Sneak Preview: Toy World Grind Rod TW-T01

I had a Thundercats review ready in the pipeline to post next...but it got bumped thanks to this:

It'll take a few days to get some pictures, edit and write the review, but let me say up front this guy is so freakin' awesome!  More to come soon!

Masters of the Universe Classics: Whiplash

The original vintage Masters of the Universe toys came just before I was old enough to really enjoy action figures, but my older brother and cousin both loved the toys.  I got to benefit from this by being exposed to many of the great characters and toys like Castle Grayskull and Snake Mountain.  However it wasn't until I watched the Mike Young Productions (MYP) cartoon that I came to appreciate Masters of the Universe as a whole.  Skeletor had many minions and henchmen at his disposal to combat He-Man and the Masters and it was hard for me to pick a favorite.  I liked the overall look of Whiplash, but never cared for his vintage look.  The Four Horsemen re-designed the character for the MYP and Mattel's 200X toy line and thankfully they carried this over to the MOTU Classics series.

Whiplash comes packaged with 4 accessories - 2 different heads, orange club and his blade weapon.  He is packaged with his vintage head.  While the head sculpt isn't bad looking it reminds me more of a troll than a lizard type creature would have.  I know most of Skeletor's henchmen didn't have the highest level of intellect, this head just screams "I'm stoopid" to me.  Thankfully however collectors can display Whiplash with whatever head they prefer - vintage or 200X.

Ah, now this is a more menacing looking head.  I loved the re-design of Whiplash in the 200X series so I was elated to find out I could duplicate that look somewhat.  I love the huge ears and his eyes look much more sinister.  My favorite aspect of this head however is the almost squared jaw, the underbite and the large protruding teeth.

One thing about all of the MOTU figures Mattel has utilized is parts sharing.  Most of the figures have something in common with other figures (such as the over used loin cloth), but every once in awhile new parts were sculpted for certain characters.  I believe the original Whiplash just had a green tail protruding from the backside of his waist, but for the 200X series the Four Horsemen designed a larger carapace type tail for him.  I was happy to see this carried over to the new Classics figure.  The tail does have a swivel joint at it's mid-section giving some pose ability.  The tail is also cast of a more rubbery plastic giving it more movement.  I'm not schooled enough in MOTU to give a complete run down of all the re-used parts, but I do like the 4 clawed feet.  I seem to recall that Buzz-Off may have been the first Classics figure to have these feet.

As with the vintage and 200X heads, his included weapons follow suite.  Originally Whiplash just had an orange club...which I've managed to misplace at the moment.  However he was given his awesome bladed staff weapon during the 200X run.  I'm trying to imagine how he would actually use this weapon during combat, but man is it an impressive looking weapon.

Even though my interest in the Classics figures have waned some, I still believe that Whiplash stands out as one of the more impressive of Skeletor's henchmen.  No matter which head and weapon you use this is a fantastic figure and deserves some shelf real estate in your collection.

Transformers Generations Asia (GDO) exclusive: Bluestreak

Continuing our look at some of the recent Asia exclusive Transformers we'll turn our attention towards yet another new Legends 'bot...Autobot Bluestreak.  Yeah, I had to do a double take too.  He's not called Silverstreak anymore!  Hasbro had to slap 'Autobot' in front of the name, but who cares?!  Bluestreak is back baby!

It should come as no surprise that Hasbro decided to take the Reveal the Shield Prowl mold and tweak it for release as Bluestreak.  Now only if they'll do it again as Smokescreen I can die a happy collector.  As you can tell Prowl's light bar has been removed and nice dark paint apps have taken over the mold.

All of the new GDO Legends come packaged with a weapon and Bluestreak's gun just happens to look a lot like his G1 counterpart's gun.  The side peg allows the gun to be attached to either side of the car.

The toy this time around was cast in a metallic silver plastic which looks really nice.  A darker shade of metallic gray was used down the middle of the car; while vivid red is used for the thighs and crests on his head.  A metallic silverish blue is used for all of the windows.  I find it refreshing that all of the windows are painted instead of just the front windshield or side windows.  While Prowl seems to be the better known of the Fairlady Z trio, Bluestreak gets my vote as the best Legends toy...that is until Smokescreen is released!

Transformers Generations Asia (GDO) exclusive: Hoist

When Hasbro first showed off their line of Asia exclusive Transformers a lot was made about the toys of Hot Spot, Springer and Wheelie.  While those are some pretty nifty toys I had my eye on the 4 new Legends scaled toys.  Ever since Hasbro introduced the legends scale way back in the Cybertron toy line I've been a huge fan.  As a matter of fact I use many of the G1 characters as stand-ins on my Classics/Generations shelf (such as Wheelie and Cosmos).  After the last few toys were released under the Reveal the Shield banner I thought we had seen the last of these small toys so imagine my excitement when I heard there were new ones coming...even if they were simple repaints.

Hoist is a repaint of Trailbreaker as he was in G1.  While I prefer Trailbreaker over Hoist character wise, I'm leaning towards Hoist in toy form.  This is largely due to the inclusion of a weapon and the big red Autobot symbol tampographed on the hood.  The new included gun is a little large, but it's a nice addition.  The gun fits snuggly in the hole on the top of the cab.

 

I believe this is one of my favorite Legends molds hands down.  Hasbro could release this toy in every color found in the rainbow and I'd buy them all.  If you missed out on Trailbreaker then do yourself a favor and head to Toys 'R Us and pick up this guy.  Yeah $6 is a little steep for such a small basic Transformer, but that is the reality of today's collecting world.

Who do you prefer?

Transformers Arms Micron: Medic Knock Out AM-13

When it was first announced that Takara Tomy's version of Transformers Prime would be including Microns (Mini-Cons) I was ecstatic. Then it was announced that the premium paint apps that we've come to expect from the Japanese line would be replaced with stickers I was horrified. Funny I say that because here I am with yet another Arms Micron review. In fact, I've imported more of this line than I ever expected.

The Arms Micron line is hit and miss in my opinion. Some of the Microns are fantastic while others are a so-so at best. Some figures have horrible stickers to apply (Gaia Unicron) while others apply easily and add a nice touch. I know that some collector's hate the added Micron ports to the figures. Knock Out was one of these that I heard people scream "foul!". For whatever reason Knock Out was released much later versus his U.S. TF Prime counterpart. This gave me a chance to compare and contrast and see which version I wanted more.

I opted for the Arms Micron version for several reasons. First and foremost was for the basic colors. Hasbro added some gaudy darker red w/ silver paint apps to the side of the car that I just didn't care for. This detail on the Japanese version are stickers so you can decide what look you prefer. The second reason I opted to import was the inclusion of an awesome looking Micron, Gra. Hasbro did include a nice spear type weapon like he uses in the show, but Gra transforms from a crab to a staff weapon for crying out loud!

Medic Knock Out comes packaged in the standard deluxe sized box using a mixture of CGI graphics and toy images. With the odd shape of the boxes it makes storing them an issue as they don't stack well (at least not standing vertically), but it's still a beautiful packaging job.

Right out of the box and Knock Out looks like an only Revell model kit. Bland, bland, bland. Thankfully the included stickers dress up this alternate mode quite nicely. You can see the added Micron ports added to the sides and on the hood. I don't mind these added pieces, in fact I actually prefer the look of the port on the hood as it looks like an engine block.

Looks much better now, right? Well OK, maybe the silver door stickers aren't for everyone, but at least it breaks up all the red. I am happy to report that most of these stickers are cut to the right proportions and apply very easily. The head and tail lights bring some much needed detail to the front and rear of the car. Sadly though the rear window is still solid red plastic. Wonder if ReproLabels will cook up some sort of upgrade set?

I think I got his transformation right. His chest area gave me a few issues, but this looks like the gray images used on the instruction sheet. Overall I really like the robot mode, although his arms being composed of windows isn't the best looking design that I've seen. In addition to the previous stickers we've looked there are a few added stickers to leg / knee area. These stickers have that chromed look and again help bring some detail to the "sea of red plastic".

Please keep in mind that I lack the imagination to come up with creative poses to show off a figure's articulation - so here you go. I do like the fact that the ankles are on ball joints allowing good stability of the figure in certain poses. Knock Out features standard articulation in the areas you expect - neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, thighs, knees and the aforementioned ankles.

Like with every other Micron in the Arms Micron series, Gra has to be assembled. At first I really hated this, but the more and more of these that I've built the more I look forward to the building process. Gra was no exception. The only complaint I have with Gra and the other Microns are the super tiny stickers. Thankfully most of these were easily applied and shouldn't give me any problems in the future (fingers crossed).

Keeping in fashion to the weapon Knock Out uses in the television show, Gra transforms into a staff type weapon. I'm guessing the crab claws are supposed to double as blades, but it looks like a giant cattle prod to me! Looking at the weapon alone it looks odd, but it fits oh so well in Knock Out's hands.

After fiddling around with this figure for the review I've really become fond of the mold. While I was disappointed with the recent news that Smokescreen wasn't getting his own unique mold in favor of this mold being re-purposed for the character; I feel better about the upcoming release the more I interact with Knock Out.

If you are still in the process of assembling your ultimate Transformers Prime cast of characters and can afford the mark up of the Arms Micron version, then do yourself a favor and pick up Medic Knock Out. He oughta look really good with his fellow Arms Micron release and cohort Breakdown.  I would've shown them together if I hadn't been so lazy and actually opened Breakdown!

Transformers Arms Micron: Gaia Unicron AM-19

I'm one of those guys that doesn't get the HUB channel at home so I'm unable to watch the current episodes of Transformers Prime each week.  I had to wait until season 1 had hit Netflix before I could watch...outside one of those mini DVDs that came packaged with the first wave of Cybertron Commanders.  Imagine my surprise and confusion when I saw the solicitation for the Arms Micron Gaia Unicron toy surface online.  At the time I hadn't seen those season 1 episodes featuring Unicron so I didn't know the background surrounding him.  At first I wasn't too keen on the shadowy pictures I saw and I had little to no interest.  Then when I finally got around to the end of season 1 and saw the big guy in action I changed my mind.

A few things about the box that still confuse me.  First off why does he have that large Decepticon symbol on the front? He obviously isn't an Autobot, but he's not a Decepticon either. His label sheet is covered with Decepticon stickers as well, but more on that later. I also don't get the whole armor alt mode for Optimus or Megatron.  That aside the presentation of the box is beautiful.

I love the use of the CGI rendering of Unicron from the show on the top of the box. Too bad it's such a small picture. The sides of the box give you a better look at his...um, "alt" mode as well as the armor that can be used by Optimus or Megatron.

One the annoying twisty ties have been removed this is how Unicron looks right out of the box. My first impressions were the head is too small, the wings and large horns are made of a soft, rubbery plastic that I can see warping over time, the "hands" are lame and surprisingly the shiny chromed chest and leg pieces look really nice in hand. Even though these parts have some shine to them, they also have this flat look. I thought these pieces were going to be chromed similar to the Beast Wars Transmetals...but thankfully that isn't the case.

Two things most will notice when you flip the figure around. Most obvious of course is the large Unicron face on his back.  The second is how flat and underwhelming his "hands" are. Thankfully the latter issue can be remedied.

As odd as the face is on Unicron's back it features a great level of detail.  I especially like the mouth and chin area...look at those sharp teeth!  If you are still puzzled about the face keep reading as more light will be shed soon.

This is one of the first Arms Micron sets that I didn't apply most of the stickers.  For starters the black stickers that go on his feet didn't seem to be cut right.  I tried a few times to get them lined up just right and after a few failed attempts I just decided to skip them altogether.  The instructions also show you applying Decepticon stickers to the front of his shoulders, but as I already touched on this I again passed.  What I was surprised to see on the sticker sheet were these two Unicron faction symbols!  I haven't seen this used since the Blendtrons from Beast Wars Neo.  I may go back and apply these, but for now I just stuck with using the small metallic black stickers on his waist.

  

I believe the name of Unicron's Micron translates to Bog.  Interesting since his Micron that was included in his Micron Densetsu (Armada) release was Bug.  Bog appears to be an armored mole tank...thing.  I actually like the design...even though I'm not 100% sure what it is!

Bog's alternate mode is actually a weapon of sorts.  Notice the peg on the back?  This allows Bog to be attached to Unicron's arms giving him a more show accurate look.

The large flat rocky "hands" thankfully can be attached together to form one solid piece. These pieces disconnect just above the elbow joint. Each piece has a hinge type connection point on the edge allowing the two pieces to snap together. Attach Bog in weapon mode and you've got a better looking Unicron.

Before I get into this next part of the review let me just say that this is an awesome robot. Why didn't I say "awesome figure" or "awesome Transformer"? It's hard to call Unicron a Transformer because he lacks a real or at least convincing alternate form. For all basic intents and purposes this version of Unicron is a larger glorified Action Master. I'm not sure if the designers were trying to force a second mode or not, but I'm not impressed.

This jumbled up mess is supposed to be a space cruiser...I guess. I'm sorry, but I just don't see it. All I see is a folded up Transformer. With horns. The only redeeming quality of this alt mode actually isn't even mentioned in the instructions. Remember that face on the back of the robot? Flip up said space cruiser and you've got...

Now the laughable space cruiser mode looks like the top of the volcano from season 1. I should point out that I removed the gray skeletal wings for a more slimline look.

I assume the skeletal wings are supposed to mimics the ring around the planet as shown on the original Unicron toy, but I just didn't care for them so I removed them.  They attach to the large horns via a round ball joint so you can easily remove them as you see fit.

While I had some reservations going in with this figure I've really grown to like him.  Granted he'll be on display only in robot mode he makes a fine addition to my Prime / Arms Micron collection.  At the time of this post I know many online retailers are restocking him so if now is your chance to grab him if you missed out on the original pre-orders.