have this masterpiece in my collection (what a neat present a wife can give her husband for 30th birthday, isn’t it?). Regardless of all that, I always approach with hesitance and utmost delicacy when I am to move him more than just in order to rearrange figures on my shelf. Using him in this review proved… maybe not a pain but surely a challenge. He is so very much not a toy, he is the very representation of the concept of a collector’s item, not to be handed to kids. He is fragile and not as in ready to break but as in… not cooperating. He is just meant to be put in a chosen position and admired without being moved around a lot, and special care is always advised. Soundwave, on the other hand, is so sturdy and blocky and all his joints feel so solid that I can imagine letting a kid (a semi-responsible one) handle him for a while. There’s nothing here that feels easily breakable. He is like a human grunt compared to an elvish archer – he has much less finesse about him but that precisely hits the spot when this specific character is considered.

This figure is simply the perfect G1 Soundwave in toy form and I declare it as a devoted Soundwave fan. Could it be done better (and maybe in smaller scale)? Who knows, one can only hope as more and more challenges of this kind are being accepted and beat almost every month (I am looking at you, 3rd Parties!), but I can safely say it hasn’t been done so far. And when you consider all those tiny but heartwarming features bringing you directly back to the classic stories… Yes, I know, I am babbling about nostalgia again, but let’s be honest – this is a large portion of what this series is about. Yes, definitely: at this moment Masterpiece Soundwave is the proudest heir of the G1 legacy – where the 80s’ toy set standards high, the 2013 figure raised them much higher.

Also, I highly recommend picking up the Hasbro’s set, unless you just don’t care about the cassettes at all. But that would be strange if you like Soundwave enough to consider getting a Masterpiece version of him, right?

Summary

Strong and weak points:

+ perfectly translated character’s look from the show/comic books

+ an extremely wide range of accessories including five friggin’ transforming cassettes

+ two of friggin’ transforming cassettes are darn good figures themselves, with their own set of friggin’ accessories

+ full compatibility with G1 cassettes, both ways

+ many throwbacks to the tv series, most of them implemented as usable features

+ good articulation allowing for posability sufficient for a non-martial-arts character

+ partially posable fingers providing additional palm gesticulation

+ very good overall quality

+ solid construction, to the point of merging the concepts of a collectible figure and a toy

– no Ratbat in this set!

– the thumbs don’t move

– the cassette player’s form is not perfect (in the back part) which ruins the illusion of the alt mode a bit

Who will like it:

those who love Soundwave and/or the whole G1 era; those who want an improved modern version of the character in figure form; those who want a welcoming and approachable sturdy Masterpiece Transformer

Who won’t like it:

I guess those who don’t like Soundwave or G1 designs or Transformers in general… or even any figures or toys… and wandered here by mistake searching for porn? everybody else: go get your MP Soundwave today!

Hell yeah!