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Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Transformers Prime: Cyberverse Wave 1

The best thing about the Transformers Dark of the Moon toy line was the introduction of the Cyberverse brand. I have always loved the Legends scale figures since they were first introduced in the Cybertron line, but to make bigger vehicles and playsets all to the same scale was a great idea. Granted I didn't end up buying much of the DOTM Cyberverse stuff, I was excited to hear it was going to stick around for when Transformers Prime was released.

Wave 1 consisted of five Legends figures and four Commander figures. Let's take a look at them.


Bumblebee was the figure I was least excited about, but surprising turned out to be a cool little figure. Free rolling wheels, fun and simple transformation and even a detachable weapon.


Not a bad representation of his robot mode either. After playing around with him I'm kinda sorry I waited so long to grab him off the pegs.



Cliffjumper as well turned out to be an excellent little figure. I've been told he doesn't play a big role in the television show so I'm not sure why everyone clamors as such about him, but this is a fun toy. He only comes with one blade weapon, but it's the same one as packaged with other toys so I borrowed Ratchet's since he looked goofy plugging the blade into the roof.


Surprisingly good articulation in robot mode. Again the likeness when compared to the larger deluxe toy is pretty good.


Ratchet may be my favorite figure of this scale. Very solid vehicle form. Comes packaged with a red blade that you can attach to the sides or the roof.


I was a little surprised at how well the paint apps were on this figure. While Ratchet does lack some articulation the details molded in on the chest and head are fantastic.


Arcee is my least favorite in the wave. I know you can't really see in this picture, but it's hard to get both wheels on to meet the ground. One always wants to slightly hover just above the ground. Arcee comes with the same gun that Bumblebee comes with. You can attach another gun on the other side of the motorcycle if you wish.

I will point out that a fellow TF fan brought it to my attention that the Cyberverse Arcee fits in scale wise perfectly with the deluxe and voyager Prime figures...at least in vehicle mode.


Her robot mode is decent, but at least on my figure the "wings" on her back want to snap off way to easily. They snap back on without much problem, but it's still annoying.


Bulkhead is one of the Commanders which is a new size point. I don't have any other version of Bulkhead from Prime to compare this figure too. The vehicle form is smaller than I thought it would, but still a great vehicle. His mace weapon can attach to the top...which looks goofy if you ask me.


The robot mode is much bigger and looks really impressive. He features decent articulation in his arms and legs. He can wield his mace weapon in two different ways. Using the peg on the end he can hold the mace in an upright position or you can snap it on his forearm as pictured. If you can only get one of the 4 different Commanders get Bulkhead.



I've always been a big fan of Optimus Prime so I was excited about this release...but it fell short of my expectations. The vehicle mode is decent, but it just looks kind of bland. When his weapons are attached to the front as shown it reminds me of when Rhino from M.A.S.K. would drop it's smokestacks forward and transform them into large guns!


The robot mode wins over the vehicle mode, but the transformation of the legs and feet is odd. I should have taken a picture from the side as his feet are huge! Oddly enough mine wanted to fall over easily. Not the best Commander figure of the bunch.



I really like the Cyberverse toys. If you enjoy small and relatively cheap toys then these should be right up your alley. Now let's take a look at the Decepticons.


Vehicon is the only Decepticon Legends scale figure (for now) and a lot of fans are looking for thanks to people wanting to troop build them. I'm happy with the one that I have. I still think the car looks like a version of the Batmobile.


I really like the look of the robot mode. It's very Decepticon-ish. Vehicon comes packaged with an odd weapon. It's a gun with a blade attached on the side...not quite like a bayonet. The weapon can be attached to the sides or the top of the car as well.


Starscream is one of the two Commanders. I love his jet form...even with the goofy red missiles. It's not perfect as you can clearly see his legs in the rear portion and the nose of the jet doesn't want to see to stay snapped together. Overlooking these small issues it's a great jet form.


Starscream has a solid robot mode. He isn't quite as spindly as the deluxe toy, but he retains a lot of the articulation. The only drawback here is that the hands are molded inside the nose cone of the jet. It isn't as noticeable once you snap the weapons onto his forearms.


Like Starscream Megatron is also a Commander. Let me start off by saying Megatron is a great figure, but you can't tell that by looking at the poor excuse for an alt mode as pictured above. There isn't really anything positive for me to say so we'll just skip to his robot form.



Megatron is molded in a slightly metallic silver or gray plastic. The purple Energon bits really stand out and makes for a menacing looking robot. His head may be a tad undersized for the body, but that is the only drawback I can point out. Great articulation. I also like how his blade weapon can be attached to his arm as such. Bulkhead was the best Autobot Commander figure and Megatron hands down is the best Decepticon Commander figure.



Hasbro has several more toys planned for the Prime Cyberverse line and it'll be interesting to see how they fair at retail. A lot of the bigger sets from the DOTM ended up hitting clearance so I doubt I'll be quick to purchase any of the larger toys. I really like what Hasbro is doing with these and I eagerly await the 2nd wave.

2 comments:

  1. Are the commanders around Scout level complexity? I like what I've seen so far, but I really haven't found many other than a few Vehicons. I was also hesitant to buy more of the same character again since I already have 2 deluxe bumblebees and cliffjumpers. Although that Ratchet looks like a Happy Meal toy, it needs some reprolabels!

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    1. Yeah I guess you could say the Commanders are along the lines of the complexity of the Scout class. Bulkhead by far is the best of the 4, but Megs has a great robot mode. I like 'em b/c they are cheap and small and I can stick them in my pocket. I can see Olivia inheriting them at some point too when she gets older.

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