Back in August of 2011, I reviewed the Kre-O Starscream set in jet mode. Now I’m gonna review the robot mode, 9 months later. As I mentioned in the jet mode review, Kre-O figures do not transform, which is a shame. In December of last year, I took apart the jet mode and built the robot mode. Here we go with the review.

Starscream looks quite nice in robot mode. I like the level of detail. His appearance in this mode is obviously G1 inspired, with the intake on the shoulders, the cockpit down the chest, and the wings on the back. The overall shade of grey with red and blue touches here and there is also very G1. And if you still need further evidence of his G1 roots, just check out the head. With the exception of Masterpiece and CHUG Starscreams, the Kre-O has the most G1-looking head of all the Starscreams made. I like the weapons on each arm. They don’t really resemble his G1 null rays, but they got a charm of their own. On his right arm there appear to be twin machine guns, and on the left arm there are a cluster of 4 missiles. Don’t mess with Screamer!

The robot mode uses a lot less pieces than the jet mode. I’m just estimating here, but I would say there are around 30 unused pieces in robot mode.

Starscream in robot mode is quite poseable. He’s got joints at the shoulders, elbows, hips, knees, ankles, and neck. With the exception of the elbows and knees, all joints I listed are on ball joints. For a building block toy, the level of poseability is impressive. Check out some pics below.

Here are some pics of the back. The wings can be moved forward and back. The thrusters on the upper back can also be raised and lowered.

Here is a shot for size comparison. As you can see, the Kre-O figure is pretty large.

For the robot mode, I do have a gripe about the joints. Like I mentioned already, I had this in robot mode since December. At first the joints felt really tight, and the figure can hold poses well. I didn’t play with him all that much between now and then, just had him posed on the shelf this whole time. Now the hip joints feels quite loose. Kre-O Starscream does weigh a little more than your average TF, and over time it does feel like the joints won’t support the weight. If you decide to build the robot mode, I would recommend that you don’t have him posed in robot mode for too long. I’m going to take this apart soon and store it in the box. Maybe in the future when I build the robot again, the joints would be ok. But this is not something I can confirm at this time.

Also, the quality of the head piece feels poor. I mentioned how I like that it’s G1, but the detail on the face looks pretty bad. The helmet portion also looks like it could be sharper. I know it’s hard to see from my pics, but believe me that the head could look better. This is nowhere near the quality of Masterpiece head molds, which is about the same size for Starscream. Perhaps a customizer can swap a Masterpiece head onto the Kre-O.

Between the robot mode and jet mode, I definitely like the jet mode better. Overall it feels more solid, and uses more pieces. The robot mode’s not bad, but if I can only pick one I would build the jet mode.

The Kre-O Starscream set can be found fairly cheap now at many places. I’ve seen it for about $20 at Walmart. My friend Gemini said he found his for $10. At these prices I would definitely recommend the set if you like building block toys. It doesn’t transform, but you got two modes to build, and all pieces are fully compatible with other building block toys out there, like Legos and Megabloks. I’m hoping in the future, Hasbro will come out with Kre-Os that can really transform. Perhaps I will design a Starscream figure that can transform, using these Kre-O pieces with Legos. That sounds like a fun project. I might try that when I have some time. Transform and Roll Out!

I am a big fan of War For Cybertron. Later this year, perhaps around fall, the sequel Fall of Cybertron will be released. But what’s even better is that there will be figures from FOC! Just like WFC, figures from the sequel will be released in the Generations line.

The following pics are previews of all the deluxe figures planned for FOC. While we only got 5 figures from WFC (Optimus, Megatron, Bumblebee, Soundwave, Cliffjumper), we’re gonna get so much more for FOC! That’s right TransFans. Hasbro loves you. They’re even doing a combiner team that really combines! No release dates are given yet, but most likely the 1st wave will hit store shelves around the same time as the game. Fall of 2012 will be the Fall of Cybertron! Hey, that makes me wonder if there are seasons on Cybertron.

All pics are courtesy of the Transformers Facebook page.

Jazz

Optimus Prime

Shockwave

Blast Off

Brawl

Onslaught

Swindle

Vortex

Bruticus

Kickback

Starscream

Sideswipe

Ultra Magnus

Fireflight

Fireflight doesn’t look right to me. I think this figure makes a better Strafe, with that head mold, alt mode, and the colors. But I like Aerialbots too, so I can live with it.

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting all of them. Transform and Roll Out!

April seems to have gone by in a flash. As far as shopping for Transformers goes, we seem to be in a dry spell. For the hardcore TransFan, not a whole lot new stuff hit the shelves this month. Below I present the TFs that I bought in April

• TF Prime RID Soundwave, Walmart, $12.88
• TF Prime RID Arcee, Target, $12.99

• DOTM Deluxe Darksteel, Kohl’s, $3.90

I first bought Soundwave in March. But like I mentioned in the March post, I wanted to see if I can find it cheaper. On April 1st I found him at Walmart (and returned the 1st one to TRU). Also on the same day I got Arcee at Target. Both of these figures are excellent. This particular Soundwave is a very refreshing take on the character, and both alt mode and robot mode are accurate to his show appearance. RID Arcee is also a solid figure that will give the FE version a run for her money. In fact, I can’t decide which is the better Arcee. They both have their pros and cons. TF Prime figures as a whole have been nothing short of spectacular. There’s not a single one thus far that I would not recommend.

As for Darksteel, the $3,90 price is not a mistake. Regular price is $16.99 as you can see in the pic, but they were having a sale. I also had one of those $10 Kohl’s gift cards that I frequently get in the mail. So final price after tax was $3.90. Not a bad deal at all. I already bought Darksteel last year, but I broke one of the foot pieces so I thought I buy it again.

Only 3 TFs for April… that’s very unlike me. Hopefully there will be more TFs in May. Transform and Roll Out!

“You break it, I’ll remake it.” Any TransFan worth his energon can immediately identify which legendary TF this motto belongs to. As the Autobot’s chief medical officer and primary physician, Ratchet is a major character across all Transformers universes. As far as I know, he made an appearance in every TF continuity. And more often than not, Ratchet plays a major role as part of the core group of Autobots belonging to Optimus Prime’s inner circle. This is seen in G1, the Movie-verse, TF Animated, TF Prime, and the TF War For Cybertron video game. Always a healer first, Ratchet is most often seen tending to comrades wounded in battle. However, Ratchet does possess decent fighting abilities, and is not afraid to get his hands dirty in a fight when the situation requires it. Ratchet is a favorite of comic writer Simon Furmon. In both the original US G1 Marvel comics and the IDW G1 reboot, Ratchet has a significant part to play in the fight against the Decepticons. His courage and loyalty is unquestioned.

So it goes without saying that I would have many figures of such an iconic character in the TF Universe. Below are some pics of all the Ratchets in my collection.

Front row (left to right): TF Animated Activator, TF Animated Deluxe (Earth mode), TF Animated Deluxe (Cybertron mode), TF Prime Deluxe, Universe Deluxe. Back row (left to right): Movie 1 Voyager, ROTF Deluxe, DOTM Deluxe.

Same Ratchets in robot mode

G1 Encore

For the group pics, I put all the Movie-verse Ratchets in the back, and all other Ratchets in the front. As I compiled all my Ratchets together, it dawned on me that I have exactly one Ratchet from each Bay movie. The DOTM deluxe figure is probably my favorite out of the 3 that I have. I also forgot I have 3 Ratchets from TF Animated. Believe it or not, the Activator figure is the first TF Animated figure that I bought. He came with Sunstorm in a Target exclusive 2-pack. That’s why I even have him, since normally I wouldn’t buy Activator figures. I found that 2-pack for $5 BTW. As for the Deluxe Animated figures, they’re both quite good. I really liked the Universe figure when I first got him. But now that I’m looking at him again years later, that head-looking-down issue is bugging me. Still, he’s not a bad update for the CHUG line. And last but not least, there is the TF Prime Deluxe Ratchet. This Ratchet is really well built and the design is brilliant. He’s probably my favorite Ratchet out of the whole bunch. At this time he’s readily available in mass retail. Grab him if you see one.

The only unopened Ratchet I have is the G1 Encore figure. To this day, I have not played with G1 Ratchet or any of its re-issues. Same goes for G1 Ironhide. So I have no idea how this figure transforms. Hardcore G1-ers like myself know that this figure does not come with a real head. I think maybe one of these days, I will open the Encore figure and finally check out how good (or bad) this iconic G1 figure really is.

Transforming all these Ratchets to take the pics was a good exercise. I kinda forgot how to transform some of the figures. But none of them are too tough to figure out. This was a good refresher for me. I actually think that Universe Ratchet is the most difficult out of this bunch, but other TransFans may disagree.

I also noticed that I didn’t buy doubles of any Ratchets. That’s weird. I kinda wish I bought more Universe Ratchets. The value of this figure has gone up considerably.

Until next time, Transform and Roll Out!

Back in August of 2011, I featured this customized Generations Red Alert done by my buddy Gemini. He brought me the figure and the gun weapon, but he left the engine accessory at home in his possession. Some time later, he painted the engine piece and mailed it to me. I also did not take any pics of Red Alert in alt mode in that post. So Today I’m going to show off the painted engine on Red Alert in his sporty Lamborghini-inspired race car mode.

The silver paint and red and gold highlights on this particular accessory really adds that extra something. If you don’t believe me, take a look below at the painted with the unmodified, side by side.

After the custom paint, anyone can easily see just how dull the engine accessory really is in its original factory default colors. Hasbro should take a cue and learn from these pics. Some little paint touch up here and there can really add a lot.

The pic above shows off how the gun weapon is attached to Red Alert in alt mode. The gun basically becomes the exhaust. This piece is painted silver. Check out how much better this looks over the dull factory colors in this post.

Transform and Roll Out!

It is the end of the month once again. From this point forward, at the end of every month, I will make a post about all the Transformers I bought for that month. I started this last month in this post, and I think I will continue the trend. And just like Feb, I bought a bunch of TFs in March.

• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Half-Track, Target, $6.92

• DOTM Deluxe Soundwave, eBay, $34.15 shipped

• TF Prime RID Deluxe Wheeljack, TRU, $14.99

• Masterpiece Optimus Prime (MP-10), Wondercon, $200
• Star Wars Crossover Clone Pilot Arc-170 Starfighter, Wondercon, $10

• TF Prime RID Bumblebee, Walmart, $12.88
• TF Prime RID Ratchet, Target, $12.99

• DOTM Deluxe Barricade, Walmart, $7.27
• DOTM Deluxe Jolt, Walmart, $7.27

• PCC Skyhammer, CVS Pharmacy, $8.49

• TF Prime RID Soundwave, TRU, $14.99

Some random thoughts as I look at what I bought this month:

• I got 11 TFs for the month: 4 DOTMs, 4 TFPs, 1 MP, 1 Star Wars TF, and 1 PCC.
• I opened DOTM Half-Track, DOTM Soundwave, TFP Wheeljack, TFP Bumblebee, TFP Ratchet, and PCC Skyhammer. The rest are unopened.
• Vigilant readers will notice that in Feb I got TFP Deluxe Bumblebee, and mentioned that I returned him back to TRU. I did that so I can get him again this month at a lower price somewhere else.
• It is for this same reason that I haven’t opened TFP Soundwave. I’m hoping to find him again for cheaper later.
• I bought a TF from CVS Pharmacy for the first time. I don’t usually hunt there, but I happened to see PCC Skyhammer which I didn’t see anywhere else. So I snagged it. Price wasn’t too bad either. Most non-discount stores still carry PCC 2-packs at $9.99. I thought CVS was gonna mark this up like everything else, so I was pleasantly surprised when they rung up $8.49 at checkout.
• Speaking of Skyhammer, why is PCC Skyhammer a Decepticon? DOTM Skyhammer is an Autobot. I’ve grown accustomed to seeing a TF character appearing very different from line to line, but switching allegiances? That’s just weird.
• I haven’t had any time to mess with MP-10, and that’s why he’s still unopened. I need to make time for this soon, especially considering he’s by far the most expensive piece here. Very looking forward to some quality time with what many is calling the best G1-style Optimus Prime ever made.
• Other than at the Target where I bought Half-Track, I have not seen him anywhere else. I started seeing him at this Target several months ago, but did not buy him b/c he’s simply a Sandstorm repaint. I only got him now since he’s on clearance. I wonder why he’s so rare in my area? In the pic above you’ll see that his left arm dislodged from the socket, but the figure is fine once it’s re-attached.
• DOTM Soundwave was bought on eBay from a Taiwan seller. This price is not too bad, considering he’s now Asia only.
• TFP Wheeljack and Ratchet are some of the best deluxe figures out there right now. Do not hesitate to grab these two if/when you find them.
• Bewteen this month and last month, the only TF I got at a discount store is Icepick from dd’s Discounts. I’m still very much hunting at discount stores regularly. Guess they just didn’t get anything good lately.

Too many TFs, too little time. Transform and Roll Out!

It is once again St Patrick’s Day! Last year for St Patrick’s Day I took pics of all my green Transformers, and this year I’m going to continue that tradition. Below are more green TFs I’ve bought since then.

The Decepticons
TFC Toys Hercules (left), Reveal the Shield Voyager Lugnut

 

The Autobots
Front row (left to right): DOTM Human Alliance Sandstorm, ROTF Scout Firetrap, PCC Heavytread, DOTM Commander Guzzle, DOTM legend Flak. Back row (left to right): DOTM Human Alliance Roadbuster, DOTM Deluxe Ratchet, ROTF Deluxe Ratchet, DOTM Deluxe Roadbuster, DOTM Deluxe Air Raid

As I look at my mix of green Transformers from last year to this year, here are some random thoughts:
• The first two figures I bought from DOTM were both green, Deluxe Roadbuster and Sandstorm. In fact, most of the green Autobots featured are from DOTM.
• In both years there is one Air Raid. They’re both green. Is that Air Raid’s new color?
• Hercules by TFC Toys is pure awesomeness! I must do a post about this set soon. Good thing TFC Toys made him this year or I would only be left with one green Decepticon.
• Lugnut should have been included last year since I already had him by then. But I missed including him for some reason, so he appears now.
• Last year I featured 19 green TFS. That’s from a collection of over 7 years. This year I feature 17, and that’s from one year alone. Adjusting for Lugnut, that’s still 20 and 16. This is further proof I bought way too many TFs this past year.
• For the Autobots, I have a lot of small tanks or artillery vehicles: Firetrap, Guzzle, Flak, and Heavytread.

Just like last year, March Madness started this weekend. I picked Missouri to win it all, and they’re already eliminated in the first round! OK technically now they call it Round 2, but you know what I mean. Missouri is a 2nd seed, and before today, a 2nd seed has only lost 4 times in the first round in NCAA history. Today we lost two 2nd seeds (Missouri and Duke). This is just a weird year. Regardless, my bracket is totally busted. I don’t even feel like watching the rest of it.

I’m also presently attending Wondercon in Anaheim. Look for a coverage soon… Transform and Roll Out!

Due to personal reasons, I have not posted in a long time. But now I’m back with a vengeance! And on this extra day in the leap year! This day will not come again for 4 years, and what better way to celebrate than to list the TF items I bought this February. As I look back on the month, I realize I bought a lot of TFs. So here we go.

Clockwise from top left:
• Star Wars Crossover Darth Vader, TRU, $19.99
• Star Wars Crossover Darth Maul, TRU, $9.99
• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Thunderhead, Walmart, $5
• TF Prime RID Cliffjumper, TRU, $14.99
• TF Prime RID Bumblebee, TRU, $14.99 *Later returned to TRU
• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Backfire, Walmart, $5

Clockwise from top left:
• Heavy Labor, BBTS, $97.99
• Dr. Crank, BBTS, $99.99
• Neckbreaker, BBTS, $99.99
• Battle Tanker, BBTS, $102.99
• Structor, BBTS, $99.99
• Madblender, BBTS, $99.99

• TF Prime Series 02 legion Vehicon, Target, $4.99

• DOTM Basic Human Alliance Icepick, dd’s Discounts, $6.99

• TF Prime FE Voyager Optimus Prime, eBay, $57.98 shipped
• TF Prime RID Voyager Optimus Prime, Walmart, $19.96

• TF Animated Skywarp, Amazon, $13.95

• TF Prime RID Voyager Megatron, Walmart, $19.968
• DOTM Deluxe Optimus Prime with MechTech Trailer, Walmart, $29.96

Not counting the Bumblebee that was returned, that’s 18 TFs for the month. This is a total contrast from Januray, where I only bought 1 TF (PCC Heavytread). Still, 18 is a lot, even for me. Moreover, most of these were bought at MSRP. The only ones bought at discount were the 3 DOTM Basic HA figs, Skywarp, and one of the Star Wars figs (it was buy one get one half off). But screw it! I’m Hsunami Prime and approving TF spending is my job. Or maybe I should say that’s my function. TF Buyer. I like to see that on my business card. Or Tech Spec. If I owned my own business, I’m gonna make my business card look like Tech Specs.

As far as opening these guys, I opened all of them except Thunderhead, Cliffjumper, FE Optimus Prime, RID Megatron, and DOTM deluxe Optimus Prime with Trailer. I intend to open the rest of them soon.

I’m Hsunami Prime, and I’m back and better than ever. Transform and Roll Out!

Happy Holidays! I hope everyone got what they wanted this Holiday season. There’s no better way to celebrate the Holidays than to get some new TFs! OK maybe there are, but new TFs are worth celebrating any time of the year. Below are some TFs that I received or found in the past week or so.

The pic above are the 3 Transformers Prime figures that are now out in mass retail. I went into TF Prime figures in this earlier post.

TRU Exclusive Rodimus appears in the lower left in the pic above. I have yet to open this, and I’m hoping this version is equivalent to the Japanese MP Rodimus Prime 2nd Release since the 1st Release is not without its faults. It will be interesting to see if this US version can attach the Japanese trailer in alt mode. In the lower right of the pic is PCC Double Clutch. Haven’t opened this either, but he seems promising for a PCC. In the upper left is the Walmart Exclusive Deluxe DOTM Optimus Prime. I opened this figure and he’s not half bad. The alt mode comes together well, transformation is not overly difficult, and I like the MechTech weapon. And last but not least, in the upper right is Skywarp. Did any of you out there think this is the Japanese Exclusive Takara DOTM Skywarp? Look carefully. It is inside the Japanese packaging, but it is actually a custom made by my buddy Gemini. He took a DOTM Deluxe Starscream and painted it into Skywarp. Very cool. Look for a review of this custom in a future post.

And finally, yesterday I found some Generations Junkheap. Wreck-Gar was such a pain in the ass to find when he was released. In fact, I didn’t find any in retail until this past November at discount stores. So I kept my eyes open for Junkheap. Last year a new Target opened near my home in SoCal that is within walking distance. I had some free time yesterday so I walked over. The trip paid off with these 2 Junkheaps.

This is probably the last post I will make for 2011. Looking back on 2011, I think I bought a record number of TFs for the year. It’s hard to say what Hasbro has in stored for us next year, but I’m curious to find out. See y’all in 2012! Transform and Roll Out!

As the most recognizable character in the TF franchise, it’s no wonder that Hasbro keeps churning out new figures of the great Optimus Prime. Sometimes they are new incarnations, a brand new design of the Autobot leader that deserves to be made into a figure. Sometimes they are simply repaints or slight retools of a previous figure, in which case purchase of the figure is questionable. And sometimes Hasbro/Takara goes back to the drawing board, and gives us new and improved versions on a previous design of Optimus Prime.

On Nov 23rd, 2009, I made a post about all my Optimus Prime figures. That was more than 2 years ago, so I think it’s time for another update. Below are the Optimus Prime figures I have bought since that time. And just like Nov 23rd, 2009, I have nothing better to do today than watch football and make this post.

From left to right:
Front row: Reveal the Shield (G1, legend class), Dark of the Moon (commander class, with 3D glasses)
Middle row: Reveal the Shield (G2, deluxe class), Generations War For Cybertron (deluxe class), Animated (Cybertronian mode, deluxe class)
Top row: Dark of the Moon (voyager class, Walmart exclusive), Dark of the Moon (voyager class)

Below is a pic in their alt modes.

Below are two more Prime figs that I never opened.

Hunt for the Decepticons, Battle Hooks leader class (left), Hunt for the Decepticons, Battle Blades voyager class

I seriously thought I bought more OP figures in this 2 year span, but I guess this is it. Most of these were bought on the cheap too. The G1 legend figure was found at Marshalls for $3.99. The DOTM commander class figure I got for free. Deluxe Animated Prime I got from TRU when they were clearing them out, I think for $7.99. The Walmart exclusive DOTM OP figure was $18.77, but he came as a two pack with Comettor. As for the unopened Primes, Battle Hooks leader OP I got for $19.99 from Ross (you can still see the price tag in the pic). As for Battle Blades voyager Prime, I first got him when he was only $10 at HasbroToyShop.com. That one was defective however, so I returned it and I got him again from BBTS.com at regular price.

Interestingly enough, the only figure here that I have multiples of is the Reveal the Shield G2 Laser Optimus Prime. I guess it’s because I keep finding him at discount stores for cheap, and I need at least one extra to turn into Nemesis Prime / Scourge (in case Hasbro does not do one). It also helps that FansProject is releasing Battle Tanker. When that happens, this figure may be a sought after item.

In the words of Optimus Prime, Transform and Roll Out!