I think by now, all TransFans are aware that Transformers Animated have officially ended. All remaining TFA toys that were planned are exclusively released in the United States through Toys R Us. I’m really only aware of 4 figures: Cybertron Mode Ratchet, Arcee, Rodimus Minor, and Cybertron Mode Ironhide. Cybertron Mode Ratchet came out as early as January of this year, and I think I found them locally in February. Toys R Us ordered way too many of this figure. Every store I visited recently is overstocked with Ratchet. This is not true with the rest of the figures. Arcee I only saw once in May, and never again. And because of this, I had a feeling that Rodimus and Ironhide were gonna be rare finds as well.

Fans have been reporting sightings of these two figures as early as August, so I’ve been keeping my eyes open. I was lucky I was able to find some right before Columbus Day weekend. My local Toys R Us didn’t have that many either, only 4 Rodimus and 3 Ironhide figures. Needless to say, I quickly grabbed some and proceeded to check out. I only left one of each on the shelves. The girl at the checkout was like, “Damn, you got them all! People have been asking about these!” LOL. I have been back to the store once since, and yeah, they’re all gone. I don’t anticipate my TRU to get anymore either. Ebay dealers ask a minimum of $25 for these, and that doesn’t include ship. These appear to be rare indeed.

Anyway, today I’m doing a review of the Rodimus Minor figure. I have not yet opened Ironhide, but he’s a repaint of Ratchet so I already know what to expect. I may do a review of him and Ratchet later in a future post.

Check out some pics of Rodimus Minor in the package.

I really like the look of this Rodimus in alt mode. His appearance is most definitely G1 inspired. The figure is mostly red with some stripes of yellow on the hood and on the wing. In G1 he had flames, but I think the yellow triangular stripes actually looks better. The window is in that famous blue like all other Rodimus figures. The engine on the hood is faithfully represented here. In G1 and Classic Rodimus, the side exhaust pipes are located on the side bottom of the vehicle. However in Animated, they’re located higher on the side, a little above the rear tires. I rather like this design, it manages to make the look refreshing, but still identifiable. Compared to other Rodimus figures, the shape of this one is more streamlined and more sleek. I have no complaints on the looks of the alt mode whatsoever. I haven’t seen Season 3 of Animated so I can’t comment on show accuracy, but if it looks anything like the package image then I would say the figure represented his look faithfully.

Functionally, Hasbro’s toy designers did a great job in the engineering of this figure. Rodimus is quite solid in this mode. As with most other TFA figures, the various parts and pieces come together well to form the vehicle. Everything snaps together nicely, and there are no dangling bits to be found. The alt mode will not come apart easily even if you choose to play rough with the figure as the car. On a flat surface, Rodimus rolls well on all 4 wheels and I see no balancing issues. The only noticeable seam line is towards the rear, above the wheel area, but that is something I can easily live with.

Size-wise, Animated Rodimus is a little smaller compared to Classic or Henkei Rodimus in alt mode. Check out the pic below.

His bow-type weapon can be attached in alt mode. Simply plug the pegs on the weapon into the slots on top of the vehicle. The missiles fire a good distance, though it’s not the strongest when compared to recent Hasbro offerings. If I was to name one gripe, it’s that the weapon is not that easy to attach in this mode. This weapon is angled upwards when mounted, and the tail end of the missiles make contact with the wing, so attaching this thing is harder than it looks. Not only that, the obvious place to apply force downwards on the weapon to mount it is exactly where the firing buttons are, so you almost always accidentally fire the missiles. I’ve learned to attach the launcher first, then connect the missiles. Also, even with all this, it’s real easy to accidentally make contact with the weapon, in which case you will almost always knock it off the figure (very similar to Arcee’s wings, though not that bad). I opened two Rodimus figures (more on this later), and they both have these issues with the weapon, so I’m going to assume this is an issue with the mold. Still, this is just a little gripe, and I think he looks better without the weapon in alt mode anyway so I just prefer to leave it off.

Overall, I’m very happy with the alt mode.

The transformation to robot mode is quite unique for a Rodimus figure. The standard transformation for Rodimus in other lines has the hood forming the chest, cockpit and wings becoming the back, the sides folding out to be the arms, and rear section of the car as the legs. Animated Rodimus Minor puts a slight spin on this familiar theme. The legs are buried entirely underneath the vehicle, with the feet connecting to below the front hood area. The arms go over the rear wheel area, and during transformation there are joints that will connect them with the chest. The front wheels also fold into the chest, and the engine can flip over in robot mode to reveal the Autobot insignia. It’s nice to see Hasbro trying something new in the transformation. The result is a process that feels both refreshing and familiar at the same time, something not easily achieved for such a recognizable character. And in my opinion, the transformation difficulty level is just right. It’s complex enough to be a fully qualified Transformer, but at the same time still fun enough that it doesn’t feel like work to transform it.

In robot mode, Rodimus looks great. He’s well proportioned and there’s not any body parts that look too big or too small. Again, I have not seen this character in the cartoon, but it appears that the toy captured the look of Animated Rodimus quite well. The paint job on a standard $10 Hasbro figure usually leaves a little to be desired, and on this figure it’s no exception. However, I don’t detect any color goofs, so at least Hasbro got that right.

Design wise, there is no mistaking that this is Rodimus. Anyone who is vaguely familiar with G1 Hot Rod will easily identify this character. His overall color scheme, his trademark wings, and his arm cannons are all here. The figure is capable of a wide range of poses. Ball joints are used almost everywhere. Fans big on poseability will find nothing to complain about here.

Functionally, Rodimus is well built. All pieces lock into place where they should, resulting in a solid robot mode. When I transformed him the first time, I thought the chest piece would dangle around. But after you lock in the cockpit window into the upper back, everything stays put. The side exhaust on the upper legs also clicks into position. The figure is very, very well engineered. Overall, I have no complaints about the robot mode of Rodimus Minor whatsoever.

Below are some size comparison pics with other Rodimus figures. Notice in robot mode, Animated Rodimus becomes a little bigger than Classic/Henkei Rodimus, whereas in alt mode he was smaller.

I mentioned that I got two of these and I opened both of them. For really rare figures that don’t cost much, I sometimes buy multiples, one to open and one to keep mint in the package, maybe to sell later or just to hang on to so I can say I have a mint one. Well, the first one I opened came with two left hands! Check out the pic below. The two-handed one is on the right. Functionally that’s just wrong, so I opened the other one as well. By the time I opened them, there were none left at TRU so exchange is not an option. I could return it, but I thought I keep it just for laughs. I googled this and I don’t see any other fan reporting this issue, so I’m forced to assume this is an isolated incident. But just keep in mind this could happen if you find and buy a Rodimus figure. And I’m just happy that I got a 2nd one so I don’t have to live with the two left-handed one.

So there you have it, my thoughts on Animated Rodimus Minor. I can’t recommend this figure enough. Compared with other Rodimus figures, I would say this is the second best one of all time, right behind Classic/Henkei Rodimus.

Come and think of it, all the recent figures that I opened have been really good. Hasbro has been on a roll when it comes to doing new molds. I will be doing reviews of some other great figures that came out recently, so stay tuned. Transform and Roll Out!

As promised, here is the review for Animated Arcee. I first opened this figure about a week ago.

I’ll start the review with the alt mode. Check out some pics below.

As you can see from these pics, Arcee is one sexy and sleek ride. I have yet to see Arcee in Animated, so I can’t really comment on the figure’s show accuracy. But like I mentioned in my last post, I’m making the assumption that her appearance in the cartoon is just like the package art, and if that’s the case then this figure has properly captured the look. As far as colors go, this Arcee is undoubted G1 inspired. The overall pink with white stripes is unmistakenly G1, and I like the the yellow headlights painted on the front hood. The Autobot symbol is painted on the windshield. The shape of the alt mode also takes heavy cues from G1, only major difference is probably the inclusion of wings on the Animated version.

In alt mode, Arcee rolls well on a flat surface. The two swords that she uses in robot mode can be placed into the rear wheel compartment, and it’s always a plus in my book when all accessories are accounted for in every mode. The wings can be detached if you prefer the G1 look. Hasbro certainly did not forget the hardcore G1ers when Arcee was designed. Like all other Animated figures, Arcee is all plastic.

Below are some size comparison pics. The only thing I have handy is Classics Hot Rod so here they are. In alt mode she appears to be just a little smaller than Hot Rod.

I do have several gripes about the alt mode. The first is that her wings just love to fall off. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like they will cast off if you simply invert the figure or if she’s given a slight shake. They generally stay on ok if you don’t touch them, but that’s the problem. The wings are positioned so that you will probably always accidentally make contact (especially during transformation), and the slightest physical touch will probably knock them off. I kinda wish the peg and hole mechanism here was better fitting. My second gripe is that Arcee is one of those figures where you will have to measure if you got all the parts into their proper locations when you transform her back into alt mode. Most other figures in the Animated line have mechanisms in place that helps you connect the parts and pieces together, such as tabs and grooves in well-situated locations. I like to think of them as “guides” that let you know a part is placed into its proper configuration in alt mode. Arcee for the most part does not have such a mechanism. Most of the parts, especially in the limbs, you will have to figure out if you got them into the right spots. In the alt mode pics above, you can kinda see that she’s not perfectly symmetrical in a lot of the shots, and that’s a direct consequence of not having this mechanism. This would be less of an issue if Arcee wasn’t so well articulated (more on this in the robot mode section), but the fact is she is capable of a wide range of motion, and without the “guides” that I mentioned it can be tough to get her to look perfectly balanced unless you’re willing to spend a long time doing it.

Now let’s take a look at the robot mode. I like her transformation process. I recommend first taking the wings off when you transform her, because they will probably fall off anyway. Going to robot mode is not at all complicated, but at the same time it’s complex enough to feel like she has transformed.

Overall I really like the robot mode. IMO this is probably the best-looking Arcee figure Hasbro has produced. Most of the time, Arcee is either a character that is conjured up by the show creators without a toy (G1 Movie and season 3+), or an afterthought added to a toyline in which she did not appear (Michael Bay movies). For these reasons, most of the time, the Arcee toys doesn’t look quite right, or we simply don’t have a basis to gauge the toy’s accuracy. This is not the case with Animated. The character appears to be properly planned and a toy accurately produced. The look and feel of this Arcee is a great representation of the character. I think with a little modification, this toy can even pass for G1 Arcee. I would love to see a TF customizer attempt this.

In the pic above, you can see that the swords are stowed in the same place as alt mode when not in use. In robot mode this becomes her back, a very appropriate place to hold her swords.

In robot mode the wings are just as likely to fall off. Sometimes I take them off during transformation, then forget to put them back on in robot mode. This is why in all the pics below she appears without the wings. She’s got great articulation, though. I won’t describe it, just check out the pics for yourself.

Below are some size comparison shots, one with wings and one without. In robot mode, she actually appears a little bigger than classic Hot Rod.

I do have one gripe about the robot mode. There is a slight construction flaw in the figure. On my figure, there is a tab in the right knee joint that prevent the lower right leg from straightening all the way. The knee joint does have a hole that is meant to go over the tab, but either they made the tab too big or they made the hole too small. I guess I can take a knife and either file down the tab or cut the hole bigger, but I feel I should not have to do this. Out of the package she should be without these kinds of flaws.

My final verdict about this figure is you should pick one up if you see one at your local TRU. But keep in mind that I can’t recommend her as highly as some of the other Animated figures due to the shortcomings I mentioned. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by other figures in this line, but I have come to expect a very high quality from the Animated figures. The construction and mechanical design flaws that I mentioned keep this figure from getting a higher recommendation. However, this figure does have some great aesthetics, great poseability, and is perhaps the most accurate Arcee ever produced. And let’s not forget she is produced in extremely limited numbers, hard to find and indeed very rare. So if you see one, do not hesitate to buy one.

“Truth is power.” Transform and Roll Out!

Transformers Animated is officially over in the United States, so all the remaining toys that were planned for this line are now released in limited quantities through major retail chains as store exclusives. Personally, I don’t like it when items are released as “limited” or “exclusives” purely to stir up demand, but I don’t think that is what’s going on here. The remaining TFA toys will only be purchased by a small but loyal following, so the sensible solution is to release them in limited numbers. Hasbro saves money by producing less units overall, the stores get to advertise them as exclusives, and the real fans that want them still get a chance to buy them. It’s a win-win-win for all. This is much better than the alternative where the toys don’t get released, in which case the fans don’t get them, and Hasbro can’t recover any sunk cost that already went into the planning (and possibly manufacturing) of these items.

All the remaining Animated toys are products of this nature. Toys R Us carries most (if not all) of the Animated figures released this year. Earlier in the year I found Cybertron Mode Ratchet at TRU. Unfortunately I never made a blog post about him, so let me just say now that he is a great figure. He was advertised with Arcee, another figure that I really wanted. Her sighting was reported as early as January of this year on Seibertron.com, so I’ve been hunting for her at my local TRU for at least some months now. I finally found her this week.

I’ve yet to watch all of the Animated series, so I haven’t seen her character yet. But looking at the toy and at images on the web, Animated Arcee most definitely takes cues from G1 Arcee. This may be the most accurate Arcee figure ever produced. Check out some images of Arcee in the pacakge.

I will be opening her soon and doing a full review. Until then… you better stay close to her! Transform and Roll Out!

February looks like another good month of robot action. I have acquired even more transforming robots. They are:

Robotech Masterpiece BETA Fighter VFB-9H by Toynami
This is a figure I have wanted for quite a while now. Toynami has made a reputation of producing figures of sub-par construction (I heard the Maia Sterling Shadow Alpha was even recalled), but the Beta appears to be the exception. I’ve seen very favorable reviews of this piece on many Youtube videos and blogs, so I look forward to this fighter with high anticipation. Word is that Toynami contracted a new factory in China to produce their figures, and the improved results are reflected in this piece. Prices over the holidays hovered around $130 to $140 at the low end while some dealers were asking $160+. So yesterday when I saw this on Ebay for $114 shipped Buy It Now, I jumped on it immediately. Actually, this was the price of many dealers and I don’t know what accounted for this price drop. Maybe all of a sudden Toynami recovered a lost stash somewhere, or maybe they simply decided to make more, who knows. But I’m glad I waited. I paid this morning and I’m hoping to get it by this weekend. I will be doing a review of this for sure. Stay tuned.

Transformers Animated Leader Class Bulkhead by Hasbro
Transformers Animated is officially over so I’m buying its figures while they’re still up for grabs. There’s not a whole lot left in the stores at this point. Last week I was once again at TRU to return my Samurai Prowl because of the broken peg issue. While I was there, I saw that they were clearing out all TFA Leader Class figures at $20 apiece. The only thing they had was Bulkhead. I’ve heard good things about him, and he is one of the central 5 Autobots in TFA, so I went ahead and bought him. That was a good decision b/c I am very impressed with this figure. He’s got a sturdy frame and nice clicky joints. The toy captured the Animated look extremely well, and his transformation is unique without being overly difficult. I won’t go into all the details here since I plan on doing a full review. But at $20, you owe it to yourself to get this if you haven’t already. At this price he’s one of the best TF values around.

Transformers Alternity Bumblebee by Takara
I was very impressed with Alternity Cliffjumper, and so I was also on the lookout Alternity Bumblebee. I generally don’t like buying repaints, but I’m a sucker for repaints of G1 characters. About 2 weeks ago, my buddy Gemini informed me that OtaCute had these on sale at $24.99 each. They also offer SAL shipping, and for one Alternity figure its about $8. I thought this was way too good to be true. But at this price we could not resist. Gemini already had Bumblebee and needed CJ, so we decided to combine our orders and save even more on ship. The grand total for 2 Alternities plus SAL ship came to only about $60. I still had my doubts, but this week they arrived just fine. OtaCute came thru no problem! These prices are unbeatable and I will definitely check OtaCute from now on when I need Japanese TFs. I already opened CJ so I will most likely keep Bee in the box.

More Robots = More Awesome. Transform and Roll Out!

Last night I got around to opening the Animated Samurai Prowl which I bought at TRU last week. As promised, here is the full review.

Prowl is packaged in his bike mode so let’s look at this first. His appearance in this mode is nice and sleek. I like his colors of black and gold (kinda like the New Orleans Saints), and the clear blue on the windshield and seat adds a nice touch. I like this color more than the non-Samurai version of Prowl. He’s got a bike stand on the left side that can be lowered so he doesn’t fall over on two wheels.

The gimmick of the Samurai version of Prowl is the inclusion of the sidecar, which transforms into his samurai armor. The pic above shows Prowl in alt mode with the sidecar attachment. With the sidecar, Prowl also looks nice. The sidecar has pretty much the same color scheme as the main unit. It can only be attached on the right side.

Most TFs that transform into motorcycles or bikes are not that robust. This is mostly due to the shape of the bike itself, and I’ll admit that designing a TF that looks good in both bike and robot modes can be a challenge. For figures that transform into cars or jets, the alt mode really feels like one cohesive unit and all the parts and pieces come together nicely. It is less so for figures that transform into bikes, and Prowl is no exception to this trend. Compared to other deluxe figures of this line, say Jazz or Swindle, Prowl does not feel as solid in his alt mode. Some pieces can come apart if you are too rough with him, and it is quite easy to move things out of alignment when you try to attach the sidecar. But in his defense, I will say that Prowl is the most robust bike TF that I have seen in any of the TF lines. The various parts of his frame was designed to come together, and there are tabs and grooves at key locations that was designed to lock things in place. Its too bad they don’t work as well as they should, but he did set a new standard for bike TFs.

As far as construction, Prowl doesn’t seem to be on par with other figures of this line. I’m generally very careful with my TFs (especially the first time I transform them), and I already broke him in one place. This is the first time I broke a figure in any capacity since G1! Take a look at the pic below.

I circled the broken parts in red. The rear tab on the side car sticks into a slot on the rear wheel, and I broke off that tab. It is now permanently stuck in the slot. I must have broken this off the first time I tried to remove the sidecar. I didn’t even realize this until I transformed Prowl back into bike mode and tried to re-attach the side car. It must have been a very flimsy piece. Having it broken off doesn’t really affect the alt mode b/c there’s another tab towards the front that sticks into a slot in the engine area. I am kinda upset about it, but such is life and I should be glad this happened on a deluxe Hasbro figure and not a more expensive piece. But be very careful here if you decide to get this figure.

Prowl has got a very clever transformation from bike to robot. He’s one of those unsymmetrical Transfomers, kinda like ROTF Dirge. And just like Dirge, I am impressed with the transformation design. Formation of the upper body from the windshield and seat area is symmetrical, but the front wheel unit becomes the right leg and the rear wheel unit becomes the left leg. I know it doesn’t sound so cool when I describe it in words, but you will be impressed when you see it in action. The toy designers integrated his body parts into the bike really well and the resulting robot figure does not disappoint in appearance.

I gotta say, Hasbro captured Prowl’s Animated look extremely well. The translation in appearance from show to toy is excellent. In the cartoon he is tall and skinny and that is reflected accurately here. The pic above and below shows him without the samurai armor.

Articulation in robot mode is more than sufficient and Prowl is capable of a wide array of poses. He’s got ball joints in the shoulders, elbows, waist, and hips, and there’s decent rotation in the head, knees, and feet as well. He has two short blades on his forearms that are ready to slice up some Decepticon baddies.

The sidecar transforms into the samurai armor, and the pic below shows off this equipment. I haven’t seen Prowl use the armor in the show, so I’m assuming this is accurate in appearance. But regardless, I think he looks awesome with the samurai attachment. He means business and he’s ready for some action.

With the samurai attachment, Prowl’s movement in the arms is more limited because the shoulder pieces are now in the way. The wheel unit on the sidecar transforms into his samurai blade. Decepticons beware!

Prowl has construction issues in bot mode as well. On my figure, the ball joints on the hips are extremely loose. And as such, it is very difficult to stand the figure as his legs simply give out at the hips most of the time. You have to find that perfect balance to get him to stay standing. And with this problem, it is almost impossible for him to hold his poses despite having the articulation to do so. The problem is even more severe with the samurai armor attached. The hip joints do not support the weight of the armor on the upper body and they give out almost all the time.

Transforming from bot back to bike, these same issues surface as well. It is not uncommon for the legs to come off altogether in the process. I got one arm that is quite loose with the same problem, but the other arm, the same joint is super tight and sometimes I have trouble angling it the way I need to have it back in alt mode. There are construction issues thru and thru on this figure. I don’t know if it’s only on mine or if they are all like this.

TFA Prowl vs ROTF Bludgeon! A Samurai Duel to the Death!

Overall, Prowl is a nicely designed figure but he’s got serious construction flaws. I would still pick him up if you see him in the stores, but I don’t think he’s worth paying markup for unless you don’t plan to open him. He is quite rare at this point so finding him may not be easy. There are better figures in the Animated line, but Prowl is worth adding to your collection.

Until next time… Transform and Roll Out!

Out of all the Transformer lines that I collect, Transformers Animated is the most recent one next to ROTF. I admit, when I first saw the Animated designs, I was like, “WTF?!” For a G1 purist, the cartoony and whimsical look of TFA was an absolute abomination. It was easy for me to disregard the show completely.

But being the hardcore TransFan that I am, I couldn’t stay away for long. I first saw the Animated toys back in the summer of 2008. I didn’t buy any, but they did grab my attention. I was impressed with the way the toys looked, but at the same time I wasn’t sure if I wanted to invest in a line in which I do not intend to watch the show. Fast forward to around April or May of 2009. I was at Target when I happened upon this Voyager Sunstorm and Activator Ratchet 2-Pack for a measly $5! I wasn’t collecting TFA, but it would have been a crime to not buy the set at such a price. And so I made the purchase and these two became my first TFA figures, one whole year after the initial launch of the line.

I opened the set sometime later, and I was thoroughly impressed with Sunstorm. I was still skeptical of the cartoony design, but I was impressed by the mechanical engineering of the toy and how well it captured that animated look. The Sunstorm figure was robust and had good articulation. The transformation from robot to jet was clever, and the toy designers succeeded in integrating the animated style as part of the transforming function to produce a high-quality figure.

As collectors, we all know that once you buy that first piece in a set or line, you have opened the floodgates to the rest of that line. And so I started to acquire more TFA figures. My next purchase actually came from Cragislist. I bought 15 figures for $80 from zversus. He’s both a big TF fan and a big Gundam fan so check out his youtube vids. But anyway, they were all in really good shape, and with a modest $85 investment I now own 17 TFA figures. Not a bad start to the collection of this line if I dare say so myself.

Between then and now, I bought about half a dozen more TFA figures. I found good deals on all of them. Ultra Magnus I found with my buddy Gemini at TRU for $20 (he got one too). I had a coupon for Wreck-Gar. The only exception was Leader class Megatron. I paid MSRP for him at Amazon, but I don’t regret it one bit b/c he’s such a cool figure. Overall, I’m very impressed with the Animated line of toys. I’m still kinda turned off by their designs, but over time it has kinda grown on me. At least now I find it tolerable. And their looks are still heads and shoulders above the bug-like designs of the Michael Bay TFs. Gemini gave me the Season 2 DVD for xmas and I shall be watching it soon.

But back to the post at hand. Prowl is a character I wanted for a while in this line because, well, he’s Prowl. He’s a very important character in G1, 2nd in command only to Prime in the first two seasons. In Animated he’s one of the 5 central Autobots. I love both ninjas and samurais so I was looking for the Samurai version. I was very happy to find him on the shelves of TRU on Tuesday. I had to pay MSRP, but at this point I’m not really complaining. TFA is officially over, so once these figures are gone, they’re gone.

I will be opening him soon and doing a full review. Stay tuned… Tranform and Roll Out!