Thanks to Seibertronian and regular toy reviewer chuckdawg1999, we have a video review to bring to you of one of the latest Cyberverse figures, that of Ultra Class Skullcruncher! While labeled as a Decepticon on his packaging, and sporting a Decepticon symbol, in the show, he's an unaffiliated Cybertronian beast. He's heavily based on his Titans Return toy of a few years ago. Take it away, Chuck!
chuckdawg1999 wrote:When first revealed some months ago Skullcruncher was a pleasant surprise, then nothing; no leaked in-hand images, no early reviews, nothing. So it was a pleasant surprise when the figure showed up in-stock on Amazon. The figure really doesn't disappoint, transformation is fun and the armor gimmick is one of the best I've seen. If you're a fan of the Cyberverse line this is a definite pick up, for those who might want to try something new with their Transformers, give this figure a shot too.
What are your thoughts on this figure, fellow Seibertronians? Is he a worthy successor to the previous Skullcruncher figure? Do you think he'll be making his way into your collection? Let us know what you think below!
Running errands today, I found this guy! Someone tried to hide him, but I found him, can't fool me!
Thunderhowl himself is a sort of lackluster toy. Both modes aren't bad, but so far nothing really to write home about. His transformation however is frikkin great. He quite literally folds in half in 2 separate areas. He's a lot like that type of calendar that is a cube that shows 6 months, and when you fold it around inside out and such you find the other 6 months. It's great
Now the more important part: Maccadam. Gosh i love this thing, he is great! Except for the ankle tilts, he is very posable, and his aesthetic is really nice. I love the headsculpt, and the colors are nice. I love how bulky he is, and the hammer weapon is great in his hands. He is far better than people give him credit for, he's great
Heck, it's so cool that Cyberverse canonized the idea of Maccadam being Alchemist Prime when that connection was only a possibility, rather than a fact, in Fun Pub's Ask Vector Prime fiction.
Sabrblade wrote:It's so cool to have another toy of the Thirteen.
Heck, it's so cool that Cyberverse canonized the idea of Maccadam being Alchemist Prime when that connection was only a possibility, rather than a fact, in Fun Pub's Ask Vector Prime fiction.
You've reminded me to take a picture of the 13 Primes I have represented now thanks to Maccadam's completion. I'll need to pull all the bots together tonight for a picture
Sabrblade wrote:It's so cool to have another toy of the Thirteen.
Heck, it's so cool that Cyberverse canonized the idea of Maccadam being Alchemist Prime when that connection was only a possibility, rather than a fact, in Fun Pub's Ask Vector Prime fiction.
Only the Cyberverse one, not the rest thanks to FunPub's handiwork at the end.
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:And depending on your creativity, you can have a full team of 13 Primes with Maccadam as well
I only see 12 in this pic.
Look on Nexus Prime's shoulder.
Emerje
Ah.
Though, why Movie Dropkick for Amalgamous?
Quintessa is the one that has thrown everyone off
Honestly, Amalgamous does not have any figure that even sort of remotely looks like him, but movie Dropkick with his backwards knees and heavy upper torso that has so many parts sprawled in all directions, might be the closest figure i own to the appearance, so since he was the only of the 13 without a good standin, I figured why not?
I would not mind future TV shows following sort of what Cybertron started and Cyberverse continued: throwing in a new Prime complete with toy as we go until we have the full 13. They did Maccadam so well in the series and then gave him a pretty great toy. I would love to see Solus or Onyx next complete with a toy, and i still wish we had gotten a Micronus from RiD2015.
Funny enough, the monsterbots have faired the same way as the 13: RiD2015 gave us Twinferno, and then Cyberverse Repugnus. We need the next series to have a Grotusque and we will be golden!
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Honestly, Amalgamous does not have any figure that even sort of remotely looks like him, but movie Dropkick with his backwards knees and heavy upper torso that has so many parts sprawled in all directions, might be the closest figure i own to the appearance, so since he was the only of the 13 without a good standin, I figured why not?
I guess.
Had it been me, I would have used the Car Robots Gigatron mold in some freakishly bizarre configuration with all his limbs approximating the orientation of Amalgamous's limbs seen in his main artwork.
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:Honestly, Amalgamous does not have any figure that even sort of remotely looks like him, but movie Dropkick with his backwards knees and heavy upper torso that has so many parts sprawled in all directions, might be the closest figure i own to the appearance, so since he was the only of the 13 without a good standin, I figured why not?
I guess.
Had it been me, I would have used the Car Robots Gigatron mold in some freakishly bizarre configuration with all his limbs approximating the orientation of Amalgamous's limbs seen in his main artwork.
I guess that one could work, I have both regular and Devil Gigatrons.
So Thunderhowl then, this toy isn't really good. The best part about this toy is the transformation, it's great, but neither resting mode is particularly good. The Ultra class figure is the better Thunderhowl, no doubt in my mind.
And of the deluxes, I think Bumblebee ended up being the best one. I'd rank them:
1) Bumblebee 2) Grimlock 3) Arcee 4) Optimus Prime 5) Hot Rod 6) Megatron 7) Thunderhowl Shockwave
We have quite a bit of Thunderhowl news. Firstly, we've been getting sightings of this new deluxe figure since early October and it seems he is becoming easier to find at Targets across the US as the days pass.
Him being found means we now have a good look at him. Below you will find plenty of images from fellow Seibertronian D-Maximus primal along with a video review by Emgo. The images show a comparison with the Ultra class figure, which is the same price. You'll let us know which onw you like best. D-Max also has a written review posted on our boards if you want another opinion.
We also have shots of the now fully built Maccadam.
We have quite a bit of Cyberverse news to get through. Firstly, below you will find video reviews from Chuckdawg for the following figures:
Battle Call Officer Class Bumblebee
1 step Cybertronian Megatron
Ultra Class Skullcruncher
Those are all below but before we get to them we also have some sightings. Officer Class Bumblebee (the giant one that has a face that looks like Gypsy Danger) was found at Canadian Walmarts. In Australia, the Warrior Starscream/Hammerbyte wave was found at Toyworld, which is a more collector oriented store that also got their hands on the exclusive Slipstream figure. That came from Ozformers on Facebook and they also posted that Ultra Class Thunderhowl was found at BigW.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:Battle Call Officer Class Bumblebee is a complex figure, kids will like it for a while until the same sound clips bore them, but not until it drives parents nuts. Transformation is relatively simple, just make sure the panels line up, and vehicle mode unlocks more lights and sounds, but you'll miss the lights since the chest faces down. There isn't any cross-play with the Trooper Class which is a shame, the Trooper sized figures are now that much harder to recommend. Overall, at the price point, I just can't recommend buying the figure.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:We all know the deal with 1-step figures so I won't go through it again. Megatron is fun and a great representation of its Cybertron design. As always I appreciate how Hasbro has been able to work an action feature into such a small and simple figure.
chuckdawg1999 wrote:When first revealed some months ago Skullcruncher was a pleasant surprise, then nothing; no leaked in-hand images, no early reviews, nothing. So it was a pleasant surprise when the figure showed up in-stock on Amazon. The figure really doesn't disappoint, transformation is fun and the armor gimmick is one of the best I've seen. If you're a fan of the Cyberverse line this is a definite pick up, for those who might want to try something new with their Transformers, give this figure a shot too.
D-Maximal_Primal wrote:So Thunderhowl then, this toy isn't really good. The best part about this toy is the transformation, it's great, but neither resting mode is particularly good. The Ultra class figure is the better Thunderhowl, no doubt in my mind.
And of the deluxes, I think Bumblebee ended up being the best one. I'd rank them:
1) Bumblebee 2) Grimlock 3) Arcee 4) Optimus Prime 5) Hot Rod 6) Megatron 7) Thunderhowl Shockwave
Wow, I thought you liked Shockwave. I havent come up with my list but I know that my number 1 is Bumblebee and the one I like least is Hot Rod. I like Arcee a lot too, she's just so cute all around and wonderfully show accurate, right size too.
I know we have another line of Cyberverse deluxe class toys coming out since the line and the show are not over after all. But so far, the contenders for a top 5 list for me would be, Deluxe Bumblebee and Arcee, Ultimate Grimlock, Ultra Thunderhowl and Warrior Hammerbyte.
I love the engineering on Thunderhowl, but I think there's just too much going on for a Cyberverse figure compared to a Generations deluxe. Mine has little issues I haven't experienced in that line: for example, the wolf jaw is prone to falling out. I also wish the blast effect didn't have a unique port. You can use it on his sword or mouth, but not on any other figure, as far as I can tell. He looks good in both modes and has good poseability, so even with my complaints he's probably the best of the Cyberverse Deluxe line. I just can't help but think he would be a better fit as a Generations build.
I also don't have the Ultra class figure so I can't compare. I don't doubt it's better, as I've really enjoyed others in that class like Clobber and Rack 'n Ruin.
Shockwave
