I received my Exgraver thismorning. I love it!
All the joints are solid and strong, the plastic feels dense and well-made. The only joint issues I have are a slightly loose head, which nail polish fixed, and the ratcheting joint for the base of the digger arm is scarily tight. However after moving it a bit and realising just how solid the plastic is, it no longer bothers me.
I think the reason why the head was loose was the fact that the socket of the ball and socket is clear plastic, so has less tolerance than the tougher plastic.
The colours are perfect, a nice deep purple and a bright, almost pearlescent green.
The robot mode is a wonderful representation of a Classicsverse Scavenger. It has many cues to G1 and Dreamwave without being a slavish copy. It has the full range of articulation we have grown to expect despite a chunky and solid look. The excellent joints means it can hold any range of poses. I did notice if you overextend the ratcheted feet (ie point the toes like a ballerina), they come un-geared. It is simple enough to realign them, but it is something to be aware of.
The excavator mode is very solid. The way the grey pegs lock the tracks in place using the fist mounting holes is cunning. It is clear they could have made it more sophisticated as they clearly have the skill, but they went for elegant simplicity and solidity instead.
The arm mode is very satisfying, Hercules will be a well articulated and rock-solid combiner. My only complaint is the thumb could have a wider range of motion.
I always customise my transformers and Exgraver is no exception. A large con symbol either side and a smaller one on the chest was a start. I also stripped the black paint from the hands (the usual alcohol trick works fine) to give him G1 green hands and also to help hide the hands in alt mode. I painted the base of the digger arm green, and the purple sections on the side of the digger. I painted the 5mm peg above the cockpit orange to look like a hazard light, and I painted the translucent red gun black like his G1 "Kills in one hit" gun. I masked the depressed pieces before spraying it black, so the translucent red shows through, it looks awesome. I think I will do that with the rest of the red guns on the other constructicons, ignoring that Long Haul and Bonecrusher had green guns in G1.
I plan to add purple to the legs and feet, leaving the tracks black, but I need purple paint first, so no pics til I get my paint!
I think Exgraver is an excellent toy, and Hercules will be fantastic. It was well worth the 84usd shipped that I paid for it.
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