The Energon Pub

[Rodimus Prime]

Great articulation, great detailing especially on the head, and the red parts look sharp. If they would have gotten the deco just right, it would have been perfect. As it is, he has too much black on him.

[MadProject]

another video review!
Kevin Liu's review of Scrapper!

[william-james88]

Thanks to Youtube reviewers Kevin Liu and Ton Ton, we now have video reviews for upcoming Transformers Studio Series leader Overload, voyager Sentinel Prime and voyager Scrapper.

The Overload review is in English while the other two are in Chinese.

The voyagers are meant to be coming out soon since they have an April release date from online stores. That particular wave will also feature a repackaged Mixmaster.

Overload is set to come out between June and August, depending on the retailer.

We thank fellow Seibertronian MadProject for letting us know of all these reviews.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

Sentinel’s transformation is insane! It’s way more involved than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to try it out myself!

[MadProject]

Sentinel’s transformation is insane! It’s way more involved than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to try it out myself!

I really like how the sword is integrated in the altmode.

[D-Maximal_Primal]

Sentinel’s transformation is insane! It’s way more involved than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to try it out myself!

I've honestly stopped watching video review, prefer to enjoy the toy myself and use them if needed, but what you're saying is, he is a nice mix of Leader complexity at the voyager size?

Either way, he is going to look great getting shot in the back by Ironhide

[william-james88]

Sentinel’s transformation is insane! It’s way more involved than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to try it out myself!

I've honestly stopped watching video review, prefer to enjoy the toy myself and use them if needed, but what you're saying is, he is a nice mix of Leader complexity at the voyager size?

Same with me with video reviews. Regarding the complexity, I never saw it as dependent of the class. Deluxe Barricade is as complex if not more than leader Grimlock. These toys seem as complex as they need to be for the character.

[EvasionModeBumblebee]

I've honestly stopped watching video review, prefer to enjoy the toy myself and use them if needed, but what you're saying is, he is a nice mix of Leader complexity at the voyager size?

Either way, he is going to look great getting shot in the back by Ironhide

Yeah, I'd say he's one of the most complex SS Voyagers (at least compared to the ones I have so far). The leg transformation and the way the chest folds up are all super cool.

And agreed!

I never saw it as dependent of the class. Deluxe Barricade is as complex if not more than leader Grimlock. These toys seem as complex as they need to be for the character.

Right, it's kinda all over the place for complexity. SS-49 Bumblebee is more complex than leader Shockwave, and probably a lot of the other figures in the line.

[DecepticonFinishline]

Sentinel’s transformation is insane! It’s way more involved than I thought it would be. Can’t wait to try it out myself!

I've honestly stopped watching video review, prefer to enjoy the toy myself and use them if needed, but what you're saying is, he is a nice mix of Leader complexity at the voyager size?

Same with me with video reviews. Regarding the complexity, I never saw it as dependent of the class. Deluxe Barricade is as complex if not more than leader Grimlock. These toys seem as complex as they need to be for the character.

I agree to a point. There are a couple of Deluxes that could have gotten a little bit more love. Namely Ratchet. Well... Mostly just Ratchet. And some of the Bumblebees, I guess.

Most of the Voyagers are winners, overall, though.

[ZeldaTheSwordsman]

Shockwave and Grimlock didn't really need to be too complex, considering their altmodes.

[Rtron]

It's not a coincidence that the more massive Leaders are simpler and have more expensive decos (like Grimlock and Shockwave), with a smaller part count, you can dedicate more resources to mass, masking and paint. Casting as many parts as possible in a single color and material is also important to reduce the amount of molds you need to produce.

However, complexity is subjective. A well designed transformation sequence can feel satisfyingly complex while still using very few parts. It's more of a function of having a good designer than having more parts. Ideally, on Hastak's side, you want a transformation that uses as little parts as possible to give the most interesting effect they can allow. That's where it gets a bit "artistic" and the whole thing becomes a matter of choosing the proper joints and movements to make the journey from one mode to another interesting and fun for the user; and none of that depends on the amount of parts.

[william-james88]

Shockwave and Grimlock didn't really need to be too complex, considering their altmodes.

Yeah, I agree, that's what I meant by saying that the complexity seems more character based than size class based.

[Actar]

Got these bad boys in hand today!

[william-james88]

Where did you get them Actar?

[Actar]

Where did you get them Actar?

They're released in Singapore!

[william-james88]

Where did you get them Actar?

They're released in Singapore!

I know, but where exactly so that I can do a proper news post.

[Actar]

Here's my review for Sentinel in the event anyone's interested!

Ooh boy. This one's going to be a tough review! To preface it, I'm going to come clean and say that I'm absolutely in love with the DOTM Leader Class figure from way, way back. It's one of the last few great Transformers toys with a transformation scheme that rivals the now-legendary ROTF Leader Prime. The way the windshield just collapses into his chest? That's a slice of fried gold right there.



That's not to say that it didn't have its fair share of issues. As biased as I am, I'm not delusional. For one, it suffered from a rather severe backpack thanks to the batteries that were required for his electronic lights and sounds, there were a ton more panels hanging off his back than just his cape, and his non-faux chest is way too large.

All these years later, we finally have a new Sentinel figure in the SS line. Can the SS figure topple the Leader and take its place as the definitive Sentinel figure? Let's find out.



Since we're here, let's start off with robot mode. The SS figure does indeed address and fix a number of the problems with the Leader Class figure. Without a battery box, the backpack is drastically reduced. However, the other fixes do come with their own compromises. Firstly, the chest. Yes, it is far, far more accurate and proportional, but you lose the amazing bit of transformation engineering and all of that kibble gets relegated to his butt. Credit where credit is due, it's worthy to note that they at least placed the real windows behind the faux ones ala the Beast Wars MPs and their animal heads. Secondly, they were able to minimize the number of superfluous panels by turning a couple of them into his swords. Rather ingenious idea, but the swords end up really wonky looking from one side and they cannot be stored in robot mode.

All in all, however, bot mode is great. Proportion-wise, it's spot on. (Boxy chest from some angles aside) he looks far more accurate than any Sentinel Prime figure before him with the only real, obvious kibble being the butt windshield the ladders on the side of the legs. The amount of molded detail is also insane. While paint would have gone a long, long way in bringing out all of that detail, it's also rather unfortunate that he's mainly cast in a all black plastic. It's not as dark as what most pictures will have you believe, the black plastic does mask a ton of that detail. It's also really unfortunate that while the Studio Series line excels in terms of molded detail, it lacks in terms of transformation detail. In my opinion, there are way too few transformation steps that are purely for the sake of maintaining accuracy. One obvious example would be the two wheels on the insides of Sentinel's legs instead of just the one.





In terms of articulation, there are problems. His head articulation is horrendous with minimal ability to look even left and right. The ankles don't move side to side either. The waist joint can indeed rotate somewhat, but it can come undone way too easily. At least the transformation joint at the waist can be used as a means to achieve a crazy waist twist. The only other thing that gets in the way of the posing is the fact that his chest is angled downwards due to the transformation. What this means is that if you want him to stand straight with his chest held high, he'll be constantly looking upwards at an awkward angle.

Still, the figure is articulated enough to pretty much pull of almost any pose you want him in.

The last major complaint relating to his poses is that, yes, his shield is missing. One of the most iconic aspects of his character... gone. Urgh. Perhaps they wanted to reduce the cost or perhaps they weren't able to find a way for him to store it in vehicle mode, like how the Leader could. Regardless, this severely limits his posing potential.




Speaking of vehicle mode, the transformation process to it borrows heavily from the Leader but is streamlined to make it more simple but yet almost just as satisfying. The only really annoying part is the fact that the back of the vehicle mode takes a ton of effort to stay pegged together. I'm not sure if it's because the pegs lack friction or that the tolerances aren't as precise as they should have been, but it takes a ton of massaging on my copy to get those back panels to stay together.

As for the vehicle mode itself, it's a boxy firetruck. The only nitpick that I have is the fact that, compared to the Leader figure, it appears to be way too long and thin. I'm not 100% sure which figure is more accurate, but the Leader figure's vehicle mode does seem to be better proportioned.

IN CONCLUSION!

If you're a fan of Sentinel Prime and want a version of him to scale with your other SS figures and are okay with all the (admittedly relatively minor) issues I noted, there's really no reason not to pick this guy up. There're no deal-breaking QC or design flaws and they genuinely did a really decent job of representing the character in the SS line even with all the constraints that come with it. Of course, that might be due to his inherently shellformerish design, but he fairs far better than some of the Deluxes with their entire roofs hanging off their back.

Coming back to the question that I posed at the beginning of the review. Is he a replacement for the DOTM Leader figure?

...not by a long shot! (^o^)

No review (yet), but some images of Scrapper as well!

Where did you get them Actar?

They're released in Singapore!

I know, but where exactly so that I can do a proper news post.

Ah, that would be the BHG Bugis outlet.

[Ig89ninja]

Got these bad boys in hand today!

Have you considered rotating Scrapper around so that the thumb is facing inward like on the other arm?

[M. Spector]

Thanks for the thoughtful review Actar! Man, Sentinel does look pretty sharp in both his modes and I dig how compact and muscular Scrapper looks in robot form. Currently im still waiting to spot Scavenger on shelves, although since they have released Skipjack it gives me enough pause to consider waiting it out to see if they do a redeco of Scavs later in the coming year. And honestly I think the splash of white that would come from that might work well to break up all the red in Devys chest and shoulders

[william-james88]

Fellow Seibertronian Actar found Transformers Studio Series Sentinel Prime and Scrapper at the BHG Bugis outlet in Singapore. He was even kind enough to take some images and make a write a review for us, which you can find right here:

Here's my review for Sentinel in the event anyone's interested!

Ooh boy. This one's going to be a tough review! To preface it, I'm going to come clean and say that I'm absolutely in love with the DOTM Leader Class figure from way, way back. It's one of the last few great Transformers toys with a transformation scheme that rivals the now-legendary ROTF Leader Prime. The way the windshield just collapses into his chest? That's a slice of fried gold right there.



That's not to say that it didn't have its fair share of issues. As biased as I am, I'm not delusional. For one, it suffered from a rather severe backpack thanks to the batteries that were required for his electronic lights and sounds, there were a ton more panels hanging off his back than just his cape, and his non-faux chest is way too large.

All these years later, we finally have a new Sentinel figure in the SS line. Can the SS figure topple the Leader and take its place as the definitive Sentinel figure? Let's find out.



Since we're here, let's start off with robot mode. The SS figure does indeed address and fix a number of the problems with the Leader Class figure. Without a battery box, the backpack is drastically reduced. However, the other fixes do come with their own compromises. Firstly, the chest. Yes, it is far, far more accurate and proportional, but you lose the amazing bit of transformation engineering and all of that kibble gets relegated to his butt. Credit where credit is due, it's worthy to note that they at least placed the real windows behind the faux ones ala the Beast Wars MPs and their animal heads. Secondly, they were able to minimize the number of superfluous panels by turning a couple of them into his swords. Rather ingenious idea, but the swords end up really wonky looking from one side and they cannot be stored in robot mode.

All in all, however, bot mode is great. Proportion-wise, it's spot on. (Boxy chest from some angles aside) he looks far more accurate than any Sentinel Prime figure before him with the only real, obvious kibble being the butt windshield the ladders on the side of the legs. The amount of molded detail is also insane. While paint would have gone a long, long way in bringing out all of that detail, it's also rather unfortunate that he's mainly cast in a all black plastic. It's not as dark as what most pictures will have you believe, the black plastic does mask a ton of that detail. It's also really unfortunate that while the Studio Series line excels in terms of molded detail, it lacks in terms of transformation detail. In my opinion, there are way too few transformation steps that are purely for the sake of maintaining accuracy. One obvious example would be the two wheels on the insides of Sentinel's legs instead of just the one.





In terms of articulation, there are problems. His head articulation is horrendous with minimal ability to look even left and right. The ankles don't move side to side either. The waist joint can indeed rotate somewhat, but it can come undone way too easily. At least the transformation joint at the waist can be used as a means to achieve a crazy waist twist. The only other thing that gets in the way of the posing is the fact that his chest is angled downwards due to the transformation. What this means is that if you want him to stand straight with his chest held high, he'll be constantly looking upwards at an awkward angle.

Still, the figure is articulated enough to pretty much pull of almost any pose you want him in.

The last major complaint relating to his poses is that, yes, his shield is missing. One of the most iconic aspects of his character... gone. Urgh. Perhaps they wanted to reduce the cost or perhaps they weren't able to find a way for him to store it in vehicle mode, like how the Leader could. Regardless, this severely limits his posing potential.




Speaking of vehicle mode, the transformation process to it borrows heavily from the Leader but is streamlined to make it more simple but yet almost just as satisfying. The only really annoying part is the fact that the back of the vehicle mode takes a ton of effort to stay pegged together. I'm not sure if it's because the pegs lack friction or that the tolerances aren't as precise as they should have been, but it takes a ton of massaging on my copy to get those back panels to stay together.

As for the vehicle mode itself, it's a boxy firetruck. The only nitpick that I have is the fact that, compared to the Leader figure, it appears to be way too long and thin. I'm not 100% sure which figure is more accurate, but the Leader figure's vehicle mode does seem to be better proportioned.

IN CONCLUSION!

If you're a fan of Sentinel Prime and want a version of him to scale with your other SS figures and are okay with all the (admittedly relatively minor) issues I noted, there's really no reason not to pick this guy up. There're no deal-breaking QC or design flaws and they genuinely did a really decent job of representing the character in the SS line even with all the constraints that come with it. Of course, that might be due to his inherently shellformerish design, but he fairs far better than some of the Deluxes with their entire roofs hanging off their back.

Coming back to the question that I posed at the beginning of the review. Is he a replacement for the DOTM Leader figure?

...not by a long shot! (^o^)

No review (yet), but some images of Scrapper as well!

[Rodimus Prime]

I'm probably in the minority with this, but that comparison shot with leader Sentinel has me appreciating the big guy even more. I've always liked the original leader figure, and the SS version is pretty good, but he's just dwarfed. I know he will scale well with the other SS figures, but I still wish he was a leader and not a voyager. That said, this new Sentinel is a positive addition to the SS line, but he won't be joining my collection unless I can get him cheap.

[Saminus9000]

Whatever

[Bounti76]

While I do like the SS figure from what I've seen of him in pictures, I do wish they'd made him a touch bigger. I'd have been good with making him a Leader Class figure if they'd given him more paint detail and included his shield. They did it with the similarly sized Optimus figure. Why not add more paint detail, give him his shield, and maybe added in a little ankle, head, and waist articulation? I'd pay Leader Class money for that.

[Master Farr 1]

i'm gonna call scrapper Señor Squishyface

[Actar]

Alrighty! I took my written review and turned it into a full-fledged video review! Enjoy!