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mikeszekely

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  1. mikeszekely
    I'm waiting for the US Turbo Grafx mini.
  2. mikeszekely
    Last but not least, it's Deluxe-class Cliffjumper. When I heard that Cliffjumper was going to be a Deluxe my first thought was worry that he wouldn't scale with all the other minibots (which I looked at in some detail back in October). My second thought was, if he did scale with the minibots, was he really a Deluxe? It's complicated. As far as the size-thing goes, Cliffjumper is a little taller than Titans Return Legends-class Bumblebee, but he's definitely in the same ballpark. Despite his small stature, though, he's got a level of detail and engineering that's definitely more in-line with a Deluxe-class than a Legends-class. Aesthetically, I think he's looking pretty good for a Cliffjumper, and indeed I'm a bit impressed that he's showing up as himself and not just a red repaint of Bumblebee.* Still, he's got red forearms and black legs, where I'd have preferred cartoon gray, and due to his transformation he's lacking a chest spoiler and the window above his pelvis. *While it'll definitely take some remolding for his head, feet, and backpack, I still fully expect a Bumblebee repaint of this figure. You can see shades of it in his tube-shaped biceps. Overcompensating for his smaller size, Cliffjumper comes with a lot of accessories. You get two guns. You get two skis. And you get... a thing. It doesn't do much on it's own. He also has a backpack. I don't think it's particularly egregious; X-Transbots' Toro has just as much (if not more) backpack and he still gets to pass for an MP. If you don't like the backpack it can be removed. It's just pegged in on a 5mm peg, and removing it is unfortunately required for transforming him. Cliffjumper's head might be on a ball joint. My copy is tight, and doesn't have any real downward or sideways tilt, but he can tilt his head up just a little. His shoulders can swivel and hinge outward over 90 degrees. His biceps swivel, and his elbow bends 90 degrees. His wrists swivel. His waist can swivel. His hips can move forward, backward, and laterally 90 degrees, and his thigh swivels around the hip on a mushroom peg. His knees can bend 90 degrees. His feet don't tilt up or down, but he's got over 90 degrees of ankle pivot. You'll note that the only joint I mentioned as a ball joint was his neck. I already touched on this, but I want to emphasize it again: despite his small size he's built like a larger Deluxe, not like a Legends. Cliffjumper can hold his guns in either hand. He's also got 5mm prots on the outside of each forearm, the outside of each lower leg, under each foot, and one on his back (there's one on Cliff himself, but if you use it to keep his backpack attached there's another on the backpack itself so you're not losing the spot on his back). All you can really do with the skis at this point is plug them into a gun. Speaking of plugging stuff into a gun, all of his accessories can plug into each other to form one bazooka. And if you're not keeping Cliff's backpack on his back he can hold it like a shield. For Gundam fans, he reminds me of the GP02 with his bazooka and shield. Cliffjumper has some interesting engineering, even with the partsforming. Like, his feet transform pretty much how you'd expect, but then he folds in such a way that his head is actually between his feet, while the sides of his body fold down to the rear of the car. It's something that doesn't feel overly-complicated for a Deluxe, but has a certain cleverness that you'd associate with older MPs (before they scrunched up and had their entire alt mode unfurl from their backpack and wrap around the fake car parts). All without being too much bigger than a Legends-class. Cliffjumper's alt mode skews a bit closer to a real Porsche than his chibi alt cartoon alt mode, which is a bit of a bummer to me but still a lot better than a red Bumblebee. There's even some paint on his rims, grill, lights, tailpipes, bumpers, and rear window. My only serious complaint is that his fists are a little visible at the rear of the car. As far as weapon storage goes, Cliffjumper just has the one peg hole on his roof. However, there's two slots, two peg holes, and two tabs on his underside. The skis tab into the slots and sit under his front wheels. The extra part plugs into the peg hole and stretches along his underside, lifting it up so the rear is still level with the front. Then the handles of his guns have slots that fit into the tabs, allowing them to sit along the sides like engines. Or cannons. Whatever floats your Porsche. This Cliffjumper is a figure that embodies the spirit of the character- he hits hard like he's got something to prove to the bigger bots around him. I was worried that Hasbro might be pawning off a Legends-class figure at a Deluxe-class price, but Cliffjumper wound up being my favorite of the Earthrise Deluxes. He's well-built, he's got good articulation, he's got a clever and fun transformation, and he's got plenty of accessories. Make no mistake, despite his smaller size he truly is a Deluxe-class figure, and honestly one of the better ones. He's a definite recommend from me.
  3. mikeszekely
    Today let's do Earthrise Wheeljack. Yep, that's what Wheeljack is supposed to look like. I suppose, if I want to nitpick, that I might prefer if his wings were a little taller and a little closer together, his arms seem a little too long, the translucent plastic over much of his torso doesn't really make a "U" shape, or that maybe he should have a little more white on it. Of course, it's still a huge improvement over the Combiner Wars version, or even the older Universe version. Wheeljack's roughly the same size as the other Deluxe-class cars. Wheeljack's lone accessory is this piece. I'm not a fan. I mean, I'll give Hasbro credit for painting it (it's actually cast in white plastic), and if I squint it looks kind of like a shrunken-down version of the G1 toy's shoulder missile launcher. But the little missile peaking out is too small for the cartoon version. Wheeljack can look up or tilt is head sideways just a little, and he can look down slightly more. His shoulders rotate and can extend to the side 90 degrees (although there's a second transformation joint you can work with to get more if you need it). His biceps swivel, and his elbows bend 90 degrees. His wrists can swivel, as can his waist. His hips can go forward and sideways 90 degrees, and backwards nearly that much. His thighs swivel. His knees can bend 90 degrees. Due to transformation he can bend his feet down and maybe even up very slightly, plus he's got 45 degrees of ankle pivot. There's a peg on Wheeljack's accessory, so he can hold it in his hands like a weird pistol. Or, he's a 5mm port on the side of either shoulder, on the side of either forearm near his wrist, on the bottom of his back, one on each of his calves, and one under each foot. There's also a tab on the accessory, and a slot on either side of his head you can plug it into. Wheeljack's transformation is fairly straightforward. The car you end up with is, again, about the same size as the Siege cars. @M'Kyuun was spot-on when he said Hasbro made a Lancia without making a Lancia. In intakes and spoiler on the nose aren't as aggressive as the real thing, but they're there, along with the flip out headlights and venting on the hood. The overall shape is blockier, with less aggressive skirts and minimal flare at the rear, but it's got the Lancia's canopy and vented rear engine cover. It seems like Hasbro tried to give him the red rims the original/G1 car had, but it's not the best. I don't know if the paint was too thin, or if Hasbro deliberately chose a red that didn't match the paint they used for his stripes, but the rims wound up this awful salmon color. Speaking of stripes, Hasbro also gave Wheeljack plenty of racing livery. The stripes are a bit simplified from the actual car/G1 toy, but not as simplified as the cartoon. And of course there's none of the Alitalia, Pirelli, or other real-world branding, sporting instead stuff like "Aerobolt" and "Praxus." Which is fine. But 638? C'mon, I don't think 539 is trademarked. As far as accessory storage, there's a single peg hole on the roof, and peg holes in both of his taillights. Technically there are four on the underside of the car, but there's no clearance to stick anything there. Earthrise Wheeljack is a great Deluxe-class Wheeljack figure whom I definitely recommend. He's a bit no-frills, no surprises, and he could use some better accessories, but the straightforward transformation, above average articulation, and strong G1 likeness should be held up as an example of what Hasbro can do at this size and price point.
  4. mikeszekely
    I just installed Doom 2016 on my PC. I'll see if I like it before worrying about Eternal.
  5. mikeszekely
    One thing I love about Hasbro Pulse is that their warehouse is only a couple hours' drive from my house. So, while I didn't get a shipping notice until I woke up this morning my order was already out for delivery and in my hands by lunch. That means I can finally review the wave 1 Deluxes (minus Ironworks, whom I just not sold on). We'll arbitrarily start with Hoist. This is definitely the most Hoisty Hoist Hasbro has done since the G1 toy, but this is the part where I critique a figure against the G1 toy and cartoon, and I've definitely got somet things to say here. Hasbro seems to have split the difference between the cartoon and the G1 toy on the head, giving him the cartoon's black helmet with the toy's silver mouth plate and blue eyes. Frankly, I'd have preferred they gave him a black mouth plate and went all cartoon. His hips and legs have proportions that I feel are better suited for Trailbreaker than Hoist, although I do appreciate that they used some paint on his shins. I kind of wish the paint was white, though, to match his thighs, forearms, and backpack doohickey. Also, although it's more noticeable under my lights than in normal lighting, he's got two shades of green going on. All-in-all I think he could be better, but aside from some questionable color choices any improvements to the mold to make it more Hoist would probably make it less Trailbreaker, so it's probably fine. Size-wise he's bigger than the Siege cars, and about the same size as the taller Deluxes like Ratchet, Ironhide, or Impactor. His sole accessory is this orange cone. Why orange? Hoist's head is on a ball joint with a little bit of up/down tilt, a similar amount of sideways tilt, and of course a swivel. His shoulders can rotate, and they can extend over 180 degrees laterally. His biceps swivel. His elbows can bend around 140 degrees on a single hinge, and his wrists can swivel. His waist can swivel. His hips can go forward, backward, or laterally 90 degrees. His thighs swivel. He's got double-jointed knees and can touch his heels to his butt. His ankles can pivot around 70 degrees. His accessory can fit into either hand, and it's designed to slide down over his fist to give him his cartoon-style gun hand. I ask again, though, why orange? It should be white to match his forearm, and since it's big enough to fit around his hand it doesn't really look right. I wish they'd have done away with his right hand entirely and simply given him a permanent gun hand that could have folded inside his forearm for transformation; his forearms (and thighs) are certainly hollow enough. The handle on it is long enough that you can plug it into a 5mm port that isn't his hand. Hoist has one on the side of either shoulder, one on the side of either forearm, two on his back, one on the side of either leg just below his knees, one in the middle of the tires on his legs, and one under each foot. I didn't have a G1 Hoist or Trailbreaker as a kid, but I imagine the transformation here must be sort of similar. Hoist's chest and spine don't move, but his backpack and stomach lift away and his pelvis bends backward as his legs fold up, then his arms tuck under the vehicle while the flaps behind them become the sides. Size-wise he's not as long as Ratchet, but he's got more bulk. My aesthetic complaints haven't changed much from the robot mode. The alt mode is nice and G1-ish, but again the mismatched greens is a little off-putting. I also find it curious that they painted the side windows black, to match the transformation hinge running through them, but the front window is translucent blue. The grill seems like it should be a little longer and his bumper a little lower. And from the sides you can see visible hands under the truck. Hoist's tow bed can fold out, and like the G1 toy it's got a little wheel on it. There's nothing really to attach a car to, but the end does have those clips that allow him to attach to Omega Supreme, ER Optimus' shield, or one of the other Earthrise accessories designed around this gimmick (I'm not sure why they didn't keep it compatible with the Titans Return bases, though). As for his lone accessory, he's got 5mm ports on either side of the truck, where the orange parts meet the bed, or in the middle of the rear wheels. He's also got two under the tow bed, but when the bed is folded up the orange wing flaps kind of cover them. I suppose you could also turn his fists so the peg holes are showing. Wherever you put his gun/hand, though, it's going to look out-of-place. I really wish they'd have devised some system for attaching it under the front of the truck, between his arms. Hoist isn't my favorite of the War for Cybertron Trilogy Deluxes, but he's far from the worst. I definitely think he's got his flaws and there are things I would have done differently if I were the designer, but he remains the best official Hoist toy in 35 years. If you're collecting this line he's worth picking up.
  6. mikeszekely
    Well, you might recall I was getting back into Transformers Prime. I managed to track down a copy of DMY's upgrade kit for Voyager RiD Megatron, and from a Chinese seller on TFW2005's "Trusted" list, so I ordered it. Took awhile for him to ship, but with Chinese New Year and the coronavirus that was expected. However, he messaged me when he did ship and apologized, saying that he'd listed it as being for the Hasbro version but it was actually for the Takara version, and he wanted to know if he should stop the shipment and refund me or if I still wanted it. Well, nobody has this kit anymore, so I told him to send it anyway. It arrived today, and yeah, the parts are silver instead of that weird beigish-gray Hasbro used. So I did the only sensible thing I could think of- I took Megatron apart and painted him. As for the kit, I'm not going to review it since it's so old and so hard to find. Suffice to say that it reminds me a bit of DNA's stuff. There are some tolerance issues with the bits that fit under his toes, and it creates a few new problems with the cannon's alt mode storage, but the problems it fixes (a more cartoon-accurate cannon and extra hinges that allow the back to fold up better) were so bad that the kit's kind of worth it overall.
  7. mikeszekely
    Some actually good official Dinobots would be great. But in the meantime, that Planet X Megatron and Starscream I'd picked up motivated me to replay War for Cybertron and Fall of Cybertron, and now I'm thinking about picking up the rest of the Planet X Dinobots.
  8. mikeszekely
    Nice! My order is still listed as "unfulfilled." Depends on how strict your definition of "G1 homage" is. Because there was this guy: He's a repaint of Trailbreakercutter, who was designed to look a bit more like his appearance in IDW's More Than Meets the Eye, but the old IDW was largely a G1 homage anyway. There was also this guy: From when Legends-class figures were much worse than they are today, and weren't just minibots.
  9. mikeszekely
    I got the NECA Godzilla 2019 today. Unlike Shin Godzilla, this time I do have the SH Monsterarts version to compare directly with, and I think it's cemented my opinion. There's no arguing that the SH Monsterarts figure has a moderately better sculpt, better paint (especially around the claws, teeth, and eyes), and better articulation. However, I don't personally feel like the improvements are worth triple the price. I decided to sell the SH Monsterarts version. If anyone wants it I'm going to ask $65 shipped in the continental US, just send me a PM or after a couple days I'll stick it on ebay.
  10. mikeszekely
    Do the SH Figuarts/Monsterarts stuff get KO'ed? I decided to sell my SH Monsterarts Godzilla 2019, and I was looking at ebay to figure out what a fair price would be. I see lots of listings over $100 from all over the place, but a few listings below the original retail price. And, at the risk of perpetuating a negative stereotype, all the cheap listings are from China. (BTW, I settled for $65 shipped in CONUS, so if anyone wants it let me know before I stick it on ebay. It's been opened, but it's complete with all the accessories an the original box.)
  11. mikeszekely
    I'm all for taking precautions, like frequent have washing and social distancing, but I wonder if some of those precautions aren't just a tad panicky. Like my local school district closed all their schools (which in turn caused my daughter's preschool to shut down) and my county declared a state of emergency despite zero cases of infection here or in the sounding counties. Oh well. It is what it is. I hope Hasbro still has people working in their warehouse, though. I cancelled my Amazon preorders on Cliffjumper, Wheeljack, and Hoist and ordered them on Pulse after you mentioned yours are hopefully arriving Monday. Amazon was still saying they weren't getting their until April.
  12. mikeszekely
    Reprolabels are out now for Earthrise Prime. In a fashion that's all too typical for them the set seems a little pricey (over $15) because they created of labels I won't use including weird stickers for his knees and just below his elbows, colored marks on the tops of his feet, a stripe on his thighs, cell-shaded stickers to cover his windows, and a mirror-finish sticker to go over his mouth plate. On the flip side, I did order the set, because it does the two things I specifically wanted; darker yellow for the painted spots on his pelvis, a matching sticker for the unpainted bit on his pelvis, and white-backed stickers with darker blue stripes to go over the bare gray and light blue paint on the trailer. There's also a sticker for the cockpit of the drone, which makes me feel a bit more comfortable about popping the arms off and painting it blue, there's taillights for the trailer, and a very G1-style "GO!" sticker for inside the trailer (among other stickers for the inside of the trailer).
  13. mikeszekely
    I mentioned in another thread that I recently discovered a store called TF Safari, based out of China. They tend to have a smaller selection than many other stores, but their prices are comparable to ShowZ, and like ShowZ they offer free shipping to several countries. What sets TF Safari apart though is the number of add-on kits you can buy that I haven't seen anywhere else but ebay. Unlike kits from companies like Perfect Effect or DNA Designs most of these ones are 3D-printed. Out of curiosity, both for the kits and to see how reliable TF Safari is, I decided to order some stuff and check them out. First up, we have Matrix Workshop. Most of what they make seems to be weapons, and I decided to buy their M-13 Ion Rifle. It comes in a small plastic bag, and the bag is tucke into a small cardboard box with a Matrix Workshop sticker on it. As you can see, it's a more cartoon-accurate ion rifle, and it seems to have been printed on white plastic and painted a metallic gunmetal color, which is a nice touch. It's available in three different sizes. The smallest size is meant for Deluxe figures, like the Classics Prime that came in the two-pack with tank Megatron, WFC and FoC Prime, or Generations Orion Pax. The largest one is meant for Power of the Primes Leader-class Optimus. The middle one is for Voyagers like Classics Prime, Combiner Wars Prime, or Siege Prime. I grabbed two of the middle-sized one; as you can see, it lacks the hollow gaps that Siege Prime's gun has, or the short and overly wide barrel that Earthrise Prime's gun has. I mention those two specifically, because those are the figures I actually bought them for. Both figures look great with them. Despite being 3D printed I found that the handles were just the right size, not too loose and not too tight in their fists. I think they're a little pricey for what you get ($9 for the Deluxe, $10 for the Voyager, $11 for the Leader), but frankly not much different in price and of better quality than you'd get off of Shapeways. Unless you have your own 3D printer it's probably worth picking up one for at least Earthrise Prime, and I'd consider looking at some of their other weapon kits. The other company I looked at is Ratchet Studios. Their MO seems to be gap fillers, something I'm disappointed to say there's still a market for despite Hasbro's improvements in quality of late. I decided to just check out the kits for what I consider to be the most egregiously hollow Siege mold, the Ironhide/Ratchet mold (the kit for Ironhide can also be used for Siege Crosshairs). They two came packaged in baggies tucked inside boxes, although their little boxes just had an item number hand-written in marker on one side. They do not come with instructions, although they're not too difficult to figure out. These kits are unpainted, although the parts for Ratchet are printed in white and the parts for Ironhide are printed in gray so they don't look too off. Most of the parts are basically the same for both kits (I'll highlight the differences when we get to them), so going forward I'll show the parts installed on Ratchet next to the base Ironhide figure so you can see the improvement. You get fillers for the bottom of the foot. Since the bottom of the foot is the back of the alt mode, I'm especially glad this space got filled. Moving up the leg, there's a part to fill in the space on the inside of the lower leg, below the knee. Before you stick it on, though, you'll notice pair of caramel-colored boxes. They slide in first, and prevent you from pushing in the filler too deep. There are a pair of parts that side into the gap on the back of the thigh, above the knee joint. There's a similar pair of parts for the inside of the bicep, below the mushroom swivel, and filler for the back of the forearm. Here's where things get a little different. They both have two pieces that fit around the 5mm peg in the middle of their back and help cover up the empty space around it. Ironhide's have a different shape, though, and even add two additional 5mm peg holes. Ironhide also has two more filler parts that fit into the bottom of his bumper. Ratchet doesn't need them, because he doesn't have those spaces. While the gray plastic Ratchet Studios used matches the grays on Ironhide fairly well, you'll probably notice that many of the parts actually fill gaps in the red plastic. Luckily, I had a paint on hand that's a bit glossy, but a fair color match for Ironhide's red plastic. After installing all of these parts you'll find that you actually have two leftover in each kit. These last parts are meant to be thigh extensions, because I guess Ratchet Studios thinks their legs are too short or they don't like the proportions or something. To install them you'd pull the legs off of the hip at the mushroom swivel, then slide the extensions onto the top of the thigh before putting the whole thing back onto the mushroom swivel. Now, I tried to pull one of Ratchet's legs off, and honestly it's on there pretty good, and I don't want to force it. Besides, all the gap filler parts you see above can stay on forever, as they don't affect the transformation in any way. The thigh extensions, though, have to be removed every time you want to transform the figure. So, while it's a nice little option, especially for people who are just posing these guys on a shelf and never messing with them again, I personally won't be using them on my figures. I don't see myself spending the money to buy filler kits for every Siege/Earthrise figure with a hollow inner thigh or something, because I just don't think it's economical. However, for $13/each these kits for Ratchet and Ironhide work pretty well on two especially hollow figures. No glue or anything is necessary- they use friction to stay in place, and they fit quite snugly. I actually had to file the feet parts down a little. And should I get another Siege/Earthrise figure that's as hollow as these guys (*cough Impactor cough*) I'd definitely consider using a Ratchet Studios kit.
  14. mikeszekely
    While Turtler and Gulf haven't arrived yet, I got a packet with some smaller stuff I'd ordered a little earlier from the same store, TF Safari, so they check out. They're based in China, and they don't have as large a selection as some other Chinese sellers like ShowZ, but their prices are pretty reasonable and they carry a lot of 3D printed upgrade accessories that other stores don't.
  15. mikeszekely
    Had anyone tried any of the Bandai Godzilla Monster Movie series of vinyl figures? They don't look like they have a ton of articulation, but they seem reasonably detailed and around the same size and price as the NECA stuff. Since NECA doesn't seem to be interested in doing any Godzilla figures that aren't Godzilla I'm wondering if these Bandai figures might do for a display, since it seems like they have most of the kaiju I want.
  16. mikeszekely
    Nah, the listings are still up, but they've been sold out for awhile. I've got Turtler and Gulf coming from an Asian supplier... if said supplier is legit (it's my first order with them, but wired of mouth is good). Kraken and Lobclaw are sitting in my stack at TFSource, and I have preorders for the last two there.
  17. mikeszekely
    I did all of them, plus all of Defensor, Cyclonus, the red Optimus, and enough of the Autobot repaints that, had I found Sky Lynx, I'd have had enough limbs to complete Optimus Maximus, Sky Reign, and I'd be an arm short of Galvatronus (although later I picked up PotP Jazz, Darkwing, and Dreadwind so I've got more than enough combiner parts). And as bad as all the repaints were, I kind of wish I'd have picked up Computron, since he's the only Scramble City combiner I didn't pick up. (I do plan on getting Generations Selects King Poseidon).
  18. mikeszekely
    I mean, that's why a lot of those season 4 and beyond characters got done, yeah. But what stands out to me isn't just that they got done, but the quality. I don't know if it's because they had to be to be combiner parts, but the Deluxe figures in the Combiner Wars line felt chunky and simple, but the Titans Returns figures had noticeably better engineering (for the most part) and sleeker alt modes.
  19. mikeszekely
    The Godzilla figures in the SH Monsterarts line get some discussion in the SH Figuarts/D-Arts/Monsterarts thread, but doesn't look like there's much discussion of the NECA stuff (although there's plenty of discussion on their Aliens and Predator stuff). So I decided to look for a Godzilla thread, and I found one for this movie, the 2019 KotM film, the 2014 Legendary film, two for Shin Godzilla, one for Final Wars, and even one for Godzilla 1985/The Return of Godzilla. Just a thought, but maybe we should just have one Godzilla superthread? Anyway, I was at Target yesterday and I saw they have some new NECA Godzilla releases. Unlike the blister packages they used to have at Target these ones are in nicer window boxes, with movie poster cover flap. I picked up the last remaining Shin Godzilla, and I gotta say that I'm pretty pleased with it. Now, this is the only NECA Godzilla figure I own, and I can't directly compare it to an SH Monsterarts Shin Godzilla. The only SH Monsterarts figure I have is the 2019 KotM version. And here's the thing, I think the articulation, the sculpt, and the paint are definitely better on the SH Monsterarts figure. But the NECA Godzilla figures look like they're under $25, and SH Monsterarts look like they usually retail for over $70. While I think the SH Monsterarts are probably worth a premium over a NECA figure, I don't think (for me at least) they're really worth triple. So I think I might sell my SH Monsterarts 2019 Godzilla and pick up a few more NECAs. I think right now my biggest complaint with the NECA line is that while they have several different Godzillas and some of the other monsters from KotM they don't have more of the Toho Kaiju. I'd love to have all three Mechagodzillas, Space Godzilla, a '90s King Ghidorah and Mecha King Ghidorah, '90s Mothra, '72 Gigan, and '04 Gigan at the minimum.
  20. mikeszekely
    Yeah. I mean, the seller I bought from was having a deal where if you bought three things you'd get 10% off, so I wound up tossing a Titan Master (Ptero) in because because 10% off of the price of Ptero, Topspin, and Twin Twist was less than the full price of Topspin and Twin Twist alone. It definitely wasn't one of my better buys, but with manufacturing delays due to the coronavirus infections there's not a ton of new things coming that I want. MMC told us upfront that Volatus (Blast Off) was moved from March to June. If my other preorders from other companies are similarly delayed then I'll probably pick up UT's Dragoon and Maketoys' Endgame next month* just to fill the gap. *I didn't blow my entire budget for the month on Jumpstarters, and hopefully I'll have a few more things to write about before the month is out.
  21. mikeszekely
    You know, between Hasbro's distribution issues pre-Combiner Wars and the fact that the Combiner Wars figures themselves were full of loose joints, too many repaints/remolds, and more than a few questionable designs I kind of quit collecting Hasbro's stuff for awhile. And I kind of regret that I did, because every so often I find myself trolling eBay looking to pick up a Titans Return figure I missed, overpaying in the process. I did it with the Monsterbots. I did it with Decepticon Targetmasters. Now I've gone and done it with the Deluxe-class Jumpstarters, Topspin and Twin Twist. Honestly, I think the Jumpstarters were kind of an odd choice for an update. For one, they weren't in any animation that I'm aware of. For two, the original toys were kind of crappy. They transformed by folding in half, and they had almost no articulation. The only thing that made them remotely interesting was their gimmick: they were spring-loaded and heavier at their big feet, so you could pull them back in their vehicle modes and they'd race forward a bit before popping open and landing as robots in a standing position Well, these new Jumpstarters don't have the gimmick. Instead they're Headmasters, like the other Deluxe-class figures from the line. As with the G1 toys, these guys share almost all of their engineering, and in this case many of the same parts. However, I think the inverted color schemes, the different heads, and the different paint apps do a pretty good job of making them look visually distinct from each other (likely further aided by the fact that mine seem to have come with Reprolabels). And aside from Twin Twist having a white crotch and tank treads hanging off his shoulders, they look pretty close to their G1 selves. In fact, the most major difference is probably how Topspin's alt mode nose and Twin Twists drills fold up. On the original toys they tucked into the backs of the legs, but on these guys they kind of fold into a backpack. Thing is, they're not flat against their backs. They kind of stick out at an angle, and while they're fairly secure they're not actually locked in place. It feels a bit unfinished to me. The Jumpstarters are fairly big for Deluxes, standing about the same height as taller Siege Deluxes like Ratchet and a head taller than smaller ones like Smokescreen. I checked them against a few other Titans Return Deluxes and found that they were often slightly taller, or if they weren't taller they were often at least bulkier. Topspin and Twintwist come with the same accessories: their Headmaster buddies, and a pair of guns. The only differences between the Headmasters are that Topspin's buddy (Freezeout) is cast in blue and white plastic, with no paint, while Twin Twist's (Flameout) is cast entirely in white plastic with blue paint on his visor. Likewise, they have the same guns, but Topspin's are silver paint on blue plastic while Twin Twist has silver paint on white plastic. The guns tab together along their top sides to make a little seat for their Headmaster buddies, if you're into that sort of thing. Due to the number of shared parts these guys have the same articulation. Their Headmasters have ball joints at their necks, which allows the larger robots to swivel their heads and enjoy a slight forward/backward/sideways tilt. Their shoulders are ball joints, which allows them to rotate and extend 90 degrees, plus a transformation hinge can allow them to go past 90 degrees. Their biceps swivel, and they've got double-jointed elbows that can curl almost 180 degrees. No wrist articulation. Their waists can swivel, and they technically have an ab crunch, although it's really for transformation so it's not the prettiest. Their hips are ball joints that can bend 90 degrees forward, backward, or laterally. They have cut thigh swivels, and their knees can bend 90 degrees. No foot or ankle articulation. Both of them hold their weapons tightly in their 5mm hand holes. The Jumpstarters' alt modes take a few more liberties over their G1 counterparts than their robot modes, but honestly I think it's for the best. They look more cohesive, without the big cutouts in the legs where the nose/drills tucked away or visible hands and arms, and they have actual cockpits now. Yet for all their differences I do think they both retain the spirit and overall colors of their G1 alt modes. As with their robot modes they do a pretty good job of looking visually distinct despite the large number of shared parts. They even have different thrusters in the back. Their engineering, which is a far cry from simply folding in half, is pretty interesting, with the front of their torsos spinning over the back in a way that's kind of similar to Siege Ironhide and Ratchet. Naturally, the cockpits on both figures can open and their Headmasters can ride inside. Twin Twist has wheels that he can roll on. Topspin has a front landing gear, but no wheels. Twin Twist's drills don't spin, which is a mild bummer. Both figures have 5mm ports on the sides of what were their legs that their guns can plug into. Twin Twist has a second 5mm port on the tank treads. Topspin lacks the treads, and therefore the ports, but he does have some slots under his wings. You can use tabs on the top or one side of his guns to tab them under his wings. I find it a little odd that there's something like a big molded tab slot on their shins, just under their kneepads, but nothing actually fits into them. Recommending these guys is a little tough. At their original retail prices (which I'm not entirely sure if Twin Twist actually had a regular retail release) then definitely. The problem is their aftermarket prices. Topspin isn't too bad, at around $30 as of this writing, and I think he's the better way to check out this mold. Twin Twist, though, seems harder to come by and can command $70+, and that's a lot harder to justify.
  22. mikeszekely
    Yeah, I definitely wasn't planning on doing just one figure to a post. Maybe one for the Constructicons, one for Prime and Hot Rod, one for Starscream and Astrotrain, and one for Soundwave and his tapes. Oh, that'd definitely be part of it. The question is really which modern remakes... I've got so many Devastators, five-ish CHUG Primes plus MP-01, MP-10, and a detolf full of just 3P Primes, etc. I'm kind of leaning toward Earthrise Optimus and Starscream (original mainline figures vs modern mainline figures), Titans Return and Power of the Primes Hot Rods (same, but an argument could be made for MP Hot Rod instead of one of the others), DX9's Legends-class Devastator (better scale than the official Devastator), Siege Astrotrain (again, mainline vs mainline), and MP Soundwave and his cassettes (because they both turn into the same things and I like that the tapes are even the same size, vs comparing a microcassette recorder and a spaceship).
  23. mikeszekely
    I don't think I've reviewed any of the Walmart G1 reissues, although I did pick up several of them (I think all of them, actually, except the minibots). Should I? Is that something you guys would want to read?
  24. mikeszekely
    Ok, bought. (Actually bought before I saw your posts; I saw Destructoid mentioned it was the last day to get that price. While I'm unsure if it's my kind of genre and I don't usually put a lot of stock into Metacritic scores it seems well-regarded. Certainly worth gambling $3 on. While it's good to hear I can play solo, as I'm not particularly into multiplayer, if anyone here is playing on PC my UPlay handle is the same one I use here- mikeszekely.
  25. mikeszekely
    So Earthrise Starscream was a good, yet somehow also disappointing. So how's the other first-wave Earthrise Voyager, Grapple? With years of previous Classics, Universe, and Generations figures in my mind (including 2009's Universe Inferno, of which I never bothered with the Grapple remold), I think I was a little surprised at how well this figure turned out. The proportions are maybe a tad less chunky than I prefer for Grapple (but on the other hand, should look perfect on the inevitable Inferno), but still so close that you could almost be forgiven for mistaking it for an MP at first glance. He's got touches of silver paint on his bumper, grill, and pylons, and translucent blue for the windshield, headlights, and flashers. They painted the yellow/orange circles on his thighs, too, and the rims on the wheels on his feet, so everything is properly colored. It's only on closer inspection that you start to find an issue, and that issue is the Hasbro Hollows. Grapple does come with a few accessories. There's his rifle, which looks nice and Geewunny. There's his gun hand, cast in black like the rifle but painted silver. And he's got the four-pronged claw that the MP version has, except it's cast in unpainted black plastic (instead of being yellow/orange with silver prongs). There is something like looks like a clip in the middle. The instruction show it clipping on some ramp part of Ironworks. I can't test that since I don't have Ironworks, but it does clip onto the "shield" part of Earthrise Prime's trailer, and presumably the ramps on Siege Omega Supreme. Grapple's head can swivel inside its box, but he's got no tilt. His shoulders can rotate, and the pylons on his shoulders are set just right so that he can extend his shoulders 90 degrees and they'll lie flat on the top of his torso. His biceps swivel. His elbows can bend 90 degrees. His wrists can bend inward due to transformation, but there's no swivel there. His waist does swivel, though. His hips can go 90 degrees (or a little over) forward, backward, and laterally. His thighs can swivel, and his knees bend 90 degrees. Collapsed properly for robot mode his feet don't have any up/down tilt, but they do have great ankle pivots. If you start to pull them out like you're going to transform them you can fake some up/down tilt. Grapple holds his accessories just fine in the 5mm peg that his his fist. Or, if you fold his fists in, you'll expose another 5mm port that's good for plugging in his gun hand or the claw. He also has 5mm ports on each side of his head-box, on the outside of each shoulder, on the outside of each forearm near his elbows, the outside of each lower leg, and the bottom of each foot. Grapple's transformation is very straightforward, and it makes for a pretty accurate if very out-of-scale truck. Seriously, I'm thinking this would look fantastic with something like Magic Square's Sideswipe, but it's going to look small next to Prime and absolutely tiny compared to the cars. Such is the price we pay to maintain robot scale, I suppose. The only things I'd really note here are the lack of the MP's piston under the boom, the amount of black plastic on the side where his robot thighs are peaking out, and the fact that his shoulder pylons are hidden, none of which I'd call major. Grapple rolls fine, and his crane boom can swivel and lift up. It doesn't exactly extend, though; you kind of have to have it fully extended just for the hook to stick out farther than the cab, so it's less that it extends and more that it collapses for robot mode. The hook on the end does have a hinge, though. They stabilizers don't move, which is kind of a bummer. Another bummer is the gap at the rear of the vehicle, where his feet don't quite meet, and the lack of painted tail lights. Then again, I seem to recall the official MP also had a small gap and no taillights, so I guess this is par for the course. Grapple has a dedicated tab on one side of his boom for storing the hand-gun, and the hook has a 5mm peg hole on the front so that if you bend the hook inward the peg will point downward, giving allowing you to attach the claw that way. Or if you prefer he's got two 5mm peg holes on the top of the truck (although if the boom is down all the way it'll block them), one on either side under the boom, and one on either side in front of the stabilizers. Unless you've totally quit collecting CHUGs I'm definitely going to recommend picking up Grapple. All of my complaints boil down to a $30 Voyager-class toy not being as good as a $150 MP, but realistically no one expects it to be. What Hasbro does deliver in a $30 price point is definitely worth the price of admission here.
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