I’m normally not a fan of Scout Class figures. I think they’re too small and not worth the value. However the other day I came across this Youtube video by Peaugh. And just so everyone knows, Peaugh is probably THE reviewer for Transformers when it comes to Youtube TF reviews. His status in the TF community is now legendary and I always watch his videos if I’m deciding if I should get a TF figure.

The above video is mostly about Beachcomber. And I’m always excited about G1 characters in any TF toy line. As the video suggests, Beachcomber will appear in ROTF as a repaint of Scout Class Dune Runner. I will be buying Beachcomber as soon as he hits the shelves, but I have no idea how Peaugh gets the figures so early. I don’t think I can wait for Beachcomber, so the next best thing is to buy Dune Runner and check it out for myself, which is exactly what I did.

I’ve had some time to mess this mold now, and I will say that Dune Runner is very cool. He reminds me of Deluxe Landmine from the first movie, but in many ways he is more sturdy. I’ll start with the bot mode since that’s how he’s packaged. I like the overall colors, and he’s nicely proportionate. I think the two guns on this shoulders are very cool, especially for a Scout Class figure. These guns can be adjusted and angled in a number of ways. He’s got a decent level of articulation, he can stand up nicely on his feet, and he holds his poses well. I like his head sculpt too. Most movie figures have this “bug” look that I don’t like, especially in the head design, but I don’t sense that from Dune Runner. If anything, he looks more G1 than ROTF, and in my book that’s a very good thing.

In alt mode, Dune Runner is very nice as well. He is very solid as a dune buggy. The guns in this mode can be angled vertically to make it look like he’s aiming for some Decepticons coming from above. The vehicle mode rolls very nicely on a flat surface. He’s got a fair level of detail in this mode. I’m not sure what is the meaning behind the 0318 painted on the doors. The transformation from bot to buggy is nothing we haven’t seen before and the overall transformation is fairly simple, but keep in mind this is a Scout Class figure, so I’m not exactly looking for originality here.

I do have two minor gripes with this figure. First, from bot to alt mode, it can be hard to get the arms just right to make it fold in. It took me quite a while to figure out the arms are supposed to go exactly. If you don’t get it just right, and side of the buggy won’t line up well and you will see lots of seems on the doors and the roof. The other gripe I have is the price. Sure, at $7.49 he’s very affordable, but considering Deluxe figures only run for $10 and they are twice the size, I expect Scout class figures to be around $5. I guess this is more a complain with Scout Class figures in general and not Dune Runner, but still. If I was very budget conscious, I would not be picking up Scout Class figures. Certainly I would not buy Dune Runner if I already had Landmine (which I do).

But overall, Dune Runner is a very solid mold and I’m glad I picked him up. He is very highly regarded in all the Youtube TF reviews that I have come across, including both SEANxLONG and Optibotimus, in addition to Peaugh. This is the perfect mold to repaint into Beachcomber, because of the dune buggy alt mode, the small size, and the G1-like head sculpt. Dune Runner gets high marks from me and I encourage every TF fan to pick him up. And of course you know I will go out and buy Beachcomber when he appears on day 1.

Here’s to Scout Class figures… Transform and Roll Out!

In a earlier post I mentioned that I must find the 25th Anniversary versions of Insecticons and Perceptor. Yesterday I finally found them at my local TRU. I quickly bought one of each. I know… at $34.99 each they seem a tad expensive, but in the same previous post I went into why I don’t agree. There was still one Perceptor left on the shelve when I left TRU, but no more Insecticons.

Check out the pics below.

I love the artwork and the silver TRU Exclusive sticker on the front. “Decepticon Agents”?! That’s a new one.

“It’s a world where things are not what they seem. It’s a world of heroic Autobots and evil Decepticons who are known as… the Transformers!” They repeated the G1 box descriptions word for word. Awesome!

Both of them with the lid open side by side.

Look at all the details on the Insecticons! They sure don’t make them like this anymore.

Robot, microscope, and… tank! Perceptor kicks ass… or not. He’s a lover not a fighter.

I just noticed that all 3 Insecticons have wheels on the feet in insect mode. Somehow I didn’t think this was weird back in the 80s…

I’m not sure if I will be opening these. In the box they just look too cool and these may be primed to go up in value. We’ll see.

That’s it for now my fellow TransFans. Remember… Transform and Roll Out!

So I finally got around to opening one of the new Universe/Classic Ultra class Powerglides that are repainted red like his G1 badass self. Mold-wise, the new one is exactly the same as the first Powerglide. Hasbro did not do anything to improve upon mold, so it really comes down to which color you prefer. Or you can just get them both like I did.

For those of you who are not familiar with this character, Powerglide made his G1 cartoon debut sometime during season 2. He is one of the few Autobots on Earth that can fly as his alt mode is an A-10 Thunderbolt II. His toy in G1 is a minibot (same as Bumblebee), so this Ultra class update is by far bigger. His most famous G1 appearance is probably in “The Girl Who Loved Powerglide”.

This is not a new mold so I’ll just quickly re-cap my thoughts on Classic/Universe version of Powerglide. I really like the alt mode. The A-10 is definitely unique in the TF world, I cannot think of any other. His transformation is unique as well. In robot mode he is nicely balanced. Articulation seems to be good, and the missile fires pretty far. It’s not perfect, however. In bot mode, the sound gimmicks fire way too easily. Also, where the wing needs to stick into the rear engine in bot mode, it doesn’t stay on that well. This happens on both of my Powerglides on the left side only (in fact I didn’t notice this before, I noticed this on the new red one so I went back to check on the white one and they both have this problem). Checking pics on Seibertron confirms this problem as well, so I’m inclined to think this is an issue on all Powerglides produced. Finally, in jet mode, it’s difficult to position to gun to point directly straight ahead because there is other stuff in the way.

So which color do I like better? After looking at it for some time now, I’m tempted to say I like the white one. I know that the red is more G1 accurate, and I was guilty of expressing my share of curses when Hasbro first announced that the US version would be white. But now that I have the red and have had a chance to really compare, I think white just looks better on this mold. It’s hard to explain and I know the pics above don’t do it justice. You would have to see it for yourself.

But you won’t lose either way. This is still a great TF no matter which color you get.

Until next time… Transform and Roll Out!