New Video Reviews of Transformers Studio Series 86 Blurr and Grimlock

blitzwing could certainly pass for an earthmode starsceam

My Studio Series Devastator box set arrived (again much earlier than I was expecting it, so I don't have a spot set aside for it) and....... boy do I have some thoughts.

Despite coming packaged almost ready to assemble, I still wound up spending an hour or more trying to figure out just how to configure Scavenger and Mixmaster. I did finally get the big boy assembled and he's visually impressive but a bit difficult to balance. And he seems not to have knees. It does kind of fit for this incarnation of Devastator to be less than the sum of his parts though.

That process took me so long, I had to come back to it today to do the robot and alt modes. Once again, Scavenger is absolute torture, but this is only partially due to his actual design, part of it is also the godawful instructions in this set. I've been playing with Transformers for at least 23 years of my life. My first ever figure was Beast Wars Megatron. I'm no slouch at this, I can feel my way around a transformer, but Scavenger is a confusing mess and his instructions are the worst thing I have EVER read, and that's if you ignore the steps that are blatantly out of order. Maybe it's because he's such an abstract design that it's hard to determine which way is up that I struggled with him, but I had the worst time with those two arms that attach to his top wheel, and the swivel they sit on.

Also, when I got them to robot modes, I discovered my Hightower is missing his head. So that's just great.

When they're in robot modes, they're...... okay, I guess. Some are better than others, naturally, but boy did some of these look a lot better in the packaging. Articulation is iffy across the board. I always hear about how Studio Series is better than WFC but between the Bumblebee figures and this set I'm REALLY not seeing it. And yes, I respect that WFC and Studio Series are trying to replicate very different aesthetics but while those old ROTF toys may not have been perfect, they had some charm and prove you can make good toys from these designs. (The individual ones at least, the combining Devastator is junk.) Also, hollow parts and corner cutting really show in the robot modes. I don't usually let it bother me but the flimsy feeling on a lot of these guys is unsetting considering how they move around.

Vehicle modes are fine. This might be Scavenger's best mode, the way they handled the wheels is clever, even if I'm still partial to how the old ROTF voyager did it. It's a design that never made sense in the movies, where the heck to these giant wheels come from, so I can give them a pass for struggling to replicate it on the toy front. Overload is a bit disappointing, his vehicle mode is so stiff and the dump truck bucket isn't hollow. I guess I expected... more.

THey're not bad figures but the limitation of retail price points and just how much that price is being jacked up from what they really cost to produce is on full display here. I feel ripped off paying $250 for this set.

I was going to post pictures but I'm feeling extremely burnt out by a lot of things so I'll go back and add them later.

King Kuuga wrote:I always hear about how Studio Series is better than WFC but between the Bumblebee figures and this set I'm REALLY not seeing it.

I don't know where you are hearing that from but it sure ain't from me or anyone else I discuss this with. Between the deluxes in WFC, Cyberverse and Studio Series, it is the Studio Series ones that have the least articulation, usually lacking either waist, wrists, ankles or a combination of all those.

As for Grimlock and Blurr, I don't need em. My Legends Blurr does the job great and I find him sleeker while my MP Grimlock is basically the same scale so I don't need this one, especially when this leader seems based on the MP figure (which is amazing for those who don't have the MP).

william-james88 wrote:MP Grimlock is basically the same scale so I don't need this one, especially when this leader seems based on the MP figure (which is amazing for those who don't have the MP).

While I love the MP figure, I think that this leader is as close to MP as we're going to get without it being called that. I've been thinking about getting MP-08X but he's so expensive, I might just get this SS leader and paint his legs blue. I wonder if this leader could hold the MP's sword.

The next wave of SS Deluxes - B-127 and Dino!



SO glad we're finally getting a Dino! It's certainly been a long time coming.

I'm ok with the unlicensed vehicle mode, Ferrari is notoriously a pain in the butt to work with so I can understand why they didn't go with that.

Robot mode looks pretty good, although I'm wondering how far that backpack sticks out, looks like most of the car is folded up back there.

As for B-127, it looks kinda cool but after hearing the feedback on Cliffjumper I'll probably skip.

ScottyP wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:I feel ripped off paying $250 for this set.

I'm a dumb completionist so this is my second full set of these dudes and I especially feel this way. Sure, five of the eight have tiny differences with the mud paint apps/little bit of extra gold on Devastator's face and teeth, but overall this was very disappointing for me personally. I expected some stealthy additional paint here and there like on the old Premium Series lineup from '07, but nope, can't even get that on here. I don't recommend this at all for anyone that bought the individual releases.

Isn't it cheaper to buy all of the constructicons at standard MSRP? For the price increase, I would have hoped for some additional accessories. Maybe some small figures of Skids and Mudflap at least. I could understand getting this if you are a completionist, but if you just missed one or two figures and don't want to pay scalper prices, then I feel that the knockoffs are a better(and cheaper)option.

Rtron wrote:Devastator is comprised of two leaders, four voyagers, and two deluxes. Assuming leaders are 50, voyagers 30, and deluxes 20, that would be 260 dollars, right?

Correct. It is the same price to buy all 8 individual and as the boxset.

I didn't get the box set. I was really hoping for some repaints to make it more worth it, but as soon as the minimal paint app differences were revealed I decided not to.

On a different note, I am so happy Dino is finally getting a toy. I am excited for it!!!!!

justasomething wrote:

ScottyP wrote:

King Kuuga wrote:I feel ripped off paying $250 for this set.

I'm a dumb completionist so this is my second full set of these dudes and I especially feel this way. Sure, five of the eight have tiny differences with the mud paint apps/little bit of extra gold on Devastator's face and teeth, but overall this was very disappointing for me personally. I expected some stealthy additional paint here and there like on the old Premium Series lineup from '07, but nope, can't even get that on here. I don't recommend this at all for anyone that bought the individual releases.

Isn't it cheaper to buy all of the constructicons at standard MSRP? For the price increase, I would have hoped for some additional accessories. Maybe some small figures of Skids and Mudflap at least. I could understand getting this if you are a completionist, but if you just missed one or two figures and don't want to pay scalper prices, then I feel that the knockoffs are a better(and cheaper)option.

Not counting tax, it is technically about 7 cents cheaper to buy all the components individually at MSRP, and if you take into account that they're often sold a dollar or two below MSRP then it would definitely be cheaper to do so, but I personally missed half of them when they were on shelves because I was unemployed last year, and when I was waffling on going back to get them on the aftermarket we got the news about this set so I decided to just get the box set instead out of convenience. Except now I'm going to have to write an angry letter to Hasbro about Hightower's missing head.

Razorbeast88 wrote:Any ideas as to whether or not Perceptor would be included in the SS86 line?

No idea yet, but who knows?

-Kanrabat- wrote:

ZeroWolf wrote:

Razorbeast88 wrote:Any ideas as to whether or not Perceptor would be included in the SS86 line?

No idea yet, but who knows?

Was Perceptor in the movie?

Yep with Blaster before Rumble cracks the shell to crack the nuts inside. Pretty sure both of them will show up in ss86 but then again there has been a MP cassette for Blaster for years without a MP Blaster.