September 2018 is full of TF goodies. I bought products of all kinds: official, 3rd party, and 4th party!

• Power of the Primes Novastar, amazon.com, $16.99

• Power of the Primes Rodimus Unicronus, Target, $44.99

• Power of the Primes Quintus Prime, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Solus Prime, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Megatronus, Target, $4.99

• Power of the Primes Punch-Counterpunch, amazon.com, $24.99

• Bumblebee Bumblebee, Walmart, $4.93

• Cyberverse Shockwave, Target, $14.99

• Masterpiece Movie Series Barricade, tfsource.com, $79.99

• NBK Excavator, eBay seller, $11.81

• NBK Crane, eBay seller, $12.74

• MakeToys Downbeat, tfsource.com, $99.99

• DX9 Richthofen, eBay seller, $62.17

When I first started tracking my monthly purchases, back in Feb of 2012, I pretty much just listed the TFs along with where I got it and for how much. Somewhere along the line, I thought it would be cool to also include pics of each fig opened. Then I kinda went into mini-reviews of each fig. One of the more recent purchase post that I did was for July 2018. These kind of posts take way too long to do. Digging out the figures, taking pictures of them, then writing about them takes a lot longer than one realize. I’m never gonna catch up to where I am currently (July 2020) at this rate.

So today I’m going old school. Much like Feb 2012, I’m just gonna say a few bits about each. These posts are more about what I bought, and not reviews. Here we go.

Novastar

Novastar will always be Firestar for those of us hardcore enough in G1 to know better. I’m guessing the name change is for legal trademark reasons, as I can easily see the term Firestar used elsewhere. Power of the Primes Novastar is a repaint of Moonracer from the same line. And as such, this figure has all the same strengths and weaknesses. The biggest weakness is that giant kibble of a backpack in robot form. She’s also a bit of a shell-former.

Novastar does get a new unique head mold and different weapons, so there are some redeeming features here. Of course G1 enthusiasts like myself will be buying this figure, if purely for G1 nostalgia. Seeing physical manifestation of something designed in the 80s is more than enough reason to reach nerdgasm.

Go to the post for Moonracer for a more detailed discussion of the figure.

Rodimus Unicronus

The 2nd repaint this month is Rodimus Unicronus. This is a repaint of Power of the Primes Evolution Rodimus Prime. I sort of reviewed Evolution Rodimus Prime in that post, but I did kind of skimp on the details. This figure does need a more detailed treatment, but that’s for another day.

Fans seem to be very divided on Evolution Rodimus Prime. There are those that love the figure, like me. And then there are the haters. If you’re like me, you like how the figure has 4 molds, representing all the forms of both Hot Rod and Rodimus Prime. The depiction is G1 accurate, and while the figure is not perfect, all forms are more than decent. If you’re a hater, then you don’t like the giant shoulders and giant back kibble in Rodimus Prime robot mode, the long arms of Hot Rod robot mode, and the puzzle-forming.

With Rodimus Unicronus, I thought I was getting the same fig as Evolution Rodimus Prime, just with different colors and a different head mold. That would have been sufficient. I’m sad to point out that Rodimus Unicronus is constructed so poorly that this feels like an entirely different figure. The prime (pun intended) culprit is the super loose hips of the large robot mode. Rodimus Unicronus weighs quite a bit with all pieces attached in robot mode, and the weak hips can barely support it in A-stance. Never mind posing him in any other stance in this mode. In the RV vehicle mode, pieces don’t seem to come together as well, when compared to Evolution Rodimus Prime. Connecting the car to trailer takes more work, and attaching the arms on top of the trailer is literally a chore. Getting everything lined up and flush seems impossible.

I cannot recommend this figure. Bad build has deemed this unplayable. Get Evolution Rodimus Prime, but stay away from this.

Quintus Prime, Solus Prime, Megatronus

This month features 3 more Prime Masters. I normally don’t pay much attention to “Master” figs. I feel like they’re not fully qualified figs, more like accessories. But I love Prime Masters, something I’ve mentioned repeatedly on this blog. I like that they’re both Targetmasters and Pretenders rolled into one. Yes I hate Pretenders, but only for full-sized figs. For accessory figs, I actually think it’s kinda cool.

I gave stellar reviews to Prime Masters in months past (see Jan 2018 and July 2018), and the 3 featured this month is no exception. I love how the shells are homages to G1 Pretenders. Quintus Prime is Bludgeon, Solus Prime is Octopunch, and Megatronus is Bomb-Burst.

Mechanically, these 3 don’t offer anything beyond a painfully simple transformation scheme, similar to all Prime Masters before them. But again, I see them more as accessories. So any transformation is better than none, no matter how simple. And at $4.99 each, you really can’t lose.

Punch-Counterpunch

Power of the Primes Punch-Counterpunch is a fig that I have been waiting for some time. I’m partial to figs that I own, and yes I have G1 Punch-Counterpunch. I still remember the day that I bought him. My parents dropped me off at the mall while they had some business to attend to. They gave me some spending money, which was rare. I ran straight to the toy store (I think it was KB Toys, but not sure anymore). I looked long and hard at all the Transformers, and after about 2 hours I decided to buy Punch-Counterpunch. Even the check-out clerk commented to me about my long decision.

For those that don’t know, Punch-Counterpunch is a “Double Agent”. He has both an Aubobot robot mode and a Decepticon robot mode, named Punch and Counterpunch respectively. And one car alt mode. (Sidebar: The only other fig in the entire TF-verse that has this twin robot feature is TF Animated Shockwave.) Punch is in reality an Autobot, but he transforms into Counterpunch to infiltrate the Decepticon ranks and gather intel. He had a very short appearance in Season 4 Rebirth episode 1. As Counterpunch he stumbled on Pounce and Wingspan up to no good, and tried to take them down as Punch. For that effort, he got his ass handed to him.

PotP Punch-Counterpunch is a fig that was worth the wait. As far as I can tell, he’s a brand new mold, designed specifically to be the character. The overall transformation scheme is similar to G1, but more advanced. The legs have panels that extend and wrap around the car mode. That’s probably the biggest difference.

As Punch, the robot mode looks pretty good. I think the car bits that form the shoulders are too long, and they could have perhaps did a better job to compact them in a bit more. But that’s my only gripe about this mode. The car alt mode is absolutely gorgeous. It feels solid and cohesively formed. There is room under the car to store the weapon, and even with that there’s enough clearance to have the car roll on a flat surface. As Counterpunch, I find no weaknesses in the robot mode. Even the red Autobot hands are flipped in for the blue Decepticon hands to flip out. Very very cool. Of course in G1 he had a completely separate set of forearms, but I like this interpretation equally well.

Punch-Counterpunch comes with another Prime Master, Prima Prime. He also comes with another Combiner War style accessory, that forms either the hand or feet for a Combiner. It’s a mystery to me why Punch-Counterpunch would need such an accessory. It’s possible that Punch-Counterpunch can be used as a limb to a Combiner.

My only gripe about this whole package is that he only comes with one weapon, the yellow pistol. In G1, that was only the weapon for Punch, while Counterpunch had a black rifle. Also, in G1, the yellow pistol was twin-barrel, while this new PotP version is single barrel. A minor gripe, but something to point out to all the G1 purists.

I recommend PotP Punch-Counterpunch with no reservation.

Bumblebee

I only got this Bumblebee because I was looking forward to the movie Bumblebee. And this is the first time in a LONG time that we got a mass retail Bumblebee that transforms into an official VW Bug. Plus at this small size, it reminds me of G1 Bumblebee. To this day, this figure remains the only figure I bought from Bumblebee. Yes I got Studio Series 38 Optimus Prime, but I consider that more Studio Series, and not Bumblebee.

All in all, this is an ok fig. Nothing wrong with fig itself, but nothing to write home about either. How you think this fig would transform is exactly how it does. Purchase of this is fig is completely optional.

Shockwave

The whole Cyberverse line of toys caught me completely by surprise. I was not expecting them at all, then one day at Target I saw Cyberverse Ultimate Class Optimus and Megatron. Warrior Class figs appeared soon after that. Many online reviewers gave glowing reviews to Shockwave, so I bought one.

I already went into this figure in this post. Overall, he’s ok. To summarize, he’s easy to transform. The gimmicks are kinda entertaining. The robot mode is unmistakably Shockwave, but the alt mode could be more G1 if you ask me. I’m not really feeling this walking tank. Cyberverse figs reminds me of Robot in Disguise figs. They feel like cheap plastic held together by even cheaper ball joints. Good for young children to mess with for a few hours, but collectors need not bother.

If you have a thing for Shockwave, then this fig should do you no wrong. For everyone else, this is not a required purchase by any stretch of the imagination.

Barricade

Masterpiece Barricade is a figure worthy of your time. I gave my thoughts in that same post mentioned earlier for Shockwave. Movie Masterpieces are designated MPM. I guess that’s short for MP Movie. To this day, MPM Barricade remains the only fig I have from this line. I am tempted to buy more MPMs, but I’m a G1 guy at heart and MPMs just aren’t a priority.

Truth be told, I only bought MPM Barricade because he was on sale. But I’m glad I did. MPM Barricade is the only Barricade you need in your collection. I have 3 other deluxe Barricades, and none of them are all that good. MPM Barricade fixes all that and more. He feels weighty in your hands, with high quality plastic used throughout the fig. There could be some die-cast, but I’m not sure. The alt mode is a great representation of the Ford Mustang as a police car, and the robot mode is the most screen accurate Barricade that HasTak has produced. The paint job on this figure is superb. Transformation is tad challenging, but nowhere near impossible. He only comes with one accessory, which is that spinning blade thing we see him use in the movie. The arm does need to be transformed a bit to attach the accessory.

MPM Barricade gets a strong recommendation from me. If you love movie figs, this is a required purchase.

Excavator, Crane

Here are two more 4th party NBK Constructicons. The first one I got was Bulldozer, and the next one I got was Scraper. At this point, I think I was buying them more to complete the set. But that doesn’t mean they’re bad figs. Not in the least.

Excavator is another fine addition in this NBK line. He’s not quite as good as Bulldozer, but better than Scraper, in my opinion. Both modes look good and the transformation is fun. The overall transformation scheme is fairly G1 accurate. My only gripe about this figure is that the excavator arm in robot mode is way too big. When attached, the fig becomes back heavy. It can be removed, but I didn’t try it. However it should be noted that this is a common problem among all modern Scavenger figures.

I would say Crane is the weakest figure in this line so far. The alt mode is quite solid, everything coming together with no issues. The crane arm works too, which is a plus. The robot mode is where this thing falls apart. Bad construction hurts this figure. Some parts of the robot becomes a floppy mess. Of note is the crane arm in robot mode. It doesn’t really stay in place on the back, and having it angled over the shoulder is even worse. I do wonder if the genuine article of this figure is better constructed.

Downbeat

As of this writing, if you want a Jazz in your MP collection, then go with Downbeat. There is not a better G1 MP Jazz on the market right now. I sort of featured Downbeat back in this post. Jazz is my favorite TF character of all time. I had to have him in MP form, and I got sick of waiting for HasTak to do it. So it’s MakeToys to the rescue.

Downbeat gets a strong recommendation from me on all counts. He looks good in both modes. Transformation is a pleasure, just challenging enough to be fun yet not frustrating. Overall transformation scheme follows the G1 paradigm, and not something out of left field. The looks of the figure is completely G1 accurate, in both modes. The aesthetics of the robot mode is simple, much like the animation. The door panels in robot mode can be hidden or flipped out, so you get to configure Jazz like the show or the toy. He comes with plenty of accessories (rifle, shoulder rocket launcher, grappling hook, and more). Downbeat is the perfect Jazz package.

Some fans complain about the alt mode, where from the back you can see bits hang down below the rear bumper. Honestly, when you see the figure in hand, it’s not that bad. It looks worse than it is in pictures. Personally I would not let this issue keep you from buying an otherwise great figure.

As of this writing, Fans Toys have announced their plans for Jazz. Fans Toys is generally considered the best in the business for 3P TFs. But FT’s plans for Jazz could literally be years away. FT announced their plans for Blitzwing more than 2 years ago, and so far we only see renders. Only Primus knows how long before FT Jazz really materializes. In the mean time, go with MakeToys Downbeat. I’ve had mine for almost 2 years now. FT Jazz may indeed be better, but Downbeat is already at the party. How long you want to wait for FT Jazz to show up is up to you.

Richthofen

Richthofen is another great 3P MP figure this month. I featured DX9’s Powerglide here and here.

Richthofen is the best MP Powerglide on the market now. And I’m not aware of any future attempts on a MP Powerglide. Richthofen has a fun, intuitive transformation. Both modes look extremely good and very G1 accurate. The build is super solid. Perhaps too solid, as some joints are a bit too tight. On the first run of this figure, some fans complained of loose tail fins. So on the 2nd run (which is what I have), DX9 may have over-corrected. But I rather have joints too tight than too loose.

Richthofen comes with a figure of Astoria, and his chest panel flips up to reveal a molded-on heart pattern. Powerglide is such a playa. He gets a girl on Earth, but still has his piece back on Cybertron (Moonracer).

That’s a lot of figs this month. Sometimes I don’t realize how much I buy in a month, til I do these kind of posts. The must-haves this month are Downbeat, Richthofen, Barricade, and Punch-Counterpunch. Everything else is optional.

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.

 

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!

OMG! I did not see this coming from Hasbro! After two modern updates of Devastator by third party companies, Hasbro is finally releasing their own. Check out this pic below, from what I think is a toy fair in Germany.

Supposedly each individual fig is gonna be Voyager size, and the Devastator combined will be Titan class! That’s Metroplex size! Though early rumors seem to indicate that the engineering will be quite basic. I speculate Hasbro has finally decided to do something about 3rd Parties making money off their property.

I’m debating if I want more Constructicons in my collection. After wonderful interpretations by both TFC Toys and MakeToys, I’m not sure I need another Devastator. Knowing me, I will get this if the price is right.

Prepare for Extermination! Transform and Roll Out!

As the first combiner team in the TF Universe, the Constructicons are the most recognizable gestalt group among hardcore TransFans. Many combiner teams have come since their appearance, but no other unit has had the legacy that is claimed by this platoon of six Decepticon construction vehicles. They made their first appearance in 1984 in the G1 episode “Heavy Metal War”, one of my favorite G1 eps of all time. The six evil builders sneaked into the Ark for some mischief, not expecting to be overpowered individually by the Dinobots. And just when it looked like the Dinos were gonna turn them to slag, the Constructicons combined to form the fearsome Devastator!

Since the introduction of Classic figures in 2006, hardcore G1-ers such as myself have been crying for an update of the Constructicons that would fit well into the Classic-verse. We all knew that the chance of it really happening was small. Hasbro has not made a true combiner team since god knows when. Their recent approach to gestalts, such as the ROTF Constructicons and PCCs, are nothing short of disappointing. A true combiner team in the G1 spirit does indeed feel like a heavy undertaking, something Hasbro was not prepared to invest in.

Enter TFC Toys, a third party in the same vein as FansProject or iGear. I don’t have any background information on this company. But they were willing to give us what Hasbro will not. Similar to the 2010 FansProject homage to Combaticons, TFC Toys is giving us “Hercules”, a team of six constructions vehicles that can each transform into a robot and combine to form the giant Hercules. Since TFC Toys is not affiliated with Hasbro in any shape or form, they cannot use official Hasbro names to the characters. But it’s obvious that this team of 6 is an homage to the original Constructicons.

This set is not cheap. Each figure is about $100. I’ll let you do the math for how much it cost for the entire set. Clearly this is for hardcore collectors only. Each figure is about Voyager size. I bought the first one back in Oct of 2011, and I completed the set in Feb of this year. Each is packaged in robot mode. A group shot of them individually appears below.

Top row (left to right): Exgraver (Scavenger), Heavy Labor (Long Haul), Neckbreaker (Bonecrusher).
Bottom row (left to right): Madblender (Mixmaster), Dr. Crank (Hook), Structor (Scrapper).

And here is a group shot of them individually in their alt modes.

Each figure in the set is well constructed and feels solid and robust. From a pure aesthetics perspective, these figures draw heavy influences from G1 and the Classic-verse (no weird Movie designs here). Transformation for each figure is also not difficult, and should be obvious to anyone who has played with enough G1 or CHUG toys. I won’t go too much into each figure individually. Just know that I am impressed with each of the 6.

I should point out however that there are 2 constructions issues. The first one has to do with Heavy Labor’s hip joints. TFC was willing to acknowledge the issue and has included a replacement part with Neckbreaker. This post goes into the fix in good detail. The other issue has to do with Neckbreaker itself. It’s a pretty easy fix that I did in about 5 min. Check out this post for the fix. I realize that at $100 a piece, they should be issue-free. However this is TFC Toy’s first attempt, and they were responsible enough to provide fixes, so I don’t see it as a big deal.

Ok, now onto the real reason I bought this set, the giant Hercules. This figure is awesome when combined! Check it out!

Hercules is such a towering giant of a robot that you can’t help but be impressed when the figure is witnessed in person. Transformation of each of the individual components is not difficult, but putting them together to form Hercules does require some work. The joints that connect each component is super tight! I really had to apply force to get the pieces to combine. That’s probably a good thing, considering that each figure is Voyager size, so the tight connection will help Hercules stay combined.

Neckbreaker also comes with a visor that you can put over the eyes of the head of Hercules. This is so you can decide between how you want Hercules to look, either more like the G1 toy (no visor) or more like the G1 show (with visor). The picture above is the only one here where I did not put on the visor. Personally I like how he looks in the G1 cartoons, so the visor is included in all shots below.

One thing that I really like about this set is the fact that extraneous pieces are not required for combining. With the G1 toys, merging into the mighty Devastator required a extra head piece, a extra chest piece, a extra hip piece, 2 extra forearms, and 2 extra fists. Many of these pieces had no where to go when the Constructicons are separated, in either or both alt and robot modes. Combining the toys were impossible without the head and hip piece. The Hercules set has no such issues. Extraneous pieces are not required for combination. Almost everything needed is built into the figures. Take Hercules’ head for example. It is built into Dr. Crank’s back. All connectors are also built into each component. The only pieces that can be argued as add-ons are the fists and chest shield. However, there are places to store these in both individual alt and robot modes, so they are accounted for. Even the guns used by individual figures are accounted for when combined (more on this later). I give TFC Toys high praise for engineering a combination mechanism where add-on pieces are very minimally used.

Below are some size comparisons pics. See for yourself what a massive figure Hercules really is.

For a gestalt, Hercules is quite poseable. There are pivot points at the neck, shoulder, elbows, fists, fingers, hips, and feet. The only key places absent of articulation are the knees. The gestalts made by Hasbro are not articulated at all, so I feel TFC Toys has given us more than enough.

One last thing that I wanted to show is the giant rifle used by Hercules. Take a careful look at the picture below. The rifle is formed by taking the six pistols used by each figure and combining them. Very very cool. I did not know of this until I bought the set. TFC Toys really put a lot of thought into the design of Hercules.

To summarize, I cannot say enough good things about Hercules. I give this set the highest possible recommendation. Yes I know the price is gonna be a turnoff for many, but it is so worth it. As of this writing, BBTS has a sale on third party figures, which may alleviate some of the financial burden of owning something so awesome. If you like combining transforming robots, you owe it to yourself to acquire this in your collection.

With Hercules, TFC Toys has established themselves as a solid 3rd party in the Transformers Universe. I look forward to what they will produce next… Transform and Roll Out!

As many of you already know, TFC Toys is making their own Constructicon Set called Hercules. The first figure released in the series is Exgraver (aka Scavenger), already available for some time now. I missed out on the first shipment of Exgraver since I was still on the fence over its $100 price tag, but good reviews of the figure has left me no choice but to buy. And so I pre-ordered Exgraver and now I’m waiting for the 2nd shipment to arrive. As of this writing, Heavylabor (aka Long Haul) is also available for pre-order.

If any of you are wondering how Hercules will look combined, below is a pic. Thanks to my friend Gemini for providing the pic.

I’m getting excited just looking at this. Hercules is gonna be huge! As far as scale goes, the only other fig that I recognize in the pic is Alternity Bumblebee, in the lower right. From that I can get a sense of how towering this gestault will truly be.

I don’t have Exgraver in hand, but if he’s as good as everyone claims he is, then Hercules should be a high-quality figure. Scrapper and Mixmaster appears to be the last 2 molds that TFC will produce. Their alt modes also appear in the pic and each fig is shaping up nicely I must say.

But let me point out again that it is $100 per figure! Hercules is a $600 investment. I’m already committed to Exgraver so I guess I’m in for the Long Haul (pun intended). That’s some crazy spending for a bunch of toys. But I’ll get over it. Transform and Roll Out!

Once again I’m back home. In anticipation of the upcoming Encore reissue Constructicons, I decided to dig out my knock off Constructicons from back in the mid 80s. These are supposed to be knock offs of the original Diaclone toys, that’s why they’re red and yellow.

In alt form they’re in pretty good shape. I didn’t put the accessories on any of these since I think they look better without them.

In robot mode they began to show their age. Left arm on Mixmaster is broken so I left it at the side. Right leg on Hook is broken at the knee, though you can’t tell from the pic. They show some sticker wear but overall not too bad, unlike my G1 Combaticons where all the stickers are in bad shape. My favorite of these is Bonecrusher. I like his transformation the best. I got all the little guns that each of them have, but after 25+ years I can’t remember which gun goes to who so I didn’t bother.

Combined as the fearsome Devastator. They still hold up pretty well after all this time. Granted, it wasn’t that good to begin with since it’s KO, but after 25+ years this set feels about the same connection wise. Some attachments actually felt tighter than I remembered. KO Devastator is all colorful, kinda like movie Devastator.

Below is KO Devastator next to a genuine Diaclone Slag.

As a kid I treasured this set even though I knew they were KO. Nowadays I keep these around for a good laugh.

Transform and Roll Out!

Oh happy day! News broke that the G1 Devastator giftset will be re-released in the Encore line. This is finally my chance to get my hands on a complete set of the G1 Constructicons. Release is set for late 2011. MSRP will be around 10500 yen, roughly $130 US today.

I mentioned before that I am on a quest to acquire all the G1 Combiner teams. This brings me one step closer to that dream. Getting a complete G1 Devastator would have costed me an arm and a leg. Now that this set is on the horizon, I might get some of those custom Devastator parts by Crazy Devy. They’re not cheap though. Even at Botcon they were not being sold for any kind of discount. All the parts added together will easily surpass the cost of the giftset.

For the full story, click here.

In related news, the 3rd party Scavenger figure that I reported in my last post is now up for pre-order at your favorite online TF retailers (you know what they are). This product is being called Hercules Exgraver. I’m guessing Hercules is Devastator and Exgraver is Scavenger.

Here’s the pic I took at Botcon:

Another color image:

MSRP of this figure is right below $100. The obvious conclusion here is that this Devastator set will be $600, if they really make all 6. Am I hardcore enough to buy them? Only time will tell.

Dinobots and Constructicons were rivals in G1. At Voyager size, this Constructicons set will even give Masterpiece Grimlock a run for his money. “Prepare for Extermination!”

Constructicons… Transform and Roll Out!