Transformers 3rd Party: Mech Ideas - Gauntlet DC-03

The bad thing about having so many hobbies and blogs is that sometimes things fall into a crack and go unnoticed for far too long. This is the case with this posts' topic, Mech Idea's Gauntlet. When newcomer to the 3rd party scene, Mach 5, wasn't able to pull off their first release Mech Ideas came into the picture at some point and released Gauntlet and Piston. Back in the fall of 2014 I did a post on Piston, but Gauntlet's post never happened. As I was going through my large folder of unedited photos one evening I came across the images I snapped some time ago. It appears I have lost some of the original images so this won't be a normal post. For a full review if you will of this particular mold, check out my post on Piston.

Part of Mech Ideas' Demolition Crue (along w/ Apex and Geminus), Gauntlet shares the same style packaging as Piston. The monochrome colors are a nice touch when compared to today's slick 3rd party packaging. Gauntlet comes packaged in robot mode inside a plastic form fitting clamshell insert, but since something happened to most of the pictures I had of him in robot mode, let's start with his vehicle mode.

   

Gauntlet of course is modeled after IDW's take on the G1 Autobot, Ironfist. I don't follow the TF comics any longer so I'm not sure what the character was like in the stories, but he isn't the Ironfist I know. This new form however is still modeled after a humvee type vehicle. This version though seems to be SD (super deformed) humvee. The toy is also small, not quite as big as a deluxe and not quite as small as a scout. His weapon mounts to the top of the vehicle and can be removed. The yellow cannon then pulls out to become his gun he wields in robot mode.

Ironfist was originally a Lightformer and his G1 toy was not released in the US or Japan, but in the European and Australian markets. As you can see the designer of Gauntlet took a lot of the design elements of the G1 toy, especially the weapon. However the Lightformer "viewmaster" gimmick was not retained. Here beside his G1 self, you can really see just how small this toy is.

Ironfist without his weapon still has a great looking vehicle mode, however if you take the weapon off Gauntlet he just looks like a little armored car. I've heard someone say he looks like an upgraded Roller. Gauntlet is cast is a very light gray/blue colored plastic and there are virtually no paint apps so he just looks really bland without his weapon attached.

Once you unfold Gauntlet into his robot mode he looks great. I don't mind a small, short robot when he has some girth. This is how Brawn was portrayed in the animated series. As you can see Piston has the same look, only his weapons can be attached on his shoulders...after all he is based on the Triggercon, Crankcase. Gauntlet has a great head sculpt and I'm disappointed that I don't have a close up shot. There isn't any light piping on the head sadly.

While Gauntlet still may not have a lot of paint apps in robot mode, at least the different colored plastic helps make the robot form look so good. For such a small robot, he packs a good bit of articulation. His shoulders and elbows are ball joints, as are his hips. He has a hinge joint for his knee and he has a little bit of ankle articulation as well.

I'm a little removed from the Transformers 3rd party scene these days so I don't know if any of the major online retailers still stock Gauntlet or not, but if you are interested in this toy it does appear that he can be had from sellers on the secondary market for a decent price. Once I find a little more time I'll probably be adding be adding this toy to my eBay store as I just don't have a place for him in my collection any longer. I'm grateful that Mech Ideas swooped in and helped get this toy to the market as its a fun toy with a decent transformation.

KO Korner: G1 Transformers Egale Jet SY-812 "Snare"

The next entry into the Transformers KO Korner is yet another Decepticon Predator jet, Snare. This is the second KO Predator jet that I've acquired for my personal collection, however it falls a little short when compared to the other I own ("Falcon").

If you didn't know your Transformers and may have wondered if this was a legitimate toy or not, the name alone should have been a dead giveaway. Egale Jet...ha. I'm sure it was meant to be Eagle Jet, but whatever. What we have here is a blue and yellow KO of the Decepticon Predator, Snare. The packaging was a little rough when I received it in the mail. As you can see one corner of the blister card was bent. What you may not be able to see is that the blister bubble was attached with staples. I'm guessing the previous owner wanted to keep it on the card and when the glue started to wear off added the staples to keep the bubble intact. Personally I didn't care as I knew I'd be opening the toy upon arrival.

He comes packaged in vehicle mode with a spring loaded missile launcher and 3 missiles attached to the spruce. The plastic felt like that cheap, hard variety where you have to be careful moving parts around due to the plastic possibly breaking in half. The toy itself mirrors the original Takara mold quite well, but the nose of the jet has an ever slight gap. The stickers are cheap, paper thin and the adhesive was all but gone once I got him out of the packaging.

This mold isn't my favorite of the Predator jets to begin with. I only picked it up because I got it from the same seller that I got "Falcon" from. I don't like how the arms protrude out so far towards the front of the jet and I think the wings are little too short. I like the blue and yellow on the toy however. I should point out that the included missiles are the wrong type. The correct missiles have a hole that allows them to be attached underneath the wings. The missiles that came with the toy actually belong to the Autobot Turbomasters.

Transformation is rather simple and unimaginative. I did have a harder time with this one to get the metal screw to slide along the groove during transformation. Partly due to the hard plastic and exposed excess plastic that was never shaved off. Without any paint apps or stickers he looks really plain in robot mode.

Head sculpt is dead on when compared to the original, however again without any paint apps it just blends in with the rest of the yellow plastic. Too bad because I like the look of the sculpt.

Overall this KO is a disappointment. I know that sounds like an odd statement for me to make, but most of the KO toys I own have their own unique charm...except this guy. He can hold his weapon, barely, and it does fire a missile even though it's the wrong missile to begin with. I've never seen this guy in anyone else's collection or for sale before so I doubt many will have the opportunity to buy this toy in the first place, but if you do come across one in the wild just do yourself a favor and stay away from this toy...far away!