I might as well et this off my chest. I posted it at Tfans, also, in a similar thread, so some of you might recognize this. I am rating them on a 1-10, with a 1 being a poorly refitted knockoff of a bad figure (like Staxx -
http://www.tfu.info/1995/Decepticon/Staxx/staxx.htm ), a 6 being a solid, decent figure, and a 10 being something we have yet to see (even MP Convoy / 20th Prime is a 9.5 IMHO). Also, the ratings are for within their size class - I'm not trying to compare Swindle with Robovision Prime, for example. Finally, I am only reviewing those figures I actually own.
DELUXES:Swindle:The lens head isn't the only annoying part of this figure - his shoulders irk me to no end, and give me flashbacks to Cybertron Overhaul's arms. His car mode is nice, but the robot mode is only mediocre. I give Swindle a 4.
Payload:Better shoulders than Swindle, and the lens head is pulled off a bit better, two significant flaws hinder my enjoyment: The fact that parts just fall right off with no foce at all (the head/shoulders and the front grill), and that massive, ridiculous plunger poking out of the small of his back. He's also tiny - most other Deluxes stand LITERALLY 'head and shoulders' above him. A 5 at best.
Jazz:To me, the only significant flaw on Jazz is his arms, and I've been measuring and studying the figure to come up with a way to fix them somehow (to no avail). However, he's otherwise a nice, solid figure (I've had none of the loose upper torso problems), and...well, it's Jazz, and a nice salute to the original. I give him a 6.
76 Bumblebee:An excellent figure overall, with an accurate alt mode, decent robot mode, and good poseability. I have the second run of the figure, meaning mine doesn't have the breaking automorph problem, but he has one thing that is only mildly irritating - his huge honking flat feet. Big feet isn't normally a problem, but they so totally do NOT fit the rest of this figure's proportions. Overall, however, he's about a 7.
Barricade and Frenzy:Mustangs rock, and they rock hard. But the fact that I had to trim a bit of plastic on each leg just to get him to stand upright took a few points away. He's got a bit of a "swimmer's build" with his broad shoulders and slender lower body, which is unique, and his spring-loaded left arm is both fun and a little annoying at times (when you DON'T want to launch it and it launches). I normally keep Frenzy folded up and in his torso because he looks hollow, otherwise, but overall he impressed me more than I thought he would (I had only seen pics with the shoulder "wings" pointing up, but he looks so much better with them rotated around on their ball joints and laying out to the sides). A solid 6.5 (would be a 7.5 if his torso wasn't hollow, and he had a weapon of some kind).
Wreckage:Pure, sweet paramilitary lovin'. He's got some of the best hands in the series (as in they LOOK like hands, can hold most standard weapon posts, and yet aren't just blocks with a hole and carved on fingers), excellent poseability, and only minor kibble. His colors could be better, mainly the bright red, but the sculpt as a whole is awesome, as are his "energon switchblades" - I keep mine attached together blades out and mounted on one of his forearm wheels, like a giant energy buzzsaw / shield. Oh, and the Megatron / Dinobot looking head just adds more points. 7.5 FTW.
Arcee:As a modified, scaled-up re-creation (NOT remold) of Energon Arcee, I found myself not liking the wheels splitting horizontally as opposed to lengthwise. The overall figure is otherwise quite excellent with the glaring exception of that utterly. Hideous. Head. If someone could send me a copy of Energon Arcee's head, but scaled up about half again bigger, I'd replace it in a heartbeat. Neck down I give her a 7, but neck up gets a 2. Overall a 6.5, though.
Deluxe Brawl:Once again, a figure that would have scores considerably higher, but the non-locking shoulders virtually cripple its play value. Yes, I know that if you press down on the tabs it helps hold them in place, but not very well. And to be honest, I don't care about the figure enough to break out the superglue and coat the peg and hole to "fix" it. A 5.
Longarm:W00T! I LOVE this figure! I've heard people complain about his "duck feet", the weapon being permanently attached to the hand, or difficulties getting the front end realigned when transforming back to truck mode, but the feet fit his overall build in my opinion, the gun can be removed with ten seconds and a screwdriver, and I never had the problems with the front end. He's got one of the best heads in the line, outstanding articulation, and a color scheme that turns him into the perfect squadmate to Classics Mirage. As with Wreckage, a solid 7.5
Concept Bumblebee:Got him yesterday at Wal-Mart, who just restocked. Parts of his transform were a bit fiddly, and his shoulders are so tight it makes it hard to pose them - but the shoulder thing might just be my copy. He's one of the most movie-accurate of all the TF's in the line, has the excellent articulation that I'm slowly coming to expect as standard, and his gun / knife is ultraniftykeen. Do I hear an 8? I knew it.
Dropkick:Another excellent figure, I still have to place him just BARELY behind Wreckage and Longarm, if only because his proportions in robot mode are just not my taste, and the stupid bedcover / capture claw gimmick. His digitigrade legs are in keeping with much of the "more alien" design philosophy of the Decepticons, and his huge arms and shoulders make him look like a bruiser. I just wish they had made the hidden gimmick of the bed cover a huge cannon or something, not a pair of pliers. a 7.0 and loving it.
VOYAGERS:Ratchet:Voyagers tend to be roughly the same size as Alternators - except for this guy. He's frickin' HUGE. Broad as the Hulk, and thick limbed, he is a lot bigger than the movie version, but his proportions 'fit' themselves, so to speak. A relatively simple yet satisfying transform, good (though not great) articulation, and (on mine at least) relatively clean paint apps, he's a solid figure. However he is not without his flaws. The "claw" is decent, but his axe is majorly stupid. And he's TOO green. Couldn't they have painted the hidden robot parts some OTHER color? Black, grey, silver, SOMETHING, just to break up the monotony? A 6.5, would be higher with less green showing.
Ironhide:YES! Big guns, hefty shoulders, and a robot mode with more attitude than common sense, just like in the movie. He's actually slightly smaller than Ratchet and nowhere near as broad, though, which is a little disconcerting, and transforming him back to truck mode can be a pain if you don't get the angle of the lower body just right. Good articulation though minimal paint apps (but being mostly black, they're not really as important, since it's not as glaring as, say, neon green) earn him a 7.
Robovision Prime:He. Rocks. Period. Outstanding articulation, wonderful proportions, good paint apps, and gimmicks that don't get in the way combine with the smokestack weapons (and "attack mode") to earn him one of the highest spots on this list. Some few points were taken off for the Backpack, but it's not as horribly limiting as some previous "backpacking" TF's have suffered. Again with the excellent hands (like CC Bumblebee and Wreckage) that LOOK like hands, and automorph features that don't get in the way of anything. An 8.5, and game over.
SIDE 'LINES':FAB Frenzy:Though gifted with an excellent boom box mode, this figure (about the size of a Deluxe) has been hindered by one of the most hideous robot modes ever devised for any TF line - for which I blame Michael Bay. His 'shuriken CD launch' gimmick works in both modes, which is one of the few saving graces, but the massive "hood" behind his head helps make him look more like "General Grevious Invades Cybertron" than anything else. Also, the FAB's are supposedly aimed at a younger age category than the main lines, but Frenzy's transform is complicated, frustrating, and more irritating than any Deluxe i've ever had. Gimme a 4, bro.
RG Spyshot 6:Ahh, the Real Gears, bringing back the Objectformers. I normally don't like non-symmetrical TF's as much as their symmetrical brethren, but Spyshot 6 has grown on me a bit. His alt mode very much resembles my own digicam (I once grabbed him instead of my cam when I was in a hurry), and while he as good articulation, the one thing that "jumps out" at me every time I see him is some of the best lightpiping of any TF (the perfectly clear rear half of the lightpiping probably is the reason) - hs eyes 'glow' under almost ANY light. The 'claw hands' take away a bit, but the fact you can open and close them mollify that. A 7.
RG Zoom Out 25X:Cool proportions, the head of Zoom Out always gives me the impression of him being the "Megatron" of the RG's - at once cold and mean, with that one lens eye just emphasizing his cruel and unfeeling demeanor. Once again with the claw hands, though, and these can't open the way Spyshot's can. Overall a 6.5.
RG Longview:My personal fave of the RG line. His head and proportions give him a real "superhero" look (his head especially makes me think of Robocop, or Cyclops of the X-Men). He's got the (apparantly) standard good articulation the RG's have shown, and a nice yellow and black color scheme that further reinforces the "X-Men" look to him. A 7.5.
RG Booster X10:Aka, Real Gear Laserbeak. While the lack of articulation on his head is a bit disappointing, the figure as a whole is positively outstanding. I love the earphone as his cannons, the bot mode is excellent, and the ipod mode (while not looking like any specific model) is decent as well (my own MP3 player has no screen, and a simple d-pad for controls). A 7 (would have been a 7.5 or higher if it had slightly better articulation).
RG Meantime:As a robot, this figure is excellent.Mean looking head, very articulated, and nice tight (but not too tight) joints. As a watch, though, the "band" is just not cutting it. As a side note, he's another figure who suffers from the "mistransformation on the packaging" syndrome. Anyway, I like him, but fail to see why everyone is so ga-ga over him. A 6.5.
Okay, done.
I am not reviewing the repaints of the old lines that Target carries, only the actual movie lines. And since I seem to have reviewed all the figures I own, I guess that's it for now.
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