The Energon Pub

Longarm has been sighted at retail here, and I was wondering what he is like. His modes look interesting, but what's the quality like? The complexness of transformation? The overall fun factor?

As I'm not sure on the different names for the drones, I mean the white tow truck that Mikaela drives and tows BB with.

http://tformers.com/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=841


Good reviews over there.

Can't find a Prime one though

There's also a good video review on youtube from one of the guys from TFWire.

Alt Mode:

A white tow truck. Oddly proportioned; looks a little too low and wide. Rolls well. The crane arm can move up and down, and the hook can move. Fairly good detailing, but there is no interior(seats, steering wheel, etc.). Gotta love the homage to Orson Wells(R.I.P.)

Transformation:

Less irritating than some, and fairly intuitive.

Robot Mode:

Surprisingly thin. Sculpting his excellent(especially his face); a nice layered look. Good use of ball joints for great poseability. BFG is bolted to hand. Limits poses, but looks dumb with out it anyway.

Pros:
Good aesthetic
BFG
Satisfying transformation
Decent poseability
Good playability

Cons:
Odd proportions in alt mode
Limited poses for BFG
Some balance issues

Recommendation: PICK HIM UP!!!

bwtf.com also has good reviews, btw.

publicvisage wrote:bwtf.com also has good reviews, btw.

beat me to it.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=P9QO-DB-to8

he does really good r eviews.

Personally I really like mine. I think the truck mode looks good (even if a bit small) and the bot mode is very cool looking.

I'll probably pick up a few extras for repaints.

Thanks for the reviews. I picked one up today, so I'll post a little review:


Alt mode: solidly built, does seem a little too wide but overall, it looks fine. When I got it out the box, the front wasn't lined up properly, leaving a gap between the door and the front part, but I fixed that when I put him back into alt mode. His moveable tow arm and hook is a nice touch, especially since it can be bent down at the main part above the piston, or at the base of the hook, allowing a very long tow arm. There are symbols on it, but from a distance, you can't see it which is the way it should be. I would prefer it if it was all white, as the blue 'flames' look a bit odd, but overall it works.


Transformation: I'm not going to describe it, but it is very different. Instead of the bonnet becoming the chest, it becomes the feet, meaning it is different to most. And as the transformation is something I consider when getting these, I'm glad. Both fun and interesting getting his back parts lined up.


Robot mode: A beefy looking robot that looks like he can deal some serious damage. His head is a great sculpt, he has good poseability and he stands really well. His gun limits what he can do with his right arm, and his shoulders kept getting caught on the doors at first, but if you angle them upwards, that doesn't happen anymore. I only wish he was a con. But as his symbols are so small, he can be one.

When I saw him in person at first, I was hesitant to pick him up. Glad I got one now. Highly recomended.

I'm gonna see if I can remove his gun and place it on his back so his hook swings over the front like in the game. As soon as I find a screwdriver that fits, that is.

I think Longarm kicks some serious ass!!!

I am not too fond of the truck mode...kinda looks like a superdeformed ford truck, but it's adequate.

Robot mode is awesome. I did unscrew the gun from his hand...easily reattached if need be, but I prefer robot mode anyways.

I ordered one from Walmart.com a month of two ago (lucked out that he wasnt back order) and just now found one this weekend when shopping for my nephew...he is destined for a repaint I think.

Overall, I recommend him to anyone that wants a kick ass bot...after I took the gun off his hand, you can do some GREAT poses; ie, gun on shoulder as a bazooka OR hold it at the hip a la Colonial Marines from Aliens

Too cool.

Very good toy.

The gun being attached doesn't bother me too much, since the exceptional articulation in his arms means he can still manage many great poses. I mean, how many other TFs can hold a rifle properly, with the stock resting against the shoulder and the barrel supported by the off-hand?

Edit: I just tried the unscrewing-thing, and it does indeed still work fine so long as you don't mind making him left handed.

For some reason I feel like I want to smash him when I try to fit him into alt mode from robot mode, but when I give up and turn him back into robot I'm in love with it again.

Is mine just made crappy or am I doing something wrong when trying to fit it back together? I don't really mind, but I'd like to be able to transform stuff back into their alt modes or else they wouldn't be 'transformers'. I returned my '77 BB because he wouldn't go back into alt mode properly for the same reason, but anyway Longarm is a fun toy with a HUGE weapon.

Pros for me:
Cool/huge weapon
Robot body looks cool (a bit thin though) and pretty posable, also sturdy

Cons:
Weapon screwed onto hand (but can be removed)
Hard to fit into alt mode
Alt mode doesn't look that great.

Yeah when i went to work couple of weeks ago i saw that we had recieved some new Transformers and when i looked at them ( Longarm, Payload, Dropkick) i instantly felt that Longarm looked the best and so i went ahead and got him ( my friend got dropkick).

I love this transformer mainly in Robot mode, using the ramps from vehicle mode as arm guards was a slick idea and i love his BFG. I really dig his overall look and the colors work really well, the white with some blue and gray with the small bits of orange look great on him. He is pretty good in his vehicle mode and to me he is pretty big ( bigger then barricade scorponok and to me has a "money worth size" to him.

My only problem with the toy is when transforming him back into vehicle mode, his feet are a pain to flip up into the front.

Dropkick, who my friend has isnt too shabby either and looked like a pretty good buy as well.

i've heard a lot of fans here in my country complaining about returning this toy to its Alt mode, about how the feet is a pain to return to it's hood assembly. i'm still holding out for this toy; maybe once i get my chases (Ironhide, Jazz) i might get him.

zemper wrote:i've heard a lot of fans here in my country complaining about returning this toy to its Alt mode, about how the feet is a pain to return to it's hood assembly. i'm still holding out for this toy; maybe once i get my chases (Ironhide, Jazz) i might get him.

Yeah, i would reccomend trying to get Ironhide and jazz first over Long arm due to the fact that he is still pretty new and should be easy to get, but he is for a non movie character, an awsome toy.

SephM wrote:

zemper wrote:i've heard a lot of fans here in my country complaining about returning this toy to its Alt mode, about how the feet is a pain to return to it's hood assembly. i'm still holding out for this toy; maybe once i get my chases (Ironhide, Jazz) i might get him.

Yeah, i would reccomend trying to get Ironhide and jazz first over Long arm due to the fact that he is still pretty new and should be easy to get, but he is for a non movie character, an awsome toy.

yup, i'm constantly passing this toy over, as he seems pretty common here. but IH and Jazz are all sold out or sold by scalpers for ridiculous prices. i hope there's another restock of wave 1 figs here.