The Energon Pub

[mechajol]

The first time I saw Roadbots was over the net during the introduction of the alternators line.

What impressed me then was the bigger scale (1/18), the realistic details in alt modes, and a decent-looking robot design. Plus, it's way cheaper than Alternators.

The first time I saw Roadbots at the mall, I was disappointed. What can I say? Roadbots are photogenic. The actual toys looked flimsy and hollow. Add to this the Gundam-derived head sculpts. In short, I found the price too expensive for the product.

These were the 1/18 models. I was a bit more optimistic with the 1/32 products. Again, the producers impressed me because the smaller scale vehicles did not share the same mold with the bigger scale. A 1/18 Lancer Evo is not an upsized version, nor is it the same robot, as the 1/32.

But again, when the 1/32 models became available, man, was I disappointed... The good news is that the head sculpts look more Transformer-ish than Gundam-ish. The bad news is that some of the designs aren't proportioned well. The alt modes still look good, though. Really good.

Anyways, an officemate just got a 1/32 Roadbot GT40. He brought it yesterday to work and asked me to do a review.


CAR MODE

As stated, Roadbots shine in their altmodes with its great attention to detail.

For this 1/32 model, I find the details lacking. The mold is good, the wheels even have rubber, but they could have the plastic shinier here, or at least used a brighter shade of red. The red used is a bit drab. And yeah, whats a GT40 without the racing stripes?







What i like about this mode, on the other hand, is that it certainly disguises itself well. You won't know that it's a transforming robot unless you pick it up and look at its base.



The car mode is cool. The good proportions and lack of details should appeal to customizers. Really, add just enough details here, and you'd get one cool GT40 scale model.


TRANSFORMING

Before we go to Robot Mode, let me show you something...



Roadbots are criticized for having too many parts that need to be attached/detached before going between modes.

As you can see here, you take out the hood, the windshield, the rear glass and panel, and the side panels. Pretty much the whole GT40 shell. "Partsformer" is how the owner describes this toy.

So what does the vehicle mode look like without the detachable parts?







ROBOT MODE

Now things become interesting... Roadbots are packaged in robot mode, which is bad for the 1/32 models. IMO, the bigger Roadbots you get, the better the robot design.

Take the GT40, for example-



What turns me off is the long torso and thin limbs. This gives the robot a cockcroach-like look. Articulation is limited to the arms only. The thin legs don't do much.

But hey, while I do prefer my robots blocky, I dont hate "thin" robots mainly because thinner robots makes up for the lack of massive blockiness with good articulation. It worked in Beast Wars, right? My gripe with this robot design is that it combines the worst of both worlds - BW malnourished look and G1 articulation (or lack of it). This is a generalization, of course.

This Roadbot comes with a couple of weapons-



Full battle mode:





ROBOT OR CAR MODE?

Car mode, definitely. It's unfortunate that the robot couldnt match the awesomeness of his altmode.


PROS:
-convincing car mode
-rubber wheels
-good proportions in car mode
-solid construction in both modes


CONS:
-insect-like stance in robot mode
-lack of articulation
-car mode needs more details
-lotsa parts to be detached means more parts to lose


RATING:

2 and a half out of 5

I can live with the fact that it's a "partsformer" but man, they should have used a better robot design...

But the mold has great potential for customizers. Problem is, the price is just not right for custom fodder...

[i_amtrunks]

Thanks for the review.

Have not seen this mold before, but certainly would give it a shot over all the Rice Burners I have seen.

[lanzajr26]

Great review! These Roadbots have been intriguing me ever since I saw them here on the forums. The alt mode is nice but is slightly out of proportion, it reminds me of a Hot Wheels type mold and not an accurate recreation of a GT40. And the amount of stuff you have to take off really detracts from the fun, "Partsformer" is totally appropriate.

Again, thanks for the words and pics, very informative.

[Bumblethumper]

I have the same figure, and I have to say, you pretty much summed up my thoughts exactly.

It feels flimsy and plasticky, you have to remove far too many shell parts in the transformation, and the resulting robot mode is poorly proportioned and inarticulate.

And he does look like a cockroach.

[mechajol]

if you guys want roadbots, id say go for the 1/12 models. those look better than the smaller ones, and the headsculpts are far superior.

[Sledge]

I picked up the 1/32 Mitsubishi the other day. I'd agree with the most of the comments here, but I do think perhaps we're being a bit hard on the Roadbots. I don't find the removable parts that annoying, maybe because they're still an improvement over G1 . They're not made by a company with 20-30 years experience of making transforming cars. And I'm looking forward to testing my painting skills on something without worrying about messing up a "proper" Transformer.

[mechajol]

my problem with the removable parts is the same problem i have with headmasters - integral parts can be lost easily!

imagine losing the hood, for example. how can you transform it then?

[Sledge]

But what I like is that the parts attach in both modes. That's a definite improvement over... hell, over a lot of G1. No fists wandering off, never to be seen again. Admittedly, with the 1/32 stuff, the weapons can't be attached to the car mode, but I can live with that.

Meh, I like 'em. They're not modern TF quality, but they're fun and good if you want to create your own characters.

[Redimus]

Those of us in the UK, it might be worth custome fodder.

He comes free with the large yellow hummer in argos. No more expensive for the two of them than the Alts.

[Sledge]

Just off to Argos to pick those two up now.

[mechajol]

there are good designs for the 1/32 scale, just be wary of the "cockroach" torsos

also, i agree with the "new characters" thing. these don't come with names. maybe create a roadbots team for the heavy metal war game we have here perhaps another group of robots from another dimension?

[harley quinn]

In short, I found the price too expensive for the product.

I always thought these were very cheap and good for customs.
On http://www.roadbots.com/ they are only $6.49! I can be very forgiving for that price.