2018 continues with more TF goodies. Surprisingly, nothing from Power of the Primes (which was the current CHUG line at the time) and nothing from trusted 3Ps. Everything this month is Studio Series, G1 reissues, or 4P products.

• Studio Series Shadow Raider, amazon.com, $19.99

• Studio Series Bumblebee, amazon.com, $19.99

• Studio Series Ironhide, amazon.com, $29.99

• G1 Hot Rod, Walmart, $29.84

• NBK Drump Truck, eBay seller, $12.74

• NBK Mixer, eBay seller, $12.74

• Kubianbao MP10-V Tactical Container, eBay, $34.76

Shadow Raider

Shadow Raider is a repaint of Studio Series 11 Lockdown. Overall, I like Shadow Raider better. I dig the orange colors. And I like his head mold. It’s as if Lockdown is wearing that green night vision helmet that we see him sport in Age of Extinction. I also like that Shadow Raider comes with an awesome looking gun, as opposed to that claw or hook thing that Lockdown has. If you already have SS Lockdown, then you may not want to buy essentially the same figure again. But if you don’t, then I recommend SS Shadow Raider over SS Lockdown, for the reasons I listed.

And now that I think on it, this orange Lamborghini reminds me of Revenge of the Fallen Oil Pan. The only pic I have of Oil Pan on this blog is this Halloween 2012 Pic (scroll to the most bottom pic, Oil Pan is the orange Lamborghini). I probably still have Oil Pan somewhere. Shadow Raider was featured in a Halloween post here.

Bumblebee

And here we have yet another movie Bumblebee. I swear, I’m so sick of writing about movie Bumblebees. Hasbro churned these out over and over and really forced this character down our throats. But this Studio Series Bumblebee transforms into a VW Bug, so I felt obligated to get one.

G1 purists will get this figure for the VW alt mode, but that’s about all this figure as going for it. Mechanically, this feels like all movie Bumblebees before it. The figure offers nothing new as far as transformation scheme. Take any deluxe movie Bumblebee made in the last 5 years, and imagine that it transforms into a VW Bug and not a Camaro. That’s how this figure feels.

Construction wise, this figure is also not the best. The joints are tolerable, but a bit too loose for my liking. Going to alt mode, SS 18 Bumblebee feels very much like a panel former. And the panels don’t come together that easily, because of the sub-par construction. Trying to combine panels when the build is too loose is not a fun exercise. Everything does come together in the end, but getting there is not pleasant.

Hasbro does sometimes improve their figures, then release the improved mold as a new figure. Case in point, SS 01 Bumblebee was later improved and released as SS 27 Clunker Bumblebee. I don’t have SS 27, but supposedly it fixed some stability problems. Will SS 18 also get an improvement sometime in the future? Only time will tell. In the mean time, get SS 18 Bumblebee if you must have a movie representation of everyone’s favorite hero as the VW Bug. Just don’t expect any originality here. You’ve seen this before.

Ironhide

Studio Series 14 Ironhide is a figure that I still have not opened to this day. I’m not sure why that is. I had every intention of opening this, but life gets in the way, other stuff happens. And before you know it, nearly 2 years go by and it’s still sitting in a box in the closet, unopened and collecting dust.

And I doubt I will open it now. A quick search on Amazon tells me that a new copy of SS 14 Ironhide goes for nearly $150! Yikes! Why is this figure is so valuable? Did they not make that many? Looking through the Amazon reviews, SS 14 appears to be a terrific figure. Some even prefer this over the MPM version.

I am really tempted to open SS 14 to check it out for myself. But on the other hand I don’t want to intentionally destroy $150 of value. What am I gonna do? Woe is me.

Hot Rod

This G1 Hot Rod reissue is a Walmart Exclusive. In G1, I had the Targetmaster version, so this is a figure I know well. Hot Rod is definitely one of the better figures from G1 Season 3. Of course, he is the star of the G1 Movie, so it makes sense for Hasbro to construct a figure worthy of our hero.

I normally don’t purchase G1 reissues from Walmart that they have released in the last several years. I feel weird saying that, since I re-started my TF collecting 16 years ago with G1 reissues. Looking at my TF List, I certainly have bought a lot of G1 reissues over the years. This means I have most of the figures being released now. And these new reissues are kind of pricey, for what they are. Perhaps that’s why I don’t feel the love for G1 reissues anymore.

But with all that being said, I bought this reissue of Hot Rod. I did that for 4 reasons: 1) I had the Targetmaster version, not the Season 3 version, which is what this is, 2) I don’t have Hot Rod as a reissue, 3) this is a good toy for G1 standards, and 4) he is the star of the G1 Movie.

My only regret is that I bought him way too soon. I got him at regular MSRP of close to $30. Walmart apparently had way too many of these, and within a month started dropping prices at my local store. At first they dropped to $25. At that price they still sat on the shelves. Then they were slashed to $15. Even at this price, they weren’t exactly moving. My local store even put them in the clearance section. I thought they would go down to $10, and at that price I’ll buy another one. But that never happened. It was pushing up against the holiday season, and at $15 many parents probably jumped on this. Either that, or some scalper came in and bought them all. I should have got another one when it was $15. If I did, I would open up one of them, and compare to my G1 Targetmaster fig. Oh well.

Dump Truck, Mixer

Here we have 2 more NBK Constructicons. After buying the first 4, I had to get these last 2 to complete this famous sextet in my collection. Dump Truck and Mixer is obviously Long Haul and Mixmaster, respectively. I love how NBK is just using their alt mode as their names. Actually, these may be the names that Generation Toy is using for the genuine article, and NBK is too lazy to come up with their own.

I like Dump Truck. I like the look of both of his molds. Transformation is not hard, but feels complex enough for a figure of his size. Speaking of size, all the NBK Constructicons are about voyager size. Many other modern Constructicon teams absolutely butcher Long Haul. Some of them make him way too big or too bulky, being out of scale of with the other team members (I’m looking at you). Some of them have production problems, being that Long Haul fails to be stable enough to be Devastator’s center. NBK Dump Truck shares none of these faults. Alt mode looks good, robot mode is just a tad bulky (as he should be, from the design), and overall he’s stable enough to provide adequate center of gravity for the gestalt. There are some panels that are difficult to tab together when transforming back to alt mode. It’s a slight distraction and does reduce my overall satisfaction with the piece. But, on a whole, Dump Truck is still a recommended 4th party figure.

Mixer is my final addition to this team. Unfortunately, much like Crane, my feelings for this figure is not as positive. Mixer is another piece where shoddy construction ruins a figure. Going from alt to robot, as soon as you un-peg the arms, the giant mixer barrel falls out. I don’t think this is intended, as the instructions never show it removed for any purpose. Alt mode looks pretty good. Robot mode could be better. I don’t like the large side panels on the arms, near the shoulders. Having the mixer barrel stay on in robot mode is not easy (again, don’t think it’s supposed to come off). In their defense, I don’t think any of the modern Constructicon teams does Mixmaster that well. None of them have figured out what to properly do with the mixer barrel in robot mode. It’s possible that the genuine article from Generation Toys does have the barrel stay on. The NBK figure is a floppy, frustrating mess.

With all 6 NBK Constructicons complete, they can combine and form Devastator. That deserves a review of its own, but I’ll just say quickly here that the combined form is impressive. Many will undoubtedly compare this to ToyWorld Constructor. I don’t think it’s fair to say here which is better. A lot of it will depend on what you value as a TransFan. But I will review NBK Devastator. A discussion on comparisons will be offered in that review.

MP10-V Tactical Container

In March of 2018, I acquired KBBMP10-V by Kubianbao. Yes, we all know what this is, a KO voyager size figure of perhaps the most famous MP to date. And Yes, KBBMP10-V is the name of this figure. Any true TransFans should be able to easily decipher it. It’s original, humorous, and lazy. I can’t get enough of 4th party shenanigans.

MP10-V Tactical Container is the trailer to that figure. And I’ll get straight to it: this is good! KBBMP10-V screamed high production values, and its trailer is no different. KBB is 4th party. When 4th companies can produce products that are superior in quality to the originals, it’s high time HasTak take a look in the mirror and do some serious soul searching.

Everyone already knows what modern Optimus trailers needs to feature today. So I’ll just quickly point out the pros and features of MP10-V Tactical Container in bullet points:

• Beautiful paint job
• Rubber tires on trailer
• Spike figure included
• Roller included (silver color)
• Retractable ramp
• Extendable drone module
• Extendable antenna and claw on drone module
• Trailer also functions as repair bay
• Storage for all of KBBMP10-V’s weapons
• Spike can sit in Roller, drone module, and a control unit inside the trailer
• Drone module can be extended outside in trailer mode
• Gap covers for hole used for drone module extension in trailer mode
• Automatic down deployment of stabilizers when side supports move outward
• Roller’s rear top can be transformed to allow for towing of trailer

Look at all the features above – this thing is just awesome! I’m probably forgetting some features too.

MP10-V Tactical Container is totally worth the money. I recommend this purchase with no hesitation.

That’s it for this month. Stats for the month:

• 3 Studio Series figs
• 1 G1 reissue
• 3 4th party items

Until next time… Transform and Roll Out.
 

Only 3 figures were purchased in August of 2018.

• Power of the Primes Blast Off, amazon.com, $24.99

• Power of the Primes Repugnus, amazon.com, $24.99

• NBK Scraper, eBay seller, $13.89

Blast Off

I mentioned this Blast Off figure back in this post. Go there for all the details. In short, this was the Blast Off that should have been released in the United States all along. In that post, I listed him as being in Combiner Wars. Realistically that’s not wrong, since the rest of his Combaticon cohorts were from Combiner Wars. But technically Blast Off is released in the Power of the Primes line (written on the side of the box).

Power of the Primes Blast Off is completely representative of G1 Blast Off. He transforms into a space shuttle, has a head mold that resembles his G1 cartoon looks, and has a paint scheme that his G1 toy brother would be proud of. This Blast Off is an Amazon exclusive, much like what they did for Quickslinger (Slingshot) and Brake-Neck (Wildrider).

Here is a pic of him in the box.

As of this writing, I still haven’t tried combining this Blast Off as part of Bruticus. I’ll get to that someday, promise.

Repugnus

In G1, Repugnus is part of a little known Autobot sub-group called the Monsterbots. This was a trio of Autobots that transformed into monsters. They came around in Season 4 of the toys. I don’t remember them appearing in the limited 3-episode arc “Rebirth” that made up the entirety of US Season 4 cartoons. They may have had more of an impact in the comics and the Japanese continuity, but I don’t care enough about the group to look it up.

All 3 Monsterbots are now released in the Prime Wars Trilogy. Both Twinferno and Grotusque were relesaed in Titans Return. In Power of the Primes we get Repugnus. This is yet another Amazon exclusive. I guess Hasbro figured there would be a limited audience for this guy. For once I agree with them.

As of this writing, I still have not opened Repugnus. Based on pics I’ve seen, he’s a slight re-work off the Twinferno mold. The same goes for Grotusque too. In Prime Wars Trilogy, all 3 Monsterbots share the same overall motif and base mold, but HasTak did add or modify enough mold bits to make each unique. I am glad this trio has an update in this modern era for Transformers. But no biggie if you missed out on any of these 3.

Pic of Repugnus in the box below.

Oh, I also have a Titan Master Repugnus. This is still unopened. It may never get opened.

Scraper

Here we have another NBK knock-off product. NBK Scraper is a knock-off of Generation Toy Scraper, who is an homage to Scrapper. You gotta love the names of 3rd party and 4th party products. In this case they dropped one p; the name still works, everyone still knows who this is supposed to be. NBK is too lazy to even come up with their own knock-off name.

Scraper is my 2nd NBK knock-off, after Bulldozer. Scraper is packed in alt mode, and he is constructed just as well.

I really like the look of Scraper in alt mode. This is unmistakably Scrapper. In this mode, everything tabs together nicely. The giant shovel is at the right tolerance, and can be lifted up to stay up if so desired. Scraper rolls well on a flat surface.

Scraper comes with only 1 accessory, his pistol. In alt mode, it can be attached underneath the vehicle. Pic below.

Transformation to robot mode follows the usual Scrapper scheme. Two features are worthy of note, however. One is the arm transformation. They rotate to the reverse direction for robot mode. And in turn, the ladders on them needs to be rotated and flipped. Very cool. The other feature is with the driver area piece that sits on the back in robot mode. This piece is attached to a folding mechanism, allowing for different placement of it in alt, robot, and combined mode.

Like I said already, construction of the figure is good. So this transformation is not frustrating to do at all. Couple that with a familiar scheme, Scraper’s transformation is completely intuitive. But at the same time, Generation Toy incorporated some refreshing design choices. This is a fun toy.

Robot mode is pretty good for the most part. The joints work well, and figure construction is good enough to have him hold poses. Articulation is limited, mostly because of the giant back kibble of a shovel, and the two huge wheels on the shoulders. But this is part of his G1 design. He appears a bit stocky from how Scrapper should look, and that’s unfortunate. I do wish his proportions are more in tune with Scrapper’s lean G1 look. Bulldozer does not have such proportion issues, and for that reason alone I think Bulldozer has the better robot mode.

Transformation to leg mode for the combined form is pretty straightfoward. Looking at the pics alone is enough to see how it goes, so here they are.

All in all, I’m very impressed with how everything tabs together for this leg mode. This is great engineering design by Generation Toys. Of special mention is that the robot arms come around the back and tab together to form the heel (see above pic). The arms tab in to each other, and tab onto the body. There is ankle pivot for the leg mode, and which translates to waist pivot in robot mode. This is a very effective transformation to the combined form.

I’m so impressed with Bulldozer and Scraper already, that at this point I have made a conscious decision to buy the rest of this set. The other 4 figs will come in later months.

Much more to come next month. Til then… Transform and Roll Out.

 

After a LONG hiatus from me documenting my monthly TF purchases, I’m gonna continue here. There’s a lot of TF purchase action in June. Let’s get started.

• Studio Series Brawl, amazon.com, $29.99

• Studio Series Megatron, amazon.com, $29.99

• Power of the Primes Snarl, Target, $16.99

• Power of the Primes Moonracer, Target, $16.99

• Titans Return Trypticon, Amazon seller, $103.65

• Zeta Toys Flyfire, gift

• NBK Bulldozer, showz.com, $9.99

• ToyWorld Constructor, chosenprime.com, $469.99

Brawl

SS 12 Brawl is my third movie Brawl figure. The first one is the original leader class figure that made 2 of my top ten lists (most difficult and broken). The 2nd one is the original deluxe figure, which I never opened. I really don’t have too much recollection of leader class Brawl. It’s a big figure, sitting at the bottom of a box in a closet somewhere. That’s the problem when you have too many Transformers; you just don’t have enough time for all of them.

It’s inevitable that there will be comparisons of this SS 12 Brawl to leader class Brawl from the first movie. And I can’t do that compare here. All I can do is rate SS 12 Brawl on its own.

Like all offerings in the Studio Series line, Brawl is packaged in robot mode, and comes with cardboard backing that may be used as the movie backdrop. In Brawl’s case, he gets a very fitting graphic of the battle in Mission City from the first movie.

Brawl’s robot mode much resembles his movie appearance. He only appeared in the first movie, but the toy designers captured his look in this figure quite well. Construction of the figure feels good. Joints are at the right tolerance, nothing too tight or too loose. There is a lot going on in this figure as far as weapons, but nothing feels out of place as the solid construction is able to keep it all together. Most of the fiddly bits clean up quite well in robot mode. And if something is dangling around, it is more intended as part of the design and not a production flaw. The back of the robot cleans up nicely too (which I should have took a pic). There’s not a lot of unwanted kibble on the back, so kudos to HasTak.

Brawl is a bit limited in the articulation category. Part of it is because of his design; he’s very bulky with lots of kibble, and that in itself limits articulation. The design of the feet, while movie accurate, don’t allow for any ankle tilt, which hinders poses. The hands are molded directly into the forearms, and don’t come out. Arm articulation as a whole suffers from all the weapons and extra kibble present all around.

Transformation to tank mode is fun. I don’t remember any other figure quite like SS 12 Brawl, not even the original leader class figure. The leg transformation is fairly straightforward. Arms form the tank turret, and they come together in an interesting and unique way. The hardest part to describe is the chest. This section folds on itself several times, and there are other minor pieces that complement this scheme to produce a robot to tank transformation unlike anything else we’ve seen before. SS 12 definitely gets points for transformation originality.

In my opinion, the thank mode looks really good. This is on par to the looks of the leader class Brawl figure in alt mode. In the movie, I think there is only one scene of Brawl in tank mode. It was when he was first summoned along with the rest of the Decepticons. This tank mode looks extremely close to that tank on screen. There are no working tank treads here, but I wasn’t expecting that for a $30 toy. With all weapons attached in tank mode, Brawl really looks like the menacing ground assault Decepticon that he is.

Brawl comes with 2 accessories: a missile launcher with 4 missiles, and a claw type weapon. Add to that all the molded-in weapons (the main cannon, 2 sub cannons, and 2 4-set missiles, all on the turret), he will give Age of Extinction Hound a run for his money as the TF with the most arsenal. I recommend SS 12 Brawl with no reservations.

Megatron

I never realized something until I started doing this post, and I had to confirm by looking at my TF List: I only have 2 movie Megatrons! Considering how many movie Optimus Primes I have, that’s almost a crime. The two movie Megatrons I have is Dark of the Moon voyager fuel truck Megatron, and The Last Knight voyager jet Megatron.

I never got the original jet leader class Megatron from the first movie, or the ROTF leader class tank Megatron. I didn’t want them as a silent protest to how Michael Bay completely butchered the G1 roots of Megatron and created this weird amalgamation that is supposed to represent the Decepticon leader. In retrospect, I kind of regret not buying them. From a pure toy perspective, they were unique, and Hasbro never released anything like them again.

So when I heard that the Studio Series are coming out with a new take on ROTF Megatron, I had to look into it. Here is the figure in robot mode.

I’m never gonna warm up to the looks of movie Megatron. I’m a G1 die-hard that will never recognize this as Megatron. But that being said, and rating purely on the toy’s representation of the movie depiction, I love the look of SS 13 Megatron in robot mode. His proportions are very balanced, and HasTak captured that alien bug-like appearance of Megatron really well. I like the giant sword weapon that he has in the right arm. All the mechanical tentacles on the left arm gives me a satisfying yet creepy conception of what could happen if they got hold of unsuspecting Autobots (or any other kind of prey).

Construction of the figure is solid. Megatron has the articulation chops for a variety of poses, and the solid construction allows him to hold those poses. For the most part, he’s a kibble-free figure. That’s not easily done with a design like his. Much credit to HasTak here.

SS 13 ROTF Megatron is not too shabby in alt mode, either. I like the look of this alien tank. I’m not sure how close it looks to the movie, though I will admit that my recollection of ROTF the movie is faint at best. I honestly don’t even remember Megatron in alt mode, but I’m sure there are fans out there that will correct me.

I do feel like SS 13 Megatron is one of those figures that, if you haven’t transformed it for some time, it will throw you for a loop. That’s especially true for robot to alt mode. This Megatron tank is alien, so there’s not the usual earth mode cues to go on. Everthing does tab into place, however, so you know you didn’t do something right if the resulting alt mode feels more floppy than solid. I think for that reason, I didn’t like this piece at first. But he grew on me, and on subsequent transformations, I regard SS 13 Megatron as one of the better figures in the Studio Series line. This figure gets my recommendation.

Snarl

Continuing the trend of the Power of the Primes Dinobots, this month we get Snarl. Grimlock, Slug (aka Slag), and Swoop were released in January, while Sludge came around in March. Snarl completes everybody’s favorite quintet of dinos.

He comes in robot mode, like all the other PotP dinos.

I really like Snarl, and I am happy that HasTak has finally given him some official love by updating the G1 version of this character. But PotP Snarl is a mediocre figure in every sense of the word. Overall transformation is the same standard scheme that every G1 fan is familiar with, albeit updated with some modern mechanics. He comes with his classic sword, but no blaster. Poseability is sort of there, not great yet not bad. Construction of the figure is adequate. Some parts are a bit too loose in my opinion, but not so horrible that the figure can’t hold any poses on its own. The figure is somewhat playable. You think he would be easy to transform, and that’s true for the most part. But PotP Snarl is one of those figures that, if you haven’t touched it for a while, it will surprise you with transformation impediments here and there. Not because it’s hard, but because there are little mechanical details that you are supposed to remember, but you don’t because you either forgot or didn’t think it’s important.

The one good thing about PotP Snarl is that he looks good in both modes. Here he is in dino mode.

For a retail deluxe class figure, I think the detail on PotP Snarl is more than adequate. You won’t confuse this character with any other.

The 5 Dinobots will combine. I never tried this, but I might if I get bored enough. I have mentioned before that I wish they didn’t, because implementing combination mechanics means putting restrictions on other aspects of the figure, such as the dino modes, robot modes, and sizes of the figures. Grimlock at voyager size is fine, but I do wish the other Dinobots are bigger than deluxe.

If you got the other 4 dinos, then you will get this regardless of what I say. It’s hard to see anyone buying just Snarl and none of the others. But if that happens to be you, then you are indeed an original. Bravo.

Moonracer

HasTak has been releasing many Fembots in recent years. The female Autobots was something completely made up by the G1 show creators in a desperate attempt to win over more girls to the toyline. Whether that worked is anyone’s guess. But what it did do is create demand for toys of the Fembots among the hardcore G1 TF nerds.

HasTak loves you and has started creating toys of the Fembots in CHUG. In January of 2015, Generations Thrilling 30 Arcee and Chromia were introduced. Then PotP Elita-1 was released in March of this year. This month we get Moonracer, one of the original 4 Fembots in the G1 episode “The Search for Alpha Trion”.

First let’s take a look at Moonracer in robot mode. Looking from the front, the figure is not half bad. She’s got a distinctive female body shape, and the head mold resembles her cartoon design fairly well.

But looking at Moonracer from the side, this figure becomes a total fail. Look at that huge backpack. Moonracer has got some serious back junk. Maybe that’s how Powerglide likes it.

Transformation to alt mode is pretty easy and intuitive, so I’m won’t describe it too much. Moonracer is a bit guilty of being a shell-former. Not G1 Scourge bad, but still a shell-former nonetheless. That huge backpack should have clued you in.

The alt mode itself is not badly done. I don’t remember how Moonracer really looked in alt mode, and I’m not going to look it up for the purpose of this post. Power of the Primes Moonracer has a vehicle mode that looks truly Cybertronian, and that works well enough in my book.

So do I recommend Moonracer? If it wasn’t for that giant backpack issue, I would classify this figure as good. But as it stands, Moonracer is still a decent toy. The robot mode is not half bad, as long as you’re only looking at it from the front. Poseability of the figure in this mode is solid. I have no complaints about the alt mode. But if you’re even remotely thinking about buying Moonracer, you are probably a G1 fan that grew up with the cartoons. If that’s the case, you will go buy this figure no matter what I say. Having these characters come to life 30+ years later is a G1ers dream come true. Go buy the figure and fully engage yourself in the TF nerdgasm that is Moonracer.

Trypticon

I first reported on the news of a Trypticon release back in March of 2017. I think in the fall of 2017, Titans Return Trypticon was released. It’s generally agreed that this is a good fig, though reports of hips breaking from the super tight hip ratchets put a damper on things. There are many proposed fixes out there; Google the topic and you’re bound to find some good ones.

With Metroplex and Fortress Maximus, the prices quickly dropped after only a few months of its release. I’m not sure why that is. My theory is that there are only so much demand for such figures. Titans class figures that are clearly G1 inspired would only appeal to the most hardcore G1 enthusiasts, willing to part with hundreds of dollars on a single Transformer figure. The average Transformer fan would take a look in store, stare at the figure in awe, and walk away. Little kids who happened on these figs in the toy aisle would have a hard time convincing their parents to buy such items, and that’s if they even took an interest in the first place.

MSRP for Trypticon is $149.99. Not surprisingly, the fig was going for around that much upon first release. But I was expecting this to follow the pattern of both Metroplex and Fort Max, and have the price reduced soon. I got Metroplex for a bit over $100, and Fort Max for $75. The 2017 Holidays rolled around, and Trypticon was still close to MSRP. I think the lowest I saw at the time was around $120 on Amazon, and after adding in tax it would go over $130. I thought it could go lower so I waited, but then the stock dried up and no more Trypticons would go on sale for a while.

Fast forward to June of 2018, and I saw one third party seller offering this at $103.65. This was a third party seller on Amazon, and not in the same state as me, which means no sales tax. So I quickly jumped on this and got me Trypticon.

I am disappointed to report that, to this day, my Trypticon still sits in the closet, unopened. I don’t know why I’m so hesitant. Maybe it’s because I know of the hip ratchets issue. Maybe I was always more of a fan of Metroplex. Or maybe I’m just too busy, with a 2 year old baby girl in the house.

But I’ll get to this one day. And if you’re reading and think you missed out, don’t. I just checked. Amazon has Trypicon at $109.99, while bbts has it at $99. Value of Trypticon has not gone up at all. Maybe the hip ratchets thing really hurt it. Compare that to Metroplex, which third party sellers on Amazon list at about $650.

Flyfire

I first mentioned Zeta Flyfire back in this post. And in the purchase post for last month (May 2018), I went into Air Strike. So I won’t repeat all that stuff here. Just know that these 2 Zeta Aerialbots are highly similar, definitely cut from the same cloth.

In the pic below, you see that Flyfire uses the exact same kind of packaging as Air Strike. And just like Air Strike, Flyfire comes with the same number and kind of accessories: a rifle, 4 missiles, instructions, and bio-card. Very minimalist, and in my opinion not a bad thing.

Flyfire in bot mode below.

Overall, I would say that Flyfire is about the same as Air Strike in robot mode, but comes together better in jet mode. I mentioned that, for Air Strike, there’s this weird issue with the front landing gear in jet mode. Flyfire has no such issue. It seems like Zeta fixed these minor annoying things this time around. Flyfire is the sophomore release in this series and it shows.

As of this writing, all 5 Zeta Aerialbots are released. My friend Gemini has all 5, and pics of the combined mode into Zeta Superion is impressive. However, Fans Toys have come out with their own set of Aerialbots. I have not yet decided if I want to stick with Zeta, or change direction mid-course and go with Fans Toys. I have a hunch that I will make this decision based on how I feel about Roadking, FT’s version of Motormaster. I received Roadking a few weeks ago, but have not had a chance to open the fig yet.

Bulldozer

By the end of 2015, there already exist several modern interpretations of Constructicons. Two were done by 3rd party: TFC Toys Hercules, and MakeToys Giant. Hasbro also released it’s own update on this popular combiner group. None of these sets are perfect, each with its pros and cons. But all of them can be considered good, and you can make a case for each as to which is the best. Instead of being forced to choose just one and suffer analysis paralysis, I got all 3. And if you were to point a fusion cannon to my head right now and force me to choose the winner among these 3, I probably go with Hercules by TFC Toys.

As if all these options weren’t already enough, in 2017 two more 3rd party companies decided to enter the fray and do their own take on Constructicons. One is Constructor by ToyWorld, which is the next entry (scroll down below). The other is ReBuilder by Generation Toy.

For those that don’t know, NBK is 4th party (read: knock-offs of 3rd party). I have no idea what NBK stands for. In this case, NBK Bulldozer is a knock-off of Generation Toy ReBuilder GT-99D Bulldozer. NBK didn’t even bother giving this figure a new name and just stuck with Bulldozer. And we all know this is supposed to represent Bonecrusher.

So is NBK Bulldozer any good? For a knock-off, it is surprisingly good! It’s packed in alt mode. The box is very minimal, but I will stress again I consider that to be a plus. As for accessories, he comes with a pistol, and the attachment that will become the forearm.

In alt mode, all pieces come together to form a nice cohesive whole.

There is placement for the forearm attachment in alt mode. It can be hooked up to the rear, like a trailer.

The pistol can be folded and tucked underneath the vehicle. See if you can identify where it is in this pic.

I’m guessing Generation Toy took some liberties with the design of Bulldozer, but to me he still seems very G1 for the most part. For color issues, the giant one that immediately pops up is why is the bulldozer blade purple. That’s probably a question that only NBK can answer. Knock-offs are notorious for botching color schemes, and whether or not that’s intentional is anyone’s guess.

Transformation is fun. And I will emphasize that again… FUN! That’s something I feel is often missing from today’s Transformers. 3rd party will often make something that is impressive in how it transforms, but transforming it becomes a chore. And as for HasTak, sometimes the figure is so simple, there is no fun. Sometimes bad construction issues ruin an otherwise well designed piece that would have been fun. NBK Constructor suffers from none of these pitfalls. The superb design is probably more a credit to Generation Toy, but NBK has built a piece that feels more than solid enough to be played with. All joints are at the right tolerance. Things snap together when they need to, and come apart when they should.

The transformation process itself should be familiar enough to anyone who has played with enough G1 style TFs in the modern era. But it’s not super-obvious either, with enough challenge to offer mature fans something to marvel at. Some G1 diehards will complain about transformational design changes, such as the 180 turning at the chest and how the bulldozer blade splits and ends up on the shoulders. I personally feel these are refreshing changes that offer a different yet familiar take on an old and tired scheme.

Below are some pics of the robot mode. I’ll let them do the talking.

Again, G1 diehards will complain about the non-G1-ness. But I like it. Bulldozer is well proportioned in robot mode. He looks different enough from G1 Bonecrusher, but still similar enough to be Bonecrusher. The figure is pretty poseable. And again, I don’t know if the purple bits are by design, this being knock-off and all.

The head mold should satisfy all G1 requirements.

The designers of this mold did account for storage of the arm attachment in robot mode. I guess this is supposed to be a giant backpack thruster kind of thing. It’s kind of hokey, but hey, they tried. Points for effort.

As for the arm attachment in combined mode, the fist flips out from inside the forearm. I like this. I’m not a fan of using extra combining pieces, and GT really minimized this in the design.

Overall I really recommend this toy. Get the Generation Toy version if you don’t mind spending the money. Or get this NBK KO version if you’re on a budget. Speaking of being on a budget, this is the first and only time I got something from ShowZ. I heard about the store, prior to this. At only $9.99 for NBK Bulldozer, I had to try it. That’s $9.99 from China, no extra shipping fees and no taxes! The figure arrived in reasonable time. So if you’re hesitant about the store, don’t be. ShowZ is legit. It’s not one of the China scammers that I have wrote about.

As of this writing, I do have all 6 of the NBK knock-off Constructicons. But I’ll save my thoughts about this NBK set for another day. Because we have something extraordinary to get to. And that is…

Constructor

I saved the best for last. Ladies and gentlemen… I give you… (drum roll)… Constructor!

I will say this right now, so you don’t have to read through all the details: if you want the best Devastator in this modern era, then pick up ToyWorld Constructor. This is hands down the best team in the combined form! If you care nothing for the individual robot or alt modes, then this is the set for you. ToyWorld Devastator is truly worthy of the name, and will put all other Devastators to shame.

But just to be complete, I will show pics of the other modes. Below is each fig in alt mode.

Individually in robot mode.

And now the pics you have been waiting for… the combined mode! Behold the awesomeness that is ToyWorld Constructor.

I spent $469.99 buying this set, and in this form, he’s worth every penny. Constructor is at the size he needs to be to properly scale with MPs. ToyWorld really hit it out of the park with this awesome set.

Doing a full review here won’t pay enough homage to group, so I intend to do a separate review later. So I will quickly list some pros and cons in bullet points.

Pros:

• Awesome Devastator! (I can’t say that enough)
• Solid build and construction
• Nice individual robot and alt modes
• G1 accurate – TW took very little liberties in the design
• Fun transformation that’s intuitive and not frustrating

Cons:

• Uses combining parts – and many of the parts have nowhere to go when in individual mode
• Individual modes do not scale well in MP – way too big

The bullets in Cons are points you kinda would expect, for Constructor to be so good. Unless someone really figures out show to mass shift, either the combined mode would be too small, or the individual bots would be too big. TW took the latter approach, but that’s to give us a Devastator that is truly representative of what we see in G1. As for using combined parts, I will concur with the naysayers and agree that it’s kinda cheating. Especially when the parts have nowhere else to go in the individual modes. But the proportions of Constructor is so good, I’m almost willing to forgive this. Almost. How you feel about using combiner parts is up to you, but I still see it as a negative.

When this set was first released, each bot had to be purchased separately, costing about $100 each. TW has gone away from that and now only release the complete set as one. The edition that I have here is the regular edition. It’s a very minimal set that only comes with the essentials. I don’t even remember if I have the Devastator gun, I’ll have to check. Other editions come with extra heads and different color thigh parts. TW knew they had a winner here, and kinda went crazy and released all sorts of different versions of Constructor. There’s a yellow one, an orange one, a clear green one, a clear orange one, a limited edition metallic one, and some more that I don’t remember. As of this writing, this regular edition that I feature here is on longer available. But there is a limited ultimate edition that costs about $500. I’m not sure what’s exactly in this ultimate version, but I see that it has more realistic paint. Some minor tweaks to the molds were made, probably after getting fan criticism on certain issues. It might come with all the extras. For only $30 more on top of what I paid, I wish I waited for this version. Oh well. Am I hardcore enough to get this version too? Most likely not. Probably not. I hope not.

And another quick FYI… sometimes the other color sets may go for crazy cheap. I think I have seen the clear orange one go for $299. It might have been ShowZ. Or maybe one of the other dealers on a weekend sale.

Whew… that was a WAY longer post than I had intended. Sometimes when the writing mood hits me, I don’t stop. This may have been my longest post ever. Longer post equals more proof reading, something I hate doing. It takes time away from playing with the awesome figs featured here.

Transform and Roll Out.

 

Finally! We have come to the end of 2015. Here are the purchases for the last month of 2015.

• Combiner Wars Devastator, tfsource.com, $109.99

• Masterpiece Exhaust, hlj.com, $44.51

• FansProject Function-X4 Sigma L, tfsource.com, $69.99

• Warbotron Whirlwind, gift

This may be the first month were I only got Decepticons! Long live Decepticons!

First on the list is Combiner Wars Constructicons and Devastator. This group needs no introduction. The Constructicons were the first combiner group to debut in G1, and I’m glad Hasbro is doing this team justice by giving them unique molds that are completely different from the rest of the Combiner Wars line. I reported on this set back in this post and this post, and at the very last month in 2015 I finally have this awesome set in my hands. For it’s 2015 Black Friday sale, TFSource was letting this go at a very reasonable price. I wasted no time buying these Constructicons as soon as I saw the sale.

Individually, each Constructicon look quite nice their vehicle modes. They are true to their G1 appearance, and build quality is solid and robust. In the individual robot modes, some figures are better than others. Long Haul is one fig that looks quite awful in robot mode. And that is clearly because of the function he serves in combined form. And that combined form is the main attraction of the set. So without further ado, I give you… Devastator!

Now that is an awesome Devastator! He is freakin’ huge! Check out the pic below of him next to a standard deluxe size CHUG Seeker.

Hasbro has done some pretty stupid stuff with combining robots in the past, such as the Movie Devastator and Power Core Combiners. You may be left jaded after buying those products, but believe me, all is forgiven after seeing THIS Devastator in person. I don’t know if this figure is meant to scale with CHUG or MP figs, but it doesn’t matter. He’s so big and tall that his size would be appropriate when displayed next to either set. This combiner is solid. The leg combining mechanism is quite clever. It’s easy to do, and at the same time provides a most solid connection. The body and arm connections are more standard fare when compared to the 3rd party Devastators, such as TFC Hercules and MakeToys Giant.

Much like all the modern Constructicons, Devastator’s head is part of Hook, and no connection pieces are required between any of the six components. The only extraneous pieces are the forearms, fists, chest shield, and Devastator’s gun. Hasbro has designed places for them in alt mode, and they can be used as accessories in robot mode. Glaringly missing are the individual hand held pistols for each figure in robot mode. Not a big deal if you ask me. In G1, it was difficult to remember who had which gun. And this set was meant to be displayed combined in the awesomeness that is Devastator.

Devastator has got some limited poseability. He’s got all the standard articulation points that you would expect, but as a combiner the range of poses would be more limited than a standalone figure. Personally I don’t think that’s an issue. This figure is so big, so solid, and looks so G1 that you have to get it if you call yourself a G1 fan. Sure, there are some 3rd parties out there now that are doing Constructicons that may be superior (such as ToyWorld and Generation Toys), but their sets would cost 6 times as much. For the price, the Hasbro set can’t be beat. Get this now if you haven’t already. You won’t regret it.

Next up we have Masterpiece Exhaust. I’m not familiar with this character at all. His origin may have been from the Japanese continuation of G1, but I could be wrong. I got him because I love the MP Wheeljack mold. Plus HLJ was having a pretty good sale on the figure. Exhaust looks absolutely stunning in his alt mode. His flashy and vibrant colors adds a lot to the already beautiful Lancia Stratos Turbo. This alone is worth the price of admission. I like the new head mold in robot mode, and he comes with plenty of extra accessories, including Wheeljack’s “Immobilizer” from the famous G1 episode of the same name. Construction and transformation is just as solid as Wheeljack. I highly recommend this figure even if you already have Wheeljack.

Now onto the 3rd party offerings for the month. Function-X4 Sigma L is by FansProject, and this is their homage to Mindwipe. Function-X is the label that FP uses for all their HeadMaster figures. I was really impressed with Function-X3 Smart Robin (aka Brainstorm). I have G1 Mindwipe from back in the 80s (and still in pretty good shape too), and TFSource had a sale on this Sigma L. For all these reasons, I got the figure. Overall, I say he’s ok. I like the robot mode, and I definitely like the twin shotguns, even though he had nothing of the sort back in G1. In this mode, the wings kinda get in the way, so it becomes difficult to have him posed with the arms raised in any way. He looks fairly cool in bat mode. Construction of the figure is solid. I was hoping that Sigma L would offer some new ingenious mechanisms in transformation like Smart Robin, but that’s not really the case here. It seems like FP decided to give their own spin on this figure. Like they took Dracula and vampires and adapted that whole motif to a HeadMaster robot, the result of that being Sigma L. I applaud them for giving Mindwipe a new spin, but all in all I’m not quite sure it works. There are no obvious shortcomings with the figure, but at the same time it doesn’t wow you either. I guess I give this fig a weak recommendation. If you need a Mindwipe to complete your HeadMaster collection and you find this fig at less than retail, then go for it. Oh, and the name. Why he’s called Sigma L is beyond me. When I see Function and Sigma mentioned in the same phrase, I keep thinking this is some kind of math equation here. Like let’s get the Sum L from this Function X.

Last but not least, there is Whirlwind, Warbotron’s interpretation of Vortex. Whirlwind is a Christmas gift from my wife. This is my 2nd fig in the Warbotron Combaticons, after Sly Strike. I like Whirlwind. I don’t think he’s as good as Sly Strike, but he’s solid nonetheless. He looks great in robot mode. I like all the different ways that the helicopter blades can be configured in this mode. You could leave them on the back, like the Vortex G1 look. Or you could put two on each forearm, and have them point back up the shoulder in rest position, or have them point forward like he’s Wolverine. Or use two in each hand (one up one down), so it looks like he’s wielding 2 twin blades, like if Darth Maul wielded 2 twin-bladed lightsabers. I like his colors in this mode, very G1. Some G1 purists complain about the clear orange canopy on the chest in robot mode, but I think it’s fine. I don’t think it’s distracting at all. In alt mode, the helicopter comes together quite nicely. My biggest gripe in this mode is that, when you spin the main rotors, they would often times make contact with the tail fin rotors. I also don’t like how the front nose cone area of the helicopter is formed by attaching a shield/pistol accessory. Makes me feel like he’s a bit of a parts-former. Constructions wise he’s pretty solid for the most part, but there are more tolerance issues when compared to Sly Strike. Some accessories don’t peg in as well as they should. But overall I still recommend Whirlwind. He’s a worthy addition to your MP-scaled Decepticon lineup.

Below is a pic of some of these figs, in what appears like a bunch of random Decepticons jammed together for one photo shoot. I had these figs scattered about here and there at the time, so I gathered them all up for a pic. Clockwise from top: Sigma L, Scavenger (from CW Devastator), Exhaust, and Megatronus (who snuck in there for no good reason).

Since Whirlwind is not in the pic above, he gets a solo shot.

He also gets a shot of him looking up at Devastator, waiting for the rest of his teammates so Bruticus can devastate Devastator.

Not only was this month all Decepticons, this month was also all on-line purchases. No in-store purchases whatsoever. Not too surprising considering the items acquired. And not counting Whirlwind since he was a gift, all figures were bought on sale. I am the ultimate TF bargain hunter!

That is all for 2015. I’m gonna compile some stats for 2015 and have them ready for the next post. Stay tuned my fellow TransFans. Transform and Roll Out!

It’s been a while since I did a post about what’s on my shelf. So I’m doing one today.

Same pic, different angle.

From left to right

Top shelf: Mastermind Creations Feral Rex (comprised of Leo Dux, Tigris, Talon, Fortis, Bovis), MakeToys Giant (comprised of Mobile Crane, Dump Truck, Excavator, Bulldozer, Wheel Loader, Mixer), Combiner Wars Menasor (comprised of Motormaster, Drag Strip, Dead End, Breakdown, Wildrider, and using Perfect Effect – PC-02 Perfect Combiner Upgrade Set – Purple Version)

Middle shelf: Fall of Cybertron Kickback, Thrilling 30 Waspinator, Combiner Wars Armada Megatron, Combiner Wars Megatron, Thrilling 30 Blitzwing

Lower shelf: Thrilling 30 Rhinox, Thrilling 30 Rattrap, Mastermind Creations Felisaber

I especially like the three gestalts on the top shelf. Feral Rex and Giant have been featured elsewhere before in this blog so I won’t go into detail again. Combiner Wars Menasor is Hasbro’s official update of the Stunticons in combined form. Compared to Fans Project’s Intimidator, Menasor has it’s pros and cons. Individually I like the Hasbro figures better. They are larger, sturdier, easier to transform, and more fun to play with. However in combined form, FP has the better looking Menasor. Intimidator also stays together better than Combiner Wars Menasor, as the Hasbro figure feels like it could quickly fall apart. However I should point out that the Hasbro figures feel more like a true combiner. The leg components are not simply adding on top of Motormaster’s legs, like in FP’s offering.

Poor Rattrap and Rhinox. They are the only good guys here. Technically they are not Autobots, so I don’t have a single Autobot in this post. Decepticons forever!

Transform and Roll Out.

Welcome to another edition of my St Patrick’s Day green Transformers! Last time I did one of these was back in 2013. There has been many green TFs since then, and I try to include every single green fig that I acquired in this time span. However, I don’t have the time to dig through them all. So for this posting I only grabbed what was handy, either currently on my shelf or easily reached into a box. Here are the lucky green figs for 2015.

Clockwise from top: MakeToys Giant, Generations Hoist, Age of Extinction Snarl, Generations Cosmos, Generations Legend Waspinator, Generations Deluxe Waspinator

I obviously missed some green TFs between 2013 and now. Some obvious ones that come to mind are Generations Springer and Age of Extinction Hound. I should have got them out too. I’ll include them next year for sure.

Happy St Patrick’s Day… Transform and Roll Out!

Quick follow up to my last post. There are now official pics to Titan Class Devastator. I am way more interested in this than I was before!

Constructicons… Transform and Roll Out!

Here are the TFs I bought back in Feb of 2014.

• Generations Thrilling 30 Armada Starscream, TRU, $12.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Skywarp, Target, $14.24

• Generations Thrilling 30 Scoop, Target, $14.24

• Generations Thrilling 30 Mini-Con Assault Team, Target, $14.24

• Transformers Prime Leader Class Predaking, Target, $16.61

• Maketoys Giant, tfsource.com, $379.99

I opened all the Deluxe Generations Thrilling 30 figures. I highly recommend Armada Starscream. This particular version of Starscream is a welcome addition to the Generations line. I have the original Armada Starscream also (with Swindle Mini-Con), and it’s amazing to see how much this figure as evolved. Release of Fall of Cybertron Skywarp is no surprise, given how much Hasbro likes to repaint the Seekers. Still, this is a great mold, and in my opinion the trio of Starscream, Thundercraker, and Skywarp must be completed in every line. Scoop is an odd choice for inclusion. In G1, he was a Targetmaster that didn’t appear until Season 5, by which time the US cartoons had already ended. I have Scoop from G1, and he’s still in really good shape. This new Scoop is a direct homage to that figure, but with way better toy engineering and way, way better poseability. He remains a Targetmaster and that is a welcome feature. The Mini-Con Assault Team is something totally unexpected for me. I’m not sure what their origins are. Still, the figure itself is decent. I didn’t like it at first, but over some time it grew on me. But I should point out that this figure does not have the best construction. There are lots of parts that love to fall off, and during transformation it’s more likely that bits and pieces will unintentionally detach.

I have not opened Leader Class Predaking yet. Target was clearing these out at such a low price that I had to buy one, however.

Last but not least, there’s MakeToys Giant. I missed out on buying this set when he was first released. This set I purchased is the 2nd release of the green version. There are many reviews on this set already, so I won’t go into it. But I will say that if you like the Constructicons, then this set is a required purchase. MakeToys pays an incredible homage to the original G1 Devastator with this amazing update. Fans love to compare this with TFC Toys Hercules and try to determine which is better. Now that I have both, I will say that they each have their pros and cons. I can’t decide so I just got both.

Below is a pic of Intimidator, Giant, and Hercules all appearing together. Autobots beware! Bumblebee is already feeling the pain.

Transform and Roll Out.

Earlier this year I bought a glass display case for all my TFs. I have a small shelf in my bedroom for such a purpose, but there are too many robots I want to display. So I got the Detolf case from Ikea.

It took some effort to put this case together. But in the end the display looks quite nice. Here is what I currently have displayed.

Here on the top shelf is a random collection of Autobots. On display is CHUG Sideswipe with the Beelzeboss Heroic Duo Custom Kit (v2) upgrade, MP Streak, MP Prowl (hiding in the back in alt mode), MP G2 Sideswipe, FansProject Smart Robin, TF Prime Voyager Ultra Magnus, and a Mega Bloks minifig from their Battleship line.

On the 2nd shelf is Maketoys Giant in the combined form, PCC Heavytread with Maketoys Mobine Armor Marine upgrade kit, Generations Thrilling 30 Dreadwing (hiding in the back in alt mode), and another Mega Bloks minifig from the same Battleship set (the GF insists I put these here).

Here on the 3rd shelf is my Wreckers team! I’m so glad Hasbro is taking the time to please us true fans, as most figures here are official products. On display here are Generations Thrilling 30 Springer, Sandstorm, Whirl, and Roadbuster. And from Mech Ideas are Apex and Geminus.

And here on the bottom shelf are some random stuff. FansProject Intimidator appears here in combined form. Other figures include a Samus Aran Figma, Nickelodeon TMNT Donatello riding a a Maisto motorcycle, and a Diarobo figure that transforms into a Japanese garbage truck. The teddy bear and shot glasses are random contributions from the GF.

I will probably rotate out the figures in here every so often, when I want some new stuff to look at. Til next time… Transform and Roll Out!

Every once in a while I visit my local Tuesday Morning. They have a toy section, and sometimes you can find TFs that can be hard to find elsewhere for less than MSRP. For example, I have found Reveal the Shield legend class Megatron and Trailcutter (aka Trailbreaker) there at $3.99 each. Anyway, yesterday I was there looking for some items to furnish my new home (which is kind of what most of their items are), but I thought I stop by the TF section just in case. The knock-offs (KO) below caught my attention.

These KOs are not even to scale with the real deal. Check out a size comparison pic below with DOTM Nitro Bumblebee.

Still, I’m kinda tempted to pick up that KO Defensor. Counting only the G1 combiners from the first 4 seasons (IMO pretty much the only G1 seasons that matter), the Protectobots are the only set where I never played with any of the figures from the team. Back in G1, I had the Combaticons and Technobots complete. I had Air Raid from the Aerialbots, and I had Breakdown, Drag Strip, and Dead End from the Stunticons. My cousin had the Terrorcons and I played with them extensively. I never officially owned the Contructicons, but my KO set was enough to give me an impression as to how the real thing would be. And as for the Predacons, I never had them during G1. But I bought the reissue set sometime last year, and so now I know how they are.

And that just leaves the Protectobots. None of my friends owned any of them, probably because we all thought they were a bunch of pansies. I’m not sure if that reputation was well deserved, but it was the popular notion of the day. Even the legendary Don Figueroa has stated that, in his interpretation, Defensor is the smallest gestalt.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the toys could be cool. I might go back to the store later and pick up these KO Protectobots. This will give me a sampling of what the genuine article is all about. I’m not hearing of plans to reissue the Protectobots. At $5.99 for the set you really can’t lose (or maybe you could b/c they’re KO).

At the store they also had a KO Menasor (not pictured). I would get him, but the KO set is all messed up. It uses Afterburner as the left arm and Nosecone as the left leg.

On a related note, I have decided to not get the Encore Constructicons for two reasons: 1) The TFC Hercules set is so freakin’ amazing, and I also have the Giant set on preorder, the G1 set will pale in comparison, and 2) I stumbled upon this review of Encore Constructicons. The report of the set being “KO quality” has me discouraged. I’ve said before that I’m on a quest to get all the G1 combiners, but I don’t want to pay $120+ for a set that’s nowhere near as good as the originals. And speaking of reissues being inferior to originals, in 2004 I picked up a TRU exclusive reissue of Silverstreak (aka Bluestreak). Comparing him to an original G1 Smokescreen that I had since 1985, Silverstreak is most definitely inferior. The plastic feels cheap, workmanship feels coarse and shoddy, and some joints are way too loose while others are way too tight. These reissues are all made in China, and they simply do not measure up to the Japanese originals.

I have had absolutely no luck finding new TFs lately. So I might as well buy some KO. Transform and Roll Out!