I recently purchased Allen by Unique Toys. Any TransFans worth his energon will tell you immediately that this is Springer, the green Autobot triple changer first made famous in the 1986 G1 Transformers Movie.

There has been other 3P attempts at Springer, such as FansProject Defender. As a side bar, I believe Defender was the very first 3P full-blown figure produced (all 3P products before that were accessories or add-ons). Oh how times have changed. There are almost too many 3P figures to count nowadays.

But back to the topic at hand. As far as I know, there are 6 different 3P companies making their own MP scaled Springer. UT struck first with Allen. And in my opinion, they have set the bar very high. This won’t be a full review. I will post some pics, then bullet point some pros and cons of the figure.

Box

Robot Mode

Car Mode

Helicopter Mode

Pros

• Amazing engineering – Allen is mechanically well designed with a satisfying transformation
• Fun to transform – Allen strikes the perfect balance of complexity and fun
• All 3 modes look good – the Helicopter is my favorite, robot mode is great, and car mode is adequate
• Solid construction – nice tight joints and transformation points; figure is big and heft and will withstand some rough play
• Super paint job
• Fully articulated
• Great value – he currently goes for only $59.99 since UT want to move him before the other 3P Springers hit the market

Cons

• Questionable aesthetics – many have said that this figure feels like a Fisher Price toy
• Feet that seems way too big, and the wrong color
• Figure feels a bit big – may not scale well with other MP figures
• G1 accuracy is debatable, especially when compared with later 3P offerings of the character

Personally, I love the figure since he’s so playable and so much fun to transform. But the first bullet in the cons section is a notable negative for me. The other negatives are all appearance related as well. If they styled the figure more “MP” like, I would give Allen an even stronger recommendation. But as is, he’s a terrific figure at only $59.99, which is what I got him for. And out of other 5 MP scaled Springers out there, Fans Toys Apache looks the most G1 accurate. I may consider buying Apache as well in the months to come.

This is my first and only purchase from Unique Toys, and they have me impressed. I will be on the lookout for their offerings in the future.

And why is he called Allen you ask? Your guess is as good as mine. TransFans have suggested he really should have been called Jerry – and if you don’t get the joke, then Primus help you.

Transform and Roll Out.
 

Teletraan I Communiques