Transformers War for Cybertron - Kingdom: Pipes

 

Earlier in the WFC Kingdom series we were treated with a great modern update on the Autobot minibot Huffer so it doesn't come as a surprise that his mold mate, Pipes, was also getting a new figure.

Huffer comes packaged in the now standard WFC type blister box similar to the Siege and Earthrise. There is a small window on the front that allows you to see the figure inside while the rest of the box is covered in some absolutely gorgeous artwork. The back of the box has two images of the figure, one for robot mode and one for vehicle mode. It lets the consumer know that in just 17 steps (3 more than Huffer) you can transform the figure between either mode.

While Pipes and Huffer are similar and their new figures do share some parts (basically the arms, legs and truck cab), the majority of the figure is new. While the original Generation One toy had chromed smokestacks/arms, this one trades that for white. While this is a little disappointing, the white doesn't look bad. The rest of the figure, especially the head sculpt is a great representation of the original toy. Pipes has the same articulation has Huffer, no changes in that department.

One of the biggest differences between Pipes and Huffer is how the truck cab is configured. For Pipes, the back of the cab sits on his shoulders where as with Huffer, the head sits inside the truck cab. This this new version of Pipes, you have an option of sorts of how you want the cab to sit on the back. Above you can see that the cab can be position diagonally downwards if you'd like to give the robot mode a slightly different look. This isn't necessarily highlighted in the instructions, just something I "discovered" while fiddling around with the toy.

Pipes' accessories are two silver painted rifles that can also be stored on the "bed" of the truck. These weapons look more like his arms on the original G1 toy. I'm unsure if this was an intentional homage, or just a coincidence. These can attach to the side of his arms or he can wield them in a traditional manner.

In truck mode he does share the same cab as Huffer, even the paint applications on the side mirrors, grill, headlights and bumper are the same. The same silver paint was applied to the windshield wipers whereas Huffer had black wipers.

Overall I am very happy with the outcome. Like Huffer, Pipes doesn't have too many official toys so this one was a welcome addition to my collection. I believe all of the original minibot cast have received a modern update in one shape or another. Hasbro has shifted to using the deluxe size lately for many of these characters, which I'm OK with, as many of them still scale with the "larger" Autobots quite well. The non-beast characters in the Kingdom line have been really, really good and Pipes here is no exception. Highly recommended.

Transformers War for Cybertron - Siege: Ratchet

Walgreens, a drug store company in the US has had a good history of working with Hasbro over the past few years to feature exclusive characters/toys. One of the more recent Transformers exclusives they featured was Ratchet from the Siege toyline. It's been a long time since I went out toy hunting, but I felt this was a figure that was worthy of the hunt. Several months back I was able to secure one and thought I'd share my take on the classic Autobot medic.

Ratchet is more than a simple remold / color swap of Ironhide. While Ratchet does retain the same Cybertronian "mini-van" form as his fellow Autobot warrior, Ratchet features a new front bumper and some other slight retooling. He is cast in white plastic, but as you can see from the above pictures not all the pieces are the shade shade of white. There is also the addition of the battle damage like most Siege figures have.

Any good robot medic would have his tools and Ratchet is no exception. His included tools / weaponry can be attached to the top of his vehicle mode. Here they obviously look more like weapons than tools, but if you look carefully you can see Ratchet's wrench plugged in.

I feel as if this "repair bay" mode is a little of a stretch, but if it weren't included in the official instructions I would have thought it was just a fan mode that someone came up with. It's basically the vehicle mode with the arms folded down.

When I initially took these pictures I didn't have Ironhide nearby, but I did have Crosshairs. I always like to include some side by side comparison images so Crosshairs will have to do. This is a great mold, no matter which character you purchase. The Siege line was really impressive and helped keep the fire burning that the Power of the Primes and Titans Return line ignited.

Transformers R.E.D. Series: Optimus Prime

Hasbro is not shy to try something different...even if different has been done before. What am I talking about? The new R.E.D. Series of Transformers. Robot Enhanced Design. If you're a log time fan of the series you may remember Action Masters from the original G1 series...or if you were a fan of what Takara was doing with the franchise over in Japan you may remember the S.F.C. series.

Either way, both Action Masters and S.F.C. figures were non-transformable action figures. You would think Transformers that don't actually transform would be boring or that people wouldn't care for them...and while there are some that could care less these toys do have their fans.

In June of 2020 Hasbro announced the new R.E.D. series of 6 inch non-transformable figures with Optimus Prime and Megatron being in the first wave. The first images that were solicited looked good enough to get me excited (at least for Prime), but it seemed as if it took an eternity before I would see these at local retail. I picked up both Prime and Megatron a good while ago and have been sitting on them. I wasn't sure I was even going to bother with them, but my curiosity got the best of me and I opened Prime.

Starting with the Transformers War for Cybertron Siege series, the packaging for deluxe size figures would be a trapezoid like window box. This packaging design was carried over to the R.E.D. series. The front right side of the box features a slanted corner and some beautiful original artwork. The back of the box features better poses than I could pull off, showing just how articulated the figure is.

The left side of the box features a long window that shows the included accessories. These accessories include two different sets of hands, an Energon axe, Prime's rifle and the Matrix of Leadership. All of these look really nice and are a welcome inclusion.

These images of Prime are straight out of the package. Immediately I felt the soft plastic that was used, especially for the smokestacks on the arms and even the small antenna used on Prime's head. The figure itself looks great, very close the iconic 80's animation model. The colors are spot on, though some may prefer the thighs and waist to be a shade of gray over white. The chest windows are translucent blue and you can see parts of the cavity where the Matrix sits. The Autobot emblem on this shoulder is raised, something that I was not expecting.

The chest windows are hinged on the outer edges, allowing the panels to open up to reveal the Matrix of Leadership. I don't care how many times this feature may have been used on previous versions of Prime, I'll take this feature every time. Knowing Hasbro's track record for repainting figures, I highly expect we'll eventually get a "sleep mode" version in black/gray. This will allow for re-creating that somber scene in the original 1986 animated movie that brought guys like myself to tears.

The default hands that come on the figure are your traditional closed fists, but included are a pair of pointing hands and open hands. These are interchangeable using a 5 mm peg and are fairly easy to switch out. The iconic orange Energon axe works the same way as a fist and can be plugged into to either arm.

With the gimmick if you will being the design of the robot, it makes since that the figures are highly detailed and articulated. Where liberties may have to be taken to account for the transformation of the figure which compromises the look of the robot mode, this obviously isn't a worry for the designers. As such Prime looks fantastic in whatever pose you put him in. Prime features your now standard articulation for a 6 inch action figure. Personally I love the addition of the ankle pivots, however I still have a hard time getting past how large his feet look.

If I didn't have an Optimus Prime collection I'm really not sure if I would have pulled the trigger on this figure. It looks really nice on it's own and even blends in OK with modern Transformers figures. It's scale may not make everyone happy, but scale and Transformers have always had a tumultuous relationship!

I really can't see myself picking up any future R.E.D. Series figures, but I am glad to see what they are doing with the line. The Arcee figure from the Prime series looks fantastic, much nicer than any transforming version would ever look, as does the Beast Wars Cheetor. Certain characters will lend themselves better to this series than others so I'm curious to see where the line goes. In the end though this series just isn't for me, but of course your mileage may vary.

Transformers War for Cybertron - Kingdom: Huffer

 

My beloved whiny orange and blue semi truck minibot from Generation 1 is finally back and sporting a brand new look. Huffer has not had a decent new mold in quite some time so I was thrilled to hear that he would be getting the deluxe treatment as part of the Transformers War for Cybertron: Kingdom series.

Huffer comes packaged in the now standard WFC type blister box similar to the Siege and Earthrise. There is a small window on the front that allows you to see the figure inside while the rest of the box is covered in some absolutely gorgeous artwork. The back of the box has two images of the figure, one for robot mode and one for vehicle mode. It lets the consumer know that in just 14 steps you can transform the figure between either mode.

Inside the package Huffer is packaged with his easy to follow instructions, a gun and claw type weapon.

I'm an thrilled with the overall look of Huffer. The designers did a great job at capturing his likeness from the old animated Sunbow television series, while still giving him a modern updated look. The colors and sculpting are spot on, even the head sculpt is fantastic. I should note that you can pull out the cab on his back a little to give his head and shoulders a little more clearance if you will. Most of the photos I took were of Huffer straight out of his packaging.

In the old show Huffer was always whining and didn't seem like much of a warrior, but this version if Huffer means business! Back in G1 the majority of the minibot characters weren't packaged with weapons so its nice to see that Huffer is finally well armed. This gun is rather big for a hand gun, so I'm imagining it as a more of a shotgun. He also comes packaged with a claw/shield that attaches to the side of his arm via a 5mm peg. Personally, I don't care for this piece so I'm glad you are able to stow it on the back of the truck's cab in robot mode if you'd like.

At first glance I loved the way his vehicle mode looked, however after messing around with the figure for a bit there are some aspects of the design that I'm not wild about. Certainly though it's an upgrade from past molds/versions of the character.

Taking a look at the front of the truck, the designers nailed the look of the grill, headlights and bumper. The translucent blue windows looks fantastic against the light orange of the body and silver accents. When we get to the rear of the truck is when my excitement starts to wane a little. The smokestacks/robot arms has always been tough to pull off and while these look OK, I'm just not crazy about the fists being exposed. So much of the robot kibble has been successfully tucked away, but the fists are just there. It's not a deal breaker, but I wish the fists could have folded into the smokestacks and been better concealed.

I also found the clearance in the front to be an issue as the wheels were really close to a gray piece that forms part of the shoulders in robot mode. I was able to work this loose a little to where the front wheels had a better range of movement. The back tail end of the truck was great with the "metal" plate for the trailer connection to the molded tail lights that are painted red. The silver wheels also look good, though the tires are pretty slim.

Huffer's gun separates into two halves and can be attached to the rear sides of his truck mode. Snap on the claw/shield to the trailer connector to complete the look. I for one can appreciate all of the accessories being self contained, but with these pieces attached Huffer looks more like a dump truck (even a certain Autobot Throttlebot).

It's comparison time! What good would it be if we didn't look at "new" Huffer alongside "old" Huffer? As you can see there is a quite a size difference between the two, but I always envisioned Huffer as being bigger than some of the other minibots like Bumblebee, Cliffjumper or Beachcomber. The head is obviously modeled after his animation model and not his G1 toy (thank you!) and the colors on Kingdom Huffer a little more muted than on his G1 self. Again, I think this is to match the animation model.

Studio Series Jazz is a fantastic toy, but I'm so backlogged that I doubt I'll get around to giving him his own review. If we're judging the height of each robot by the top of their head, they Jazz is slightly taller...and should be. Scale is always just a controversial subject with Transformers toys - some fans will be OK with this comparison while others will probably say that Huffer is oversized.

I pulled out Earthrise Optimus and WFC Netflix Bumblebee next and I'm loving this scale. Huffer should rightfully be bigger than Bumblebee. He pulled Optimus' trailer at time or two so I think he's the perfect size when compared to Optimus.

Overall I'm thrilled with Huffer. It's hard to choose a favorite as many of the figures in the current War for Cybertron trilogy have been fantastic. Huffer has always been one of my favorite characters so I may be a little biased here, but this is a must buy. He looks great in both modes and has a fun and easy transformation. If you can find him at retail, buy him...you won't be disappointed.