Transformers Legacy United: Magneous

 

One of the greatest things with the Legacy line of Transformers is the sheer variety of characters, or even new characters such as Magneous. Part of the new Infernac Universe, this rocky character draws references from both the Headmasters cartoon series from Japan as well as the Rock Lords from Gobots lore. The latter is one of the reasons I grabbed this figure. If the word Infernac rings a bell, it's because its from a past Hasbro property, Inhumanoids. While not everything has to connect in some way, I've always thought Inhumanoids was already loosely linked to the world of Transformers thanks to the old Sunbow cartoon with appearances by the report, Hector Ramirez.

At first glance this figure does resemble a Rock Lord character, which I'm sure is something the designers were going for. However it you look a little closer, you can see parts of the alternate form, which is essential a rock on wheels. Magneous is an Amorizer, which means you can deconstruct the figure into smaller pieces that can be attached to other/larger Transformers and used as armor. This is the same concept as Weaponizers and Fossilizers. Now if you are looking for what the armor pieces look like when disassembled, I'm going to disappoint you because I don't care for this feature so I've skipped it.

I love the headsculpt of Magneous, the darker colored face plate and the small yellow eyes. The uneven shards on the forehead are also a nice touch.

Magneous can wield his own parks as weapons. The top of his vehicle mode doubles as a shield for defensive purposes. Offensively he wields a pick axe weapon. I do have to admit that he looks pretty menacing all armed up.

The alternate mode is that of an armored truck. If it weren't for the defined windows on the cab, it would be a little harder to make out what the vehicle mode is. The rocky detail, the shading applied looks fantastic. This makes me think how great a modern, proper Rock Lord character could look.

With the Armorizers not having a traditional transformation and with Magneous being a new character, I can see how not every fan/collector would like this figure. I for one however am impressed and I can't wait to see more characters from the Infernac Universe in the near future.

Auto World: 1984 Dodge Caravan - Release 1, Version A

Mighty Minivans series

1984 Dodge Caravan

Release 1, Version A

Limited Edition

Premium Facts...

* This is the first release of our all-new

1984 Dodge Caravan casting!

* Lee Iacocca headed up 

the Caravan project,

helping revive Chrysler from

financial peril. In the first year

alone, over 209,000 units were sold.

BL4/3558

Beige Crystal Coat

WWE Elite Collection Series 95: Shotzi

Just in time for tonight's WWE NXT Vengeance Day Premium Live Event, we take a look at Shotzi's very first WWE Elite Collection figure. 

Shotzi (Blackheart) is one of my favorite female wrestlers. I first started following her when she was in NXT, particularly one of the In Your House shows. Maybe it was the bright neon green hair that caught my attention, or just her high flying wrestling style, she was a lot of fun to watch. This figure is based off her more modern look, prior to her shaving her head in support of her sister who was going through cancer treatments. The only thing missing to complete this figure is her TCB (Taking Care of Business) tank she uses on her ring entrances.

This figure is so striking, from her outfit to her detailed tattoos to the likeness Mattel was able to capture of her. Shotzi is long hair that drapes over her shoulders over onto her back. It's one molded piece and detailed. Her mouth is sculpted open with her tongue sticking out, appropriate for her. I kind of wish she had another head included with her mouth closed. Shotzi has worn a few different ring attire, but this one with the yellow lightning bolt is her signature ring gear. Like most of the woman wrestlers, she has hose printed on her legs and there are several places where the netting is tore.

Other than Shotzi's green hair, she's known for her tattoos. I've seen a lot of wrestling figures' tattoos before, but not a figure with this many. Both arms are wrapped in tattoos, even her chest and stomach! Mattel has done a fantastic job capturing all of this detail. Even better the colors on these tattoos pop, making them look that much better.

I knew she was a fan of horror pop culture so I had fun carefully looking at her various tattoo. I especially like the 'creature from the black lagoon' on one of her shoulders.

Check out that elaborate spider/web tattoo on her belly! While I think it looks great, I can't but help think of how painful that must've been!

Shotzi comes with three accessories, her signature horned helmet and an additional pair of hands. Out of the package she had an open posed hand and one "devil horns" hand. Articulation is your standard fare for an Elite figure. The double jointed elbows were super tight on mine. The rubber knee pads hinder the leg/knee articulation. You can slide them up and down on the leg/thigh a little to increase the range of movement, but not enough to bend the knee to a 90 degree angle.

Over all this is a fantastic figure and it's one of my favorite. The level of detail captured from head to toe is excellent. Sometimes a wrestler's first Elite figure can leave a lot to be desired, but not in this case. This is a solid figure and highly recommended if you are a fan of hers.

Computer Warriors: Romm (w/ PC Board)

 

While I have a lot of fond memories of 80's & 90's toys, Computer Warriors is not one of them. I vaguely remember seeing this line, but with it's short life space (it ran from 1989 to 1990) and no animated series to accompany the toys, I'm sure I'm not the only one that doesn't have a strong connection to this line. That isn't a dig meant towards this line as it does have some great designs. I'd love to dive deeper into the series, however price and availability are issues.

The premises behind the series is decent, but the real star of the show are the toys themselves...well at least some of them. I don't have the cool computer, Pepsi can or even the transformable soccer ball. The only sealed example I could find (and afford) was one from the basic series with that being Romm and his transforming PC Board. The artwork used on the packaging was beautiful and really painted a great picture of what it would be like to play w/ the various toys. Like with a lot of 80's toys, there was a small bio for the character on the back of the packaging.

My first impression upon removing the toy from it's aging blister card was a little underwhelming. The PC Board (that transforms into a glider) was made of a very thin plastic. You'll notice it's gold and yes, it does suffer from GPS (Gold Plastic Syndrome). Shortly after I finished taking these pictures part of the board snapped in half. This is a known issue with old gold plastic so I should have thought to handle it with more care.

In addition to the included Romm figure, there is a small gray blaster and an additional piece that holds the figure in place when in glider mode.

One side of the PC Board has pre-applied stickers that gives it a rather convincing look of circuitry, while the back of the board has molded details. The board is rather small and made of thin plastic, but overall it looks pretty decent. There are small ports on each side that allow the two included accessories to be attached when in glider mode.

The small harness can be attached the bottom of the board allowing the Romm figure to be attached. I assume this was more for storage so that everything could be kept in once place when not in play?

Transforming the PC Board into glider mode is rather simple, just rotate each side down and out to for the wings. Attach the harness to the middle and the gun onto the tip. For the most part, Romm fits snugly into the harness. When handling/transforming the toy, just be mindful of those "hinges" on each side as they can become brittle.

Romm here is the heroic leader of the Computer Warriors faction. All of the Computer Warrior figures are just 2 inches tall with 4 points of articulation - shoulders/legs. The back of the figures are made to look like computer circuitry. I had some photos to show this detail, but they got corrupted as I took these images years ago.

Overall I like the idea behind this line. There were some great toy lines back in the 80's that featured smaller figures (Dino-Riders, M.A.S.K. all come to mind) so I liked the smaller play pattern. Of course I'm also a fan of transforming toys so had this series had better exposure and possibly some sort of media tie in (there was an animated VHS "series" released) then maybe more kids would have been on board? 

If you are in the market to acquire some Computer Warrior toys, packaged and sealed specimens can be found on eBay, but be prepared to pay for some of the larger sets.

KO Korner: Double Dragon (Monsterbot Doublecross)

I can't exactly remember when or who I acquired this nice little piece from, but it's one of the few boxed G1 Transformers KOs that I still have in my collection. From what I can tell, this is a Korean release and is obviously based off the Autobot Monsterbot, Doublecross. In small print across the bottom it says Dae Dong Co. The box is made of a very thin/cheap cardboard. The colors are still quite vibrant. The large black front at the top of the box translates to Tususa Ssangyong Robot, however I'm not sure how accurate that is. The diagonal font across the middle reads "Dragon, the son of fire, who fights for justice!" "He came to us to preserve peace on Earth."

The figure comes nestled inside a very cheap plastic tray. This insert is so brittle you have to take the utmost care removing or inserting the figure. The plastic in the bottom of each recessed area is very thin. You can see the figure comes bundled with two accessories the original Doublecross did not come with, a large red sword and a blue shield. I have no idea of these accessories were "borrowed" from another toy release or are unique to this release. The sticker on the shield appears to be some type of unicorn?

Double Dragon comes molded in a very bright huge of blue, red and yellow. The plastic quality is surprisingly better than I expected. It's not oily or too light feeling, but of course not on par with the plastic Hasbro/Takara were using at the time. The only paint apps are a small black blobs of paint on the eye visor, eyes of the dragon heads and nostrils. There are 3 stickers pre-applied to the chest, but the adhesiveness of these is all but gone on my copy.

Once you wield Double Dragon with his weapons, it's a great looking piece. If you prefer a gun, you're in luck has he can also wield Doublecross' original white blaster.

You may have noticed the lack of wings on Double Dragon and those wouldn't be the only changes made. Other than the missing wings, the top half of the robot is molded very closely to that of the original. The front of the shoulders are missing the raised circles and there are some molded details to the abdomen area that are missing (replaced with the sticker). Even the dragon heads are very close to Doublecross. The KO obviously does not contain the sparking gimmick of the original so you won't find that mechanism inside the dragon heads. The trigger fin on the back of Doublecross has also been omitted on the KO.

The major differences in the mold comes in the bottom half. Double Dragon features a set of generic robot legs and does not have the ability to transform at all, thus no dragon legs or tail halves. The upper legs/thighs however do seem to be the same.

Overall I find this KO to be a quirky, charming addition to my G1 KO collection. I wish that it had the ability to transform, but it's unique colors and weapons helps it stand out as a highlight piece. I haven't really sought out this figure on the secondary market so I can't really comment on it's availability or price, but if you are a fan of KOs in general or just a fan of the Doublecross character, I do recommend this toy.