MakeToys Quantron is a third party homage to my favorite Autobot combiner team, the Technobots. I got this set back in October of 2014. A quick search for them on this blog revealed that… gasp!… I never mentioned them again since that post! That’s a crime. So here they are getting their 15 minutes.

Packaging and Manuals

Alt Modes

Robot Modes

Combined Mode

I’m going to quickly list out some things I like about this set, and some things that I don’t.

Pros

• Metalstorm (Scattershot) is a great fig. I thoroughly enjoy this fig, in both robot and alt modes
• Materials used for every figure in the set is quite good. High quality plastic all around.
• Quantron (Computron) combined is impressive.
• There are plenty of detail on each fig. No plain or simple looking figures here.
• Relatively G1 accurate, though that’s debatable.
• Plenty of accessories to satisfy even the most demanding accessory fiend.

Cons

• My biggest gripe: Overheat (Afterburner) has to be the left arm, and Blindfire (Strafe) has to be the right arm. WHAT?! That’s reversed! MakeToys, why?!!!
• Combining into Quantron is more work than fun. So much to assemble – it feels like putting together LEGOs and not transforming.
• Too small for today’s standards, even for CHUG scale. The only one that’s ok is Metalstorm, the rest too small.
• Transforming each figure is more difficult than it should be, mostly because they’re so small.
• SonicDrill (Nosecone) is a horrible fig – poor construction and poor design. A very unstable fig that doesn’t work well in either robot or alt mode.

This set was ok, but it was far from perfect. I no longer own Quantron; I sold the set some time ago. Most 3P TF retailers are now clearing out this set for around $200 to $250.

The only other 3P Technobot set that is available at this time is Warbotron Computicon. I have one figure in this set: Turbo Ejector (Afterburner). Turbo Ejector is leaps and bounds better than Overheat. Though I’m told that Turbo Ejector is the best one in the set. I may get the rest of Computicon. Or not.

Technobots rule. Transform and Roll Out.

Only 3 TFs were acquired in March of 2016.

• Combiners Wars Shockwave, Walmart, $9.97

• Combiners Wars Scattershot, Walmart, $24.97

• Masterpiece Hot Rodimus, amiami.com, ¥6000 (about $54.09)

Hasbro has been doing a lot of figures of Shockwave in recent years. Some notables ones that come to mind include Fall of Cybertron Shockwave, Transformers Prime Shockwave, and Dark of the Moon Shockwave. Fans love Shockwave, and I’m glad to see Combiner Wars get its own version of the character. This legend size figure ain’t too shabby. Vigilant readers will see that he appears in a pic in my last post, with all the Combaticons in their alt modes, on top of Onslaught. He was made to scale with Combaticons in this size. My memory is fuzzy as I write this now, but I think in the instructional manual for Onslaught, it tells you how to use Shockwave with Onslaught. I’m betting this is all a homage to the G1 Episode “The Revenge of Bruticus”. In the ep, Bruticus picks up Shockwave in alt mode and uses him as a weapon, and these CW figs can perfectly reenact that scene. CW Shockwave is fun to play with. He’s little, but his transformation is more substantial than you would think for a figure of this size. Both robot mode and alt mode looks good. I highly recommend this fig, even if you don’t have the CW Combaticons. He’s well enough as a stand alone fig, and if you do have Bruticus then he adds that extra bit of G1 flavor to your collection.

CW Scattershot is a rework of Silverbolt and Cyclonus. I’m not gonna go into this fig too much since he is already the third fig of this mold. Scattershot does look different enough to mildly justify a purchase. In his super high tech jet mode, he looks nothing like Silverbolt or Cyclonus. In robot mode, he gets a new head mold, but his body stylings resemble Silverbolt a bit too much. Also, as the body of Computron, the head mold is disappointingly identical to Superion’s. Scattershot’s paint job could be better too. Some bits and parts look too obviously plastic-ish. To this day I still have not used him in combined form, but both Silverbolt and Cyclonus work really well as the center of the gestalt so I have no doubt that Scattershot does too. If you have no love for the Technobots, then I say go ahead and pass on this fig. But if you dig this Autobot combiner team like I do, you may be better served by getting the CW Technobot boxed set. That way you get all whole team in one convenient purchase. There is both a US and Japanese version of the set (in Japan this line is called Unite Warriors). Based on looking only at the pictures, they each have their pros and cons. UW does appear to be better in terms of having new molds, but CW comes with redesigned hands and feet attachments for Computron. Seribertron has an excellent article comparing the two. My feeling is if you want to get the ultimate Technobot team, you’re gonna have to suck it up and buy both sets. I may get one set (or both) eventually, but for now I am kinda sick of all the CW repaints that Hasbro has thrown our way.

Now onto the Masterpiece of the month: Hot Rodimus! Yes friends, he’s called Hot Rodimus. Not Hot Rod, not simply Rodimus, but Hot Rodimus. I don’t know if that’s his Japanese name, or if Hasbro/Takara simply wanted the best part of both names. Whatever the case, this figure here is the definitive version of a Masterpiece Hot Rod that hardcore G1 fans have been waiting for. Note that I said Hot Rod, not Rodimus Prime. There was already a MP Rodimus figure (MP-09) produced 5 years ago, which I have wrote up two separate reviews (one for the alt mode and one for the robot mode). However, that figure is not without its flaws, as I have stated in the reviews. He looks great, but he’s such a pain in the glutenous maximus to transform that he’s simply not fun. And scale wise, that fig works well as Rodimus Prime in the current MP scale, but not has Hot Rod (Hasbro/Takara has not figured out how to mass shift just yet). MP-09 was probably a bit too ambitious in trying to work as both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime, in each of the alt modes and robot modes.

This time, Takara is simply giving us their ultimate G1 Movie interpretation of the character as Hot Rod only, designated MP-28. And this figure kicks ass! He comes packaged in alt mode, and that mode is a sweet representation of Hot Rod in his sexy futuristic racer mode. Unfortunately I didn’t take any pics, so you’re gonna have to take my word for it, or just online search for some pics. I do have one pic of robot mode below. Check him out!

If that’s not Hot Rod, then I don’t know what is. He comes with the two guns that was also included in the G1 toy, but we have never seen him use in the G1 Movie. He seems to prefer the side blasters on his forearms (which strangely enough he has never used after the G1 Movie). Transformation wise, this figure has got it where it counts. This is a completely different transformation from MP-09. MP Hot Rodimus is complex enough to qualify as MP, but simple enough to be fun. That’s just the right balance in my opinion. Construction wise he is also perfect. No joints that are too loose or overly tight. He can hold his poses well. This Hot Rod scales nicely with other figs in the MP lineup. MP-28 also comes with some fun extra accessories. He’s got his iconic saw blade, but he also has a fishing pole (the one that we saw him use in the early scenes of the G1 Movie).

I know I’m going through all this kind of quick, but that’s because I plan on doing a in-depth review of this figure. Look for it soon. For now, just know that you have to buy this. Every G1 fan needs this figure in their collection.

More TFs to come soon. Transform and Roll Out.

October always seem to be a busy month in terms of TF activity. In October of 2012, I set a personal record for most TFs purchases in a month. This month I may have set another new record, of a related but slightly different category. So sit back, relax, and enjoy. This will be a long post.

• Age of Extinction Drift, Toys R Us, $24.99

• Age of Extinction Optimus Prime Evolution 2-Pack, Toys R Us, $44.99

• MakeToys Quantron, tfsource.com, $399.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Jetfire, bbts.com, $46.99

• Fans Toys Scoria, bbts.com, $199.99

• Transformers Prime Beast Hunters Cyberverse Optimus Prime, bbts.com, $4.99

• Skrapnel with Reflector and Tailgate with Groundbuster, bbts.com, $21.99

• Nemesis Prime with Spinister and Cliffjumper with Suppressor, bbts.com, $21.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Waspinator, Skids, Goldfire, Dreadwing, bbts.com, $59.99

• Generations Thrilling 30 Crosscut, Nightbeat, Windblade, Jhiaxus, bbts.com, $59.99

Age of Extinction Voyager Drift is a repaint of Skyhammer from Dark of the Moon. It appears they keep using this mold for Movie-verse figs. Skyhammer is one of my favorite figs from DotM, so I had to have this Drift. The figure is exactly the same, other than the head mold, the blue paint scheme, and the swords. Drift’s swords are kinda cool. He can use them separately in each hand, or have them combine into one huge sword.

I bought the Optimue Prime Evolution 2-Pack purely for the repaint of the Classic Prime mold. I love that figure, and this shiny new paint had my attention. The other Prime figure here is a repaint of Evasion Mode Optimus Prime from Age of Extinction. In retrospect, Evasion Mode Prime is one of the only few good figures from TF4, so I’m glad I have this repaint. I did not open this 2-Pack. The collector in me will probably just hold on to this as mint.

When I first head of MakeToys Quantron, I already made up in my mind that I had to have it. Quantron is an homage to the Technobots of G1, my favorite Autobot combiner team to come out of that era. Sure the Aerialbots are the most famous, but I think the Technobots are the coolest. I still remember buying Afterburner, my first fig from this awesome team. I loved his futuritic motorcycle mode. MakeToys Quantron wasn’t cheap. And I’m ashamed to say that as of this writing I still have not had the chance to play with this at all. I barely opened the box a few weeks ago to inspect the contents. Life as a working adult is way too hectic, and all of you reading should rue the day when you don’t have the time to immediately enjoy a $400 toy. But I promise to get to Quantron soon. All reviews I have seen gave it high marks. I know I will not be disappointed.

I have repeatedly mention how cool Generations 30 Jetfire is elsewhere in this blog, so I won’t do it again. Just know that he is awesomeness manifested in physical form. Go out and get yours now.

Masterpiece scale Dinobots is something that many 3rd parties are jumping into lately. These figures are usually $200 each… not cheap by any means. They all look pretty nice. But if I’m to get one, I want to go with a 3rd party that I trust. And so comes Scoria by Fans Toys. I was thoroughly impressed with Quakewave, so I had to give their interpretation of Slag a shot. Scoria does not disappoint. In robot mode he’s big and beefy. Construction is solid, and the transformation to dino feels familiar and refreshing at the same time. Scoria looks awesome in dino mode. I wish I have some pics handy to show him off. Maybe I will in a separate blog post.

I got TF Prime Beast Wars Optimus Prime purely because he was on sale at BBTS. I saw the fig quite frequently on the racks at stores like Walmart and Target and have always wondered if he’s any good. He’s not. A required purchase this ain’t. I already wasted too much time writing about this figure.

Nemesis Prime and Cliffjumper are just repaints of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, respectively. So I won’t talk about them too much. Skrapnel (or Shrapnel) is a cool little G1 Insecticon. This is probably the first time in a long time that Hasbro has made a G1 looking Insecticon. Tailgate is using a mold that will be repainted into Windcharger. This mold is ok. I got this to have a distinct mold for Tailgate, because I think the Reveal the Shield Windcharger is a much better mold and that will be my Windcharger.

The remaining deluxe Generations Thrilling 30 figures I’ll just quickly mention. Goldfire, Nightbeat, Dreadwing, and Jhiaxus are repaints of a figure in the same lineup. I really like Jhiaxus though. I’m liking the color scheme, and Hasbro reworked the mold to be different enough that it feels like a distinct figure. Windblade is a brand new mold. She looks pretty cool in both modes, but the figure itself is kinda flimsy. Waspinator is very cool! This is probably the coolest Waspinator that Hasbro has ever made. I like the wing gimmick. Skids and Crosscut are repaints of each other, though this mold is the first time we’re getting them. I was really looking forward to Skids, since many reviews praised the figure. The car mode is nice, but the robot mode has some poseability issues. There’s so much going on in robot mode that all the features start to block on itself. Still, all the weapons on Skids (and Crosscut) does make for a nice looking figure, when you can get them to pose the way you want.

Ok… that was a lot of figs! 27 total by my count. 23 if you don’t count the Mini-Cons of the Generations Thrilling 30 legends figs. My previous record for single TFs in a month is 24, so this month does surpass that if Mini-Cons are included as separate figures. However there’s one thing that this month sets a record for… and that’s the amount spent! Adding all these up, the total TF spending this month comes to a whopping $885.90! Ouch. That’s a bit much by anyone’s standard. Quantron and Scoria accounts for $600 by themselves alone. I really need to start selling off whatever I don’t play with anymore. Time to list more stuff in my Sales Section.

October is the last month of extravagant TF spending for 2014. Things will die down for the rest of the year.

Oh, one more thing, at the end of Oct 2014 I took another pic of my orange TFs. Check it out.

More to come… Transform and Roll Out!

Finally! Seibertron is posting pics of G1 Technobots. Go here to check it out. They are my favorite Autobot combiner group from G1. I can hear what you’re saying now: “You crazy? What about the Aerialbots?!” Yes they are probably the obvious choice for most, but I’m partial to toys that I own. In G1 I completed my Technobot collection. So there.

Check out my pics below. They are nowhere near the quality of Seibertron pics. But it’s proof I own them. I know the pics don’t show it, but I do have all their accessories. Next to my Combaticons, the Technobots are the pride and joy of my G1 combiner collection. And unlike my Combaticons, these guys are still in pretty good shape.

Clockwise from top left: Scattershot, Nosecone, Strafe, Afterburner, Lightspeed

Computron

Rumor has it that a third party (ex: FansProject, MakeToys, TFC Toys) is currently making plans to do a Technobot homage team, much like Hercules or Giant. I can’t wait! If it turns out anything like the current 3rd party combiners, I will be buying.

Technobots… Transform and Roll Out!

I am home for the holidays, so I once again have access to some of my old stuff. Last time I scanned in a really old Diaclone catalog. Today I’m going to scan in some of my old Transformers artwork from the 80s.

As I look at these now, I can’t help but laugh. I guess I had a lot of time on my hands when I was a kid if I was going to sit there and draw these. I should point out that none of these were traced. I drew them while looking at the box art.

I know I drew more of these, but can’t seem to find them now. If I find them I will scan them in as well.

Until next time, this is Hsunami Prime reminding you to… Transform and Roll Out!