The Energon Pub

So... Tarn. I've had this figure for about, Two weeks now, I think? I was planning to post a review of it the day after I got it, But I've been really enjoying it, So much so that I haven't put it down long enough to take photos of it.. Until now.
In IDW's books, Tarn was quite a piece of work, To say the least. When he and the DJD (The team he commanded) showed up on page, You knew some people were about to die. Violently. Very rarely did Tarn show up on page interacting with other characters without carnage ensuing. And now, Said carnage can be recreated on your shelf!
Note, This review contains spoilers for.. Well, Pretty much all of MTMTE, But mostly issues #50-55.
Tarn's identity is also revealed, As the figure's mask is removable. I'll try to put a spoiler warning before anything like that, As there are actual (spoilery) panel recreations.
The hint of the previous review, By the way, Was Tarn's mask, Placed sneakily in Whirl's hands claws.

And now, Onto the review!

The box is very nice.


Collector friendly book style window packaging (I've already opened it and removed the various plastic bag like materials between Tarn and the inside of the clam shell),


Under this layer of packaging is Tarn's display stand.

If your toy might kill you, You know it must be good!

The manual,

Accessories (Speakers and unscarred face mask were D4Toys preorder exclusives)

And now the figure.

His eyes and chest light up via this switch on his back (Batteries included),

The lights on the sides of his legs also light up, With this switch only accessible by popping them out (Batteries also included),

The result, Is this.


Under darker lighting,

The guns on his back can be extended,


I'm taking off the mask now, So spoilers for the next few images.

Mask back on (for now) spoilers over.
This is the display stand he comes with (Which can be angled and arranged in too many ways to detail in text (Even photos.) )

It plugs into his.. Ahem.. Back.



The cannons on his back can be angled forward,

Or if preordered from D4Toys, Replaced with speakers for listening to The Empyrean Suite.

The two arm armor pieces can be plugged into his elbow seamlessly (The little panel that covers the opening springs up when the piece is unplugged, Leaving a hole-less seamless panel) to allow various combinations of his fusion cannons and missile launchers (which can be themselves unplugged),

Comparisons.
With Generations Black Shadow (Being torn limb from limb, Of course)


Given Tarn's.. interesting relationship with Megatron, I've compared several Megatron figures with Tarn.
Titans Return,

Combiner Wars, (I think Tarn looks best with this one (For a pre/early-war look) Though its hard to find matching aesthetics)

Masterpiece Megatron (MP-36) I think they'd look best together, If it wasn't for MP36's hyper cartoon accurate look, Which I think clashes with Tarn's hyper realistic aesthetic.



With MP05 Megatron,

And lastly, With Flame Toy's own Megatron Kit.

By the way, With the help of some sticky tape, Tarn's mask can be attached to Megatron's chest, As seen in MTMTE #55.

Here he is holding MP Soundwave's Megatron pistol,

These are those panel recreations I mentioned, Specifically from MTMTE #54-55, Which happen to be very spoilerish, So if you don't want to see those, Avert your eyes now.
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"You were right, Overlord- -Without his gun he is nothing."

"Together?" "Together."

"Two fusion cannons. Look at yourself."

"Please-Be Reasonable--"

"Do it then. Do it! At least I'll die a Decepticon!" "Urgh!"

"You and I both."

"Goodbye, Glitch. I want you to die with one thought in your head: Everything you did was for nothing."



------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Spoilers over.

So. Wow. This figure is awesome. It has quickly become if not the, Definitely one of my favorite figures. It is not without a few small flaws, However.
Firstly, Upon taking it out of the box, When I moved his left arm, It fell off.
It separated at the seam highlighted in the circle below.

The problem, I later realized, Was not enough glue was used in the factory when it was made. Indeed; You could see the dried glue residue, And it certainly wasn't enough to hold his die cast arm together.
The remedy was simple enough (though nerve racking), It had to be reglued. After that, However, I've had no problem with it (it still moves perfectly).
Also, The fingers, As you will have no doubt noticed, Are individually articulated. Unfortunately, They are prone to popping out. This of course isn't a disaster, You just have to be careful not to lose them.
Lastly, The paint on the knee guards and feet, Is prone to chipping off. Presumably it needed a thicker layer of clear coat.


Again, Not a disaster, You just have to be careful.
Other than these small flaws, I have no other complaints.
With how great the figure and display stand are, I can overlook them easily.
Ten of ten.

Great review! Wait so the arm that fell off is not held together by anything but glue? Not even a screw or anything to aid in it's stability?

Powers0016 wrote:Great review! Wait so the arm that fell off is not held together by anything but glue? Not even a screw or anything to aid in it's stability?

Thanks!
Nah, I realize I wasn't specific enough, It wasn't the arm, It was the bicep. I should've said bicep.
The white/gray part just before the arm itself. It split in half at the seam down the front, In the middle.
I've had no problem with the other bicep.
I assume it just needed more glue over the little internal pegs, The dried residue wasn't enough.
I was going to deduct points for it, But that seemed unfair, I'm judging the design of the figure, Not the fact that some guy in the factory didn't put an extra dab of glue in.
Also, I've never heard any other accounts of that happening, So I imagine mine was an isolated incident.
To answer your second question-
Actually, While typing, I decided to go double check about the arm itself having screws/pins or glue in it, But I don't see any. I doubt there aren't screws, They're probably just well hidden under bits you can't move.
However, The arm did fall off, But only because it was was connected by a small divet in between the bicep, Which it was sandwiched between, Thus when the bicep split, It fell off too, As there was nothing to hold it.
I hope this answered your questions, I know it can be confusing, I should've taken pictures while it was still apart, But I was too worried about getting it back on.
Cheers!

Oh I see! Thank you for clarifying! You answered everything except one last thing, did the paint chipping happen from just touching those areas or from light play?

Powers0016 wrote:Oh I see! Thank you for clarifying! You answered everything except one last thing, did the paint chipping happen from just touching those areas or from light play?

The chipping was from when I had him posed kneeing, As his knee and tip of his foot were what was in contact with the surface, And with how heavy the figure is, From the friction, The paint sort of rubbed off. So I would say light play.
I'll admit, I didn't know that was a possibility, So it was probably my fault, I just have to be more careful from now on.
And since I have been, I've had no problems with the paint.

Oh I understand! Right on. Thank you for the information truly!

Powers0016 wrote:Oh I understand! Right on. Thank you for the information truly!

No problem friend!