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Post by cybernaut on Aug 9, 2007 14:50:37 GMT 8
Haven't done a review in a long time... Hope I you like it... ForewordHaving bought FAB Movie Prime before the movie toys hit mainstream release, I found him to be VERY impressive, with excellent sculpting and good articulation and transformation, considering it was aimed for younger kids! I simply loved the thing, which is the closest we'll ever get to a deluxe clase Movie Prime. Check out my review here for more info on him: greattoysonline.proboards43.com/index.cgi?board=tftoyreview&action=display&thread=1178723017Fast forward to today, with FAB's hitting mallwide release at deluxe prices. I've heard of an FAB Megatron for sometime now and wanted to get a hold of one to complete my pair of Leader characters. I managed to snag one above SRP (but still lower than what TRU priced their FAB's...) in one of the specialty shops in Makati. PackagingMegs comes carded in a wraparound plastic bubble, with the packaging design in the vein of the TFTM toys geared for the younger kids. There's also a simple instruction sheet. FAB Megatron in packaging. Front (left), Back (right)It's interesting to note that, like with almost all of Movie Megatron packaging, the model featured on the back and the artwork is based on the earlier design of Megatron before fan clamor made the designers change some elements, notably his head. Robot ModeMegatron comes packged in robot mode so I'll start here... He stands over 16cm tall, has 7 points of articulation (head, shoulders, hips, and knees...), comes with two red projectiles, and has spring-loaded parts. FAB Megatron, Front (left) and Back (right)Megatron looks close enough to his bigscreen counterpart for his size, with tons of intricate sculpting details all over. Trust me, he's got so much detail to rival the Leader-class version! Even his coloring is consistent with Leader-class Megs, 'cept for gold paint apps and the really visible red plastic used for his claws and missiles... Leader-class Megatron (left), FAB Megatron (right)FAB Megatron one ups the Leader-class version with regard to two things: Neck articulation and the fact that the FAB Megatron has a Decepticon symbol... I think the FAB head design looks more menacing. Check out all the sculpted detail on the FAB in comparison to the Leader-class! Leader-class Megatron (left), FAB Megatron (right)Proportions of FAB's are usually somewhat distorted in places, such as large heads and shrunken hands. Megs has a rather chubby torso, with rather short legs and toes, but it's not too distracting. Megatron is reasonably articulated, but as with FAB Prime a whole lot of sculpting detail gets in the way. What hurts Megs most is his lack of elbow articulation... Regardless, a lot of cool poses can be achieved, as shown below: FAB Megatron in action poses. He passes Sir Rohml's patented kick test too! (far right)Okay, so FAB Megs has no elbow articulation. Why? Because he essentily has these for arms: FAB Megatron's arms cum Fusion Missile launcher...Unfortunately, the projectile is not spring loaded. You fire it by pushing on the tail of the missile untill the pressure overcomes the friction on the ball joint and sort of ejects the missiles out. Honestly, I really think its a weak gimmick in place of spring-firing missiles, but it's not so obstructive, so its not that bad. Like most FAB's, Megs has one other gimmick that I don't know how to photograph. Basically, it involves you twisting the upper torso at the waist with his right (or left) arm outstretched. When you let go, the spring loaded waist snaps back simulating a "robo punch"... Cybertronian Jet ModeMegatron, as everyone already knows, transfoms into some sort of Alien spacecraft and each one of the Megatron toys I've seen rarelly don't look like the movie model with the regards to their alt modes. Instead, all have their own interpretation of a folded-up robot doing his impression of being a flying thing... FAB Megs is no different, and due to the simplified transfomation scheme, he borrows heavily from Gundam transformations to achieve his. (Think around a simplified Zeta Gundam transformation and you pretty much figure out how he works...). While this is his weaker mode, it's not bad in all aspects. One thing to note is that unlike most versions of the Movie Megs, FAB Megs hides his head in alt mode. FAB Megatron Cybertronian Jet mode in various anglesFAB Megs looks radically different from the alt mode of the leader class. One other point is that FAB Megs has a pull out landing gear made of red plastic to support the nose of the vehicle. FAB Megs with Leader-class Megs on the left. The landing gear is visible on the shot on the right.ConclusionOverall, considering the compromises present with the FAB line, this toy represents Megatron very well and is one of the better FAB's out there. While I feel that FAB Prime is a better example of the how the FAB's can rival the TFTM Deluxe class in fun factor, FAB Megatron is no slouch. With amazing detail, sturdy construction, he's let down only by the awkward projectile gimmick. He's an example of a how even a toy designed for younger kids can also be very appealing to older toy lovers. My Score Four Optimus Prime heads out of Five AfterwordBTW, speaking of the FAB Prime, here are some more comparison pics. Enjoy! Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Aug 9, 2007 15:10:09 GMT 8
Hmm... In light of the FAB Megs, I think I may have been to harsh on him. I'm changing my score and giving him a perfect score!!
Five Optimus Prime heads out of Five!
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Post by cybernaut on May 9, 2007 23:03:37 GMT 8
ForewordOk, I admit. Ever since I fell in love with Transformers again (I have 20th Anniv. Prime to thank for that...), my logic has been screwed lately. Case in point: I bought a Deluxe-sized Fast Action Battler Movie Optimus Prime... for twice the price of a standard Deluxe. Go figure. PackagingPrime comes carded in standard plastic bubble packaging, in the movie design theme. Aside from the figure, there's also a simple instruction sheet and catalog. I know its aimed a kids' toy, but I feel that the packaging's waaay too "kiddy", especially the Prime artwork. Too many colors and cartoony fonts, I suppose. IMO, the Unicron Trilogy toys had better packaging than this. Robot ModeSince Prime comes packged in robot mode, I'll start here... He stands about 16cm tall, has 9 points of articulation (head, shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees...), a translucent blue firing projectile, and lots of spring-loaded parts. Prime's detailed enough like his bigscreen counterpart for a deluxe, with the visible pistons, grills and jumbled truck parts. What I really love about this is that it stil looks like good 'ol Optimus Prime, albeit in movie aesthetics. There's the signature mouthplate and antennae, chest windows and grill abs, plus the red and blue motif. Just wish the head was smaller, since it would've made him look better. Some kibble is present due to the auto-transforming gimmick, but doesn't look that bad, really. Prime's windshield parts obstruct the arm articulation but all other joints are nice and tight, and move freely enough. I wish there were rotators on the biceps and above the knees, but otherwise, I'm impressed with the amount of articulation here, with all the auto-transform parts around. Just to have size comparison, here he is with the Cybertron Deluxe Primes Prime does not come with handheld weapons nor do his hands appear to be designed to hold any existing ones from previous lines (I may be wrong...). He has, however, this... The projectile is fired from a spring launcher built into his left arm. It's shaped like a hook (hence he's called Power Hook Optimus Prime on the card...) attached by a string to a loop on his backpack (which is essentially a large chunk of truck...). The hook is practically useless, since you can't significantly "hook" anything with it. As a projectile, it's a hit or miss thing, since it doesn't fly very far thanks to the string, and the recoil makes the thinh bounce back to Prime...(thankfully, you can remove the string...). At least, the missile won't get lost easily. Prime has one other gimmick that I don't know how to capture on photograph. Basically, it involves you twisting the upper torso at the waist with his right (or left) arm outstretched. When you let go, the spring loaded waist snaps back simulating a "robo punch"... Not very impressive, but it's a lot more fun than Supercon Prime's "shoulder shuffling" 1-2 punch gimmick. Truck ModeAs everyone already knows, Movie Prime transfoms into a long-nosed Peterbuilt tractor, similar to his G2 form. Due to the auto-transform gimmick, essentially, this is Movie Prime doing calisthenics, folded over and touching his toes. Most of the silver and gunmetal grey robot parts are now hidden, covered by the red and blue panels. I like the moulding on the wheels, especially the mags. Too bad the rear end of the cab has very low ground clearance. 2 things destroy the illusion of this truck, namely the hole on the front grill where the projectile launcher is, and the hook missile itself, which stores on a slot under the rear portion of the cab. Note that the only Autobot insignia to be found on Prime is on the emblem on the grill. Robot in disguise, indeed. Here again, beside Cybertron Deluxe Prime... Who turns into a long-nosed tractor BTW... While the truck mode is a little deformed, it actually looks nice, sort of like a HotWheels muscle truck, especially with the flame deco. While the moulding is good for a deluxe-size Transformer, a lot of the details remain unpainted such as the windshield and bumpers, small details which woud've made a nice truck mode into an awesome one. ConclusionAll things considered, this Optimus Prime is a cool toy. It goes above and beyond your standard deluxe-class TFs. While the auto-transform gimmick could've been better, this toy benefits from not just revolving around the spring-loaded transformation but also from its articulation and high playability and other gimmicks. IMO, its the best all F.A.B.'s I've seen. My Score i112.photobucket.com/albums/n182/smartalecblog/forum%20smilies/optimus.gif[/img] Five Optimus Prime heads out of Five! AfterwordHonestly, I admit, at the time of this writing, this thing is waaaay too pricey. Veery expensive, really, at twice the price of a standard deluxe. But, as with all the movie toys available right now, they're all priced double... Being a sucker for all things Prime, I gave in. Good thing the toy doesn't disappoint... Still, waiting for the official release would be wiser, especially since the most of the movie designs are an acquired taste. Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Apr 11, 2007 7:36:49 GMT 8
Last Palm Sunday, after I went to church, I looked around in Tiangge in front of the church and found this Bootleg TF Cybertron LOC Soundwave figure which only cost Php 35.00. To my surprise the packaging is also the same as the authentic one but the difference is since Soundwave is in the packaging the name's wrong, it was named Red Alert. Check out the gallery by clicking on the image. PHP 35.00?!? Wow! Not bad. And it transforms too! (insert cheap-custom-decepticlone-army-but-can't-think-of-witty-remark-to-package-it quote) How goes the plastic quality and the joints?
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Post by cybernaut on Apr 4, 2007 1:26:02 GMT 8
Are the leg joints racheted? the crotch part? Thanks The rotators that control forward - backward movement of Masterpiece Megatron's legs are on tight ratchets... As for sideways movement, the rotator is on a different joint, but, yes, it is ratcheted... But they all feel so fragile... I forgot to mention this on the review, Megs also has swivel joints below the elbows and above the knees, althought I think you've all figured that out by now... Great Review Cybernaut! Just to add, when transforming the toy there are a few things to look out for: - remove the plastic packing pieces in Megatron's "sleeves" before trying to compress them for gun mode. -When transforming back into Bot mode remember to first PULL the gunbarrel forward, then[/size] fold the barrel to the side. This is a very common mistake(I almost made it myself) if you're used to transforming the old G1 version of the toy. Forcing the barrel to fold without first pulling it forward will result in breakage of the hinge holding the barrel. The manual doesn't have instructions for transforming the toy back to robot mode so this one is just an accident waiting to happen. Gold[/quote] Thanks for the tip, though I kinda figured that out myself when I transformed him back to robot mode the first time, sir gold... My casualty was accidentally snapping off the teeny plastic lock on one of the hip plates which lock the handle to the barrel on gun mode... Well, it still locks fine, but it's still damage...sniff! To be honest, after re-reading the review, I felt I was a li'l bit too negative about the MP-5, probably due to my disappointment. But, it's really grown on me, especially since I've sort of gotten the hang of how he works. He looks fine beside my 20th Anniversary Prime, and that's all that matters. To everyone, thank you for all the encouraging comments. I'm glad you liked my review! Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Apr 2, 2007 9:59:52 GMT 8
excellent review! i guess they really had to sacrifice stability and durability for the transformation... how's the diecast content and which parts has it? i think i'll get the revoltech version than this one - but maybe when one is selling it at 30% off... As indicated, the feet and the "spine" thing which connects Megatron's arms and head to his upper body are die cast... They seem sturdy enough, no problem. Considering that they're not "load bearing", they're fine. Even the die cast feet don't have to work much. I just wish they'd added more though, especially on the joints and stuff. It might have improved durablity... And proportionately jacked up cost, I dunno. Go figure... hey cybernaut, got mine last saturday. so far no parts broken but i agree with you that it was hell to transform! wanted to ask if you figured out what the 2 pegs at the scope were for...thanks! I'm holding Megs in Gun mode as I type this (I had to transform him for the review, and I haven't the guts to change him back yet... No... Not yet... ), and I, for the life of me, haven't figured out what those pegs on hinges are... Anyone? Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Apr 2, 2007 3:14:35 GMT 8
Please note that this review is in no way a finished work. Others may add to it, especially comparison pics with other Megatrons and other info. Your comments and suggestions are greatly appreciatedHighly anticipated, much awaited, Takara/Tomy's Megatron has set a lot of Transfans drooling. Now it's here... Does it live up to the hype? Here's what I think... PackagingMasterpiece Megatron comes packaged in a simple cardboard box (as all Masterpieces did...), with photographs of Megatron in both robot and gun modes, including pics of the accessories that come with him. I can't read Japanese, so I'll stop here... . Megs is packed in a clear plastic tray(not shown) along with his (rather large) arm cannon / gun mode scope, energon flail, energon saber (from TF:TM), blaster (also from TF:TM), a Kreemzeek figure, the instruction booklet and a tech specs card. Robot ModeStanding beside (and back to back) with 20th Anniv. Optimus Prime, Megs stands a little over a foot tall. Ignoring the barrel, he's still taller than Prime by a few mm's... However, Megs is a whole lot thinner than Prime, almost skeletal, probably due to design considerations of him changing into a gun... He's a panel-former, with lots of folded-up gun parts visible, especially those notorious gun parts on both his shoulders and hips. There are excellent moulded details such as panel lines and circuitry and mech detailing. The detail of the chest area is superb, especially the raked metal texture of the breast part. The head sculpt is undeniably Megatron. Megatron, side and back. Masterpiece Megatron's a VERY flimsy toy. There's very little die cast (the feet and the "spine thingy" which connects his extremities). Everything else is plastic (which, for some reason, seems softer than the one used on Prime), meaning the risk of parts-breaking and snapping is very high. The panels on both shoulders and on both hips fall / snap-off all too easily, connected via ball joints and they fall off if you hold them wrong... While Megatron is articulated enough by Masterpiece standards, most of it is hampered by very fragile plastic and a lot of OVERLY TIGHT ratcheting joints and REALLY LOOSE ball joints. While the head turns on a solid ball joint, the shoulders are on ratchets, which are tight in some parts and floppy in some places. They don't seem to be very strong, same with the double-jointed elbows. There's a lot of wiggle on the connections and the plastic feels brittle. The hand rotates nicely on a tight rotator. There's practically no waist articulation by value of the transformation, and by that same reason, he has practically no true hip-to-leg joints. Articulation is achieved by rotating and turning various folded-up parts. The knees are double-jointed but are so tight, it's as if they'd snap if they were fiddled with. Ditto on the hips to... (I'll leave it up to another MP-5 owner to see if the toy passes Sir rohml's patented kick test, since I'm not even going to try it on mine...)Alternate Mode - Walther P38After a rather long process of flipping, rotating, folding, etc., Megatron becomes a (wait for it...!) gun. Like the original G1 Megs, the Masterpiece version is a Walther P38 U.N.C.L.E. pistol, slightly over sized (approx. 133%, if you study the box...) and realistically styled. The safety lock can be fiddled with, same as the trigger. The scope has a red LED that lights up when you press a button on the side (as a result, the scope is not functional i.e. you cant look through it... and not that you would since the LED might blind you ). Transforming him can be taken in two ways... Challenging, or frustrating. I picked frustrating. A lot of the parts that you have to shift are either so tight that you're scared to put pressure on them in the fear that it might break or are so loose that they simply pop off... And the lack of structurally sound places to hold when you're shifting them makes it even scarier especially when you realize your pulling on a joint! It's as if Megs doesn't want you to transform him into any mode! The scope, as I'm sure every transfan knows, becomes Megatron's trademark arm cannon. It's a detachable piece, and a large and heavy one at that. The thing is too heavy for its own good, since the shoulder can hardly carry the weight of the cannon. I had a really fun session trying to get him into that pose (which is supposed to be the same as the one on G1 Meg's boxart...). Still, it does look cool... The Energon flail (which, as I recall, Megatron used only once...) is a transparent plastic spiked ball attached by a plastic chain to a connector which is clips Megatron's arm when you fold his hand in. Megatron demo-ing his TF:TM accessories, the energon saber and some hapless Transformer's blaster... Also shown is the Kreemzeek fig, which I believe deserves merit, since the transparent yellow plastic thing really does look that good. ConclusionI dunno. I really does seem like I'm pregnant doging a lot about this toy... I suppose it's because I was really expecting a lot from this toy, after the excellent work on Masterpiece Convoy. While the final product does deliver, in a way, it's let down by the very same ingenious engineering that makes it such a cool gun-transforming robot. I was so excited to get this, and after spending a frustrating night transforming it (and, um, snapping off a teeny plastic catch on one of the hip plates... ), I felt let down and somehow didn't feel worth the PHP4500 that I saved for this... But your mileage may vary. In any case, it's still a good piece, and it does look awesome next to Masterpiece Prime. Too bad a lot of issues really hurt the playability of the thing... 3 Megatron Heads out of 5 ...20th Anniversary Prime vs. Masterpiece Megatron. Enjoy!
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Post by cybernaut on Feb 25, 2007 22:26:52 GMT 8
Heh... I seem to end up reviewing bootlegs lately. Any more and you'd probably think all my TF's are bootlegs (Well, they're not, okay?) (I'd like to say first that I do not own an original Powermaster Optimus Prime toy, so I may not be accurate with some points. Comments, suggestions & clarifications are well appreciated) Anyway, what's interesting about this one was that I found it gathering dust in one of our neighborhood boutique shops waaaaaay out here in the town of Tanay, Rizal. Considering that almost nobody out here cares about Transformers (let alone buy the toys...), I was amazed to see this. The tindera even told me "ser, maganda po iyan, Transformable!" . Buying it for PHP350, I rushed home to check it out. The cool packaging was what caught my eye, with its design & coloring reminiscent of G1 packaging. There's a black plastic handle on the box, making for a very portable package. It does say "TRANSFORMABLE" on the box & the image is God Ginrai, not Powermaster Optimus Prime (PMOP for short). The box has a flip panel with the God Ginrai box art mirrored, which makes it an attractive display. The back of the box had G1-Pretender-era box art and PMOP's tech specs, without the "secret decoder" gimmick. All parts of PMOP were present, complete with G1-style instructions & sticker sheet (it's been a long time since I've had toys with stickers!). As expected, there are no Autobot symbols, nor licensed names & markings to be found. Out of the box, the bootleg nature becomes evident. It's made of cheap plastic, naturally, and is very rough. Surfaces aren't well finished and the moulded details are muddled. There are lots of excess mould plastic around & the QC is very shoddy, with missing screws and certain missassembled parts. One enjoyable thing about this was that the decals were excellently copied and were fun to attach. It made the toy look better. As you all know, PMOP turns into a COE (cab over engine...) truck pulling a rather blocky trailer with large weapons. Most of the decals are hidden here and the cheap plastic really hurts this mode. The wheels aren't well-aligned & don't roll very well. One thing to note is that the smokestacks were chromed. (I painted the front bumper white to add some detail to the truck...) Of course, PMOP comes with a small Hi-Q figure, who folds up to become PMOP's engine-thingy, which in turn supposedly unlocks his transformation (although pushing down on a button near the front grill does the same thing...). After much ado, we end up with a Prime not dissimilar to the G1 version and a cool base mode out of his trailer. This Prime has a simplified transformation, and is rather plain, probably a necessary sacrifice for the combination feature. (I had to paint the face as well, since it wasn't painted and looked dull.) The trailer's base mode is colorful, thanks to the decals but a lot of excess mouldings ruin the quality. The Hi-Q figure can straddle any of the two double cannons. Finally, we come to what I think is the the best part of this thing, the super mode! Essentially a block with rotating arms and does the splits, this thing is awesome. It has a certain coolness to it, with double blasters and two shoulder-mounted dual-barrelled guns, making it worthwhile to look at and play with. The bootleg holds up well with very tight joints and connections. This is one big badass bootleg Prime! (almost as tall as 20th Anniversary Prime, even!) I've put it beside Pretenders Landmine and Groundbreaker for scale. Hi-Q can be seen as PMOP's engine block. Note the rusted rivets... A lot of the rivets, screws and metal pins had rust on them and the toy had dust out of the box, so I assume it'd been on that shelf a long time. That or the rivets weren't stainless and the box wasn't sealed for moisture and dust... Never having owned an original PMOP (Hint! Hint! Anyone?), this Bootleg sorta fills that gap a little. Its solid, and a very good reminder of the greatness of G1 toys. The backstory only adds to the charm, and I proudly display it in super mode with all guns blazing. In closing...
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Post by cybernaut on Feb 17, 2007 22:21:12 GMT 8
Just an addendum to my review above... Having opened my Alternators Silverstreak, I wasted no time in comparing him with my bootleg Streak, since both of them have the essentialy the same body with minor differences... Here's both of them standing side by side... What's been bugging me for the last few weeks about this bootleg was that the legs were always bent in a reverse jointed configuration. While the knees did bend in reverse due to the transformation method, i always had to bend them too far for him to stand. All the variants shown on the box had the same problem. Here it is, standing back to back with Alternator Silverstreak, as if to face of in a duel (image on left)... Notice the legs? After close examination of the legs, I found the problem. The part connecting the "foot" to the "ankle" part is mis-assembled. As shown on the images, (silverstreak, upper right, BL Streak, lower right), the ankle joint (encircled part...) is reversed , preventing the feet from locking properly with his legs. Since the problem effectively shifts his center of balance whenever he stands, he becomes back heavy, hence his knees have to bend outward to stand. It doesn't help that the heavy die-cast parts and certain loose joints asd to the posing problem. Apparently, all the variants of this bootleg have the same defect. Other than this, I find nothing else wrong. It seems all of the bootleg binaltechs have a certain defect in their construction. The Viper molds (Lambor and Dead End) have mis-assembled shoulders while the Subaru mold has this. I wonder, what defect does the Jeep (Hound) mold have...? Anyways, here's a parting shot of Metals Transform Streak, together with Metals Transform Lambor. Enjoy! Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Feb 15, 2007 0:12:53 GMT 8
About a year and a half ago, zephon posted a thread regarding bootleg Binaltech Transformers... (see related thread here: greattoysonline.proboards43.com/index.cgi?board=transformers&action=display&thread=1124858417)Since he asked for a review of these bootlegs, I'm posting one for the Subaru Impreza mold, otherwise known as Winner Streak (nice...) . Having found a sizeable amount of these bootlegs in St. Francis Square going for PHP 600 apiece, I decided to check them out. I bought two, a Viper (gray with flames variant of Victory Lambor, aka BT Lambor bootleg) and a Subaru Impreza WRC, which is BT Streak's alternate mode (Red rally variant). As rohml said, these are BINALTECH bootlegs, with die-cast parts. All parts of the original BINALTECH toy are faithfully reproduced, with only the insigna and other Transformers trademarks changed to avoid copyright issues. Here's mine MISB... It's packaged in a "bastardized" version of a BT box, complete with circular "windows" on the side. There are no TF or HasTak licensed markings on the box, and on the toy itself. Note: There is another version of the box wherein the toys come packaged in robot mode... (again, see zephon's thread for pics) The back of the packaging showing the features of the toy, complete with funny english. There are 4 variants of according to the box, 2 for WRC, 2 for WRX. While the WRC and the WRX bodies were two different Autobots (Smokescreen/Streak and Silverstreak respectively) with certain differences, I noticed all of the variants were only repaints of Streak. Here it is beside my MISB Alternators Silverstreak (which I got on sale...). This is what you get... The car on a cardboard stand, the intercooler/weapon thingy and an instruction manual (which also comes with funny english ) CAR MODEFront View Back View As with the BT/Alt, all 4 doors open, hood and trunk open, and interiors are detailed. All 4 wheels have rubber tires with mags, including rack and pinion steering on the front tires. Being a bootleg, the engineering and quality control isn't perfect, with doors not sitting flush with the body and leftover metal bits from the mold. Wheels are not very aligned and the steering gimmick is kinda restricted. The interior is made of cheap plastic. A closeup of the markings. All Subaru logos have been replaced with the word "Surmount", and despite the mold obviously belonging to the Subaru Impreza WRC, the markings say WRX... WEAPONHere's the engine/weapon thingy. It's concealed under the hood and unfolds to become Streak's Electro-Disruptor. Note the absence of the Autobot Symbol despite there being an indentation for it... ROBOT MODEAfter a lot of rather confusing twists and turns, we arrive at a robot form looking somewhat like the instructions say... Front View Rear View Like BT's, the articulation is great, with the toes, ankles, knees, hips, waist, wrist, fingers, elbows (double jointed!), shoulders, and head having decent movement. The die-cast parts limit poses due to their weight, but otherwise, I'm impressed with the HasTak engineering of this thing. It looks impressive enough, although the head sculpt lacks the detail and emotion of the original. Oh, and the infamous BT paint chipping issues are here as well... But it isn't as painful... And yes, being a bootleg, certain parts are loose and ill-fitting. However, mine was quite sturdy. I found no problem with the assembly and the important joints are reasonably tight, enabling it to hold a lot of poses. The forearms were misassembled, prompting a quick session with a screwdriver to correct... However, the joints DO wear out with continous play, as I found out with the left shoulder rotator after fiddling with it a LOT (couldn't figure out at first how to transform it back to car mode... ). Despite the obvious quality loss, I'm satisfied. It wasn't a waste of my PHP 600, unlike Lambor. Its a testament to the merits of the BT/Alt Subaru mold that this version copies its good points. Hopefully we see other versions, especially the unique ones like Prime and Skids. While mileage may vary with each model, this is a cheaper, albeit weaker alternative to Binaltechs and Alternators. And these guys are definitely NOT for kids. You get what you buy, so know what your buying. Caveat emptorJya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Jan 27, 2007 23:06:17 GMT 8
What I like about this incarnation of Prime is that his proportions are almost Super robot-esque (well, the boxy, more modern super robots...), with the chunky arms and legs, angular face and torso-to-hip ratio... Even the weapon styling is nice.
If only Hasbro had better quality control...
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Post by cybernaut on Feb 18, 2007 19:47:00 GMT 8
Barely three months in and this Transformers thing of mine's become a near obsession... Anyway, I just want to update this thread so I'm posting pics of what my collection looks today... It's basically the same shelf, albeit with lesser free space. Spot the difference (with the pics on the first post)... Good guys... Bad guys... Thanks for viewing! Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Nov 27, 2006 0:26:20 GMT 8
Well, finally got the guts to photograph my Transformers... Since they were out anyway, I decided, "What the heck..." It's not much really. It isn't's a huge collection (it's not even big... and there's no specific theme to it, but I'm proud of it. It's possibly all of the Transformers I have since I was a kid. Here they are... Divided according to faction. As you can see, the "dark side" is greatly outnumbered... Autobots (and a Maximal) here... It all started with little Beachcomber on the lower left... ...and the Decepticons (plus a Predacon) on this side. And my centerpiece is of course, HIM... And here's a close-up of Galaxy Convoy (because he's so darn cool!) That's it for now. I'm still trying to bolster up my Decepticons, but I can't seem to find anyone I like... Possibly Galaxy Force / Cybertron Noisemaze / Sideways, although I dunno where he goes, Decepticon or Autobot... Hope you can suggest some good choices. Anyway, thanks for looking at it. Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Dec 2, 2006 8:56:28 GMT 8
Cool review. You've convinved me, and now I have my own Jungle Planet Optimus Prime (JPOP nga... hehe). All I can say is, ASTIG siya...!
BTW, there seems to be a confusion regarding the correct facing of JPOP's thighs, basing on the pics on the box and on the instructions (the box has them mismatched...) but its a minor thing and I've made my peace with it.
A question though: Who's matrix did you use? JPOP doesn't come with a matrix...
Jya na!
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Post by cybernaut on Nov 26, 2007 14:53:48 GMT 8
Nice! Never realized that...
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