The Energon Pub

Tell us about Biiisssssssssssskkk....

itscramtastic wrote:A reference to bewbs by Cary?

Another day, another inappropriate reference

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:I really want to see that Ratchet. He's a ringer for my Lost Light crew, if he can live up to my standards

DOOD! I didn't even think of that... Well now I have an even better reason to pickup StrongWrench!

shajaki wrote:Tell us about Biiisssssssssssskkk....

Well it's delish!

So, I some how stumbled onto Robots In Disguise Warrior Class Wave 9. I found them at a Walmart in suburban Omaha. This wave includes the two new releases Ratchet and Bisk. It also reprises Scorponok, Power Surge Optimus Prime, Drift, and the repaint of Quillfire as Scatterspike.

I picked up Ratchet and Bisk, as well as Scorponok because to the best of my knowledge, Wave 8 has not shown up in my area.

Let's have a look at Ratchet, yeah?



His bot mode is outstanding! This is a great representation of this old stand by. With no knowledge of how he will be portrayed in the show, there is no doubt who he is supposed to be. From the classic windshield chest, to the iconic color scheme and head crest, to the grumpy old expression of his displeased turned down frown. Yup! That's Ratchet!



His articulation is good. Joints are all tight, and his stability is good due to his feet having an enormous surface area. He is as solid as his mold allows him to be. The inclusion of his two pistols is a cool nod to the past while being a really nice modern update in character design.


Hang in there Swipe. You're gonna make it.



His head sculpt is awesome. It hits all those old classic design ques, but keeps up with the current look of the new RID. And HOLY SMOKES! Look at those eyes!

Of course we all know by now that Ratchet is a retool of the Strongarm mold. And a HEAVY one at that.



I would say about 40% of their parts are shared, but at least 85% of those parts have been re-sculpted with new detail. Even the hands and forearms (which are mostly hidden) have been re-detailed.
I should note that I have added some paint to my Strongarm, which is why she differs from the normal Hasbro release.



The only shame in this retooling is that they have done away with those nice posable feet of Strongarm's.


Alt mode


The alt mode is were the lack of paint is most apparent, but the mode itself is fantastic for the old gurney bot. Sure I want to see Ratchet as a van type vehicle, but this truck will do just fine. The retooling has altered the transformation a bit. Mostly in the legs / rear of the truck. The panels forming the front end have some gaps, but everything pegs together nicely.



Decent weapons storage in the under carriage.











All in all he is a really fun update to this classic old bot. I've heard some excitement about this toy working as a good MTMTE Ratchet. Sure! Heck he could even make for a good Classics Ratchet. The cool thing about using the ol' imagination noodle, is anything's possible!


Now for the mold I think people are most excited for.

Bisk



This is another one of those RID Warrior class figures that just nails it. He captures the funky posture and gesture of this wild character perfectly. His articulation is great. I'm not sure why or where he would need any more paint. The claws work out really well, and although seemingly a tad after thoughty, the way he holds those cool little blasters works just fine.



A face only a mother could love.

His head is molded out of a soft rubbery plastic so it can kind of contort into it's place in alt mode with no risk of breaking.







Bisk's alt mode is all the dope with a spackling of totally RAD!


His transformation is FANTASTIC! Right on par with Thunderhoof and Fracture. I'm sure he will be considered as one of the best of the year from the RID line.





Alt mode weapon integration




Bisk is a great Transformers toy that I highly recommend. Even if your not a Robots In Disguise fan. Who wouldn't want to ad this freaky beast faced bot to their Decepticon ranks?
There is an old Decepticon adage that states: It's better to have lobsters on your piano, than crabs on your organ. They're talking about Bisk.

Toys are fun! Toys FOREVER!

Note to News Staff: Please cut here, by mandate of Lord Potentate William James the 88th



And of course there is still the poor over shadowed Scorponok. While Bisk is a great toy, Scorpy here is certainly no slouch.



I love that sword! And I love the sword as stinger! That nasty gnarled Scimitar will cut you open and rip some entrails out with it's barbs along the way. Yuk! I love it!
The claws and how they transform is his only short coming, but it's not bad, and at least they peg in nice and tight in bot mode, as to not be annoying dingle berries.



So I had chosen to hold off on Paralon in favor of these colors, and MAN! are they awesome. That gold/copper is all sparkly and goes so well with the bronze.
And again with the creepy head-lower-than-shoulders posture. I love the double knee legs and am so super surprised at his stability. Especially considering that tail.

All these RID Cons are the bomb.coms!

Did I mention the sword?

Stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff...

Nice reviews as always. Bisk was already on the wishlist but now I think I'll have to add Rachet too.

I normally dislike how RiD toys look (mostly because of hollowness, eww), but Bisk is just so unique that it kinda is appealing to me in a strange way.

SillySpringer wrote:I normally dislike how RiD toys look (mostly because of hollowness, eww), but Bisk is just so unique that it kinda is appealing to me in a strange way.

Probably the fact he transforms from a car to a robot with ... CLAW HANDS!
(No seriously, I love those claw hands)

I had no idea Ratchet was that heavy of a retool! Dang.

Nice job brosif

They're faboo!

Awesome stuff and things Cobotron!! RiD..I need to catch up and then hate life for waiting so long.

Awesome review! I'm even more excited for these guys. They all look fantastic!

Burn wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I normally dislike how RiD toys look (mostly because of hollowness, eww), but Bisk is just so unique that it kinda is appealing to me in a strange way.

Probably the fact he transforms from a car to a robot with ... CLAW HANDS!
(No seriously, I love those claw hands)

Me too.

SillySpringer wrote:

Burn wrote:

SillySpringer wrote:I normally dislike how RiD toys look (mostly because of hollowness, eww), but Bisk is just so unique that it kinda is appealing to me in a strange way.

Probably the fact he transforms from a car to a robot with ... CLAW HANDS!
(No seriously, I love those claw hands)

Me too.

We really have got some good Decepticons from this line. I can't wait for the year-end review. We're gonna have some real fun!

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:We really have got some good Decepticons from this line.

mmmm can't say I agree. Personally they've been a little too "animalistic", whilst the Autobots have been more "traditional" robots, makes me feel like they're saying the good guys look "normal" while the bad guys are "beasts".

Plus the skinny style aesthetic, not a big fan. Probably why I like Quillfire. Short and fat like me.

Burn wrote:

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:We really have got some good Decepticons from this line.

mmmm can't say I agree. Personally they've been a little too "animalistic", whilst the Autobots have been more "traditional" robots, makes me feel like they're saying the good guys look "normal" while the bad guys are "beasts".

Plus the skinny style aesthetic, not a big fan. Probably why I like Quillfire. Short and fat like me.

I like the animalistic designs personally, plus Thunderhoof and Fracture are both incredible robots, and Bisk seems like he is too.

Of course we have very different views on toys though

I really dig the RID 'Cons and here's why.

As I've stated I'm not a big fan of beastformers (TR is changing my opinion on that though). I just normally don't like bots that turn into beast. Most of the time they just seem to be an animal that stands up and is now a robot with a bunch of animal chunks hanging off. I know that is an over simplified description.

RID has turned that on their ear. They have bots that have animalistic qualities that turn into relatively normal vehicles. I find that cool, clever and fun. Its also fun how their personalities seem to match up with the animals they are based on. Its funny how no one ever seems to make much of a mention of them being all beastie, like it's just the norm.

It's a fun novel gimmick that matches up with some awesome toys

carytheone wrote:I really dig the RID 'Cons and here's why.

As I've stated I'm not a big fan of beastformers (TR is changing my opinion on that though). I just normally don't like bots that turn into beast. Most of the time they just seem to be an animal that stands up and is now a robot with a bunch of animal chunks hanging off. I know that is an over simplified description.

RID has turned that on their ear. They have bots that have animalistic qualities that turn into relatively normal vehicles. I find that cool, clever and fun. Its also fun how their personalities seem to match up with the animals they are based on. Its funny how no one ever seems to make much of a mention of them being all beastie, like it's just the norm.

It's a fun novel gimmick that matches up with some awesome toys

I seem to like the beastbot modes too. It's a cool twist, especially when the vehicles are well done! I'm also pretty excited about some of these reveals, especially warrior Drift and the new Sideswipe design. Are the bigger bots being unlocked by the smaller bot warrior class? That would be greaaaaaaaat

The only con molds from RID I don't have any interest in are Steeljaw and Thunderhoof. The others are all pretty good and Bisk and Quillfire look great.

I love all beastformingbots in any style.

Cram, I'd bet those RID guys with minicons are large. Bigger than deluxe. Voyager or bigger.
That new Drift does look snazzy!

SureShot18 wrote:The only con molds from RID I don't have any interest in are Steeljaw and Thunderhoof. The others are all pretty good and Bisk and Quillfire look great.

Steeljaw is a bit lackluster, but Thunderhoof is a great toy, you really should give him a go

carytheone wrote:It's a fun novel gimmick that matches up with some awesome toys

See I'm the opposite. Why would a car take on an animal like look? And why only the Decepticons?

It's the same with movie characters, Decepticons rarely have decent heads (probably because Prime is always ripping their faces off). They're made to look like alien monsters (which they are), but the Autobots have more human faces.

**** you Hasbro, they're the same bloody species. Stop making Decepticons out to be monsters when Optimus Prime and his goon squad are much worse at oppressing freedoms. That "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings" nonsense only applies if you share Optimus' beliefs. Want your species to grow and expand? Nope, Optimus won't allow that!

(Back tracking ... I have five shelves full of beasts, so I'm probably biased in how a beast TF should look)

Burn wrote:(Back tracking ... I have five shelves full of beasts, so I'm probably biased in how a beast TF should look)

Which ones? How should they look? Please elaborate.

Cobotron wrote:Which ones?

Pretty much the entire run Beast Wars, Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo

How should they look? Please elaborate.

Simply put, unlike Cary, I don't mind the chunks of beast hanging off them. You can see what they transform into which is what I like.

A robot with a lobster head and lobster hands? Well, he should transform into a lobster! But he doesn't!

Don't get me wrong, I like the twist, kudos to the developers for doing something different, I'm just not entirely sold on it.

Burn wrote:Simply put, unlike Cary, I don't mind the chunks of beast hanging off them.  You can see what they transform into which is what I like.

Huh, I like that on car bots. I like to see car parts that hint at what else they are. Different strokes, different folks.

Don't get me wrong, I like the twist, kudos to the developers for doing something different, I'm just not entirely sold on it.

I do get what you're getting at where the Cons are the ones to be singled out as different. It is weird that all of the sudden Cons are the only ones that are animals and no one makes note of it. I feel that if bot factions were beastie as well it'd be to themey and change the feel. Like they'd be obligated to call it TF: Prime Beastbots or something.

This is really just a human nature thing where people make the villains out to be the Abby Normal ones. As far as the movies go the Bots are more human looking but they all look like monsters to me.

I've decided to just enjoy the toys and skip most of the related media across all lines. I watched the first season of RID and I'm stopping there. I haven't made up my mind on that CG short yet. I'll catch the live movies once they're out if the theaters. Really the only thing I'm interested in keeping up with is the comics and I'm shamefully behind.

Toys first media second #TFMS 

D-Maximus_Prime wrote:

SureShot18 wrote:The only con molds from RID I don't have any interest in are Steeljaw and Thunderhoof. The others are all pretty good and Bisk and Quillfire look great.

Steeljaw is a bit lackluster, but Thunderhoof is a great toy, you really should give him a go

I've heard the praise for Hoof but I can't seem to get over the wonkiness of his robot mode. If RID had voyager class I bet he'd make a great one but as he is I can't get into him. I should probably just get him since I'm not usually let down by figures but I don't feel like taking the chance.