Transformers Adventures: Thunderhoof TAV38

I wasn't sure what I thought after I watched the first episode of the new Transformers Robots in Disguise animated show. It looked different and had a more "kiddie" feel to it, however I gave it a chance. With each new Decepticon that was introduced in the show the more I enjoyed it. It almost felt like the show writers were following the Scooby Doo formula...each episode featured a new scenario and villain. Once Thunderhoof made his debut he quickly became one of my favorite Decepticons on the show. I mean, what is there not to like about a mafia like tough guy w/ a New York accent that just happens to have antlers?

Sadly when it came to getting a toy of Thunderhoof fans had to wait. Eventually Hasbro released the character as a one step changer and then as a legion class toy. Thankfully Takara Tomy stepped up to the plate and announced a Warrior class (i.e. deluxe) figure was on it's way as part of their Transformers Adventures series. Finally, I have a great show accurate figure and I couldn't be happier!

The packaging is your standard blister card with the bubble taped to the card. I was surprised it wasn't the type of packaging where the backing card could easily be removed from the plastic blister. None the less it's still some very attractive packaging. Packaged inside are a set of instructions as well as a poster/catalog. Sadly no character tech sec card.

In place of a character card, the profile is posted on the back of the blister card. I'd love it if someone could/would translate this.

Thunderhoof is a beautiful figure, let me start of by saying that. It seems like the molds used for this series (Hasbro's RID as well) have been hit and miss. Some of the toys look nothing like their show counterparts, while others suffer from being hollowed out in places. While I still have a good many figures to open, this toy quickly jumped to the top of my favorite list. For starters the mold feels solid. The plastic doesn't feel cheap and I never thought any part of him was going to snap in half during his transformation. The figure is well articulated and is generally a fun toy to play with. Combine that with the premium paint applications courtesy of Takara Tomy and you have yourself a winner.

Thunderhoof's main color is that of a turquoise blue with black used for the limbs. On his chest is a nice metallic pearl turquoise. His wheelwells are a shiny metallic silver and when combined with the shades of blue he stands out as a great looking figure.

Thunderhoof is aptly named for his animal like features. His antlers are easy to notice, however check out his feet. Hooves...that has to be a first for Transformers. He comes packaged with a very interesting looking shotgun. Look carefully at the top of the gun and you'll see something that looks like antlers. Flip that around and it would look like one of the guns from the video game Gears of War.

Articulation is pretty good on the figure, much better than the poses I came up with. His shoulders are on ball joints, but because of the wheelwells and the antlers there is some restriction. His waist can rotate a full 360 degrees, but that is mostly due to the transformation. Hips are on ball joints while he has a mid thigh swivel. Knees are hinge joints and the lower leg is on a pin. This gives you some movement, but again it's part of the transformation.

I was surprised at how small and compact Thunderhoof was when transformed into his alt mode. Everything snapped together and held in place just fine and his large wheels rolled across both smooth surfaces and carpet with ease. I love the fact that he transformers into a combine tractor and it's surprisingly fun to play with in this form. The "teeth" on the front can be lifted up a little.

I didn't see this documented anywhere on the large instruction sheet, but you can place his shotgun right in the middle of the underside while in vehicle mode. It fits in perfectly and doesn't hinder the toy rolling on the ground.

As much as I love this toy, Thunderhoof is a little undersized. Take a look at the screen shot above from the animated show.

None the less this is one of my favorite RID/Adventures figures thus far. The Decepticons have sorely been outnumbered in Hasbro's series so it's great that more characters are on their way. The Hasbro version of this figure should be released to retail around the time of this post, however if you don't want to wait or just want a more show accurate deco look no further than the Adventures version.

Transformers Robots In Disguise (2015): Thunderhoof (One Step)

I've you've been following the new Robots in Disguise toy line by Hasbro then you know the Decepticons are really getting the short end of the stick. The Decepticon releases have been far a few between. Steeljaw is the only one to get a proper Warrior class release while the others have been regulated to Legion class, Titan class or to the One Step class.

picture courtesy of BWTF.com

Now I wasn't going to mess with any of the 1 Step figures (outside of maybe Fixit) as I didn't care for the simplified nature of the toy, however the more and more I've watched of the new RID show the more I wanted more Decepticons! Dang it Hasbro, where are the other Warrior class Decepticons?! Well when I saw a lone Thunderhoof hanging on the pegs at my local Walmart back in June I caved and picked him up. There is just something about his design that captivated me from the beginning and I got tired of waiting.

Right out of the package and you can tell that you're not getting a whole lot with these One Step figures. The design is very basic, as are the paint apps. However the toy feels some what solid and rolls fine on it's 4 free rolling wheels.

   

In true one step fashion, to transform Thunderhoof to robot mode you simply lift the front end of the vehicle and flip it around to the other end, locking it into place. By doing so you reveal the robot head and the arms and legs spaced out.

In robot mode there isn't any articulation to be had. These are like miniature bricks...however that isn't to say that a young child wouldn't have fun with these. My 4 year old daughter played with Thunderhoof for a few minutes and seemed to enjoy it better than some of the newer Rescue Bots toys she has.

I like everything about this character. His name, design, his television character...it's just a shame there isn't a better figure of him at retail thus far. I know a Legion class figure is coming as well as one of the larger 3 step changer figures coming this fall. I'm still holding out hope that Hasbro (or Takara Tomy) will give us fans a Warrior class figure before the Robots In Disguise series ends.

Transformers Robots in Disguise (2015): Optimus Prime (Legion Class)

Are you eager to get that Age of Extinction taste out of your mouth? Yeah? Me too. We thankfully 2015 will be bringing a new TF series, both in cartoon and toy form. Robots in Disguise, not to be confused with 2000's series of the same name. From what I know, this new RID series appears to be the spiritual successor of Transformers Prime. If this holds to be true, then this is a good thing (for me) as I really enjoyed the story telling in the Prime series. I believe when the series opens we'll find Bumblebee leading the Autobots. I know Optimus Prime eventually shows up, I don't know when or in what role will he fill.

Many online news outlets earlier this month announced some of the new toys were released via Amazon.com and at certain brick and mortar retailers. I was fortunate enough to stumble across one new toy that I really didn't hesitate buying...

Now I'm officially going on record saying I won't be buying many of the new Robots in Disguise toys. I no longer own any Prime toys so it just doesn't make sense for me to buy many of these. Now that's not to say my curiosity won't get the best of me and I buy a few more of these small Legion class toys, or some other version of Optimus, but I'm not all in. It does't mean I don't like what I've seen thus far, it just means I'm trying to keep my focus on G1 releated releases.

All that said, I was excited to find this little Optimus figure. I hadn't seen many images of what this new version of Optimus would look like. Now that I know first hand I have to say I like what I see. The new RID packaging uses the same large red letter Transformers name down the side, a carry over from the Age of Extinction toys, along with a new RID logo. The artwork is very reminiscent of the Prime series. I will point out that the blister card is crooked, they don't normally look diagonally like this.

The back of the the packaging is very bland. There is small image touting the easy 5 step transformation along with an advertisement for the new Transformers App. I haven't tried it out yet, but apparently with the app installed on your mobile device you can scan the shield like logo on the toy and it unlocks something in a new game. The #3 image shows a shield and a sword with a unlocked padlock. I'm assuming this means when you scan the Optimus figure you get those weapons to use in the game. Hmm... The rest of the packaging is basically warnings and what not in different languages.

If you are familiar with this scale, then you know what you're getting here. Legends, Cyberverse, Legion...all the same thing. What we have here is a very simple version of the new Robots in Disguise Optimus Prime. Molded in red plastic, the figure sports 3 paint applications - blue, black and silver. The figure is fairly articulated for a small figure, using ball joints in the shoulders and legs.

The robot head, while small, features a silver painted face plate. Judging from the package art it appears he'll go back and forth between having a mouth and the armored plate as he did in the Prime series. It seems like a lot of different iterations of Optimus Prime toys feature the vehicle's front/grill integrated as part of the robot's chest. Not this version. The front of the vehicle actually hangs off the back, but nicely tucked away.

Transformation is easy, as expected. 5 simple steps actually. I wasn't sure if the toy would come with an instruction sheet as I saw earlier a picture of the back of the Warrior class (deluxe) toys. Those featured the instructions printed on the back of the blister card. I hadn't seen that since the Beast Wars / Beast Machines days. Tucked away inside the packaging however was a very small sheet of instructions.

   

(click on the images for a larger view)

I've seen many people already labeling Optimus' new alt mode as a dump truck. I guess I can see it, but I like to think of it as an integrated trailer. Either way I like Optimus Prime's new look. I've seen Optimus take on a lot of different disguises/alt modes over the years and I like this slight deviation from the standard truck look. The red and blue lets you know fairly easily that this is Optimus Prime. He's small, thin and a decent length (just shy of 3 inches). The back wheels seem to roll more freely than the front wheels do, but all in all a fun little toy to play around with. I can foresee my 3 and 5 year old daughters liking these new Legion class figures.

I do look forward to finding more of these new Robots in Disguise toys at my local retail shelf, if for nothing else it means the Age of Extinction movie toys will be going the way of the dinosaur. I'm so tired if new Transformers product not even catching my eye so even though I'm not planning on buying much of this new series, it's always a welcomed sight to find new toys. Of course this means you may not many RID toys on my blog, but as always you'll find lots of other new content coming soon. It looks like I'll be all in for the new Combiner Wars coming (if for no other reason that they come with trading cards!) so be on the look out for those.

   

Transformers Car Robots: Super Indy Heat (Jusco exclusive)

Ah, Car Robots (or Robots in Disguise in the west). The line that brought many back into the Transformers fold that were turned off by the "beast series". I sure can remember my excitement when I first saw the first few figures solicited online. In fact I'm pretty sure I screamed like a little girl.

One aspect of the series I enjoyed so much was the diversity of the toys. Of course you had vehicular Cybertrons (Autobots) versus the beast Destrons (Decepticons), but the toys themselves didn't share the same aesthetics. You had new molds like Speedbreaker and the train combiner, JRX, and then we had a few molds that were familiar. The Spychangers, a personal favorite of mine, had already been used in the U.S. Generation 2 line. The spring loaded "flip changers" from the Machine Wars series also made an appearance. The indy car as Indy Heat and the tow truck as Wrecker Hook. I embraced these molds originally so I importing these two new decos were a no brainer for myself. It was years later that I discovered their store exclusive variations.

Super Indy Heat is a translucent blue and white release offered exclusively at Jusco stores in August of 2000 in Japan. He actually was a freebie given away w/ the purchase of the JRX giftset. Never have I paid so much for a free toy before! Super Indy Heat comes packaged in a clear bag w/ lots of text that I can't read. At the top are 4 small and simple transformation steps. Well actually steps 2-4 just show where the gun pieces are stored and how to assemble them.

Out of the bag, this toy is really nice looking. I don't always care for translucent Transformers, so I'm glad Takara added some white paint apps to go along w/ the white plastic bits. The mold itself hasn't been altered at all, so if you are familiar with any of the other versions of this mold, then you know what you're getting here.

  

The blue and white color scheme, combined with the blue translucent plastic just scream Mirage. Wonder if the choice of blue translucent plastic was meant to homage Mirage?

One observation I wanted to make is that there were clear rubber bands around the middle of the toy. I'm sure these were put into place to safeguard the spring mechanism from popping loose. When I cut the bands off, I noticed one arm / side of the car didn't want to line up properly. I eventually got it back into place and in line with the rest of the car (I think). I also noticed the spoiler didn't want to pop loose from the back of the car for the transformation very easily. I guess those are the risks of buying 13 year old toys.

And so not to ever forget when this exclusive toy was released, Takara was kind enough to place the year right on Indy Heat's spoiler. Cheesy? Doesn't bother me much.

Lift the rear spoiler and the car basically unfolds and transforms into robot mode in one easy step. You can unpeg the legs and re-position the arms to your liking. Articulation is decent for a late 90's mold. He actually has two joints in the legs, but because the front of the car hangs over so far it limits the legs range of motion. The elbows are ball joints, but the car parts again kind of get in the way here. Just like all the other versions of this mold, his weapon is stored in two parts in the inner portion of his legs.

I always thought of this weapon being more of a pistol w/ an optional silencer the both pieces forming one larger gun. As you can see his face is a bright orange to match his '20' on his chest. The head does feature light piping which is always a welcomed touch.

Not counting this release, this mold has been 5 other times. Machine Wars Mirage & Prowl, RID Skid-Z, Robot Masters Ligier and of course the regular Car Robots release. Super Indy Heat completed the set for me. He wasn't an easy find either. Or let's say a cheap find. He would show up from time to time, but he'd always been way overpriced. Let's just say he was on my radar for the last 6-8 years and I finally found a sealed specimen with a price I was comfortable paying via a Yahoo! Japan auction some time ago. This isn't the best Car Robots toy in the series by far, but it's one I've always enjoyed and the thrill of the hunt was exciting to say the least.

Anyone want RID Optimus Prime hanging on your Christmas tree next year?

While preparing my room for next week's interview/filming I ran across a small bag with some Christmas ornaments/lights.  Sometime after I was married my wife found a set of RID themed Transformers Christmas ornaments/lights and bought for me.  I think I only used them once or twice before being told we had a unified color theme for the tree (pre-kids I might add - now the tree is full of everything!).

Optimus is hollow and has a hole in the top of his head allowing for a light bulb to be plugged in.  The plastic is very light and translucent.  The ornament is about the size of a current Scout class figure.  Unless you are using LED lights they don't light up the entire ornament sadly.  Overall it's a neat little novelty item, but one that I no longer have a need for.  I'll be putting up all 4 for cheap on Crave soon so if you must have these on your tree next year here is your chance!

Transformers Beast Machines Scavenger & Robots In Disguise Scavenger

Beast Machines

Faction:  Vehicon
Function:  Demolition Drone

Motto:  " The road to ruin is short when I'm driving. "

Bio:  Perhaps Megatron's most horrific invention ever is his army of programmable drones which unquestionably serve his every wish. Falling under Tankor's charge of specialized tank drones, Scavenger's application is focused on one thing: brute force. Heavy armor makes Scavenger practically unstoppable. Galva-conductors on his back channel deadly electric currents. Enjoys nothing more than getting out and wrecking something.

Strength: 8 Intelligence: 2 Speed: 4 Endurance: 6

Rank: 4 Courage: 9 Fireblast: 7 Skill: 5

Robots In Disguise

Faction:  Autobot

* no official bio was ever created by Hasbro

Today we'll take a look at a very strange vehicular toy released under Hasbro's Transformers Beast Machines banner. It is rather easy to find these days on the secondary market, but is it worth the purchase? Let's find out together.

The review features the same mold released in two different Transformer lines, but the main review will focus on the Beast Machines version of Scavenger.

At first glance you may have no clue what you are looking at! I can remember finding this toy for the first time @ Walmart in 1999 and I too was a little clueless. The best description I can give you is that he is some sort of Cybertronian construction vehicle. Perhaps a power shovel or modified back hoe? Whatever it is supposed to be its odd looking. The primary colors are a neon-ish orange, olive green with black. The rear claws are chromed. The toy features 4 free rolling wheels and rolls very well on smooth surfaces surprisingly enough. There are several points of articulation in vehicle mode and one gimmick. The arched neck you see is on a ball joint allowing the whole neck assembly to rotate forward and back and side to side. The other end of the ball joint is attached to a ratcheting joint allowing more articulation. The middle joint allows the top half of the vehicle to move forward and back giving it a taller or shorter appearance. This piece is cast in a translucent orange plastic and features a piston like mechanism that slides inside the hollowed neck. The top of the vehicle or head if you will has 2 articulated weapons that rotate a full 360 degrees. One side features 3 missiles while the other side has a mini gatling like gun.

When you pull on the spring loaded rounded tab on the back of the middle neck joint the head opens and closes like a steam shovel. There are even molded teeth that gives the appearance of a large mouth. Inside there is some neon paint applications that makes it look almost like a tongue on the bottom. There are two grooves that featured mechanical cylinders...a very nice touch for a part of the toy that is normally not visible. I also want to point out the small door like panel in the 2nd picture. This opens and closes to reveal the toy's spark crystal.

In the Beast Machines story Megatron escapes from the pre-historic Beast Wars Earth and returns to Cybertron ahead of Optimus Primal and his fellow Maximals. Upon doing so Megatron tries to shed his organic beast mode and purge all of Cybertron of organics. To help his conquest he develops mindless and sparkless drones he calls Vehicons. These are Transformers that are devoid of a spark or soul if you will. Sadly Scavenger was never featured in the awesome CGI television show. I'm guessing Hasbro just made the toy as a filler for the first wave of figures. Here you can see the green Vehicon crystal. All Beast Machine toys featured either a Maximal, Predacon or Vehicon crystal somewhere on the toy.

The later repaint of this toy that was released in Robots in Disguise (RID) as part of a 3 pack had the spark crystals painted over. Kinda ugly if you ask me so I'm there is a panel that covers this now red orb.

Here is Scavenger in his robot mode. Now this looks a lot better and resembles a Transformer. Scavenger is a basic or scout class toy meaning he isn't very big. He stands right at or a little taller than 3 inches. Don't let his diminutive stature fool you though as this is a well articulated robot. The hips and knees feature ball joints allowing moderate poses. The large tank treads that hang on the side of the legs do hinder the overall leg articulation a little bit, but nothing too bad. His feet are really tiny, but thanks to the aforementioned tank treads they give some much needed stability. The arms are attached by ball joints as well, but the plastic fully surrounds the joint limiting the range of motion. The elbow's ball joints however are not hindered at all. Those silver chrome claws that hung behind in vehicle mode now are the robots hands. Note the tips of the claws are the same shade of neon orange featured on other parts of the toy. It appears the paint was applied with a air brush. The large black wheels folded up and now give the appearance of some much needed bulk in this form.  

Now one question you may be asking yourself is "where is the robot's head?" That small black panel on top of the vehicle head lifts up ever so much to reveal a pair of eyes. These robotic eyes even featured light piping using a translucent orange plastic! The head is a little bit of a stretch, but if you can get past it I think the overall look of the robot is excellent. As as I said in the opening this is a very strange toy, but for some reason I like it a lot.

For a smaller toy there is a lot of detailing sculpted into the mold. I know this isn't really a fan favorite as even when the toy was new it warmed the pegs at a lot of retail stores. Non-show characters always get snubbed when it comes to kids and their parents, but don't let his absence in the television show deter you from looking into at least one version of this toy. I prefer the original Vehicon version, but the blue and white used on the RID version works well. It's a striking combination and the fact that he's an Autobot is also interesting. I believe he was the first Autobot to have the name Scavenger. This toy won't win any rewards and the vehicle mode is very odd, but the robot mode makes up for the rest of the short comings in my opinion. I highly recommend the Beast Machines version since it can easily be purchased individually. The RID version was sold with other repaints of Beast Machines toys so it isn't as readily available, but I was able to find one for about $5.00 recently on eBay.